executives

What motivates rich, powerful CEOs to commit corporate fraud?

What do Bernie Ebbers, Walter Forbes, Martin Grass, Dennis Kozlowski, Sanjay Kumar, Ken Lay, Joe Nacchio, John Rigas, Jeff Skilling, and Sam Waksal all have in common?

They were all CEOs of prominent public companies, convicted of big-time corporate fraud and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. They were all also fabulously wealthy (we're talking hundreds of millions of dollars and up) when they committed their crimes.

Who among us hasn't asked themselves, what would I do with $100 million? You get all kinds of whimsical answers to that question, but one thing you never hear is, "I'm going to risk the money, my family's well-being, and my freedom to be a high-powered CEO and defraud thousands of shareholders."

That's because nobody thinks that way and these ten CEOs were no exception. Nevertheless, they risked their careers, families, reputation, wealth, power, everything. And for what? What motivates rich, high-powered CEOs to unnecessarily risk it all against all logic and ethical principals?

Maybe it isn't even about motivation. Perhaps there's something deeper going on here, something in their circuitry that's hard-wired for exceptional success followed by devastating disaster. Or is it just probability? Maybe x% of highly successful, super-wealthy CEOs of prominent public companies will turn out to be dysfunctional crooks.… Read more

Facebook makes top marketing hire

Facebook has hired Chamath Palihapitiya, a former AOL marketing executive to the post of Vice President of Product Marketing and Operations, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The 30-year-old Palihapitiya, who has been an investor at the Mayfield Fund venture capital firm since December 2005, will gradually make the transition out of his current job over the next two weeks before moving to his new role at Facebook.

Facebook, which still lags behind social networking leader MySpace in user numbers, has become a hotter Web property than ever since opening its service up to developers with its Facebook Platform initiative. … Read more

Executive-class blogging

For our latest CNET Car Tech test, I'm sitting in the back of a 2007 Jaguar Super V8, writing this blog from the comfort of executive class seating. My driver is Car Tech editor Kevin Massy, who is enjoying the power afforded by the supercharged 4.2-liter V-8. I have my laptop perched on the picnic table, which folds down from the back of the front seat. It's not the most stable setup, especially with Kevin hitting the throttle hard when the traffic lights turn green, but now we're on the freeway, and things have smoothed out … Read more

Jerry Yang moves into Yahoo's big office, Terry Semel on his way out as CEO

Today, Yahoo announced that Jerry Yang will be taking over as CEO, replacing Terry Semel. Semel has held the position for the last six years and, according to a post by Yang on Yahoo's blog, increased their yearly revenue by almost 5.7 billion dollars.

Susan Decker, previously Yahoo's Executive Vice President, has also been named as Yahoo's new President. Yang is also apparently excited about working with Decker. "I also couldn't ask for a better partner in Sue Decker as our new president. In addition to knowing this company inside and out, Sue has … Read more

Best pool table ever: It even has an LCD

Forget about that combo TV-fireplace. The ultimate all-in-one entertainment system is in the billiard room.

The "The Executive" is a full-size 8-foot table that's a dream come true even if you've never picked up a cue stick in your life. Just look at the specs: "LCD TV set, stereo with flat-paneled speakers, games/DVD player, library rack, ball storage rack" and--get this--a "mirror-backed bar." BornRich notes that it even has "night lights for uninterrupted play," but the bar is our favorite feature without a doubt.

All of which leads us … Read more

Dell appoints new chief accounting executive

In the midst of a federal investigation into its accounting practices, Dell has appointed a new chief accounting officer, Thomas Sweet.

Sweet, formerly Dell's vice president of finance for the public sector, succeeds Joan Hooper in the role. Hooper's new title is vice president of finance for the Americas region.

A Dell representative called Hooper's new assignment part of the company's rotation of executives and a "restructuring of its global finance leadership team," and would not comment on whether the move is related to the current Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the company'… Read more

Accel Partners snaps up Yahoo search VP

VentureBeat is reporting that Andrew Braccia, Yahoo's vice president of consumer search, started Monday in a new line of work as a principal at venture capital firm Accel Partners.

Braccia "quietly quit" his post at Yahoo, where he had worked since 1998, earlier this month, VentureBeat reports. At Yahoo, he had been a major player in the development of Yahoo Answers, the company's successful Q&A service.

According to the VentureBeat article, Braccia "says he's passionate about the consumer Internet, and says he believes we're still at the very early stages of … Read more