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Self-described “lifelong Six Flags fan" Travis Kelce has invested in theme park company. On Tuesday, Oct. 21, New York City-based investment firm JANA Partners announced it is working with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 36, and other high-profile business people to "enhance shareholder value and improve the guest experience" at Six Flags theme parks. Concerns over AI surveillance in schools are intensifying after armed officers swarmed a 16-year-old student outside Kenwood High School in Baltimore when an AI gun detection system falsely flagged a Doritos bag as a firearm. A Turkish man's divorce from his ex-wife has set a legal precedent in the country's court system because he saved her name as ‘Chubby' in his phone's contacts. Broadband Choices runs an experiment every year called The Science of Scare Project to scientifically find the scariest pieces of cinema by measuring the heart rate of viewers to see which films cause their beats-per-minute (BPM) to rise. SUBSCRIBE: @NextRoundLive - / @nextroundlive FOLLOW TNR ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/c-7759604 FOLLOW TNR ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/7zlofzLZht7dYxjNcBNpWN FOLLOW TNR ON APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-round/id1797862560 WEBSITE: https://nextroundlive.com/ MOBILE APP: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-next-round/id1580807480 SHOP THE NEXT ROUND STORE: https://nextround.store/ Like TNR on Facebook: / nextroundlive Follow TNR on Twitter: / nextroundlive Follow TNR on Instagram: / nextroundlive Follow everyone from the show on Twitter: Jim Dunaway: / jimdunaway Ryan Brown: / ryanbrownlive Lance Taylor: / thelancetaylor Scott Forester: / scottforestertv Tyler Johns: /TylerJohnsTNR Sponsor the show: sales@nextroundlive.com #SEC #Alabama #Auburn #secfootball #collegefootball #cfb #cfp #football #sports #alabamafootball #alabamabasketball #auburnbasketball #auburnfootball #rolltide #wareagle #alabamacrimsontide #auburntigers #nfl #sportsnews #footballnews Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Story of the Week (DR):Citi's Jane Fraser consolidates power with board chair vote — and a $25 million-plus bonus to boota one-time equity award (the Award), consisting of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) with a grant date value of $25 million and 1.055 million Citigroup stock optionsthe Compensation, Performance Management and Culture CommitteeDuncan P. Hennes (Chair)*Peter B. Henry*Other directorships: Nike, Inc., Analog Devices, Inc., National Bureau of Economic Research (Board), The Economic Club of New York (Board), Protiviti (Advisory Board), Biospring Partners (Advisory Board), Makena Capital (Advisory Board), and Two Bridges Football Club (Board)Renée J. JamesOther directorships: Oracle Corporation, Sabre Corporation, Vodafone Group Plc, President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (Member and Prior Chair), and University of Oregon (Trustee)Gary M. Reiner*Diana L. Taylor*Other directorships: Brookfield Corporation, Accion (Chair), Columbia Business School (Board of Overseers),Friends of Hudson River Park (Chair), Mailman School of Public Health (Board of Overseers), The Economic Club of New York (Member), Council on Foreign Relations (Member), Hot Bread Kitchen (Board Chair), Cold Spring Harbor Lab (Member), and New York City Ballet (Board Chair)Casper W. von KoskullCommittee Meetings in 2024: 15Citi elected CEO Jane Fraser as ChairJohn Dugan, who served as Chair of Citi's Board since 2019, will become Lead Independent DirectorCEO armies MMElon Musk Wants ‘Strong Influence' Over the ‘Robot Army' He's BuildingIn a Tesla earnings call Wednesday, the world's richest man pondered the future of his company's Optimus robots—and his control over them.“If we build this robot army, do I have at least a strong influence over this robot army?” he told investors. “Not control, but a strong influence… I don't feel comfortable building that robot army unless I have a strong influence.”His repeated use of the word “army” certainly stands out, suggesting the robot could eventually be used as a weapon. Is Musk considering having his robots be deployed as soldiers?Elon Musk Threatens to Leave Tesla if Shareholders Don't Approve His Trillion-Dollar Pay Package – Warns, “Which Other Automotive CEO Would You Like to Run Tesla Because It Won't Be Me”Secret Plans Reveal Amazon Plot to Replace 600,000 Workers With Robot ArmyThe ongoing CEO/Trump Oligarchical BromanceTrump pardons convicted Binance founder Changpeng ZhaoZhao, who is widely known as CZ, had pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the huge cryptocurrency exchange.Zhao's plea was part of a $4.3 billion settlement Binance reached with the DOJ in 2023.The pardon of Zhao, widely known as CZ, came two months after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump family's own crypto venture, which has generated about $4.5 billion since the 2024 election, has been helped by “a partnership with an under-the-radar trading platform quietly administered by Binance.”NBC News, citing a public disclosure filing from Monday, reported that Binance in September had retained the services of the lobbyist Charles McDowell, who is a friend of the president's son, Donald Trump Jr.Trump calls off planned 'surge' of federal forces in San Francisco after talking to Jensen Huang and Marc BenioffHere are the donors contributing to Trump's White House ballroomIn summary: techbros, oil, tobacco, cryptoCorporationsAltria Group, tobacco (donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund)Amazon (donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund)Apple (donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund)Booz Allen HamiltonCaterpillarCoinbase (donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund)In February, the SEC dropped a pending case against the firm.Comcast Corporation (donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund)Google (donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund)$22 million toward the ballroom came from a settlement Trump reached with the Google-owned video site YouTube, ending a lawsuit he brought over the company's 2021 decision to suspend his account in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.Hard Rock InternationalHP Inc.Lockheed MartinIn an emailed statement, the company said it was “grateful for the opportunity to help bring the President's vision to reality and make this addition to the People's House, a powerful symbol of the American ideals we work to defend every day.”Meta Platforms (donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund)In January, Meta agreed to pay $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit brought by Trump that alleged the company's suspension of his social media accounts after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol amounted to an act of censorship.Micron Technology (donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund)MicrosoftNextEra Energy (donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund)Palantir TechnologiesHas won hundreds of millions of dollars in new and expanded business since Trump's second term began, including contracts at the FAA, CDC, and further contracts with the U.S. military.Ripple (donated $4.9 million to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund)In March, the company's CEO announced that the SEC would drop its long-running litigation over whether its cryptocurrency is a security.Reynolds American, tobacco company.T-MobileTether AmericaThe company, which has ties to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, is the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value.Union Pacific RailroadIndividualsStefan E. Brodie: an American businessman, convicted felon, and political donor known for co-founding The Bro-Tech Corporation (Purolite Company), a chemical manufacturing firmHarold Hamm: the billionaire oil executive played a key role in helping Trump raise funds from oil industry donors during the 2024 electionBenjamin Leon Jr., the health-care company founder was nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Spain in March.The Lutnick Family: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is a billionaire and former Wall Street executive.Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter: former Marvel NEO who donated over $25 million towards the 2024 Republican campaign.Stephen A. Schwarzman: Blackstone CEO who donated $40 million to Republican organizations for last year's election.Konstantin Sokolov: private equity investor.Kelly Loeffler and Jeff Sprecher: Loeffler is head of the Small Business Administration; Sprecher is CEO/CHair/founder of Intercontinental ExchangePaolo Tiramani: founder of prefabricated homes company BOXABL Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss: co-founders of crypto platform Gemini.Activist investor group that includes Travis Kelce aims to revive struggling Six FlagsTravis Kelce is part of an activist investor group (with JANA Partners and others) that has acquired roughly a 9 % economic interest in Six Flags. The group's stated intention is to engage with Six Flags' management and board to improve performance, guest experience, marketing, etc. In the reporting by Reuters, it explicitly says that “Consumer executive Glenn Murphy and technology executive Dave Habiger … could, along with Kelce, serve as potential board nominees.”Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Hundreds of Power Players, From Steve Wozniak to Steve Bannon to Richard Branson, Just Signed a Letter Calling for Prohibition on Development of AI Superintelligence"Nobody developing these AI systems has been asking humanity if this is OK."The letter cites recent polling from FLI, which was cofounded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Max Tegmark, showing that only five percent of Americans are in favor of the rapid and unregulated development of advanced AI toolsMM: Linda McMahon mixed up AI and A.1. — so of course now the steak sauce is all over itAssholiest of the Week (MM):Robot armies DRSecret Plans Reveal Amazon Plot to Replace 600,000 Workers With Robot ArmyElon Musk defends $1 trillion pay package: ‘I just don't feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being oustedMeta tells some employees their jobs are being replaced by tech: read the memoAWS Outage That Took Down Internet Came After Amazon Fired Tons of Workers in Favor of AIUS firm's Star Wars-style humanoid robot soldier brings sci-fi to battlefield2024: What Is a ‘Clanker'? New Slur for Robots Catches On (it's also from Star Wars)Fake retirementJeff Bezos Says He's the 'Least Retired Person in the World'...And He'll 'Never Retire Because Work Is Too Much Fun'In our data, there are 251 US board chairs that are executives at the company, WERE the CEO, but are NOT the CEO now - that's 251 Jeff Bezos' who get paid like a CEO to work how they want without any accountabilityThey don't give press conferences or earnings callsThey don't answer to the CEO, they answer to themselvesThey control the board without having to answer to it122 of them are NOT family or founder firms - meaning they were just the CEO and they're sticking aroundThat includes Donald Umpleby at CaterpillarAt Schwab, Charles Schwab is a CO-chair with ex-CEO Walter Bettinger II, and the board has a THIRD CEO on it in Richard WursterThe average TSR performance of these people is .477 - below averageIn zero situations is it worth having any of these people on the boardBoysTrump says Jensen Huang and Mark Benioff helped convince him not to send troops to San FranciscoCiti CEO's $25 Million Bonus Is Excessive, Top Bank Analyst Mike Mayo SaysElon Musk got feisty about his $1 trillion pay package in the final minutes of Tesla's earnings callMicrosoft CEO Satya Nadella's annual pay jumps to $96.5 millionPalmer Luckey says he told Anduril investors they can't complain if he takes time off to be on 'Survivor'Elon Musk Accuses Head of NASA of Being “Gay”Bill Ackman calls Trump the 'most pro-business president we've ever had'Integrity for sportsWhile the Trump Administration inserts itself in every crypto venture with no oversight, openly insider trades, and Congress does the same, heaven forbid it happen in sports… Chauncey Billups, others arrested in FBI probe linking NBA to Mafia gambling ringHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has one question he likes to ask every entrepreneur: ‘Why does your company deserve to exist?'MM: SPEED ROUNDTesla recalls over 63,000 Cybertrucks due to the front lights being too brightMosquitoes found in Iceland for first timeCracker Barrel CEO Says Logo Update Wasn't 'Woke' — Just Easier to ReadReading IS woke!McDonald's CEO says he eats at the chain '3 or 4 times a week'Who Won the Week?DR: obviously JaneMM: MosquitosPredictionsDR: In 2070, future MetaSoul (née Facebook/Meta Platforms) CEO August Zuckerberg has one question she likes to ask every non-AI human: ‘Why do you deserve to exist?'MM: McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski goes from his reported weight of 158lbs to 220lbs inside a year
We discuss the growing prevalence of celebrities being involved in big investment moves by VC and hedge funds, including Travis Kelce taking a role in Jana Partners' 9% stake in Six Flags. We also debate the launch of ChatGPT Atlas and a potential deal between Warner Bros. Discovery and Skydance. Travis Hoium, Lou Whiteman, and Rachel Warren discuss: - Six Flags activists - ChatGPT gets a browser - Interest in a Warner Bros. Discovery buyout Companies discussed: Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Six Flags (FUN). Host: Travis Hoium Guests: Lou Whiteman, Rachel Warren Engineer: Dan Boyd Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We're committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Randstad maakt er bijna een sport van om met slechte kwartalen te komen. Het heeft inmiddels een elftal aan kwartalen van dalende omzet te pakken. Al bestempelt Jeroen Tiel (topman van Randstad Nederland) de situatie als stabiel.Stabiel was niet het aandeel vandaag. Beleggers maken zich zorgen. Deze aflevering kijken we hoe dit typisch cyclische bedrijf weer kan scoren.Hebben we het ook over andere Nederlandse beursbedrijven. Heineken en AkzoNobel. Beide verkopen minder, maar in het geval van Heineken wordt die misser wél vergeven.Bij Netflix zijn beleggers genadeloos. Na twee goede kwartalen, overtreffen ze een keer niet de verwachtingen. Iets dat het bedrijf heel duur komt te staan. Het aandeel wordt keihard afgestraft. Maar of dat wel zo terecht is? We zoeken het voor je uit.Hebben we het ook over de kwartaalcijfers van Hermès (dat de concurrentie uitlacht), over een aandeel dat meer dan 1000 procent is gestegen en je hoort over het Taylor Swift-effect op de Amerikaanse beurs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Plus, activist investor Jana Partners plans to push cybersecurity firm Rapid7 to sell itself. And HP appoints a new finance chief. Zoe Thomas hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, Amanda Hsieh talks with James Rasteh, the founder of Coast Capital, an investment management firm with an engaged approach to investing in public companies. Coast Capital works with a collection of leading CEOs and sector experts to identify, conduct due diligence on, and help create value from the companies it invests in. Coast actively works to improve the ESG metrics of its invested companies. Before starting Coast Capital, James was the founder of White Eagle Partners; a European event-driven fund started in partnership with a private equity firm. Previously, James was an International Portfolio Manager at JANA Partners, an event-driven and activist hedge fund in New York. He is a guest lecturer at Columbia University, Oxford and Warwick University. Listen as Amanda and James take an in-depth look at the hot topic of ESG investing. In short, ESG investing is guiding the world down a more sustainable course by focusing on investments that bring about positive changes. Learn more about divestment vs. engagement, how companies can manage activist investors, and considerations for balancing the ‘E', ‘S', and ‘G' in these investment portfolios. James is a leader in the ESG investing space; therefore, this work is personal and it comes naturally to him. His passion for ESG-related work started in school, working on completing his volunteer service hours. James believes that ESG investing should be driven by those who care about these issues. We hope that this is true of ESG Decoded listeners. Make sure to subscribe to ESG Decoded on your favorite streaming platforms and our new YouTube Channel so that you're notified of our vodcast episodes! Don't forget to connect with us on our social media channels. Enjoy this episode! Interested in being a guest on the podcast? For consideration and scheduling, please fill out this form.
Straight from Benzinga newsdesk, hosts Brent Slava and Steve Krause bring you the market news and stocks to watch.On Fridays Benzinga's resident Options Expert Ryan Faloona joins us to spice things up.Today's 5 Stock Ideas:NIKE (NKE) - Will report quarterly results on Monday, Jun. 27 after market close.New Relic (NEWR) - Shares closed about 6% higher Wednesday following news activist investor of JANA Partners, Barry Rosenstein, raised his stake in New Relic from about 867,000 shares as of June 15 to over 3.5 million shares as of Tuesday of this week.SMART Global Holdings (SGH) - A favorite memory pick by Rosenblatt analyst Kevin Cassidy. SMART will report quarterly results on Wednesday of next week. The analyst's price target suggests about 200% potential upside in the stock.Worksport (WKSP) - The stock closed up about 10% on Wednesday following news the company launched storefronts for its products on Amazon (AMZN), eBay (EBAY) and Walmart (WMT) Marketplace.Blue Hat Interactive (BHAT) - One of Thursday morning's most-discussed stocks among the retail trader crowd. Shares were up 75% to over the $1 level following news the company terminated a shelf offering statement.Hosts:Steve Krause Reach out to Steve at stevekrause@benzinga.comSr. Reporter Benzinga NewsdeskBrent Slava Reach out to Brent at brent@benzinga.comSr. Reporter, Head of Benzinga NewsdeskRyan Faloona Reach out to Ryan at ryanfaloona@benzinga.comDirector of Customer Success pro.benzinga.comFree 2-week trial, no credit card requiredUse coupon code YOUTUBE20 to get 20% offDisclaimer: All of the information, material, and/or content contained in this program is for informational purposes only. Investing in stocks, options, and futures is risky and not suitable for all investors. Please consult your own independent financial adviser before making any investment decisions.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
TreeHouse Foods, the nation's leading manufacturer and distributor of private label packaged foods and beverages, is exploring strategic options for its business. Over the past several years, it has closed several plants, reduced SKUs, cut jobs and abandoned business units to become a more focused, nimble company. Despite those efforts, the changes have done little to excite investors with the stock price hovering around the same price as when the CEO change happened in early 2018. With activist investor Jana Partners recently taking a sizable stake, it forced a strategic review that determined TreeHouse Foods should exploring options that could include a complete sale of the company or a divestiture of a large portion of its meal preparation business segment to focus on snacks and beverages. Something that wasn't talked about (or at least not publicly) was an idea that I've tossed around in different iterations. This is the strategy that leverages the contract manufacturer to consumer model, attaching a brand development division, and creating strategic partnerships with celebrity and influencers to create food and beverage CPG brands. Fortune favors the bold and, increasingly, the many celebrities who've made the leap into the CPG industry. The success stories are plentiful, so why not add a vertical integration partner and make it much easier for celebrities to monetize themselves in the food and beverage CPG space. Plus, TreeHouse Foods could really use that Hollywood sparkle to put some excitement back into the business. FOLLOW ME ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS LINKEDIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaschallmba TWITTER - https://www.twitter.com/joshua_schall INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/joshua_schall FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/jschallconsulting MEDIUM - https://www.medium.com/@joshuaschall
We're all over the after-hours action in Snap, Intel and more as Q3 earnings season kicks into high gear. Plus one analyst says Macy's has the potential to unlock huge value if it spins off its e-commerce platform as Jana Partners suggests. Where he says the stock could be going from here.
Moderna booster shot backed by FDA advisory panel. Walgreens to invest $5.2 billion in VillageMD. UnitedHealth Group raises earnings guidance. Jana Partners takes stake in Macy's, urges e-commerce spinoff. U.S. crude futures close at highest level in seven years. J.R. Whalen reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Intro.(1:40) - Start of interview.(2:08) - Chris's "origin story": he grew up in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, but has spent most of his adult life in NY or outside of DC. He started out as a derivatives trader right out of college. Then he went to law school. After law school, he joined White & Case and later Sullivan & Cromwell to focus on M&A transactions. In the late 1990s (during the "dot com" era), he joined Bear Sterns as an investment banker in the tech group.(7:40) - On his move to join ISS in a newly created role as director of M&A research, in the midst of the HP-Compaq merger. "I think I was hired originally as a CYA sort of process." "But I happened to arrive at the onset of what I think was the beginning of the modern age of hedge fund activism in 2004 (Bill Ackman had just formed Pershing Square, Nelson Peltz started Trian, Jeff Smith with Starboard Value, etc.). It was perfect timing and fortuitous."(10:54) - On how ISS makes its voting recommendations on contested M&A and activist campaigns, and how the first thing he did at ISS was to create a framework to deal with contested M&A situations and proxy fights for board seats. The framework is still being used today by the ISS Special Situations Team. Institutional investors needed this guidance.(15:53) - On how he grew the ISS Special Situations Team over time, with people experienced on public companies. Very different team than those of say-on-pay proposals or other more junior analysts. "The way I thought about it was the moment I pressed the button of recommendation, if I had all my retirement money on that one specific stock, how would I vote after I had the inside look."(20:34) - On the importance of the ISS vote: "Depending on the make-up of the share register, between 20-30% of the share register is going to be at least influenced by the ISS vote, in particular if Glass Lewis has the same recommendation."(21:52) - On his transition from ISS to Credit Suisse ("after 7 proxy seasons at ISS"). He joined CS to start a dedicated contested situations team on the corporate advisory side: "Today almost every bank has a dedicated team but back then it was only Goldman Sachs." "Banks do not represent activists, the market has dictated that. If you cross that Rubicon, the competition will use that against you. I personally think that is shortsighted, it may change over time. Just like banks did not represent hostile bidders in M&A, until they did."(27:19) - On his current role at Jefferies. "It's a growing platform seeking to capture market share for public company M&A." We have a team of 5 people dedicated solely on hostile M&A, contested "friendly" M&A transactions and activism defense.(30:00) - His take on the current proxy season, including Engine No.1's successful proxy fight with Exxon Mobil: "I've seen a lot of events that were deemed landmark, and Exxon could indeed be deemed a landmark situation. I know Charlie Penner (from his time at Jana Partners) and I knew that Engine No.1 wouldn't wage a proxy fight based on [Jana's 3Vs template], where one of those Vs is having the necessary votes...In addition, Exxon Mobil had been considered a pariah at least since the mid-2000s, due to its refusal to engage with major investors and proxy advisors. These factors plus a period of under-performance by Exxon meant that Engine No.1 picked the right target [and they ran a very good campaign]."(34:33) - But for Chris, the hard part for Engine No.1 is what's next: now that they have 3 board members at Exxon Mobil, will they deliver on their promises? Chris is reminded of the case when he supported Nelson Peltz at Heinz (at the time a landmark proxy fight on a board election contest). Jeff Smith gave an interview about the Engine No.1 proxy fight and he brought up the Darden case, the first time an activist had succeeded in replacing an entire board of a Fortune 500 company (and they performed fairly well thereafter). "Let's see what we will be saying three years from now about the Exxon proxy fight, will Exxon change and if they do, will the results be good and driven by Engine No.1?"(37:00) - On the rise of global M&A and PE. "There hasn't been a ton of messy M&A, but we are starting to see more." On companies going private: "it's an inventory problem, more and more companies are leaving the public markets." In the UK, there is a national angst over the raiding of their companies (it's easy to take-over companies in the UK).(39:59) - On public vs private markets. "The private market is growing much faster than the public markets." On dual-class stock. On the different cultures in Silicon Valley and Wall St: "it depends on your story, if there is a story of value creation and people believe in the management and the board, they may sacrifice their own rights [to get a piece of the action]. The problems will arise as the company matures and under-performs with those structures [such as with dual class shares], but then you can always get rid of them later." The question he asks of his capital market colleagues: "Do people love this company? Is it oversubscribed? To what level? To some degree you don't have to give public investors anything. Money talks." Just like with shareholder activism: "It's where people have lost money, or money has been 'dead money' is when they start to get anxious and agitated about the people running the company." "Share price performance is the best defense, it's the first thing that I have in the book for boards of directors." "But almost every company at some point, even the great companies, will have something hit them and that's when they are vulnerable. If they can fix it quickly then they're out, but if it sits there for 2-3 years [in the case of Exxon it was multiple years], then they become vulnerable."(45:56) - On the positive and negative sides the SPAC trend: "The real reckoning will only be known in 2023 when a huge number of these SPACs will have to deliver on their acquisitions." "The future of this market will depend upon will there be more success stories than failures and how they will be covered in the media and other outlets. The jury is still out."(49:41) - On the sustainability and ESG trend: "I don't know if it will maintain its current level of importance." "[It reminds me] of the overcrowded trade from back in my day as a derivative trader in the dot com mania peak. With ESG it seems like the same thing: the buzz over the last few years has created a tremendous flow into ESG focused funds. But there is a difference between saying that ESG creates outperformance or if it mitigates risk (the latter almost everyone agrees)." "What's interesting to me is that there are already three hedge funds that are focused on ESG strategies: Engine No.1, Impactive Capital (founded by Lauren Taylor Wolfe) and Inclusive Capital Partners (Jeff Ubben)." "There are also more companies supporting shareholder proposals (instead of opposing them)." "After the Exxon proxy fight, directors realize that they may be taken out by sub 1% shareholders."(57:48) - The book that has greatly influenced his life:For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), by Ernest Hemingway. "It mostly taught me about the economy of language, and the power of simple, stark, declarative sentences in the active voice."(58:56) - His mentor: his father.(59:52) - His favorite quotes: a mish mash of 'carpe diem', 'we're not promised tomorrow', 'live in the moment', don't stress over the past or obsess over the future', [they are all kinda the same thing] "but I try to wake up every day and live that way, not only in the difficult times."(1:00:41) - An unusual or absurd habit that he loves: he's still a die-hard metal head. In college he had radio show and his moniker was "Dr Metal"!(1:01:37): The living person he most admires: "To me it's the group of people that sacrifice for a greater good, whether it's the military, first responders, and particularly (most recently) essential workers, healthcare workers and others that let others live their lives (often under duress). To me that's inspiring."Christopher Young is the Global Head of Contested Situations at Jefferies, an investment banking firm headquartered in New York, with offices in over 30 cities around the world. Chris is an expert advisor to public company directors and senior management teams with respect to contested situations, including hostile M&A bids and responses, contested "friendly" M&A transactions and shareholder activism, including proxy contests for Board seats.If you like this show, please consider subscribing, leaving a review or sharing this podcast on social media. __ You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter @evanepsteinLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack https://evanepstein.substack.com/Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
Jana Partners' Charlie Penner joins us to discuss the role of the global investor community in fostering both responsible innovation and greater value creation.
The incumbent Perspecta (PRSP) that has handled US Navy IT infrastructure for the last 20 years lost $7 billion contract to untested competitor Leidos (LDOS) in Feb 2020. But this chapter is not closed yet and the company has been protesting for several months while it has already cut revenue guidance to adjust for this loss. Meanwhile, activist Jana Partners has been building a position since June and now owns 7.4% stake. Separately, since Sep 18th traders have been gradually accumulating December 22.5 calls in anticipation of some good news. Lastly, even without this Navy contract, management in last earnings call talked about book to bill ratio of 1.5x and growth returning to double digits percentage in 2H20. All this explained in the podcast.
La temporada de presentación de resultados continúa. El lunes le toca el turno a Restaurant Brands; Lyft, Hasbro, Hilton, Under Armour y Western Union lo harán un día después; Cisco, CVS Health, Shopify, Teva Pharmaceuticals y TripAdvisor harán lo propio el 12 de febrero; Alibaba, Nvidia, PepsiCo, Roku, AIG y Yelp, el 13 de febrero mientras que AstraZeneca lo hará durante la última jornada de la semana. A lo largo de la semana también conoceremos los resultados y el estado de las carteras de fondos de cobertura, compañías de capital privado y conglomerados financieros, como el del Oráculo de Omaha, Warren Buffett y Berkshire Hathaway. También los de Pershing Square, Elliott Management, Trian Fund, Blackstone, Blue Harbour, Appaloosa y Jana Partners.
Betsy Kacizak, Director of MBA Admissions and Recruitment, and Brad Chandler, Director, Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking at the Wisconsin School of Business of University Wisconsin-Madison, discuss what makes the Wisconsin MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (10:45) | Admissions (29:56) | Scholarships (45:32) | Careers (49:08 About Our Guests Betsy Kacizakis the Director of MBA Admissions and Recruitment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Betsy excels at walking you through the admissions process, including helping guide you toward the specialization that best fits your passions and career aspirations. She has expertise as a leader in the field of graduate admissions. She has worked for the Wisconsin School of Business for 11 years and worked for seven years at Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Brad Chandleris the Director of the Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking at the Wisconsin School of Business. At the Nicholas Center, Brad is responsible for both administering the Center's specialized programming focused on MBA and undergraduate students and teaching a number of its core courses. Prior to joining the Nicholas Center in 2017, Brad was a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley in New York City. While at Morgan Stanley, Brad advised corporate and private equity clients on mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism and defense, leveraged buyouts, debt and equity financings, restructurings, and fund-level financings. Brad successfully executed over 55 transactions representing over $225 billion in transaction value. Representative transactions include advising Dow on its merger with DuPont, advising Axiall on its hostile defense against Westlake Corporation, advising Agrium on its proxy contest victory over JANA Partners, advising Dresser Rand on its sale to Siemens AG, the Trinseo and Sensata IPOs, and numerous financings for Bain Capital, Advent Capital Management, Clayton Dubilier & Rice, CF Industries, and Eastman Chemical. What is unique about the Wisconsin MBA? What are its key advantages? The Wisconsin MBA asks applicants to select from 10 career specializations at the time they apply: Brand and Product Management, Marketing Research, Corporate Finance and Investment Banking, Applied Security Analysis, Real Estate and Risk Management and Insurance, Operations and Technology Management, Supply Chain Management, Strategic Management, Strategic Human Resource Management, and Arts Administration Wisconsin MBAs start taking courses and doing applied learning related to their specialization from very first semester Center Directors running Wisconsin's 10 specializations play a big role in admissions, curriculum design and career advising, as they connect students to alumni, recruiters and thought leaders in the space Wisconsin offers a tailored and customized approach to 80 students Wisconsin was one of 3 founding members of the Consortium in 1966 Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/wisconsin-mba-program-admissions-interview-betsy-kacizak-brad-chandler
Betsy Kacizak, Director of MBA Admissions and Recruitment, and Brad Chandler, Director, Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking at the Wisconsin School of Business of University Wisconsin-Madison, discuss what makes the Wisconsin MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (10:45) | Admissions (29:56) | Scholarships (45:32) | Careers (49:08 About Our Guests Betsy Kacizakis the Director of MBA Admissions and Recruitment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Betsy excels at walking you through the admissions process, including helping guide you toward the specialization that best fits your passions and career aspirations. She has expertise as a leader in the field of graduate admissions. She has worked for the Wisconsin School of Business for 11 years and worked for seven years at Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Brad Chandleris the Director of the Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking at the Wisconsin School of Business. At the Nicholas Center, Brad is responsible for both administering the Center's specialized programming focused on MBA and undergraduate students and teaching a number of its core courses. Prior to joining the Nicholas Center in 2017, Brad was a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley in New York City. While at Morgan Stanley, Brad advised corporate and private equity clients on mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism and defense, leveraged buyouts, debt and equity financings, restructurings, and fund-level financings. Brad successfully executed over 55 transactions representing over $225 billion in transaction value. Representative transactions include advising Dow on its merger with DuPont, advising Axiall on its hostile defense against Westlake Corporation, advising Agrium on its proxy contest victory over JANA Partners, advising Dresser Rand on its sale to Siemens AG, the Trinseo and Sensata IPOs, and numerous financings for Bain Capital, Advent Capital Management, Clayton Dubilier & Rice, CF Industries, and Eastman Chemical. What is unique about the Wisconsin MBA? What are its key advantages? The Wisconsin MBA asks applicants to select from 10 career specializations at the time they apply: Brand and Product Management, Marketing Research, Corporate Finance and Investment Banking, Applied Security Analysis, Real Estate and Risk Management and Insurance, Operations and Technology Management, Supply Chain Management, Strategic Management, Strategic Human Resource Management, and Arts Administration Wisconsin MBAs start taking courses and doing applied learning related to their specialization from very first semester Center Directors running Wisconsin's 10 specializations play a big role in admissions, curriculum design and career advising, as they connect students to alumni, recruiters and thought leaders in the space Wisconsin offers a tailored and customized approach to 80 students Wisconsin was one of 3 founding members of the Consortium in 1966 Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/wisconsin-mba-program-admissions-interview-betsy-kacizak-brad-chandler
John Malone, Ron Burkle, Jana Partners, Tom Sandell: Each of these investors have either taken a stake or bid for Barnes & Noble (BKS). Now that company has finally turned the review process over to an independent committee, will this time be different? What is this company worth? Would Amazon be interested? I give my thoughts and later I interview Gabelli analyst John Tinker.
In an open letter of January 6, 2018, JANA Partners and The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, a big teachers' pension fund, pleaded with Apple to take steps to decisively protect young people from excessive use of iPhones. We discuss the issues of smart phones in the classroom, managing screen time, plus the tech giant's response to the letter.
Should Apple be our Nanny when it comes to parental controls on the devices our children use? Melissa has a rant on why this could have less than desirable outcomes for families. She shares some valuable resources for parenting in the digital age. Podcasts are a great way to learn more about a subject of interest. Dave shares some more apps worth checking out that can make listening to podcasts more productive. Full show notes are at InTouchwithiOS.com Direct Link to Audio New Siri Podcast News Feature Begins Rolling Out in iOS 11.2.2 – MacRumors Apple Seeds Sixth Beta of iOS 11.2.5 to Developers and Public Beta Testers – MacRumors This seemingly innocent link causes big problems on Mac and iOS – Cult of Mac Open Letter from Jana Partners and CALSTRS to Apple Inc. – Jana Partners Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World – by Devorah Heitner, PhD Raising Digital Natives Phonewise Boot Camp for Parents Use Guided Access with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch – Apple Help Topic Black Mirror - Arkangel Apps & Gear: Currently, our favorite aggregator apps for managing podcasts are Downcast and Castro 2, but we will continue to point out other apps so our listeners can make an informed choice. CastBox iCatcher iHeartRadio Overcast Pocket Casts Podbean Podcast App & Player Radio.com The Podcast App TuneIn Radio: NFL & Podcasts Belkin Boost Up Wireless Charging Pad Cell Phone Finger Ring Stand & Vent Mount iAllowance Contact: email us • like our Facebook page, tweet @InTouchwithiOS, @TheMacMommy or @daveg65 Meta: ITWIOS 020 Who’s Your Nanny? was recorded January 17, 2018. “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. In Touch with iOS is an independently produced podcast, publication and social identity and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. iOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. All other Apple Inc. trademarks discussed are the property of Apple Inc. A full list of Apple trademarks is available here. Sometimes we use affiliate links for products in show notes. Unless otherwise noted, these products or services are not a sponsor. Your patronage helps to support our content production at no additional cost to you and does not alter our honest opinion of said product or service.
Ben and David are once again live on the scene, this time covering the biggest disruption in grocery since… well, sliced bread: Amazon’s $13.7B purchase of Whole Foods Market. We place this deal in context by diving deep into the long, intertwining history of grocery, tech and Amazon, from the infamous dotcom flameout Webvan (domain name now owned by Amazon) to its much more successful progeny Kiva Systems (acquired by Amazon in 2012) to current Silicon Valley unicorn Instacart (founded by former Amazon logistics engineer Apoorva Mehta). One thing is clear: for Amazon and Jeff Bezos, realizing the longterm vision of the Everything Store truly means building the everything store. Topics covered include: The origins of Whole Foods Market as “Saferway” in the late 70’s Austin, TX hippie scene, founded by CEO John Mackey (“the Steve Jobs of grocery stores”) and his then-girlfriend Renee Lawson Hardy Whole Foods’ expansion through acquisition throughout the 80’s and 90’s The company’s recent struggles with competition, leading to sales declines and attracting activist shareholder interest from Jana Partners Amazon’s acquisition of the company on June 16, 2017 for $13.7 billion, a 27 percent premium to the stock's previous day closing price In depth history and analysis of the four keys to understanding this deal: Webvan, Kiva Systems, AmazonFresh and Instacart Followups: Walmart/Jet buys Bonobos for $310M The Carve Out: Ben: Mark Zuckerberg’s 2005 CS50 guest lecture David: Exponent on Podcasting and Centralization Sponsor: Thanks to Silicon Valley Bank for sponsoring this episode. If you'd like to learn more or start a banking relationship, you can get in touch with Dan Allred here.