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Bruce Kopp/Eyewitness News
Carmel, December 18, 2002 - The man at the helm of Conseco had high hopes for the company's future when he took over. CEO Gary Wendt did not come cheap when the company hired him two years ago.
When he took over as CEO in June, 2000, Gary Wendt gave Conseco stock, and company spirits a boost. “So here we are starting over again,” Wendt said. “Not many people get to start over again in life, and I think this is just a fascinating opportunity for me to do so.”
Gary Wendt would stride into Conseco with confidence, fueled by his 45-million dollar signing bonus and a solid track record as head of GE Capital, General Electric's highly profitable finance unit.
“We grew the company,” Wendt said of GE Capital, “from, and I find this very interesting, from about the same that they are in Conseco, to four billion dollars.”
When Wendt arrived, Conseco stock sold just below ten-dollars a share. It would hold in that range for his first six months on the job. Within a year, things were looking better. The stock price climbed to nearly twenty dollars a share.
But behind the scenes, job cuts and cost-cutting moves could not cover the company's losses. By late summer of 2001, Gary Wendt's turnaround plan took a turn for the worse. September 11th compounded the problems, and by October, the stock would drop below five dollars a share and decline from there.
Wendt received no bonus or salary for the years 2000 and 2001, and agreed to have his one-million dollar salary paid in company stock.
But this past July, even with Conseco stock at 1.20 a share, he received an eight-million dollar bonus.
There have been few public appearances for Gary Wendt.
Two years ago he addressed the prospect of bankruptcy this way to a gathering of reporters: “I probably would not have come over here and sat in front of you guys if I thought that was a risk.”
In October, Wendt resigned as CEO, but he remains as chairman of the board at Conseco.
Now those who depend on Conseco for jobs, as well as customers with its insurance and loan products, hope the company's latest financial move can somehow salvage what's left.
