Word: grune
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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When a company such as Reader's Digest performs so poorly for so long, shareholders usually revolt, forcing directors to make drastic changes. But in Digest's case, the board, which is supposed to be independent, is in the grip of the CEO. That would be George Grune, 68, who because of an unusual stock arrangement holds sway over enough voting shares to remove every Reader's Digest director. Grune's power source is his role as chairman of two charitable funds established by the company's childless founders, DeWitt and Lila Wallace, who died in 1981 and 1984, respectively...
Faced with declining dividends, the institutions wanted to sell their stock, but the CEO held the cards. The stock price, meanwhile, slid from its $56 high in 1992 to about half that in the summer of 1997. At the close of 1997, Grune agreed to let the institutions divest. Six of eight foundations dumped 11.8 million shares, worth more than a quarter-billion dollars. Critics like Paul Tierney, whose company Corporate Value Partners owns 1.5 million shares, think the deal is less than charitable. The institutions had to sell at 25% under the market price. They were "like lambs being...
...credit villagers using the surroundings to experience the language and culture as intensively as possible," says Hamilton. "Nature is to German culture and history what the Wild West is to Americans and the ocean is to the British." To this end, some credit villagers will take part in Grune Welle (green wave), an immersion program in environmental studies. "We don't flinch from the more difficult topics either," reports Hamilton. "This summer we'll be doing a Holocaust memorial service with the four-week people...