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Tesla directors agree to return $735 million following claims they were massively overpaid
Elon Musk, Larry Ellison and other current and former members of Tesla's board of directors will return $735 million to settle claims that they massively overpaid themselves.
Activist investor wants to replace all Yahoo's directors
In many ways, Yahoo is the internet's metaphorical grandparent. We don't visit nearly enough, and we're all avoiding thinking about what might happen to it. Well, it looks like an equally metaphorical rich Aunt is stepping in and taking care of that for us. The WSJ reports that "activist investor" Starboard Value LP is coming good on an earlier threat of getting rid of Yahoo's existing directors, and putting forward nine new ones, of its choosing, in their place.
Nintendo AGM: Mario Kart 8 sells 2 million, Iwata re-elected
Mario Kart 8 sold approximately 2 million copies worldwide in less than a month, as it continued to race along the Wii U sales charts. IGN reports Nintendo announced the sell-through figure at its annual general meeting of shareholders, which took place yesterday. Nintendo must be chipper about the racer's continued success, after it turbo-boosted off the grid with 1.2 million sales in its debut weekend. It'll be interesting to see how many came from new Wii U owners, given Nintendo of America said system sales quadrupled the week following release. We should get a better sense of that when Nintendo releases its quarterly financial results, which it's scheduled to do on July 30. The other major if not surprising news from Nintendo's meeting is investors re-elected company president Satoru Iwata. Despite drops in his approval rating and big fiscal losses, Iwata and the eight other directors were re-elected, while Outside Auditor Naoki Mizutani was newly elected as Outside Director. Iwata wasn't able to attend the AGM, as he was recovering from major surgery that took place the week before. The Nintendo chief came through the procedure well, and said "a little more time" is needed before he returns to his normal, Reggie-thumping work days. [Image: Nintendo]
The Daily Grind: Would you buy a game based on the people in charge?
Between watching what Naoki Yoshida did to the original version of Final Fantasy XIV and getting a hands-on with the new version, I will now play absolutely any game that lists him as the director. I don't care if his next project is Barbie Dancing Fun Time -- I will buy it if his name is on the cover. Or download page. The point is that the man has convinced me that he can take a game and make it into something great. Of course, video games in general have shown many times that a name doesn't make for a game. And a big-name MMO designer doesn't necessarily have the same luck with the second game as with the first (see Ultima Online vs. Tabula Rasa). But there are a lot of names out there that are associated with big projects, for better or worse. So would that influence you? Would you buy a game based on the people in charge? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Bobby Kotick joins Coca-Cola board, will advise on digital media
Shortly after appearing in a cameo for Moneyball, Activision Blizzard CEO has picked up another choice role: He's joined The Coca Cola Company's board of directors. Kotick will help oversee the classic sugar water giant, and advise the company on its entries into digital media. Kotick also serves on a few educational institution boards, the board of directors at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and as the founder of the Call of Duty Endowment, Activision's nonprofit arm, built to support US armed forces veterans and their families. Kotick also served on Yahoo!'s board of directors previously.In completely unrelated news, Coca Cola also announced an "online pass" for its sodas going forward: You'll get all the water and carbonation of your soda with the initial purchase, but the actual syrup flavoring will require an extra charge. Ice will require a complete subscription.
Yahoo's management overhaul continues: Chairman and three board members step down
Out with the old, in with the new, eh? Yahoo certainly subscribes to that philosophy, as it's already shuffled out Jerry Yang in favor of Scott Thompson as its CEO, and now the company will be adding four fresh faces to its board. Among those departing Yahoo is Roy Bostock -- which ends his four year reign as Chairman of the board -- who is perhaps most well-known for having a hand in turning down Microsoft's money in 2008. With this most recent shuffling at the top, Yahoo's down to just seven board members, but the search is on to find replacements for the departed directors. Who will be the lucky chosen ones? No one can say for sure, but given Yahoo's declining status, whoever joins up will have their work cut out to get the company back on top.
Michael Bay and James Cameron chat about shooting movies in 3D (video)
Two of the biggest action movie directors going right now, James Cameron and Michael Bay, took some time out to talk about shooting movies in 3D ahead of the release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon this summer. You can check out the entire conversation, put on by Paramount and The Hollywood Reporter, in the video above, where Bay talks about some of the challenges faced in shooting the movie and how the technology pioneered by James Cameron for Avatar has continued to progress. Making Transformers in 3D caused the movie to cost about $30 million extra, but it didn't cause any shooting delays. We'll find out if it was worth it, or if audiences have started to turn against wearing the glasses when the movie comes out June 29th.
Apple's board gains a new director: Ronald D. Sugar
Apple's board of directors has been running pretty lean since the departure of Google's Eric Schmidt and the death of Jerry York, so a new director is welcome news. Today the company announced the addition of Dr. Ronald D. Sugar to the board; Sugar is the retired CEO of Northrop Grumman and previously worked at Litton Industries and TRW, Inc. Sugar has a bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree in engineering from UCLA, and considering his aerospace background there's only one possible conclusion to draw from this appointment: Apple is making a flying car. No, no, just kidding. Congratulations to Dr. Sugar; we wish him a long and pleasant term as an Apple director. [via TechCrunch] Show full PR text Ronald D. Sugar Joins Apple's Board of Directors CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apple® today announced that Dr. Ronald D. Sugar, former Chairman of the Board and CEO of Northrop Grumman Corporation, was appointed to Apple's Board of Directors. Dr. Sugar will serve as the Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee. "Ron is an engineer at heart, who then became a very successful business leader. We are very excited to welcome him to Apple's Board" "Ron is an engineer at heart, who then became a very successful business leader. We are very excited to welcome him to Apple's Board," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "In addition to having been the CEO of a high-tech Fortune 100 company, Ron has a Ph.D. in engineering and has been involved in the development of some very sophisticated technology." "I have always had enormous admiration for the people of Apple," said Sugar. "It is a special privilege to serve on the board of such an amazing company." Dr. Sugar served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Northrop Grumman Corporation from 2003 until his retirement in 2010. Previous to Northrop, he held executive positions at Litton Industries and TRW Inc., where he served as chief financial officer. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is a director of Chevron Corporation, Amgen Inc. and Air Lease Corporation, and serves as a senior advisor to the private investment firm Ares Management LLC. He is a trustee of the University of Southern California, where he also holds the Judge Widney Chair as Professor of Management and Technology. He is a member of the boards of UCLA Anderson School of Management, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and several other philanthropic organizations focused on children and education. He graduated summa cum laude in engineering in 1968 from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he also received master's and doctorate degrees in the same field. He subsequently completed executive programs at Stanford, Wharton and Harvard. Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple's PR website (www.apple.com/pr), or call Apple's Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042. © 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Levine: Game industry 'star-struck' by Hollywood
You wouldn't blame Ken Levine for having a chip on his shoulder when it comes to Hollywood. After all, as Develop recounts, the respected game designer "failed spectacularly" in his first career as a scriptwriter. So, when Levine was offered an opportunity to make a game with, in his words, "a very talented film director," it's not much of a stretch to imagine he experienced more than a little satisfaction in turning down the offer. "My feeling is why?" Levine questioned. "Why would any game designer want to do that?" Aside from any personal justice he might have enjoyed, Levine answers his own question with another: "Why would I want a film director to help me make a game, any more than they would want me to help out with their films?" And he takes it further: "I think there's a sense in the entertainment fields that video games are seen as the junior varsity," he said. "There's this feeling of 'oh one day you can come up to our league.'" "In our industry there's too many people star-struck of the movie world, jumping into deals with some big movie director just because they're big film directors." No, Levine isn't taunting del Toro, he's just reflecting on the obvious clash between how great games have been made (hint: rather anonymously) and the looming cult of celebrity eager to pervade the game industry. But hey, Ken, at least they asked you to work with a movie director -- just about anything passes as a star these days. Who would you rather (make your game with): Bristol Palin or The Situation?
Jobs to miss Apple shareholder meeting this week
Bloomberg is reporting that Steve Jobs will not attend this week's Apple shareholder meeting. That's not a big surprise -- Jobs' health has kept him from attending recent usual events, including Macworld earlier this year. But it is the first time in the over 10 years since he rejoined the company that he won't be appearing at the annual meeting.Additionally, at this week's meeting, as usual, shareholders will vote on whether or not to re-elect Apple's directors to their one-year terms, including Jobs, though nothing is expected to change -- the company has remained strongly in support of Jobs as leader, even if they haven't talked about his health as much as some investors may have liked. COO Tim Cook will likely run most of the planned activities during the meeting.We'll keep an eye on any news that comes out of the closed meeting (streams and transcripts won't be available, but there will be reporters in attendance), and let you know what we hear. As always, we wish Jobs and his company and family the best of health, and hope he is able to feel better soon.[via CNET]
Andrea Jung joins Apple board
Today, Andrea Jung joined Apple's Board of Directors. Jung is currently the chairman and CEO of Avon. She graduated from Princeton University, and also serves on the board of directors for the General Electric Company, and is on the board of trustees for New York Presbyterian Hospital. "Andrea is a strong CEO and marketer and we look forward to benefiting from her insights and experience as a member of Apple's board," said Steve Jobs, today.Jung is the eighth member of Apple's board of directors. As you may recall, the last member to join the board was Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. Apple has recently come under fire about their perceived lack of diversity in the upper offices; this is a definite start to ending those comments. The current board of directors is made up of: Bill Campbell (Chairman and former CEO, Intuit Corp.) Millard Drexler (Chairman and CEO, J. Crew) Albert Gore Jr. (Former Vice President of the United States) Steve Jobs (CEO, Apple, Inc.) Andrea Jung (Chairman and CEO, Avon Products) Arthur D. Levinson, Ph. D. (Chairman and CEO, Genentech) Dr. Eric Schmidt (CEO, Google) Jerry York (Chairman, President and CEO Harwinton Capital)
Check out 3 Swedish short films in Second Life!
Yet another way Second Life can help filmmakers find their audience. On November 22 and 23, the Second House of Sweden is hosting a series of three critically acclaimed Swedish short films at its amphitheater in SL. This would be cool enough, but as a bonus, the producers and directors of the films will be on hand to both introduce their films, and answer questions after they've finished!Just think of the costs and logistics involved in making this a real-world event, complete with multiple city bookings of venues and hotels, airfare, advertisements, etc. With one stroke, all that is a thing of the past! It worked well for Four-Eyed Monsters, and this continues that phenomenon. Plan to go if you can![Thanks, Stefan!]
Fred Anderson resigns from Apple Board
In a comment under yesterday's report on the outcome of the Apple stock option investigation, SubGenius wisely proclaimed "Fred is going to be the fall guy." Congratulations, SubGenius - you win a brand new star! (or at least you will when the star system is working again)Fred Anderson, who valiantly served as Apple CFO from '96 to '04, informed Apple that he believes "it is in Apple's best interests that he resign from the board at this time." His official resignation was Sept 30, 2006. Of course just because Anderson resigned from the board doesn't mean he did anything wrong or that he's covering up for anyone else.. this kind of thing happens all the time. He probably just wants to spend more time with his family and improve his golf swing.
