When the boss slips up
PITY Europe's telecoms bosses. They enjoy the fruits of being at the centre of what may be the world's sexiest industry. But the price of even the smallest slip can be high. Chris Gent, head of Britain's Vodafone, recently came under fire for accepting a £10m ($15m) bonus for being at the helm last year when the firm took over Mannesmann. Ron Sommer of Deutsche Telekom has been lambasted for offering a gasp-inducing $46.5 billion to buy Voice-Stream, an American mobile-phone firm. And on July 26th, as a climax to easily the biggest blunder to date, Juan Villalonga resigned from Spain's Telefonica, his passing eased by a severance package said to be half as big again as Mr Gent's bonus.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “When the boss slips up”
From the July 29th 2000 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Could seaweed replace plastic packaging?
Companies are experimenting with new ways to reduce plastic waste
Has Sequoia Capital outgrown its business model?
Venture capital’s hardiest perennial gets back to its roots
On stupid rules and quick wins
Why every boss can benefit from asking employees what most infuriates them
TikTok wants Western consumers to shop like the Chinese
It still has some convincing to do
Will the trouble ever end for Volkswagen and its rivals?
From strikes to Trump tariffs, calamities abound
After Northvolt’s failure, who will make Europe’s EV batteries?
The continent looks ever more reliant on Asian producers