|
Donald Leon "Don" Blankenship (born March 14, 1950) was both Chairman and CEO of the Massey Energy Company — the sixth largest coal company (by 2008 production) in the United States — from 2000 until his retirement in 2010.〔T Allen, "(Investors Tout Their Role in Massey's Leadership Change )" (December 7, 2010) Riskmetrics〕 A federal grand jury indicted Blankenship on November 13, 2014, for conspiracy to violate mandatory federal mine safety and health standards, conspiracy to impede federal mine safety officials, making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as securities fraud. The charges derive from circumstances that led up to the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster which on April 5, 2010 killed 29 miners in Raleigh County, West Virginia. He faces up to 31 years in prison if convicted of all charges. In March, 2015, the misdemeanor conspiracy charge was streamlined into one of the other charges (felony conspiracy), so that the number of charges has been reduced to three, and the maximum penalty is now 30 years instead of 31. On March 5, 2015, a three-judge panel of the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the gag order that had been keeping anyone involved in the case, even relatives of the victims, from talking about the accident. Blankenship had been an active financial backer of the Republican party and participant in local and state politics, especially in his home state of West Virginia.〔http://www.newsmeat.com/ceo_political_donations/Don_Blankenship.php〕 He has frequently spoken out publicly about politics, the environment, unions, and coal production. Blankenship is featured unflatteringly in Michael Shnayerson's 2008 book ''Coal River'' and in Laurence Leamer's 2013 book, ''The Price of Justice: A True Story of Greed and Corruption''.〔http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8050-9471-8〕 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings show Blankenship was paid $17.8 million in 2009, the highest in the coal industry. His 2009 pay represents a $6.8 million raise over 2008 and almost double his compensation package in 2007. Blankenship also received a deferred compensation package valued at $27.2 million in 2009. On December 3, 2010, Blankenship announced that he was retiring as CEO at the end of the year and would be succeeded by Massey President Baxter F. Phillips Jr. ==Biography== Don Blankenship was born in Stopover, Kentucky and raised in Delorme, West Virginia. His father served in the Korean War and his mother, Nancy McCoy, was a member of the McCoy family; they divorced soon after Don was born, and Don's mother ran a convenience store and gas station with her divorce settlement money for 40 years. Three years after graduating from Matewan High School, West Virginia, he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Marshall University in 1972. He was the recipient of Marshall University's "Most Distinguished Alumni" award and inducted into the Lewis College of Business Hall of Fame in 1999. Blankenship is certified as a public accountant.〔http://www.williamsondailynews.com/view/full_story/2650489/article-Massey-CEO-to-speak-at-Tug-Valley-Chamber-banquet〕 In 2002, he was inducted into the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Business and Industry Hall of Fame and, in 2002, was recognized by the West Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants as an Outstanding Member in Business and Industry.〔 Blankenship was also inducted into the Tug Valley Mining Institute Hall of Fame.〔 Blankenship joined a Massey subsidiary, Rawl Sales & Processing Co., in 1982. Since then he has served the company in a number of capacities.〔http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=658508&symbol=MEE o http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8E477907.html〕 He was promoted to president of Massey Coal Services, Inc. (1989–1991), then president and chief Operating Officer from 1990 to 1991. In 1992, Blankenship was named president, chairman of the board of A.T. Massey.〔 He is the first non-Massey family member to be in charge of the company. When A.T. Massey was spun off from Fluor Corporation as Massey Energy in 2000,〔http://investor.fluor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=124955&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=134404&highlight=〕 Blankenship became the newly independent company's chairman and CEO. He also serves as a director of the Center for Energy and Economic Development, a director of the National Mining Association, Mission West Virginia Inc, and was on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce board of directors.〔(o http://www.uschamber.com/about/board/all.htm )〕 He is divorced and lives in Rawl, West Virginia. Blankenship has two children.〔http://web.archive.org/web/20081203161432/http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8E477907.html〕 His son, John Blankenship, is a dirt track car racer, although his father has shut down his team and put its assets up for sale. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Don Blankenship」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|