WHO WOULD YOU RATHER BE/VOTE FOR?Home Depot co-founder, GOP donor Bernie Marcus dead at 95. Berne endorsed Trump in November… 2023 and said two years ago that “Nobody works, nobody gives a damn. Just give it to me. Send me money. I don't want to work — I'm too lazy, I'm too fat, I'm too stupid. We used to have free speech here. We don't have it. The woke people have taken over the world. You know, I imagine today they can't attack me. I'm 93. Who gives a crap about Bernie Marcus?” WHO WOULD YOU RATHER BE?Lead “Independent” Director Gregor BrennemanCEO Ed Decker already on boardDoesn’t have to sit on any committees (all other independent directors sit on at least two)$380,000 in pay last year to meet 11 times; one of two directors who didn’t even give to charity as part of the board’s matching charitable contribution programHas an actual voice that matters (14%); CEO has 25%Director Gerard Arpey$315,000 despite low pressure (only 3% influence)No leadership rules: sits on Nominating Committee with four other directors and FInance Committee with 5 other directorsDoesn’t even have a “Real” job: says he has been a partner in Emerald Creek Group, a private equity firm since 2012. Prior to his retirement in 2011, he served as CEO of AMR CorporationEmerald Creeks’s website is a picture of an orange grove. In the “news” section of the website the last listed event was from November 29, 2011: Arpey Joins Emerald Creek GroupMeta Permits Its A.I. Models to Be Used for U.S. Military Purposes.Meta will allow U.S. government agencies and contractors working on national security to use its artificial intelligence models for military purposes.Meta said that it would make its A.I. models, called Llama, available to federal agencies and that it was working with defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Booz Allen as well as defense-focused tech companies including Palantir and Anduril.Meta’s move is an exception to its “acceptable use policy,” which forbade the use of the company’s A.I. software for “military, warfare, nuclear industries,” among other purposes.WHO WOULD YOU RATHER BE?Meta Platforms Emperor Mark Zuckerberg72% influence; 61% voting powerWorld’s 4th richest person: ~$200BBlah blah blahMeta director John Arnold1% influenceMember on only one committee (Audit & Risk) with 4 other membersNo other directorships; only have a BAreceived an $8M bonus from Enron just before the company filed for bankruptcy; the largest cash bonus ever distributed by the company. Known as "king of natural gas”You work at a place named after you (Arnold Ventures) and you’re still just the co-founder and co-chairYour board appointment was announced on Valentine’s DayPay will be roughly $500,000 annually. He also received two initial equity grants worth $1.4M In 2007, Arnold became the youngest billionaire in the U.SBoeing Union Approves New Contract, Ending Costly StrikeLeaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district in Seattle said 59% of members who cast ballots agreed to approve the company’s fourth formal offer and the third put to a vote.The new contract will raise wages more than 43 percent cumulatively over the next four years, an improvement over the two previous offers. The first proposal would have raised wages just over 27 percent.The deal also includes a $12,000 ratification bonus, which is four times as much as the bonus in the initial offer, and productivity bonuses.However, Boeing refused to meet strikers’ demand to restore a company pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.Bank of America analysts estimated last month that Boeing was losing about $50 million a day during the now-ended strikeWHO WOULD YOU RATHER BE?Current CEO Kelly Ortberg, who inherited a messOr former CEO David Calhoun, who got to step down when he felt like it and got $98M in total summary compensation since 2020Kroger Finalizes $1.37 Billion Opioid Crisis SettlementUnder the agreement, which wasn’t an admission of wrong doing or liability by Kroger, the company agreed to pay about $1.2 billion over 11 years and around $177 million over a six-year period, each in equal installments. WHO WOULD YOU RATHER BE?CEO and Chair Rodney McMullen since 2014$94M pay since 2019; ; holds $350M in Kroger stockPay ration 502:1; median associate for 2023 was $31,302; received $600k in dividend payments in 202492% shareholder supportNora A. Aufreiter, chair of the Public Responsibilities Committee that met a whopping 3 times last year; served on our Public Responsibilities Committee for nine years, the last four as chairDirector Emeritus of McKinsey & Company; retired in 2014 after more than 27 years with McKinsey$321,000 last year; holds $3M in Kroger stock98% support from shareholders; 99% last year2% board influence despite having served for a decadeElon Musk and X are epicenter of US election misinformationFalse or misleading claims by billionaire ...
