Posted on July 2, 2009 at 6:56 pm
There’s a lovely profile of my two jobs as corporate governance analyst and movie critic in this weekend’s Washington Post Magazine. It has lots of information about my background, my family, and how I got to where I am in two different careers. Let me know what you think!
Posted on June 22, 2009 at 10:46 pm
In my corporate governance role, I appeared on CNBC today to discuss Steve Jobs and what Apple should disclose about his health.
Posted on June 12, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Michael Moore has taken on General Motors, the Bush administration, and insurance companies. What’s next? A very timely film on corporate corruption, due to be released this fall. Since it relates to both of my interests and both of my careers, I am doubly interested.
So I was glad to get a bit of a peek tonight when Moore premiered in select locations a cheeky trailer asking the audience to help out the disadvantaged by giving money to the ushers. Then a line of fresh-faced young people marched in with collection cans and t-shirts that said “Save Our CEOs.” The audience hooted and applauded.
Moore’s take on the current economic mess should be infuriating and entertaining. I am really looking forward to it.
Posted on April 19, 2009 at 8:39 am
The New York Times interviewed me for its “Corner Office” section and asked me for a list of my favorite movies about corporate governance.
“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” (2005). Must viewing for an almost operatic rise-and-fall story of greed and hubris.
“The Solid Gold Cadillac” (1956). Add a couple of zeros to the numbers and this classic comedy about a small shareholder who takes on a big conglomerate could have been filmed this year. Ripe for a remake!
“The Hudsucker Proxy” (1994). The Coen Brothers’ take on corporations is both spoof and satire, making some shrewd points about success and corruption.
“Roger & Me” (1989). Must viewing in the era of the bailout. Watch for the many indicators of poor business judgment, including a “Me and My Buddy” exhibit with a mechanized worker singing to the machine that put him out of a job.
“Startup.com” (2001). The go-go madness of the dot-com era amplifies the challenge of finding that fine line between vision and hubris. Unforgettable characters.
“Boiler Room” (2000). Set in an illegal pump-and-dump brokerage, this movie perfectly captures the adrenaline rush of money-making.
“Executive Suite” (1954). A rare movie that focuses on the boardroom with a post-World War II C.E.O. succession struggle between the green-eyeshade C.F.O. Fredric March and the stakeholder proponent William Holden. See also the terrific animated movie “Robots” (2005) for a similar struggle.
“Owning Mahowny” (2003). This fact-based film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a Canadian bank executive who embezzled millions of dollars and lost every penny in gambling casinos. What is fascinating is the way that every single person in the film, from the bank loan officers to the auditors and investigators and casino managers to the embezzler himself, are constantly assessing risk.
“The Corporation” (2003). A provocative documentary that measures corporate behavior against the standard diagnostics for human behavior and concludes that it fits the profile of a sociopath.
“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (1967). This outrageous musical comedy about a mail clerk’s rise to the top of a corporation is less of an exaggeration than it appears.
“Office Space” (1999). A cult classic about a Dilbert-ized world of workers oppressed by an endless series of management fads.
“Tucker: The Man and His Dream” (1988). A fact-based cautionary tale about corporations subverting the market. See also the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” (2006) for an updated version.
“Sabrina” (1954). This elegant confection of a love triangle, with Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden, also includes one of the most stirring defenses of the public corporation as a force for opportunity and creativity that has ever been put on film.
Posted on March 22, 2009 at 1:23 pm
From a debate last week in NY about whether Wall Street or Washington is more responsible for the current meltdown:
My commentary on the AIG situation — time to get rid of the members of the board of directors who signed off on the bonuses.
And look for me on Good Morning America tomorrow, about yet another corporate boondoggle.
Now, back to the movies!
