Attention, CFOs, CEOs and corporate directors: What if your shareholders and employees received the following e-mail?
Here are some passages from the message urging members to mobilize to oust Lewis:
“Last week, the Obama administration took tough, decisive action with the auto industry, forcing the resignation of the CEO of General Motors. The president knows that we can’t trust the same folks who got us into this mess to help lead us out. It’s time to do the same for the banks. And the best way to start is by firing Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis. He’s the worst of the worst.”
“If Secretary Geithner forces him to resign, it’ll send a strong message to the rest of Wall St.: The era of zero accountability is over and reckless behavior that puts our economy at risk won’t be tolerated.”
“Of all the folks who helped bring about the recession, Lewis is one of the worst:
• Shareholders say he helped drive the company into the ground. Bank of America has lost billions — and 90 percent of its value — in part because Lewis “hastily arranged the ill-considered acquisition” of Merrill Lynch.
• Even after the crisis, he hasn’t changed his ways. He ensured that high-level staff received bonuses — despite recent announcements that the bank was laying off another 35,000 employees.
• On top of all this, he’s fighting against more rights for workers. Three days after receiving $25 billion in bailout money, Bank of America brought together powerful banking interests to figure out how to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that makes it easier for workers to form unions.”
(Each of the items in the list above is footnoted with references.)
I don’t have strong feelings for or against Mr. Lewis. And Coach Factory Outlet Online, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m a fairly happy BOA customer. What strikes me — as someone who covers risk management in a fairly detailed way — is that this message, as most populist messages do, greatly (!) simplifies a complex set of issues: layoffs are bad; Employee Free Choice Act is good; powerful banking interests are bad; firing Lewis is good.
Even if I agree with some of those points (and I do), there’s so much more to this issue. Despite that complexity, this e-mail will serve as a primary source of information for many of the 3 million-plus recipients (especially those who do not study the business pages every day) of this note.
That’s troubling to me. For risk managers, IR executives, and corporate communications specialists, it ought to be a wakeup call. Be prepared and forewarned: Highly influential grassroots organizations are also embracing the importance of accountability and effective corporate governance. Better yet, be prepared by being transparent and accountable. ###
Dear Treasury Secretary Geithner:
The note came from the team at MoveOn.org, a political action committee that was formed 10 years ago and rose to prominence during the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and then again during the past two presidential elections.
We can’t trust the same people who got us into this financial mess to help lead us out. Replace the leadership at [insert your company name here], starting with [your name here].
Insert Bank of America and its CEO Ken Lewis into the above message, and you will see exactly what arrived in my e-mail in-box yesterday afternoon.
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