IN OR OUT: SpaceX earnings, Uber sex assault, governistas, meritocracy

DRMatternet Appoints Starbucks EVP Sanjay Shah to Board of DirectorsDeveloper of commercial drone delivery systems for urban and suburban environmentsCEO/founder Andreas Raptopoulos: M.A. in Industrial Design Engineering; Diploma of Imperial College in Industrial Design Engineering; Diploma in Mechanical EngineeringChris Dawson: M.B.A. from INSEAD.Sanjay Kotte: B.B.A. in finance and management; M.B.A. and J.D.Laurence Marton, M.D.: expert in drug development, polyamine metabolism, and cancer research,Saurabh Ranjan: certification in human resource and law; M.A. and M.B.A.No female directors or executives but now a second Sanjay: IN OR OUTSanjay Shah: B.S. in Mechanical EngineeringStarbucks Chief Supply Chain OfficerSVP of Operations, GopuffCOO, Beyond MeatSVP, TeslaVP of North American Customer Fulfillment, AmazonAAON Increases Board Size and Appoints Robert L. Buttermore III, and Patrick J. Jermain as Independent DirectorsBefore 2/9 F now 2/11 FAAON manufactures heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment for commercial and industrial indoor environments IN OR OUT: Robert L. Buttermore III: BS mechanical engineeringChief Supply Chain Officer of Rockwell Automation, one of the world’s leading industrial automation and digital transformation companiespreviously led Rockwell’s Power Control business and oversaw strategic expansion initiatives supporting industrial, semiconductor, energy, HVAC, and data center customers. IN OR OUT: Patrick J. Jermain: MBAFormer CFO PlexusAdministration and Management: 100%. The others:Caron A. Lawhorn: former CFO, ONE Gas, Inc.Stephen O. LeClair: MBA, Chair/former CEO, Core & MainBruce Ware: MBA, CEO, One America Bancorp Inc., a financial institution that he founded to provide niche financial and banking servicesUber’s Strategy for Fighting Sexual Assault Suits: ‘What Were You Wearing?’IN OR OUT on the board skillset: Consumer and Digital Experience: “Background in the development and improvement of consumer experiences with a company’s products, services, and brand, including through a digital interface.” AND Sustainability and Human Capital Management: “Experience in corporate responsibility, human capital management, and managing sustainability initiatives.”Who is in BOTH?Arora: CEO, Palo Alto Networks (cybersecurity); SoftbankBurns: Former CEO/Chair Xerox; currently invests in techEckert: Partner at PE firm; former CEO MattelGinsberg: Partner at PE firm; former CEO Match GroupKhosrowshahi: CEO; former CEO ExpediaSugar: Former CEO Northrop Grumman (war); Apple: Foxconn suicide machineWynaendts: former CEO Aegon (life insurance); Deutsche bankIN OR OUT on Chief Legal Officer Tony West: “Why safety is personal to me”Uses past public service as a human shield for his current corporate ruthlessness: West spends roughly a third of the statement reciting his resume (prosecuting child exploitation, doing pro bono work for domestic violence survivors, and overseeing the Office on Violence Against Women under Obama) which is why “I would never support or condone conduct—inside or outside a courtroom—that fails to treat women and survivors with dignity and respect”West was a chief architect and defender of Uber's ruthless campaign to pass Proposition 22 in California. Uber and other gig companies spent hundreds of millions of dollars to exempt themselves from state labor laws, ensuring their drivers remained classified as independent contractors without a minimum wage, healthcare, or sick leave.Blames “the system:” “I’ll be the first to say that our adversarial legal system can be particularly tough for survivors. By its nature, the trial process is designed to extract facts ... And the fact that all of this occurs in public view makes it all the more difficult …” “The system" isn't asking victims what they were wearing—Uber’s highly paid defense attorneys areWest is shifting the blame from his own legal department's aggressive, victim-blaming litigation strategies onto the abstract concept of the "adversarial legal system."the New York Times and unsealed court documents from the multidistrict litigation (MDL) reveal, once a survivor steps into a courtroom, Uber’s high-priced defense lawyers resort to classic, traumatizing victim-blaming. Asking women what they were wearing or weaponizing their personal histories to discredit them is a deliberate strategy to minimize corporate payoutsCherry picks one favorable moment: West quotes a single federal judge from a February trial who praised Uber’s attorneys, saying they did not engage in "the slightest bit of shaming" and that he wanted it "clear on the record."one favorable quote from one judge in one specific trial: "Look, this one guy said we're nice, so the New York Times must be lying."Bullshits the bigger picture: “Uber was among the first companies to end forced arbitration and mandatory confidentiality agreements in matters involving sexual assault and sexual harassment”Yes, they ended individual forced arbitration, but they fought ruthlessly to ensure survivors still cannot form class-action lawsuits. Forcing victims to fight Uber one-on-one is a massive legal advantage for the companyLies about ESG data: “Uber was also the first—and continues to be one of the only—companies to voluntarily and consistently publish data on the reports of sexual assault”They published "safety data," but as the Times revealed, they hid hundreds of thousands of complaints by categorizing them as "unaudited" or "less serious."While Uber publicly reported a few thousand incidents, internal documents showed they received over 400,000 reports of sexual assault or misconduct between 2017 and 2022.Jefferies ESG chief says investors overstate SpaceX governance risksAniket Shah, Jefferies' global head of sustainability: Investors who avoid SpaceX because of Elon Musk's extraordinary control over the company may be letting governance concerns outweigh potential long-term returns"The idea that there's an — in quotes — acceptable form of good governance" is one that "I highly question," Shah said. "People who try to put governance into some kind of straight-jacket are too simple-minded and, frankly speaking, not looking at data."“Investors who rely on governance checklists alone risk overlooking companies capable of generating substantial long-term returns, particularly founder-led businesses that concentrate decision-making power in a single executive.”IN OR OUT on SpaceX? Did he change your mind?Does this help change your mind? Bill Ackman Says "Never Bet Against Elon," Even as He Passes on SpaceX Stock. Here's Why He's Staying Out.IN OR OUT on SpaceX? Did Bill change your mind?IN OR OUT based on this headline: Mark Zuckerberg Says AI Will Create An 'Infinite' Instagram: outlined a vision where AI-generated content becomes a third major source of contentMark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s school is the latest billionaire education experiment to collapse: The Primary School closed after nearly a decade, following disappointing outcomes and a shift in the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s philanthropic priorities from social advocacy toward scientific philanthropyThe Primary School was a passion project for Chan, who regularly visited the campus, read books to kindergartners, and appeared in a curriculum video with Sesame Street’s ElmoDespite her hands-on approach, the school struggled with some of its nontraditional elementsTeachers, for instance, were required to sign nondisclosure agreements, and the school experienced high turnover among principals.Finding the right curriculum and policies also proved challenging as administrators tried to determine the best approach to teaching students.Chan told The Wall Street Journal last year: “The outcomes just weren’t where [the board] would have wanted them to be or, frankly, anyone would have wanted them to be.”IN OR OUT on the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative?MMIN OR OUT: Your AI strategy isn’t failing because of bad design. It’s because your team doesn’t believe in youWhich is more likely - the team is rejecting AI or the messenger?In which case, IN OR OUT round - if you were employed by the following, and they said you were going to execute an AI strategy, you buying or selling?Mark ZuckerbergALL IN BABY!  FIRE EVERYONE! SELLJamie Dimon“Total redeployment” BUYBill Brown, CEO at 3MAsk3M - product innovation using AI (talk to a chatbot and get ideas I think?) SELLKelly Ortberg, CEO at Boeing“Intelligence” - enhance spec drawings and productivity?  They’re not going deep on AI yet, no money BUYBrian Cornell, Target not-CEO-but-actually-CEOOne bullet: Using data and technology in new ways to strengthen inventory planning, improve in-store consistency and enhance guest interactions SELLSpaceX's first-ever earnings report comes with stock under pressure: Q2 previewStraight up, IN OR OUT - buying SpaceX with it cheap or selling?Elon Musk still runs it like an uncontrolled dictator with sycophants surrounding him!Aniket Shah says you shouldn’t be so parochial about that or you’ll miss “generational wealth event” like with Facebook, because Facebook was good for everyone!Musk rumored to be building an entire telco (or buying one) because his personal net worth can afford to buy him Verizon and still have almost $800bn left over!Everyone calling this a “test”, but it doesn’t matter since the only thing you can do is buy or sell!Meritocracy claims make managers pay men more than equally qualified womenIN OR OUT: MEN OR WOMENStarbucks CEO Earns 1,794 Times More Than the Average Worker: Here's Why He's Paid $31MIN or OUTThe turnaround strategy is working - Niccol made more than any other restaurant CEO per share, stock is up!Starbucks pay committee is a mess of overpaying, interconnected directors: Ritch Allison (chair) bats .249 on pay ratio, Andy Campion bats 0.041, Mike Sievert 0.067, Neal Mohan 0.031.  These are literally the among the highest paying directors in the database - so did he earn it or do these people not care and pay egregious amounts?ALL the execs make a lot - is it a good sign when all the execs get PAID, since they’re making money in stores?Not EVERYONE is making money - Starbucks not only regressed its offer to the union, they sued them to no longer use the Starbucks logo (which is so fucking petty), and Niccol refused to negotiate with them at first and excluded them from the bonus poolStock is up 20% YTD, 15% in last year!  Beating the S&P (slightly)!