It seems Bob Nardelli, CEO of The Home Depot, has taken his militaristic strategy a bit too far.
Reporters and shareholders were expecting a corporate showdown at Thursday's annual meeting. Instead, they were met with bouncers in Home Depot aprons, countdown timers for shareholder questions and a complete absence of the board of directors.
Joe Nocera, respected business reporter for the New York Times, gives his account of the bizarre and almost incomprehensible series of events here. [subscription required].
Nardelli is the new poster boy for overpaid execs, raking in more than $37 million last year alone. In the meantime, Home Depot stock took a 12% hit last year while Lowe's stock jumped 173%.
I talk a lot about the excellent work Home Depot has done to improve the customer experience for women; it's too bad they forget that women are also stockholders. This kind of damage has a long half-life...