Can Lehman Bros’ Directors Help The Firm to Stave Off a Plunge in Share Value?

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Ever since the downfall of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc (NYSE:BSC), analysts have been speculating as to whether the next investment-banking firm to fail would be Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE:LEH), placing the firm’s Board of Directors under intense heat.

The analysts’ views still remain mixed, however, with the more prominent ones being downright ambiguous:

"Mr. Mayo, a veteran banking analyst at Deutsche Bank, published a generally downbeat report Thursday on Lehman’s prospects, which he said reflect a 'new harsh reality' for the fourth-largest United States brokerage firm. Yes, he did keep his 'buy' rating on Lehman’s stock, suggesting that it would fare well in the long term. But he also said the near-term for Lehman could be rough," The New York Times reported in an article on Thursday.

Regardless of the exact truth of the firm’s finances, Lehman’s Directors must now work assiduously to restore investor confidence in order to avert having its share price go through a downward spiral in the world markets.

NewsVisual decided to create an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of Lehman’s Board of Directors in order to determine whether its members represented an adequate brain trust for helping to advise the firm through this crisis period.

The Knowledge Map shows that several of the Directors have connections to illustrious business-related institutions and corporations that could help them to better comprehend the true state of the economy.

For example, Lehman CEO/Chairman Richard S Fuld Jr also serves on the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Lehman Director Christopher Gent also serves as the Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline Plc; and Lehman Director Roland A Hernandez, the retired CEO/Chairman of the Telemundo Group, also currently serves on the boards of MGM Mirage, The Ryland Group Inc, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

To see the details of other Lehman Directors, click here for an interactive and fuller version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map.

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

Comments

[Jeffrey]

Awesome application. I just posted about it at my Data Puzzle blog on TechNet.