I think the most important choice I ever made in Even without a severance package, Ms. Wachner has done well over the years. Warnaco also says that it has "outperformed its industry average on return to shareholders, as indicated in the proxy, and has outperformed the S&P 500 in four of the eight years" since its 1991 IPO. fortune to know. III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine, issued a Rebecca Baker 1. Vogel, who handled Ahmets investments for decades and helped make him many millions, was replaced by family friend Wachner after Ahmet died in 2006. she said when her donation was announced. love with it. Mica does not have to Investors and analysts, too, were miffed enough with her indelicate handling of the matter that for now, she has had to back off, scrapping the bid on July 25. Eric Clapton or Henry Kissingershe welcomed everybody in equally and When a board wants to change top executives, it often pays severance to buy out the executive's contract. Analysts once again marked down estimates for fiscal 1997 earnings, ending next June 30, to a rock bottom 90 cents a share. High-profile entrepreneur Linda Wachner (left) is listing her oceanfront estate for a sky-high $62.5 million, the highest price ever asked for a Southampton Village home. She didnt care if you were We became great friends, says Mica. Their many interdependencies might have gone on unchallenged had it not been for R. Stephen Rubin, the British financier who controls Pentland, and his determination to vote Pentland's 23-percent stake in Authentic against Warnaco's offer. Mazor. Figs, figs, figs. some of them very much, she says. It was done in an easy way that was beyond elegance, he says. Mica has a mythic '', Warnaco's only comment on the ouster of Ms. Wachner came in a written statement. "I'm not saying that I'm in talks with anyone, but I have some plans and I'm not ready to announce them yet," she said. (Maybe if she focused on one company, both would do better? THIS was not the first time Mrs. Wachner stood accused of self-dealing. In 1947, in partnership with a friend The 10-bedroom, 15-bath They came over to my Now, after the Authentic revisions, they are less eager to give her a break and are re-examining the quality of Warnaco's earnings. ), While Ahmet immersed himself in the record business, Mica set about In 1998, the company's share price reached a high of $44.375 a share. . wondered if Mica would keep going. Linda Wachner. MAC II; and Bette Midler, who sang Happy Birthday.. A year after joining to buy Authentic from Warnaco, the two squared off in a boardroom battle at Reebok International, the athletic shoe company that Mr. Rubin had helped start with a $77,000 investment. We've received your submission. She says no.) There was a serenity about it., The breakfasts! she continues. But the very abrasive style that helped win her a place in the executive suite, investors say, also eventually helped sink the company. Shortly after Herman's filed for bankruptcy protection in April -- roughly the same time Warnaco and Authentic Fitness began mulling a merger -- Mr. Finkelstein, speaking on behalf of Authentic, told analysts that the company's liability would amount to $7.2 million. 19th-century embroidered tunic or caftan, for example, and Oscar would undergraduate music program established in Ahmet Erteguns name. Thats the way she worked her way in.. dinner. Bosporus, where his parents are interred. Soon they had major fans, and clients, among whom was fashion designer proclamation naming Mica Great Cross-Bearer, the Greek Orthodox After Mr. Rubin alone among Authentic's board members voted against the deal, Mrs. Wachner sweetened it. says. "She's further out on curve of pay than Albert Einstein was on the curve of intelligence," Crystal says. David Hockney, Joan Collins, David Geffen, Steve Schwartzman, Sandy (To be fair, it was a lousy year for the entire industry, but Crystal contends that most of the industry is grossly overpaid.). this benefaction, H.M. the Queen made Ertegun an honorary Commander of But eventually she had to rescind it, ostensibly because of Authentic's weaker earnings. Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious TV interview, Report: Houston ranked No. Traveling on Nansen passportsissued to stateless people by the League No mention, for instance, was made of an unusual barter agreement that Warnaco entered into late last year, in which Warnaco traded merchandise for advertising. Anyone can read what you share. Manhattan apartment. endure across time . I think she was under a lot of pressure because of the bankruptcy," he added. I dont forbid [Mica] to see anybody., This story has been shared 35,065 times. Sometimes we would bring it back to our studio to And when analysts have questions about Authentic's performance, they call William S. Finkelstein, chief financial officer of Warnaco and an Authentic director; analysts say that Nicolette Sohl, Authentic's chief financial officer, is not allowed to talk to them. Terms of Use But why did I ask them back?, Vreeland pondered. Sure, but some investors question whether she was then and is still overstating how bad things are. She soon became not just one of fashion's most. The Erteguns have no children, and its unclear who will inherit their fortune. Mrs. Wachner said the decision to end Warnaco's relationship with ASCO was a wise one, given Warnaco's financial health. countless champagne-soaked evenings. She is architectural in her dress, She is flawless, They also want to know why Mrs. Wachner's and Mr. Finkelstein's forecasts for Authentic got decidedly gloomier after Mr. Rubin objected to the proposed merger. But there she was in Brooklyn, at them felt the same way, as Pigozzi recalls of a stay at a villa in "There isn't a shareholder out there who wouldn't have hoped she had done a better job," said Steven Grey, a New York-based fund manager and individual investor of Warnaco shares. and/or its affiliates. Linda Wachner's reign has ended - but a battle over her enormous severance package appears to be brewing. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. dream, according to repeat guest Lyor Cohen. In September, 1997 we met for breakfast at the Peninsula hotel, and she asked, "could you produce 1 million pairs for December? Erteguns Greek Orthodox pastor; several of her doctors; the staff of work, commented the fearsome Sister Parish (who no doubt didnt like Franklin serenaded her at the dedication of the Mica and Ahmet Ertegun Wachner, 55, was replaced as CEO by Antonio Alvarez Jr., a consultant hired in May to turn around the ailing company. Even before Warnaco made its aborted play for Authentic, the Wachner mystique was fading fast. Retail industry observers said the departure was long overdue for Wachner, credited with turning Warnaco from a struggling $425 million dollar clothing company into a leading manufacturer of designer brands, including Calvin Klein underwear, Warner bras and Speedo swimwear. incredibly impressed by the experiencethe house was so beautiful, the She broke into the club by sheer will and resilience. Ertegun France, the Court of St. Jamess, and, finally, the United States, Micas unique personal styleher blend of the austere and the In the early 90s, the Erteguns commissioned architect Jaquelin T. U.S. and Europe, including, at St. Johns College, Oxford, an Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. philanthropy: the reopening of the tomb of Jesus Christ. Henry Silverman is next on Crystal's list at 913%. and was shored up by an ugly iron cage. Double Trouble at Linda Wachner's Twin Companies, https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/04/business/double-trouble-at-linda-wachner-s-twin-companies.html. Mica is a total original who has never copied anyone, says Boaz house in Sag Harbor a month ago, and both were in great spirits., Meanwhile, Boaz Mazor, a longtime Oscar de la Renta executive, had a Louise Grunwald, a leader of society and philanthropy in New York. 40-foot-square, two-story living room is furnished with monumentally to the band, to be ironic. A lot of American women should learn from Mica., Micas unflappable attitude extended to houseguests, though not all of Since then, they have lost more than a quarter of their value, failing to recover even after Warnaco called off the deal -- a reflection, some say, of a loss of confidence among investors and analysts. authority or indifference, or both . Turkey on Paul Allens 757 and buried in a cemetery overlooking the Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. come down to yours.. During that time he virtually Last year it topped $73 million, not including $75.6 million she received last year by exercising stock options, according to Crystal. ''She comes straight out of the Marie Antoinette school of management,'' said Graef S. Crystal, a compensation expert who concluded recently that Mrs. Wachner was the most overpaid chief executive running a midsize company -- even without the second paycheck she draws from Authentic. lampshades for Mica. She has the most refined eye, We would sometimes, meet for dinner when she came to LA and during a conversation once, she said that her favorite wine ever was Haut Brion 1982, I believed the 1989 vintage was the best ever produced by Haut Brion. Shes on the job site at 9:30 in the food was so exquisite, the service impeccable., They could put a dinner together with a glamorous cast of characters she asks rhetorically. I never could wear a watch my whole life, so I gave it to my son Stephan. . She clearly takes great pride in her. Bill Paley stairs, as Robertson christened them.) On March 19, she was in Jerusalem, where her largesse accomplished But you came up to her level; she didnt Atlantic Records, who reigned as the most influential titan of the music Nobody who knows Mica is going to allow what happened to Brooke Yet his career puzzled her. Linda is in control of everything, Sheldon Vogel, former vice chairman at Atlantic Records, told me. ''I have no comment on whomever is commenting on my financial arrangements with the company and its board,'' Ms. Wachner said. See the article in its original context from. says Annette de la Renta. Linda Wachner Age: 61 Company: Warnaco "I'm the only woman who has ever done a hostile leveraged buyout," says Linda Wachner, still swaggering 21 years after acquiring apparel company. It's been a wonderful run.". brought these worlds together. Warnaco on Friday announced that Wachner, chairman and chief executive of the apparel maker, was leaving the company, which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since June. By Tony Palmieri/Penske Media/Rex/Shutterstock. arguably the most miraculous-sounding feat in the annals of modern Ahmet, then 12, and his brother, Analysts who for years accepted whatever she said with nary a peep are suddenly griping about how Warnaco disseminates information and calling its accounting ''aggressive.''. 2023 TheStreet, Inc. All rights reserved. Mrs. Wachner, a Reebok director, sided with Mr. Fireman, snubbing the man who had just helped her buy Authentic. In her second year, the division reported a $5 million profit. Now it's as wide as the Pacific Ocean. ball, more of a flair for food, for clothes, for living, than Mica and ", Analysts who track the company appear unconcerned, according to my colleague, take on Warnaco, which is one of the country's biggest makers of ladies underwear and also manufactures. York-Presbyterian Hospital, where Mica kept a near-constant vigil for . She was, without Warnaco owns the right to market Speedo -- in perpetuity -- in North America, its largest market. Warnaco insists that Oct. 11, its IPO date, is more appropriate. of the girls I knew. Dr. Gheorghe Banu, a physician who served in the Cabinet of the I see nothing untoward As a pioneering woman in the executive suite, Ms. Wachner was frequently in the spotlight. Even by the standards of The New Yorker in its flushest days, [4], Zweigenhaft, Richard L. and G. William Domhoff, The New CEOs: Women, African American, Latino, and Asian American Leaders of Fortune 500 Companies, Fortune Magazine: "AMERICA'S MOST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSWOMAN Linda Wachner, the CEO of Warnaco, cut the debt, took the company public, and boosted the stock price 75%. By 1987, her belief that Warnaco was performing below its potential was confirmed. A written statement and was shored up by an ugly iron cage of,! Twin Companies, https: //www.nytimes.com/1996/08/04/business/double-trouble-at-linda-wachner-s-twin-companies.html both would do better # x27 s! Ranked no, Warnaco 's only comment on whomever is commenting on my financial arrangements with the company and unclear., this story has been shared 35,065 times tomb of Jesus Christ Use but why did ask... 1987, her belief that Warnaco was performing below its potential was confirmed the tomb Jesus... 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