Testosterone Inc : Tales of CEOs Gone Wild

by Christopher M. Byron

• ISBN13: 9780471681977
• ISBN10: 0471681970
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2004-05-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

In Testosterone Inc.: Tales of CEOs Gone Wild, bestselling author and New York Post columnist Chris Byron chronicles the Gatsby-like saga of the rise and fall of the celebrity CEO. During the height of the 1990s bull market, they were America' s new heroes: the heroes of business. They were our bold new leaders, cutting the fat, pushing for productivity, implementing visionary plans, and making strategic deals. When the bull market turned to bust and the applause turned to cat-calls, the world was shocked at the truth. Drenched in money and public acclaim, our CEO-heroes mostly white, mostly male, mostly middle-aged turned out to be not much different than a group of twenty-something rock stars drunk on power and driven by sex, greed, and glamour. Testosterone Inc. goes behind the boardroom doors to show the serial affairs and marriages of these acquisitive corporate titans. At the center of this story is Jack Welch, the biggest of America' s rockstar CEOs and th former head of General Electric Co., surrounded by " mini-me" CEOs Ron Perelman of Revlon, Al Dunlap of Sunbeam, and Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco all gone wild in public displays of consumption and predatory appetites writ large. Byron gets inside the bars where Welch liked to hang out and pick up women with his early " business soul mate" buddies. Byron hovers unseen at the elbow of Ron Perelman and his mistress aboard the

Author Biography

Christopher Byron has been writing about business and finance for over thirty years. He writes a weekly business column for the New York Post, and is the host of a syndicated daily radio show, Wall Street Wakeup with Chris Byron. He is an analyst on Good Morning America, and appears frequently on CNBC, FOX News Network, MSNBC, and CBS Evening News, among other venues. His articles have appeared in Esquire, Playboy, New York, Worth, Men's Health, and Travel Holiday magazines. Byron graduated from Yale College and the Columbia University School of Law. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and lives in Connecticut with his family

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements.

Prologue.

1. “Is That a Gun in Your Pocket, or Are you just happy to see me?”

2. “I Want to Play in the Band!”

3. A Course for New Providence, or the Drowning Pools of Narcissism?

4. GE Loves Me!

5. Al and Dennis in the Passing Lane.

6. Foolish Faith and the Case of Suzie Cream Cheese.

7. Question from the Chairman: How Much Do I Weigh?

8. Stretch Role Time for Gary and the Preacher’s Daughter.

9. Fitzy Comes Out of the Closet.

10. Champagne Kisses and Caviar Dreams.

11. Jack Meets Celebrity’s Dark Side.

12. The Shiksa Goddess of Wall Street.

13. Jane Beasley and the Spoor of an Older Man.

14. Marvin Hamlisch Meets the World of Six Sigma.

15. CEO in Banjo-Land.

16. Big Al Goes AWOL.

17. Ron’s Next Democrat.

18. Hugs & Kisses and Bouts of Nostalgia.

19. Big Al and Ron Exit Fighting.

20. Life is a Cabarat.

21. Let’s Party Like It’s 1999.

22. That Pesky Neck Waddle.

23. Suzy Hotstuff and the Case of Juan Dangeroso.

24. Sonata for Soul Mates.

Notes.

Index.