You might think that 20 years at the helm would be enough time to demonstrate whether you can create value, but then again, you're not the boss' daughter. However, given the sorry state of this storied company, you'd think Ms. Hefner would be working hard to turn the company around, or better yet, sell it before she destroys any more value.
But again, you're not the boss's daughter. No, instead, Ms. Hefner is serving as a guest blogger for Portfolio.com. Read her posts here and here. To give you a quick sampling of her laser focus on the business, here are some snippets:
I am admittedly of the generation that still enjoys the experience of reading a paper on paper. Daily I read the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Trib and the Chicago Sun-Times. . . also go to news sites for information throughout the day. . .
I am an admitted Barack Obama supporter, having begun to work for him when he first announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in a seven-person race few thought he could win. . .I know that CEOs need to have lives outside of their companies, and staying up to date with current events and ideas is important, but Ms. Hefner doesn't seem to be too worried about the company she's in charge of, from the looks of her blog posts. Then again, why should she? In 2007, her compensation increased 13% to $1,520,894, in spite of a continued decline in the company's stock price. Given that the decline has steepened sharply, I wonder what will happen this year -- an increase of 40%?
I recently finished and really enjoyed a book called Nudge, written by other University of Chicago guys, which presents a fascinating way that any organization, from government to corporations, can influence people's behavior without mandating what they should do.
I know the stock looks cheap, but any time you have the founder's daughter as CEO for 22 years and the stock has provided a negative return over that time, you have to conclude that the corporate governance is such a mess you can't even touch it. Add in the dual-class voting structure that makes the company an impossible target for an activist investor and you have a real dud that has to be avoided, however beaten down it may look. A bet on the company is a bet on Christie Hefner, and that's not a bet I want to make.
Just for fun, click here to read the proxy statement's related party disclosure about The Playboy Mansion, which Hefner leases from the company at a rate of around $700,000 per year. That's right: the ultimate playboy doesn't even own his own home.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-05-2008 @ 10:32AM
Juan Carlos said...
Christie Hefner is destroing Playboy from the first day that Hef make the mistake to leave the company in her hands.