Rupert Murdoch has announced that he is becoming ‘Chairman Emeritus’ of News Corp and Fox Corporation, leaving his previous co-chair, favoured son Lachlan Murdoch, to be in charge of both, all by himself. What’s the scam?
The scam is that public company boards are responsible to shareholders for the company’s governance and performance. Where a ‘Chairman Emeritus’ fits in with that is unclear.
According to LawInsider (US), a Chairman Emeritus has “…board observer rights, including the right (but not the obligation) to attend and participate in all meetings of the Company’s Board of Directors (but not the right to vote at any such meeting) and the right to receive all notices of Board and Board committee meetings and a copy of all materials provided to any Board member (other than materials provided to members of standing committees)..”
The notion that Rupert Murdoch – after 70 years in charge – will sit idly by and read reports without exerting influence defies belief. To think that Lachlan and the rest of the board(s) will let the old man sit in a corner without asking for his advice, and that advice not carrying significant weight, is equally fanciful.
Rupert is not stepping aside, he is just putting himself in a position where he doesn’t ‘have to’ attend board meetings, nor is he responsible for decisions made. Instead, he can pick and choose how and when he wields his influence.
Once a puppet master, always a puppet master.
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Kim Wingerei is a businessman turned writer and commentator. He is passionate about free speech, human rights, democracy and the politics of change. Originally from Norway, Kim has lived in Australia for 30 years. Author of ‘Why Democracy is Broken – A Blueprint for Change’.