CEO Whole Foods onder vuur

John Mackey, oprichter van het sinds de opening in London onder vuur liggende Whole Foods, blijkt onder pseudoniem negatieve uitlatingen te hebben gedaan over de waarde van het later door hem overgenomen Wild Oats. Mogelijk is er sprake van waardemanipulatie.

Zichzelf en zijn onderneming zong hij onder datzelfde pseudoniem lof toe. Zelfs zijn kapsel was aanleiding voor narcistische ijdeltuiterij.

Ach, niks menselijks is grote ondernemers vreemd. Zelfs niet als ze bio en veganist zijn.

Máxima zou zeggen: 'het is gewoon een beetje dom'. En gelijk zou ze hebben, want hij heeft natuurlijk wel wat weten neer te zetten dat de wereld meer brengt dan de zoveelste pindakaas light of borrelnootjesfabriek. Citaat uit het bericht van Wall Street Journal Journalisten David Kesmodel en John R. Wilke:

David Kesmodel and John R. Wilke, The Wall Street Journal In January 2005, someone using the name "Rahodeb" went online to a Yahoo stock-market forum and posted this opinion: No company would want to buy Wild Oats Markets Inc., a natural-foods grocer, at its price then of about $8 a share.

"Would Whole Foods buy OATS?" Rahodeb asked, using Wild Oats' stock symbol. "Almost surely not at current prices. What would they gain? OATS locations are too small." Rahodeb speculated that Wild Oats eventually would be sold after sliding into bankruptcy or when its stock fell below $5. A month later, Rahodeb wrote that Wild Oats management "clearly doesn't know what it is doing. . . . OATS has no value and no future."

The comments were typical of banter on Internet message boards for stocks, but the writer's identity was anything but. Rahodeb was an online pseudonym of John Mackey, co-founder and chief executive of Whole Foods Market Inc. Earlier this year, his company agreed to buy Wild Oats for $565 million, or $18.50 a share.

For about eight years until last August, the company confirms, Mr. Mackey posted numerous messages on Yahoo Finance stock forums as Rahodeb. It's an anagram of Deborah, Mr. Mackey's wife's name. Rahodeb cheered Whole Foods' financial results, trumpeted his gains on the stock and bashed Wild Oats. Rahodeb even defended Mr. Mackey's haircut when another user poked fun at a photo in the annual report. "I like Mackey's haircut," Rahodeb said. "I think he looks cute!"