THERE’S NO CORPORATE GOVERNANCE QUITE LIKE DICK-PARSONS-STYLE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Richard Parsons, chairman extraordinaire:

Former Citigroup Inc. (C) Chairman Richard Parsons, who in 2011 awarded Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit a retention package valued at about $40 million, said the CEO’s departure last week was “appropriate.”

“You need seasoned, honed managers who can cause a 250,000, 300,000-personnel organization to march” with direction, Parsons said in a weekend interview at his Tuscan vineyard in Montalcino, Italy. “Vikram will tell you, ‘That’s not my bag.’” [Emph. added]

So Parsons arranged a $40 million package to retain a CEO whose exit he now says is probably for the best. That’s what I call looking out for shareholders. Am having trouble fighting the urge to mention the central role Parsons also played in putting together and then running that corporate triumph known as AOL Time Warner. He seems know how to show up at the right place at just the right time. It’s a gift, I tell you. . . .