WHEELHOUSE ADVISORS - Key Persons
President Akio Toyoda acknowledged in an opinion piece he wrote for The Washington Post last week the company had "failed to connect the dots" between the sticky pedals in Europe, surfacing as early as December 2008, and those in the U.S. that culminated in the massive recalls. The error in Europe was corrected, starting with the Aygo hatchback in August 2009, and those models were not included in the latest global recalls.
Former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt delivered some very interesting remarks in a recent speech at the Annual Audit Committee Conference sponsored by the National Association of Corporate Directors ("NACD"). Mr. Levitt challenged companies to improve the knowledge base of its board members to allow for more fulsome discussions on risk. He also provided some recommendations for better governmental oversight and regulatory reform. Here are a few of his thoughts.