After a big bet went wrong, heads have rolled and Benton is back in charge
Champagne flowed. The dry ice wafted around the room. The music built to a crescendo. Then, through the haze and noise, Dan Benton stepped onto the stage followed by the other Andor executives and managers. That was in May 2002 when at its first annual investor meeting Andor was riding on a wave of confidence. The group was simply the hottest thing on the block and Benton was the star. Today the mood has changed and no one is expecting the same razzmatazz for the next annual meeting after a period of poor returns brought on by a big 'bear' bet that went badly wrong.
The tone has already been set by the quarterly communication with investors on January 26. Normally, Benton and his senior managers would take whatever questions were posed on a live conference...