<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"></TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>
chingchong33 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Jul-21 1:10 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>
ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (26 of 37) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>
17343.26 in reply to
17343.25 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>The Wall Street Journal
JULY 22, 2009
Temasek Says Goodyear Won't Become CEO
By PETER STEIN and COSTAS PARIS
Historic plans for a foreigner to run Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. for the first time have fallen apart after the state-owned investment company said Charles "Chip" W. Goodyear won't become chief executive on Oct. 1 as expected.
The surprise departure of Mr. Goodyear, formerly chief executive of mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd., is likely to raise questions about Temasek's direction and the company's willingness to embrace change as it seeks to raise professional standards. Ho Ching, the 56-year-old current CEO, will remain in place until a new successor can be identified.
In a statement, Temasek blamed the decision on "differences regarding certain strategic issues," adding that the company's board and Mr. Goodyear agreed to terminate the transition process and his role as CEO-designate and board member effective Aug. 15.
Former BHP Billiton Chief Executive Chip Goodyear and Temasek Holdings Chief Executive Ho Ching in February. Temasek said Tuesday that Mr. Goodyear would not succeed Ms. Ho as planned.
A major player on the international investment scene, Temasek manages a portfolio with about 185 billion Singapore dollars, or $128 billion, in assets, and is one of the world's most experienced sovereign-wealth funds.
At an internal briefing Tuesday afternoon, Temasek's chairman, S Dhanabalan, told staff Mr. Goodyear initiated the decision to leave, according to someone present. During a question and answer session, those who attended the meeting were largely silent.
The 51-year-old American's decision however came after some of his initiatives to bring about change met with a poor reception. His proposals for the firm's new strategic direction were considered too risky by some, a person familiar with the situation said, without elaborating.
In addition, this person said
Mr. Goodyear planned changes in senior management that weren't well received by Temasek's board.
=> Ah! Meleetocracy at work! Some deadwood is not removable! Like in some decadent dynasty!
This past February, Temasek surprised many when it named the American-born Mr. Goodyear as successor to Ms. Ho, who is married to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and is daughter-in-law of the founder of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew.
His appointment was hailed as a move that would inject fresh blood into Temasek, a company set up in 1974 as a vehicle to hold government investments and assets, including major stakes in some of the city-state's more prominent businesses.
Aside from his experience at BHP Billiton, Mr. Goodyear was also chief financial officer at Freeport McMoRan Inc., a big copper-and-gold producer, and had a background in finance as a former associate at Kidder Peabody. Some speculated he might help Temasek make new inroads into commodity-related investments at a time when rising demand from China and other emerging markets are creating new opportunities in that sector.
At the time of his appointment, Ms. Ho noted that "Chip has capabilities that I don't have."
The trim, silver-haired Mr. Goodyear projected a worldly sensibility that contrasted with Ms. Ho, whose career has been based in Singapore, where she began work at the Ministry of Defense and took over as Temasek's CEO in 2004.
Even as CEO-designate,
Mr. Goodyear pushed to instill a tighter sense of discipline within the company, say people at Temasek. People who didn't show up on time for internal meetings were fined for each minute they were late, they say. Typing messages on Blackberrys during meetings was verboten as well. Attendees at meetings were also pressed to defend their positions on investments in front of their peers, something few were used to doing.
=> OMG! Such laxity! Now one can understand why $270B were lost with NO REGRET or should we say NO IDEA?
Temasek's chairman says the company hopes to build on some of Mr. Goodyear's "process initiatives" even after the CEO-designate's departure.
Earlier the year, Temasek came under pressure at home over big losses from its investments in Western banks, including Merrill Lynch & Co. -- later taken over by Bank of America -- and Barclays PLC. Shortly after the announcement of Mr. Goodyear's appointment, Singapore's government revealed that the value of Temasek's investment portfolio fell 31% in the eight months that ended in November 2008, a drop of 58 billion Singapore dollars ($40.24 billion).
Making matters worse, Temasek sold out of its investments in Bank of America and Barclays at the end of last year and beginning of 2009, before a rally in global markets that would have recouped some of the company's losses. Temasek defended its decisions, saying the nature of its investment in Merrill fundamentally changed after the sale to Bank of America, and the global investment environment was also very different from when it first entered into its deals.
In recent months, following revelations of its losses in Western banks, Temasek has said it intends to shift its investment strategy to focus more on opportunities closer to home within Asia.
Given Mr. Goodyear's difficult experience at Temasek, questions are likely to remain whether another foreigner will be welcome in the top job at one of Singapore's most important institutions.
In a statement, Mr. Dhanabalan (said "Temasek should be helmed by the best person for the job," and noted that the company would continue with its succession planning.
—Se Young Lee contributed to this article.
Write to Peter Stein at
[email protected] and Costas Paris at
[email protected]
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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Breaking: Ho Jinx REFUSES to Let Go of T</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>Lola (Langusta) <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Jul-21 10:08 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>6/8,10/9, forums.delphiforums.com/anymos (ANYMOS) <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (24 of 37) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>17343.24 in reply to 17343.23 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Remember Goodyear was trying to talk to people inside Temasek but mysteriously everyone seemed to avoid him? Goodyear probably managed to find out that Temasek's books are very wrong and realised he's being set up to be the usual angmo scapegoat to take the rap?
