PRESSURING THE BOARD: As shareholders prepare to gather for Time Warner Inc.'s annual meeting on May 16, 12 stockholding organizations have a proposal up for a vote that the post of chairman and chief executive officer be split. The proposal states that it is often in shareholders' best interests to separate the positions, as conflicts of interest arise when one person holds both posts.
So what's the big deal? Well, it clearly matters a lot to Jeff Bewkes — terms of his employment contract stipulate that he can resign as ceo if he isn't also elected chairman by Jan. 1. The current chairman is former ceo Richard Parsons.
To provide an example to stockholders, the proposal alleges that a fully functioning independent chair could have led the Time Warner board to have better oversight when the firm's five highest-paid executives received $58 million in compensation in 2006 while the value of most employees' stock options was decreasing and layoffs of nearly 5,000 workers occurred at its AOL division.
The Time Warner board advises shareholders to vote against the proposal, noting that effective corporate governance doesn't require the chairman be an independent director or that the offices of the chairman and ceo be separated. A spokesman said that, if the proposal gets a majority affirmative vote, it will go to the board for consideration. — Amy Wicks
24-HOUR PARTY PEOPLE: Editor in chief Dan Peres flew into Los Angeles for 24 hours last week to host the third annual Details Mavericks party in Beverly Hills. "I love doing this event, but right now I would much rather be at home with my wife and newborn son. I'm doing very short trips these days," he said. And how: Peres even cuts transatlantic trips short, this week jetting in and out of Milan in 24 hours for a dinner with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. On his latest cover subject, Ryan Seacrest, Peres was quick to peg him as "a successful, shrewd businessman who remains in the public eye in the most positive sense." Peres, along with co-hosts and Mavericks Ben Silverman, Charlie Walk and Seacrest (all clad in Versace), mingled among a crowd that included Eric Mabius, Dylan McDermott, Carson Daly, Don Cheadle, David Spade, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and the cast of "The Office." The guys outnumbered the gals, although Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Lindsay Price, Kim Kardashian, January Jones and Jennifer Esposito helped redress the imbalance. — Hellin Kay
So what's the big deal? Well, it clearly matters a lot to Jeff Bewkes — terms of his employment contract stipulate that he can resign as ceo if he isn't also elected chairman by Jan. 1. The current chairman is former ceo Richard Parsons.
To provide an example to stockholders, the proposal alleges that a fully functioning independent chair could have led the Time Warner board to have better oversight when the firm's five highest-paid executives received $58 million in compensation in 2006 while the value of most employees' stock options was decreasing and layoffs of nearly 5,000 workers occurred at its AOL division.
The Time Warner board advises shareholders to vote against the proposal, noting that effective corporate governance doesn't require the chairman be an independent director or that the offices of the chairman and ceo be separated. A spokesman said that, if the proposal gets a majority affirmative vote, it will go to the board for consideration. — Amy Wicks
24-HOUR PARTY PEOPLE: Editor in chief Dan Peres flew into Los Angeles for 24 hours last week to host the third annual Details Mavericks party in Beverly Hills. "I love doing this event, but right now I would much rather be at home with my wife and newborn son. I'm doing very short trips these days," he said. And how: Peres even cuts transatlantic trips short, this week jetting in and out of Milan in 24 hours for a dinner with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. On his latest cover subject, Ryan Seacrest, Peres was quick to peg him as "a successful, shrewd businessman who remains in the public eye in the most positive sense." Peres, along with co-hosts and Mavericks Ben Silverman, Charlie Walk and Seacrest (all clad in Versace), mingled among a crowd that included Eric Mabius, Dylan McDermott, Carson Daly, Don Cheadle, David Spade, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and the cast of "The Office." The guys outnumbered the gals, although Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Lindsay Price, Kim Kardashian, January Jones and Jennifer Esposito helped redress the imbalance. — Hellin Kay
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