Prof. Fogel Details How Duke Can Address CEO Fiasco

We recently published a blog criticizing Duke Energy for its decision to oust Bill Johnson as CEO just one day after acquiring Progress Energy. Johnson, the former CEO of Progress, was intended to become the chief executive, but Duke's board opted instead to keep its own CEO, Jim Rogers.

A recent article in the Charlotte Observer looks at the situation. As part of that article, Dan Fogel, a professor at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business, weighs in, calling the move "baffling." He also provided a prescription for how Duke Energy can move past the CEO fiasco.

Dan Fogel

Below are the highlights of Fogel's commentary:

• Come clean, say 'This is what happened.' 
• Second, they should very quickly say, 'Here’s what we’re going to do in the future,' so they won’t seem to be in disarray.
• The third thing is to get Jim Rogers out there doing what he does best, talk to as many people as he can… and say, 'We screwed up, but we're going to handle it.'

All sound like valid solutions. Owning up to the issue and taking control of the narrative would certainly help. Then it is up to the various constituencies - shareholders, regulators, employees - to either learn to slowly trust the company again or reject the explanation. This story is far from over and will be fascinating to see how it plays out.