Henry Sweetbaum
Henry Sweetbaum is the former chairman and chief executive of DIY chain Wickes.[1]
Sweetbaum was co-founder of Reliance Group Holdings, a New York Stock Exchange listed company.[2]
Sweetbaum left as executive vice president of Leasco in 1969 after some differences of opinion with the company's president, Saul P. Steinberg, about Leasco's direction.[3]
He moved to the United Kingdom in 1970, when he was appointed Executive Director of the Plessey Company Limited.[2]
Sweetbaum became a director of Statesman Travel in 1975, where he joined chartered accountant Richard Boddie.[1]
From 1976 to 1982, Sweetbaum chaired Data Recording Instrument Company, a British government-owned computer peripherals manufacturer.[2]
Wickes
From 1982-1986, he was Chairman of Wickes International Corporation.[2] His recruitment came at the initiative of corporate turnaround specialist Sanford Sigoloff.[3]
In 1986, he led the management buyout of Wickes plc and served as Chairman and CEO until 1996.[2]
In 1996, auditors Andersen uncovered a scandal that threatened the company, with the discovery of a letter that suggested a two-tier contract system, with one letter that was shown to auditors and another that was not.[4]
In 1996, the Independent alleged that Sweetbaum faced a potential conflict of interest in his role at Wickes, because he was a director and major shareholder in a travel business, Statesman Travel, which provided Wickes with group travel and accommodation arrangements for senior management.[1]
In a statement quoted by the Independent, Sweetbaum said:
- The relationship between Statesman Travel and Wickes was a normal arm's length trading relationship, fully disclosed to the board and the auditors of Wickes, and the board resolved the relationship was immaterial, and did not require disclosure.[1]
In 2002, he was one a number of former Wickes directors found not guilty on charges of fraudulent trading and making a false statement to auditors between January 1 1994 and June 27 1996.[5]
During the trial, Sweetbaum reportedly accepted that accountancy fraud meant Wickes' profits were overstated:
- 'I took the responsibility, I resigned,' Henry Sweetbaum, former chairman and chief executive, told Southwark Crown Court. Cross-examined by crown prosecutor Anthony Hacking QC, Sweetbaum said: 'I do not feel any remorse about the fraud as I was not a party to the fraud.'[4]
PS Capital
In 1997, he co-founded PS Capital LLC, an American company that advises and invests in companies in Asia, Europe and the U.S.[2]
Affiliations
- HASS Corporation (Henry Alan Sweetbaum Services) - US company through which Sweetbaum received some of his remuneration while at Wickes.[1]
- Statesman Travel - Sweetbaum was a major shareholder in 1995.[1]
- Huntingdon Securities - Sweetbaum vehicle in 1995.[1]
- Accelerator Technology Holdings - investment committee member.
- Inovent - Advisory Board member.
Connections
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 The DIY boss and the private network he assembled himself, The Independent, 28 July 1996.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Henry Sweetbaum – Chairman, International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, accessed 15 July 2015.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Steve Lohr, WICKES'S NEW LOOK IN EUROPE, New York Times, 22 April 1986.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ex-Wickes boss quit over fraud, This is Money, 18 September 2002.
- ↑ Ex-Wickes trio cleared of fraud, The Telegraph, 26 November 2002.
