Money Can't Buy Success

摘要

To get a clear idea of the condition of Charter Communications, you need only look at the $1.32 stock price. But the problems at mega-billionaire Paul Allen's company are bigger than just a depressed stock: No one is running the show. Charter has sustained a nearly clean sweep of its executive suites. The company has no permanent CEO. CFO Derek Chang exited last Friday. (Even he was merely an interim CFO, replacing an executive who left in August.) The COO slot was filled just two weeks ago, after being open for six months. Other recent departures include the chief marketing and technology officers. It could take months for a new set of executives to come together, get the lay of the land and significantly reverse Charter's loss of customers and boost its trickling cash flow. This is bad news for Allen. The cable operator was a favorite plaything in his platinum-plated sandbox, with the Microsoft co-founder personally investing $7.2 billion and borrowing billions more to rapidly scoop up systems.