How is ZipRealty still in business?
In my opinion, ZipRealty is an enigma. They went public in 2004 and their current CEO, Patrick Lashinsky, took the helm in 2007. The company has rarely turned a yearly profit (only two years in its eleven year history based on my count) and in the most recent quarter, ZipRealty lost another $2.1M. All told the company has lost tens of millions of dollars.
Yet last year, the CEO Mr. Lashinsky was given a raise from $350,000 to $400,000 per year. And earlier this year, Mr. Lashinsky was granted a bonus of over $122,000 and 3,400 shares of stock. Pretty nice gig if you can get it.
How did Mr. Lashinsky become CEO of a publicly traded real estate company? He rose through the ranks at ZipRealty and was formerly a marketing manager for General Mills, according to his Linked-in profile. That is the last job that Mr. Lashinsky had before he started at ZipRealty, where he worked on Go-Gurt Yogurt and ChexMix, according to the ZipRealty website.
How is it that Mr. Lashinsky continues to get raises and bonuses while his company loses money? I’m not sure. Good question for investors to ask the board of directors.
In my opinion, what’s sad is that the entire management team seems to be getting bonuses while the company loses money, according to ZipRealty’s SEC filings. It reminds me of the uproar over bank executive bonuses. I wonder how many ZipRealty customers and employees realize where their dollars are going?
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
