|
| Two very Intelligent Black Men. November, 2007 |
 |
| If blacks are less intelligent, then what about these guys? |
Dick Parsons and Ken Chenault evidently didn't get the memo.
Two highly intelligent black men - Parsons and Chenault
Despite the encoding of racism into law and the “scientific” declarations of learned experts, Blacks continue to set new standards of excellence. Here’s two shining examples:
Dick Parsons: In the corporate world you have to learn to swim with the sharks. If you don’t believe me ask Dick Parsons, Chairman and former CEO of Time-Warner, Inc.
There had been speculation for years that investors were not happy with Parsons’ stewardship of the multi-billion dollar media company. The word in the inner circles was that Parson’s second-in-command was being groomed for his seat.
Well, the speculation is over. Dick Parsons has stepped down as the Chief Executive Officer of the largest media company in the world.
How big is Time Warner?
Time Warner is listed as holding assets in every form of modern media. They include the Internet, movies, TV, and print. In one way or another your life has been influenced by the Time-Warner media empire. And Dick Parson, an African-American, controlled it all.
Why did Parson step aside? Some Wall Street observers believe that the company wasn’t bringing in enough profits. According to the company’s 2006 fourth quarter reports, revenues were increased by 4% over 2005. But investors want double-digit profit margins in today’s greedy marketplace. So poor Dick was replaced by his deputy, Jeff Bewkes, last month.
Parsons has had a hard row to hoe. Time Warner was to have been bought by AOL, the Internet company, in 2000 but the winds of fortune change swiftly and Time Warner found itself holding a dead duck. The merger has been described as the worst business deal in history. Time Warner lost 99 billion dollars!
Parsons came to the rescue and took over in 2002. He managed to keep the company from sinking. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to keep up with his rivals like Disney and Rupert Murdock’s News Corporation.
On top of everything else Parson had his detractors claiming that he was not black enough. Jesse Jackson complained publicly that there were not enough blacks on CNN, a company owned by Time Warner.
It is expected that Parsons will stay on as Time Warner’s Chairman of the Board for another year.
Ken Chenault: When some companies reach rock bottom they hand over the reigns to the black guy waiting in the wings. What could they lose?
In 1997, American Express’ stock hit a low 17 points (ouch). Then Ken Chenault took over as Chief Operating Officer and raised the stock price to over one hundred!
After saving the company, they finally made him the top dog, in 2001. Chenault had worked at American Express since 1981.
Chenault, the third African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 company, knows a little something about crisis. The American Express headquarters was directly across the street from the World Trade Center.
In the early days of his career, he piloted a lackluster division of Am Ex from 100 million dollars in sales to over 700 million in just three years. He put in 12-hour days and worked weekends.
It is estimated that Ken Chenault increased Am Ex’s value by billions of dollars and saved thousands of jobs.
Chenault says that everyone can make a conscious choice to be a leader.
| Related links:
|
| Support these Organizations. |
 |
|
 |
|
|
