Tag Archives: CEOs

C Suite Occupants Should Know They Are Always in the Spotlight, Always 

Posted on December 8, 2025 by Joe Ahmad

The scrutiny and fallout from the statements made by the Campbell’s Soup executive should not be a shocking surprise to anyone in a C-Suite position. When you are at the top of a corporate ladder, your words and your actions … Continue reading →

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Good confidentiality and non-compete habits keep executives & companies out of court or prepared to win there 

Posted on May 27, 2025 by Joe Ahmad

Normally, I write about executives from the perspective of promoting their individual rights and liability.  But it is also important to keep in mind that executives have a fiduciary duty to the company and are trusted with protecting trade secrets … Continue reading →

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Execs Can Be Fired for Off the Clock Speech or Behaviors 

Posted on March 18, 2025 by Joe Ahmad

C-Suite executives need to know that they represent the company even when they are off the clock. The recent jettisoning of Kroger’s chief for activities away from work is a sobering reminder.  Personal conduct away from the office, even if … Continue reading →

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When it Comes to Lawyers and Allegiances, Execs Should Look Out for No. 1

Posted on June 15, 2021 by Joe Ahmad

Embattled former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes learned an inconvenient truth when it comes to allegiances between outside law firms, their corporate clients and individuals on the executive team. In pretrial wrangling before the August 31 start of her federal criminal … Continue reading →

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Harassment Skeletons in McDonald’s Closet Hasten CEO Steve Easterbrook Downfall 

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Joe Ahmad

Even by today’s standards of board oversight in the #MeToo era, the speed of McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook’s fall was breathtaking. In just four short years at the helm, Easterbrook was credited with nearly doubling the company’s share price and … Continue reading →

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As Patent Litigation Wanes, Businesses Increasingly Turn to Trade Secret Law to Protect Digital Assets

Posted on August 14, 2019 by Joe Ahmad

The popular dating app platform Tinder and its parent company Match recently succeeded in having a patent infringement lawsuit tossed. Like many companies accused of infringement today, it accomplished this by going on the offensive and challenging the fundamental validity … Continue reading →

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Backlash Builds for Noncompetes

Posted on July 3, 2019 by Joe Ahmad

For a generation of workers, noncompete agreements have steadily crept into more and more facets of the working world to the point that even low- and middle-wage earners are increasingly being asked to sign the agreements as a condition of … Continue reading →

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For Execs Confronting Extortion Shakedowns, Few Reasons to Participate

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Joe Ahmad

A juicy corporate scandal has a unique ability to wipe away billions from a corporation’s market cap with frightening speed, so it’s no wonder that executives are prone to quake when faced with the prospect of responding to the threat … Continue reading →

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For Politicians and Business Leaders, Dusty Yearbooks Hide Ticking Time Bomb

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Joe Ahmad

A cascade of yearbook scandals and confessions of disreputable behavior is sending quakes through Virginia political circles and beyond after decades-old yearbooks surfaced with references to racial slurs, images of students in blackface and other behavior unbecoming of those in … Continue reading →

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C-Suite Lessons from Ghosn’s Nissan Ouster

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Joe Ahmad

For Carlos Ghosn – one of the highest-flying chief executives in the world (literally) – home has been a 50-square-foot cell since Japanese authorities announced a series of vague allegations against him for underreporting his compensation and misusing company property. … Continue reading →

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