Business Pants

Free Float Media Inc.
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  • BUSINESS NEWS
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Whether you love business news or feel like you’re supposed to know it but hate it, Business Pants is business news for humans. Snarky and irreverent, deeply researched and factual, a podcast devoted to market quirks and the humans that make up companies. Investing isn’t a what, it’s a who.

  1. 12/23/2025

    2025 QUIZ: women on boards, ESG regression, DEI rebrands, plus 2026 headline predictions

    2025 REVIEW QUIZ: True or False: Nearly half of directors think their board adds insufficient value. What percentage of directors said their board adds no value at all? A) 10% B) 18% C) 31% D) 69% (nice) True or False: Women run 11% of Fortune 500 companies in 2025. True — 11%. Don’t clap. Women hold 24% of CEO pipeline roles but only ___% of promotions. A) 24% B) 16% C) 8% D) 0%, if the board had its way Which company plans to automate up to 90% of privacy and societal risk reviews using AI? A) OpenAI B) Meta C) Google D) Twitter (sorry, “X”) Why did BlackRock get removed from Texas’ boycott list? A) Legal challenge B) Accounting error C) ESG retreat D) They promised not to say “climate” out loud Why did PepsiCo say it delayed its net-zero target from 2040 to 2050? A) The board miscalculated emissions B) Shareholders voted against climate goals C) A change in climate accounting rules D) “The systems around us” weren’t ready True or False: UK financial regulators scrapped mandatory rules because “DEI paperwork is annoying.” True: UK financial regulators scrapped mandatory DEI rules citing regulatory burden. The new acronym JPMorgan prefers over “DEI” is: D&I EDI DOI “Diversity, Opportunity & Inclusion” “Please Stop Asking” Which word even became unsafe during federal climate language purges? A) Sustainability B) Climate C) Resilience D) All of them, coward Which CEO criticized ISS and Glass Lewis as “incompetent”? A) Elon Musk B) Jamie Dimon C) Larry Fink D) All men eventually Which phrase best describes modern CEO accountability? A) Robust B) Improving C) Optional D) Decorative Haw many women have founded and led a Fortune 500 company? one Bonus: Who was that woman? Marion Sandler: Co‑founder and co‑CEO (with her husband Herbert Sandler) of Golden West Financial.  True or False: Board gender diversity plateaued around 30%. True — Progress hit a ceiling and called it success. What % of Russell 3000 boards have 50% women? 6% 15% 22% Enough to declare victory True or False: MI6 appointed its first female chief in 2025. True — MI6 got there before corporate America.  Blaise Metreweli Which ESG metric disappeared first from earnings calls? Diversity statistics Emissions targets Human rights language All of the above, but quietly The most common excuse for oversized boards: Complexity Global reach “We need all these people” Founder feelings Which industry saw the biggest rollback in ESG commitments? Energy Finance Consumer packaged goods Tech pretending it’s neutral What’s the fastest-growing category of CEO compensation? Cash bonuses Stock options Performance shares “Retention” awards for staying What’s the most common DEI rebrand in 2025? Belonging Culture Talent strategy Risk management What actually drives CEO pay upward during stock declines? Peer benchmarking “Retention risk” Board discretion Fear Why are women overrepresented in “glass cliff” roles? Risk tolerance Crisis optics Limited pipeline Convenient scapegoating What is the most accurate definition of “independent director” in 2025? No financial ties No employment ties No visible conflict No intention of rocking the boat Scoring Rubric 23–25 correct: “Governance Adult” You actually listen. Disturbing. 18–22 correct: “Proxy Advisor Apologist” You skimmed. You nodded. You missed the point. 13–17 correct: “Boardroom Vibes Guy” You believe independence is a feeling. 8–12 correct: “CEO Whisperer” You think pay packages are earned and boards try their best. Below 8: “Kimbal Musk” Please stop hosting the show Which of these headlines are most likely to occur in 2026: Elon Musk announces Groxxx69, the latest iteration of Grok AI dedicated entirely to porn, 69, weed, pro wrestling, Call of Duty, and matchbox cars: 2 DoorDash announces a 12 year $8.4bn pay package for CEO Tony Xu: 9 DoorDash announces cutting staff 80% due to AI: 8 Costco Caves to Trump, Cuts DEI: 1 ISS and Glass Lewis announce new zero page voting policy: 5 Brian Cornell resigns from Target board: 7 CEO of McDonald’s refuses to resign after admitting to affair with other executives: 8 Sam Altman says he is terrified: 6 Shareholders overwhelming vote out directors early in proxy season: 9 Tim Cook announces retirement in 2028: 1

    1h 6m

  2. 12/19/2025

    BP’s new CEO (and failed ex-chair), nepo tantrum at WBD, tech bros say life’s not worth it

    Story of the Week (DR): Embattled BP replaces CEO, naming Woodside Energy chief as first-ever woman leader of a Big Oil giant MM BP names new CEO — its fourth in 6 years O’Neill will replace Murray Auchincloss, after less than two years in the role. BP’s C-suite milestone: Women in both the CEO and CFO seats Melody Meyer: Chair of the safety and sustainability committee Dame Amanda Blanc: Senior independent director  Interim CEO Carol Howle CFO Kate Thomson Emma Delaney: EVP, customers & products Kerry Dryburgh - EVP, people, culture & communications and chief human resources and communications officer  *Emeka Emembolu: EVP, technology *William Lin - EVP, gas & low carbon energy 2 of 8 white dude leadership Even after Pamela Daley stepped down in July, still 43% female board influence Meg O’Neill: ‘hard-nosed’ outsider who will head BP’s pivot away from green energy First female appointment to a major oil company has faced fierce resistance from climate activists as boss of Woodside 43% female board influence at Woodside Carol Howle, current executive vice president, supply, trading & shipping of bp, will serve as interim CEO until Meg joins as CEO. BP 'woke' agenda axed as it hires first female chief exec and doubles down on fossil fuels Warner Bros Discovery board rejects rival bid from Paramount WBD’s board of directors (chaired by Samuel Di Piazza Jr.) has unanimously rejected the Paramount tender as inferior and risky, urging shareholders to reject it and uphold the Netflix transaction instead. David Ellison pulled the dad card early on Right after WBD rejected one of multiple secret bids in September, David Ellison called Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav to request that Zaslav meet with his father, Larry Ellison. The conventional wisdom was that the Oracle cofounder's billions would prevail. In the end, that didn't happen. WBD expressed concern that the bid relied on a revocable trust, whose assets or liabilities were subject to change. A zealous Paramount pulled out all the stops to woo Zaslav We already knew Zaslav stood to make over $500 million from a Paramount deal, based mainly on his shares that would vest immediately after it closed ($567,712,631, to be exact, according to the filing). Zaslav told the WBD board that the Ellisons had "indicated to him that" if a deal went through, he would "receive a compensation package worth several hundred million dollars," per the filing. Zaslav responded that it "would be inappropriate to discuss any such arrangements at that time," he told the board. Paramount also offered Zaslav the position of co-CEO and co-chairman of the combined company, a role Netflix didn't offer, the filing said. That runs contrary to the narrative put forth in a letter Paramount's attorneys at Quinn Emanuel sent to WBD, stating they suspected the process was biased in favor of Netflix due to WBD leadership's expectations that there could be roles for them at the new company. Paramount's legal and financial advisors didn't know about the "December 3 Quinn Emanuel" letter and, in their view, the letter should not have been sent, was "not helpful," and was a "mistake," the filing says. TikTok signs agreement to create new U.S. joint venture TikTok has signed binding agreements with investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX for the sale of its US arm, creating a joint venture as part of a deal orchestrated by President Donald Trump. The U.S. joint venture will be 50% held by a consortium of new investors, including Larry Ellison’s Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi’s MGX, with 15% each. Just over 30% will be held by affiliates of certain existing investors of ByteDance, and almost 20% will be retained by ByteDance House Democrats release more Epstein photos, including Bill Gates and a dinner full of wealthy philanthropists Donald Trump Bill Clinton  Bill Gates – Microsoft co-founder Sergey Brin – Google co-founder Richard Branson – Virgin Group founder Larry Summers – Economist, Harvard President, OpenAI director Salar Kamangar – Former YouTube CEO  Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem — Emirati businessman; Chair/CEO of DP World Les Wexner — Founder of L Brands Leon Black — co-founder and former CEO of Apollo Global Management Tom Pritzker — Executive Chair Hyatt Hotels Glenn Dubin — Hedge fund manager Dubin & Co.; co-founder of Highbridge Capital Management  Ron Baron — Founder & chairman of Baron Capital Management Josh Harris — co-founder of Apollo Global Management and managing partner of Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, and Washington Commanders Ariane de Rothschild — Wealthy banking heir; CEO of Edmond de Rothschild Group Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR): DR: Canada to Launch Sustainable Investment Taxonomy in 2026 According to the government, the new taxonomy will provide a set of criteria for the identification of investments that are eligible for a “green” or “transition” investment label, enabling companies to issue green or transition bonds, and investors to evaluate the credibility of sustainable investment products. MM: Tesla’s having a good time at the DMV California won the right to ban sales of Tesla vehicles in the state due to false advertising about “self driving cars” MM: Walmart’s women truckers surge thanks to $115,000 starting pay and other perks bringing in nontraditional candidates Assholiest of the Week (MM): Helge Lund Embattled BP replaces CEO, naming Woodside Energy chief as first-ever woman leader of a Big Oil giant: O’Neill is “taking over the British energy behemoth at a time when it has fallen behind the other global oil and gas supermajors and was even a potential takeover target earlier this year by rival Shell.” Is there anything glass cliff-ier than this stat: Helge Lund has now overseen BP’s failed Murray Auchincloss tenure, Bernard Looney’s tenure, and Bob Dudley’s leaving (6 year tenure) and Novo Nordisk’s incredible succession failure, the failure of Nokia in 2013… I hate having to celebrate a female first - like becoming a CEO when eminently overqualified Sam Altman again Sam Altman says he has '0%' excitement about being CEO of a public company ahead of a potential OpenAI IPO He changed it from a non profit to a for profit in order to go public and make all the money. Also: “billionaire says” Sam Altman Sounds Alarm As ChatGPT Explodes Globally: 'Rate Of Change' Sparks AI Anxiety, Job Fears Sam Altman Uses His New Image Generator to Show Himself As a Jacked Fireman With Washboard Abs… With an Absolutely Hilarious Error Sam Altman says OpenAI has gone 'code red' multiple times; and they'll do it again The “sound the alarm” gaslight Peter C. Earle, Ph.D, Director of Economics and Economic Freedom and Senior Research Fellow at American Institute for Economic Research DR Stop Fixating on CEO Pay Ratios and Start Fixing Labor Markets “The average employee is hired under conditions of broad substitutability — many people can competently perform the role with modest training. The CEO labor market is the opposite: extremely small, specialized, global, and contingent on track records that can shift a firm’s valuation by billions of dollars. The demand curve for top executive talent is steep; the supply curve is extraordinarily thin.” “Skilled executives can influence strategy, capital allocation, risk management, and organizational culture in ways that affect firm performance far more than incremental labor inputs elsewhere in the organization, even if the latter are voluminous. If a CEO’s decisions add even a few percentage points to long-term returns, the economic value created dwarfs the compensation.” Translation: CEOs are worth it, regular workers are not.  “Such a ratio also ignores value creation. [...] The relevant question is not “Is the ratio of worker to executive pay too large?” but rather “Does the CEO create more value than their talent costs?” Does not propose how to prove value creation of the CEO other than “stock go up” Earle had this to say about leadership in 2019:   “teams (also companies, organizations, groups, and so on) which experience outstanding success inevitably cite leadership as a factor — often the decisive one, and frequently emanating from a particular individual.” “But it should come as no surprise that many successful sports teams, firms, and organizations readily identify leadership as the decisive factor in their triumphs. It’s a better story than merely having incredible resources and facilities, superior performance, or as is often the case: simple, garden-variety luck.” Headliniest of the Week DR: Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary plans to step down by 2035 & Chipotle chases the protein craze with new menu items — including meat in a cup MM: LinkedIn CEO says it’s ‘outdated’ to have a five-year career plan: It’s a ‘little bit foolish’ considering the pace AI is changing the workplace Who Won the Week? DR: Powerful women at BP MM: 4 year career plans Predictions DR: David Ellison cancels his Netflix subscription then hires Erika Kirk to run programming at Nickelodeon and MTV MM: Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary steps down in 2035 and become executive chair, pledging to step down as executive chair in 2057.

    1h 9m

  3. 12/16/2025

    McDonald’s CEO Kempczinski hates you, Tim Cook gets paid, Ryanair’s O’Leary retires (eventually)

    DAMION1 In our 'Oracles are fine but emperors and popes are icky' headline of the week. Charlie Munger Warned That BlackRock Holds Too Much Power And Didn't Want Larry Fink Becoming An 'Emperor' “We have a new bunch of emperors, and they're the people who vote the shares in the index funds. Maybe we can make Larry Fink and the people at Vanguard Pope.” In our 'What we do is totally ok but what they do is totally icky' headline of the week. Schwab CEO Rick Wurster Draws a ‘Bright Line’ Between Investing and Gambling  In our 'Bob Iger Says "Water skiing is the new productivity"' headline of the week. Europe’s Alps on track to lose 97 percent of glaciers by century’s end "Creativity is the new productivity": Iger used this phrase during interviews to reframe how AI is reshaping work and entertainment, suggesting that while AI handles efficiency, human creativity becomes the primary value driver. In our 'You're going to love Will. He's really good at kickball.' headline of the week. Union Pacific Appoints Will to Board of Directors Union Pacific appoints CF Industries CEO Tony Will to board of directors In our 'First they were better at ice cream and now they are better at board independence? Show-offs' headline of the week. Ben & Jerry’s Plans to Set Board-Term Limit, Removing Three Directors MATT1 In our 'Milestones include dinner with tech bros, phone calls with tech bros, giving gold plated fake awards to tech bros, hiring other tech bros' lawyers, and bricking your old phone' headline of the week. Tim Cook’s $74.6M 2024 Pay Ranks 7th Among US CEOs Amid Apple Milestone In our 'To put that into context, Tim Cook is JUST shy of 30 PBS's' headline of the week. Arkansas becomes first state to cut ties with PBS, saying $2.5 million membership dues ‘not feasible’ In our 'Also, climate change will make your backyard irrelevant.' headline of the week. Sorry, six-figure earners: Elon Musk says that money will ‘disappear’ in the future as AI makes work (and salaries) irrelevant In our 'Also fading: cakes on birthdays, barbecues on July 4th, giving thanks on Thanksgiving, and water in water coolers.' headline of the week. The taboo against holiday layoffs is fading. In our 'When 2034 is just too soon.' headline of the week. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary plans to step down by 2035 DAMION2 In our 'Ryanair board is officially told it doesn't matter' headline of the week. Michael O’Leary to Step Down from Ryanair Leadership by 2035 In our 'Hey Ma, Fortune ripped off those dumb dudes at Free Float! Tell Dad!' headline of the week. Apple CEO Tim Cook out-earns the average American’s salary in just 7 hours—to put that into context, he could buy a new $439,000 home in just 2 days In our 'McDonald's median employee delivers blunt reaction to career advice from McDonald's CEO that may 'hurt his feelings' in new Instagram video: "Fuck you and your 1,014:1 pay ratio."' headline of the week. McDonald's CEO delivers blunt career advice that may 'hurt your feelings' in new Instagram video McDonald's median employee for 2024 had total compensation of $17,492. In 2021, Kempczinski addressed the shootings of 7-year-old Jaslyn Adams and 13-year-old Adam Toledo to Lightfoot, who had visited McDonald’s headquarters earlier that day. Kempczinski wrote: “p.s. tragic shootings in last week, both at our restaurant yesterday and with Adam Toldeo [sic]. With both, the parents failed those kids which I know is something you can’t say. Even harder to fix.” In our 'Actor becomes more powerful voice than entire ESG industry' headline of the week. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt wonders why AI companies don’t have to ‘follow any laws’ In our 'Freddy Fiffle and Billy Boffle named as interim CEOs while Donny Duffle has been named independent lead director' headline of the week. Barry Biffle Steps Down as Frontier Airlines CEO MATT2 In our 'Remember, no one cares as much about you as you.  In fact, I don't care at all about you or your career.  I'll take it a step further: I hate you, you're basically the worst.  This might hurt your feelings, but your mother hates you, too.  You might as well be Hitler.  But this is just tough love if you want your career to flourish as a cashier at McDonald's.  Also, you're fired.' headline of the week. McDonald's CEO delivers blunt career advice that may 'hurt your feelings' in new Instagram video "The advice I would give is: remember, nobody cares about your career as much as you do," Kempczinski said. "So this idea that there's somebody out there who's looking out for you, who's going to make sure that you get that opportunity, who puts you in the right thing — great if it happens — but at the end of the day, nobody cares more about your career than you do." In our 'Man who said “You should fire the assholes,” “I have a lot of friends who are Democrats, and they're idiots,” and "I'm not mad at you.  You can be mad at me.  It's a free country, you can walk with your feet." says emotional intelligence and communication are keys in AI future' headline of the week. Jamie Dimon says soft skills like emotional intelligence and communication are vital as AI eliminates roles In our 'Is AI an immigrant?  Does that count?' headline of the week. Rich, western countries face a stark choice: 6-day workweeks or more immigration, top economist warns In our 'Most people aren’t fretting about an AI bubble. What they fear is mass layoffs' headline of the week. ‘A very hostile climate for workers’: US labor movement struggles under Trump In our 'Trump issues executive order 323: the Banning of Woke Sea Grasses' headline of the week. A secret weapon for fighting climate change comes surging back Capturing carbon 35 times faster than the Amazon, seagrasses have faced centuries of decline. Now restoration projects across North America are seeing their meadows quadruple in size.

    33 min

  4. 12/12/2025

    No more proxy advice, Lululemon’s succession, CEOs just sayin, and Apple’s new lawyer

    Story of the Week (DR): 3 from Trump: Trump Orders SEC to Review Proxy Adviser Rules in ESG Rebuke AND Trump signs executive order for single national AI regulation standard, limiting power of states AND Trump says Netflix, WBD deal could be 'problem' as son-in-law Kushner backs Paramount bid Trump directed several federal agencies to tighten regulations on proxy advisers: The S.E.C. was ordered to review rules and guidelines regarding the industry, including revising or rescinding any related to diversity, equity and inclusion (known as D.E.I.) and environment, social and corporate governance (or E.S.G.). The F.T.C. and the attorney general were directed to examine state antitrust investigations into the companies to see if there was a “probable link” between those inquiries and potential violations of federal antitrust law. And the Labor secretary was told to review regulations about the fiduciary duties of proxy advisers and others who advise managers of certain employee retirement accounts. These firms “wield enormous influence over corporate governance matters,” the executive order reads, adding that they “regularly” use their power to “advance and prioritize radical politically motivated agendas” instead of focusing on shareholder returns. CEO Moves: Lululemon Athletica’s C.E.O., Calvin McDonald, will step down as the athleisure clothing maker struggles to turn itself around. MM His tenure had been criticized by the company’s founder, Chip Wilson. The athleisure  retailer said that Calvin McDonald will step down as CEO and board member, effective January 31. Lululemon CFO Meghan Frank and chief commercial officer André Maestrini will serve as interim co-CEOs while the company searches for a new leader. McDonald has served as CEO of Lululemon since 2018, during which time he built the company into a brand powerhouse. But the company has been underperforming for more than a year, with the weakness most apparent in its core North American marke Time to let a woman run Interim co-CEO: CFO Meghan Frank Board chair Marti Morfitt (CEO of River Rock partners, Airborne, and CNS) Director Alison Loehnis (former president and ad interim CEO of Yoox Net-a-porter group) Levi Strauss CEO Michelle Gass Horrible board skills: Economics and Accounting 34% Mechanical 19% Computers and Electronics 12% Sales and Marketing 5% Administrative 5% Coca-Cola names insider Henrique Braun as CEO, replacing James Quincey  Quincey will transition to the role of executive chairman Disney wants you to AI-generate yourself into your favorite Marvel movie The media company is investing $1bn in OpenAI – and allowing its characters to be used in generated videos Tech Billionaires Are Starting Private Cities to Escape the United States Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan shared his vision for the “ultimate exit” by tech industry elites from the “failing” United States. “I think it’s fair to say, in 2025, we have a movement” That movement is the rise of “startup societies,” a pro-corporate, anti-government coalition of tech magnates, libertarian idealists, and neoliberal economic theorists. As the Financial Times notes in new reporting on the phenomenon, the movement is indeed growing. What once was the stuff of dystopian fiction like the Bioshock franchise is now the task of some 120 startup societies throughout the world, each scrambling to erect specially-built cities to court billionaires who feel maligned by organized society. Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR): DR: Eileen Higgins will be Miami's first-ever woman mayor Democrat Eileen Higgins is a sharp contrast to her predecessor, Republican Francis Suarez, who leaned into masculinity politics during his term BS in mechanical engineering from the University of New Mexico; MBA from Cornell University; country director of the Peace Corps in Belize; foreign service officer for the U.S. Department of State; Miami–Dade County Commissioner Republican Francis Suarez: son of former Miami mayor Xavier Suarez; attorney with the law firm Greenspoon Marder, specializing in corporate and real estate transactions DR: U.S. Court Strikes Down “Unlawful” Trump Ban on Wind Energy Projects A U.S. federal court struck down an executive order by President Trump aimed at freezing new wind energy developments across the country, agreeing with a coalition of 18 State Attorneys General that the administration’s order was “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.” MM: Nintendo’s 98% staff retention rate means the average employee has been there 15 years Assholiest of the Week (MM): Just sayin… RJ Scaringe, who recently got a mini Musk pay package and can afford a secretary: Rivian's CEO said self-driving cars shouldn't just be able to drive, but also run errands for you like a secretary: 5 Joe Lonsdale, Stanford grad: Palantir cofounder calls elite college undergrads a ‘loser generation’ as data reveals rise in students seeking support for disabilities, like ADHD: 7  Palantir Chief Legal Officer went to Stanford undergrad, Harvard for law school - and I bet he’s a good lawyer: Palantir Sues CEO of Rival AI Firm, Alleges Widespread Effort to Poach Employees  Cracker Barrel customers, average age of 340 year old: Cracker Barrel diners are sounding the alarm; here’s what reportedly has them furious: 3 One of those customers, 73-year-old Craig Watkins of Northern California, told the Journal he has watched the chain’s quality fade and wants old staples and original maple syrup restored. "I want pure syrup on pancakes, not that watered-down junk," he said, adding that he brings his own syrup when he visits. Craig, pure maple syrup is WOKE Mark Cuban, billionaire: Billionaire Mark Cuban Says If You Want To Get Rich, Give Things Up—Drink Water Instead Of Coffee, Eat Mac & Cheese Not McDonald's, 'Save Every Penny': 5 Jim Cramer, CEO sycophant: Billionaires Won't Save You,' Says Jim Cramer. 'They're Out For Themselves' And 'Never Apologize For Their Negativity': 5 Jim Cramer on Meta CEO: “Zuckerberg Makes Elon Musk Look Like a Real Softy” Sam Altman, who forgets for 10,000 years babies were raised without AI: Sam Altman makes his late-night debut, says he can't imagine 'figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT': 9 Elon Musk, manbaby: Elon Musk says the E.U. should be 'abolished' Alex Karp, who is trying desperately to stay in headlines: Palantir CEO Says Legalizing War Crimes Would Be Good for Business: 10 Bob Iger word-salading his investment in OpenAI: ‘Creativity is the new productivity’: Bob Iger on why Disney chose to be ‘aggressive,’ adding OpenAI as a $1 billion partner: 7 Honorable mention: Red Pill Apple - People moves: Former Meta CLO joins Apple as new general counsel Jennifer Newstead was at Meta from 2019, prior was an appointee of Trump 1.0 at Department of State and way back is partially credited with drafting the Patriot Act in Bush Jr (the act that allows the US to spy on everyone).   Normally a move like this no one cares about, but shouldn’t we?  This is a new exec with a red pill, eye-in-the-sky history joining a company who literally sells privacy - they did a whole commercial about it that aired for a year She joins as Tim Cook keeps showing up at every bro-fest dinner with Trump, Musk, Huang, and all the other techlords of the universe Headliniest of the Week DR: Woman Hailed as Hero for Smashing Man’s Meta Smart Glasses on Subway DR: Sam Altman makes his late-night debut, says he can't imagine 'figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT' Has he never heard of a library? MM: Project to Resurrect Dead Grandmas Sparks Controversy MM: When David Ellison was 13, his billionaire father Larry bought him a plane. He competed in air shows before leaving it to become a Hollywood executive Who Won the Week? DR: Miami shareholders MM: Miami, who got their first female mayor and the first democrat in 30 years, is overqualified, and was running against a nepo baby Predictions DR: Lululemon still picks a man, because DEI is illegal MM: After reading this headline: Cracker Barrel stock drops after-hours as chain reports losses from 'unique and ongoing headwinds' - Robby Starbuck renames himself Unique and Ongoing Headwind Starbuck.

    57 min

  5. 12/09/2025

    WHO DO YOU BLAME with Doug Chia: Paramount’s hostile daddy, protein Doritos, Kimmel’s contract

    SEC Announces It Will Not Respond to Most No-Action Requests for Rule 14a-8 Shareholder Proposals. Government shutdown - the staff claimed they COULDN’T respond because after the shutdown, they had too much other work to do: “current resource and timing considerations following the lengthy government shutdown and the large volume of registration statements and other filings requiring prompt staff attention.”  It just happens to coincide with Atkins saying there shouldn’t be shareholder proposals, that’s just a coincidence. John Cheveddan and Jim McRitchie - let’s be honest, if it weren’t for Cheveddan and McRitchie over 3 decades, we’d have less shareholder rights, and companies would not be such big whiners about “woke” shareholder proposals.  Guys, you ruined it for all of us with your attention to democracy. Woke ESG shareholders like As You Sow, Arjuna, Trillium, and nuns - if we’re honest, the nuns and SRI crowd might have been the straw, right?  I mean they’re putting in proposals that MAKE Exxon sue them!  How dare they ask for carbon scope 3 emissions data! Antiwoke shareholders like NCPPR and Jesus - excluding Cheveddan/McRitchie, the highest volume of shareholder proposals have actually been the ANTI-woke filers, asking for things like a report on how companies will stop funding trans conversions (or one actual one where they asked about the reputational risk of NOT supporting un-trans-ing).  Some of the proposals are so comically stupid, but the companies have to respond using third party lawyers and do the whole thing - maybe National Legal whatever center for whatever is the REAL straw? ISS and Glass Lewis - this was like 90% of what they did, since they certainly didn’t suggest voting against any directors unless an activist was involved.  So when Ramaswamy and Musk and DeSantis and Texas declared proxy advisors woke activists, it was hard to deny since they didn’t do any work to vote out directors - just offer customers whatever voting pablum they wanted BlackRock and investors who never voted anyway Other - Atkins and Manhattan institute - lobbyists, administration Pepsi to cut product offering nearly 20% in deal with $4 billion activist Elliott PepsiCo said it also plans to accelerate the introduction of new offerings with simpler and more functional ingredients, including Doritos Protein and Simply NKD Cheetos and Doritos, which contain no artificial flavors or colors. The company also recently introduced a prebiotic version of its signature cola.. WHO DO YOU BLAME? Pepsi CEO Ramon Laguarta - CEO since 2018, 21% influence, 43% connected to the board (so they’re basically all known entities), has overseen basically zero shareholder value increase in the last 5 years, overall .513 TSR batting average - what has he been doing?  Did he put a sign on the door begging an activist to come hang? Activist Elliott Management - Paul Singer is notorious as a real foodie… wait, no, sorry, he’s known as a “vulture capitalist” who helped oust Jack Dorsey from Twitter because he didn’t want him to hang in Africa, but was happy to have Elon Musk (who has five jobs) take it over.  In 2021, he did take a 3% stake in Ahold Delhaize, a grocery store owner, so he’s probably had a protein shake sprinkled on Doritos before? Pepsi’s board - first of all, it’s 14 people, which is like 7 people too many.  Second - 4 finance types?  Two pharma/med types?  There are more people who know medicine than food - only ONE agribusiness repped on the board (Bunge) with the only other food production from Pepsi or ex-Pepsi execs?  There are three directors on the nom committee with 10+ years on the board, and the other two have.. 9 years.  Vasella has been there 23 years - time for some turnover. Roberto P. Martínez (International Chief Commercial Officer and CEO of New Revenue Streams) and Tara Glasgow (Executive Vice President and Chief Science Officer) - someone needs to be held responsible for Doritos Protein and Simply NKD Cheetos Jimmy Kimmel signs ABC extension through 2027 Most of Kimmel’s recent renewals have been multiyear extensions. There was no immediate word on whose choice it was to extend his current contract by one year. WHO DO YOU BLAME? Bob Iger - he yanked Kimmel to kiss Brendan Carr’s ass and the affiliates, then put him back on when subscribers cancelled, then convinced affiliates to re-air, all because Kimmel said conservatives really didn’t want Kirk’s killer to be conservative?  Now Kimmel is EXTENDED?  It has to be the dumbest series of events since “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Chapek’s era, right? Disney’s board - these are well known directors in the bag for Iger, and Iger would not even be CEO again if not for them.  Susan Arnold, who at the time had more influence on the board than Iger, was chair of the nominating committee, had Mel Lagomasino and Derica Rice on with her, all went with Iger’s hand picked choice of Bob Chapek.  Arnold left the board, but both Rice and Lagomasino stayed behind to help choose… Bob Iger to return?  Then brought on James Gorman, who hand picked HIS successor, to lead succession with Bob Iger again?  Is anyone doing a job on this board?   ISS - when Nelson Peltz took his Ike Perlmutter borrowed stake in Disney in 2024, ISS sided with Peltz and suggested voting out Mel Lagamasino because she was the longest tenured director and “responsible” for Disney’s failed succession.  In 2025, after Peltz lost and no one cared, ISS backed Lagamasino.  With analysis like that, it’s no wonder Disney can bow to the Trump Administration since there’s no way ISS will actually suggest changing the board unless an old racist takes a stake. Brendan Carr - is this just a finger in the eye of Carr, the FCC, and the angry conservative affiliates by Iger?  Is this Disney’s way of being woke now? Other - Baby Doll Dixon, Jimmy Kimmel’s agent - should have gotten him a 10 year deal with a player option out.  Optically way better, gets bought out if they fire him. Trump says Netflix, WBD deal could be 'problem' as son-in-law Kushner backs Paramount bid “I’ll be involved in that decision too,” Trump said days after Netflix agreed to buy WBD’s film studios Paramount revealed in a regulatory filing that its hostile bid for WBD bid is being backed by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is a former White House advisor - and every Middle Eastern sovereign fund, as well as over $40bn by Larry Ellison (and David Ellison committed to spend more in a text to co-CEO Ted Sarandos WHO DO YOU BLAME? Larry Ellison - without daddy’s $40bn (and more - what’s $40bn when you have $269bn in net worth and own an island in Hawaii), there is no deal - literally no deal, this is pure nepo - THE OLIGARCHY Middle Eastern sovereign funds - I mean, they’re involved in EVERY major deal of a conservative figure (Musk/Twitter, Musk/Grok, Ellison/Paramount, Ellison/TikTok, Trump/Air Force One) and are backing another consolidation.  Is this the greatest capitalist manipulation ever?  Dictator capitalism? Robby Starbuck - he claimed “victory” in the Skydance acquisition terms for killing DEI at Paramount, used the opportunity to lick the boot of Brendan Carr, who is almost guaranteed to investigate Netflix given their wokeness.  Somehow it’s all Robby Starbuck’s fault, right? WBD chair Sam Di Piazza - a near lifer at PwC as an accountant until he want to Citi as an i-banker for a stint, served on AT&T’s board… an ACCOUNTANT is running the show!  No one has heard of him, he’s not in any of the news, but ostensibly he (and the board) approved the Netflix deal after dealing with Baby Ellison.  The board is the only group that gets all the bids, compares them, and ultimately decides what to agree on and send to shareholders.  If they chose Baby Ellison to avoid him throwing a temper tantrum to daddy, there’s no hostile takeover and conservatives can rejoice in owning all of media, right?   Snap appoints Arlo CEO Matthew McRae to board of directors Prior to his current role as CEO of Arlo Technologies, which he has held since August 2018, McRae served as Senior Vice President of Strategy at NETGEAR and as Chief Technology Officer at VIZIO for over seven years WHO DO YOU BLAME? Evan Spiegel - he owns 53.1% of voting power - there is no one else to blame Robert Murphy - he owns 46.4% of voting power - what if he doesn’t like Matt McRae?  Do they resort to a thumb war?  Who are we kidding, it’s still Evan Spiegel’s fault Investors, who, for whatever reason, have OK’ed the idea of dual class shares such that Spiegel and Murphy own 99.5% of the voting power and less than 8% of the economic interest - while Fidelity owns 14.6% of the shares that control 0% of the overall vote.  It was banned from index inclusion because the shares had NO voting rights - but somehow Meta is ALLOWED on every index because you have voting rights even if you can NEVER EVER WIN as Zuck owns control.  What’s the fucking difference?? Worst CEOs of the Year Evan Spiegel of Snap

    57 min

  6. 12/05/2025

    Costco does right, AT&T does DEI dirty, robot dog poop, billionaire safety nets

    Story of the Week (DR): Netflix to Buy Warner Bros. in $83 Billion Deal to Create a Streaming Giant The deal to acquire the Hollywood giant’s television and film studios as well as HBO Max will bulk up the world’s biggest paid streaming service. The acquisition is expected to close after Warner Bros. Discovery carves out its cable unit, which the companies expected be completed by the third quarter of 2026. That means there will be a separate public company controlling channels like CNN, TNT and Discovery. Trump administration views Netflix and Warner Bros. deal with ‘heavy skepticism,’ senior official says The New York Post on Thursday reported that, “Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison met with Trump officials and key lawmakers in Washington DC on Wednesday to press his case against Warner Bros. Discovery’s potential selection of Netflix as its merger partner.” Costco is poking the Trump bear MM Big public companies have mostly treated President Donald Trump with kid gloves during his second term. They’ve quietly avoided conflict while seeking favor with ornate gifts, large donations to his pet projects and strategic deployments of CEOs to the Oval Office. That’s what made Costco’s decision last week to sue the Trump administration so shocking. Costco filed a lawsuit that contends Trump overstepped his emergency powers by imposing sweeping tariffs – and claimed the company is due a refund. Biden commerce secretary to join Costco board as company sues over Trump's tariffs Costco board now 50/50 Gina Raimondo led the agency responsible for crafting U.S. trade policy during all four years of Democrat Joe Biden's presidency. Rhodes Scholar Raimondo led Biden’s Commerce Department; former  governor of Rhode Island (2015-2021) AT&T Commits to Drop DEI Programs and Goals In the letter, AT&T makes a series of commitments, including stating that: “AT&T does not and will not have any roles focused on DEI” “we removed training related to “diversity, equity and inclusion” as well as any references to it from our internal and external messaging” “It is AT&T’s longstanding practice to pay and advance individuals based on merit and qualification” From Brendan Carr’s tweet: NEW on DEI: AT&T has now memorialized its commitment to ending DEI-related policies in an FCC filing and “will not have any roles focused on DEI.” This follows the big changes  @robbystarbuck  already announced earlier this year. AT&T promised the government it won’t pursue DEI. FCC commissioner warns it will be a ‘stain to their reputation long into the future’ Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat on the FCC: “AT&T’s reversal isn’t a sudden transformation of values, but a strategic financial play to curry favor with this FCC/Administration. Companies should remember that abandoning fairness and inclusion for short-term gain will be a stain to their reputation long into the future.” AT&T eliminates DEI programs, says hiring and advancement will now be merit-based Zillow Doesn’t Care If Climate Change Destroys Your New Home The real estate platform recently removed climate risk scores from its listings—a potentially ruinous development for some buyers. Classified board; co-founders/co-Executive Chairs Lloyd D. Frink 36% and Richard N. Barton (Netflix; Qurate Retail) 40% 10 votes per share of Class B common stock 55% voting power; less than 12% economic interest Combined $83M in pay over last 3 years; primarily options Gender Influence Gap (-23%): April Underwood 2%; Amy C. Bohutinsky 2% (former Zillow COO and CMO); Claire Cormier Thielke 1% LT directors Compensation committee chair Jay Hoag (2005-)! Netflix, TripAdvisor, Peloton 65% Audit committee chair Greg Maffei (2005-) Qurate Retail, Charter Communications; Live Nation Entertainment; TripAdvisor; Liberty Broadband; SiriusXM Also: Erik Blachford (2005-); Gordon Stephenson (2005-) Also: CEO Jeremy Wacksman and earnings underperformer: J. William Gurley (Stitch Fix .094 earnings; Nextdoor .010 earnings) Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR): DR: Melinda French Gates slams billionaires who aren't giving away enough of their wealth There are more billionaires than ever — and they have almost $16 trillion MM: Billionaire heads on robot dogs pooping photos go viral at major Miami art fair MM Assholiest of the Week (MM): The “arrogant pricking” of CEOs Palantir CEO Alex Karp defends being an ‘arrogant prick’—and says more CEOs should be, too In Karp’s worldview, “arrogance” is a necessary survival mechanism for a leader who intends to be right even when it is unpopular. “The only people who pay the price for being wrong in this culture, in complete fashion, are poor people,” Karp said. “The rest of us somehow outsource all the times we’re wrong and stupid to the whole society.” Meanwhile, we’re now hearing from Sundar Pichai (who’s trying Cassandra on for size), never ending diatribes from Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and everyone else with a 6000x CEO pay ratio…  “Merit based” ass kissing AT&T eliminates DEI programs, says hiring and advancement will now be merit-based FCC boss Brendan Carr claims another victory over DEI as AT&T drops programs So how "merit-based" is the board? Top knowledge: economics (useful for phones... somehow...). Team TSR performance: 0.482 (where 0.500 is the average return for a board). Controversies performance is an excellently horrible 0.204, with CEO John Stankey as one of the worst performers... ON EARTH at 0.028 (meaning, he's in the worst 3% of all people on boards for controversies facing their companies). For most of the board, it matters more to be connected than good. Replacing government safety nets with billionaire whims DR Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combatting homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’ Sánchez Bezos recounted meeting families benefiting from local organizations to which the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund offered grants… she met one woman who had been kicked out of her home with her infant daughter, but the organization took her in for the night, gave them a bed with sheets and a locked door.  “It brought tears to my eyes seeing this little baby and seeing her flourish,” Sánchez Bezos said. “Selfishly, it fills my heart meeting these families. It really, really does.” Michael and Susan Dell to donate $6.25 billion to fund 'Trump accounts' for 25 million U.S. kids Headliniest of the Week DR: Zuckerberg Basically Giving Up on Metaverse After Renaming Entire Company “Meta” DR: Nvidia CFO admits the $100 billion OpenAI megadeal ‘still’ isn’t signed—two months after it helped fuel an AI rally Nvidia CFO Colette Kress told investors that the much-hyped OpenAI partnership is still at the letter-of-intent stage: “We still haven’t completed a definitive agreement,” Kress said when asked how much of the 10-gigawatt commitment is actually locked in. That’s a striking clarification for a deal that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang once called “the biggest AI infrastructure project in history. MM: Children Sob as Waymo Runs Over Dog Who Won the Week? DR: Costco MM: Robot dogs Predictions DR: Based on this headline (Jamie Dimon Once Called Bitcoin a ‘Fraud.’ Now, JPMorgan Is Quietly Making Blockchain History and Betting This ‘Crypto Winter’ Will Be Short-Lived), Jamie decides to invest in Volcano-Powered NFT Mining Farms MM: Costco will start selling a new kind of robot dog (they already sell one) that has Gina Raimando and Jeffrey Raikes face and poops out pictures of Howard Lutnick

    59 min

  7. 12/02/2025

    Dell’s $6bn “gift”, OpenAI’s code red, Costco as moral center, and proxy advisors say no to a director

    The Giving Tree Michael and Susan Dell to donate $6.25 billion to fund 'Trump accounts' for 25 million U.S. kids Lyft CEO: This Giving Tuesday, I’m matching every rider’s donation David Risher: $78M in 2023 Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combatting homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’ The wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez in Venice is estimated to have cost between $46.5 million and $55.6 million MacKenzie Scott’s $19 billion donations have turned philanthropy on its head—why her style of giving actually works Fighting back! (Stakeholders Rule!) New York City Council passes landmark AI oversight package The New York City Council unanimously passed a collection of bills that are designed to provide a heightened level of oversight for the city's use of artificial intelligence tools. Bernie Sanders and Mamdani joined the Starbucks picket line in Brooklyn More than 1,000 Amazon employees sign open letter warning the company’s AI ‘will do staggering damage to democracy, our jobs, and the earth’ Costco sues Trump administration over tariffs, seeks full refund Costco filed a lawsuit at the U.S. Court of International Trade on Friday, saying the administration’s tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are unlawful. The 1977 law has historically been used to impose sanctions against other nations. Exxon bid to dismiss Connecticut climate lawsuit fails A judge moved the case closer to trial after rejecting the company’s request to toss it out. OpenAI Completed Its Conversion. A New Ballot Initiative Seeks to Reverse It A coalition that tried and failed to block OpenAI’s conversion earlier this year is back with a new tactic: a California ballot initiative aimed at reining in the startup’s power. The planned initiative, dubbed the California Charitable Assets Protection Act, was filed Monday with California’s attorney general. It doesn’t mention OpenAI by name, but calls for the creation of an oversight board empowered to review and potentially reverse conversions to nonprofit organizations engaged in scientific and technological research that have happened in the state since January of 2024. Starbucks to settle with over 15,000 New York City workers for roughly $35 million Starbucks will pay about $35 million to more than 15,000 New York City workers to settle claims it denied them stable schedules and arbitrarily cut their hours. The company will also pay $3.4 million in civil penalties under the agreement with the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. It also agrees to comply with the city’s Fair Workweek law going forward. Fighting back! (Shareholders Rule!) Michael Burry calls Tesla ‘ridiculously overvalued’ and knocks tech industry for a widely used practice The post is critical of Tesla and the technology industry as a whole for its use of stock-based compensation and then ignoring it as a legitimate expense. Burry said Tesla share dilution should continue following shareholder approval of CEO Elon Musk’s historic pay package. Second proxy adviser calls for vote against Westpac director over ASX stint A second influential proxy adviser has recommended institutional investors vote against re-electing Westpac non-executive director Peter Nash, citing his six-year stint on the board of the troubled Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). CGI Glass Lewis said in a new report on Tuesday that investors should vote against Nash who joined the Westpac board in March 2018 and chairs the board's audit committee. Norway wealth fund to back call for Microsoft human rights report at AGM Microsoft AGM takes place on December 5 Norway wealth fund is Microsoft's eighth-largest shareholder The fund also said it would vote against the re-appointment of CEO Satya Nadella as chair of the board, as well as against his pay package. Potpourri OpenAI declares ‘code red’ as Google catches up in AI race In the memo, reported by the Wall Street Journal and The Information, Altman said the company will be delaying initiatives like ads, shopping and health agents, and a personal assistant, Pulse, to focus on improving ChatGPT. This includes core features like greater speed and reliability, better personalization, and the ability to answer more questions, he said. Corporations say they prioritize people. So why do so few chief people officers become CEOs? Only 16 of the CEOs at the 1,000 biggest companies have HR experience. Stephanie Mehta is CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures, publisher of Inc. and Fast Company MATT Uplifting stories: Costco sues Trump admin seeking tariff refunds before Supreme Court rules if they’re illegal Why it’s uplifting: Costco is the retail bulwark against stupidity - and they’re getting paid for it with persistent quarterly growth Costco board member defends DEI practices, rebukes companies scrapping policies Costco Under Fire in 19 States for Taking Stand Against Trump Second proxy adviser calls for vote against Westpac director over ASX stint Why it’s uplifting: This IS NOT AN ACTIVIST DRIVEN VOTE, and it isn’t about attendance!  This is purely driven by conflict of interest - an ASX listed company using an ASX board member, a board member who up until 6 years ago lead KPMG in Australia - and KPMG is now Westpac’s auditor The move is underway - ISS/GL were never going to vote against directors in the US first, but Australia is much easier to target Google’s data centers could actually be going to the moon Why it’s uplifting: While we couldn’t solve the climate crisis for the sake of HUMANITY, we WILL solve it for the sake of AI: one hundred trillion times more energy than we produce in all of Earth today The space pitch arrives when Earth is starting to look like a bad long-term landlord for the AI build-out. A 2024 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report found that U.S. data centers already chew through about 4.4% of the country’s electricity, and that share could climb to as much as 12% by 2028 as GPU farms multiply. McKinsey puts a price tag on the race to scale data centers: roughly $6.7 trillion in global data center capex by 2030, about $5 trillion of that aimed at AI-ready infrastructure extraterrestrial data centers could cut emissions by a factor of 10 compared with their earthbound cousins Also, GTFO!

    55 min

  8. 11/25/2025

    WHO DO YOU BLAME: Campbell’s poor people rant, OpenAI sex bears, Kohl’s succession, Walmart HR

    Live from The Hyderabad Public School, a private high school in India which features notable alums 1) Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, 2) Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen 3) former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, 4) Fairfax Financial CEO Prem Watsa, and 5) Procter & Gamble CEO-designate Shailesh Jejurikar, it’s an all-new Terrific Tuesday edition of Business Pants, featuring Analyst-Hole Matt Moscardi! On today's Lead Independent Turkey called November 25th, 2025: the Who Do You Blame? Game! Our show today is being sponsored by Free Float Analytics, the only platform measuring board power, connections, and performance for FREE. DAMION Campbell's Places VP on Leave Following Viral 'Poor People' Rant Martin Bally, Campbell Soup Company’s vice president and chief information security officer: “"We have s--- for f---ing poor people. Who buys our s---? I don’t buy Campbell’s products barely anymore. Bioengineered meat — I don’t wanna eat a piece of chicken that came from a 3-D printer." He also allegedly made derogatory comments about Indian coworkers and – according to the recording – claimed he sometimes came to work under the influence of marijuana: "F---ing Indians don’t know a f---ing thing," the voice on the recording says. "They couldn’t think for their f---ing selves." The statement follows claims made by former Campbell’s security analyst Robert Garza, who filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court alleging that Bally launched into an hour-long tirade during what was meant to be a discussion about Garza’s salary. Campbell’s: “We are proud of the food we make, the people who make it and the high-quality ingredients we use ... The comments on the recording are not only inaccurate—they are patently absurd. Campbell’s also noted that Bally is not involved in food development. “Keep in mind, the alleged comments are made by an IT person, who has nothing to do with how we make our food,” the statement concluded. WHO DO YOU BLAME? The founding families: Voting power: (35%) Mary Alice D. Malone - 18% Bennett Dorrance- 15% Archbold D. van Beuren - 2% Board influence (76%): Mary Alice Dorrance Malone (61%; board member since 1990); Archbold Dorrance van Beuren (9%; wealth management); Bennett Dorrance (6%: bachelor’s degree in art history from Princeton University and a master’s degree in sustainable leadership from Arizona State University); Mary Alice Dorrance Malone Jr (accomplished equestrian, and a luxury fashion entrepreneur) MM Investors: 11/18/2025 AGM Average director support 98% (9 over 99%):  43% yes simple majority vote; regenerative agriculture program including pesticide reduction outcomes 11% yes; say on pay 99% yes An unserious food board of 9 non-family board members: No food: Fabiola R. Arredondo (family investment trust); Howard M. Averill(former Time Warner CFO); Maria Teresa (Tessa) Hilado (former CFO Allergan); Grant Hill (NBA); Sarah Hofstetter (e-commerce sales); Marc B. Lautenbach (global shipping); Chair Keith R. McLoughlin (appliances); Kurt T. Schmidt (weed and pet food);  CEO Mick J. Beekhuizen: 13 years with Goldman Sachs in roles including Managing Director in the merchant banking division American pop-artist Andy Warhol for somehow making Campbell’s Food company eternally relevant  Q3 2025 Gender Diversity Index Little Movement on Boardroom Gender Diversity: 30% of Russell 3000 board members are women, a figure that has stayed within a narrow 30% to 30.3% range over the past five quarters. Percentage of Boards with 50% Women: Across the Russell 3000, 6% (175) of boards are composed of at least 50% women, while the remaining 94% (2,736) have less than 50% female representation. New Female Director Appointments Hit Record Low: 22.3% of new directors on Russell 3000 boards are women. This represents the lowest percentage recorded in the study (since Q12017) WHO DO YOU BLAME? The anti-DEI MAGA movement Nominating Committees, specifically their Chairs MM Passive Investors (BlackRock, Vanguard, etc) The proxy experts: ISS, Glass Lewis, etc. Previous female board members who retired or died: if they were immortal maybe the numbers would be better? OpenAI announces shopping research tool in latest e-commerce push OpenAI announced a new tool called “shopping research” that will generate detailed, in-depth shopping guides. The guides include top products, key differences between the products and up-to-date information from reliable retailers, OpenAI said. “With these new abilities, we can have shared prosperity to a degree that seems unimaginable today; in the future, everyone's lives can be better than anyone's life is now.” WHO DO YOU BLAME? The sycophants: open letter sent to the board of directors “We are unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgement and care for our mission and employees,” the letter continues before demanding that “all current board members resign,” appoint “two new lead independent directors.” signed by a whopping 700 of the company’s 770 employees — including CTO Mira Murati, who the board briefly named interim CEO only to be replaced just a few days later, and Altman’s fellow cofounder Ilya Sutskever, who initially appeared to be one of the forces behind his ouster New Initial Board (Nov 2023) Bret “Salesforce” Taylor (Chair), Larry “Epstein” Summers, and Adam “voted to fire him in the first place” D’Angelo New Board Members (Mar 2024) Sue Desmond-Hellmann (former CEO, Bill “Epstein” & Melinda Gates Foundation); Nicole “Iran Contra” Seligman (former Sony GC); Fidji Simo (CEO of Instacart) MM The wafflers: Ilya Sutskever and Adam D’Angelo NOT Helen Toner: Director of Strategy at the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology and Tasha McCauley Sam: San Francisco, CA (Russian Hill): A historic mansion purchased for $27 million in 2020. San Francisco, CA (Adjacent Homes): Three adjacent houses purchased for $12.8 million each (totaling $38.4 million) in January 2024. These purchases appear to be consolidating a potential mega-compound next to his original Russian Hill home. Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (Big Island): A large, 22-acre oceanfront estate, quietly purchased in 2021 for $43 million (later listed for $49 million in 2025). It features multiple houses, a private marina/beach, helipad Napa, CA (Ranch): A 950-acre ranch, reportedly purchased for $15.7 million in 2020. Kohl's names Michael Bender as permanent CEO after a turbulent year and sales declines. WHO DO YOU BLAME Ashley Buchanan: On May 1, 2025, Kohl’s board terminated Buchanan “for cause” following an outside investigation overseen by its Audit Committee. The investigation found that Buchanan directed Kohl’s to do business with a vendor founded by someone with whom he had a personal relationship. He also caused Kohl’s to enter into a multimillion-dollar consulting agreement involving that same person. Crucially, he did not disclose this personal relationship, which was a violation of Kohl’s code of ethics. Golden hello: $17m equity and $3.75m cash Former director Christine Day: Shortly after Buchanan was fired, Day resigned, citing “lack of transparency” and governance concerns.  Day said she was frustrated that not all board members were kept informed of risks and that decisions seemed centralized (“Michael ‘handles’ everything … then ‘tells’ everyone what the decision is”).  Kohl’s strongly disputed her characterization, saying her resignation was not “due to any disagreements” over operations or practices. Investors: chair Bender named interim CEO 4/30/25… AGM 5/14/25 95% yes bender; 55% yes pay; 89% yes Prising; 92% average; new chair 91% John E. Schlifske (2011-, longest-tenured) Compensation Committee: “regularly and actively reviewing and evaluating our executive management succession plans and making recommendations to the Board with respect to succession planning issues” Chair Jonas Prising (2015-) Member Michael Bender Michael Bender, who was the Board Chair and sat on COmp Committee and director since 2019, was named interim CEO $1.475M/175% target up to 350%/$9.5M equity ($500k more than ashley) target/$200k aircraft (up from $180k for ashley)/$160k relocation one-time award of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) valued at $3,775,000 The glass cliff: women and POC promoted to precarious leadership positions, such as the CEO or a board seat, during times of crisis, organizational turmoil, or poor performance MM MATT Watchdog group warns AI teddy bear discusses sexually explicit content, dangerous activities. This is the $99 Kumma bear made by FoloToy using OpenAI’s service.  OpenAI said it was suspending Folotoy for violations of usage of ChatGPT.  WHO DO YOU BLAME?: Folotoy, who’s founder and CEO Larry Wang calls himself “Chief Geek Officer” and has a background in child psychology and behavioral science… oh, wait, not, he has background in computer science and was founder of a tech telecomm company and was a software developer for insurance before that.  But he’s obviously qualified to do this: “Kumma, our adorable bear, combines advanced artificial intelligence with friendly, interactive features, making it the perfect friend for both kids and adults. From lively conversations to educational storytelling, FoloToy adapts to your personality and needs, bringing warmth, fun, and a little extra curiosity to your day.” OpenAI - obviously Sam Altman’s commitment to “the benefit of humanity” stopped short of “sex advice from baby toys,” even though he says having kids of his own will help him not destroy humanity.  I assume he’s not getting Sammy Jr a Kumma bear? DR OpenAI’s board - obviously if they had fired Sam Altman, there wouldn’t be sex bears using ChatGPT.  But Helen Toner was forced out by the rest of the board, investors, and public pressure - she’s since said, “But for years, Sam had made i

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About

Whether you love business news or feel like you’re supposed to know it but hate it, Business Pants is business news for humans. Snarky and irreverent, deeply researched and factual, a podcast devoted to market quirks and the humans that make up companies. Investing isn’t a what, it’s a who.

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  • Creator
    Free Float Media Inc.
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2025
  • Episodes
    313
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024, Free Float Media Inc.
  • Show Website
    Business Pants

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