Richard C. Breeden

Richard C. Breeden (born 1949) is an American corporate lawyer and hedge fund manager. During his professional career he has been a law school instructor, a practicing lawyer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Baker Botts and Willkie Farr & Gallagher, an economics advisor to then Vice President George H.W. Bush, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a senior partner of an accounting firm, CEO of a public company and head of his own turnaround and workouts firm.

In July 2002, Breeden was appointed to act as Corporate Monitor of WorldCom, Inc. by the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, who oversaw the case involving history's largest corporate fraud and the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. In this capacity he has been responsible for overseeing efforts to insure that fraudulent activities, self dealing and financial abuse at WorldCom have been halted, and for recommending new systems of corporate governance and compensation.

In June 2003, while still serving at WorldCom, the board of directors of Hollinger International, Inc. asked Mr. Breeden to lead an investigation into insider abuses at the company.

While presiding over the crash in Hollinger stock, Breeden published "The Breeden Report" a 500+ page court filing detailing Conrad Black's defrauding of the company, an account that exposed the facts that food, cell phones, perfume, and other routine living expenses, including tips by Mrs. Black while on shopping trips, were expensed to Hollinger. Black’s corporate expense reports charged the company for items such as “handbags for Mrs. BB” ($2,463), “jogging attire for Mrs. BB” ($140), exercise equipment ($2,083), “T. Anthony Ltd. Leather Briefcase” ($2,057), opera tickets for “C&BB” ($2,785), stereo equipment for the New York apartment ($828), “silverware for Blacks’ corporate jet” ($3,530) “Summer Drinks” ($24,950), a “Happy Birthday, Barbara” dinner party at New York’s La Grenouille Restaurant ($42,870), and $90,000 to refurbish a Rolls Royce owned by Ravelston for Black’s personal transportation.

In 2006, Breeden founded activist hedge fund Breeden Partners, through which he has been active shareholder of Applebees and H&R Block. In the case of Applebees, Breeden was engaged in the Board's special committee that ultimately recommended a sale of the company to IHOP.

External links

* [http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/868512/000095012304010413/y01437exv99w2.htm] The Breeden Report

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