People are asking good questions!
4 replies (most recent on top)
@k6 - The management team is solely able to raise EBITDA % by laying off employees. There are limitations to how much EBITDA % you can raise by using that method. I'm sure investors can see through that, or at least they will eventually. It's funny that MH said more students are buying Cengage products even though enrollment is down. I suppose his goal is to make the business look better. This FF call is NOT for the employees, it's for the investors/board/Apollo.
There was a good post on here that looks like it was removed. It mentioned how the FF call host HR - KT who replaced B, proved that she is no B. B would control the First Friday calls and was a huge cheerleader for MH. NOW that HR- KT, is the moderator, it seems there is a division or splintering occurring at the TOP. MH does not have the Power he once had. KT was put in her HR position by the Board/Apollo not by MH, for purposes around the upcoming IPO. It is obvious KT reports to the Board/Apollo not MH and he cannot stand this shift.
KT on this FF call was hyper focused on watching MH. Watch KT eyes and how super focused she was on every word/ lie MH spoke... it was telling.
At the COE in Caymans June 15 HR- KT was in attendance. That was a first for the COE. KT made sure there was no hospitality suite in the evenings. Once dinner/evening events ended there was No more company sponsored drinking. Was this due to the past 2 years of S-xual allegations reported against management?
This IPO is doomed, investors who perform the basic research will quickly see investing in this management Team would cost them!
Here was MH's initial bumbling initial reaction: "Specifically to the merit increases. The merit increases are essentially driven by cost of living… it's a cost of living adjustment, right? I mean, you do a merit increase, essentially, across the board to take into account that people have higher cost of living, and there's a lot of talk about the higher cost of living. So we take great pains to benchmark what other companies are doing in terms of cost of living."
So it ISN'T a merit increase. Got it. Said the quiet part out loud, huh?
Also, would any you be surprised to learn that this person's question no longer appears in the firstfriday slack channel? Transparency!
Yes an excellent question was asked that got a huge reaction! Did you see MH face? Did you see MH over speak, over reach, and stretch to try and take control of the answer. LOL LOL MH Struggled with that one.
Question 1: Can you explain why, if we are growing at such a higher rate than previous years, we decreased the merit increase percentages for folks this year? And did not payout the impact awards for those that aren't a part of the CAIP program? To speak honestly, I feel like there is a strong disconnect between what I hear in these First Friday meetings compared to what actually pays out for individuals.
Sorry for this colleague because I'm sure MH will have her fired!!! She was brave to put him on the spot. MH was touting how well Cengage performed Financially, but she called him on his BS!