It must be said in his defence that James helped turn BSkyB into a powerhouse after joining in 2003 and that, as pay-TV executive, he’s no chump. But it’s hard to believe he would have survived the disasters at the News of the World and The Sun – or his subsequent performance before the House of Commons committee – if his dad didn’t run the company and his family didn’t own 40% of News Corp’s voting shares.
Not surprisingly, the resolutions for this year’s AGM — due to take place in Los Angeles at the Darryl F. Zanuck Theater on October 16 – include one to scrap the gerrymander that keeps the Murdoch family in power, and another to split the roles of Chairman and CEO, both of which are currently held by Rupert. Not surprisingly, the board is “unanimously opposed” to both suggestions.
We’ll see what happens on the day, and whether the opposition can do more than register a loud vote of protest, as it did last year. But The Power Index couldn’t notice that the board has been thinking about a succession plan if something should happen to Rupert. It seems it does this every year, and part of the process is that the Compensation Commitee (which awarded James that $5 million cash bonus) discusses “potential internal candidates” with the CEO, ie Rupert.
We’d love to have been a fly on the wall at that meeting, when James’s suitability and recent stellar performance came up.
We see from the 96-page blurb for the AGM that the committee also identifies “development needs … of specific individuals”.
We wonder if they’ve told James he needs to work on reading those emails? Can someone please ask this question at the AGM?
This article first appeared on LeadingCompany’s sister publication, The Power Index.
Myriam Robin is a reporter for SmartCompany and its sister site LeadingCompany. She has degrees in economics, international studies and journalism. She likes writing about businesses taking risks and doing new things.
