We learned last week that the founder of Helen of Troy stepped down last week after spending 46 years building the company.
Mr. Rubin started his company with almost nothing and built it into one of El Paso’s few publicly traded companies. In the process he gave generously to the community, the Sun Bowl, his church, and untold numbers of charities and individuals. El Paso is better because of him.
In the process he also built another business and is one of the handful of individuals that essentially own commercial real estate in El Paso.
The Times told us that the departure was part of a management succession plan.
Maybe that will turn out to be true. I certainly hope so.
What bothers me is the timing. The departure came in the middle of a month. A new CEO will take over March 1. There will be an interim CEO for the intervening 45 days or so.
That does not sound orderly to me.
What the Times did not tell us is why this is happening. Maybe it is none of our business but the company is publicly traded and the stockholders have the right to know if the departure had anything to do with the operation of the company.
If it relates to his personal health and he is out of the company then I feel that this is not our business to know.
It would be nice if the Times reporters asked questions and then wrote pieces of their own instead of reprinting publicity pieces.
Muckraker
elpasospeak 
I agree that the El Paso Times doesn’t ask good questions or many questions at all, but the suggestion that a middle of the month announcement in some way constitutes a disorderly transition is off base.
March 1 makes perfect sense. Helen of Troy’s fiscal year is such that March 1 is the start of a new quarter. Given that his successor is an insider, 45 days is plenty of time. Also, the man still owns a large chunk of Helen of Troy stock, so why would he do anything that is not in the best interest of the shareholders?
Mr. Rubin has a reputation for being a tough CEO and taskmaster, but I believe he might just be the best-ever CEO in El Paso. Unlike some other local CEOs who think they are masters of the universe, he truly built his company from nothing. While he has given enormously to the company and received some publicity, he has not sought to be in the spotlight continuously.
Mr. Rubin is going out of top. He should commended for not trying to stay in control forever. I wish him the best.
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Actually, if it is a publicly traded company his health IS a matter of our business. The CEO’s health can have an impact on the price of a stock. One only has to think of Steve Jobs and Apple..
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Absolutely not. The comparison to Steve Jobs is apples/oranges. Jobs insisted on maintaining his title and continuing in his role. Even if Mr. Rubin were stepping aside due to illness (which is entirely implied speculation by some), he has stepped aside. End of story.
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As a pretty close acquaintance of several high ranking individuals at Helen of Troy and a friend of Mr. Rubin, I can say health does not appear to be the issue. Reports have it that HOT’s Board of Directors felt that Jerry’s annual financial compensation was so large that it held back dividends, earnings and stock sales each year. Thus they asked him to step down and let them hire a new CEO to take his place with a more modest compensation package. In this era of criticizing top Wall Street corporate executives, this explanation sounds most accurate to me.
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desertratjim,
Your version of things confirms my own belief and earlier statement that Mr. Rubin is probably the best CEO in El Paso.
In an era of so much corporate greed and giant egos, Mr. Rubin did what was in the best interest of the company that he built and its shareholders. He could have easily fought his board and likely won given the performance of the company, but instead honored the advice and request of his board. That’s an honorable man and he still wins big, assuming the new CEO is competent. His board best hope that they didn’t pull an Apple blunder by unseating the Founder for short-term gain.
If anyone thinks Mr. Rubin is overpaid, they should read the stories about the latest raise given to JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon, who has refused to step aside despite huge problems on his watch.
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