Following in the footsteps of its stock-dumping chairman/CEO Lyor Cohen, Warner Music Group’s executive VP of human resources, Mark David Ansorge, cashed in 75,000 shares of company stock at $7.56 per share yesterday, netting a cool $567,000. Oh, to be a fly on the wall when he explains the company’s next “restructuring” to whatever employees are still left… Correction and update: WMG’s corporate communications department writes: “The shares in question were NOT disposed, in fact it was a grant in connection with a new position, and drawing a comparison at all to Lyor’s sale is completely wrong. If you look in the filing for our new head of Global Human Resources [warning: PDF link], you’ll see in box 4 in Table 2 that it states that this was a grant.” [Hypebot / Pic via Despair]
Warner Music Group’s Human Resources Department Led By Someone Who May Be A Very Nice Guy, For All I Know
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Not sure if WMG understands the definition of disposed. If they granted a new guy some stock and he sold it - then that stock was disposed by the new guy.
I can’t imagine that “Would you like a job at Warner Music Group, in which we pay a large part of your salary in stock options?” is an easy sell these days.
Many are called but the chosen are few
Doug Morris and P.R. strategist in his office circa 2004 chatting before a meeting with Lyor Cohen.
Morris: We need to do whatever it takes to get rid of him.
Strategist: I understand boss…
Morris: Tell the press he’s a genius. Tell them he founded Def Jam and that Simmons did nothing. Soon one of the other majors will bite and lure him away.
Strategist: Got it, boss.
Morris: Invent whatever back story you need to.
Silence.
Moments later Cohen is escorted in by Morris’s voluptuously fit assistant.
Morris: Liar. I mean, Lyor, have a seat.
The towering oaf takes a seat. He nods to the strategist seated in the back of the room. He nods back.
Morris: I asked you in this afternoon to compliment on the wonderful job you’re doing.
Cohen: Thanks.
Morris: Your new releases ar…
Cohen suddenly stands up and starts to unzip his pants.
Morris: Not relieve, Lyor, new releases.
Cohen: Oh. He returns to his seat.
Morris: Son, we…
Cohen: Mama
Morris: No, you don’t have a mother. You were hatched.
Cohen: Pop pop.
Morris: No. Son is a sometimes used as a term of endearment…Um, I’m sorry I have to cut this meeting short. I have another appointment. We’ll finish up some other time. OK?
Cohen: OK?
Morris: That was not a question. Keep up the good work.
Cohen: Work?
Out of Cohen’s view, Morris waves frantically to the strategist for help. As the strategist leaves the office with Cohen, he pockets his cell phone and whispers to Morris, “It looks like Bronfman is going to bite.”
So they handed a WMG guy a bunch of shares for his new job, which he promptly sold. In the meantime, people get laid off left and right, the stock price keeps tumbling, and Lyor and Edgar use the place like an ATM. The particulars of the stock sale might be different than Lyor’s, but it’s definitely still a kick in the crotch for anyone working there.