George Shaheen
{{short description|American businessman}}
{{Infobox person
| name = George Shaheen
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1944|07|11}}
| birth_place =
| nationality =
| education =
| alma_mater = Bradley University
| occupation = Businessman
| years_active = 1970s-present
| employer =
| opponents =
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| website =
}}
George T. Shaheen (born July 11, 1944) is an American businessman. He became chief executive at management consulting firm Andersen Consulting in 1989, and in 1999 became CEO of Webvan. Shaheen was CEO of Siebel Systems from 2005 until 2006.
Early life and education
George Shaheen was born in 1944 and grew up with his twin Gerald in Elmwood, Illinois. Shaheen is an American of Lebanese descent.[http://amalid.com/prominent_lebanese_americans.htm Prominent Lebanese Americans - AMALID.COM] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609051224/http://amalid.com/prominent_lebanese_americans.htm |date=2007-06-09 }} At age 13 he worked at the family grocery shop in town. He holds a master's degree in finance from Bradley University, graduating in 1967 and going to work at Arthur Andersen.
Career
=Andersen=
He was sent by Arthur Andersen in 1977 in South Bend, Indiana and moved in 1986 to Silicon Valley. He became the chief at Andersen's consulting arm in 1989, and "oversaw the move to set up Andersen Consulting as a free-standing unit." He was chief executive at management consulting firm Andersen Consulting from 1989.{{cite web |url= https://www.cnet.com/news/ex-webvan-ceo-to-collect-375000-yearly/|title=Ex-Webvan CEO to collect $375,000 yearly |author=Greg Sandoval |date=January 2, 2002 |website=CNET |access-date=January 16, 2019}} At Andersen, as CEO "its revenue increased from $1.1 billion to $8.3 billion." He was CEO until 1999, before moving on to online grocer Webvan. The move "shocked colleagues" at Andersen Consulting.{{cite web |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/1999-10-03/george-shaheen-webvan-nets-a-ceo|title=George Shaheen: Webvan Nets A Ceo |author=Roger O Crockett |date=October 3, 1999 |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=}} After he left Andersen Consulting, it was renamed Accenture,{{cite magazine |url=http://fortune.com/2015/06/04/fortune-500-significance/ |title=In the age of Uber, does the Fortune 500 still matter? |author=Stephan Gandel |date=June 4, 2015 |magazine=Fortune |access-date=January 16, 2019}} and Shaheen missed out on the windfall of the Accenture initial public offering.{{cite web |url=http://www.consultingmag.com/CMCoverFeat-AccentureJan04.html |title=Consulting Magazine - the #1 Online and Printed Resource for Consulting Professionals |accessdate=2007-07-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814082558/http://www.consultingmag.com/CMCoverFeat-AccentureJan04.html |archivedate=2007-08-14 }}
=Webvan=
He joined Webvan while it was "one of the largest start-ups during the Dot-com Bubble," with plans to deliver online grocery orders within 30 minutes. His Webvan employment agreement, signed September 19, 1999 was filed with the SEC.{{cite web |url=http://www.contracts.corporate.findlaw.com/agreements/webvan/shaheenemploy.html |title=FindLaw - Agreement of Employment - Webvan Group Inc. And George T. Shaheen |accessdate=2007-07-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617115450/http://contracts.corporate.findlaw.com/agreements/webvan/shaheenemploy.html |archivedate=2007-06-17 }} Under Shaheen, the company underwent an IPO in November 1999, raising $375 million with stocks soaring, and the company valued at $8.45 billion. Shares afterwards dropped sharply with the dotcom bubble. He resigned as CEO of WebVan in April 2001.{{cite magazine |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2001/05/14/302949/index.htm |title=George Shaheen |author=Grainger David |date=May 14, 2001 |magazine=Fortune |access-date=January 16, 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/george-shaheen-quits-as-webvan-ceo/ |title=George Shaheen quits as Webvan CEO |author=Nick Wingfield |date=April 16, 2001 |website=ZDnet |access-date=January 16, 2019}} His retirement pack included collecting $375,000 each year for the rest of his life from WebVan. Webvan declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001. When the company filed bankruptcy, Shaheen became an unsecured creditor.{{cite news | url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2001/jul/09/nevadans-lose-jobs-at-nets-webvan/ | title=Nevadans lose jobs at 'Net's Webvan | work=Las Vegas Sun | date=July 9, 2001}} "The company's list of unsecured creditors will include Webvan's former CEO George Shaheen, who resigned in April, triggering a clause in his contract that required the company to pay him $31,250 per month for the rest of his life. With the bankruptcy, Shaheen "will have to get in line with the rest of our creditors," Grebey said." In 2010, Business Insider named him one of the 15 Worst CEOs in American History, citing his involvement with Webvan.{{cite web |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-worst-ceos-in-american-history-2010-5?op=1 |title=The 15 Worst CEOs In American History |date=May 4, 2010 |website=Business Insider |access-date=January 16, 2018}}
=Siebel Systems=
Appointed on April 13, 2005,{{cite web |url=https://www.pac-online.com/siebel-systems-names-george-t-shaheen-ceo |title=Siebel Systems Names George T. Shaheen as CEO |author= |date=April 13, 2005 |publisher=PAC Online |access-date=January 16, 2019}} in 2005–2006, Shaheen was CEO of Siebel Systems, Inc.[http://www.bizwiz.com/bizwizwire/pressrelease/2101/848f4e7jx4j8jjjje88.htm George Shaheen Named To Board Of Directors At Closedloop Solutions Corporate NewsWire Press Release BizWiz Company News BizWizWire] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927211357/http://www.bizwiz.com/bizwizwire/pressrelease/2101/848f4e7jx4j8jjjje88.htm |date=2007-09-27 }} and served as CEO when it merged with Oracle{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/george-shaheen/ |title=George Shaheen - Forbes |website=Forbes |accessdate=2017-08-28 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618184904/http://www.forbes.com/profile/george-shaheen/ |archivedate=2012-06-18 }} in 2005, five months after his appointment as CEO.{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123316803228825095 |title=A CEO Gets Rare Second Act |author=Joann S. Lublin |date=February 3, 2009 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=January 16, 2019}} He had joined the Siebel Systems board in 1995, and he remained a director after becoming CEO. He did not stay on with Oracle after the merger.
In 2013, he was on the board of [24]7.{{cite news |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/05/15/predictive-crm-startup-247-buys.html |title=Predictive CRM startup [24]7 buys Shopalize |author=Cromwell Schubarth |date=May 15, 2013 |newspaper=Silicon Valley Business Journal |access-date=January 16, 2019}}
Cultural references
George Shaheen was the target of parody cartoon Bigtime Consulting, which parodied Andersen Consulting and had a very similar CEO character named George Unseen.{{cite web |url=http://exposingevilempire.com/accenture/bigtime-consulting/ |title=BigTime Consulting |author= |date= |publisher= |access-date=January 16, 2019}}
Personal life
In 1999, he lived in Silicon Valley.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/global/1999/0308/0205046a.html#7046e58a4671 |title=The messiahs of the network |author=Robert Lenzner |date=March 8, 1999 |magazine=Forbes |access-date=January 16, 2019}} He has been married to Darlene Shaheen since 1984.
References
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Category:American technology chief executives
Category:Bradley University alumni