Word: sunbeam
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
ALBERT J. DUNLAP Sunbeam chief gets dumped. Those who live by the chainsaw--RRRRREEEHMMM...
When Stetson law professor Charles Elson joined the board at Sunbeam Corp. two years ago, the company's pugnacious CEO, Albert J. Dunlap, wanted him to think like an owner. So he insisted that Elson dig deep into his own pockets and buy $100,000 worth of Sunbeam stock. Two weeks ago, with the value of that stake fast eroding, Elson said, "You bet I looked at the company as an owner." So he and his similarly staked board mates moved fast to "Dunlap" Dunlap, sacking the job slasher whose name had become a Wall Street verb...
...whole mess is certain to devolve into a nasty court battle that until very recently only Dunlap's fiercest critics could have imagined. Along with perhaps half a dozen shareholder suits stemming from the stock collapse, and litigation with the American Medical Association over a botched endorsement deal, Sunbeam expects a lawsuit from Dunlap seeking a going-away package...
...Dunlap, 60, recent events at Sunbeam are a true Armageddon. He remains undeniably rich. But he has lost more than $200 million on paper with his stock and stock options since Sunbeam shares began to slide last March, and his once vaunted reputation as a turnaround phenomenon is in tatters. That reputation is what landed him lucrative assignments, including previous stints as CEO at Scott Paper and Crown-Zellerbach, plus a high profile that he reveled in. It also put his book, Mean Business, on the best-seller list in 1996. That tome became a bible for those who followed...
...sure he's wrong. He may be Chainsaw Al to the tens of thousands he has fired. But that name doesn't fit for the even greater numbers who have prospered with him. I hereby dub thee Equity Al, money in the bank. Maybe that moniker, like Dunlap at Sunbeam, will stick around awhile...