Altera
CFO Nathan Sarkisian
On Oct. 16, Altera announced that it would restate earnings by about $47.6 million because stock option grants had been misdated between 1996 and 2000. The company also said that Nathan Sarkisian, its CFO, would retire by the end of the year.
Apple Computer
Director Fred Anderson
Apple delayed filing quarterly results after an internal probe identified irregularities surrounding stock option grants dating to 1997, including one grant made to CEO Steve Jobs, which was later cancelled. Director Fred Anderson, who had served as CFO from 1996 to 2004, resigned from the board.
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| Courtesy of Boston Communications |
Boston Communications Group
CEO E.Y. Snowden
Snowden will vacate his role as CEO and president and become non-executive chairman. CFO Karen Walker and General Counsel Alan Bouffard also resigned when an internal investigation discovered discrepancies in the dates options were listed and issued.
Broadcom
CFO William Ruehle
The computer chip company will restate earnings from 1998 and 1999. It expects the damage to be around $1.5 billion dollars, which would represent the highest loss thus far in the backdating scandal. Senior Vice President and CFO William Ruehle retired because of his role in the scandal.
Brocade Communications Systems
CEO Gregory Reyes
Reyes, who resigned in January 2005, was the first CEO to fall in the backdating scandal. He was also the first to face criminal charges. In late July, he and Stephanie Jensen, the company's former human resources chief, were charged with doling out misdated options in order to retain key employees.
Brooks Automation
Directors Roger Emerick and Amin Khoury
In August, Brooks Automation said two directors, Emerick and Khoury, along with former CEO Robert Therrien, signed a "false" document that allowed Therrien to exercise an expired stock option grant, making almost $6 million. Therrien is no longer with the company; Emerick and Khoury resigned in May.
CNet
CEO Shelby Bonnie
Bonnie, who co-founded CNet, resigned in October as the result of a stock compensation scheme that will force the company to restate financial statements from 2003 through the first quarter of 2006. General Counsel Sharon Le Duy and Heather McGaughey, the senior vice president of human resources, also resigned as part of the review.
Comverse Technology
CEO Kobi Alexander
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Alexander and other executives created "a slush fund of backdated options by causing options to be granted to fictitious employees." Alexander, who was captured on Sept. 27 in Namibia, will be extradited to face charges in the U.S. CFO David Kreinberg and general counsel William Sorin have also resigned. On Oct. 24, Kreinberg pleaded guilty to two Justice Department charges and settled with the SEC. He will pay about $2.4 million and cooperate with investigators.
KLA-Tencor
Chairman Kenneth Levy
Levy, who founded a predecessor to KLA-Tencor and previously served as CEO, had received ten stock option grants on dates when the stock hit a low point. One grant led to a $6 million gain. He resigned Oct. 17. Two other executives who received fortuitously timed grants--general counsel Stuart Nichols and adviser Kenneth L. Schroder--resigned a day earlier.
McAfee
CEO George Samenuk
Software company McAfee faces a formal SEC investigation surrounding dubious stock option grants. George Samenuk, the company's CEO and chairman, has resigned, and the company fired president Kevin Weiss and general counsel Kent Roberts.
Mercury Interactive
CEO Amnon Landan
In November 2005, Mercury CEO Amnon Landon resigned after the company uncovered 49 instances of misdated stock options beginning in 1995. Chief Financial Officer Douglas Smith and general counsel Susan Skaer also resigned. On June 25, Hewlett-Packard announced it would pay $4.5 billion to purchase the embattled software firm.
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| Courtesy of Monster Worldwide |
Monster Worldwide
CEO Andrew McKelvey
McKelvey resigned Oct. 9, attributing his decision in part to the stock option scandal. "I simply can no longer dedicate the number of hours required by Monster's rapid global growth and the additional demands of time associated with the ongoing historical stock option grant review," McKelvey said in a statement. The company has said it will restate financial results, and general counsel Myron Olesnyckyj has been suspended.
Newpark Resources
CEO James Cole
Newpark terminated CEO James Cole and CFO Matthew Hardey because of misdated option grants. The Louisiana-based company will restate about $2 million in earnings reported between 2003 to 2005. The company's chief operating officer, William Ballantine, resigned.
Power Integrations
Chairman Howard Earhart
Earhart and CFO John Cobb resigned May 4, as Power Integrations announced it would restate seven years of financial results because of options irregularities. Nasdaq has delisted its shares because it failed to file timely financial results with the SEC, and the company now trades on the pink sheets.
Rambus
CEO Geoff Tate
After an internal investigation, Rambus announced it would restate financial results dating back to 2003. Tate, who had been CEO until 2005 and still served as a director, resigned from the company's board.
SafeNet
CEO Anthony A. Caputo
SafeNet said it accounted for some option grants between 2000 and 2005 using incorrect dates, and it will have to restate financial results through the first quarter of 2006. Caputa resigned Oct. 17, along with Carole Argo, who was chief operating officer and acting CFO. The board named Walter W. Straub chairman and interim CEO and is conducting a search for a permanent successor.
Sapient
CEO Jerry A. Greenberg
In an internal investigation, Sapient identified option grants between 1997 and 2001 that were improperly dated and improperly accounted for. Greenberg, Sapient's co-founder, resigned Oct. 17, along with interim CFO Susan D. Cooke.
UnitedHealth Group
CEO William McGuire
McGuire resigned Oct. 15 after months of controversy surrounding his $1.6 billion in unrealized stock-option gains. The company has estimated that the last three years' net earnings could be reduced by as much as $286 million due to its administration of option grants. General counsel David Lubben and board member William G. Spears have also resigned.
Vitesse Semiconductor
CEO Louis Tomasetta
Amid an internal investigation, Tomasetta, CFO Yatin Mody and Executive Vice President Eugene Hovanex were suspended and then dismissed from Vitesse Semiconductor. The company plans to restate financial statements from 2002 to 2005 because of manipulated option grants.