As part of Tesla's settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it has appointed an all-new board chair. This means Elon Musk is out and Robyn Denholm is in.
If Denholm's name isn't familiar to you, this shouldn't come as a shock. She's mostly known for her work in the technology and telco worlds with her latest experience being the Chief Financial Officer & Head of Strategy for Telstra — an Australia-based, $25B telco giant.
To be quite honest, I am not 100 percent if this change really makes a quantifiable difference for Tesla. Denholm has been a part of the board since 2014 and, clearly, Tesla really is Musk's show. That's not necessarily a bad thing since TSLA is very much so on fire — take that how you will.
On the other hand, it may present a chance for Denholm to actually try to fix the company's finances and get it squared up for continued, sustained profitability. While there's no question that the auto business is one of the most brutal, telcos aren't exactly a walk in the park either.
That said, we're curious what YOU think, Spies: Is the appointment of Robyn Denholm as TSLA's board chair the BEST or WORST thing to happen to Tesla?
Tesla Inc has named director Robyn Denholm as board chair, fulfilling a demand by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to strip the job from Elon Musk, the electric car maker’s wayward chief executive who has dragged the company through months of turbulence.
The appointment was required as part of a September deal Tesla struck with the securities regulator to settle fraud charges against Musk and Tesla. Legal experts said it was unclear if Denholm, who has been on Tesla’s board for four years, was independent enough for Tesla to comply with the court-approved settlement.
Denholm, 55, joined Tesla as an independent director in 2014 and is the head of its audit committee. She was paid almost $5 million, mainly in stock options, by the company last year, making her the highest remunerated of its board members.
She is finance chief at Australian telecoms firm Telstra Corp Ltd and previously worked for Toyota in Australia, according to her LinkedIn profile. She will resign from Telstra to take the Tesla role full-time...
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