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Posts: 177
Location: in front of you
| Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 4:13 pm Post subject: Alumni News : Liska | |
| Motorola today posted a $3.6 billion dollar loss na dannounced the immeadiate departure of Sears alumni Paul Liska Is Greg Lee still there | |
Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 8380
Location: Central CA
| Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 5:21 pm Post subject: | |
| Can't turn up anything about him leaving. | |
Joined: 04 Jul 2003
Posts: 2400
Location: A little bit sideways!
| Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 5:44 pm Post subject: | |||||||
Found it Nofs. http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/bbdp/motorola-loses-36b-suspends-dividend-cfo/326757
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Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 8380
Location: Central CA
| Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 5:55 pm Post subject: | |
| Ah. I was looking for Greg Lee, actually. Anything new on him? I seem to remember him as one of the ones who treated MrsDD poorly and was hoping someone had kicked him to the curb too. | |
Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
| Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 6:20 pm Post subject: paulie and greggeee | |
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Be gone with them both .
The Liska character is the one who alledgedly found out about Keleghan's cooked books with his spy Cindy and all he had to do was have an auditor look at the books ,fire Keleghan in mid summer-the most inattention to news all year .But what does the lackie do ,he waits,Sears/Lacy/Keleghan get caught ,stock crashes and mr ed buys his way into Sears off of reduced stock prices . Pretty sure Nofs is right on Lee .Greggee the professional administrator ie Sears HR with the ability to hire and fire probably participated in ms dd's termination .Lackie Lee let the firing go attempting to show that anyone who doesn't show drone like compliance to the wheelman Lacy corporate culture and policy would be eliminated .Nothing but a CYA wanna be exec . I find it no coincidence either that MOT had many an ex Sears exec and MOT was at one time a ESL take over target .I think around 06-07 mr ed was buying in .Also funny that the CFO leaves after 'massive' losses .Liska was also in charge of spinning off the cell phone business-I think Liska also help Sears dump the credit card . |
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Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Posts: 453
| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:28 pm Post subject: | |
| Liska probably left because he realized that he would not be able to manipulate his way into another bid payday by framing another executive. That, or he finally got caught and exposed for what he is. | |
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Posts: 453
| Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:22 pm Post subject: | |
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Motorola announced today that Liska was fired for cause and lost all of his signing bonus and stock. Refreshing that at least one company figured him out for the rat he is. Hopefully, Greg Lee will soon follow as I am sure that Liska could not have been undertaking anything shady without his toady, Lee, being involved in some way.
By the way, I doubt Keleghan ever cooked the books. None of the dire warnings that Liska made ever panned out. Liska and Lee basically set him up with the help of Liska's girlfriend, Cindy Baier (and it sounds like the "girlfriend" part is literal). I don't know why they have never made a soap opera about Sears. I guess no one would ever believe it. |
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Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
| Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 4:45 am Post subject: Soap opera | |
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A soap opera it definately is .
What puzzles me if Keleghan reports to Liska as the CFO why would Liska be afraid or want Keleghan out of the way ? -career security or Liska already knew there was some shakey accounting he failed to rectify ? Either way that credit accounting got out of hand or was already out of hand .Since Keleghan apparently won the suit I'll presume it wasn't all on him . And this Lee character seems like a company soldier who wants to move up or secure his position- permanently .Someone in the company liked the guy since a Whirlpool reference is what got him his job .Being that Whirlpool was a major supplier to Sears at the time . http://www.cnbc.com/id/29517413/for/cnbc -doesn't elaborate on cause except ' implying ' it was related to the cell business/spinoff .I'm wondering if Liska made some promises he couldn't keep or started making contacts without permission . |
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Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 8380
Location: Central CA
| Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 5:28 am Post subject: | |||||||
I'm guessing that Keleghan would not have gotten his healthy payoff if he hadn't known there a few of the bones were buried. And looky here... remember Anastasia Kelly or "Stasia" as some call her? She was right in the middle of that whole mess too and now she's a Vice Chairman at AIG, one of the slimiest companies out there.
Wow! Sears, Fannie Mae and now AIG. What a fricking resume, eh? 
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Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Posts: 453
| Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:14 pm Post subject: Re: Soap opera | |||
Keleghan didn't report into Liska, he reported into Lacy. Liska and Keleghan were peers. Liska wanted to sell Credit because it was the only way he could goose the share price enough in the short term so that he could get a big payoff. However, Liska had to first remove Keleghan from the picture because Keleghan was a big advocate of how important it was for Sears to own its credit unit and that Sears had the capability to run it effectively. Also, Keleghan was Lacy's protege so Liska had to discredit Keleghan in Lacy's eyes. Liska then positioned his girlfriend, Baier, as Keleghan's finance person (no one, at the time, knew how closely they were linked). Liska told Lacy that he suspected that Keleghan was cooking the books and that there was much more risk in the Credit portfolio than Keleghan was letting on. Liska then got Lacy to agree to let him officially "investigate" and Liska was able to produce his "star witness" who "blew the whistle" on Keleghan - an insider from Keleghan's own team - Cindy Baier. Keleghan defended himself and told him that the Credit quality was sound and that they were misinterpreting things since Baier and Liska had limited knowledge of that business. Eventually, Lacy sided with Liska and felt that Keleghan had lied to him. My guess is that Greg Lee played a role, whispering into Lacy's ear about how he had been betrayed. At his core, Lacy lacks confidence and his fatal flaw seemed to be that he was paranoid and would quickly turn on someone who he felt betrayed him. It seemed like Lee knew this and used it to manipulate him several times to get him to ax any executives who might get in the way of what Liska and Lee wanted to do. Lacy eventually put Credit under Liska who made a major show of creating a huge reserve to cover the risk exposure that Keleghan had "hidden" and said that this was proof that Sears needed to get out of the credit business and let the credit arm be run by "professionals". Sears then sold the Credit business and Liska and Baier personally made millions on the transaction. In the end, I believe not one single cent of the reserve that Liska trumpeted as being required to cover Keleghan's hidden Credit portfolio risk was ever needed. Hmmmm. That's the story. Like something straight from a Shakespeare tragedy, huh! Last edited by voice on Thu Mar 05, 2009 3:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 8380
Location: Central CA
| Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 2:58 pm Post subject: | |
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Wow again! That's a look inside I always hoped to get. It actually sounds more like a scene from one of those Wall Street movies/
Do you think Lampert was having any effect on Liska's machinations by then? Selling the credit divisions always seemed to be a big thing for activist shareholders involved in hedge funds because of the ready cash it provided and since Lampert was FIRMLY in control of Lace by about the following February and the sale of credit likely provided most of the cash reserves he got his hands on in the takeover and eventually spent buying back stock in his new company. And in retrospect, it seems to have been the final nail in the coffin for Sears as we knew it and the ultimate beginning of Sears as we now know it. |
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Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Posts: 453
| Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 3:13 pm Post subject: | |||
Maybe. It would make sense, but I really don't have any direct knowledge of whether he did or not. |
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Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
| Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 5:23 pm Post subject: back channel | |
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That explains alot .If you read the Trib article their are still holes and gaps in that ' official ' story almost seems contrived .
So while they're playing spy/power games during about the last window of oppurtunity for Sears to regain their stature the HDs,Lowes and Targets start whizing by .Over petty jealously . My thing is was Liska brought on under the premise to ' explore ' the idea of selling the cc or was he brought on to actually 'sell' the cc . His resume already included private equity,insurance/finance .Or was he brought on to sell/buy something else ? Even more scary this is a microcosim of what goes on in the stores .I always ' think out load ' in front of the chatty patties to get information to management .Others do this for power and job security . Reread the Trib article ,read voice's posts and it all comes together rather well . http://www.narse.org/BreakNews/BN%20Mar-May%2006.htm#Credit_gets_its_due_in_retailers_sale_ (if link doesn't work go to Narse.org - news archives March 22 ,2006 ) |
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Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
| Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 12:32 am Post subject: Counter suit | |
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Liska must have learned something from Keleghan because he is suing Motorola for his firing .Apparently the lawsuit was filed right around when he was fired .Says it was a ' retaliatory firing ' .
Now if Liska counter sued in Feb and the company just released the Proxy which says Liska fired for cause somebody is lying here .Just like Lacy , Keleghana and Liska -at least one was lying . http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090306/na_us_motorola_cfo.html?.v=1 |
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Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Posts: 453
| Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 4:26 am Post subject: | |
| My guess is that they suspected something pretty bad and fired him. Then, once he was gone and they could get into things directly, they figured out his whole scam and cited "cause". Now, he is playing a big game of chicken with them and is probably threatening to accuse them of what he, himself, was perpetrating. Also, with someone like Liska, you know he was digging up as much dirt as he possibly could the minute he set foot in the door so that he could have leverage. | |
Joined: 24 Sep 2005
Posts: 66
Location: out there... way out there
| Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 4:58 am Post subject: | |
| Well if anyone finds him, please be sure to inquire about his wife and my kids. | |
Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
| Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:42 pm Post subject: politics | |
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extortionist or whistle blower
http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/13476958?f=most_read Apparently Liska was having private meetings with the BOD to express his view and soon after he was fired . I don't know what's worse Liska's attempted end around or the fact that you must be or are in lock step with the status quo . If nothing else this is a good example of the politics and shennanigans that go on at the executive level . Lacy and Lampert have done the same at Sears . Unless you blindy follow you're done . |
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Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
| Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 3:16 am Post subject: destroyed evidence | |
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Apparently he has destroyed evidence by using a ' data destruction program ' according to Motorola who had his lap top checked .
http://www.moconews.net/entry/419-motorola-accuses-ex-cfo-paul-liska-of-destroying-evidence/ The more I hear about this guy he seems like a weisal but I'm afraid he's learned and practiced this else where in the world of corporate executivedom . This guy lasted what about 3 1/2 years at Sears . Either someone got tired of his crap or did exactly what he was hired to do . |
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Joined: 04 Jul 2003
Posts: 2400
Location: A little bit sideways!
| Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 5:05 am Post subject: Re: destroyed evidence | |||||
Yep,
Shame he's gone from "The Holdings Corp". Seems like a perfect fit these days. To bad he can't come back. ~GoodFella |
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Joined: 08 Jul 2003
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| Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 2:45 am Post subject: took it with him | |
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Apparently the laptop in question Liska " improperly took with him " . He was fired on the Jan 29th , the files/computer was wiped between Jan 30 and Feb 12 . It wasn't returned til the Feb 17 almost 3 weeks after Liska was fired .
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-motorola-whistleblower-lawsuit-april15,0,5665282.story Also an article from Bloomberg I think said Liska was suing for 50,000$ . That sounds like a gratuitous attempt to make himself seem like a victim . This seems like his m o . Make it SEEM you have to sell something to stabilize your finances . Which could be true but this guy almost seems like a serial seller offer . In less than 10 years he was present for 3 major sales with 3 major companies . Sears sold the credit card after ' noticing ' some shakey numbers . Just as he tried to contort Motorola's numbers/projections to the board. I'm still checking why US Freightways sold itself to Yellow Roadway Corp . One only knows what he did prior to Sears at the St Paul Companies . But still , if Liska was a tail trying to wag a dog it was up to the Sears execs to catch it and point this out . He had to have help/allies to pull off the credit sale/fiasco of 2002-2003 . If he follows a pattern that means Liska might very well have approached the Sears BOD the way he did at Motorola. He needed support for a cc sell off . He needed more allies than Cindy to pull this off . ...Miles ??? ... I'm almost wondering if it was Liska who PUSHED or finalized the conversion of 2002 . Perhaps some saw the problems and wanted to ease off and it was Liska who backed it based on cost alone . |
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Joined: 18 Sep 2007
Posts: 82
| Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 11:17 am Post subject: | |
Just goes to show you, all the "pirates" aren't out at sea! 
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Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
| Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 3:57 am Post subject: lower levels as well | |
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Everyone gets to see politics at the store level and even a little at the executive/corporate level . But what you don't see in many companies is what plays out at the middle management level ie the regional management/VPs and District management .
You can tell alot of the crap is coming from the Regionals/VPs but one can only wonder what the SGMs are doing with the DMs and the DMs doing with the RMs . Middle management is the least visable part in most companies and yet that is where a lot of the crap happens . This is literally where things get lost in translation . The Liskas of the corporate world can fudge/manipulate numbers and destroy evidence in laptop . I guess at the store level by not allowing comments on reviews and write ups they can distort what is ACTUALLY going on . Although one of my favorite manipulations from the stores are the schedules with long gone employees to show coverage . But how does a SGM and up LIE to their superiors . |
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Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
| Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 3:30 am Post subject: double post | |
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double post - apologies
Last edited by dictators_rule on Thu May 21, 2009 3:38 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
| Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 3:37 am Post subject: hissy fits | |
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-Talk about your hissy fit and pissing contests .
http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1690390/court_case_reveals_troubles_at_motorola/index.html If Liska was jealous of this Dr Jha the only reason to be jealous would be fear or envy accompanied by a motive to do an end around management by going to the BOD in private. This supports the theory that Liska might very well have had Keleghan set up/taken out for career purposes. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-wed-motorola-liska-cfo-apr29,0,1436415.story Liska denies wiping Motorola laptop of Motorola files. Why the heck do you have to take your work computer to a computer consultant if there was nothing incriminating ? http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Fired-Motorola--CFO-Paul-Liska-paidcontent-15279776.html?v=2 Motorola described Liska as caustic and having a vendetta. Also said Liska's behavior changed after Dr Jha hired . If Liska is pulling this crap at a company with an ex-Sears exec or two what the FRACK did he do at Sears during the Oct 02 credit fiasco which basically broke Sears back ??? |
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Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
| Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:04 pm Post subject: another shaky deal maker | |
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Hmmm, Liska under suspicion for making some questionable trades involving the companies that might have been affected by a Motorola split. It's speculated that many of deals might have occured with the ex HR exec and friend(Greg Lee).
What is it about Sears & Roebuck executives and backroom deals? Accepted practice? Standard practice? Alan 'the wheelman' Lacy? http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri-motorola-liskanov13,0,6748257.story |
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