Jacques A. Nasser Formerly of Ford
~~
Just two years ago, Jacques A. Nasser was riding high. As Ford Motor Co.'s (F
) chief executive, he was acclaimed as a bold manager poised to remake Ford's corporate culture into a lean and quickly changing meritocracy. Fast-forward to Oct. 29: Nasser is shown the door.
The trouble started in August, 2000, with the first of two recalls of Firestone tires used on Ford's popular Explorer sport-utility vehicle; the total cost came to $3.5 billion. In 2001, the e-commerce ventures that Nasser had begun tanked. In the marketplace, Ford was ceding its long dominance of the lucrative truck market to archrival General Motors Corp. (GM
) Ford's auto operations lost $1.6 billion in the first nine months of the year, and its stock price tumbled 28%, to $17.35. Inside Ford, morale plummeted. Draconian new performance reviews sapped spirits and spawned lawsuits. But Nasser's biggest misstep may have been to try to cut Chairman William C. Ford Jr.--great-grandson of the founder--out of the loop on decision-making.
Since he was axed, Nasser, 54, has kept to himself in Detroit but has told a friend he plans to visit Australia, where he grew up. Details of his severance aren't available. But Ford sweetened Nasser's exit package a month before he was fired. In addition to an annual pension of nearly $1 million and performance compensation through 2003, he will get full payment on restricted stock granted to him in 2001. It isn't known how many shares he received, but his 2000 award is now worth $5.8 million.
James E. Goodwin Formerly of UAL ~~
James E. Goodwin wrote himself out of a job on Oct. 18. The chairman and chief executive of United Airlines parent UAL (UAL
) told employees in a letter that the airline was hemorrhaging money. "Clearly, this bleeding has to be stopped--and soon--or United will perish sometime next year," Goodwin warned. The letter, which came after Goodwin had already cut 20% of the carrier's flights and fired 20,000 workers, enraged United's union leaders. They read it as a clumsy first step toward coercing pay cuts and demanded Goodwin's ouster.
Worse for Goodwin, the letter also highlighted for the entire board the financial mess he had made even before two United planes were hijacked on September 11. In August, 2000, he approved huge wage hikes for pilots--intended to curry support for his takeover of US Airways Group--which almost overnight turned UAL into a money-loser. Nor did he have a backup plan after the Justice Dept. nixed the takeover of US Airways last July.
Today, Goodwin, 57, walks with a new spring to his step, say those who know him. And why not? While CEO John W. Creighton Jr. now must tussle with United's unions, the unemployed Goodwin is guaranteed a salary of at least $900,000 a year through mid-2004 under his UAL contract. Goodwin may have left the building, but he continues to haunt the company.
Jeffrey K. Skilling Formerly of Enron ~~
When Jeffrey K. Skilling abruptly left Enron Corp. (ENE
) in August after six months as CEO, he was brimming with plans for the future. First up: spending time with his children and charity work.
Now, with the world's largest energy trader in bankruptcy, Skilling may need to fend off lawsuits and answer to regulators instead. As one of the masterminds of the financial maneuvering that led to Enron's downfall, Skilling, 48, is key in a controversy that wiped out more than $60 billion in shareholder value. He continues to insist that he resigned for "personal reasons" and not because of looming troubles at Enron.
A daredevil by nature, Skilling once took top customers on such jaunts as a 1,000-mile dirt-bike trip through Mexico. Yet insiders say he was fanatical about imposing risk controls on Enron's trading operation. Now many wonder why those controls did not apply to its aggressive finance group. The normally verbose Skilling, who left without a severance package but sold millions in stock, is still trying to explain that.
Deborah C.Hopkins Formerly of Lucent ~~
A year ago, Deborah C. Hopkins barely had time to breathe over the holidays as chief financial officer of troubled Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU
) This year, she made children's angel wings for her church pageant. Since her dismissal in May, Hopkins, 47, has also learned to golf and works out with a trainer four times a week.
This is the hard-charging star dubbed "Hurricane Debby"? Hopkins says a lot has changed since she left the telecom equipment maker barely a year after arriving from Boeing Co. The Lucent saga and September 11 changed her priorities. She values time with her family and refuses to move for a job. She is doing some consulting, and headhunters think she could be a CEO. But Hopkins isn't yet sure if she wants another high-profile, mega-stress position. She claims to be more patient and much happier now. As for her critics: "They had better look out," a newly buff Hopkins laughs, "because I'm getting very strong."
Lloyd D. Ward U.S. Olympic Committee
~~
Is the third time the charm? Lloyd D. Ward hopes so. Having lost his first two jobs as chief executive, Ward, 52, is now getting a third chance to prove his mettle as CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
That's quite a coup, considering his recent record. In November, 2000, after 15 months at the helm of Maytag Corp. (MYG
), the board demanded he resign as profits plunged. He then joined iMotors, a Web site selling used cars; it shut down in May after burning through $140 million.
Now he has to restore morale at an organization troubled by a bidding scandal and athletes' drug use, while wooing donations in a down economy and ensuring security at the Salt Lake City games. And, as the USOC's fourth CEO in two years, he needs to show he's not just there to burnish his reputation and move on. "Anything I get into, I'm into 100%," Ward says. Plenty of Olympic athletes and fans are hoping that's enough.
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Copyright 2002 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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