It was a stunning revelation: Upon the unexpected death of Scholastic CEO and Chairman M. Richard Robinson Jr., the world—not to mention the company and its board—learned the $1.2 billion company wasn't staying in the family. Robinson left his controlling stake to Iole Lucchese, Scholastic's chief strategy officer. In a lengthy piece for the New York Times, Katherine Rosman and Elizabeth A. Harris dig into the "real-life succession battle" and speak to Lucchese. Some of the piece's most eyebrow-raising quotes come compliments not of Lucchese (who Rosman and Harris say often gave single-word answers during their hour-long interview) but David Wallack, a portfolio manager for T. Rowe Price, which is the company's biggest stockholder after the family.
Wallack said he spoke with Robinson more than once about the succession plan and got an answer that he waved off as "hyperbole"—that "When I die, there is a safe, and there is an envelope in the safe, and the board of directors will open the safe and see what my wishes were." Wallack's expectations were that a board member would be elevated to chair, and that the board would look outside the company for a CEO; neither occurred. Having never met Lucchese, Wallack says he twice reached out to an investor relations representative to request such a meeting and was told he would be informed when she was available. He says he has yet to hear from her. "We are the largest shareholder after the family, and you would expect the company chairman to reach out and have a conversation with the shareholders she is supposed to represent," Wallack says. (Read the full piece for much more.)
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