John Donahoe is the chief executive officer of eBay and an appointed trustee of Dartmouth College. As a Dartmouth trustee, Mr. Donahoe supports the board-packing plan that is at issue in the current alumni association election in which Paul Mirengoff is standing for office. (Paul opposes the plan and supports the alumni association lawsuit seeking to have it enjoined on contractual grounds.) As a Craigslist shareholder, Mr. Donahoe has brought suit against Craigslist on issues of corporate governance that resonate at Dartmouth. Joe Malchow comments on the Craigslist lawsuit:
It sounds like—and it is—an unfair situation; not only unfair, but legally actionable; Mr. Donahoe has brought suit to correct the dilution of his influence; to undo Craigslist’s consolidation of power. Moreover one must confess that the decision by Craigslist executives to shutter outside influence is also bad for the company, which makes it bad for Craigslist shareholders. John Donahoe, understanding all of this, is calling a foul.
Conceding that “the analogy may be overripe,” Joe invites readers to ponder the implications of Mr. Donahoe’s lawsuit for the comparable issues at Dartmouth.
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