Corporate Gossip

If Theresa Giudice opened a mediocre fast casual sandwich shop it would look like Subway restaurants. Founded in part by a 17 year old from the Bronx named Fred Deluca, Subway would become the world's largest fast-food chain. But while Deluca's family was raking in that sweet meatball money, their franchisees were in honey ham hell. Once the sandwich king, Subway now faces serious lawsuits and FTC investigations amid dwindling sales. How did this chain, known for its "definitely 100% real, seriously guys I promise it really is tuna" sandwiches tumble to the bottom of the food chain? Find out on this episode of Corporate Gossip!

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Hosts: Becca Platsky ([email protected]) Adam Platsky ([email protected])

Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike

Timestamps:

1:50 - Fred Deluca opens the first Subway with $1,000 and a bag of tuna and quickly realizes that making franchise royalties is wayyyyy easier than making a hot italian sandwhich.

5:15 - Deluca is Tiny Time vibes with a Scrooge personality.

7:40 - The most haunted calendar of all time is created by Deluca and his colleagues. They literally take pictures of themselves shirtless around the office. Deluca is Mr. January.

12:30 - Subway becomes the LuLaRoe of fast food restaurants.

16:00 - Wokeup this mornin' and I got myself a sub.... Subway's hitmen set their targets on francisees.

22:30 - J*red F*gle, I don't think I need to say anymore.

26:00 - After his death, Deluca gives his estranged wife the ultimate anniversary present... half of a dying sandwhich company!

31:50 - Subway's requirement for a new CEO? Sharing the majority of the founder's DNA.

37:00 - You know what they say about mixing business with family? It literally always works every time! You should def do it!

40:00 - Subway spends millions of dollars on a rebrand and a ton of celebrity influencers but their sandwhiches still suck.

44:20 - Subway's future looks as grey as their tuna.

45:45 - Find out what fast food restaurant you are based on your zodiac sign.

Links:

SubCon 2023! (Subway Convention)

Subway cofounder Fred DeLuca ruled the company like a demigod and pursued wives of franchisees. How one man sent the world's biggest fast-food chain into a tailspin

Subway does franchisee damage control after John Oliver segment: memos

Subway Got Too Big. Franchisees Paid a Price

Inside the 2 secretive billionaire families that own Subway, as they face backlash from furious franchisees

Judge rules Subway can be sued over claims that its tuna sandwiches contain other fish species or animal products

New Subway sandwich menu items taste just as vile as the old ones

What fast food are you based on your zodiac

This episode is Not Safe For Work / Your Harvard MBA class

Professional Canadian... sorry, Professional COMEDIAN, Nathan Macintosh joins Becca to fix capitalism. It's so easy it literally took us less than an hour guys. We discuss a few interesting proposals to address capitalism's systemic problems, AND plan the first EVER Corporate Gossip Cruise / Davos for the rest of us.

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Hosts: Becca Platsky ([email protected]) Adam Platsky ([email protected])

Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike

Timestamps:

10:00 You Better Work Betch: Full employment guarantee

20:00 Go back in time and destroy Reagan!

31:00 YOU can get a house without waiting for your parents to unalive

42:00 A cult classic: The Four Day Work Week!

Links:

Nathan Macintosh: Money Never Wakes

National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (Aka the Works Progress Administration)

The Accountable Capitalism Act of 2018

Investment Firms Aren't Buying All the Houses. But They Are Buying the Most Important Ones

Opinion: Bernie Sanders is right about capitalism

Join Becca and Adam on a journey that starts in in a smoky Texas hotel lobby in 1967. We'll pass trough a decomposing sportatorium off the Dallas freeway in 1992 and end at a contentious company sponsored JoJo concert in 2022. Once a shining star in the skies over the Texas Plains, Southwest experienced a slow and then sudden descent after the departure of it's distinctive founder. Executive would try to repair the damage, but for many it was "Too Little, Too Late."

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Tiktok: @corporategossippod

Hosts: Becca Platsky ([email protected]) Adam Platsky ([email protected])

Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike

Links:

Video of the Malice in Dallas

Southwest Airlines Engine Explodes in Flight, Killing a Passenger

Column: The guilty parties evading blame for the Southwest meltdown are its board members

Southwest store

Southwest Airlines Faces Tough Questions From Senators

Video of Pilots walking out of the Southwest Employee Rally

It's a bank run, dummies! The SVB collapse is true corporate gossip catnip, and we couldn't resist bringing you this ~very special~ episode about the biggest corporate shitshow of the year (so far). Aaron Cohn, business professor and scorned ex-lover of venture capital, joins Becca to recap the bank's meltdown and subsiquent VC temper tantrum. Aaron is fresh off the plane from SXSW and ready to spill all the tea on venture capital. It's a little bit cringe, a little bit spooky, but mostly a good reminder to never trust a billionare and that NOTHING MATTERS ANYMORE :)

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Tiktok: @corporategossippod

Hosts: Becca Platsky ([email protected]) Adam Platsky ([email protected])

Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike

Links:

The Incredible Tantrum Venture Capitalists Threw Over Silicon Valley Bank

Silicon Valley Bank Fails After Run on Deposits

EXCLUSIVE: Aloha suckers! Silicon Valley Bank's failed CEO Gregory Becker escapes to his $3.1million Hawaiian hideaway days after being fired, leaving the chaos of the collapse in the dust

Boeing is the quintessential american company. For decades it was the destination of choice for America's brightest minds in engineering. Pilots revered the institution, "if it aint Boeing, I'm not going," they'd often say. But by the turn of the century, Boeing's engineering supremacy was replaced with a relentless devotion to shareholder value. Passengers... you can kick rocks! Boeing execs have got a company to plunder in the name of shareholder value maximization!!!

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Tiktok: @corporategossippod

Hosts: Becca Platsky ([email protected]) Adam Platsky ([email protected])

Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike

Timestamps:

9:30 The airline deregulation act: L or W? Becca's take will SHOCK you!

16:30 Boeing catches shareholder value maximiziation-itis and Boeing fish starts to rot from the nose down

20:00 Boeing execs are giving big Dr. Evil energy

27:00 Capitalism Kills - the Boeing 737 Max Crashes

30:00 Boeing: "Shareholders are my main chick and the flying public is my sidepiece"

35:30 The FAA & Boeing are like the Abby Lee Dance Company and the Candy Apple Dancers

33:00 The aftermath of the Boeing 737 Max crashes Spoiler alert - Boeing leadership = Dickless losers and a rare Ted Cruz W

49:30 If life couldn't get worse for the plane crash victims… here comes Tom Girrardi and all the other vultures

54:30 Latest updates on Boeing

Links:

Read Flying Blind: The 737 Max Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing

Watch Flight / Risk on Amazon

Report on Boeing 787 Dreamliner Battery Flaws Finds Lapses at Multiple Points

Final report on Boeing 737 MAX crash sparks dispute over pilot error

Boeing Reaches $200 Million Settlement With Regulators Over Its 737 Max

Families of Boeing Crash Victims Can Challenge U.S. Settlement, Judge Rules

Whistle-blower settles case (Gary Eastman)

House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure members

The Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation members

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Carlos Watson has it all: an Ivy League pedigree, an electric personality, and a media empire called "Ozy." There's only one problem… Watson is a prolific bullshit artist. When he and his co-founder are caught catfishing Goldman Sachs executives, his empire begins to crumble and his throne of lies is exposed. The Ozy story is truly wild and includes feuds with Sharon Osbourne, a Fyre Fest knockoff, and millennial-era side bangs!

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Tiktok: @corporategossippod

Hosts: Becca Platsky ([email protected]) Adam Platsky ([email protected])

Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike

Vignette edited by: Becky Nanns Beckysaysitall.com

Timestamps:

03:33 - Ozy Media background and Becca's side bang regret

10:15 - Ozy becomes the most popular website of all time!! More readers than the Bible!!!

15:40 - Carlos Watson's catfish practice with A&E

24:15 - The Ozy Media Fyre Fest that almost was

31:25 - Don't F* with Sharon Osbourne

33:54 - Carlos Watson: World's Best Boss

38:00 - Carlos & Samir catfish Goldman Sachs & the Ozy downfall

44:35 - Ozy 2.0: The Return of the Carlosfish

50:50 - Takeaways

Links:

Goldman Sachs, Ozy Media and a $40 Million Conference Call Gone Wrong

Ozy Built a TV Show on a False Claim, Says Its Former Producer

How Ozy Fest Was About To Become The Next Fyre Festival — Until A Heat Wave (And Insurance Claim) Bailed Them Out

18-hour days and panic attacks: Former Ozy staffers allege an abusive environment

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Under Armour is what happens when a group of perpetually rowdy frat bros is at the helm of a multi-billion dollar company. Starting with a single sewing machine in his grandma's basement, Ken Plank grew the UA brand to market dominance over two decades, and then oversaw its demise over two years. This story has it all: A+ list athletes, strip club scandals, Twitter PR disasters, adulterous adventures on a private jet, and Becca's favorite: light accounting fraud!

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Tiktok: @corporategossippod

Hosts: Becca Platsky ([email protected]) Adam Platsky ([email protected])

Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike

Vignette written by: Becky Nanns Beckysaysitall.com

Timestamps:

06:16 - Kevin Plank creates the first moisture-wicking athletic T-shirt and founds Under Armour from his Grandma's basement. The company, with the help of lucrative movie cameos and athletic partnerships, is valued at $157m by 2005 and grows to $17B 10 years later.

15:34 - Under Armour produces a series of uggo shoes that are blasted on Twitter.

20:02 - As Plank becomes increasingly distracted with his side hustles, UA sales slump. The UA team employ a series of questionable accounting practices to hide the truth, and their actions result in a $9m class-action shareholder lawsuit.

27:00 - HR revokes one of the c-suite's favorite perks: free strip clubs. After that, it's one buzzkill after another for UA executives.

35:00 - Turns out the culture at the top of Under Armour wasn't exactly... conducive to not being a huge dirtbag.

43:15 - Has your boss ever brought his paramour - sorry - "strategic advisor" to a business meeting? If so, you might be working for Ken Plank!!

49:00 - Where does UA stand today?

Links:

Steph Curry's new Under Armour sneakers lit Twitter on fire with Dad jokes, memes

Under Pressure at Under Armour, CEO Says His Eye Is on the Ball

Under Armour founder sold $138 million in stock during time period company allegedly misled investors about slowing sales

Under Armour's #MeToo Moment: No More Strip Clubs on Company Dime

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank 'was allegedly having an affair with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle and sought her advice over that of his board while flying her around on private jet'

Hi, Hi, Hiya! The Disney Drama continues as Michael Eisner hires his Hollywood buddy, super-agent Michel Ovitz, as president of the company. 434 days later he's fired and a contentious lawsuit brings the executive suite to court where Eisner alleges that Ovitz was acting like a jerk at his Mom's funeral (seriously... you can't make this stuff up).

We then meet up with Bob Iger in 2022 as he's relentlessly trash talking Bob Chapeck over lunches in LA. Ultimately, a fairy grants him his wish and he's returned to the throne at Disney HQ. Will King Bob I be the hero Disney needs? Find out on this episode of Corporate Gossip!

P.S. We make a lot of Heavyweights references in this episode. You can watch it on most streaming platforms.

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Tiktok: @corporategossippod

Hosts: Becca Platsky ([email protected]) Adam Platsky ([email protected])

Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike

Timestamps:

01:13 Michael Ovitz, hollywood honcho, becomes president of Walt Disney for 434 days

06:40 Bob Iger (aka Tony Perkis) takes over summer camp. Attention campers. Lunch has been canceled due to lack of hustle. Deal with it.

11:45 Bob Iger hastily departs Disney seconds before Covid hits the states and puts Bob Chapek at the helm for less than two years. After trash talking his successor for months, Bob Iger returns! Time to wake up, campers! Today is evaluation day. The key word here is 'value.' Do you have any? Not yet! But before summer's over, this camp's gonna be filled with skinny winners!

15:00 What's next for Iger & Disney. If the main players in this story were characters in Heavyweights, who would they be?

Links:

Ovitz and Eisner: A Kids' Story

Disney's Robert Iger Loomed Over Bob Chapek After Ceding CEO Role, Creating Tensions

The Ride Of A Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Bob Iger

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The drama in the C-suite at Disney's HQ in Burbank makes the Real Housewives of Orange County look like an episode of Mickey Mouse's clubhouse. Each CEO transition is messier than the next as these execs wrestle for the top spot in Cinderella's castle. This is part 1 of a 2 part episode.

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Tiktok: @corporategossippod

Hosts: Becca Platsky ([email protected]) Adam Platsky ([email protected])

Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike

Timestamps:

03:47 Bob Chapeks sudden and surprise departure in November of 2022

08:40 Bob Igers complicated and codepedent relationship with Disney

17:00 Disney's price hikes makes vacation for the average family out of reach

22:05 Abigail Disney debuts a scathing documentary on Disney's employee experience

32:13 3 grown men getting in a fight for the top role at Disney that will ultimately cost the company half a billion dollars

37:00 Disney's epically bad theme park that almost was

Links discussed:

Inside Bob Iger's return to Disney: A senior executive's outreach to the former chief followed months of complaints to the board about CEO Bob Chapek

'Prison food': Disney fans slam skimpy, overpriced, 'disgusting' grub at theme parks

Abigail Disney turns critical lens on her family's company in new doc

Ovitz and Eisner: A Kids' Story

A Deep Dive Into the Bloody Battle for 'Disney's America', the Theme Park That Never Was

Images from Bob Iger's book, The Ride of a Lifetime

Send us a message [email protected]

No it's not an episode of succession, but it feels like one. This story has billionaires, nepotism, betrayal, criminal accusations, and COUPONS!

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Tiktok: @corporategossippod

Hosts: Becca Platsky ([email protected]) Adam Platsky ([email protected])

Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike

Timestamps:

01:00 - Background

04:12 - BBBY CEO Steve Tamaras stupidly overpaid

08:00 - Activist investors kick out the CEO

14:15 - Nepotism!!

19:50 - Activist investors kick out ANOTHER CEO

26:50 - BBBY as a meme stock and r/wallstreetbets

40:50 - SEC investigations, death of BBBY CFO

44:50 - Takeaways

Thank you for listening!! Please send me an email [email protected]