September 5, 2018
Tomorrow’s Webcast: “Nasdaq Speaks – Latest Developments & Interpretations”
Tune in tomorrow for the webcast – “Nasdaq Speaks: Latest Developments & Interpretations” – to hear senior Nasdaq Staffers Arnold Golub, Lisa Roberts, Nikolai Utochkin and John Zecca discuss all the latest that Nasdaq-companies need to know.
Narcissism: Not a Desirable Part of a CEO’s Skill Set
This Stanford article says that a recent study concluded that companies led by overconfident, self-centered risk takers are likely to face a lot of lawsuits. Here’s an excerpt:
In an article published in Leadership Quarterly, O’Reilly and colleagues Bernadette Doerr and Jennifer A. Chatman of the University of California, Berkeley, show that narcissistic CEOs subject their organizations to potentially ruinous legal risks as well. Not only are they more likely to become embroiled in protracted litigation, but their personality traits make them less sensitive to objective assessments of risk. Narcissists are less willing to take advice from experts and to settle lawsuits — even when it’s likely that the company will lose.
I’ve gotta say, I’m pretty skeptical about this study – after all, this management style worked well for Hank Scorpio.
Securities Litigation: #MeToo Class Actions the New Normal?
Last week, a shareholder class action was filed against CBS following revelations of alleged sexual harassment by CEO Les Moonves. Over on the D&O Diary, Kevin LaCroix recently blogged that these lawsuits may represent the “new normal” for shareholder litigation. Here’s an excerpt:
The securities suit against CBS follows a now growing list of companies that have been hit with D&O lawsuits following revelations of sexual misconduct by one of the firm’s executives. Earlier this summer, National Beverage Corp. was hit with a securities suit following allegations that its CEO had sexually harassed company employees. Earlier suits have arisen involving Wynn Resorts and 21st Century Fox.
Kevin says it is increasingly clear that the accountability process arising out of revelations of sexual misconduct won’t just target the wrongdoer, but also other executives who allegedly facilitated the misconduct or turning a blind eye.
– John Jenkins