Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Marissa Ann Mayer the 37 year old American business executive has been appointed the CEO of Yahoo, making her the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company, having been ranked at number 14 on the list of America’s most powerful businesswomen by Fortune magazine. Profiled by Nicholas Carlson for Worldcrunch, Carlson states “Yahoo is deep in the process of looking at ad tech companies to acquire… Yahoo’s business is pretty simple. It makes money by selling ads on Web pages. This is the formula: Number Of Visits To Web Pages X Rate Yahoo Can Charge For Ads On Those Pages = Revenues. That formula means there are only two ways for CEO Marissa Mayer to grow the business. Method One: She can increase the number of visits to Yahoo Web pages. The way Yahoo does that is by creating new popular products and media. Method Two: She can increase the rate Yahoo charges to put ads on Web pages. The way Yahoo does that is by using ad tech to find out as much as it can about the people looking at its Web pages, and, in “real-time” sell that inventory to buyers willing to pay more to reach certain demographics. Mayer is going to embrace both methods. Mayer’s favorite thing to work on is consumer-facing products. So she’s going to personally invest lots of time in “method one.” As for “method two,” Mayer would like to delegate. …So Mayer’s plan, according to our sources, is to buy an ad tech company with a strong executive bench, and install it as the new leadership of Yahoo RMX.”

Inspired by Nicholas Carlson ow.ly/fS05u image source Facebook ow.ly/fRZOy

Thomas Chandy the Indian CEO of Save the Children has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘India’s malnutrition problem is a systemic issue’ describing how girls in India are more malnourished as “inadequate resources of families are divided preferentially among men”. Chandy states “…India has still not managed to get a grip on the problem of malnutrition its children face, a fact that India’s prime minister this year called a “national shame”. The facts are daunting – as many as nearly half of India’s children below five years are malnourished. Girls are even more malnourished … grow[ing] up to be anaemic, deliver underweight babies who face an increased risk of dying and being sick right after their birth. India ranks 76 among 80 middle-income countries rated for the “best place to be a mother” according to the Save the Children’s Mothers’ Index released in May 2012. The problem of malnourishment in India is a reflection on its deeply entrenched poverty and a lack of functionality of its systems. Policymakers from the comfort of their oversized public-funded accommodation while examining the failure of their policies often argue that a country of India’s size – both in terms of geography as well as population – is difficult to administer. What they admit a little reluctantly is that the government-supported institutions are neither effective nor accountable to the people, and that the budget allocations in sectors critical for people’s well-being are still abysmally low. India’s wealth – no longer so new-found – has so far not filtered down to the areas which would make considerable difference to the lives of its common people.”

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/f5tEu image source Facebook ow.ly/f5tCj

Joseph Bast the president and CEO of the climate-change denial Institute ‘The Heartland’ is seeking to re-grow his sponsorship base following the effective campaign against his organization by conservation groups. Bill McKibben in an article for Toms Dispatch titled ‘The Planet Wreckers – Climate-Change Deniers Are On the Ropes — But So Is the Planet’ states “…Joe Bast, complained that his side had been subjected to the most “uncivil name-calling and disparagement you can possibly imagine from climate alarmists,” which was both a little rich — after all, he was the guy with the mass-murderer billboards — but also a little pathetic.  A whimper had replaced the characteristically confident snarl of the American right. That pugnaciousness may return: Mr. Bast said last week that he was finding new corporate sponsors, that he was building a new small-donor base that was “Greenpeace-proof” …it’s a hard fight, up against a ton of money and a ton of inertia. Eventually, climate denial will “lose,” because physics and chemistry are not intimidated even by Lord Monckton. But timing is everything — if he and his ilk, a crew of certified planet wreckers, delay action past the point where it can do much good, they’ll be able to claim one of the epic victories in political history — one that will last for geological epochs.”

Inspired by Tom Dispatch http://ow.ly/bJbGR image source whoami-whoareyou ow.ly/bJb7N

Kind of slick, fly-by-night, slacktivist thing? (March 28th 2012)

Ben Keesey the US CEO of Invisible Children has released a video responding to concerns raised by critics over the slick web video Kony 2012 that has gone viral since its release. The initial video highlighted the atrocities perpetrated by Kony, the leader of a rebel group known as the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) that has terrorized northern Uganda. Keesey states “When we launched Kony 12, our intention was to share the story of Joseph Kony with new people around the world, but in the process, there have been a lot of questions about us. So, we want to be as transparent as possible and answer some of those questions right now. Because our goal has always been the same, it’s always been one thing, and that’s to stop the violence of the LRA permanently, and help restore the war-affected communities… I understand why a lot of people are wondering is this just some kind of slick, fly-by-night, slacktivist thing? When actually, it’s not at all, it’s connected to a really deep, thoughtful, very intentional and strategic campaign… I understand that people may have questions… but any claims that we don’t have financial transparency … just aren’t true.”

Inspired by Connor Adams Sheets http://ow.ly/9Fw9K image source National Post http://ow.ly/9FvT0

Put citizenship ahead of partisanship (September 14th)

Howard Schultz the 58 year old US businessman, billionaire and CEO of Starbucks global reach of 17000 stores has come out in protest at the political wrangling that he claims is wreaking havoc on the US economy. Schultz claims the rancor between the US political parties has caused a “crisis of confidence”, needing urgent rectification. In a series of newspaper open letter advertisements, Schultz calls for a forum to demand an end to the bipartisan nature that has crept into the nation’s political behavior, stating “We must send the message to today’s elected officials … that the time to put citizenship ahead of partisanship is now”. Schultz along with the support of over 100 corporations have pledged to no longer contribute to either political party until the wrangling stopped.

Inspired by Sarah Skidmore http://ow.ly/6lw2k image source Sillygwailo http://ow.ly/6lwcl

Most innovative company in the world (September 6th)

Timothy “Tim” Cook the 50 year old Apple Inc executive has been named the new CEO of Apple after Steve Jobs announced his resignation from the role due to health concerns. Cook a former VP of Compaq joined Apple 13 years earlier, made his mark by fixing Apple’s manufacturing inefficiencies, wrote to all employees reassuring them “…to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple’s unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that–it is in our DNA”. Cook is an outdoor fitness enthusiast, starting his day with 4.30am emails and a 5am gym session, holding Sunday evening conference calls to prepare staff for the week coming.

Inspired by Sarah Lai Stirland http://ow.ly/6fgCe image source Valery Marchive http://ow.ly/6fgHr

Herman Cain the 65 year old US former chairman CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and a former ballistics mathematician in the US Navy, finally announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2012 election. Cain had earlier formed an exploratory committee for a potential campaign and suggested at a conference there may be a “dark horse candidate”. Cain has become renowned for his anti Muslim views, declaring that he will not appointed a Muslim to his administration or as a Judge. Cain has never held an elected office, and managed to lose his only attempt to seek nomination at a Georgia US Senate primary in 2004 with a minimal 25% vote. His attempts to date in raising campaign funds have been disastrous and may well hamper his prospects to run an effective campaign.

Inspired by Huffingtonpost ow.ly/50BFl image source Gage Skidmore ow.ly/50BRp

Bernard Charles “Bernie” Ecclestone the 80 year old UK born CEO of Formula One Management often referred to as the ‘F1 Supremo’ due to his financial ownership and dominance of the formula one racing administration, has been interviewed by German criminal prosecutors over an alleged bribery scandal. The German prosecutors are investigating a $50-million bribe paid to banker Dr Gerhard Gribkowsky, a chief risk officer for the state owned BayernLB Bank that owned a stake in Formulae One that was sold to CVC Capital Partners. Gribkowsky currently in prison has declined to identify who paid the bribe, and Ecclestone released a statement after the interview denying any involvement stating “…suspicion in relation to my perceived involvement in the matter… I will be exonerated of blame for any wrongdoing.”

Inspired by Dan roan ow.ly/4FPjr image source wikipedia ow.ly/4FPls