Blog - Mahony Partners

Oct

2011

Firing the CEO: Olympus in focus

The messy firing of Olympus CEO Michael Woodford provides another example of the challenges in communicating an executive exit. The Japanese camera and medical-imaging company last week fired Woodford, its first non-Japanese CEO, after less than a year. In announcing his dismissal, Olympus cited Woodford’s inability to work effectively with Japanese managers and chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, the former CEO. Woodford countered today, ... Read More

Oct

2011

Give Bill Gross Credit

Financial Services, Taking & Managing Risk

Give credit (no pun intended) to PIMCO chief Bill Gross for dealing honestly with the underperformance of his flagship fund, PIMCO Total Return (PTTRX). In an open letter to investors released today, Gross is candid about the misjudgments that produced an anemic 1.09% total return for the fund so far this year, compared with a 5.56% gain for the iShares U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund (AGG), a comparable (but cheaper) i... Read More

Oct

2011

Update: Climate risk

Uncategorized

Here's a brief update to my post on climate risk: Today's New York Times reports on the disappearance of climate change from the US policy agenda. Abandoned by President Obama and scorned by Republicans, climate-change policy is dormant in the US, even while other nations take patient steps to control carbon emissions. The Times piece observes: "This fading of global warming from the political agenda is a mostly American phenomenon. True, public enthusiasm for legislation to tackle climate change has flagged somewh... Read More

Oct

2011

While politicians dither on climate risk, companies act

Friday Risk Reading

Climate change has all but disappeared from the headlines, aside from serving as a popular punching bag for Republican presidential candidates. But while politicians are busy denying the problem, businesses are taking action. There’s ample evidence that corporations recognize the risk of climate change and are factoring it into their investment planning. According to media reports today, Starbucks is already seeing a drop in coffee yields because of weather ... Read More

Oct

2011

BofA: Advertising or Action?

Financial Services

The new ad campaign unveiled this week by Bank of America faces an uphill battle to restore the bank’s battered reputation. Advertising alone can’t do the job, really. For the message to stick, it will take a coordinated effort across many communication channels (see a related post Read More

Oct

2011

There’s only one fix for GE’s image problem

Financial Services, Taking & Managing Risk

GE, the embodiment of American capitalism, is under fire from conservatives for CEO Jeff Immelt’s role on a presidential advisory panel and other alleged misdeeds. The sniping has mostly been heard on Fox News and at Republican presidential primary events, but Monday’s Wall Street Journal brought the story right to the doorstep of GE’s clients. GE gets good marks for combating its critics, in the article and elsewhere. It has provided facts on its Read More

Oct

2011

Ten brand-advertising lessons for financial firms

Financial Services

I recently heard a senior marketing executive at a top global investment firm discuss their highly successful brand-advertising campaign. (He addressed a group of about 300 people, but I've kept him anonymous as I didn't have permission to attribute his remarks.) His lessons are noteworthy, and so is the campaign, which has been very visible for well over a year – a remarkable commitment considering the financial crisis is still fresh in the minds of investors and volatile markets are an everyday occurrence. Here are the ten lessons he shared. 1. Advertising in a down market pays off. The campaign has helped the firm capture market share and assets, and it leads its... Read More

Oct

2011

Friday Risk Reading: Fostering a healthy risk culture

Friday Risk Reading, Taking & Managing Risk

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about risk and corporate cultures. Some cultures produce disasters, like the massive, concealed trading loss at UBS – the most recent in a long streak of debacles for the bank. Other environments, however, seem consistently to produce good things – valued products and great experiences. Apple of course comes to mind in this category; Starbucks, too. Both have cultures that nurture and sustain healthy risk-taking, and I am offering two quick items about them for this week's Risk Reading. I’ve written Read More

Oct

2011

Morgan Stanley struggles to quell risk rumors

Financial Services, Taking & Managing Risk

The note earlier today by Morgan Stanley CEO Jim Gorman addressing what he called “confusion and misinformation” about the firm wasn’t too reassuring. It’s not likely to quell the rumors about the firm, nor does it do much to improve Gorman’s stature. By penning such a short memo (a mere 218 words), Gorman clearly did not want to appear to overreact to rumors, but he did not want to leave them unchallenged, either. He didn’t reply directly to the “misinformation” but instead offered up a few encouraging points from research analysts who cover the firm, along... Read More

Oct

2011

Morgan Stanley hides behind the “quiet period”

Uncategorized

Tempers must be on the boil at Morgan Stanley today. The lead business article in the New York Times reported on investor concerns about the firm’s exposure to European debt, its earnings power and its liquidity, which brought the stock down by 10.5% last week. And to make matters worse, the piece noted - without attribution - that the firm has “never regained the prestige and power it had in the years before the 2008 crisis.” Ouch. So what did the firm say when asked about all this? A spokesperson declined to comment, “citing the quiet period ... Read More