Monday Morning Media Quarterback

If it’s spring, the proxy-season circus is in town.  At this time of year, public relations and IR (Investor Relations) pros prepare for their corporation’s annual shareholder meetings.  Shockingly enough, these meetings are often stage-managed to cheerlead for the CEO and avoid controversy. 

But even when IR folks try to keep things under control, often the meetings turn into bizarre theatre.  At a Ford shareholder meeting in Irvine, California, I watched noted shareholder ‘gadfly’ Evelyn Y. Davis fawn over then-CEO Bill Ford with an unsettling mix of maternal concern and lust.  Later, he personally delivered her new Jaguar.

Whether it’s Citibank or among the restive shareholders of the New York Times, Evelyn is on the case.  I’ve written about her, and she always has a lot to say: When Safeway’s general counsel implored “Miss Davis” to be quiet, “It’s Mrs. Davis,” she insisted.  I’ve had three husbands.” At Morgan Stanley, Davis threatened, “When I’m gone, my ghost will appear at the meeting.”  Replied Chairman Philip Purcell, “We look forward to your ghost.”

Purcell and Ford show the right way for CEOs to respond to gadflys like Evelyn; listen patiently, act when their suggestions are appropriate and reasonable, keep your sense of humor. 

It’s easy to snicker at the gadflies.   But often dissident stockholders have a point.  Unchallenged, bad corporate leadership can damage even the strongest company—like this software architect whose biggest innovation appears to be creating the 35-day month and 100-day quarter for booking revenue and making numbers.