Experience of Circuit City’s Board of Directors Suggests New Website Launch is Business Savvy Idea

In a move that can be seen as an effort to jump on a bandwagon that was created by MySpace and Facebook, Circuit City launched its own social networking site, called CityCenter, which offers customers a portal for talking about products and exchanging feedback about purchases. Customers can upload blog entries, videos and photos after they complete the registration process (see the article on the Dealerscope website).

According to analysts, Circuit City’s objective for launching this community website was to advance its business interests by building customer loyalty.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the company’s Board of Directors in order to determine how savvy a business move this might be.  Given the Directors level of experience and current involvement with other corporations, it’s improbable that they would endorse this initiative by the management team if it was simply a warm-and-fuzzy idea about friends making new friends online.

Could Social Network Lead to Merger Between Citigroup and JPMorgan?

Analysts have been having some fun lately with by coming up with hypothetical mergers between major corporate rivals (see November 28 article from NewsVisual). A potential deal that is generating some serious buzz would bring Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase together (see article from BloggingStocks). The consensus seems to be that while a merger between the companies would be complicated given the size of Citi and JPMorgan, a partnership could bring about considerable positive results. NewsVisual decided to take a look at how common connections could become a factor in bringing the two together (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Sears Holding Corp’s Board of Directors Address 3rd Quarter Losses

Sears Holding Corp reported today that its net income in this year’s third quarter was a mere $2 million, and that means that its net income plunged $194 million from the same quarter last year, when it was $196 million.  The company doesn’t expect any near-term turnaround.

"We are very disappointed in our performance for the third quarter. We cannot blame our results entirely on the retail and macro-economic environments. We have much on which to improve and are working hard to do so," said Aylwin Lewis, Sears Holdings' CEO and President.

Evidently, the markets shared Mr. Lewis’s disappointment, since the company’s share price tumbled to a 2 ½ year low.  On Thursday, its stock opened at $101.43 and traded at $100.24 at 1:43pm ET on the Nasdaq.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map in order to determine the Directors’ current level of corporate involvement. The Knowledge Map illustrates the level of ties to other companies among the company’s Directors.

E*Trade Seeks Results from Citadel Investment and New Leadership

Things may be looking up for E*Trade Financial Corp as Citadel Investment Group agreed to make a $2.55 billion investment into the discount brokerage, which has been recently hit hard by the US mortgage crisis (see article from The Wall Street Journal). In light of the news, E*Trade CEO/Director Mitchell Caplan will be stepping down from his executive role, to be replaced on an interim basis by E*Trade President Jarrett Lilien, and the position of Chairman, previously held by George Hayter, will be assumed by Donald H Layton.

In order to identify what E*Trade newcomer Donald Layton will bring to the table as Chairman, NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of his past leadership positions, both in the corporate and non-corporate sectors (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

The results are clear in revealing Layton to have been at the head of one of the most prominent financial entities, JP Morgan Chase, having served until 2004 as Vice Chairman. He had also previously been the Co-CEO of the company’s investment bank. In addition, Layton has been the Vice Chairman of Chemical Bank, a Director at MasterCard and is currently a Director at Assured Guaranteed.

Can Experience of Wells Fargo’s Board of Directors Help to Steer the Bank Away from Future Losses?

The subprime mortgage crises continued to pummel the financial sector as Wells Fargo, one of the nation’s largest banks, announced $1.4 billion in fourth-quarter losses. 

Nevertheless, in a sign that the markets might have already become battle-hardened to the subprime assaults on earnings, Wells Fargo’s stock price remained largely unaffected by the announcement.  In fact,  the price was up slightly.  Although the stock opened on the NYSE at $30.09, it was trading at $31.22 at 1:35pm ET (see the BloggingStocks article by Michael Fowlkes).

“By focusing on our core customers, Wells Fargo has largely avoided many of the credit and capital market problem areas in the industry. We did not offer consumer loan products that were inconsistent with our responsible lending practices," said Wells Fargo CFO Howard Atkins in a press release.

"Because of our conservatism, we lost market share in the subprime segment the past three years and we’re glad we did," he added.

Common Connections May Factor Into Merger Buzz Between Bank of America and Citi

Could two rival financial giants be heading toward a merger? Though Bank of America denies making any official offers, the Wall Street Journal claims that Citigroup received and quickly rejected the suggestion of a merger between the two, which supposedly was introduced by a “prominent investment banker” (see article by Robin Sidel, Karen Richardsen and David Enrich). While a merger could be good at this point in helping Citi strengthen its leadership team, the large size of the banks could make such a deal extremely complicated.

Despite the complexities, NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the common connections between Bank of America and Citigroup to discover what relationships could be significant in motivating a merger. (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Experienced Directors at InnerWorkings Bolster Confidence in Deal’s Wisdom

InnerWorkings, Inc. began its Christmas shopping this year by announcing its plans to acquire Corporate Edge, Inc.  The acquisition has been approved by both companies’ Board of Directors, and it’s expected to be official as early as November 30.

The acquisition could help improve InnerWorkings bottom-line.  In 2006, Corporate Edge generated approximately $59 million in revenue, and it boasts a client roster of more than 20 Fortune 500 companies.

At mid-day trading, the markets appeared to greet the buyout news favorably.  InnerWorkings’s stock opened Tuesday on the Nasdaq at $13.87 moved up to $14.04 as of 2:00pm.

To help assess the company’s ability to make prudent business decisions, NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map in order to determine the level of experience of the company’s Board of Directors.

Blackstone Chairman Stephen Schwarzman Takes on Private Equity Challenge with Noteworthy Connections

Blackstone Group Chairman and Co-Founder Stephen A Schwarzman made an appearance on Monday at the CBI conference to defend private equity in its current shaky state. Despite his optimism, Scwarzman’s speech was met with mixed reviews, with half the audience left unconvinced that private equity was the shining force that it was made out to be according to the Blackstone head (see article from Management Today).

Being such a huge force in private equity makes Stephen Schwarzman quite the figure of interest amidst this industry turmoil. NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of Schwarzman’s notable past and present leadership ties in order to achieve some greater insight into this famed executive’s corporate network (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

This Knowledge Map gives a clear idea of how well connected Schwarzman truly is. Not only is he shown to have a large degree of executive leadership experience through his positions at Blackstone and Lehman Brothers, Schwarzman has also held numerous directorships at companies that include Ucar International, Volume Services, Transtar and Collins & Aikman. He is also a member of the JPMorgan Chase National Advisory Board.

Do the Signs Point to Saleh as Sprint’s Permanent CEO?

Sprint Nextel announced that the company’s acting CEO/CFO Paul Saleh will speak at the UBS 35th Annual Global Media and Communications Conference on Monday, Dec. 3 at 2:30 p.m. EST in New York City. The conference is being held at the Grand Hyatt New York Hotel.

Because UBS is a leading investment bank and securities firm, it could indicate that Sprint’s Board of Directors have already decided that Saleh is their pick to head the firm on a permanent, if he handles himself well while under the media glare.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map to get a sense of Saleh’s corporate experience.

Prior to joining Sprint Nextel, Saleh served as the CFO of Walt Disney International, Inc from 1997 to 2001.  And prior to that, he served at Honeywell International for 12 years, including as a Treasurer.
Therefore, the Knowledge Map shows that Saleh has the corporate experience necessary for the Board of Directors to consider him as a leading candidate for the CEO position.

Experience Level of Concur Tech’s Board of Directors Gives Credence to Analyst’s Strong Buy Recommendation

As more bad news concerning financial companies came across the wires on the Monday after Thanksgiving, the experts were looking for stock picks in other areas, including the technology sector.  Among those, Broadpoint gave a strong buy recommendation to Concur Technologies, Inc.  While Concur opened at $34, Broadpoint sees the tech company as having an excellent potential for growth, and thus recommended a target of $40 (see the article on Bloggingstocks.com by Eric Buscemi).

Because investors can often be skittish when it comes to investing in technology companies out of fear that their leadership might lack business experience, NewsVisual decided to make an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of Concur Technologies’ Senior Executives and Board of Directors to determine the quality of the company’s leadership.

The Knowledge Map shows that while the company’s Executive Team is headed by two brothers,  CEO/Chairman Steve Singh and COO/President Rajeev Singh, its Board of Directors has six non-family-related members, all of whom have a wealth of business experience.

Common Ties Could Lead to E*Trade Sale

In an attempt to recover after an extremely disappointing year, E*Trade Financial may be looking to sell itself or part of its business. Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade are rumored to be interested suitors, though neither party has confirmed a deal (see article from the New York Times DealBook). NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map in August amidst merger rumors of the common connections shared between the Executives and Directors at E*Trade and Ameritrade, and found a notable link between the CEOs at either company (see article from NewsVisual). A second Knowledge Map that looks into E*Trade's ties to Charles Schwab reveals additional common connections that may prove advantageous if is E*Trade is indeed shopping for buyers (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

GlaxoSmithKline CEO Experience Shows Promise for 2008

Shares of GlaxoSmithKline were up 7.6% in premarket action of Friday, likely boosted by Wednesday’s news that the pharmaceutical giant was interested in a takeover of Reliant Pharmaceuticals from Alkermes (see article by David Gaffen from WSJ MarketBeat ). Investors are hoping that the deal will be just what the company needs to bring it out of the slump it has experienced in recent months, and as in any corporate scenario, strong leadership will likely be the deciding factor in Glaxo’s ability to see positive results. An IntellectSpace Knowledge Map devoted to Jean-Pierre Garnier, Glaxo’s CEO, sheds some light on the man responsible for taking the company to the next level.

As shown in this Knowledge Map, Garnier not only has extensive corporate experience, but is also heavily involved in non-corporate affairs and has been recognized throughout his career as an exceptional leader. Garnier was previously CEO of SmithKline Beecham prior to its merge with Glaxo in 2000, and is also a Director at United Technologies. He has received eadership awards from France, the Stanford Business School, and the Children’s Health Fund, and is currently involved with the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy and the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships. Garnier also has past leadership experience with the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

(Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Did Board Connections Set the Stage for Talks Concerning Glaxo’s Bid to Buy Reliant Pharma from Alkermes?

  GlaxoSmithKline is reported to be gazing amorously at privately held Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which owns the rights to the triglycerides-lowering block-buster drug Lozava.  In terms of the companies’ balance-sheets, though, the really important thing to know is that the biotechnology company Alkermes will receive $174 million for selling its share of Reliant to Glaxo.  Alkermes needs the cash in order to implement its stock-buyback initiative (see the article on The Street.com by Elizabeth Trotta).

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map in order to find out whether there are any connections between Glaxo and Alkermes among their Board of Directors and Senior Executives.

Freddie Mac Posts Record 3Q Losses; Can Board Experience and Common Connections Lead to a Turnaround?

Freddie Mac is feeling the crunch today as it announces a record $2 billion loss in the third quarter. Caught in the downward spiral that is currently the US housing and credit markets, the company admits to having low expectations for the upcoming quarter (see article by Megan Johnston in Financial Week). 

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the current and notable past connections of Freddie Mac’s Board of Directors. The company will certainly need all of the experience and know-how it can get if it expects to post a turnaround in the near future (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Despite the company’s present struggles, the Knowledge Map illustrates how many of the Directors at the company have a wealth of experience and connections in the financial industry. Robert R Glauber is the former Chairman/CEO of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Richard Karl Goeltz is the former Vice Chairman/CFO of American Express, William M Lewis Jr is Managing Director/Co-Chairman of Investment Banking at Lazard, and Freddie Mac Chairman/CEO Richard F Syron is the former Chairman/CEO of the American Stock Exchange. This extensive leadership experience with some of the biggest names in finance and investing will likely prove useful in forming strategies to combat the disappointing 3Q results.

Knowledge Maps Lend Insight as PowerWave Directors and Officials Accused by Shareholders of Deceptive Disclosures

  A complaint that was filed as a class-action lawsuit on January 16, 2007 in the United States District Court in the Central District of California, Southern Division alleges that Powerwave Technologies, Inc and certain of its Directors and Executive Officers issued false and misleading statements concerning the company’s financial status, and thereby are alleged to have violated the Exchange Act.

The defendants’ deceptions are alleged to have resulted in third-quarter 2006 earnings of only $155 million when the prior forecast was for $230-$250 million and resulted in a lost in value of almost 20% in the same trading day the earnings statement was disclosed.

In particular, the complaint alleges that Powerwave engaged in four specific forms of deceptive behavior: the defendants deceived shareholders concerning the intrinsic value of the company’s common stock; they artificially inflated the values of the shares that were purchased by mislead shareholders; falsely register for sale with the SEC millions of shares of stock that were already sold to the public or used acquire assets of unwitting companies; the defendants acted as company insiders when selling millions of dollars of their privately held shares while in possession of material adverse non-public information.

Richard Breeden Becomes H&R Block Chairman with Extensive Leadership Experience

H&R Block announced today that Richard C Breeden will be stepping in as Chairman of the company, elected to replace Mark A Ernst, who has resigned as Chairman/CEO (see article from Investors Blog Daily). NewsVisual quickly constructed an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the past and present leadership experience that likely helped him secure his latest position as Chairman.

As this Knowledge Map illustrates, Breeden has been actively involved in both the corporate business field and government. Some of the most notable positions he has held include Chairman of the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Assistant to the President and Deputy Council to the Vice President of the United States of America, Chairman/CEO of Equivest Finance, and Director of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. Breeden has also held numerous other Director and Executive positions throughout his career.

Common Connections Add Value to Celgene and Pharmion Deal

In a deal that many analysts are calling “a smart move,” biotech firm Celgene has announced that it will acquire Pharmion Corp for nearly $3 billion (see article by Zack Miller in BloggingStocks). After quickly constructing an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map, NewsVisual found a few noteworthy connections between that companies that could have been significant to the deal (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Former Senior Executives at Celestica Named as Defendants in Lawsuit

A class-action lawsuit filed against Celestica Inc alleges that the company’s officers made false and misleading statements concerning its financial performance and future prospects.  In particular, the Celestica officials are alleged to have concealed certain adverse facts relating to the company’s operations in Mexico, the downturn for demand of its IT products, and a declining demand for its communications products. 

Since the company officials omitted these facts from the company’s future earnings projections, the complaint alleges that the projections had a false basis and that the stock’s value plunged when the true facts concerning the company’s financial state became publicly known.

The complaint names two former Celestica Inc officials as defendants in the complaint.  They are Stephen W Delaney, who resigned as President and CEO in November 2006, and Tony Puppi, who retired from the position of Celestica Inc’s Chief Financial Officer in March of 2007.

Experienced FedEx Directors Could Help Company Weather Oil-Price Storm

Economists often say that increased oil prices are the equivalent of a value-added tax on the nation’s economy.  And if you want to know what a value-added tax would mean for American businesses, consider the impact that increased fuel prices are having on FedEx Corp.’s bottom-line. 

Since September, the company’s fuel charges have jumped 8%, adding $85 million to the wrong side of its ledger, costing an estimated lost of 17 cents per share this quarter (see the article on Bloomberg by Mary Schlangenstein).

Analysts are looking at FedEx and other package-shipping companies as indicators for what lies in store for the broader economy in the next few months.  So how well FedEx weathers the uncertainties of the oil markets in the coming quarter could very well serve to shape investor confidence on Wall Street for good or ill.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map to determine the level of experience among the company’s Board of Directors, whom we may assume will be advising FedEx President/CEO/Chairman Frederick W. Smith in the coming months. 

 

Though Starbucks Sets Low Expectations for Fiscal 2008, Board Network Could Keep Results Positive

Despite the fact that Starbucks’ profit in the fourth-quarter rose by 35 percent since last year and met analyst expectations, the company surprisingly announced some disheartening projections for 2008. Citing increasing dairy costs and the wavering consumer market, Starbucks lowered its estimates for new stores, earnings per share, and sales expectations (see article by Melissa Allison in The Seattle Times). As investors cross their fingers for Starbucks in 2008, an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the current and notable past Board and Executive experiences of the company’s Directors should offer some insight into the company’s leadership team and the connections to take advantage of in the upcoming year (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

After quickly creating a Knowledge Map, we see that nearly all of the Directors have strong affiliations to other major corporate entities, either because they currently serve as Directors or Senior Executives or had served as the heads of such companies in the past. Javier G Truel (Director at Starbucks) is the retired Vice Chairman of Colgate – Palmolive, and Myron E Ullman III (Director at Starbucks) is the current Chairman/CEO of JC Penney.

Senior Executives and Directors at Sunrise Accused of Securities Violations

A class-action lawsuit filed against Sunrise Senior Living, Inc and a number of the company's Executive Officers and Directors alleges that the defendants engaged in violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  In particular, the complaint charges that the defendants made false and misleading statements about Sunrise’s financial circumstances in order to inflate the stock’s price.
 
The individual defendants are further alleged to have taken advantage of stock options and of the stock’s inflated value by selling shares in order to gain proceeds of over $34 million.  In addition, Sunrise officials also benefited from bonus payments that were based upon false statements concerning the company’s profits (see report from Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse).

Past Experience and Connections Valuable as John Thain Steps Up to CEO Role at Merrill Lynch

In an announcement that seems to be making raves in light of a previously bleak outlook, Merrill Lynch has named John A Thain to the position of CEO, replacing Stan O’Neal who recently left the company on a not-so-positive note. Analysts and investors have high expectations for Thain, charging him with the feat of leading a major turnaround at Merrill Lynch (see article from Information Arbitrage). In order to learn a little more about John Thain and achieve some perspective as to what he may contribute in his new position at Merrill Lynch, we created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of his past and present corporate and non-corporate connections (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

As clearly illustrated in this Knowledge Map, Thain has held multiple leadership positions in not only the corporate field, but also with non-profit organizations and government entities. Two of his most notable relationships that suggest good things for Merrill Lynch as Thain takes on the CEO role link him to Goldman Sachs and NYSE Euronext. Most recently, Thain has been the CEO/Director of NYSE Euronext, a position that likely created a valuable corporate network that he may be able to take advantage later on in leading Merrill Lynch.

Could Questions about Board Connections Between Quanta and FBR Be Raised During the Trial?

The class-action lawsuit against Quanta Capital Holdings, Ltd. alleges that the company colluded with its underwriters in the making of false or misleading statements in order to manipulate the price of Quanta’s shares that were being offered in December 2004 (see report from Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse).

 
We decided to create an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map™ in order to examine the personal connects that exists between Quanta Senior Executives and Board of Directors with those of one of the underwriters named in the complaint, Friedman, Billings & Ramsey, Ltd. Although the Knowledge Map itself should not be interpreted as substantiating any of the complaint’s allegations, it does nevertheless illustrate several nodal points of personal connections among the companies.

Macy’s Board Could Lead to Good Results in Fourth Quarter

Macy’s Inc is reportedly doing well as the holiday season approaches, reversing losses from a year ago. The retailer posted a 3% premarket gain, and analysts are expecting fourth-quarter earnings to beat company expectations (see article by David Gaffen in WSJ MarketBeat). An IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of Macy’s Board of Directors visually illustrates the current ties that the Board Members have to other corporate entities. A diverse set of experiences and connections through Macy’s Directors creates a valuable network that the company will likely find advantageous as it pushes for positive results in the upcoming quarter (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

As shown in this Knowledge Map, Macy’s has in impressive set of relationships through its Board of Directors. The company is tied to numerous entities in varying industries, which could prove useful in leading the company or engaging in future business endeavors. Stephen F Bollenbach and Meyer Feldberg (Directors at Macy’s) each have numerous connections to certain well-known companies. Bollenbach is a Director at Time Warner, and Felberg can be linked to UBS, Revlon and Sappi, where he serves as a Director.

Experienced Board at Bank of America Could Help Guide Turnaround

Bank of America joined a growing list of name-brand financial institutions when it announced today that its fourth-quarter earnings statement will reflect a $3 billion loss.  CFO Joe Price added an even more dire warning by saying that greater losses to the Bank could accrue if market conditions worsen.  The loss stems from exposure to mortgages and other debt instruments that investors are no longer willing to buy (see the Reuters article by Jonathan Stempel).

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map to determine the level of experience among the company’s Board of Directors. 

As illustrated in this Knowledge Map, the company’s Board of Directors has several highly experienced people.  Three Directors are among the most prominent because of their ongoing connections:
Director Monica C Lozano is the Publisher and CEO of La Opinion and serves on the Board of Directors of the Union Bank of California and the Walt Disney Co; Director William Barnett III is the President and CEO of The Barnett Company and serves on the Board of Directors of Duke Energy; and Director Thomas M Ryan is the President and CEO of CVS/Caremark Corp and serves on the Board of Directors of Yum Brands Inc.

Wal-Mart Posts Positive Results; Can Leadership Make it Last?

Wal-Mart surprised analysts today as it reported better-than-expected earnings, boosting today’s market. Opinions vary as to whether or not Wal-Mart’s latest results will be long term (see article from Trading Price Patterns).

An IntellectSpace Knowledge Map takes a closer look at Wal-Mart’s Board of Directors, revealing the numerous current corporate ties that the company may find to its advantage (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Nearly all of Wal-Mart’s Directors hold Board or Executive positions with other companies in a wide range of industries. James I Cash is shown to be a Director at some big names in the corporate world, including Microsoft and GE, and M Michele Burns serves on the leadership teams of Cisco Systems and Mercer. Other notable ties link Roland A Hernandez to Lehman Brothers and MGM Mirage, James W Breyer to RealNetworks and Marvel, and Aida Alvarez to Deloitte Touche and Fannie May.

The diverse connections and experience of Wal-Mart’s Board of Directors could go far in making the company’s latest positive results the norm in the long term.

Does Board Experience at Blackstone Add Weight to Its President’s Comments?

While The Blackstone Group announced its own third-quarter losses on Monday, the world’s largest private-equity firm’s President and COO, Hamilton James, voiced the ominous assessment that financial institutions are still baffled by the exact magnitude of their own losses as a result of the subprime debacle (read the Reuters article by Michael Flaherty and Megan Davis).   

Although overall revenues increased to $526 million from $461.5 million in the same period last year, a substantial portion of the company’s losses were from $802 million in non-cash charges relating to IPO unit awards and the amortization of intangibles, a company press release stated. 

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map to determine the level of experience among the company’s Board of Directors. 

Can E*Trade’s Directors Prevent a Downfall?

E*Trade is facing some serious scrutiny today as the company has announced that it expects to take major write downs in the fourth quarter. The company is also seeing significant trade volatility as the SEC leads a probe into its loan and securities portfolios and talk of bankruptcy is in the air (see article by Paul Foster in BloggingStocks). Can E*Trade’s leadership team pull the company out of this downward spiral? We created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the second-degree ties of E*Trade’s Board of Directors in the hopes that corporate ties and leadership experience could suggest a turnaround (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

As shown in this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map, nearly all of the Directors at E*Trade have current corporate leadership affiliations elsewhere, though it is difficult to say how valuable this experience will be in this latest crisis. Some of the more notable connections show that E*Trade Director Daryl G Brewster is the CEO of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and that Cathleen Raffaeli (Director of E*Trade) holds executive and board positions at Hamilton White Group and American Home Mortgage Investment. Other E*Trade Directors are shown to be linked to a number of other companies in varying industries.