NPR: Whole Foods CEO Made Anonymous Attacks on Rival, Then Tried to Buy It

Whole Foods CEO Made Anonymous Attacks on Rival, Then Tried to Buy It

I know that on the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog. But it seems that people are increasingly using the anonymity of the Internet to throw ethics out the window.

The Associated Press reports that John Mackey, chief executive of the Whole Foods grocery chain, wrote anonymous postings online about a rival, questioned why anyone would purchase its stock and then tried to buy it. Mackey's anonymous persona was "outed" this week as part of an antitrust lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission to block Whole Foods from buying the rival, Wild Oats.

The postings on Internet financial forums, made under the name "rahodeb," said Wild Oats Markets Inc. stock was overpriced. The statements predicted the company would fall into bankruptcy and then be sold after its stock fell below $5 per share.

All Things Considered reports that legal and business experts say Mackey's behavior is "unethical and embarrassing."

Whole Foods admitted its CEO posted the comments between 1999 and 2006 but said they are no longer relevant. It added that the comments were Mackey's, not Whole Foods'.

It's amazing to me that people think they can get away with this stuff. In May, I blogged about a well-known Boston pediatrician who settled a malpractice suit after he was exposed in court as a blogger who had been making unflattering comments about the jury in his case.

4:52 PM ET | 07-12-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

Another example of our cultural conditioning of "winning is everything." I have worked for similar people as the CEO of Whole Foods. They believe that all the rules are for others to follow, but not them. It is encouraging to know that they eventually get so filled with themselves, they self destruct.

Sent by Chris Hamman | 8:36 AM ET | 07-13-2007

I have just read his anonymous postings and don't see what the big deal is. Come on, I've made the same exact observations about Wild Oats over same period of time, and I'm no business or financial guru, and that is exactly why I've always predicted their downfall. I'm looking forward to Whole Foods taking over, they deserve to because comparatively they do things right! Does being a CEO mean you relinquish your right to state the obvious?

Sent by Carolyn McCord | 12:07 PM ET | 07-13-2007

I think Carolyn is an anonymous employee of Whole Foods, maybe even John Mackey himself!!! 0.o

Sent by Angsty | 2:55 PM ET | 07-13-2007

*Does being a CEO mean you relinquish your right to state the obvious?*

Absolutely not. But when you anonymously attempt to influence the price of stocks, only to later buy the company, you might deserve to go to jail.

Sent by brittney gilbert | 7:05 PM ET | 07-13-2007

In accord with Carolyn, Mackey would have been touted as childlike, had he posted the obvious under his own name. Either way, it needed to be said.

Sent by Amelia Mellett | 7:29 PM ET | 07-13-2007

thank you, thank you, thank you I always thought whole foods is a scam, but i didn't have the means to convince my wife and others. thanks again John,for proving me right

Sent by peter | 8:04 PM ET | 07-13-2007

Listen, don't you guys find it suspicious that the FTC, a Bush appointed/controlled organization, green-lights such huge mergers as AT&T/SBC, but when some "liberal" organic foods markets want to merge they start digging up dirt on the CEO? I'm not saying what he did wasn't stupid or wrong, but this seems like another example of the corruption that has pervaded our government. By selectively choosing which people to reward or punish, yet again, the Bush administration proves that ideology trumps the rule of law.

Sent by OutragedInCT | 12:24 AM ET | 07-14-2007

I'm with Peter. WF is precious in the very worst sense of the word!

Sent by Another Carolyn | 3:28 AM ET | 07-14-2007

I am amazed at how Whole Foods can be perceived as 'liberal.' (OutRagedinCT, et al.) This type of characterization seems to be an old, but largely unchallenged campaign to associate everything screwy with anything to the left of center. Mackey is a self described libertarian.

Have you been to a Whole Foods? $12.99 a pound fruit salad?! $5.99 a gallon milk!! I know the tired arguments about the holy workings of a free market, but when places that sell essential goods at outrageous prices enter our communities, it's not long before less upscale stores start charging similarly ridiculous prices.

Mackey is among the growing number of greedy snobs who cloak themselves in faux environmentalism and marketed concepts of healthy living.

Now that his web persona has been uncovered, perhaps people will take a closer look at all these huge corporations that claim to be 'doing the right thing' -- all while picking our pockets.

Funny, shouldn???t Bush and Mackey be pals.

Sent by Corby | 9:55 AM ET | 07-14-2007

That's one ONE ceo of ONE Company. I wonder what would happen if suddenly all this Internet privacy were to vanish! I would expect hundreds of CEO's have got 'very accustomed' to leading the pack on all kinds of stock community boards. Maybe its time that stock promotion communities become social networking stock communities. Maybe, but I doubt it.
Good strawberries though

Sent by Stanley Shortseller | 5:19 PM ET | 07-14-2007

I agree with Carolyn M.'s comments: This is NO BIG DEAL at all! Whole Foods is one of the most conscientiously ethical, wonderful companies going. So what if the CEO posted some negative OPINIONS about the competition, doesn't he have the same right to do so as you or I? And don't many of us use a screen name/moniker when we post on line, for basic privacy reasons? I think this whole thing is a tempest in a teapot and that the SEC and FTC should go after the many, MANY companies out there who engage in unethical, law-breaking activities to get ahead, instead of one of the few examples of a truly ethical company.

Sent by Edna | 10:58 AM ET | 07-17-2007

I recently sat down with some basic introductory works on sociology and farm economics. I wanted to see what was in store for us Europeans after whole foods opened some shops in the UK. It took me about five minutes browsing the internet to realise the dangers this company poses to the real environmental movement. It is the least ethical company in the US because it misrepresents it's true nature. In terms of labour relations, the environment and community relations between the stores and the locals... how is it that so many consumers of their products can claim to be educated and well read!

Sent by Andrew | 5:31 AM ET | 01-24-2008

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