Blowup at HOME DEPOT
Nardelli arrived at Home Depot after losing out in 2000 in a three-way race to succeed GE’s legendary Jack Welch. Despite that setback, Nardelli was anointed one of Corporate America’s most talented executives, and Home Depot seemed to have scored a big victory by snaring him. Almost immediately, he embarked on an aggressive plan to centralize control of the nation’s second-largest retailer after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT ). He invested more than $1billion in new technology, such as self-checkout aisles and inventory management systems that generated reams of data. He declared that he wanted to measure virtually everything that happened at the company and hold executives strictly accountable for meeting their numbers. All this was new at a relatively laid-back organization known for the independence of its store managers and the folksy, entrepreneurial style of retired co-founders Bernard Marcus and Arthur M. Blank. One of Nardelli’s favorite sayings is: "Facts are friendly." He seemed less concerned about people being friendly. Some saw this as a strength. "This guy is maniacal about goals, objectivity, accomplishments within the boundaries of the values of the company," Kenneth G. Langone, the third co-founder of Home Depot, a member of its board of directors, and a strong Nardelli ally, said in a 2004 interview.
Corporate America hasn’t seen the last of Bob Nardelli, however. According to people familiar with the situation, while store workers were celebrating, the former CEO was already fielding calls from private equity firms interested in his formidable operational talents. The bright side for Nardelli in the world of privately owned corporations, of course, is that he won’t have to deal with any annual meetings or shareholder questions.
Source:Business Week
