Public demonstrations and a shareholder revolt weren’t enough to keep Bombardier chairman Pierre Beaudoin from re-election, though he has stepped back from his former executive role.
Bombardier’s institutional investors by and large withheld support for Beaudoin and the executive pay raise, but Bombardier’s two-tiered share structure gives the founding family control; both measures passed easily.
By all accounts, Quebecers have had it with Bombardier, and they showed it during the company’s annual meeting last week. After months of bad news, culminating in government bailouts and 14,000 jobs hitting the chopping block, the word that top execs were getting an almost 50-per cent pay raise made many throw up their hands in disgust.
In response, the founding family doubled down on the executive compensation in the name of retailing top talent.
As late as Thursday morning, it was still not clear whether Pierre Beaudoin would be able to hang on as Chairman of Bombardier’s board of directors. Even though the founding family’s Class A shares give them over 50 percent of the voting power, the investor revolt that is currently raging is a clear indication that there is a real appetite for change.
Desautels Professor Karl Moore says that, though the board must pay attention to governance issues, Mr. Beaudoin is a valuable asset.
The fallout from Bombardier’s executive compensation scandal isn’t over yet. After the company’s recent bad-news cocktail of layoffs, ballooning C Series development costs, and a heavy taxpayer payout, the executive pay issue has raised eyebrows. Several high-profile institutional investors have had enough, and noted that they would be withholding their support — including, but not limited to, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Quebec.
Back in January, Karl Moore took a group of Desautels students to meet Warren Buffett at his Omaha offices. Mr. Buffett is known to be an introvert, and his conduct during the visit bore that out; rather than expounding on everything that came up, Mr. Buffett stuck to speaking on subjects he knows well. He also avoided working the crowd, rather staying with a small group of students and having a full-on conversation.
Rima Qureshi (BCom'87, MBA'96) knows all about learning to adapt. In an interview with Desautels Professor Karl Moore, she says that as a highly analytical, self-contained decision-maker, her position as senior VP and North American head of Ericsson has taught her the importance of listening, getting others involved in decision-making early, and finding a common position to build on.
The protectionist wave sweeping across Washington right now spells trouble for Canadian businesses. After strong words from the White House about Canadian softwood and dairy, Boeing has opted to take a jab at Bombardier, filing complaints with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission over government subsidies that it claims have given Bombardier a pricing advantage.
According to a recent piece at Cheatsheet.com, the news is good for students looking forward to entering the job market: the vast majority of employers are looking for college grads this year. That being said, many of today’s grads are missing the key abilities that those companies are looking for. Skills like good oral and written communication, teamwork, and problem-solving will open the door to career success.
Desautels Associate Professor Karl Moore was recently interviewed on The Grilled Podcast to discuss his development as a businessman and academic, collaboration and bringing CEOs in to speak to his classes. He then interviews those CEOs on his podcast, The CEO Series.
Desautels Associate Professor Karl Moore appeared on an April 7th Breakfast Television panel to address the question of whether or not Bombardier is too big to fail. Professor Moore stated that, in some ways, this is definitely true, just because of the role it plays in the Canadian economy and the fact that it is “Canada’s greatest global competitor, in terms of size and in terms of where the exports go.”
Bombardier’s recent executive pay raises have caused heavy public criticism in the face of recent cash injections from the federal and Quebec governments. In an interview on BNN, Desautels Professor Karl Moore states that some of the outrage is misguided, since so many of the execs joined Bombardier partway through the year, which skews the numbers.
Desautels Associate Professor Karl Moore was interviewed on a recent episode of Mountain Lake Journal to talk about pipelines, the Bombardier bailout, The Hot Cities Tour and the changing landscape of relations between Canada and the United States.
As the drama surrounding a Swedish bribery probe of Bombardier’s activities in Azerbaijan continues, it has become clear that the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which owns 30 per cent of Bombardier’s rail division, won’t do business in the former Soviet Union due to high rates of corruption, a lack of transparency and myriad other problems — including the Kremlin’s penchant for getting involved in some sectors. This is in opposition to Bombardier’s willingness to operate in the area.
For young workers just starting their careers, praise from their superiors can be a real boost. But, as Desautels Professor Karl Moore says in a recent piece for Forbes, professional praise dries up when they enter their 40s and 50s, since professional excellence becomes a given. Interviews that Professor Moore has conducted with senior-level professionals show this to be almost universal.
For reading week, Desautels Associate Professor Karl Moore took a group of students on the ninth edition of the Hot Cities of the World Tour, which is an annual trip that gives 30 McGill undergrads and alumni a close-up view of the cities and towns powering some of the world’s fastest-emerging economies.
