Boeing crash, Starbucks discovers people, Texas bans Texas, everyone’s a coward (except Hulk Hogan)

Story of the Week (DR):

1. Boeing Crash in India Is First Fatal Incident Involving a 787 Jet: Tragedy threatens to throw plane maker’s fragile recovery into question MM

1. Boeing stock slides after Air India 787 Dreamliner crashes

2. AI Overviews hallucinates that Airbus, not Boeing, involved in fatal Air India crash

3. One of the Dreamliners That Gave a Boeing Manager Nightmares Just Crashed

1. Whistleblowers always warned that passengers would pay a price for Boeing’s tyrannical corner-cutting, especially with the planes shipped overseas.

2. Starbucks accelerates new staffing model to all company-owned North American stores

1. Starbucks has launched its biggest hiring spree in history — aimed at finally tackling  the number one gripe from frustrated customers. 

2. The recruitment blitz— adding as many as 85,000 workers across its 17,000 US locations — is a bold move aimed at slashing long wait times.

3. CEO Brian Niccol, speaking to 14,000 store managers at a Las Vegas event on Wednesday, called it 'the biggest human capital investment in connection in the history of Starbucks.' 

4. Five years ago, Starbucks stores averaged 23 employees. Cost-cutting has since trimmed that number down to 18 to 19 — four to five fewer workers per location.

5. Howard Schultz says he ‘did a cartwheel' when Starbucks CEO Niccol coined ‘back to Starbucks' strategy

3. NETFLIX: 78% NO Jay Hoag

1. “In accordance with the Company’s director resignation policy, Mr. Hoag offered his resignation from the Board, conditioned upon Board acceptance. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider Mr. Hoag’s resignation and recommend to the Board regarding whether to accept or reject the resignation or take other action.”

1. Jay Hoag chairs the Nomination Committee

2. The Nominating and Governance Committee met two times in 2024. Each member attended all the Nominating and Governance Committee meetings held in 2024, other than Mr. Hoag who did not attend one meeting.

2. 2024: 9% NO; 2023: 23% NO; 2020: 55% NO; 2017: 49% NO; 2014: 49.7% NO; 2011: 9% NO

1. MGMT proposal to declassify the board 99.6% YES

2. MGMT proposal to eliminate supermajority voting provisions 99.6% YES

3. Say on Pay: 2023: 71% NO; 2022: 73% NO

4. SHP Wins (22?)

1. SHP Lobbying Activity Report/Political Disclosures (2 wins): 2022: 60% YES; 2021 80% YES

2. SHP repeal classified board (6 wins): 2017: 63% YES; 2016: 83% YES; 2015: 80% YES; 2014: 82% YES; 2013: 88% YES; 2012: 78% YES

3. SHP simple majority vote (9 wins): 2022: 58% YES; 2021: 90% YES; 2020: 73% YES; 2019: 88% YES; 2018: 84% YES; 2017: 63% YES; 2016: 82% YES; 2015: 80% YES; 2013: 81% YES

4. SHP majority voting policy (4 wins): 2016: 87% YES; ; 2014: 82% YES; 2013: 81% YES; 2011: 72% YES

5. SHP independent board chair: 2013 (1 win): 73% YES

5. Netflix Director Jay C. Hoag sold 31,750 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,252.35, for a total value of $39,762,112.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 63,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,948,144.

4. Why Companies with More Female Board Members Have Better Workplace Safety

1. That’s the conclusion of “From the Boardroom to the Jobsite: Female Board Representation and Workplace Safety,” written by a pair of Notre Dame professors and a colleague from Villanova University. Examining government and corporate worker safety data from 266 companies between 2002 to 2011, the trio determined that the number of workplace accidents and injuries tended to be lower at businesses that had higher numbers of women on their boards.

Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):

1. DR: Rubrik's CEO let 800 employees sit in on board meetings — and he says it supercharged the company

1. For the first seven to eight years of building the company, Rubrik's CEO opened board meetings to all staff.

2. Bipul Sinha said as many as 800 staff members tuned in to these meetings.

3. The data management firm went public in April 2024 and is worth $19 billion.

2. MM: McDonald's downgraded on GLP-1 drug worries: Wall Street's top analyst calls MM

Assholiest of the Week (MM):

One story, three asshole options:

1. Texas DR

1. Texas Removes BlackRock From Energy Boycott Blacklist

1. 2022: Texas bans local, state government entities from doing business with firms that “boycott” fossil fuels

1. ““Our review focused on the boycott of energy companies…”

2. Bills That Could Have Hurt Renewable Energy Die in Texas Legislature

3. Texas finalizes $1.8B to build solar, battery, and gas-powered microgrids

1. 2025: Texas Leads U.S. Renewable Energy Generation by a Country Mile - since 2019, renewable energy has nearly doubled to account for 30% of Texas energy

2. Blackrock

1. Texas Removes BlackRock From Energy Boycott Blacklist

1. “BlackRock does not boycott fossil fuels — investing over $100 billion in Texas energy companies on behalf of our clients proves that.

2. Fink letter to clients in 2020: Our role as a fiduciary is the foundation of BlackRock’s culture. The commitments we are making today reflect our conviction that all investors – and particularly the millions of our clients who are saving for long-term goals like retirement – must seriously consider sustainability in their investments.

2. As EU acts to stop greenwash, funds drop climate claims from their names

1. An email BlackRock sent to clients on March 18, which it shared with Climate Home, said it had responded to the ESMA naming guidelines by changing the names of 56 funds worth $51bn to drop sustainability terms. An example it gave was dropping “ESG” from the BSF Systematic ESG World Equity Fund.

3. How BlackRock’s Larry Fink Won Over Donald Trump

1. BlackRock seeks dismissal of Texas antitrust case over coal production

4. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink not leaving anytime soon 

1. Did you forget about your board?  Probably not… 

2. Blackrock voted for their own directors, including when those directors were in the bottom quartile for votes received

3. Blackrock can even sway the vote on itself: 

1. Blackrock also owns 6.7% of itself through funds, primarily index

2. The average vote FOR a BLK director is 97.3%, higher than the 96.4% US average

3. In fact, the directors with the lowest votes elsewhere… got the highest votes at BLK?

4. THREE founders on the board

3. “Discrimination” in capital markets

1. X’s Sales Pitch: Give Us Your Ad Business or We’ll Sue

1. Late last year, Verizon Communications got an unusual message from a media company that wanted its business: Spend your ad dollars with us or we’ll see you in court.

2. It worked. Verizon, which hadn’t advertised on X since 2022, pledged to spend at least $10 million this year on the platform, a person familiar with the matter said.

3. 2023: Elon, After Personally Driving Away Advertisers, Tells Them To Go Fuck Themselves (Repeatedly), And Says ‘Earth’ Will ‘Judge’ Them For Killing ExTwitter

2. Canadian Tourists To The U.S. Down Nearly 40% In May, New Data Says

1. SUE CANADA

Headliniest of the Week

1. DR: BJ’s Restaurant announces Lyle D Tick as new president and CEO AND ZRG Appoints Interim Talent Trailblazer Liz Dick to Board of Directors

2. MM: Hulk Hogan wants to reimagine Hooters restaurants as his Real American Beer brand makes a new bid to save the chain

Who Won the Week?

1. DR: Jay Hoag: ignores shareholders while selling shares while pretending to be independent

2. MM: I have a winner that doesn’t know they’re a winner - Polish investor Wiaczesław "Slava" Smołokowski, the owner of Polaroid.  With Texas pushing Blackrock to its knees for discriminating against oil, the Robby Starbuck winning the war of discrimination against white men, and Elon Musk winning money for discriminating against Nazi platforms, Polaroid has a chance to sue Apple for discriminating against cameras with its phones, sue the state of Texas for divesting from Polaroid in 2001, and sue the US public for not buying printing cameras.  .    

Predictions

1. DR: Jay Hoag does not attend the Nomination Committee meeting which is meant to accept or reject his resignation but since the other 3 committee members are too scared to act without him they sit and talk about Netflix’s upcoming season of Stranger Things for 45 minutes until Brad Smith gets a text from Jay Hoag which simply reads: “Rjct”

2. MM: Dave Calhoun boomerangs back to Boeing to save the day