Corporate Gossip

Don't forget to rate and review this podcast!!  This is a true Corporate Gossip Exclusive: The ONLY comparative exploration of Enron and Vanderpump Rules.  On a summer day in 2012 in a restaurant garden in Weho, waitress Schena Shay confronts Housewife Brandi Glanville about the rumors of infidelity surrounding Brandi's husband, Eddie Cibrian. Narratively, this scene breaks the seam between the women of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and the servers who tend to them. And television's crown jewel is born: Vanderpump Rules.   Few know that there was another cosmic seam that ripped at the same moment, and merged two dimensions along thematic parallels: cheating, fraud, topless bars, uppers, women's rights, and women's wrongs. If you're a Vanderpump girlie who wants to get into Enron or an Enron bro who wants to get into Vanderpump - this is ENRON RULES!  We explore the Enron collapse by meeting each of the main players and following them throughout the Enron story. We'll start with the villains who commanded the corporate clusterfuck and then meet the heroes who had the guts to defy them.  This episode also features our DAD! @Jeffplatsky We're on Youtube  Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list  Tiktok: @corporategossippod Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com)  Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Timestamps / Cast of characters:  6:00 - Introducing our DAD, the original corporate gossiper! 10:00ish - The Enron Scandal as told through the eys of the villains and the heroes:  The Villains:  Enron CEO Ken Lay aka Tom Schwartz Enron COO / CEO Jeff Skilling aka Jax Taylor Enron CFO Andy Fastow aka Tom Sandoval Bonus Villain! The Analysts aka Ken Todd and Lisa Vanderpump The Heroes:  Enron Whistleblower Sherron Watkins aka Kristen Doute Enron Whistleblower Margaret Ceconi aka Lala Kent Fortune Journalist Bethany McLean aka Schena Shay Links: How Enron Blew It The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron (Book) The Smartest Guys in the Room (Movie) You're Wrong About: Enron (Podcast) JUST DESERTS? / A year ago, Francine Cavanaugh tossed a pie at Jeffrey Skilling for gouging Californians now the former Enron CEO is under fire in Washington  

A SUPERSIZED EPISODE!! Two pods in one!!!  Jack Welch is our collective Corporate Villain origin story. Potentially the most famous American CEO, Welch, like so many of the leaders we cover on this pod, possesses a dangerous combination of ruthlessness and incompetency. Adam and Becca trace his meteoric rise and salacious downfall before passing the reins of turd mountain (GE) to a series of doomed successors. Our apologies in advance to the fine people of Massachusets for our repeated unsuccessful attempts at a Boston accent.  P.S. John Flannery if you're reading this right now we love you please come on the pod <3333  Don't forget to rate and review this podcast! We're on Youtube  Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list  Tiktok: @corporategossippod Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com)  Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike   Links: How Jack Welch’s Reign at G.E. Gave Us Elon Musk’s Twitter Feed Was Jack Welch the Greatest C.E.O. of His Day—or the Worst? Jack Welch: Managerial Genius Who Made One Disastrous Mistake Harvard Editor Faces Revolt Over Handling of Welch Story Pic of Welch and Suzy making out  Former GE CEO Jeff Immelt on his controversial legacy: ‘I don’t want to hide’ GE Cuts Larry Culp’s 2022 Pay After Shareholder Protest Corrections:  GE is still the largest manufacturer of jet engines. Rolls Royce is #2 in the industry.   

If Theresa Giudice opened a mediocre fast casual sandwich shop it would look like Subway restaurants. Founded in part by a 17 year old from the Bronx named Fred Deluca, Subway would become the world’s largest fast-food chain. But while Deluca's family was raking in that sweet meatball money, their franchisees were in honey ham hell. Once the sandwich king, Subway now faces serious lawsuits and FTC investigations amid dwindling sales. How did this chain, known for its "definitely 100% real, seriously guys I promise it really is tuna" sandwiches tumble to the bottom of the food chain? Find out on this episode of Corporate Gossip! Don't forget to rate and review this podcast! We're on Youtube  Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list  Tiktok: @corporategossippod Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com)  Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Timestamps:  1:50 - Fred Deluca opens the first Subway with $1,000 and a bag of tuna and quickly realizes that making franchise royalties is wayyyyy easier than making a hot italian sandwhich.    5:15 - Deluca is Tiny Time vibes with a Scrooge personality.    7:40 - The most haunted calendar of all time is created by Deluca and his colleagues. They literally take pictures of themselves shirtless around the office. Deluca is Mr. January.  12:30 - Subway becomes the LuLaRoe of fast food restaurants.  16:00 - Wokeup this mornin' and I got myself a sub.... Subway's hitmen set their targets on francisees. 22:30 - J*red F*gle, I don't think I need to say anymore.  26:00 - After his death, Deluca gives his estranged wife the ultimate anniversary present... half of a dying sandwhich company!  31:50 - Subway's requirement for a new CEO? Sharing the majority of the founder's DNA.  37:00 - You know what they say about mixing business with family? It literally always works every time! You should def do it!  40:00 - Subway spends millions of dollars on a rebrand and a ton of celebrity influencers but their sandwhiches still suck.  44:20 - Subway's future looks as grey as their tuna.  45:45 - Find out what fast food restaurant you are based on your zodiac sign. Links:  SubCon 2023! (Subway Convention)  Subway cofounder Fred DeLuca ruled the company like a demigod and pursued wives of franchisees. How one man sent the world's biggest fast-food chain into a tailspin Subway does franchisee damage control after John Oliver segment: memos Subway Got Too Big. Franchisees Paid a Price Inside the 2 secretive billionaire families that own Subway, as they face backlash from furious franchisees Judge rules Subway can be sued over claims that its tuna sandwiches contain other fish species or animal products New Subway sandwich menu items taste just as vile as the old ones What fast food are you based on your zodiac

This episode is Not Safe For Work / Your Harvard MBA class  Professional Canadian... sorry, Professional COMEDIAN, Nathan Macintosh joins Becca to fix capitalism. It's so easy it literally took us less than an hour guys. We discuss a few interesting proposals to address capitalism's systemic problems, AND plan the first EVER Corporate Gossip Cruise / Davos for the rest of us.  Don't forget to rate and review this podcast!  We're on Youtube Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list  Tiktok: @corporategossippod Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com)  Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Timestamps:  10:00 You Better Work Betch: Full employment guarantee  20:00 Go back in time and destroy Reagan!  31:00 YOU can get a house without waiting for your parents to unalive 42:00 A cult classic: The Four Day Work Week!  Links:  Nathan Macintosh: Money Never Wakes  National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (Aka the Works Progress Administration) The Accountable Capitalism Act of 2018 Investment Firms Aren’t Buying All the Houses. But They Are Buying the Most Important Ones Opinion: Bernie Sanders is right about capitalism

Join Becca and Adam on a journey that starts in in a smoky Texas hotel lobby in 1967. We'll pass trough a decomposing sportatorium off the Dallas freeway in 1992 and end at a contentious company sponsored JoJo concert in 2022. Once a shining star in the skies over the Texas Plains, Southwest experienced a slow and then sudden descent after the departure of it's distinctive founder. Executive would try to repair the damage, but for many it was "Too Little, Too Late." Don't forget to rate and review this podcast!  We're on Youtube Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list  Tiktok: @corporategossippod Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com)  Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Links:  Video of the Malice in Dallas Southwest Airlines Engine Explodes in Flight, Killing a Passenger Column: The guilty parties evading blame for the Southwest meltdown are its board members Southwest store  Southwest Airlines Faces Tough Questions From Senators Video of Pilots walking out of the Southwest Employee Rally

It's a bank run, dummies! The SVB collapse is true corporate gossip catnip, and we couldn't resist bringing you this ~very special~ episode about the biggest corporate shitshow of the year (so far). Aaron Cohn, business professor and scorned ex-lover of venture capital, joins Becca to recap the bank's meltdown and subsiquent VC temper tantrum. Aaron is fresh off the plane from SXSW and ready to spill all the tea on venture capital. It's a little bit cringe, a little bit spooky, but mostly a good reminder to never trust a billionare and that NOTHING MATTERS ANYMORE :)  Don't forget to rate and review this podcast!  We're on Youtube Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list  Tiktok: @corporategossippod Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com)  Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Links:  The Incredible Tantrum Venture Capitalists Threw Over Silicon Valley Bank Silicon Valley Bank Fails After Run on Deposits EXCLUSIVE: Aloha suckers! Silicon Valley Bank's failed CEO Gregory Becker escapes to his $3.1million Hawaiian hideaway days after being fired, leaving the chaos of the collapse in the dust

Discussion on Boeing's engineering decline and shareholder value maximization, the 737 Max crashes, the influence of Jack Welch, manufacturing issues, controversial decisions, a Senate hearing with Dennis Muhlenberg, and the costs of prioritizing shareholder value maximization.

Don't forget to rate and review this podcast!!  Carlos Watson has it all: an Ivy League pedigree, an electric personality, and a media empire called “Ozy.” There’s only one problem… Watson is a prolific bullshit artist. When he and his co-founder are caught catfishing Goldman Sachs executives, his empire begins to crumble and his throne of lies is exposed. The Ozy story is truly wild and includes feuds with Sharon Osbourne, a Fyre Fest knockoff, and millennial-era side bangs! We're on Youtube!!  Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list  Tiktok: @corporategossippod Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com)  Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Vignette edited by: Becky Nanns Beckysaysitall.com Timestamps:  03:33 - Ozy Media background and Becca’s side bang regret 10:15 - Ozy becomes the most popular website of all time!! More readers than the Bible!!! 15:40 - Carlos Watson’s catfish practice with A&E 24:15 - The Ozy Media Fyre Fest that almost was 31:25 - Don’t F* with Sharon Osbourne 33:54 - Carlos Watson: World’s Best Boss 38:00 - Carlos & Samir catfish Goldman Sachs & the Ozy downfall 44:35 - Ozy 2.0: The Return of the Carlosfish 50:50 - Takeaways Links:  Goldman Sachs, Ozy Media and a $40 Million Conference Call Gone Wrong Ozy Built a TV Show on a False Claim, Says Its Former Producer How Ozy Fest Was About To Become The Next Fyre Festival — Until A Heat Wave (And Insurance Claim) Bailed Them Out 18-hour days and panic attacks: Former Ozy staffers allege an abusive environment  

Don't forget to rate and review this podcast!!  Under Armour is what happens when a group of perpetually rowdy frat bros is at the helm of a multi-billion dollar company. Starting with a single sewing machine in his grandma's basement, Ken Plank grew the UA brand to market dominance over two decades, and then oversaw its demise over two years. This story has it all: A+ list athletes, strip club scandals, Twitter PR disasters, adulterous adventures on a private jet, and Becca's favorite: light accounting fraud!  We're on Youtube!!  Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list  Tiktok: @corporategossippod Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com)  Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Vignette written by: Becky Nanns Beckysaysitall.com Timestamps:  06:16 - Kevin Plank creates the first moisture-wicking athletic T-shirt and founds Under Armour from his Grandma's basement. The company, with the help of lucrative movie cameos and athletic partnerships, is valued at $157m by 2005 and grows to $17B 10 years later.  15:34 - Under Armour produces a series of uggo shoes that are blasted on Twitter.  20:02 - As Plank becomes increasingly distracted with his side hustles, UA sales slump. The UA team employ a series of questionable accounting practices to hide the truth, and their actions result in a $9m class-action shareholder lawsuit.  27:00 - HR revokes one of the c-suite's favorite perks: free strip clubs. After that, it's one buzzkill after another for UA executives.  35:00 - Turns out the culture at the top of Under Armour wasn't exactly... conducive to not being a huge dirtbag.  43:15 - Has your boss ever brought his paramour - sorry - "strategic advisor" to a business meeting? If so, you might be working for Ken Plank!!  49:00 - Where does UA stand today? Links:  Steph Curry's new Under Armour sneakers lit Twitter on fire with Dad jokes, memes Under Pressure at Under Armour, CEO Says His Eye Is on the Ball Under Armour founder sold $138 million in stock during time period company allegedly misled investors about slowing sales Under Armour’s #MeToo Moment: No More Strip Clubs on Company Dime Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank 'was allegedly having an affair with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle and sought her advice over that of his board while flying her around on private jet'    

The podcast discusses the hiring and firing of Michael Ovitz as president of Disney, the power struggles and legal battles that followed. It also explores Bob Iger's rise at Disney, his departure and successor transition. The hosts discuss the importance of good leadership and skepticism towards the corporation.