had occurred at another company the prior year. Kelekian told The New York Times,“ I can no longer be associated in the capacity of an officer with anyone who indulges in the undignified histrionics of Mrs. Soss with an eye strictly to personal publicity.”
Always conscious of publicity, the very next day, Soss had her side of the story captured by the Times. She defensively claimed that Kelekian had not been able to devote as much attention to the Federation as she had in the past, and that Kelekian already had decided to step down prior to the IBM incident, in part because she had a conflict of interest.
Disregarding the fact that some were displeased with her tactics, Soss continued to get herself deliberately ejected from annual meetings. After being declared out of order at another IBM annual meeting, this one in 1971, Soss for the second time was dragged out of the auditorium by Pinkerton guards. Two of the guards, according to The Wall Street Journal, complained that Soss had scratched their hands as they whisked her away.
In this way and others, Soss tried her best to embarrass management in a variety of industries into making reforms. As The New York Times later recounted, she wore a cleaning woman costume to the Columbia Broadcasting System( CBS) annual meeting in 1969, determined to“ clean up everything,” as she said while referencing the network’ s quiz show scandals.
Chief executive officers winced at seeing Soss show up to their meetings. As New Yorker columnist Andy Logan once wrote,“ There are undoubtedly a number of captains of American industry who wouldn’ t care what Mrs. Soss wore if she would just stay away.” Soss’ s boardroom antics challenging management were reportedly the inspiration in the 1950s for a Broadway musical, Solid Gold Cadillac,
which in 1956 was made into a movie starring actress Judy Holliday.
In addition to her work as a corporate gadfly, Soss also helped fight financial illiteracy, in part by serving as commentator and financial analyst for a popular weekly radio show on NBC. From 1954 to 1975, Soss wrote and delivered“ Pocketbook News.” Then, from 1975 to 1980, she hosted“ Wilma Says.” In these radio shows, Soss sought to help investors better understand how foreign and domestic events influenced the financial markets.
When Soss died in 1986, some corporate titans were among those who lamented her passing, even though she had been at times a contentious presence at their annual meetings. For example, Soss had pestered for years the management of The New York Times Company, but upon her death, Chairman Arthur Ochs Sulzberger extolled her. Commenting in The New York Times, Sulzberger noted that Soss had during her life“ represented the small shareholders with dignity, pride and courtesy.” He continued,“ Sometimes we may have grown a mite impatient with her long lists of questions, but she never provoked dismay or anger. I think her voice will be missed, and we will miss her personally.”
Soss’ s old friend and fellow activist John J. Gilbert also was quoted as saying,“ Her training as a publicist stood her well as a gadfly.” He added,“ I don’ t think anyone ever had a better way of bringing things out.”
Wilma Soss remained a vigorous champion of shareholder rights right up to her death, having attended an annual meeting just months before she died. In the arena of shareholder democracy, Soss found her life-time calling and her passion. She was queen of the corporate gadflies, and she enjoyed a long reign.
Janice Traflet is an associate professor in the School of Management at Bucknell University and the author of A Nation of Small Shareowners( Johns Hopkins, 2013).
Author Acknowledgement: For generously sharing archival research on Soss, as well as thoughts on her life, the author extends sincere thanks to Robert E. Wright.
Sources Brooks, John.“ Stockholder Season.” The New
Yorker. October 8, 1966. pp. 159 – 189. Census of Shareowners in America. New York
Stock Exchange Archives. 1976.“ For Love.” The New Yorker. April 24, 1954. pp. 25 – 26.
Forbes, B. C.“‘ Share Owner’ Better Than‘ Stockholder.’” Forbes. December 1, 1950. pp. 12 – 13.
“ IBM Shows Canada an American Meeting, Mrs. Soss and All.” The Wall Street Journal. April 27, 1971. p. 33.
Logan, Andy.“ Hoboken Must Go!” The New Yorker. March 17, 1951. pp. 34 – 51.
Norman, Michael.“ Wilma Porter Soss, 86, A Gadfly at Stock Meetings of Companies.” The New York Times. October 16, 1986. p. B20.
Popper, Nathaniel.“ Corporate Governance; Pesky Investor Activists Gain Influence …” The Los Angeles Times. August 24, 2010. p. B1.“ Pressure Group.” The New Yorker. June 25,
1949. p. 15.“ Sidelights: Assistant Gadfly Leaves Queen.” The New York Times. May 5, 1966. p. 70.“ Sidelights: Chapter II: Reply by Mrs. Soss.” The New York Times. May 6, 1966. p. 70.
Wilma Soss Papers. University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center.( Images on pages 22 – 23 from Wilma Soss Papers.)
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