The Wall Street Journal is the first to take a guess at the mystery surrounding the departure of United Technologies CEO Louis Chenevert.
The paper reported this weekend that the company board engineered his abrupt ouster because of concerns that he was spending too much time on his private interests.
Two weeks before he resigned, the paper said, Chenevert was in Taiwan to oversee the construction of his luxury yacht.
The new chairman of the board, Edward Kangas, confirmed that he had talked to Chenevert about whether the operational side of the business was his first priority.
Health Insurers Add to Jobs Boost
Health insurers including Aetna are among those who have added jobs with the advent of the Affordable Care Act, boosting the recent robust U.S. jobs report. In November, 321,000 jobs were added, according to the latest figures, and 29,000 of those were in health care. The sector has grown steadily over the past 12 months, up more than a 260,000 positions in that time.
UI Abandons Philly Bid
United Illuminating said it will not pursue its planned acquisition of Philadelphia Gas Works after a long dispute with city officials there. Philadelphia city councilors didn’t want to see the $1.9 billion sale go through. They’ve been refusing to hear a presentation from UI since October, saying there was no benefit to the city, and not enough protections for customers in the deal.
UI CEO James Torgerson said he’s extremely disappointed in the outcome.
