Carnegie Hall Vice Chair Dead in Apparent Suicide

Another oddity

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1453248/posts?page=15#15

Why is he so involved with Taiwan?

I hate how all of these oddities spider web together.

This guy, Arthur Zankel, Carnegie Hall's vice chairman and the developer of the solid financial base for this Carnegie Endowment just killed himself.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1453393/posts

http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=243

Free Taiwan E-mail
Print
By Robert Kagan, Kristol William
Publisher: Carnegie
Weekly Standard, July 26, 1999

Reprinted from the Weekly Standard, July 26, 1999

Taiwan's President Li Teng-hui sent the American foreign policy establishment into a nervous frenzy last week when he declared that Taiwan would henceforth negotiate with China as one state to another. China experts are working overtime on their op-eds chastising Taiwan for its provocative action. And the Clinton administration has already made known its displeasure with Li's statements, denouncing them as unhelpful and reiterating the administration's own agreement with Beijing's one-China policy. Meanwhile, Beijing went nuclear, literally. In a document charmingly entitled "Facts Speak Louder Than Words and Lies Will Collapse on Themselves," Beijing informed the world of what the Cox committee and other investigations had already revealed: that it has a neutron bomb, just perfect for dropping on a nearby island that China would like to occupy. This threat will no doubt cause even more anxiety among American China hands, who will blame President Li for increasing the danger of another crisis in the Taiwan Straits.

Everyone should calm down. By carefully stripping away the absurd fictions of the "one-China" policy, President Li is actually doing all concerned a big favor. After all, it is true that "facts speak louder than words." The fact is that Taiwan is and has been a sovereign state for decades, with its own government, its own army, its own flag, its own flourishing economy, and full possession of its territory. Since the early 1990s, moreover, Taiwan has been a democracy, and nothing could be clearer than that the Taiwanese people want to remain separate from mainland China as long as that territory is ruled by a dictatorship. Until there can be one democratic China, they insist, there must be two Chinas.

These facts are, of course, inconvenient for the Clinton administration, which has adhered slavishly to the fiction of "one China" embodied in over a quarter-century's worth of Sino-American agreements. Beginning with the Shanghai Communique of 1972, the United States declared its understanding that both sides of the China-Taiwan dispute agreed that there was but one China. At the time of the Shanghai Communique, this was true in an odd sort of way. Both the Communist government of Beijing and the authoritarian government of Chiang Kaishek's Kuomintang agreed that there was one China, and they both insisted it was theirs. The United States used this cute "one-China" formulation as a way of avoiding the issue. Anyway, the Cold War was on, and U.S. officials believed they needed China's help in containing the Soviet Union. If the price was a certain ambiguity and even some deception on the subject of Taiwan, so be it.

Blah blah blah

Arthur Zankel was a board member and investor of Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch were coordinators in the Oil For Food Program in Iraq.

Whoa. I wonder if the cops are aware of that...

He was still breathing.

Thanks for the ping!

He gave a truckload of money to Hillary in 2000 but most recently gave money to Bush in the primary in 2003.

He gave a truckload of money to Hillary in 2000 but most recently gave money to Bush in the primary in 2003.

...and Hillary is still ticked about it? She didn't have to push so hard.

The "Oil for Food" connection is intriguing, to say the least.

fyi

Zankel, Arthur

Armonk, NY 10504

High Rise Partners L.P./Partner

BUSH-CHENEY '04 (PRIMARY) INC $2,000

MAJETTE, DENISE L (D) Senate - GA DENISE MAJETTE FOR SENATE $1,000 primary 07/31/02

CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM (D) Senate - NY NEW YORK SENATE 2000 $1,000 primary 10/05/00

CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM (D) Senate - NY NEW YORK SENATE 2000 $1,000 primary 09/28/00

DNC SERVICES CORPORATION/DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE (D) $10,000 primary 09/08/00

SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D) Senate - NY FRIENDS OF SCHUMER $500

CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM (D) Senate - NY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON FOR US SENATE COMMITTEE INC $1,000 primary 08/18/99

BUSH, GEORGE W (R) President BUSH FOR PRESIDENT INC. $1,000 primary 04/28/99

GIULIANI, RUDOLPH W (R) Senate - NY FRIENDS OF GIULIANI EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE $1,000 primary 04/23/99

BRADLEY, BILL (D) President BILL BRADLEY FOR PRESIDENT INC $1,000 primary 03/29/99

D'AMATO, ALFONSE M (R) Senate - NY FRIENDS OF SENATOR D'AMATO (1998 COMMITTEE) $1,000 primary 06/17/98

MOYNIHAN, DANIEL PATRICK (D) Senate - NY MOYNIHAN COMMITTEE INC $1,000 primary 04/24/98

SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D) Senate - NY SCHUMER '98 $1,000 primary 06/06/97

CLINTON, WILLIAM JEFFERSON (D) President CLINTON/GORE '96 PRIMARY COMMITTEE INC $1,000 primary 09/15/95

Interesting list that.

Bump.

Ping to Oil for Food connection.

7:41 a.m. July 29, 2005

NEW YORK – Arthur Zankel, the financier who gave $10 million for the Carnegie Hall recital space that bears his name, plunged to his death from his ninth floor apartment in an apparent suicide, police said Friday. He was 73.

Zankel, Carnegie Hall's vice chairman, died Thursday at New York Hospital after apparently jumping from his Fifth Avenue apartment, Detective Noel Waters said, confirming a report in The New York Sun. Waters said Zankel jumped around 11 a.m. Thursday and landed in a rear courtyard.

Zankel, a member of the Citigroup Inc. board of directors from 1986 until last year, specialized in real estate investment through his firm, High Rise Capital Management. He served as a co-managing partner of First Manhattan Co. for almost 20 years, until 1997.

Sanford Weill, chairman of Citigroup and of Carnegie Hall's board of trustees, called Zankel "my closest friend and adviser."

Zankel (pronounced zan kell') was being treated for severe depression, Weill told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Zankel's donation helped fund the $100 million venue at Carnegie Hall that opened in 2003. Zankel Hall fulfilled Andrew Carnegie's original vision for three performance spaces at the complex, offering an intimate venue – with seats for about 600 compared with 2,804 in the main Isaac Stern auditorium.

Weill, who is the namesake for Carnegie Hall's third venue, the 268-seat Joan and Sanford I. Weill Recital Hall, said he and Zankel met through a mutual friend 48 years ago.

"We liked each other from the very first meeting. Our relationship became stronger and stronger" personally and professionally, he said.

Zankel loved that the venue that carried his name brought together musicians from all over the world, Weill said.

"He loved reaching out to young people" and broadening "outreach in areas of education and all kinds of music all over the world," he added. "He and his wife, Judy, shared that passion."

The construction of Zankel Hall required the digging of more than 6,300 cubic yards of bedrock – enough to fill 1½ Olympic-size swimming pools. The hall sits about 40 feet below street level, directly under the main auditorium. A remote-control system of lifts, steel trusses and wagons allow artists to rearrange the floor and stage to fit most any performance.

"Arthur Zankel will be remembered as a kind, caring, humorous, brilliant, and wise person," Kenneth Bialkin, who served on the board of directors of Citigroup along with Zankel, told the Sun.

"Arthur did a lot of things that helped the world become a better place. And he was a really good friend to a lot of people," Weill said.

Zankel also was a trustee of the Teachers College at Columbia University and a director of White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd.

In addition to his wife, Zankel leaves four sons from a previous marriage.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete.

>>>Zankel also was a trustee of the Teachers College at Columbia University and a director of White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd.<<<<

ELECTION OF THE COMPANY'S DIRECTORS

The Board is divided into three classes (each a "Class"). Each Class serves a three-year term.

At the 2005 Annual Meeting, Messrs. Byrne, George Gillespie, John Gillespie and Olson are nominated to be elected to Class II with terms ending in 2008. The Board recommends a vote FOR Proposal 1 which calls for the election of the 2005 nominees.

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The current members of the Board and terms of each Class are set forth below:

Director
Director Age since

---

Class I-Term Ending in 2007
Bruce R. Berkowitz 46 2004
Steven E. Fass 59 2000
Edith E. Holiday 53 2004
Lowndes A. Smith 65 2003
Joseph S. Steinberg 61 2001
Class II-Term Ending in 2005
John J. ("Jack") Byrne 72 1985
George J. Gillespie, III 74 1986
John D. Gillespie 46 1999
Frank A. Olson 72 1996
Class III-Term Ending in 2006
Raymond Barrette 54 2000
Howard L. Clark, Jr. 61 1986
Robert P. Cochran 55 1994
Arthur Zankel 73 1992

All nominees for election at the 2005 Annual Meeting were previously elected by Members.

The following information presents the principal occupation, business experience, recent business activities involving White Mountains and other affiliations of the directors.

Class I

Bruce R. Berkowitz has been a director of the Company since May 2004. Mr. Berkowitz serves as Founder and Managing Member of Fairholme Capital Management, L.L.C., a registered investment adviser, and as President and Director of Fairholme Funds, Inc., investment adviser to The Fairholme Fund. Prior to founding Fairholme Capital in 1997, Mr. Berkowitz was a portfolio manager at Smith Barney, Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. Mr. Berkowitz also serves as Deputy Chairman and director of Olympus Re Holdings, Ltd. ("Olympus"), as a member of the Board of Trustees of First Union Real Estate Equity and Mortgage Investments and as a director of TAL International Group, Inc. White Mountains has entered into various reinsurance transactions with Olympus. See "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions."

Steven E. Fass has been a director of the Company since 2000. Mr. Fass has served as President and CEO of White Mountains Re since May 2004. Mr. Fass previously served as President and CEO of Folksamerica and its subsidiaries including Folksamerica Reinsurance Company from 1984 to 2004. Mr. Fass is a director of several White Mountains subsidiaries.

Edith E. Holiday has been a director of the Company since August 2004. Ms. Holiday has served as Operating Trustee for TWE Holdings I, II, III Trusts since 2002. Ms. Holiday formerly served as Assistant to the President of the United States and Secretary of the Cabinet from 1990 to 1993 and as General Counsel to the United States Treasury Department from 1989 to 1990. She is also a director of Amerada Hess Corporation, Canadian National Railway Company, H. J. Heinz Company and RTI International Metals and is a director or trustee of various investment companies in the Franklin Templeton Group of Mutual Funds.

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Lowndes A. Smith has been a director of the Company since November 2003. Mr. Smith currently serves as Managing Partner of Whittington Gray Associates. Mr. Smith formerly served as Vice Chairman of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. ("The Hartford") and President and CEO of Hartford Life Insurance Company. He joined The Hartford in 1968. Mr. Smith is also a director of The Hartford's mutual funds and is Vice Chairman of the Connecticut Children's Medical Center.

Joseph S. Steinberg has been a director of the Company since 2001. Mr. Steinberg has served as President of Leucadia National Corporation ("Leucadia") since 1979. Mr. Steinberg is also a director of Leucadia, Finova Group, Inc. and Jordan Industries, Inc. In addition, Mr. Steinberg is Chairman of Olympus and HomeFed Corporation. White Mountains has entered into various reinsurance transactions with Olympus. See "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions."

Class II

Jack Byrne has been a director of the Company since 1985. Mr. Byrne formerly served as Chairman of the Company from 1985 to 2003, as CEO of the Company from February 2002 to December 2002, as Chairman of OneBeacon from June 2001 to December 2001, as CEO of the Company from January 2000 to June 2001, as President and CEO of the Company from 1990 to 1997 and as CEO from 1985 to 1990. Mr. Byrne also serves as Vice Chairman of Overstock.com Inc. and as a director of Symetra Financial Corporation ("Symetra").

George J. Gillespie, III was appointed Chairman of the Company in 2003 and has been a director of the Company since 1986. Mr. Gillespie has been a Partner in the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP ("CS&M") since 1963. He is also a director of The Washington Post Company. CS&M has been retained by White Mountains from time to time to perform legal services. See "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions." Mr. Gillespie's son, John Gillespie, is Deputy Chairman of the Company and is Chairman and President of WM Advisors.

John D. Gillespie has been a director of the Company since 1999 and serves as Deputy Chairman of the Company and Chairman and President of WM Advisors. Mr. Gillespie served as a Managing Director of OneBeacon from 2001 to 2003. He is also the founder and Managing Partner of Prospector Partners, LLC ("Prospector"). Prior to forming Prospector, Mr. Gillespie was President of the T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund and the New Age Media Fund, Inc. Mr. Gillespie serves as a director of Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. ("Montpelier"), Symetra and several White Mountains subsidiaries. White Mountains owns limited partnership investment interests which are managed by Prospector and has entered into certain other transactions involving Mr. Gillespie. See "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions." Mr. Gillespie's father, George Gillespie, is Chairman of the Company.

Frank A. Olson has been a director of the Company since 1996. Mr. Olson is Chairman Emeritus of The Hertz Corporation ("Hertz"). Mr. Olson served as the CEO of Hertz from 1977 to 1999 and has been with that company since 1964. He is also a director of Amerada Hess Corporation, Becton, Dickinson and Company and is a director or trustee of various investment companies in the Franklin Templeton Group of Mutual Funds.

Class III

Raymond Barrette was appointed President and CEO of the Company in 2003 and has been a director since 2000. Mr. Barrette was CEO of OneBeacon from 2001 to 2002 and remains its Chairman. Mr. Barrette joined the Company in 1997 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He was President from 2000 to 2001. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Barrette had 23 years of experience in the insurance business, mostly at Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. He is also Lead Director of Montpelier and is a director of several White Mountains subsidiaries.

5

Howard L. Clark, Jr. was a director of the Company from 1986 until
1990, and was an advisor to the Board from 1990 to 1993 when he was re-
elected as a director. He is currently Vice Chairman of Lehman
Brothers, Inc. ("Lehman") and was Chairman and CEO of Shearson Lehman
Brothers Inc. from 1990 to 1993. Prior to joining Shearson Lehman
Brothers Inc., Mr. Clark was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer of American Express Company. He is also a director of Lehman
Brothers, Maytag Corporation, United Rentals, Inc. and Walter
Industries, Inc. Lehman provides various services to White Mountains from
time to time. See "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions."

Robert P. Cochran has been a director of the Company since 1994. Mr. Cochran was a founding principal of Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd. ("FSA") and has served FSA in various capacities since 1985. He has been CEO and a director of FSA since 1990 and became Chairman in 1997. He is also Chairman of Financial Security Assurance Inc. and Financial Security Assurance (U.K.) Ltd. White Mountains holds a phantom equity interest in FSA. See "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions."

Arthur Zankel was a director of the Company from 1992 until 1998, and was an advisor to the Board from 1998 to 1999 when he was re-elected as a director. Mr. Zankel is currently Senior Managing Member of High Rise Capital Advisors LLC. He served as a General Partner of First Manhattan Co. from 1965 to 1999 and was Co-Managing Partner of First Manhattan from 1979 to 1997. White Mountains owns limited partnership investment interests which are managed by High Rise. See "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions."

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

White Mountains is committed to maintaining sound corporate governance practices. Corporate governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled and involves the distribution of rights and responsibilities among the Board, management and the Company's Members. The Company has established Corporate Governance Guidelines that spell out its overall approach towards corporate governance.

The Company also has a Code of Business Conduct that applies to all directors, officers and employees in carrying out their responsibilities to and on behalf of the Company. No waivers of the Code of Business Conduct were requested of, or granted by, the Board for any director or executive officer during 2004.

The Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Business Conduct are available at www.whitemountains.com. These documents are available in print free of charge to any Member upon request.

The Board has determined that a majority of the Company's current directors are independent, as defined in Section 303A of the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") Listed Company Manual. For a director to be independent, the Board must determine that the director does not have any direct or indirect material relationship with the Company. The Company does not apply categorical standards as a basis for determining director independence. Accordingly, the Board considers all relevant facts and circumstances, on a case-by-case basis, in making an independence determination.

The Board has determined that the following directors are independent as defined by the NYSE: Bruce R. Berkowitz; Howard L. Clark; Robert P. Cochran; Edith E. Holiday; Frank A. Olson; Lowndes A. Smith and Joseph S. Steinberg. In making its independence determination with respect to Messrs. Berkowitz, Clark and Steinberg, the Board specifically considered the relationships disclosed herein under "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions." The Board considered these relationships in light of NYSE standards as well as the attributes it believes should be possessed by independent-minded directors. Those attributes include the relative impact of the transactions to the

6

director's personal finances, the perceived degree of dependence by the director or the Company upon the relationship or transactions continuing in the future and whether the transactions were on terms that were reasonable and competitive. The Board concluded that Messrs. Berkowitz, Clark and Steinberg's relationships disclosed herein would not impair their ability to remain independent from the Company and the Company's management.

At each meeting of the Board, non-management directors meet in separate executive session without Company management present. The Chairman presides over these meetings. The procedures for Members, employees and others interested in communicating directly with any or all of the non-management directors are described on page 37.

The Board

The day-to-day management of the Company, including preparation of financial statements and short-term and long-term strategic planning, is the responsibility of management. The primary responsibility of the Board is to oversee and review management's performance of these functions in order to advance the long-term interests of the Company and its Members.

In fulfilling this responsibility, directors must exercise common sense business judgment and act in what they reasonably believe to be in the best interests of the Company and its Members. Directors are entitled to rely on the honesty and integrity of senior management and the Company's outside advisors and auditors. However, it is the Board's responsibility to establish that they have a reasonable basis for such reliance by ensuring that they have a strong foundation for trusting the integrity, honesty and undivided loyalty of the senior management team upon whom they are relying and the independence and expertise of outside advisors and auditors.

Committees of the Board

Audit Committee

The primary purposes of the Audit Committee are to: (1) assist Board oversight of: the integrity of the Company's financial statements; the qualifications and independence of the independent auditors; the performance of the internal audit function and the independent auditors; and the Company's compliance with legal and regulatory requirements;
(2) provide an avenue of communication among the independent auditors, management, the internal auditors and the Board and (3) prepare the Report of the Audit Committee (which appears on page 27).

The Audit Committee is currently comprised of Messrs. Smith (as Chairman), Berkowitz and Olson. The Board has determined that, of the persons on the Audit Committee, at a minimum Mr. Smith meets the requirements of being an Audit Committee Financial Expert as defined in Item 401(h) of Regulation S-K of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). The Board has also determined that each current member of the Audit Committee satisfies applicable NYSE requirements as well as the separate independence standards set forth by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

The Audit Committee Charter, which outlines the duties and responsibilities of the committee, is available at www.whitemountains.com. The Audit Committee Charter is available in print free of charge to any Member upon request.

Compensation Committee

The primary purposes of the Compensation Committee are to: (i) review and make recommendations on director compensation; (ii) discharge the Board's responsibilities relating to the compensation of executives;
(iii) oversee the administration of the Company's (and, to the extent the Committee deems appropriate, the major subsidiaries of the Company) compensation plans, in

7

particular the incentive compensation and equity-based plans and
(iv) prepare the Report of the Compensation Committee on Executive Compensation (which begins on page 22).

The Compensation Committee is currently comprised of Messrs. Cochran (as Chairman), Olson and Smith. The Board has determined that each current member of the Compensation Committee satisfies applicable NYSE requirements.

The Compensation Committee Charter, which outlines the duties and responsibilities of the committee to the Board, is available at www.whitemountains.com. The Compensation Committee Charter is available in print free of charge to any Member upon request.

Nominating and Governance Committee

The primary purposes of the Nominating and Governance Committee are to: (i) identify individuals qualified to become Board members and recommend such individuals to the Board for nomination for election to the Board; (ii) make recommendations to the Board concerning committee appointments; (iii) develop, recommend and annually review corporate governance guidelines applicable to the Company and oversee corporate governance matters and (iv) oversee the evaluation of the Board and management.

The Nominating and Governance Committee is currently comprised of Messrs. Clark (as Chairman), Cochran and Olson. The Board has determined that each current member of the Compensation Committee satisfies applicable NYSE requirements.

The Nominating and Governance Committee Charter, which outlines the duties and responsibilities of the committee to the Board, is available at www.whitemountains.com. The Nominating and Governance Committee Charter is available in print free of charge to any Member upon request.

General Criteria and Process for Selection of Director Candidates. In identifying and evaluating director candidates, the Nominating and Governance Committee does not set specific criteria for directors. Under its charter, the committee is responsible for determining desired Board skills and attributes such as independence, integrity, expertise, breadth of experience, knowledge about the Company's business or industry and ownership interest in the Company. Directors must be willing to devote adequate time and effort to Board responsibilities. As set forth in the Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines and its Charter, the committee is responsible for recommending director candidates to the Board.

Consideration of Director Candidates Nominated by Members. The Company has not adopted a specific policy regarding consideration of director candidates from Members. Members who wish to recommend candidates for consideration by the committee may submit their nominations in writing to the Corporate Secretary at the address provided in this Proxy Statement. The committee may consider such Member recommendations when it evaluates and recommends candidates to the Board for submission to Members at each annual general meeting. In addition, Members may nominate director candidates for election without consideration by the committee by complying with the eligibility, advance notice and other provisions of our Bye-laws as described below.

Procedures for Nominating Director Candidates. Member proposals will be eligible for consideration for inclusion in the proxy statement and proxy relating to the Company's 2006 Annual Meeting of Members pursuant to Rule 14a-8 promulgated under the Exchange Act if all applicable requirements of Rule 14a-8 are satisfied and such proposals are received timely by the Corporate Secretary as outlined below.

Under the Company's Bye-laws, nominations for the election of directors may be made by the Board or by any Member entitled to vote for the election of directors (a "Qualified Member"). A Qualified Member may nominate persons for election as directors only if written notice of such

8

Qualified Member's intent to make such nomination is delivered to the Secretary not later than: (i) with respect to an election to be held at an annual general meeting, 90 days prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual general meeting or not later than 10 days after notice or public disclosure of the date of the annual general meeting is given or made available to Qualified Members, whichever date is earlier, and (ii) with respect to an election to be held at a special general meeting for the election of directors, the close of business on the seventh day following the date on which notice of such meeting is first given to Qualified Members. Each such notice shall set forth:
(a) the name and address of the Qualified Member who intends to make the nomination and of the person or persons to be nominated; (b) a representation that the Qualified Member is a holder of record of Common Shares entitled to vote at such meeting and intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to nominate the person or persons specified in the notice; (c) a description of all arrangements or understandings between the Qualified Member and each such candidate and any other person or persons (naming such person or persons) pursuant to which the nomination or nominations are to be made by the Qualified Member;
(d) such other information regarding each candidate proposed by such Qualified Member as would have been required to be included in a proxy statement filed pursuant to the proxy rules of the SEC had each such candidate been nominated, or intended to be nominated, by the Board; and
(e) the consent of each such candidate to serve as a director of the Company if so elected.

Meetings of the Board of Directors

During 2004, the following meetings of the Board were held: four meetings of the full Board, eight meetings of the Audit Committee, two meetings of the Compensation Committee, three meetings of the Nominating and Governance Committee, one meeting of the former Human Resources Committee and one meeting of the former Compensation Sub- Committee. During 2004, each director attended more than 75% of all the meetings of the full Board including its various committees of which such director was a member, except for Messrs. Olson and Steinberg.

Through February 25, 2004 (during which time there were 2 meetings of the Audit Committee), the Audit Committee consisted of Messrs. Clark (as Chairman), Olson, Steinberg and Zankel.

The former Human Resources Committee consisted of Messrs. Cochran (as Chairman), Mark J. Byrne (a former director), Clark, K. Thomas Kemp (a former director), George Gillespie, Macklin (a former director), Olson, Steinberg and Zankel and the former Compensation Sub-Committee consisted of Messrs. Cochran (as Chairman), Mark Byrne, Macklin, Olson, Steinberg and Zankel. These committees were reconstituted as the Compensation Committee on February 25, 2004.

Arthur Zankel's suicide is making me go hmmmm more and more. Take a look at who else was on the board of this insurance company.

Just an FYI.

He fell 9 stories but didn't die until he reached the hospital? How is that possible?

There are people that jumped from the WTC and survived for a short period after hitting the ground. The details are probably best left unsaid, though.

Suffice it to say that if you ever find yourself falling from a great height, make sure you hit the ground head first unless you want to risk more suffering afterwards.

And he had a position in this odd company, Post Properties, that just seems to be some holding company for a bunch of smaller real estate companies.

NOTE: Wachovia is a partner too.

Company Name

POST PROPERTIES INC


Last Name	First Name
ADDICKS	LORI K.
ADVISES	WILLIAMS
BLOOM	BERNICE
BLOOM	DERRICK N.
BLOOM	HERSCHEL
BLOOM	HERSCHEL M.
BLOOM	HERSHEL M.
BONNER	CARL D.
BOYER	RAY
BREMER	ANDREAS K.
BRYANT	FRANCIS J.
BRYANT	FRANCIS J.
BRYANT	FRANCIS L.
BRYANT	FRANCIS L.
BRYANT	FRANK
BUCKLER	ROBERT H.
BUILDINGS	WILSON
BUILDINGTM	WILSON
BURCH	DANIEL H.
BUTLER	POLLY
BUTLER	WALTER C.
CANOCK	R. BYRON
CARLOCK	BYRON
CARLOCK	R. BYRON
CARLOCK	R. BYRON
CARLSON	PATRICIA R.
CARLSON	TRICIA
CASEY	CATHY A.
CHANG	P.F.
CHAPMAN	TERRY
CHAPMAN	TERRY L.
CHARLES	ARTHUR M. BLANK
CHARLEY	HURRICANES
CHASE	GEORGIA POST
CHASE	GLENDA WHITE POST
CHASE	MORGAN
CHIU	FRANK
CIRCLETM	ADDISON
CLAGGETT	S. VAN
CLARK	CHRISTI
CLINEBURG	WILLIAM A.
COHEN	SHERRY
COHEN	SHERRY S.
COHEN	SHERRY W.
COLLIER	SHARYN E.
CONDON	MARGARET C.
CONLEY	HOLLY
CONNOR	DAVID O
CONNOR	J. DAVID O
CORNERS	ANNE CARSWELL POST
CORNERS	GEORGIA POST
CORNERS	VIRGINIA POST
CORRELL	A. D.
COVALESKY	NINA
CRAWFORD	VIRGINIA C.
CROCKER	DOUG
CROCKER	DOUGLAS
CROCKER	DOUGLAS
CURETON	WILL
CUSTER	BETSY
DAVIS	BILL
DAVIS	JIM
DAWCZAK	GENINE M.
DAWSON	HAROLD A.
DE WAAL	RONALD
DEDUCTIONS	NONRECOURSE
DEMOUEY	PHILIP
DENMAN	JUDY
DENMAN	JUDY M.
DENNEDY	LARRY
DENNEDY	LAWRENCE
DENNEDY	LAWRENCE E.
DENNY	RICHARD A.
DERISO	WALTER M.
DERISO	WALTER M.
DERISO	WALTER M. SONNY
DILLION	BENNIE
DILLIONTM	BENNIE
DILLON	BENNIE
DOLINOY	PAUL J.
DONALDSON	BARTON
DONALDSON	THOMAS J.
DOUGLAS	GRAY
DRUMMOND	BRIAN
DUFFY	JAMES F.
DWYER	CORNELIUS J.
ECHOLS	BRYAN
ELLIS	DAVID G.
ESPY	WILLIAM W.
FAULK	DAN
FAULK	W. DANIEL
FAULK	W. DANIEL
FEUERLEIN	LYNN
FIELDING	JEREMY
FILED	WILLIAMS
FIQUE	TAMARA J.
FLIEGER	R. SCOTT
FOX	ALISSA R.
FOX	G. GREGORY
FOX	GREG
FOX	GREGORY
FOX	R. GREGORY
FRANCIS	E. BARNES
FRANCIS	ROY E. BARNES
FRENCH	RUSSEL R.
FRENCH	RUSSELL E.
FRENCH	RUSSELL R.
FRYREAR	STACEY
GALLAGER	GLEN
GATZEK	DEBORAH R.
GEER	STACEY K.
GEORGE	EDWARD LOWENTHAL
GLOVER	JOHN T.
GODDARD	BOB
GODDARD	ROBBERT C.
GODDARD	ROBERT C.
GODDARD	ROBERT C.
GOOLSBY	MICHELLE P.
GORRELL	J. WARREN
GRAY	DOUG
GRAY	DOUGLASS
GREIPP	AMY
GRIFFITH	JOSEPH F.
GUTFLEISH	RONALD E.
HAGAN	MARK
HAGAN	MARK E.
HALE	GAYLE P.
HARDIN	EDWARD J.
HARRIS	JEFF
HARRIS	JEFFREY A.
HARRIS	LISA
HARTERT	JEFF
HAYAN	GEORGE T.
HEE	TERESA
HELFAND	THOMAS R.
HELLER	DAN L.
HERZER	CHARLENE R.
HESSEL	CHARLES W.
HIEGEL	SUSANNE
HOLMAN	SUZANNE H.
HOOKS	JOHN D.
HOUK	CARLA
HOWELL	CATHERINE
HOWELL	M. CATHERINE
HOWLE	MARTIN
HUMPHREY	ROBINSON
HUNTER	RUSSELL L.
JANET	THOMAS L. WILKES
JOHN	JANE S. MADDOX
JOHN	SHERRY W. COHEN
JOHN	W. COHEN
JOHNSON	CHARLES B.
JOHNSON	MARK A.
JOHNSON	RUPERT H.
JU	BRUCE M. J.
KAMINSKAS	SUSAN
KEKST	BOB MARESE
KELLEY	JOHN J.
KELLEY	KATHARINE W.
KEMPF	DONALD G.
KLOPF	JEFFREY A.
KONAS	CHARLES A.
KONAS	CHUCK
KRAMER	MARC
KRATTER	LESLIE M.
KRIGER	KIMBERLY
LAHAIE	GERALD
LAKE	GEORGIA POST
LAKE	MICHELLE SANDERS POST
LANE	CLYDE
LANE	JEFFREY HOLLINGTON POST
LANE	JOHNSON
LARRY	ANDERSON ROBERT
LATHAM	JOHN L.
LAVIN	THOMAS J. A.
LAWRENCE	WILLIAM B.
LECRAW	JULIAN
LENNON	KELLY
LESEMAN	BILL
LESEMAN	WILLIAM F.
LEUNG	PATRICIA
LEVETAN	LIANE
LEVIN	THOMAS J.A.
LEWIS	J. MICHAEL
LINCICOME	WILLIAM C.
LOGAN	MARTHA J.
LOMENICK	ARTHUR E.
LONG	ELIZABETH
LONG	ROBERT R.
LOWENTHAL	ED
LOWENTHAL	EDWARD
LUCE	STACEY A.
MAATMAN	R.H.
MADDOX	JANIE
MADDOX	JANIE S.
MANN	ROBIN
MCCRANIE	KATHY
MCDANIEL	REUBEN R.
MCELROY	LEONA
MCELROY	LEONA J.
MEARS	JOHN B.
MILL	AMY JONES POST
MILL	GEORGIA POST
MILL	JAW
MILLER	SUSAN T.
MILMOE	J. GREGORY
MISIURA	JACK
MISIURA	JOHN S.
MISURACA	KAREN E.
MOLVAR	ROGER H.
MORGAN	J. P.
MORRILL	WILLIAM K.
NEILL	W. JOHN
NELSON	KENNETH
NIX	DAVID A.
NOVICK	DAVID T.
NOYES	JAMES
NOYES	JANSEN
NOYES	JAY
O MALLEY	DAVID J.
O NEILL	TIMOTHY A.
ORGANT	DENISE R.
OTTO	CARSTEN
PAPA	CHRIS
PAPA	CHRISTOPHER
PAPA	CHRISTOPHER J.
PARKER	ALBERT N. BUD
PARKER	STEVE
PARKER	WILLIAM A.
PARKER	WILLIAM A.
PATTERSON	MARK R.
PAUL	E. BARNES
PAULEY	KEITH R.
PAUMGARTEN	NICHOLAS B.
PAUMGARTEN	NICK
PETERSEN	TIMOTHY A.
PETERSON	TIMOTHY A.
PETRIK	ROD
PORTER	SUSAN D.
POST	MICHAEL HAYS
PRESIDED	WILLIAMS
PRIMROSE	SCOTT
PRIMROSE	SCOTT G.
PROFILES	JOHN F. KENNEDY
PROPOSING	WILLIAMS
PUSHKAR	GEORGE R.
PUSKAR	GEORGE R.
QUIRK	ARTHUR
QUIRK	ARTHUR J.
RATKOVICH	CLIFFORD
RECOMMENDS	WILLIAMS STRONGLY
RENNER	DALE
RESMONDO	LYRIC
REUPKE	RICHARD R.
RICE	CHARLES
RICE	CHARLES E.
RICKLEF	LINDA J.
ROBERT	CHARLES E. RICE
ROBERT	GODDARD
ROBERT	HERSCHEL M. BLOOM
ROBERTSON	WAYNE
ROBERTSON	WAYNE P.
RODWELL	MARY
ROY	GEORGE R. PUSKAR
RUPERT	CHARLES B. JOHNSON
RUSKIN	STEVEN A.
RUSSELL	L. ANDERSON
RUTZEN	DONALD J.
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SAPORTA	MARIA
SECHREST	WINSTEAD
SENKBEIL	THOMAS D.
SENKBEIL	TOM
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SHAW	J.C. BUD
SHAW	R.
SHAW	ROBERT L.
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SHERROD	TERRI
SHERRY	COHEN
SHERRY	JANET M. APPLING
SIG	GODDARD
SILVERSTEIN	LEONARD A.
SMITH	GLEN P.
SMITH	LISA S
SMITH	RAY A.
SPRATLIN	SONNY
SQUARETM	ROOSEVELT
STAUBACH	ROGER T.
STEERS	ROBERT H.
STEET	PRATT
STEIN	ELLIOTT V.
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STOLLER	DANIEL E.
SULLIVAN	DANIEL J.
TATE	SUSAN M.
TAYLOR	JOSEPH R.
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TEABO	SHEILA JAMES
TEAGUE	BARRY
TEAGUE	L. BARRY
TEAGUE	LAWRENCE BARRY
TEMPLETON	HAVEN
THOMAS	PAUL J. DOLINOY
THOMAS	SHEILA JAMES TEABO
THOMPSON	HOWARD
TIBBITTS	TODD
TIBBITTS	TODD T.
TOUPS	MICHELLE G.
TUBB	JUDY
TURNER	TONY
UPTOWN	CHARLOTTE
VAN CLAGGETT	S.
VAN ROEKEL	J.C.
VANLOH	LAURA
VANLOH	LAURA J.
VINOCUR	BARRY
VOUGHT	CRAIG G.
WACHOVIA	JOHN A. WILLIAMS
WALKER	MASON WOOD
WATTS	RALPH S.
WENDLER	W. JOHN
WHITEHILL	DEAN R.
WILBER	SALLY
WILKES	THOMAS L.
WILKES	TOM
WILKINSON	JUDITH
WILL	GRAY
WILLIAMS	JOHN A.
WILLIAMS	JOHN A.
WILLOUGHBY	JO ANN
WOODS	JAW
WORTMAN	MARK
WRIGHT	GREGORY S.
YANG	JULIE
YERGEY	HARRY
ZANKEL	ARTHUR
ZANKEL	I. ARTHUR
ZELL	SAM
ZIEGLER	PETER F.
ALLUMS	JOHN R.
ANDERSON	ROBERT L.
ANDERSON	ROBERT LARRY
APPLING	JANET
APPLING	JANET M.
ARTHUR	L. ANDERSON
ARUNDEL	ANNE
ASHFORD	GEORGIA POST
AUSTIN	GLENN
AUSTIN	S. GLENN
AXELROD	COHEN POLLOCK MERLIN
BALLESTRACCI	CHRIS
BALTIMORE	PRATT STEET
BARNARD	STACEY
BARNES	ROY E.
BARRY	TEAGUE LAWRENCE
BENNE	JENNIFER
BENTON	DANIEL
BIO	EDWARD LOWENTHAL
BIO	JOHN A. WILLIAMS

Interesting read....

Corporate Board Member May/Jun 2003

Feature Story

How Citigroup’s Board Cleaned the Stable
by Monica Langley

Sandy Weill built the world’s most profitable financial empire. Then Citigroup—and Weill—became embroiled in scandal. Here’s how he got his board to sign off on his plan to save the company and redeem himself.

During his tumultuous career, humbly born Sanford I. Weill survived setbacks that would have finished most people and went on to build Citigroup, the singularly profitable agglomeration of Citibank, Travelers, Smith Barney, and other financial businesses (2002 revenues: $75.8 billion). But last year, as Weill, 69, continued to resist boardroom pressure to name a successor, the scandals of Enron and other companies reached Citigroup too. The company ultimately paid $300 million as part of the settlement of an investigation into whether Citigroup and Jack Grubman, a top security analyst, had put the interests of corporate clients above those of other investors.

Weill, scrambling for survival, recognized that he had to make a dramatic move to show he was ready to clean the stable. He decided to reassign Michael Carpenter, head of the brokerage firm Salomon Smith Barney and the lightning rod for much of the bad publicity and legal problems, and replace him with Charles Prince, one of Citigroup’s attorneys and a staunch Weill loyalist.

In this excerpt adapted from her new book, Tearing Down the Walls: How Sandy Weill Fought His Way to the Top of the Financial World . . . and Then Nearly Lost It All, Wall Street Journal writer Monica Langley describes how Weill, in an uncharacteristic display of consensus-seeking, decided to put his plan before the board and ask its members to back him. Weill’s directors reflected his acquisitive corporate history. Some members dated back several decades and counted as old friends. Others had joined him recently, through mergers, and their loyalty was less certain. Now he had to get them all on his side.

On Sunday morning, September 8, 2002, the Citigroup directors solemnly gathered at ten-thirty in the big meeting room at Armonk, New York. Sandy was casually decked out in a golf shirt. Some of the directors, aware of Sandy’s penchant for keeping rooms cool, had brought sweaters. Arthur Zankel, one of the old guard, glanced around, noted that no one else was wearing a tie, and took his off. As usual, the plush armchairs were arranged in a U-shape and the buffet table was groaning under the weight of a brunch spread. But no one seemed comfortable or hungry this morning. The directors were horrified at the turn events had taken over the past few months. Yet none of them was prepared to question Sandy’s leadership. Indeed, most of them felt that Citigroup needed Sandy’s wisdom and experience now more than ever.

Sandy wasn’t his usual self. There were no jokes, he wasn’t heaping his plate at the buffet table, and he wasn’t slouching in his chair. Usually Sandy would begin a board meeting by simply talking from his seat. But this morning he did something unusual: He stood up to address his directors, as if he were giving a speech.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” the Citigroup CEO began. “We all seem depressed. We have to take this crisis very seriously, and we have serious choices to make.

“As the leading financial-services institution, I think we need to set the standard for the industry,” he continued. “That’s what I’m determined to do.”

He then told them that Marty Lipton, the legendary Wall Street lawyer, and his associates had been examining Salomon Smith Barney’s actions and practices, and turned the meeting over to him. Lipton began reviewing the particular transactions and management actions his law firm had investigated. Some directors interrupted to ask for specific details, especially about Jack Grubman and his dealings with Sandy and others at the firm. After 20 minutes, Zankel was getting restless with the drawn-out blow-by-blow recitation of Grubman’s actions.

“I know Sandy didn’t tell Grubman anything to write, because that would be f— stupid,” Sandy’s old friend interjected. “Marty, why don’t you tell us where we’re going, and then we’ll circle back if we need all this information?”

Lipton got to the point. “The business isn’t out of control; the house isn’t on fire,” he assured the directors. “But it’s clear in the harsh light of hindsight that there have been industry excesses in which the firm participated.”

“So there’s no feeling or finding that there are a lot of sleazy crooks here?” Andrall Pearson, another longtime director, asked. “You’re saying Salomon Smith Barney did what the securities industry had been doing for years—that the problems are the product of an industrywide disease?”

Lipton nodded. “But to rein in the excesses and correct the problems, you must be prepared to take convincing action,” the lawyer advised. “Small changes around the margins won’t be sufficient.”

Reuben Mark, the chairman and chief executive officer of Colgate-Palmolive Co., asked what specific steps Sandy planned to take to improve the business culture and his oversight of the securities business. Something of a self-appointed conscience of corporate governance, Mark, who had served as a director of Citicorp before it merged with Weill’s Travelers in 1998, could be a stickler for demanding details.

At Mark’s prompting, Sandy said he wanted to recommend that Chuck Prince replace Mike Carpenter as head of Citigroup’s corporate and investment bank. In the past, he would have simply told the board that he was going to make the change and would expect their acquiescence. But chastened as he was by the firestorm surrounding him, he politely asked for the board’s advice. “That’s what I’m thinking, but there are other alternatives.” Prince, who was attending the meeting as the corporate secretary, made a swift exit.

“Let’s discuss if this is a good thing to do,” said Andrall Pearson. “It’s unusual for a guy with no management experience in the business to take on a job like this.”

Several directors quickly echoed that their main concern about Prince was his lack of an operations track record. At the same time, they agreed that Carpenter should be replaced with someone from the inside, someone who knew Citigroup thoroughly, who was well respected and could work effectively to overcome the regulatory and legal hurdles confronting the company. The only other executive at Citigroup that the board believed had those qualities was Bob Willumstad, its president and consumer-group head.

“But should we take him out of the consumer business, which is the best performer right now?” one director asked.

No, Pearson said adamantly. “You have to focus on the business while you’re cleaning all this stuff up. If the business goes down the tubes, then it doesn’t matter too goddamned much what else you’re doing.” As directors debated the notion of moving Willumstad, Pearson tried again to convince them that the overall business needed Willumstad right where he was: “You have to clean up the stable, but the horse race is what it’s all about,” he said.

The mood in the room had shifted from depressed to determined. The directors liked the bold steps Sandy was prepared to take. Still, some, led by Mark, wanted him to go further to improve Citigroup’s corporate governance. The Colgate-Palmolive CEO, who had a tendency toward bombast once he had climbed on his corporate governance soapbox, pushed hard for a new “business-practices committee” to provide vigorous scrutiny of operations and to ensure that Citigroup embraced the industry’s highest standards. The directors agreed.

Mark also proposed a separate nominations and governance committee inside the board. The directors agreed and selected six of their members to serve on it, three from the original Citicorp and three from the original Travelers. [Mark later decided to leave the Citigroup board to protest a lack of progress in identifying Weill’s potential successors.] Despite the fact that Citigroup had been a single entity for four years, the directors weren’t forgetting their origins. The new committee determined that it would persuade Jack Roche, Citicorp’s longtime general counsel, to come out of retirement and act as counsel to the committee.

Next they agreed with Sandy’s proposal to move Carpenter out of Salomon Smith Barney “to make a clean break” from past management practices. Carpenter was given the low-profile job of heading Citigroup’s investment unit, which managed the bank’s more than $100 billion in assets.

After four hours, the board meeting broke up. Directors passed Prince, who was waiting in a sitting room, as they left. “Good man for the job,” one told him with a handshake. Sandy was the last one out of the room.

“Well, I guess you’re it,” the CEO said, turning over to Prince the job of saving his company and his legacy.

Sandy asked the senior executives of Salomon Smith Barney to come to Armonk at four that afternoon. When Robert Druskin, Salomon’s chief operating officer, got the call, he remembered only one other time when they had been summoned to the conference center on a Sunday afternoon—the firing of Jamie Dimon, Weill’s longtime heir apparent. He guessed that Carpenter was about to be next.

Once the eight top securities executives arrived, they began speculating about who their next boss would be. Most of the bets were on Deryck Maughan, the former head of Salomon Brothers before it was purchased by Travelers.

Then Sandy, executive committee chairman Bob Rubin, Chuck Prince, and Mike Carpenter walked in. Carpenter looked ashen, almost gray. Surveying the foursome, the managers tried to figure out what was going on. Rubin wouldn’t return to the securities business, they thought, even though he had headed Goldman Sachs before going into the government, where he’d served as Treasury secretary. And Prince, he was Sandy’s right hand, firmly planted at the Park Avenue headquarters. What was going on?

When Sandy announced Prince’s appointment as chief executive of Salomon Smith Barney, the men didn’t know how to respond. Druskin, the only executive who knew Prince well from his time at the parent company, jumped in to fill the silence. “Chuck is a great guy with great judgment,” he told his colleagues. “Whenever anyone at 399 Park has a thorny problem, they gravitate to Chuck’s office. You’ll see that.”

Rubin assured the executives that he stood ready to help Prince and them. He supported Prince as the right man for the job, someone who could start fresh in the industry, where “standards of behavior are changing.”

In an unusual move, Citigroup issued a press release announcing the management shakeup that Sunday night at six. Prince’s appointment as CEO of Salomon Smith Barney was a big surprise. But observers inside and outside the company recognized it for what it was: a strong signal that Sandy Weill meant business. Prince was dubbed “the Fireman.” He was expected to put out the fires that were threatening Citigroup and to reach speedy resolutions to the numerous probes into the company’s securities business. After all, if Citigroup didn’t solve its reputation and regulatory problems, there wouldn’t be much of a business to run, some analysts said, noting dryly that in this economy there wouldn’t be much activity anyway.

One phrase in the company’s press release was especially surprising to Citigroup insiders. In the statement, Sandy said: “Although we have found nothing illegal, looking back, we can see that certain of our activities do not reflect the way we believe business should be done. That should never be the case, and I am sorry for that.” Sandy Weill apologizing! His colleagues knew Sandy had a deep-seated aversion to apologies. Whenever he blasted one of them, rightly or wrongly, he never apologized later. Instead, he just acted a little nicer for a while, or at least acted as if nothing had happened. Others worried that the apology was premature.

When Sandy came to the office on Monday, an executive asked him point-blank: “How can you write ‘I’m sorry’? Doesn’t it sound like we’re conceding guilt?”

“Of course I’m sorry,” Sandy said, trying to make light of it. “Look at the stock price. I’m really sorry!” Joking aside, he knew that the regulators and investigators were looking for remorse, something they hadn’t seen a lot of lately among financial executives.

Later that morning, a meeting was called at Salomon Smith Barney’s 27th-floor auditorium at 388 Greenwich Street. Sandy spoke first.

“This was an uncomfortable weekend for a lot of people,” he said, fully aware that Carpenter was well liked by the securities troops. “This change is made in the best interest of the firm. Mike has been terrific. He’s not a scapegoat.”

Prince told his new subordinates that Sandy and Bob Rubin would be available to help out with clients.

“Not so fast with my time,” Rubin quipped.

When it was Carpenter’s turn to speak, he noted that most of the problems had been inherited through mergers, which some took to be an attempt to deny responsibility for them. Then he tried to put on a good face and told his colleagues, “You’re a winning team.”

At noon Carpenter appeared at the private dining room for executives, where he rarely ate lunch. Colleagues knew he was putting up a brave front. That night all of Carpenter’s personal belongings and furniture were moved out, and Prince’s were moved in.

Soon a flurry of other changes were implemented at Salomon Smith Barney, but only after Sandy reviewed every single document and release. The current heads of research were retired or reassigned. A new policy on IPO allocations was established. Structured-financing transactions—the type of complicated deals that Citigroup had done for Enron—that were in the works were canceled. Some executives who had been with Sandy since Commercial Credit were reminded of how Sandy could roll up his sleeves and wade right in, getting involved in every detail and nuance of the business, acting as if the very fate of the company depended on his ability to motivate and guide the troops.

This time, however, more than half of the company was producing record profits. Citigroup’s consumer business was the star of the conglomerate, carrying the load for the rest of the firm, just as Sandy had predicted when he pushed for repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, which had prevented banks from entering the brokerage business. The consumer bankers decided they’d better be certain that the corporate side’s headline issues weren’t harming their half. The results of a market-research poll of American consumers, done by phone over a three-week period in September, were encouraging. For Citibank, CitiFinancial, and Citi Cards, the impact of Citigroup’s corporate scandals was minimal at most. Few consumers were following the latest news on Jack Grubman. The client base was remarkably stable: They weren’t cutting up their credit cards or closing their accounts. To customers, the most important concern was the solvency of their bank. And with more than $1 trillion in assets, that wasn’t a problem.

The changes in Citigroup’s management had been sudden and bewildering to the company’s thousands of employees, including many senior executives. Each September Sandy and Joan invited a few hundred upper-level executives and their spouses and children to pick apples in the Weills’ Greenwich orchard. Coveted invitations to the stylish affair, which featured a lavish smorgasbord, entertainment for the children, and even Porta-Potties adorned with fresh flowers and running water, guaranteed important face time for executives with their top bosses. On a warm fall Saturday in 2002, many Citigroup executives used the opportunity to chat with or just observe Bob Willumstad and Chuck Prince, the two once-obscure, quiet and affable men who seemed positioned to succeed Sandy.

Other executives huddled under the buffet tent to speculate about the penalties that Citigroup would surely face to settle all the securities investigations, apart from investors’ class-action lawsuits. A “global settlement” was being negotiated between Wall Street and government regulators. It looked as though Citigroup’s Salomon Smith Barney would pay the biggest fine, perhaps as much as $500 million. But some of the senior executives knew enough to put such a huge fine in its proper perspective. Granted, Citigroup’s stock-price declines as a result of the scandals had produced a loss of up to $100 billion in market value. But that could easily be regained when investors once again became confident about the company’s future. And if this year was any indication, what a future it would be—Citigroup in 2002 was poised to earn an amazing $16 billion in profit, itself a record, making Sandy’s empire the most profitable financial-services company in the world. Even though a $500 million fine might look bad, it would bring Sandy’s most difficult crisis to a close, and the cost would amount to a measly two weeks of profit for the world’s largest financial superpower.

Yet few questioned that Sandy Weill would still be their boss come apple-picking time next year. The harsh turn of events this year had seemed to weigh on him heavily at first. But, true to form, he had rallied under pressure, and lately he seemed energized, ready for any challenge. They knew he would never leave in the midst of difficulties. There was a reason insiders at Citigroup referred to it as “Sandygroup.” He might be talking occasionally about his last years in the business, but everyone noticed that it was “years,” not “year.”

New thread started on

How Citigroup’s Board Cleaned the Stable
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1454032/posts

Why would anyone commit suicide at 11 am?

Nothing good on the Lunch Menu.

He fell 9 stories but didn't die until he reached the hospital? How is that possible?

Around 1980 a guy who was high on LSD fell down an air shaft that went all the way from the top to the bottom of the Transamerica pyramid building in San Francisco. He lived.

He fell 9 stories but didn't die until he reached the hospital? How is that possible?"

He was a liberal and landed on his head.