- Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Boosts Stake in Wal-Mart
- Time Warner to Spin Off AOL on December 9
- Gates Boosts Waste Management, Coca Cola Stakes
- What's Kept Stock Rally Going? Fear, Not Confidence
- Fed to Keep Rates Low Despite Dollar's Fall: Bernanke
- Citi Shares, A Strange Indicator Of Unemployment?
- Millions Could Have to Repay Part of Obama's Tax Credit
- Hollywood Turns to Porn as Unemployment Rises
- Slideshow: US Cities With Most Underwater Mortgages
- Answers to Your Questions: A Path to Economic Disaster?
- 5 Ways to Play the Chinese Markets: Analyst
- Meredith Whitney: Turns Bearish
- 3 Stock Plays on Rising College Costs
- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Almost Doubles Wal-Mart Holdings During Summer
- Nov. 16: Unusual Volume Leaders
- Getting to the Heart of the Merck-Abbott Embargo Break
- What MGM's Sale Could Say About Value of Content
- My Ratings on Lowe's & Home Depot: Analyst
MOST SHARED
- Stocks Overvalued, Recession Will Return: Meredith Whitney
- Has Twitter's Finest Hours (Seconds) Come and Gone?
- U.S. May Wind Up Green With Envy
- BofA Ex-Counsel: I Was 'Stunned' When I Got Fired
- Bernanke Offers Something For Everyone
- Fed Likely to Keep Rates Low Despite Dollar's Fall: Bernanke
- Solar Emerges From A Dark Period
- Oil Tomorrow
- Stanford Receiver to Release Funds Of Frozen Acounts
- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Almost Doubles Wal-Mart Holdings During Summer
Text Size 
Robert Nardelli's ouster as chairman and CEO of HomeDepot had the full approval of the board, including the man who had been his biggest supporter--Kenneth Langone, people close to the company told CNBC's Charlie Gasparino.
Langone, the lead shareholder and company co-founder, was actually a major force behind the move, these people said, countering speculation that he had supported Nardelli.
Langone's decision was in reaction to the company's floundering stock price under Nardelli's watch, these people said.
Langone declined repeated requests for comment. His spokesman Jim McCarthy also had no comment.
The move is an about face for Langone. He had personally recruited Nardelli six years ago from General Electric to replace former CEO Arthur Blank, himself a co-founder of the company.
During Nardelli's reign, Langone had been a staunch supporter. He was instrumental in clearing the way for Nardelli's massive salary in 2005 even as shares of the company sagged. The move was a source of criticism from shareholder activists, as CNBC reported, causing the board to consider cutting Nardelli's salary for 2006.
But in recent months, Langone had lost confidence in Nardelli, as did many other investors. As a co-founder, Langone is also one of the largest single holders of HomeDepot stock, and these people say he was personally distressed over the market reaction to news, first reported on CNBC, that private equity had been crunching the numbers on a possibly leveraged buyout of HomeDepot.
Shares of the company spiked [HD
Loading...
()
] on the news of Nardelli's resignation, indicating that the market believed a change in management was needed to jump start the stock.
Print
Email
- Where, what, how.
- CNBC's Jim Goldman asks: Has the sun begun to set on Twitter? Data suggests its best days are over.
- Everyone wanted a piece of Madoff's "Bullship"--the famous buoy sold for $7,500 at auction. You won't believe these prices.
- De Loach Vineyards is selling its pinot noir the old fashioned way, helping to cut energy and transportation costs.
- Why are the Chinese concerned about the progress of U.S. health care legislation?
- CNBC's Maria Bartiromo talks to rapper Snoop Dogg about brand identity in both business and music.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes