Article Archives - PhoenixCEOCFO.com

CEO-CFO GROUP - 2007 PROGRAMS

The Phoenix CEO CFO Group is excited to share with you the Topics in the pipeline for 2007. This is just a few of many that have been shared with us over the last few months. Read the Full Article.

STOCK OPTIONS SCANDAL GETS ANOTHER ONE: THE APOLLO GROUP

Phoenix-based Apollo Group is just one of a number of companies that have been forced to restate their earnings and let key officers go (or resign) as a result of back-dating of stock options. The Apollo Group is the parent company of the University of Phoenix. Read the Full Article.

HOFFMAN AND HOCK, INC. BECOMES PLATINUM SPONSOR

Hoffman and Hock, Inc. The Wealth Management Firm, has become a platinum sponsor of the CEO-CFO Group. Sponsors are the only way that the CEO-CFO Group can continue to grow. Their support covers the costs so there are no membership dues. We could not survive without them. We ask that you repay their support by supporting them when considering your business needs. Read the Full Article.

JERRY MOYES OFFERSTO BUY SWIFT TRANSPORTATION FOR $2.2 BILLION

Jerry Moyes, the former chairman and CEO and founder of Swift Transportation, plans to buy the Phoenix-based company and take it private. Moyes had to step down as chairman and CEO in October 2005 and pay a fine after SEC filings showed that he had bought shares of Swift days before a positive earnings announcement. Read the Full Article.

ACCRAM SHOWS THEIR SUPPORT...

ACCRAM Inc has been in business for over 25 years providing nationwide desktop, printer and copier sales, service and supplies. ACCRAM will provide desktop and printer support services for a wide range of manufactures such as HP, Lexmark, Kyocera, Epson and NEC. Read the Full Article.

HOW DID THE AUDITORS MISS THE BACKDATING OF STOCK OPTIONS?

The question has to be asked. Already at least 18 public companies are reporting restatements due to backdating of stock options and all of these companies have been audited during the period in which the backdating of the stock options occurred. How did the auditors miss something that now seems painfully obvious? Read the Full Article.

CEO-CFO GROUPS SPONSORSHIPS NOW AVAILABLE

Get in on the ground level of an exciting new group! In its first year of existence, the CEO-CFO Group has an email distribution list that reaches over 300 C-Level Professionals directly, and their network from there. With an additional 200+ Executives on the mailing list sent via hard copy each month, this group reaches over 500 busy Executives. Read the Full Article.

BIOTECH ISN'T EASY: ASK ORTHOLOGIC

OrthoLogic Corporation, the Tempe-based biomedical company, has announced another losing quarter. Losses for the first nine months of 2006 have totalled $28.8 million without any revenues. The company had a major disappointment when it had to halt its clinical trial of Chrysalin, one of OrthoLogic's two key products, in August 2006. Read the Full Article.

GANSON ENGINEERING BRINGS HOME THE GOLD...

Ganson Engineering has become a Gold Level Sponsor of the Phoenix CEO-CFO Group. Ganson Engineering is an on line store providing low cost/high quality printing supplies. Read the Full Article.

MOVE OVER ARIZONA: DRUG RESEARCH GOING TO CHINA

Novartis announced on November 6th that it was developing a $100 million research and development center in China, on the heels of AstraZeneca PLC of Britain's announcement in May 2006 that it was planning to develop a $100 million Chinese R & D Center. Already Rouche Holding AG has its own Chinese drug research center with 60 scientists that started in 2004. Read the Full Article.

WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTS: INSURANCE COSTS ARE COMING DOWN

Insurance costs are going down, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Insurance is a hedge against risk and the risks are declining for most Americans. "Americans are getting better at controlling risks" said Richard Zeckhauser, a professor of political economy at Harvard University. Read the Full Article.

[2006] [Top]

STOCK OPTIONS SCANDAL GETS ANOTHER ONE: THE APOLLO GROUP

Phoenix-based Apollo Group is just one of a number of companies that have been forced to restate their earnings and let key officers go (or resign) as a result of back-dating of stock options. The Apollo Group is the parent company of the University of Phoenix. Read the Full Article.

JERRY MOYES OFFERSTO BUY SWIFT TRANSPORTATION FOR $2.2 BILLION

Jerry Moyes, the former chairman and CEO and founder of Swift Transportation, plans to buy the Phoenix-based company and take it private. Moyes had to step down as chairman and CEO in October 2005 and pay a fine after SEC filings showed that he had bought shares of Swift days before a positive earnings announcement. Read the Full Article.

HOW DID THE AUDITORS MISS THE BACKDATING OF STOCK OPTIONS?

The question has to be asked. Already at least 18 public companies are reporting restatements due to backdating of stock options and all of these companies have been audited during the period in which the backdating of the stock options occurred. How did the auditors miss something that now seems painfully obvious? Read the Full Article.

CEO-CFO GROUPS SPONSORSHIPS NOW AVAILABLE

Get in on the ground level of an exciting new group! In its first year of existence, the CEO-CFO Group has an email distribution list that reaches over 300 C-Level Professionals directly, and their network from there. With an additional 200+ Executives on the mailing list sent via hard copy each month, this group reaches over 500 busy Executives. Read the Full Article.

BIOTECH ISN'T EASY: ASK ORTHOLOGIC

OrthoLogic Corporation, the Tempe-based biomedical company, has announced another losing quarter. Losses for the first nine months of 2006 have totalled $28.8 million without any revenues. The company had a major disappointment when it had to halt its clinical trial of Chrysalin, one of OrthoLogic's two key products, in August 2006. Read the Full Article.

MOVE OVER ARIZONA: DRUG RESEARCH GOING TO CHINA

Novartis announced on November 6th that it was developing a $100 million research and development center in China, on the heels of AstraZeneca PLC of Britain's announcement in May 2006 that it was planning to develop a $100 million Chinese R & D Center. Already Rouche Holding AG has its own Chinese drug research center with 60 scientists that started in 2004. Read the Full Article.

WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTS: INSURANCE COSTS ARE COMING DOWN

Insurance costs are going down, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Insurance is a hedge against risk and the risks are declining for most Americans. "Americans are getting better at controlling risks" said Richard Zeckhauser, a professor of political economy at Harvard University. Read the Full Article.

[2006] [Top]

CEO-CFO Groups Sponsorships Now Available

Get in on the ground level of an exciting new group! In its first year of existence, the CEO-CFO Group has an email distribution list that reaches over 300 C-Level Professionals directly, and their network from there. With an additional 200+ Executives on the mailing list sent via hard copy each month, this group reaches over 500 busy Executives. Read the Full Article .

CSK Auto Sacks the CEO & CFO and Others in Finance Department

CSK Auto has been shedding top employees as the size of the restatement has ballooned to $90 million for errors made going back to 2001. Maynard Jenkins who was the chairman and CEO since 1997 will leave as soon as a replacement is found. Martin Fraser, president and chief operating officer, and Don Watson, chief administrative officer and former financial chief, as well as several other individuals in the company's finance department have left. Read the Full Article .

Just 39 Years Old and President of an Airline

US Airways has promoted Scott Kirby as their new president and at 39 years old he is one of the youngest presidents of a Fortune 500 company. Doug Parker is still the chairman and CEO at the ripe old age of 44 and their CFO, Derek Kerr is 41. Read the Full Article .

The Billionaires Among us: Four Arizona Billionaires on the Forbes list

Arizona has four billionaires on the Forbes 400 richest Americans list which is what it takes to be part of this group. They are Bennett Dorrance at $2.1 billion, John Sperling at $1.7 billion, Peter Sperling at $1.2 billion and Arturo Moreno at $1.1 billion. It took these Arizonans a combination of inherited money, wise investments, business savvy and hard work to make the list. Read the Full Article .

12 Qualities of The New CFO

The role of the CFO has changed over the last fifteen years as a result of global competition, technological changes, expanding supply chain, an increased emphasis on quicker growth by investors, more competition for capital, additional political risks, greater regulation and Sarbanes-Oxley. The New CFO must have different abilities and qualities than the old CFOs had. Read the Full Article .

Best Books to Read for an MBA in Entrepreneurship

This is a list of business books that I would currently suggest to those who would like to read their way to an MBA in Entrepreneurship. This list will change as new books come out and certain books and ideas become out-dated. A number of the classic business texts were not included because it's assumed the reader has read them. Many of the newer books use the classic business books as a foundation and take those ideas to the next level. Read the Full Article .

[2006] [Top]

Taser Settles Shareholder Lawsuits for $20 million: A Steal?

Taser International, the Scottsdale-based maker of stun guns, is settling a series of shareholder and derivative lawsuits for $21 million, and Tim Beyers, writing for the Motley Fool, thinks that it's a steal. Even though the $21 million is more than the last quarter's revenue of $16 million, the company expects to pay only $7.9 million. The other $13 million will be covered by insurance proceeds and company stock. The company believes the shareholder lawsuits would have taken up too much of top management's time. Read the Full Article .

People in Phoenix Have To Go To Vegas To Get Krispy Kreme

Two weeks ago, the franchisee owner of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for the Phoenix area, Rigel Corporation, abruptly closed all eight of its Arizona stores. Rigel had filed chapter 11 bankruptcy protection two days before it shut its doors. Kripsy Kreme, the parent corporation, would like to reopen the stores as quickly as possible but that might take some time if the stores are tied up in bankruptcy. Read the Full Article .

Hooters Hotel Does Well in Las Vegas

The company that owns Hooters Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas released their earnings report in August 2006, and it showed that a Hooters Hotel and Casino can do well in Las Vegas. Hooters opened in February 2006 in Las Vegas, and comparing the results of the previous hotel casino at the location, the San Remo Hotel, to the Hooters Hotel, there are some strong contrasts. Read the Full Article .

New Economic Indicator Signals Problems: Recession

An analyst for the New York Times reported that falling new car sales have been a near perfect indicator of recessions since 1968, having predicted five recessions since then without fail, and he reports that the new car sales decreased in June 2006. Read the Full Article .

[2006] [Top]

Paul Lee's Chinese Kitchen Chain has Closed it Doors

Paul Fleming, a restaurant entrepreneur known for the highly successful P.F. Chang's Chinese Bistro, Pei Wei Asian Diner and Flemings Steakhouse, bombed on his Paul Lee's Chinese Kitchen restaurants. The idea was to fill the restaurant niche between P.F. Chang's ($17-$18 check average) and Pei Wei ($8-$9 check average). He had pitched the idea to P.F. Chang's who passed on it and ended up partnering with Outback Steakhouse in a 50-50 deal. Read the Full Article .

Shakeup at Cold Stone Creamery: New President Has Been Named

Cold Stone Creamery announced two weeks ago that Jim Flaum has rejoined the company as the company's new president. Flaum had previously worked for Cold Stone, having started in 2002, as an executive vice president and had reported to Sheldon Harris, the former president of Cold Stone. Prior to Flaum's work at Cold Stone he was with McDonald's for 30 years. He had left the Cold Stone in 2004 to start his own restaurant chain. Read the Full Article .

Lucky or Smart? A Successful Entrepreneur's Answer

Bo Peadbody started an internet company at age 19, sold it to Lycos for $58 million in stock, watched that stock increase nearly 10 times and then sold most of that stock by December 31, 1999, a few months before the stock market crash of 2000. Lucky or smart? In Bo Peabody's book, "Lucky or Smart", he answers the question this way: he was smart enough to realize that he was very lucky. Read the Full Article .

Near Record Heat in Phoenix Means Record Energy Demand

APS said that July 12, 2006 was a record for energy usage. The peak demand reached 7,103 megawatts at 5 PM, easily beating the record set last year on July 18, 2005 of 7,000 megawatts. The company has been running its nuclear power plant at near capacity. Read the Full Article .

PayPal to Open up Operations in Scottsdale: But Not in SkySong

PayPal, which is owned by eBay, announced on July 11, 2006 that it will open a technology development center in Scottsdale in 2006 and will hire more than 400 high tech professionals by 2009. According to Donna Hogan, reporter for the East Valley Tribune, "eBay snubbed the city's ethereally named technology park, SkySong, and will move into a spec-built, 92,000-square-foot building on the northeast corner of Mountain View Road and 90th Street." Read the Full Article .

CSK Auto Corporation is the Subject of Five Shareholder Lawsuits

Phoenix-based CSK Auto, a $1.5 billion car parts retailer, is being sued by least five different law firms on behalf of shareholders in class action lawsuits. CSK auto had announced in March 2006 that it is reviewing accounting errors and irregularities in its internal control over its financial reporting. The company has delayed its fourth quarter results until the review is finished. Read the Full Article .

Asian Bird Flu Causes Confusion in Insurance Industry

Leslie Caprow with Kaercher-Campbell Insurance told the CEO-CFO Group meeting in Las Vegas that the insurance industry cannot determine the risk, or the amount of risk to insure, in the case of a possible flu epidemic resulting from the Asian bird flu. The insurance industry does not have a handle on it. Read the Full Article .

Forget the Stock Market: Commodities is Where to Make Money

Well-known investor Jim Rogers told Barrons's that the world is in the midst of a commodities boom which should continue for at least eight more years. Jim Rogers is a legendary investor, best known for co-founding the Quantum Fund with George Soros, which earned over a 4,000% return in the 1970's. Read the Full Article .

Vcommerce Appoints a New CFO

Scottsdale-based Vcommerce named Randy Buness as their new CFO, replacing Bret Lawson who had been appointed to the CFO position in February 2006. The company made no mention for the reason of Lawsons' departure. Randy Buness, the new CFO, had worked as the CFO for Phoenix-based I.C.E., Inc. a provider of e-commerce solutions for the travel industry. Read the Full Article .

Tempe-Based Direct Alliance Sold to TeleTech Holdings of Colorado

Teletech Holdings, a billion-dollar business process outsourcer (BPO) from Englewood, Colorado announced on June 15, 2006 that it had purchased Direct Alliance of Tempe, Arizona for $46.5 million. Direct Alliance was a wholly owned subsidiary of Insight Enterprises. Read the Full Article .

The 100 Top Funniest Movies

Everybody should have a list of the top 100 comedies. Bravo TV ran a special on the top 100 comedies in 2006; although the list was fairly extensive, a lot of people were very upset with the entries. "It's a terrible list" and "This list is bogus" were some of the comments that people wrote. A number of people questioned why certain movies were not on the list and others suggested that the ones on the list were in the wrong order. Read the Full Article .

[2006] [Top]

CSK Auto Corporation is the Subject of Five Shareholder Lawsuits

Phoenix-based CSK Auto, a $1.5 billion car parts retailer, is being sued by least five different law firms on behalf of shareholders in class action lawsuits. CSK auto had announced in March 2006 that it is reviewing accounting errors and irregularities in its internal control over its financial reporting. The company has delayed its fourth quarter results until the review is finished. Read the Full Article .

Asian Bird Flu Causes Confusion in Insurance Industry

Leslie Caprow with Kaercher-Campbell Insurance told the CEO-CFO Group meeting in Las Vegas that the insurance industry cannot determine the risk, or the amount of risk to insure, in the case of a possible flu epidemic resulting from the Asian bird flu. The insurance industry does not have a handle on it. Read the Full Article .

Forget the Stock Market: Commodities is Where to Make Money

Well-known investor Jim Rogers told Barrons's that the world is in the midst of a commodities boom which should continue for at least eight more years. Jim Rogers is a legendary investor, best known for co-founding the Quantum Fund with George Soros, which earned over a 4,000% return in the 1970's. Read the Full Article .

Vcommerce Appoints a New CFO

Scottsdale-based Vcommerce named Randy Buness as their new CFO, replacing Bret Lawson who had been appointed to the CFO position in February 2006. The company made no mention for the reason of Lawsons' departure. Randy Buness, the new CFO, had worked as the CFO for Phoenix-based I.C.E., Inc. a provider of e-commerce solutions for the travel industry. Read the Full Article .

Tempe-Based Direct Alliance Sold to TeleTech Holdings of Colorado

Teletech Holdings, a billion-dollar business process outsourcer (BPO) from Englewood, Colorado announced on June 15, 2006 that it had purchased Direct Alliance of Tempe, Arizona for $46.5 million. Direct Alliance was a wholly owned subsidiary of Insight Enterprises. Read the Full Article .

The 100 Top Funniest Movies

Everybody should have a list of the top 100 comedies. Bravo TV ran a special on the top 100 comedies in 2006; although the list was fairly extensive, a lot of people were very upset with the entries. "It's a terrible list" and "This list is bogus" were some of the comments that people wrote. A number of people questioned why certain movies were not on the list and others suggested that the ones on the list were in the wrong order. Read the Full Article .

[2006] [Top]