Why should Kodak fire Perez?

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

I think , he takes siestas at the afternoons like greeks does 2 hours at afternoons.

[Rudeofus]

Antonio Perez is the best Kodak CEO who could have happened to us, the analog crowd. Remember he was called in to transform Kodak into a successful printer maker and to complete the transition into a digital company. He has failed on his task so miserably that he could not do away with Kodak's film business as it was one of the few cash cows of Kodak. Had Perez been competent in doing what he was tasked with, we would have lost Kodak film many years ago. Even if Kodak goes down the drain today, we still have freezers full of Portra 160 and 400 which would have never seen the light otherwise.

My salutes go to Antonio Perez!

[bwfans]

Kodak's failure is due to Perez's limited experience, narrow viewpoint, and hence the awfully wrong Kodak's transition strategy created and executed by him and probably some earlier Kodak leaders.

From the very beginning, Kodak should widen its product offering, to generate as much as cash flow as possible, to support its long and difficult transition, and its 70,000 employees.

Frankly Kodak does not have a chance to be a leader in inkjet business. Epson and HP, and Lexmark and Brothers are all very experienced and formidable competitors.

As currently mere the inkjet maker of No. 5 after Epson, HP, Lexmark, and Brother (?), Kodak does not have sufficient cash flow to support its size. Time and cash (earned from its film division) are running out. Most Kodak employees are gone. Kodak is on the edge of Chapter 11. What else can Perez do for Kodak?

It is time to let him go.

[CGW]

Even if Kodak goes down the drain today, we still have freezers full of Portra 160 and 400 which would have never seen the light otherwise.

That's cold comfort...

[keithwms]

Of course, I am not an insider on the sector-by-sector projections and debt load, corp bond issues etc. so what would I know. But it seems to me that in this situation you'd better simply fracture everything into separate divisions and let them hang out their own shingles and rise or fall based on their individual viability. The current approach at Kodak seems to be all or nothing. Unless there is something really promising in the form of a big IP sale or strategic partnership with a mroe profitable company... or some Federal support in the pipe... the current / "new" strategy doesn't look like a winner to me.

Concerning Mr. Perez, I think the last thing you do when things are steadily getting worse is fire the guy at the helm. They should wait until they have Chp 11 protection and then ditch him. It'd be hard to get somebody good in there when there are so many uncertainties. Let him stay and take the crap and then move on when things are as bad as they can possibly get. It's a gift to the next CEO.

[Darkroom317]

OK, so a new spectacularly capable CEO will turn back the clock for EK? Really?

Maybe. Look at what Alan Mullay did for Ford

[keithwms]

Heh well Mullaly had a lot of political support. EK is in a State with a lousy Governor and crap Senators and Reps who've never created a job in their lives. To save a big company in this kind of situation, you need Fed assistance, and that doesn't happen unless the State reps are pressing their case.

[Aristophanes]

Kodak has a poison pill on the secured debt guarding against both hostile and friendly takeovers. If that was gone about 2 years ago a takeover may have been possible. Now the only way to remove that barrier is Ch. 11. Perez guarding his own turf against outside interest and comment is a major reason why institutional shareholders abandoned the company, and another reason for termination.

[keithwms]

P.S. I should refine my comments somewhat. I didn't mean to imply that Mullaly isn't doing a great job on his own merits, or that he got as much political support and Fed cash as GM. Ford certainly was wise to avoid taking Fed funds and to bring back their dividend. But... just saying, the US auto industry is the holy of holies in DC right now, there's no way it'll be allowed to go away any time soon.

[MDR]

Keith Perez seems to have political connections straight into the White house but he only seems to use them to promote himself. To cite the Queen of hearts from Wonderland
"Off with his head"

Dominik