CEO Quotes

2011-10-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

"The way things are going, there might not be much of a Wall Street left to occupy."

David Reilly from the Wall Street Journal in his article on Monday, October 17,2011. He wrote that investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will report downbeat results. "Investment banks falter as earth slips underfoot."

Meanwhile protesters were occupying Wall Street for almost 4 weeks.

2011-07-17T03:34:00.000-07:00

"We are sorry. The News of the World was in the business of holding others to account. It failed when it came to itself."

The apology of Rupert Murdoch after the phone-hacking scandal in the UK. The incident brought a planned business transaction with BSkyB down. The quote 'it failed when it came to itself' can be used for other organizations and people. Very useful!

Full quote:
"We are sorry. The News of the World was in the business of holding others to account. It failed when it came to itself. We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing that occurred. We are deeply sorry for the hurt suffered by the individuals affected. We regret not acting faster to sort things out. I realise that simply apologising is not enough. Our business was founded on the idea that a free and open press should be a positive force in society. We need to live up to this. In the coming days, as we take further concrete steps to resolve these issues and make amends for the damage they have caused, you will hear more from us. Sincerely, Rupert Murdoch."

2011-07-08T02:31:00.000-07:00

"Das Heft hat der Aufsichtsrat, vor allem der Vorsitzende, voll in der Hand."

Dr. Clemens Börsig am 13. Mai 2011 gegenüber der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung. In Abständen kommt das Thema der Nachfolgeregelung für Joe Ackermann bei der Deutschen Bank immer wieder hoch: Mai 2009, Mai 2011, und jetzt der Showdown.

Meine persönliche Meinung ist, dass Börsig eine Lösung nur dann gut findet, wenn er Teil dieser Lösung ist. Ich habe ihn einmal in seinem Büro besucht und über Verschiedenes gesprochen.

2011-07-03T02:04:00.000-07:00

"Wie soll ich wissen, was ich denke, bevor ich gehört habe, was ich sage?"

Oliver Stock, Ressortleiter Finazzeitung des Handelsblatts während eines Vortrages über "Freak Events" in Zürich. Mit dem Zitat wollte er auf die kommunikative Überlastung mancher Leute hinweisen, die viel reden und wenig sagen.

2011-05-19T01:02:00.000-07:00

"Die Zockerbude, die immer auch am Rande oder sogar jenseits der Legalität operierte, wird endlich abgewickelt. Gott sei Dank."

Georg Erber's Fazit in einem Nachruf auf die Westdeutsche Landesbank. Er beschreibt, wie die Bank schon immer schwierig war und sich bis zuletzt durchgebracht hatte. Hier ist der Text.

2011-05-03T04:55:00.000-07:00

"It's like playing multidimensional chess of an unprecedented scope. You're trying to hold the board. You're trying to figure out how to make the moves, and people are yelling at you from a 360-degree angle."

Hillary Clinton, US Aussenministerin, antwortete mit dieser Metapher als sie zu erklären versuchte, wie sie die Situation im Nahen Osten einschätzt und was die US-Regierung tun wird. Ägypten, Yemen, Syrien, Tunesien, Quatar, Pakistan ... das Bild kann man auch für andere strategische Situationen nutzen.

2011-01-27T07:22:00.000-08:00

"Ich kann mir mich nur schwer in Freiheit vorstellen ... und sollte mein Land meine professionellen Fähigkeiten benötigen, so wird es sie bekommen - oder auch mein Leben. Ich bin Russe. Bei uns ist das so üblich."

Das sagte Michail Chodorkowski in dem ersten Interview nach seiner Verurteilung um weitere 13 Jahre in Gefangenschaft durch ein Gericht in Moskau, dass ihn wegen Unterschlagung und Geldwäscherei angeklagt hatte. Das wurde im Ausland als extremer politischer Akt der Regierung Putin angeshen.

2011-01-24T08:09:00.000-08:00

"Während der Abfahrt denke ich nicht im Sinne von: Jetzt kommt der Hausberg, Mitte Traverse muss ich dann die Beine leicht anziehen. Die Prozesse laufen intuitiver ab. Ich sehe eine Welle und reagiere dank der Visualisierung schlicht richtig. Ich hatte während meiner Fahrt allerdings nie das Gefühl, schnell zu sein ... ich war wohl in einem Flow-Zustand ... alles kommt mir dann einfach vor."

Didier Cuche, Schweizer, mit 36 Jahren einer der Älteren im Ski-Weltcup. Der Abfahrtssieger in Kitzbühel kommentiert seine Siegfahrt - mit einem Vorsprung von 0,98 Sekunden auf Bode Miller. Während der Fahrt ist Cuche bis zu 150 km schnell gewesen.

2010-12-13T02:25:00.000-08:00

"This is a terrible and unnecessary tragedy. Mark was an innocent victim of his father's monstrous crime who succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo. We are all deeply saddened by this shocking turn of events."

"This is a selfish act. Let's get lunch."

After Mark Madoff (46), the son of Bernard Madoff, killed himself on the second anniversary of his father's arrest, his attorney released the above statement. The line below is from two passers-by as they watched the body of Mark Madoff being removed from his NY apartment.

2010-11-30T00:19:00.000-08:00

[Es ist so,] "dass man kaum noch Gespräche führen kann, die nicht öffentlich werden. Man kann damit leben, man muss es nur wissen."

Der deutsche Wirtschaftsminister Rainer Brüderle kommentiert hier die Aussagen über deutsche Politiker in den Dokumenten, die WikiLeaks aus geheimen amerikanischen Dokumentenbeständen der US-Diplomatie veröffentlicht hat.

Haig Simonian: How could any self-respecting chief executive say no?

2010-11-26T01:18:00.000-08:00

"For those CEOs still reluctant to take the plunge, one of Ms Müller-Zantop’s competitors offers the answer. The website of UK-based Rossiter & Co promises not only mouth-wateringly cheap prices, but adds: “Dull teeth can be whitened, jowls slimmed down, wrinkles smoothed. Generally we can take 10 years off someone’s age.” How could any self-respecting chief executive say no?"

Haig Simonian is the FT's correspondent in Switzerland. We had real fun to watch CEO videos and he came across with this wonderful story in the print edition.

Mike Murphy: We got beat

2010-11-07T11:46:00.000-08:00

"We got beat. And, you know, I ran the campaign. I take responsibility for it."

Mike Murphy, was the chief strategist for Meg Whitman's race to governor in California. She lost although she had privately invested 141 million dollars for her campaign. Murphy, who was paid $90,000 a month by Whitman for his strategic advice, said, the voters rejected "CEO candidates who were doing kind of a tough-medicine message."

Hilmar Kopper: Strich drunter machen

2010-11-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

"Strich drunter machen und abwickeln."

Hilmar Kopper, der Aufsichtsrastvorsitzende der HSH Nordbank äussert sich hier nicht über die HSH Nordbank, sondern über die WestLB. Interessant. Würde die vorgeschlagene Aktion nicht vor allem zur eigenen Bank passen?

Sepp Blatter: Unsere Gesellschaft ist voller Teufel

2010-11-06T05:41:00.000-07:00

"Unsere Gesellschaft ist voller Teufel und diese Teufel findet man im Fussball."

Sepp Blatter versteht es meisterlich, mit der Presse zu sympathisieren. Dabei bezeichnet er seine Kollegen im Exekutiv-Komitee der FIFA als Teufel. Spannend! - Eigentlich müsste er ja die englische Presse verteufeln, die den Skandal mit falschen Sponsoren aufgedeckt hat. Aber dazu ist Blatter viel zu schlau.

Julian Assange: Die Anklage gegen Manning ...

2010-11-05T05:20:00.000-07:00

"Manning ist eindeutig ein politischer Gefangener der USA. Denn er wurde verhaftet, weil er aufgrund seiner politischen Überzeugungen Material über erwiesene Verbrechen, das er entdeckt hatte, an die Presse weitergab."

Das sagte Julian Assange, Gründer des Internetportals WikiLeaks, in Genf am 4.11.2010. Assange hat die Dokumente, für dessen Weiterleitung Bradley Mannings vielleicht für 58 Jahre ins Gefängnis wandern kann, auf seiner Wikileaks Plattform veröffentlicht. Assange sollte Mannings für den Friedensnobelpreis vorschlagen oder sich dafür einsetzen, dass er nicht ins Gefängnis kommt. Anstelle dessen behauptet er, es sei "seine Pflicht gewesen, diese Papiere schneller als andere zu publizieren". Pflicht?

Enrico Preziosi: If you want to gain market share

2010-10-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

"If you want to gain market share it is compulsory to be trendy. If it depended on my taste, Giochi Preziosi would never have been successful."

Chairman Enrico Preziosi, the world's third-largest toy maker comments on his management style. He leads very hands-off. He has delegated not only the day-to-day running of the firm but also strategy to a group of managers. This is very unusual for an Italian family-owned business.

WELT ONLINE:

2010-09-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

"Liebe Leser, WELT ONLINE hat die Kommentarfunktion für diesen Artikel geschlossen. Wir bitten um Ihr Verständnis."

Zitat aus der "WELT ONLINE" unter dem Artikel über den beurlaubten Wolfsburger Stadtwerkechef Markus Karp und den gekündigten ehemaligen Pressesprecher Maik Nahrstedt. Die Staatsanwaltschaft hat nach Vorwürfen einer Unterstützung von CDU-Wahlkämpfen durch die Wolfsburger Stadtwerke Ermittlungen wegen des Verdachts der Untreue eingeleitet.

Offensichtlich hat die Story viele spannende Kommentare hervorgebracht, die den Lesern damit sichtbar vorenthalten werden. Hm.

Tony Hayward:

2010-07-30T02:14:00.000-07:00

"Having me as BP's public face has become untenable ... it was a very tough decision."

CEO Tony Hayward finally agreed to step down from the CEO Post after he used to be 'the public face' of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It is very tough to acknowledge that one has added to the damage in terms of desastrous communications. Hayward was punished not for the spill but for his public quotes.

Barack Obama:

2010-06-08T02:55:00.000-07:00

"He wouldn't be working for me after any of those statements ... I have not spoken to him directly ... here's the reason. Because my experience is, when you talk to a guy like a BP CEO, he's gonna say all the right things to me. I'm not interested in words. I'm interested in actions."

Barack Obama explained why he did not talk to Tony Hayward from BP after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Tony Hayward:

2010-05-31T02:27:00.000-07:00

"There's no one who wants this more to be over than me. I'd like my life back."

The infamous quote from BP CEO Tony Hayward, also available on YouTube, posted May 2010. Hayward stepped down 2 months later. Before he became 'persona non grata' at the White House, as Carl-Henrik Svanberg, BP chairman of the board had said.

Léo Apotheker:

2009-11-06T03:05:00.000-08:00

"As you know, we have significant concerns about Oracle's proposed takeover of Sun. We renew our invitation to resolve our concerns and other open issues between our companies. Please let us know if and when you would like to meet."

From a letter by SAP CEO Léo Apotheker to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, dated September 15, 2009. Léo Apotheker was fired as CEO of SAP since then, but the merger of Oracle and Sun has been implemented since then.

Peter Voser:

2009-11-02T00:42:00.000-08:00

"Ich bin tatsächlich nicht der Chef mit grossem Ego. Für mich steht das Unternehmen im Mittelpunkt, nicht die Person. Für mich sind die Mitarbeiter und der langfristige Erfolg von Shell das Wichtigste. Wenn eine Firma von einer Person abhängt, ist das falsch. Ich bin nur ein Rädchen im Getriebe."

Peter Voser, seit 1.7.09 der CEO von Royal Dutch Shell, in einem Interview. Der Unterschied zwischen Shell und BP wird seit seinem Antritt noch grösser als ohnehin schon.

Giorgio Armani:

2009-10-15T00:38:00.000-07:00

"No sale, no acquisitions!"

Giorgio Armani exclaimed after his latest fashion show when journalists were eager to know how he would tackle the economic crisis. In recent years, Mr. Armani has played with the idea of listing his company on the Italian stock exchange or selling it, but dismissed the thought some time ago.

Silvio Berlusconi:

2009-10-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

"We're moving on."

Silvio Berlusconi to TV stations after an Italian court struck down an immunity law that had protected the Italian Prime Minister. After he walked smilingly into an art exhibit. Italy is struggling with it's deepest recession since World War II.

Frank Brinken:

2009-10-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

"Die nächsten 12 Monate werden anspruchsvoll."

Frank Brinken, CEO des Ostschweizer Maschinenbauers StaragHeckert. Seiner Meinung nach ist die Talsohle des wirtschaftlichen Einbruchs erreicht, wird kommendes Jahr auf schlechtem Niveau bleiben und sich erst dann erholen. Der weltweite Maschinenbau, allein in der Schweiz mit einem Minus im Auftragseingang zwischen 15 und 35 Prozent, reagiert damit nicht auf die Finanzkrise, sondern auf weltweite Überkapazitäten, die parallel zum Einsturz kamen. Insofern ist diese Aussage eine echte Trendaussage, mit der man branchen übergreifend arbeiten kann.

Reinhard Mohn:

2009-10-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

"Only those enterprises whose employees can identify with their company will be fit to master the challenges of the future, and such an attitude requires material justice."

This quote was selected by U.S. network CNN commenting on the death of Reinhard Mohn, the longtime leader of German book publisher Bertelsmann (1974 to 1998). Bertelsmann owns Random House, one of the largest publishing companies in the U.S. The quote is part of the company history.

Zhang Ju:

2009-10-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

"In China, it is difficult to meet celebrity. Celebrity dont want to meet people who knows nobody. My friends join communist party so to look important, then meet celebrity. America is so great – you can pee with celebrity like jack welsh. In China, no way to pee with celebrity. I want to pee with celebrity too, but I am nobody."

Blog entry by Chinese businessman Zhang Ju in a discussion about celebrity CEOs and how to approach them. The entry is interesting because the cultureal difference is very visible. It also becomes clear how the American attitude spreads into the world.

Bernhard Haux:

2009-09-19T00:25:00.000-07:00

"3-D ist eher ein Hype ... aber wenn Pixar-Mutter Disney sagt, dass 3-D zurückkehre, dann sagt man sich: Nun gut, eigentlich macht mir mein Film schon genug Sorgen, und ich will mich nicht auch noch darum kümmern, dass dem Publikum Dinge entgegenfliegen. Aber wenn Disney 200 Millionen Dollar bezahlt, dann tut man, was einem aufgetragen wird. Die Schöpfer von 'Up' ziehen den Film in 2-D vor."

Bernhard Haux und Paul Aichele von Pixar über ihren neuen Animationsfilm 'U'p'. Die Firma Pixar ist in diesem Jahr von Disney gekauft worden. Bei Disney gab es einen bemerkenswerten Abgang von Top-Leuten: in den letzten Monaten gingen Dick Cook, Chef des Filmstudios, Peter Schneider, Studiochef (nach 17 Monaten), Attila Gozdag, Chef der europäischen Internet-Einheit, Tom McAlpin, Disney Cruise Line.

Cochrane/Zingales:

2009-09-16T03:24:00.000-07:00

"A system with so much power vested in so few people, with so few rules, in which crises are managed with 2 a.m. conference calls, cannot possibly do better no matter how good the people at the top."

Messrs. Cochrane and Zingales, professors of finance at the University of Cicago Booth School of Business about the one year anniversary of the Lehman bankruptcy and the events leading to it

Friedrick von Metzler:

2009-09-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

"The clever ones know that ethical behaviour ultimately leads to success in business."

Friedrich von Metzler, partner at Bankhaus Metzler, on the German debate over banker's bonuses and banks moral duties to society. Quote isued during a debate at the Handelblatt conference "Banken im Umbruch".

Angela Merkel:

2009-09-10T04:38:00.000-07:00

"The consequences of non-action will be held against us in the same measure as the consequences of action."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaking about the German troops in Afghanistan in parliament, after a German commander had called in an air strike that possibly killed civilians.

Johann Rupert:

2009-09-10T04:33:00.001-07:00

"We would prefer to wait until we have more evidence of a broader economic recovery before speculating on the likelihood of a better second half."

With these words Richemont chairman Johann Rupert declined to give further guidance for the second half of 2009 regarding the Richemont financial performance. Analysts accepted the statement and mentioned that Rupert usually was more cautious than rivals in the luxury-goods segment.

Oswald Grübel:

2009-09-10T04:16:00.001-07:00

"Unsere Kunden haben genug Schlagzeilen über uns gelesen."

Ein Zitat von Oswald Grübel, CEO oder UBS AG. Es ist die Einsicht eines Prgamatikers, der seinen Mitarbeitern mitteilt, wie die Sache steht: auch durch aggressive Medienarbeit, Werbekampagnen und öffentliche Versprechungen kann man den Ruf der UBS nicht schnell wieder herstellen. Es dauert seine Zeit.

Karl-Gerhard Eick:

2009-08-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

"Wenn jemand, der ein insolventes Unternehmen leitet, für sechs Monate Arbeit das gesamte Gehalt für fünf Jahre bekommt, wie der Herr Eick in Höhe von 15 Millionen, dann habe ich dafür absolut kein Verständnis." Angela Merkels Kommentar auf die Abfindung von Karl-Gerhard Eick bei Arcandor.

„Dafür trage ich keine Verantwortung. In einem halben Jahr kann man keinen Konzern in eine lebensbedrohliche Lage bringen. ... Ich bin nicht gierig, aber auch nicht blöd."

Das sagt Karl-Gerhard Eick selber. Aufgrund der Medienreaktion hat sich Eick entschlossen, bis zu 5 Millionen Euro zu spenden - für einen Fonds, der im Zuge der Insolvenz entlassene Mitarbeiter unterstützt.

Thomas Middelhoff:

2009-08-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

"Damals hat das niemand als anrüchig empfunden."

Der ehemalige Gesamtbetriebsratschef von Arcandor, Wolfgang Pokriefke auf die Frage, weshalb die Arbeitnehmer im Aufsichtsrat nicht verhindert haben, dass sich Thomas Middelhoff privat an einem Fonds beteiligt, über den die Karstadt Immobilien verkauft und zurückgemietet wurden.

Wendelin Wiedeking:

2009-07-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

"Danke, dass Du da warst."

Uwe Hück, Betriebsratsvorsitzender der Porsche AG, zu Wendelin Wiedeking bei seiner letzten Betriebsversammlung zu seinem kompletten Rückzug bei Porsche, Audi und VW. Wiedeking hat von 50 Mio. EUR Abfindung 25 Mio. gestiftet und auch die AR-Mandate bei VW sowie Aufi niedergelegt.

Madeleine Schickedanz:

2009-07-20T01:41:00.000-07:00

"Wir leben von 500 bis 600 Euro im Monat. Wir kaufen auch beim Discounter. Gemüse, Obst und Kräuter haben wir im Garten."

Madeleine Schickedanz angesichts des Wertzerfalls ihres Karstadt-Quelle-Aktienpaketes von 3 Mrd. Euro auf 27 Millionen Euro. Weiterhin "investierte" sie mehr als 270 Millionen Euro aus ihrem Privatvermögen in die Rettung von Arcandor.

Sepp Blatter:

2009-07-07T07:30:00.001-07:00

"As long as you are in the news, you are still alive."

Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA, when speaking to a small group of business people in Zurich. He had started out as professional football player, but was not good enough. His father told him: "You will never make your money with foootball." (Blatter once said he would get 1 m. CHF from FIFA per year, but the number is questioned by many as far too low).

Chris Colson:

2009-02-23T22:01:00.000-08:00

"When we started out we had no stars, we had no power or muscle, we didn't have enough money really to do what we wanted to do. But what we had was a script that inspired mad love in everyone who read it. We had a genius for a director, we had a cast and a crew who were unwavering in their commitment and whose talents are up on the screen for all of you to see."

Producer Chris Colson after winning 8 Oscars for his film 'Slumdog Millionnaire'. He said the film's success reflected a change of culture in the US, where Slumdog has grossed more than$US100 million ($153 million) at the box office. The Oscars were cool again, too, with a glamorous stage that was less formal than inprevious years. Its intimacy gave the Kodak Theatre the feeling of a swank 1940s nightclub.

Carlos Ghosn:

2009-02-13T05:41:00.000-08:00

"The future will belong to those who used this crisis as an opportunity to transform themselves and adapt to the new conditions of the market."

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault SA, after deciding to halt development of high-end cars and to stop a new factory project in Marocco, reworking his management team, naming a new sales boss, a new purchasing director and a new head of quality and engineering.

Jaques Agrain:

2009-02-12T00:08:00.000-08:00

"I offered to step down because it was in the best interests of the firm. There was a risk shareholders would not automatically trust that I could facilitate the full turnaround."

Jaques Agrain, CEO of Swiss Re from 2006 until February 2009 in an interview about the reasons for his resignation, a few days after Berkshire Hathaway injected 2.6 bn. $ of capital into Swiss Re.

Frederick A. Goodwin:

2009-02-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

“Do you have a different moral compass from other bankers?”
“Are you an aberration?”

A question from a member of the British parliament to Frederick A. Goodwin, former chief executiv of Royal Bank Scotland. Goodwin sat with three other top British bankers on Tuesday before a Treasury panel investigating the British banking crisis, glanced at the bulging briefing book before him. His answer:

“I couldn’t be more sorry about what happened.”

M. Hands:

2009-02-07T10:36:00.000-08:00

"This morning I got out of bed on both sides ... on one side, I was happy, smiling and skipping to work for amazing opportunities. On the other side, I was depressed, sluggish and thumping the pillow. Why can't I decide what the day will bring?"

M. Hands, managing a 6.9 bn. $ hedge fund, at this year's SuperReturns Conference in Berlin, saying he believed that his fund will produce three times to five times returns for investors.

Joseph Galli:

2009-02-04T00:21:00.000-08:00

"I felt speed was essential. I made every mistake you can make in restructuring."

Joseph Galli, newly appointed CEO of Techtronic, about why he was fired in his previous job as CEO of Newell Rubbermaid.

Mario Draghi:

2009-02-02T03:23:00.000-08:00

"The very first thing to do is to restore confidence in the banking sector ... there needs to be significant progress in developing greater transparency ..."

Mario Draghi, head of the Financial Stability Forum, Italy's Central Bank Governor in an intveriew at The World Economic Forum in Davos 2009.

Kofi Annan:

2009-01-29T00:16:00.000-08:00

"The task is to show we recognize our world has changed for good."

Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations and Nobel Laureate at the World Economic Forum in Davos 2009.

Samir Al Ansari:

2009-01-28T00:43:00.000-08:00

"It's about return of equity rather than return on equity."

Samir Al Ansari, CEO, Dubai International Capital, asked about the fact that his sovereign-wealth fund lost about 3 bn. $ last year, on his arrival at The World Economic Forum in Davos 2009

Victor Halberstadt:

2009-01-26T00:26:00.000-08:00

"This is the start of a period of huge improvisation. There is no longer any best practice around to refer to."

Victor Halberstadt, professor of economics at Leiden University in the Netherlands and a veteran of the World Economic Forum in Davos at the beginning of the 2009 meeting week.

Harry Pearce:

2009-01-13T00:48:00.000-08:00

"Hiring a new leader during crisis almost inevitably invites bad decisions because a newcomer must act fast before fully grasping the business."

Harry Pearce, chairman of Nortel Networks, on the fact that 6 big company CEOs have been fired last week and more are expected to fall.The Wall Street Journal found in 2008 that the shares of those companies had declined far more often than they had increased.

Jean-Claude Trichet:

2009-01-12T00:50:00.000-08:00

"This is no time for complacency."

Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, after the industry expects the ECB to cut the key policy rate from 2.5% ot 2% this week.

Michael Golden:

2009-01-11T00:05:00.000-08:00

"Deutsche Bank is looking forward to working with Boaz Weinstein in his new venture."

Michael Golden, Deutsche Bank company spokesman in London about Boaz Weinstein, who will leave Deutsche Bank in Q2, take 15 employees with him to set up his own hedge fund.Weinstein has lost more than 1bn $ on complex trades in 2008 for Deutsche Bank. - Separately, 900 people at DB are being laid off, including employees in structured products and proprietarty trading.

Klaus Kleinfeld:

2009-01-09T00:07:00.000-08:00

"We are taking a wide range of aggressive, but prudent, measures to ensure that Alcoa maintains its competitive lead in today's challenging markets while also emerging even stronger when the economy recovers."

Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld announces to slash 13,500 jobs, cut spending, freeze hiring and it sounds like the old times at Siemens AG, in early 2007, when he was still CEO there.What you are running from is what you are running to.

Adolf Merkle:

2009-01-06T00:10:00.000-08:00

"I have survived many so-called stock-market crashes ...The biggest problem is that we are unable to get further financing, although we are willing to provide securities. Otherwise this situation would be manageable."

German Entrepreneur Adolf Merkle 4 weeks before he got a bridge loan for his 30bn € family portfolio of companies, in an interview.It seems that only hours after he signed the financing documents for the bridge loans on Jan 5, he comitted suicide.

B. Ramalinga Raju:

2009-01-06T00:09:00.000-08:00

"It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten."

B. Ramalinga Raju, CEO and Founder of Satyam Computer Systems, India, after he admitted to have presented a ficticious cash balance of >1 bn. $, had overstated profits for the past several years, overstated the amount of debt owed to the company and understated its liabilities.The stock price of Satyam plunged 78% in Bombay and was exempt from trading in NY on the news. Satyam is the 4th largest infotech company in India with global customers like Nestlé, Nissan and GE.

Steve Jobs:

2009-01-05T00:12:00.000-08:00

"For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote."

Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder Apple Computer Inc, in a letter to shareholders and the general public, dated Jan 5. The letter was commented upon more than 2000 times in the media on the first day of online publication. The Apple stock moved up $4.38 on the news.

John McCain:

2008-11-11T23:04:00.000-08:00

Jay Leno: "It's been a week since the election. How are you doing?"

Senator John McCain: "Well, I've been sleeping like a baby. (Laughter.) Sleep two hours, wake up and cry. Sleep two hours, wake up and cry." (Laughter.)

Jay Leno: Well, how --