Following eight straight weeks of profiling CEOs who've done a poor job, the time has officially come for you and other members of The Motley Fool community to decide who is the worst CEO in 2012.
The methodology behind the voting is simple. Similar to an NCAA-style basketball bracket, the eight CEOs will be pitted into four match-ups that the community will have one week to vote on. Next week we'll release the results of the previous week's voting, and the remaining four CEOs will again be bracketed for voting. Voting will continue over the next couple of weeks until we have a winner, which will be unveiled at the beginning of December.
As you can see, the ball really is in your court and you do have a say in who merits the title of The Motley Fool community's worst CEO of the year. Below the voting bracket I've included a quick synopsis of the match-up; however, I encourage you to revisit the nomination article for a more complete explanation of why that particular CEO was nominated for this dubious award.
The retail fail: Best Buy (BBY -0.81%) vs. Talbots
In the battle between a slowly dying big-box retailer and a mature-women's clothing chain that can't put the right products in front of its customers, there can be only one true loser. This battle features former Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn, who left his role as CEO following the discovery that he had an improper relationship with a former intern. In addition, Dunn took with him a hefty severance package despite Best Buy's steadily sinking results. Talbots former CEO Trudy Sullivan makes a great case as well, having sold the company to a private equity firm for less than it originally offered just months before, and touting the deal as a win for shareholders. Which former CEO made the more egregious errors? Your vote will decide! Cast your vote below.
Check back for results
Be sure to check out the other Worst CEO match-ups at the links below, and check back next week when we unveil the results and highlight a new round of voting to whittle the field down even further.
