LOOK WHO'S STILL AT THE TROUGH

摘要

On Aug. 8, Kenneth Potashner was fired as CEO of consumer-electronics maker SONICblue Inc. Potashner has told people that he was axed after challenging three board members to repay $600,000 in loans from the company―or resign. Interim CEO L.Gregory Ballard says Potashner was not fired over the board dispute, but he, too, is taking a second look at the forgiven loans. SONICblue isn't the only company with this problem. Even as much of Corporate America has toned down its boom-era excesses in the wake of the recent governance and accounting scandals, some companies are still up to the same old games. These range from the bonuses one board awarded itself to the BMW another gave its ousted CEO. The deals are legal, but critics say some boards could use a course in Sensitivity 101, not to mention basic governance. "It's just abominable," says Nell Minnow, co-founder of the Corporate Library, a research house specializing in corporate governance.