Are You a CEO Dad? Are You at Risk of Getting Fired by Your Family?

I received a pitch from a PR person today touting a new humor/work-life balance book titled CEO Dad: How to Avoid Getting Fired By Your Family. I guess CEO Dad started out as a comic strip, and the author, Tom Stern, is looking to further capitalize on the concept by turning it into a book. I can’t really tell if the book is fact or fiction from the press kit; it sounds like a fictional tale based on the facts of Stern’s life. Here’s an explanation of the book from the promotional material I received:

In a satirical tale of redemption, Stern tells the story of a father who treats his family like a corporation and manages to alienate just about everyone—even his shrink—with his out-of-control neuroses and narcissism. [Does this remind anyone beside me of Larry David’s character on Curb Your Enthusiasm?]

Embellished with pseudoscientific studies, fake journal entries, and highlights from Stern’s nationally syndicated CEO Dad comic strip, the story ends in a tail-between the-legs moment when Stern is fired by his family—on national television.

Why am I devoting precious space on Movers & Shakers to tell you about this book? Because I want to know if you’re interested in learning more about it or hearing from the author. Before you answer that question, let me tell you what I learned about Stern from reading the bio the PR person sent to me.

Stern is a comedian and a head hunter who pursued a career in stand-up comedy alongside Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno and later developed comedy programming for HBO. In the 1990s, he started his own executive recruiting firm, which he still heads up today.  Among Stern’s other credentials: He hosts the radio show Opportunity Knocks, is an occasional guest on PRI’s Marketplace, and blogs for Fast Company.

Let me know if you’re interested in this book or in Tom Stern. If so, let me know what you want to learn more about, or what you’d like to ask Mr. Stern if you had the opportunity to talk with him. Drop me a line at mlevinson@cio.com or leave your feedback in the comment field below.  

Now for the CIO announcements you came here for…

Belgian food retailer Delhaize Group appointed its CIO, Michel Eeckhout, to become CEO of Delhaize Belgium on July 1, 2007. Eeckhout is succeeding Arthur Goethals, who is retiring at the end of June, in that role. Terry Morgan will succeed Eeckhout as CIO of Delhaize Group. Morgan currently serves as SVP and CIO of Food Lion, which is Delhaize Group’s largest operating company.

Eeckhout, 57, has worked for Delhaize Group since 1978, when he joined as an IT leader and IT manager. In 1992, he became group coordinator for European and Asian IT activities. Three years later, he was made a member of Delhaize Belgium’s executive committee. In 2001, he was named vice president of IT processes and systems for Delhaize Group. The CIO title was added in 2002.  Three years later, Eeckhout joined Delhaize Group’s executive committee.  He currently serves on the boards of directors of standards organization GS1 and Agentrics.

Morgan, 50, re-joined Food Lion in his current role in 2002 after working for Deloitte & Touche as a retail strategy and IT consultant. Previously, he had worked for Food Lion for 15 years in a variety of positions including manager of business systems and director of information technology.

Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal appointed a new CIO earlier this week. Robert von Wollfradt, 50, will be responsible for setting IT strategy for the cowboy state. Von Wollfradt comes to his new post from the state of Washington where he served as Snohomish County’s director of IT.