Yes, David Ebersman was the central player in Facebook's messy IPO. But it is far too soon to judge him. FORTUNE -- David Ebersman's career has been something of a fairy tale. Brown University, research analyst on Wall Street, and a stellar 15-year stint at Genentech, the world's premier biotech company. By his mid-30s, he had emerged as a right-hand man to CEO Art Levinson, a Silicon Valley luminary, and his final act at Genentech was to negotiate the $46 billion sale of the company to Roche Holdings. Ebersman did all this while remaining an understated, behind-the-scenes guy who was always liked as much as he was respected. But as Ebersman stepped into the public eye this month, the fairytale has quickly turned into a ... Continue reading →
Stealth startup 12Society is adding to a roster that includes Michael Strahan and Nick Cannon. FORTUNE -- A marketing startup targeting the Maxim set will announce today that Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves is joining as a co-founder. The company,12Society, is a lifestyle site that aims to help products and services reach young, male audiences. Other co-founders of the venture include actor Nick Cannon, former New York Giant Michael Strahan and San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum. Celebrity investing in technology companies is all the rage, with actors such as Ashton Kutcher backing Foursquare and Flipboard and Justin Timberlake joining the group that acquired MySpace from News Corp. (NWS). But 12Society CEO Sameer Mehta insists that Love and company are founders, not passive financial ... Continue reading →
What's the formula for a winning company? Execs who play well with others By Geoff Colvin, senior editor-at-large FORTUNE – In the blanket media coverage of Apple's extraordinary success, it's hard to believe that any angle has gone underreported -- but here's one. "Most of Steve Jobs' top lieutenants were with him a decade or more," observes consultant Ram Charan. "He was the only person to build such a team in a big company." Jobs not only found and kept knockout technologists, marketers, designers, and others but also welded them into a unit through a unique managerial system that included the famous marathon Monday meetings. He created a genuine dream team -- the main reason he was so confident that Apple's success would survive him. ... Continue reading →
Interactive feature lets readers pick their dream C-Suites. By Stephanie N. Mehta, executive editor FORTUNE -- Executives like to compare business to sports. They use sports terminology to describe their strategies and they quote famous jocks (Like Wayne "skate to where the puck is going" Gretzky). And business journalists and investors love to debate corporate victories and foibles almost as much as sports writers and fans enjoy bickering about their favorite teams. Seriously. Check out "Mad Money" on CNBC. So it seemed natural for Fortune to find a way for readers to create their own imaginary rosters of real corporate executives -- a sort of fantasy sport for avid followers of the business world. The result, the Fortune Fantasy Sports Executive League, launches today. Participants ... Continue reading →
More than 50 years after Dr. Albert Barnes' death, his renowned art collection finds a lovely new home in Philadelphia, against the wishes of many of his fans. By Christopher Tkaczyk FORTUNE (Philadelphia) -- The Barnes art collection has finally moved. One of the world's most valuable private collections of art now resides on a 4.5 acre campus in downtown Philadelphia, against -- it needs to be said -- the wishes of its founder, the late Dr. Albert C. Barnes, who had willed it to remain at his home in Lower Merion, Penn., a suburb six miles from downtown. The move, nearly 10 years in the making, comes after decades of legal battles, financial struggles, unethical political maneuvers, and vociferous protest from art purists, all ... Continue reading →
Interactive feature lets readers pick their dream C-Suites. By Stephanie N. Mehta, executive editor FORTUNE -- Executives like to compare business to sports. They use sports terminology to describe their strategies and they quote famous jocks (Like Wayne "skate to where the puck is going" Gretzky). And business journalists and investors love to debate corporate victories and foibles almost as much as sports writers and fans enjoy bickering about their favorite teams. Seriously. Check out "Mad Money" on CNBC. So it seemed natural for Fortune to find a way for readers to create their own imaginary rosters of real corporate executives -- a sort of fantasy sport for avid followers of the business world. The result, the Fortune Fantasy Sports Executive League, launches today. Participants ... Continue reading →
Interactive feature lets readers pick their dream C-Suites. By Stephanie N. Mehta, executive editor FORTUNE -- Executives like to compare business to sports. They use sports terminology to describe their strategies and they quote famous jocks (Like Wayne "skate to where the puck is going" Gretzky). And business journalists and investors love to debate corporate victories and foibles almost as much as sports writers and fans enjoy bickering about their favorite teams. Seriously. Check out "Mad Money" on CNBC. So it seemed natural for Fortune to find a way for readers to create their own imaginary rosters of real corporate executives -- a sort of fantasy sport for avid followers of the business world. The result, the Fortune Fantasy Sports Executive League, launches today. Participants ... Continue reading →
