View Full Version : FTG large and in charge!
SPEED.com has learned that George has been reinstated on the board of directors of Hulman & Company, the umbrella that funds and administers the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IZOD INDYCAR series and Clabber Girl Baking Powder.
It’s believed that Mari Hulman George, board chairwoman for Hulman & Company in addition to being chairman of the board at IMS, made the call to bring her son back into the fold.
It doesn’t appear that George’s re-emergence will immediately affect the day-to-day operation of INDYCAR or the Indianapolis 500, although he was known to have made an unsuccessful attempt last summer to purchase the series he started with a couple of investors.
this should go well (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-tony-george-reinstated-to-ims-board/)
HCCyvAwbbso
The question must be asked...did he ever really leave? :tony:
BarillaGirl
02-20-11, 10:16 AM
"...reinstated on the board of directors of Hulman & Company, the umbrella that funds and administers the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IZOD INDYCAR series and Clabber Girl Baking Powder."
You mean there were some years when I could have bought Clabber Girl again? I've been boycotting that brand since about 1996. :gomer::mad:
"Stop. Don't. Come back."
:shakehead
Mari deserves a far greater heaping of derision than she gets in this mess. A disinterested and dysfunctional CEO that ran the family concern into the ground. If she would have cashed the speedway in 20 years ago her heirs and the institution would be in far better shape.
In other Downfall news, it's looking like the Lotus sponsorship (http://www.versus.com/blogs/one-lap-down-an-indycar-blog/the-drunken-sailor-marketing-plan/) is vaporware.
Agreed on Mari. Tony could have done nothing without her direction and support.
stroker
02-20-11, 08:51 PM
So did he ask to be put back, or did they ask HIM? I've got a feeling this has nothing to do with the business at all. Sounds more like Mom trying to stitch some sort of truce between warring siblings to me.
The series can only be perceived by the George/Hulmans as going one of two ways; up or down. In what way is he poised to take advantage of the situation if it improves, and in what way is he poised to backstop the situation if it deteriorates?
If I'm wrong in my first paragraph and this DOES have to do with the bidness, I'm thinking that Ropin' Randy has let slip his Plan B, and they're bringing The Moron back because none of the rest of them have the first clue about what to do if Bernard bails on them.
racer2c
02-20-11, 09:14 PM
So did he ask to be put back, or did they ask HIM? I've got a feeling this has nothing to do with the business at all. Sounds more like Mom trying to stitch some sort of truce between warring siblings to me.
The series can only be perceived by the George/Hulmans as going one of two ways; up or down. In what way is he poised to take advantage of the situation if it improves, and in what way is he poised to backstop the situation if it deteriorates?
If I'm wrong in my first paragraph and this DOES have to do with the bidness, I'm thinking that Ropin' Randy has let slip his Plan B, and they're bringing The Moron back because none of the rest of them have the first clue about what to do if Bernard bails on them.
:thumbup:
Wow, I never thought I'd say this, but thanks Tony! I was beginning to wonder if I should give the IRL or IndyCar a chance. You know, maybe start watching them with an open heart and an open mind. I didn't really want to, but most, not all but most, of my reasons for avoiding the series the past 15 years were "Gone with the Tony."
Well, you solved that one for me. Now I can not watch without guilt! Tony's back and I'm not watching!
Mary:rofl:
Although the IRL, oops I mean IndyCar, does nothing for me, I did attend the 2010 MotoGP race in part as a "reward" to Mari for finally doing the right thing.
I guess for 2011 everthing has returned to "normal." Too bad.
Hard Driver
02-21-11, 03:07 PM
Why?
I mean just why?
If a person gets fired for incompetence, then why would you put them on the board of directors.... I understand nepotism is the answer. But isn't that what got you in trouble in the first place?
All I can think is that Tony is broke, his utter failure in everything he has touched has left him bankrupt. So mommy is trying to get around gift taxes and "hiring" him into a postion where some family money can be funnelled to him.
I mean, who else would hire him? I mean what would his resume say. Destroyed american open wheel racing. Lost family fortune and got fired by family. Failed as a racing team owner too.
BarillaGirl
02-21-11, 04:32 PM
I mean what would his resume say. Destroyed american open wheel racing. Lost family fortune and got fired by family. Failed as a racing team owner too.
I want someone here to work up that resume and post it. I'd looooove to see it. :yuck:
Why?
I mean just why?
Guilt. That, and that despite all the pretense, it's a family business.
racer2c
02-21-11, 05:29 PM
Cavin- "I hear it was a compromise. Tony wanted back in the mix, and members of the family that supported that thought that letting him back on the Hulman & Co. board was OK. I’m told that the Hulman & Co. board will decide who serves on the IMS Corp. board, and the thing to remember is that there is now three new non-family votes on the Hulman & Co. board. That’s the part of last week’s change that most people skipped over. I find it interesting because Tony George always seemed against new voices in the family business until he was forced out. Now he supports it. How those men vote will be interesting. We’ll see if it changes the dynamics of the sport".
$5 says he's appointed to the ims board before this years 500.
stroker
02-26-11, 10:31 AM
look at it this way--FTG being back means another couple of years of having something to talk about...
:D
High Sided
02-26-11, 10:51 AM
Cavin- "I hear it was a compromise. Tony wanted back in the mix, and members of the family that supported that thought that letting him back on the Hulman & Co. board was OK. I’m told that the Hulman & Co. board will decide who serves on the IMS Corp. board, and the thing to remember is that there is now three new non-family votes on the Hulman & Co. board. That’s the part of last week’s change that most people skipped over. I find it interesting because Tony George always seemed against new voices in the family business until he was forced out. Now he supports it. How those men vote will be interesting. We’ll see if it changes the dynamics of the sport".
$5 says he's appointed to the ims board before this years 500.
Robin Miller- "Ah, but here’s the kicker. Those three businessmen who were also named to the board (Andre Lacy, Michael Smith and Jerry Throgmartin) with Tony last week not only represent the first non-family members to be allowed a seat, they’re all friends of Tony’s."
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/robin-miller-indy-500-family-fued/P1
look at it this way--FTG being back means another couple of years of having something to talk about...
:D
If it lasts that long.
Agreed on Mari. Tony could have done nothing without her direction and support.
Tony might've had a shot at not becoming a total dickhead if she hadn't made Tony watch the 500 with the man who shot his father.
Hard Driver
02-26-11, 10:50 PM
Robin Miller- "Ah, but here’s the kicker. Those three businessmen who were also named to the board (Andre Lacy, Michael Smith and Jerry Throgmartin) with Tony last week not only represent the first non-family members to be allowed a seat, they’re all friends of Tony’s."
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/robin-miller-indy-500-family-fued/P1
The article is right. This is not good news. Tony is a cancer to the sport, and after operating and getting rid of it, the patient at least stabilized and showed signs of progress. Why willingly re-introduce the cancer.
With this family you are dealing with a freaky sort of stupid, reinforced by multi-generational wealth. Some of them are really, really ugly people (and I am not referring to their looks). I would not expect rationality from them. It seems that Josie was the only one with a clue, and she just lost control.
Does anyone have a subscription for the IBJ?
Need one to read more than this....
Hulman board overhaul may signal strategy shift, even IPO
The Feb. 17 announcement that Terre Haute-based Hulman & Co. was expanding its board of directors from four to eight members could simply mean the company is looking for guidance from a broadened brain trust, or it could be a signal the company is at a significant crossroads.
Fun times ahead :D
http://www.ibj.com/hulman-board-overhaul-may-signal-strategy-shift-even-ipo/PARAMS/article/25532
Rumored number (http://www.crapwagon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57925) is $300 million. That strikes me as the total valuation for Hulman & Co. The Clabber Girl brand is the play, the rest is asset stripping and a real estate fire sale. The chance they find anyone both crazy and rich enough to continue shoveling money at the racing business is pretty much zero.
SurfaceUnits
02-27-11, 12:13 PM
The chance they find anyone both crazy and rich enough to continue shoveling money at the racing business is pretty much zero.
they just let him back on the board
Does anyone have a subscription for the IBJ?
Need one to read more than this....
Fun times ahead :D
http://www.ibj.com/hulman-board-overhaul-may-signal-strategy-shift-even-ipo/PARAMS/article/25532
You can sign up for a free trial once a year. I think it lasts for three months.
You mean there were some years when I could have bought Clabber Girl again? I've been boycotting that brand since about 1996. :gomer::mad:
LOL I haven't bought Clabber Girl for about fifteen years and probably will never touch a can of it again.
Corner5
03-05-11, 02:22 PM
The plot thickens...
Hulman & Co. took a public relations hit when Tony George, the company namesake’s grandson, abruptly resigned from its board almost two years ago. But his resignation wasn’t exactly a game-changer for the venerable Terre Haute company that controls the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The board—populated by George, his three sisters and his mother—was insular before he resigned, and it remained so after the women in his family effectively pushed him out. Not much changed until last month when the company made the welcome announcement that it was doubling the size of its board.
Tony George is one of the four new members. If that means the family is healing, we’re all for it, and George’s background in racing and with the company will surely be a benefit. But we’re more excited about the addition of three savvy directors from outside the Hulman-George circle.
The Speedway and the IndyCar racing series, which is also controlled by Hulman & Co., are far too important to the Indianapolis economy for their fate to rest entirely in the hands of a small board populated by members of the same family.
Ultimately, the family still runs the show, but there are now three outsiders with a voice who can bring new perspectives to the family business. All three have deep roots in the city, and, presumably, a keen appreciation for what the Speedway and racing mean to Indianapolis.
Andre Lacy, one of the newly appointed directors, told IBJ last week that he views his appointment as a way to give back to the community by helping to secure the Speedway’s future. Lacy is chairman of the local holding company Lacy Diversified Industries Ltd. and boasts decades of management experience.
The other new directors are Michael L. Smith, the former chief financial officer of Anthem Inc. (now WellPoint) who guided the health insurer through its $2.1 billion initial public offering in 2001; and Jerry Throgmartin, the executive chairman of HHGregg, the locally based, publicly traded appliance retailer.
All three of the outsiders have public company experience, leading some to speculate the family is interested in taking public all or part of their empire, which includes the company that makes Clabber Girl baking powder. Raising capital in the public markets could address estate tax issues or allow one or more of the family members to cash out.
It seems more likely that the new directors’ charge is to improve financial oversight and help the family work through numerous challenges. The IndyCar Series, which has been a money loser since it emerged from the split in open-wheel racing in the mid-’90s, is desperate to turn a profit. And the Indianapolis Motor Speedway itself isn’t the picture of financial stability it was during most of the second half of the 20th century.
Even a place as iconic as the Speedway must change with the times. Hulman & Co.’s new board is a sign the Hulman-George family realizes that and is taking steps to secure its future.•
http://www.ibj.com/editorial-hulman-cos-new-board-is-good-sign/PARAMS/article/25710
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