Latest news with #executiveteam
CBS News
21-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Denver International Airport employees question CEO about $19,000 business class flights; "Creates a rift"
Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington is again being pressed for answers about costly business class tickets that he approved for his executive staff -- one costing over $19,000 to attend an April conference in Madrid. The questions are now coming from his own employees. A photo from Denver International Airport in Colorado in December 2024 AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images At a quarterly "Town Hall" meeting Monday for Denver International Airport workers, one asked "about the media story that ran recently on travel." The anonymous employee asked about the "ethical decision to spend quite a bit on an international business class ticket." According to the meeting moderator, "The comment was, 'It creates a rift in the sentiment between front line and senior leadership.'" Earlier this month, a CBS News Investigation reported on the trip Washington took to the three day conference with eight members of his executive staff. The overall cost of the trip for the nine execs to attend the three day conference was about $165,000, or an average of about $18,000 for flights, conference costs, hotels and meals. Washington and all of his subordinates flew either business class or first class both to and from Madrid, with one ticket costing $19,194.21 and another coming in at just under $16,000. Two other roundtrip fares were about $12,000. And the other five ranged from $9,000 to $11,000. Responding to the employee question Monday, Washington said, "I think the conference was worthwhile. It was a great investment in our folks." He explained the high cost of tickets, saying "All of the travel requests should be done at the same time. In this case they were not. Some travel requests came in a little later." Washington explained to employees, "In this case some prices went up at the wrong time when we were reserving those tickets." Robert Laney, a travel consultant who specializes in seat upgrades for international flights, said the airport should simply have waited a bit longer to buy tickets as prices would have come down. "You would have hit a day where United would have come down to earth and you would have seen eight (thousand), nine (thousand) at some point in time," said Laney. He said he was in "shock, disbelief" that Denver International Airport paid so much for business class seats to Spain. Records and receipts obtained during the CBS News investigation showed most of the tickets for the airport execs were purchased several months in advance -- none were last minute purchases. The money used to buy the tickets on United were derived from Denver International Airport revenues from concessions, car rentals and other airport user fees. Washington told the airport employees "We are reviewing our (travel) policy. There are some revisions we could make to that policy." An airport spokesperson said there are no specific policy changes to share yet, as the airport is looking at their entire policy that allowed the pricey travel, from travel requests to booking to reimbursements. "But," said Washington, "I stand by the professional development opportunity as an investment in our people that will pay off in the long run."
Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Times
We need to cut costs but it's difficult to get my team on board
Q: We are experiencing revenue decline after several years of double-digit growth. We need to cut costs but I'm finding it difficult to get my senior leadership team on board. Most of them have not been through a downturn before. Any ideas? A: This is a very common problem. About half of UK organisations are looking to reduce costs as a result of economic headwinds, surveys suggest. This isn't easy and addressing it requires considered strategic, cultural and operational change. In good times, people get used to seeing their teams and their budgets grow. As an executive team, you need to treat this as a big change and deliver that message consistently from the top. You need to involve the whole organisation. It takes time
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Live Ventures Inc (LIVE) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strategic Gains Amid Revenue Challenges
Release Date: May 08, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Retail entertainment and steel manufacturing segments showed operational improvements with higher operating income and margins. A new executive management team was brought into the retail flooring segment to enhance performance through top-line growth and operational efficiency. Targeted cost reduction initiatives resulted in significant savings during the quarter. Successfully negotiated a $19 million reduction in employing liquidators seller notes, resulting in a $22.8 million gain. Gross margin percentage increased to 32.8% from 29.9% in the prior year period, primarily due to improved efficiencies in the steel manufacturing segment. Total revenue for the quarter decreased by $9.8 million to approximately $107 million. Retail flooring segment revenue decreased by $4.6 million or 14.5% due to the disposition of certain stores. Manufacturing segment revenue decreased by $4.4 million or 12.8% due to reduced consumer demand. Steel manufacturing segment revenue decreased by $4.2 million or 11.7% due to lower sales volumes. Challenging market conditions continue to impact the retail flooring and flooring manufacturing segments, with reduced consumer demand affecting performance. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 8 Warning Signs with LIVE. Q: Was the modification of the notes anticipated in the original agreement, or is this a new development? A: This modification was not part of the original agreement; it was renegotiated. We view it as a significant win for the company and shareholders, reducing the notes from approximately $36-37 million to $15 million. (Respondent: Unidentified_2) Q: How might tariffs affect your businesses, and what measures are you taking in response? A: We are monitoring the situation closely and diversifying our vendor relationships both overseas and domestically. So far, we have not experienced any negative impacts from tariffs. We are prepared to make changes as needed, leveraging inventory build-up from the Chinese New Year to provide flexibility. (Respondent: Unidentified_2) Q: Can you provide more details on the operational improvements in the retail entertainment and steel manufacturing segments? A: Both segments posted higher operating income and margins compared to last year. The retail entertainment segment saw increased consumer demand for new products, while the steel manufacturing segment benefited from improved efficiencies and the acquisition of Central Steel. (Respondent: David Barrett, CFO) Q: What challenges are your flooring businesses facing, and how are you addressing them? A: The flooring businesses are facing challenges due to softness in the new home construction and refurbishment markets. We have brought in a new executive management team and are implementing operational initiatives to enhance performance and efficiency. (Respondent: David Barrett, CFO) Q: What are your plans regarding capital allocation and share repurchases? A: We may make share repurchases as part of our capital allocation strategy, believing they represent long-term value for our stockholders. During the quarter, we repurchased 31,323 shares at an average price of $8.28 per share. (Respondent: David Barrett, CFO) For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Rentokil boss retires amid struggles in US pest market
Andy Ransom is to step down as chief executive of Rentokil as the pest control specialist overhauls its executive team to improve the prospects of its US business. Ransom is retiring after sitting on the board of Rentokil for 17 years and serving as its chief executive for 12 years. The executive has overseen a substantial reorganisation of the Crawley-based group during his tenure, but the company has been struggling in more recent years following the acquisition of Terminix, an American peer, for $6.7 billion. The Terminix takeover has soured as the board struggled to smoothly integrate the business and find growth in the highly competitive market for rooting out pests in America. Rentokil has faced strong competition from Rollins, an American rival which has
