August 19, 2013
Director Disagreements & Resignations: JC Penney Flap
I’ve added this Form 8-K from JC Penney to my list of directors who resigned after they have disagreed with the board. This director resignation was big news for the company as hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is the one who left (also see this piece from the New Yorker – and this Money Talks podcast).
I bother to blog about this since it’s fairly rare that a 8-K is filed due to director disagreement – and it’s rare that a board speaks out because it believes the departing director has divulged confidential information as noted in this WSJ article. The company and Ackman have now reached an agreement for him to sell his stake in the company…
My “Director Resignation & Retirement Disclosure Handbook” remains popular…
NextGen Board Portals
The newest board portal vendor with about two years of experience under its belt – Pervasent – has a “flat rate for unlimited users” pricing model that may shake up the industry. In this podcast, Stuart Williams of Pervasent explains how his company’s board portals work, including:
– How is your “Board Papers” different than other board portals?
– What is your pricing?
– How can others within a company use your board portal technology?
Poll: Should Directors Ever Go Public With Disagreements (When They Don’t Quit)?
It is rare that a disagreement with fellow board members is made public, although it does happen when the director resigns as a Form 8-K is required in that situation. Here is an anonymous poll on the topic of director disagreements when the director doesn’t resign:
– Broc Romanek