Will Rummy Head To Wall Street?

Posted by John Carney, Nov 08, 2006, 3:02pm

donaldrumsfeldheadingtowallstreet.jpgEveryone now thinks of Donald Rumsfeld as the snippy man who speaks in metaphysical riddles and never seemed to get the idea that things aren't going terribly well for us in Iraq. But long before he was the Secretary of Defense, Rummy spent a couple of years as investment banker and lots of years as a corporate executive. He served on the boards of several companies and actually ran a few as CEO, including drug-maker G.D. Searle & Company.

So now that he’s officially been officially thrown off Bush’s cabinet, it’s time to start wondering what’s next for Rummy. Is he headed to Wall Street? We hear that there are some at Morgan Stanley who would like to see him come over to the bank. (Although our source has no real reason to know this kind of information, so take that with a grain of salt.) Or will he head back into the corporate board room? Today’s DealBreaker Reader Poll asks you to predict the next port of call for the USS Rumsfeld.

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Bush Says Rumsfeld Resigning, Gates to Replace Him [Bloomberg]

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Posted by Biz Reporter, Nov 08, 2006 3:39PM

Rumsfeld is damaged goods... not to mention 80-something, so I'd vote for retirement in Delray Beach...

Posted by Top News Story, Nov 08, 2006 8:37PM

Shares of US Government Inc. (NYSE: USA ) rose slightly Wednesday as the market saw the first signs of a long expected overhaul. The Washington , D.C. based conglomerate underwent director elections Tuesday, and many new faces will appear on the board for its new session in January. The low proxy response showed an obvious change of power at the company, and investors responded. The new directors are expected to bring sweeping measures to identify and resolve suspected widespread corporate fraud, people familiar with the matter say. “The market is likely to appreciate these added compliance measures,” said Tom Brokaw, an analyst at NBC Securities. Brokaw does not own shares of USA and his firm has done investment banking business with the company in the past.
The power shift was widely forecasted as shareholders of the world’s largest government services provider grew impatient with frequent scandal, reckless spending, and botched global operations. While it is not anticipated that the board will push for removal of George Walker Bush, USA ’s chief executive, Mr. Bush will surely suffer more scrutiny in the remaining two years of his contract. “He’ll definitely be under the microscope more now that there is a different group of checkers and balancers,” said Brokaw.
Following the elections, the office of the chief executive announced the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, who was serving as Global Head of Military Operations and was often rattled by previous calls for his replacement. Mr. Rumsfeld will be succeeded by Robert Gates, former CEO of the International Spook Service, a wholly owned subsidiary of USA . Still, this change is not likely to fully satisfy shareholders.
The company’s largest shareholder, American Capital Inc., a hedge fund, has in recent months been increasingly critical of USA ’s inability to reign in costs and has called publicly for USA to restructure its existing debt. American Capital co-presidents New Y. Times and Wall S. Journal, in a press conference last month, said they were frustrated with the company’s current fiscal management and overwhelming lack of profitability. They’ve supported claims that scaling down the company may help. “It’s not often you call for a downsizing of a company this far-reaching, but drastic times call for drastic measures.”
Nancy Pelosi, incoming Chairwoman of the Board, said, “The problems we uncover will not be pretty, but we will uncover them anyway.”
- Karl Rove and Al Franken contributed to this article

Posted by David Neubert, Nov 08, 2006 10:35PM

If we really want to protect the USA perhaps we can send him to work for Al Queda. Maybe he can do for them in Iraq what he did for US in Iraq.

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