Another chapter in the WorldCom financial fiasco was settled last week. The New York State Common Retirement Fund will get $54 million dollars back from the company — $18 million of that right out of the pockets of former WorldCom Directors. If a bankruptcy judge accepts the deal, board members will lose 20 percent of their asset but they’ll avoid facing a jury. This weekend, ENRON board members agreed to a similar deal.
Scandals on Wall Street have targeted superstar CEOs playing loose with shareholder’s money. But now shareholders are calling for blood, and not just of the guys calling the shots but also boards which look the other way and let them get away with it.
Guests:
Gretchen Morgenson, “New York Times” Reporter
Rakesh Khurana, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Harvard Business School and author of “Searching for the Corporate Savior: The Irrational Quest for Charismatic CEOs”
Harvey Kelly, Managing Director with AlixPartners, head of a corporate investigations practice