A proposal on the agenda of Symantec’s Sept. 23 annual meeting calls for lowering the threshold of how much an investor owns of the company’s stock in order to have the right to call for a special meeting. Rather than listing the name of the stockholder putting forth the proposal, along with the number of Read the rest of this entry »
When John Thompson stepped down as CEO of Symantec last year, there was serious speculation that he would be tapped by newly elected President Barack Obama for the job of commerce secretary or some tech-related government gig. Now it turns out he is going to work for the feds, but in a somewhat different field.
Thompson, a veteran tech executive who’s also been an active supporter of Democratic causes, was appointed this week by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve on a Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, created by Congress to investigate the causes of the nation’s economic mess. Pelosi, D-San Francisco, also named Phil Angelides, the former California state treasurer, and Brooksley Born, the former chairwoman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
All told, the panel has ten members, appointed by Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate. It sounds like they have plenty of work ahead, with a full report due by the end of 2010. But it’s apparently not a full-time job; Thompson is still serving as chairman of Symantec’s board.
Now that earnings season is in full swing, we’re seeing some Silicon Valley companies post some whopping losses. To a degree, that’s to be expected when the economy sours.
But there’s more going on here. Companies are announcing big write-offs that are resulting in big-time losses. And while they might try to tell you these write-offs are no big deal, they’re wrong. They’re a very big deal.
Symantec’s chief executive, John Thompson, joined an exclusive group of Silicon Valley chief executives whose companies now use aircraft they own or control for business use, according to the company’s proxy filed with the SEC Monday.
In May, Symantec entered into a “”dry-lease agreement” for an aircraft with a company owned by Thompson, under which it will pay Read the rest of this entry »
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