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To Win the Lady
Scott Galloway of Firebrand Partners performs at the Johnnie Walker Dressed to Kilt fashion show at St. John Divine Cathedral in April 2006 in New York City.
(By Brad Barket -- Getty Images )
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Former NYU student Jessica LeMay Willey said Galloway effectively managed his own hipster image as a brand -- sometimes teaching in jeans, trendy sneakers and a skull cap -- and threw an end-of-semester party for the class at a SoHo loft.
The Times Co. is only the most recent proxy battle Galloway has waged. His impact on previously targeted companies has ranged from divisive to minimal and helpful.
The first came against the company he founded in 1997, an online gift business eventually named RedEnvelope.
In 2000, Galloway's board seat was eliminated by chief executive Michael Mortiz after the two battled bitterly over the direction of the company. Mortiz would not comment for this article.
At the time, Galloway had moved to Las Vegas to be with his terminally ill mother. He was "very bored and very angry" and "way too aggressive," according to the source, and decided to wage a hostile battle for his company. Now, Galloway looks back on his battle with RedEnvelope with some regret, calling it his "learning proxy fight."
Galloway bought enough shares to get back on the RedEnvelope board in 2006, though he now believes his return was too late to help the flagging company. In its third-quarter earnings report last week, the company said it has enough cash and loans in-hand to last only through June.
Some who have worked with Galloway are bitter about their interaction with him. They describe him as a gifted self-promoter who believes his range of skills is wider than it is.
Galloway has made proxy incursions at United Retail, a plus-sized women's clothing company; luxury gift retailer Sharper Image; and computer-maker Gateway.
At United Retail, Galloway and his investors thought the company had a poor Web site and believed online shopping might be more appealing for plus-sized women. Once he and his investors got inside the company, however, he found a digital strategy was underway and "stayed the hell out of the way," according to the source.
Galloway found his Sharper Image experience to be a fiasco and cashed out his shares after about eight months, realizing a $2-per-share gain on investment. In that case, Galloway "had to get the hell out of Dodge." The Sharper Image did not return a call for comment.
At Gateway, "he was a hard-working, constructive and well-respected member of the board," said former chief executive Ed Coleman.
And as for the two branding classes Galloway teaches at NYU, the Braveheart sword might be an appropriate prop.
"His course enrollments are very high, and he gets very high marks from students," said marketing professor Russell S. Winer, Galloway's boss at NYU.
"However, he's tough with very high expectations so some students can't take that," said Winer -- and he locks out students who are late to class.
