Nestle fires CEO, Trump’s tech dinner, Harvard wins, and Norway not allowed to divest

What this episode covers

Story of the Week (DR): Nestlé chief executive sacked over affair with junior colleague MM Laurent Freixe dismissed after boardroom inquiry revealed ‘undisclosed romantic relationship’ Nestlé chief ‘promoted junior colleague he had affair with’ Nestle CEO axed after probe into complaints of favouritism, CFO says CFO Anna Manz said the relationship between Freixe and the employee, who has not been named, was first examined in an internal investigation following concerns raised via Nestle's internal reporting system, called Speak Up. The matter was investigated by the board, but no evidence was found, she said. "And it was at that point that Laurent also made a personal statement stating that there had been no such thing," Manz said, referring to the concerns about Freixe raised by whistleblowers. But complaints continued to be made, Manz said, leading to a second, broader inquiry being launched with help from Swiss lawyers Baer & Karrer. Nestlé fired its scandal-clad CEO without a payout—a ‘really unusual’ move, corporate governance expert says Nell Minow: “That is really unusual. I think that’s actually a badge of success for corporate governance, because that’s something investors have been concerned about for a long time: CEOs being dismissed and somehow getting to stay on.” Who is the board? It’s basically Paul Bulcke Chair since 2017 CEO from 2008-2016 Longest-tenured director (2008) by 7 years At the company since 1979 Kroger’s ex-CEO won’t have to detail ’embarrassing’ thing he did to get fired, for now Tech CEOs Take Turns Praising Trump at White House Dinner (32% dropout/11% F) Tim Cook (Apple CEO) *Mark Zuckerberg (Meta Emperor) Sundar Pichai (CEO Google CEO) ‘I’m glad it’s over.’ Google CEO thanks Trump for antitrust 'resolution' Alphabet this week added $230 billion to its market cap after avoiding a breakup in a landmark antitrust case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2020. Sergey Brin (Google/Alphabet co-founder) Satya Nadella (CEO Microsoft CEO) *Bill Gates (Microsoft Founder) *Sam Altman (CEO OpenAI CEO) *Greg Brockman (Co-founder/President, OpenAI) Safra Catz (Oracle CEO) Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron Technology CEO) Vivek Ranadivé (TIBCO Chair) Shyam Sankar (Palantir CTO) David Limp (CEO Blue Origin) *Alexandr Wang (Meta Chief AI Officer) *Jared Isaacman (Shift4 Payments founder/Chair) Jason Chang (CSBio CEO) Nathalie Dompé (Dompé farmaceutici co-CEO and nepobaby) *Dylan Field (Figma CEO) *John Hering (Lookout founder/Chair) Sunny Madra (Groq COO) Chamath Palihapitiya (CEO Social Capital) Mark Pincus (Zynga founder) David Sacks (PayPal Mafia) Jamie Siminoff (Ring founder) ^Lisa Su (AMD CEO) Elon Musk Tesla Plans to Pay Elon Musk 1,000 Billion Dollars—More Than Switzerland’s GDP—In a Deal Tied to Sci-Fi-Level Goals Tesla's nearly $1 trillion new pay plan for Musk would expand his voting power Tesla Chairwoman Robyn Denholm said the plan was designed to keep the CEO “motivated and focused on delivering for the company.” Denholm confirmed that the Tesla CEO pay plan, if approved by shareholders, would not put any limit on where and how Musk spends his time or require him to spend any minimum number of hours per week on Tesla business. Musk and Denholm not up for vote ESG in Pop Culture: Internet sleuths reveal millionaire CEO is 'jerk' tennis fan who snatched US Open star's hat away from child The luxury life of the 'most hated man on the internet' who lives in 'village of millionaires' is revealed... as even his own countrymen turn on him After Name Mix-Up, Online Rage Is Directed at Wrong C.E.O. in U.S. Open Hat Scandal The chief executive of the Polish company Drogbruk was captured on video snatching a hat in front of a child. The head of Drog-Bruk, a different firm, is getting attacked. The executives also have similar surnames. Turkish CEO Throws Flower Pot At Employee After Argument, Issues Apology Hakki Alkan, CEO of Turkish technology news outlet ShiftDelete, threw a flower pot filled with gravel at his employee during an argument. The argument between Alkan and the employee, who has been identified as Samet Jankovic, began due to a disagreement over the content to be published. Both apparently had different opinions. In the aftermath, Alkan expressed regret for his actions, acknowledging the stress of their busy work environment. He promised to manage it better to prevent similar incidents in the future Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR): DR: Kraft Heinz Breaks Up, Bumming Out Billionaire Buffett North American Grocery (staples like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles, and Lunchables) Global Taste Elevation (sauces, spreads) DR: McDonald's CEO warns of 'two-tiered economy' Chris Kempczinski:"Particularly, with middle- and lower-income consumers, they’re feeling under a lot of pressure right now. I think there is a lot of commentary about what’s the state of the economy, how is it doing and what we see is it’s really kind of a two-tier economy." "If you are upper-income, earning over $100,000, things are good. Stock markets are near all-time highs, you are feeling quite confident about things, you are seeing international travel – all those barometers of upper-income consumers are doing quite well. What we see with middle and lower-income consumers is actually a different story," he continued. McDonald’s quits National Restaurant Association over wage dispute 2024: CEO Pay Ratio: 1,014:1 $18.2M personal flights: $400k As of proxy owns 785k shares valued at $250M 11:02:50 AM 2023: CEO Pay Ratio: 1,212:1 $19.2M personal flights: $250k 10:43:00 AM 2022: CEO Pay Ratio: 1,224:1 $17.8M personal flights: $250k 10:42:00 AM 2021: CEO Pay Ratio: 2,251:1 $20M personal flights: $242k 9:55:25 AM MM: Harvard beats Trump as judge orders US to restore $2.6 billion in funding DR MM Aren’t you glad you didn’t settle like my asshole alma mater?? MM: US flight attendants push to be paid when planes aren’t in the air: ‘Most of our passengers have no idea’ Assholiest of the Week (MM): Free market capitalism In 2024, Deere caved to Robby Starbuck and scrapped its DEI programs because: “People should go to work without having to feel like they have to behave a certain way in order to be acceptable to their employer,” he said. By “behave a certain way”, he meant “they should be allowed to be racist if they want” NLPC had a shareholder proposal demanding a report on implied discrimination against whites, saying, “In 2019, Starbucks was sued for a single case of discrimination against a white employee, who was awarded $25 million in 2023. The risk of litigation for such mistreatment is rising, and companies have begun to reconsider whether their DEI programs perpetuate prejudice rather than alleviate it.” In response, the National Black Farmers Association President John Boyd, Jr., called for the resignation of Deere & Co CEO John C. May and a boycott of the company So much for the risk of litigation because of all the black people they no longer sell to: John Deere, a U.S. Icon, Is Undermined by Tariffs and Struggling Farmers Free market capitalism DR US ‘very troubled’ by Norway fund’s Caterpillar divestment over Israel Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator who is close to US President Donald Trump, had already threatened to impose tariffs on Norway and stop issuing visas to the fund’s officials over the Caterpillar divestment. “To those who run Norway’s sovereign wealth fund: if you cannot do business with Caterpillar because Israel uses their products, maybe it’s time you’re made aware that doing business or visiting America is a privilege, not a right,” he said last week. But we’re only concerned with SOME companies? Major Pension Fund Pulls $14 Billion from BlackRock Over Its Abandonment of ESG - no response Free market capitalism Thank you, dear leader… ‘I’m glad it’s over.’ Google CEO thanks Trump for antitrust 'resolution' Pichai: “Appreciate that your administration had a constructive dialogue, and we were able to get it to some resolution.” Tech CEOs Take Turns Praising Trump at White House Dinner Altman: “Thank you for being such a pro-business, pro-innovation president. It’s a very refreshing change,” Altman said. “I think it’s going to set us up for a long period of leading the world, and that wouldn’t be happening without your leadership.” Cook: "I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we could make a major investment in the United States and have some key manufacturing, advanced manufacturing here. I think that says a lot about your focus and your leadership and your focus on innovation. I want to thank the First Lady for focusing on education." At least $600 billion': Zuckerberg tells Trump as tech CEOs pledge massive US investments When Trump pressed him for specifics, Zuckerberg replied that Meta would invest “at least $600 billion” in the U.S. through 2028. Free market capitalism “Special” committee at Tesla - Robyn Denholm (on every committee), and Kathleen WIlson-Thompson (definitely will be voted out this year) - approves a new mega pay package WHEN Musk “acquires” SpaceX, xAI, Neurolink and rebrands Tesla as X, he’ll buy for ~$500bn and get a 10x multiple on the public valuation - figure it’s worth close to 5tn. Add in the current valuation of Tesla and it’s 6tn - he meme stocked his way to 12% of the company shares if he can sell ~10m Teslas in China, making his stake roughly 25% of the company At a 6tn meme valuation, Musk’s worth is 1.5tn - the first meme trillion Headliniest of the Week DR: Giant Food Company Fires CEO After 'Anonymous Reports' Raise Alleged Romantic Relationship with Employee DR: Palantir Technologies’s CEO Is The Smartest Person Ever To Live, Says Jim Cramer DR: Pope named to NABC Board of Directors National Basketball Association of Basketball Coaches Board of Directors MM: A Midwest lawyer named Mark Zuckerberg wants the other Mark Zuckerberg to stop ruining his online footprint MM: Newsmax sues Fox News for allegedly abusing monopoly power They are suing for a RIGHT WING MONOPOLY! A political blowhard monopoly! Who do we sue for having a snarky governance wonk monopoly? Who Won the Week? DR: Paul Bulcke MM: Best trade ever: First Intel gets $9bn AND 10% of its own voting right back, now this: Trump Deal Lets Intel Move Factories Overseas, Sen. Warren Explains MM: Second winner: Lefty climate activist Jay Butera, who submitted a shareholder proposal to Tesla asking for a “political neutrality policy” - isn’t this what conservatives are demanding?? Aren’t we all the same??? Predictions DR: Nestle changes its name to Human Nourishment Ventures MM: The US government will 100% take a stake in Caterpillar, Tractor Supply, and Harley Davidson, because the free market is about manly companies from the 1980s