Latest news with #Liebert
Los Angeles Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Cypress mayor calls special meeting over accusations of city manager misconduct
Cypress Mayor David Burke responded to serious allegations lobbed against City Manager Peter Grant last month by former Public Works Director Doug Dancs by calling for a special meeting on the matter. Whether enough members of the Cypress City Council will attend remains to be seen. Dancs accused Grant of 'unlawful acts of misconduct' after the City Council honored him for a decade of service as city manager during the April 28 council meeting. He called on councilmembers to terminate Grant's employment but did not specify the alleged misconduct after City Atty. Fred Galante interjected and cautioned against potential violations of Dancs' separation agreement. 'The appropriate response to a situation like this is fairly straightforward,' Burke said during Monday's meeting of the City Council. 'If accusations of serious misconduct are made against an employee that the council supervises, those accusations should be taken seriously and fully investigated.' Burke's move capped a contentious meeting that showed the suburb of nearly 50,000 residents in the thick of a political roil. Dancs' $183,000 separation agreement ended his longtime employment with the city on Dec. 31. The terms include confidentiality and non-disparaging clauses but Dancs felt within his right to discuss issues of unlawful conduct per another provision of the agreement when he spoke out April 28. Attorney J. Scott Tiedmann of the Los Angeles-based Liebert, Cassidy, Whitmore law firm signed the separation agreement last October, as did former mayor and current councilmember, Scott Minikus. A review of Cypress' payment register shows the city paid Liebert, Cassidy, Whitmore more than $104,000 for legal services regarding a human resources matter dating back to May 2024. In past comments to TimesOC, Galante, the city attorney, said he lacks authorization to disclose what preceded the separation agreement. No formal discussion of Dancs' curt but explosive allegations appeared on Monday's council meeting agenda, but it remained a top concern of residents, who either called for an independent investigation or staunchly backed Grant's service. Minikus sounded off on Burke for almost 15 minutes during a portion of the council meeting dedicated to board and committee reports. 'He was directly responsible for and orchestrated everything that unfolded during that meeting,' Minikus alleged. 'It's clear that he lacks the ability to carry out the most basic concepts of leadership.' Burke invited Minikus to send him an email outlining everything he didn't like about him after previously interrupting to remark that his 'broadside attacks' against himself and residents during board and committee reports violated multiple provisions of conduct codes. After Minikus concluded his comments, which included criticisms of local media, Burke made it known that he asked Galante for a full report of any investigations conducted in response to complaints or allegations made by Dancs, but had not received anything to date. 'What I think I need to do is call a special meeting where the council can consider directing the city attorney to provide us with all the relevant information,' Burke said. 'And to be clear, I mean a public, open session meeting where residents can hear our deliberations and see our votes.' Galante argued against it. 'I don't have the authority to release a report,' he said. 'The council has to make that decision. Beyond that, I cannot speak any further, because it would entail closed session information, and I think it would be dangerous to have an open session discussion about this.' Burke asked his council colleagues if they would be available to attend a special meeting on either May 15 or May 19. Councilmember Bonnie Peat and Minikus signaled that they would not be able to attend on either date. Councilmember Leo Medrano wanted to revisit the question of a special meeting at another time. 'My highest priority is the city of Cypress,' he said, 'and I don't want to see us accidentally walk our way into multiple lawsuits.' Not hearing majority support for the special meeting, Galante attempted to argue that Burke could not call for one on such grounds. Burke questioned Galante what part of municipal code he based his argument on. 'You do not have a policy for calling a special meeting here,' Galante said. 'However, if the majority of the council objects, that is the way the legislative process works.' Burke pressed forward and called a special meeting for May 19 with an agenda item asking Galante to provide the council with access to any reports or investigations into complaints or allegations made by Dancs. Councilmember Kyle Chang voiced support for the meeting for newer members of the council who were elected in November, like himself and Medrano. 'This is just a fact-finding mission,' he said. 'We're new to the council. We don't know everything that the other council members know. I feel like we're handicapped in that sense. I just want to get up to speed about what's going on.' If three council members are unable to attend the special meeting, it will be canceled for failing to meet the required quorum.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rebecca Liebert nominated to Dow's Board of Directors
MIDLAND, Mich., Feb. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Dow (NYSE: DOW) today announced its Board of Directors has nominated Rebecca Liebert, president and chief executive officer of The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, to stand for election at the Company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders on April 10, 2025. All other incumbent directors have also been nominated for election at the Annual Meeting. With more than two decades of experience leading global organizations in the chemicals sector, Ms. Liebert brings deep industry expertise and a proven track record of driving large-scale operational excellence. As president and chief executive officer at Lubrizol and across previous positions as executive vice president at PPG Industries and president and CEO of Honeywell UOP, Ms. Liebert has successfully spearheaded initiatives to advance sustainable, science-based innovations to service customers. She is a strong industry advocate, serving on the Board of the American Chemistry Council, and as an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering. "Rebecca is a highly regarded industry leader with hands-on experience driving growth and value creation in today's dynamic global business environment," said Jim Fitterling, Dow chair and CEO. "Her strong knowledge of the sector and unique blend of technical and operational acumen make her a valuable addition to Dow's talented Board of Directors." Ms. Liebert's nomination to Dow's Board of Directors aligns with the Company's focus on Board succession planning and refreshment, particularly by incorporating the key perspective of experienced public company senior executives and active CEOs within the materials science industry. If elected to Dow's Board, she will strengthen the Board's mix of skills and perspectives and help ensure Dow is well-positioned to compete, innovate and deliver for all its stakeholders. Dow's Board regularly evaluates its composition of directors to ensure a balanced mix of qualifications, expertise, and viewpoints to best oversee the long-term strategy of the Company. The Board is also comprised of a strong balance of newer and longer serving directors, with an average board tenure of seven years. The Board will announce updates to committee assignments following the Annual Meeting. Dow's corporate governance guidelines and a complete list of Dow's Board, committee assignments and other corporate governance information can be found on the Corporate Governance website. About DowDow (NYSE: DOW) is one of the world's leading materials science companies, serving customers in high-growth markets such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Our global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused innovation, leading business positions and commitment to sustainability enable us to achieve profitable growth and help deliver a sustainable future. We operate manufacturing sites in 30 countries and employ approximately 36,000 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $43 billion in 2024. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. Learn more about us and our ambition to be the most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world by visiting For further information, please contact: Rachelle Schikorra ryschikorra@ X: Facebook: LinkedIn: Instagram: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE The Dow Chemical Company
