Home Depot's Nardelli Admits Annual Meeting Error in September Directorship Magazine Exclusive Interview

Business Wire, Sept 6, 2006

NEW YORK -- In an exclusive interview with Directorship magazine, Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli acknowledges that his tightly controlled, limited-time annual shareholder meeting, which sparked widespread outrage, "didn't work" and "was not the right call."

"Mr. Nardelli's candor about his error at the annual meeting was indeed refreshing," said Directorship Editor in Chief William J. Holstein, who conducted the interview. "Few chief executives have been able to take this kind of reaction, learn from it and move on."

But Mr. Nardelli would not comment on what led him to change the meeting's format. In the interview, Nardelli declined to discuss the fact that labor unions eager to organize his workforce had threatened to disrupt the shareholder meeting, using Nardelli's compensation as the key issue. "This interview suggests that many CEOs and boards are still struggling with how to rationally respond to shareholder activist groups that have a broader agenda than pure business," Mr. Holstein added. "As a result, Mr. Nardelli and other corporate leaders have yet to formulate a strategy to win this high-stakes battle of perception."

Elsewhere in the newly redesigned magazine, an article examines the specter of the failure of another "Big Four" accounting firm. Directorship interviewed leading figures in the accounting and auditing professions, who outline possible solutions to the looming disaster. Included is an interview with managing director Cono Fusco of the fast-growing accounting and auditing firm Grant Thornton. Fusco believes that market forces --- not government regulation --- have the most potential for solving the systemic risk that derives from the Big Four's professional concentration.

Additional articles include a critique of today's boards by Christie Hefner, chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises; Intelsat Chairman Joe Wright's views of the responsibilities of board members; and John Biggs' comments on the role of audit committees in overseeing technology issues. Biggs is on the audit committees of Boeing and JPMorgan Chase.

Directorship, in publication since 1975, has been revitalized under new ownership led by Jeffrey Cunningham, former publisher of Forbes, and the addition of top-flight editors and journalists, led by Mr. Holstein. "A vacuum now exists for thought-leading information aimed at directors and top management because the general business press is going downmarket and becoming, in effect, consumer magazines," Mr. Cunningham said. "Directorship has a singular focus --- to provide its readers with news insight and information they can get nowhere else," Mr. Cunningham added. "We have incredible access to the most influential business people globally, and we offer commentary on the major happenings from a director's point of view. No one else does this."

Directorship is received by over 10,000 public board directors, CEOs and senior officers on a monthly basis, and is published by NewsMarkets LLC, a media company dedicated to providing content and services for global business leaders. It acquired Directorship in November 2005 from Russell Reynolds, the well-known executive search magnate. It recruited Mr. Holstein and his award-winning design and production team from Chief Executive magazine.