And done .....

[FamilyGuy]

Let me ask you a question. Do you think Shane and Billy left the first time around because Hansell wasn't letting them screw the pilots enough?

Or do you think they left because they were sick to their stomach over what the Boy Wonder was doing to the employees, customers, and brand name of a once-great company?

I'm willing to give them some time to right the ship. They have a LONG way to go to rebuild any sense of trust with the pilot group but I KNOW that neither one would have agreed to come back without being given the authority to actually FIX it this time.

They're on a short leash but I won't spank the dog until it pees on the floor.

I understand the frustration with the management team and philosophy that Jordan put together, in fact I shared it.

But I do think you guys need to give AJ and Bill some credit. It takes balls to walk away from a 20 year career with the same company, and write a letter to Warren telling him how bad it is at NetJets and they can't stay any longer while Jordan is in charge. Yes the union picketing got some attention and negative publicity for WB, but he didn't pull the trigger and make a change until the #2 and #3 executives walked out and expressed their frustration with the direction of the company.

Those guys have spent most of their entire careers at NetJets and know how to run it properly. I'm seeing a lot of positive moves by both of them - they met with your union leaders on day 2, while Jordan hadn't met with you for over four years. They've also taken some good steps at repairing the relationships with the vendors and the employees. I'm willing to give them some time to fix it. Jordan had 4 years to screw this place up and you can't put all the pieces back in place overnight.

 

[acaTerry]

Well the crap on the road has not changed one single bit, and until we see some changes, we will not trust anyone.

 

[CA1900]

Jordan had 4 years to screw this place up and you can't put all the pieces back in place overnight.

True, but the last guy who asked for a little time to get his bearings (Sokol) used that time to decimate the support staff of this company, and we're STILL recovering from it. So my patience is very, very limited at this point.

 

[gutshotdraw]

I understand the frustration with the management team and philosophy that Jordan put together, in fact I shared it.

But I do think you guys need to give AJ and Bill some credit. It takes balls to walk away from a 20 year career with the same company, and write a letter to Warren telling him how bad it is at NetJets and they can't stay any longer while Jordan is in charge. Yes the union picketing got some attention and negative publicity for WB, but he didn't pull the trigger and make a change until the #2 and #3 executives walked out and expressed their frustration with the direction of the company.

Those guys have spent most of their entire careers at NetJets and know how to run it properly. I'm seeing a lot of positive moves by both of them - they met with your union leaders on day 2, while Jordan hadn't met with you for over four years. They've also taken some good steps at repairing the relationships with the vendors and the employees. I'm willing to give them some time to fix it. Jordan had 4 years to screw this place up and you can't put all the pieces back in place overnight.

As I pointed out, I am willing to give Billy and AJ some time to sort things out. Not a lot, but some. They would be better served making some IMMEDIATE, attention-getting changes that wouldn't cost them a nickel but would go a long way toward restoring trust.

I also give Billy and AJ a lot of credit for leaving and for giving Warren some parting shots as they walked out the door.

But if you think for a SECOND that those letters had a greater impact on Warren's decision to broom the Boy Wonder than the pickets, the ads, and the interviews, you are OUT OF YOUR MIND.

As I told G4 and a lot of friends in my fleet, the ONLY way to get rid of our idiot CEO was to PUBLICLY EMBARRASS Warren Buffett and do some damage to the kindly grandpa routine (I wrote that on this board repeatedly over the last several months). We did EXACTLY that and the result was as predicted. To the point that more than a handful of colleagues in my fleet skeptical of the union campaign have said straight up to me "you were right about the pickets." A couple have said "I wish I had been in Omaha with you."

Stockholders, customers, and even the aviation trade media barely blinked when Billy and AJ left. But when 435 people traveled on their own time and dime to carry a sign and walk for 10 hours at Uncle Warren's big party, THAT moved the needle.

 

[Diesel]

I understand the frustration with the management team and philosophy that Jordan put together, in fact I shared it.

But I do think you guys need to give AJ and Bill some credit. It takes balls to walk away from a 20 year career with the same company, and write a letter to Warren telling him how bad it is at NetJets and they can't stay any longer while Jordan is in charge. Yes the union picketing got some attention and negative publicity for WB, but he didn't pull the trigger and make a change until the #2 and #3 executives walked out and expressed their frustration with the direction of the company.

Those guys have spent most of their entire careers at NetJets and know how to run it properly. I'm seeing a lot of positive moves by both of them - they met with your union leaders on day 2, while Jordan hadn't met with you for over four years. They've also taken some good steps at repairing the relationships with the vendors and the employees. I'm willing to give them some time to fix it. Jordan had 4 years to screw this place up and you can't put all the pieces back in place overnight.

So what type of credit does it take to write the first letter and out rts? I think rts went gone was what aj wanted. He just didn't expect Sokol to be the replacement. I think he had hopes it was him. So he wrote another letter.

Sure the gang is all back together but they were there when it was all going wrong too and only left after it was what it was and had other jobs lined up. Or did they?

My leash is 78 days long. I've had to many white knights ride in here to even really care. We shall see if these two are going to be lords of the kingdom or just business as usual.

 

[gunfyter]

Knight and bishop moved. Let's not get Rooked! :bawling:

 

[FamilyGuy]

So what type of credit does it take to write the first letter and out rts? I think rts went gone was what aj wanted. He just didn't expect Sokol to be the replacement. I think he had hopes it was him. So he wrote another letter.

Please tell me your memory isn't that poor. Back in 2009 AJ was in charge of logistics. I don't think even the most ambitious person could dream of making the leap from SVP of Logistics to CEO.

I don't believe AJ's intentions (or the intentions of the other people who also wrote and signed that letter) was to get rid of RTS. If you'll remember, another boy wonder was in charge at that time - Dan Rosenthal.

And there were a lot of concerns at the time about the multiple companies under the NJ umbrella, the duplicate executive teams at each of those companies, inefficient operations, and extravagant spending in the face of the worst recession since the 1930s. As much as I hated to see RTS forced out, there was a lot of excess and duplication back then.

Sure the gang is all back together but they were there when it was all going wrong too and only left after it was what it was and had other jobs lined up. Or did they?

My leash is 78 days long. I've had to many white knights ride in here to even really care. We shall see if these two are going to be lords of the kingdom or just business as usual.

That's fair. I've always believed in trust but verify. Respect and trust are earned, they aren't given. All I'm saying is these guys are taking steps in the right direction, give them some room to maneuver and see if they follow through.

 

[Diesel]

Please tell me your memory isn't that poor. Back in 2009 AJ was in charge of logistics. I don't think even the most ambitious person could dream of making the leap from SVP of Logistics to CEO.

I don't believe AJ's intentions (or the intentions of the other people who also wrote and signed that letter) was to get rid of RTS. If you'll remember, another boy wonder was in charge at that time - Dan Rosenthal.

And there were a lot of concerns at the time about the multiple companies under the NJ umbrella, the duplicate executive teams at each of those companies, inefficient operations, and extravagant spending in the face of the worst recession since the 1930s. As much as I hated to see RTS forced out, there was a lot of excess and duplication back then.



That's fair. I've always believed in trust but verify. Respect and trust are earned, they aren't given. All I'm saying is these guys are taking steps in the right direction, give them some room to maneuver and see if they follow through.

http://nypost.com/2015/06/03/this-ceo-can-say-warren-buffett-took-his-advice-twice/

The exec who writes Warren Buffett and gets CEOs ousted
By Josh KosmanJune 3, 2015 | 10:45pm
Modal Trigger
The exec who writes Warren Buffett and gets CEOs ousted
Warren Buffett
Photo: EPA
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New NetJets Chief Executive Adam Johnson just might be the most effective letter writer in the country.
The 44-year-old executive has twice in six years written letters to Warren Buffett, the owner of the fractional jet-ownership company, suggesting that he can the CEO ? and twice gotten the billionaire investor to act, The Post has learned.
Johnson was instrumental in not only toppling Jordan Hansell in recent weeks, but also took a lead role in pressuring Buffett?s Berkshire Hathaway in 2009 to replace NetJets founder Richard Santulli, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told The Post.
?This is coup No. 2,? the source noted.
Johnson?s latest ?Dear Warren? letter came earlier this year as he resigned as NetJets president effective on May 1.
?He sent a letter to Buffett saying he was dissatisfied with the direction of the company,? a source at NetJets said.
The letter must have found a receptive ear in Omaha.
In recent weeks, Berkshire Hathaway?s Tracy Britt Cool, who helps Buffett manage Berkshire?s troubled companies, was spotted around NetJets offices, two sources said.
As The Post reported last month, tension between the union representing NetJets pilots, who have been working under an expired contact, and the company has been rising ? and hurting the company ? at a time the corporate jet sector is booming and there?s a national pilot shortage.
Johnson, who left NetJets without a disclosed job offer elsewhere, was rehired, but for the top spot, just this week. Bill Noe, who resigned as COO in April, rejoined as president and COO.
The move may already be paying dividends.
Johnson and Noe met Wednesday with Pedro Leroux, president of the pilots union, The Post has learned.
Hansell, Johnson?s predecessor, had not met with Leroux since the contract expired two years ago.
?For us, it?s a welcome change,? Leroux told The Post, confirming the meeting.
Johnson, reached on his cellphone, declined comment.
In the letter to Buffett about Santulli, Johnson and two other NetJets executives stressed alleged improprieties in the corner office, the source with direct knowledge of the situation said.
In response, Buffett sent David Sokol, his manager of troubled companies at the time, to investigate.
Santulli resigned.
Sokol and Santulli up until that time were both considered possible successors to Buffett at the top of Berkshire Hathaway.
Soon after Santulli?s exit, Sokol promoted Johnson, then the head of catering, to the company?s executive committee.
?[Johnson] is the best politicker I?ve ever seen,? a former NetJets executive said.
NetJets, unlike other Berkshire companies, has no board of directors. There is an executive committee, and the CEO reports directly to Buffett.
Johnson has most recently been NetJets president dealing mostly with customers.
Berkshire Hathaway did not return calls.