With CEOs catching flack for flying in private planes, many are taking it down a notch and flying first class.Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ) CEO William L. McComb takes it a step further. According (subscription required) to The Wall Street Journal, "The boyish-looking executive, who turned 46 Monday, flies nearly 200,000 miles a year, all of them on commercial flights, almost always in coach."
Mr. McComb deserves credit for cutting costs and sacrificing his own comfort and convenience, and the company's PR people deserve credit for spinning it into a puff piece in the nation's leading business newspaper. Coach class or no, the stock is still down 90% over the past year.
Still, Mr. McComb appears committed to cutting costs wherever possible to keep the company afloat while it sheds brands to strengthen its balance sheet and waits for the economy to rebound. If it can make it through this mess, strong brands like Lucky Brand Jeans and Juicy Couture could lead shareholders to impressive returns.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-31-2008 @ 2:12PM
tiabell said...
How stupid does Liz Claiborne think their shareholders are? This WSJ article is obviously a publicity gimmick! a) Liz doesn't own a corporate jet; b) Mr. McComb hardly ever flys coach c) his total compensation is over $4 million d) he has a chauffered Mercedes e) the stock is so low now plane flight is gonna lift it, f) they need a new P.R. team