Former Take Two board member lashes out at management

Barbara Kaczynski, the former audit committee chairwoman at publisher Take Two, has made public a letter revealing serious misgivings about the relationship between the board and the management of the publisher.

In a letter drafted by her lawyer and revealed by Take Two through a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the relationship between the two groups is described as "increasingly unhealthy."

"In her experience, management's interactions with the board were characterised by a lack of cooperation and respect," according to the letter. "Moreover, Ms Kaczynski felt that management failed to keep the board informed of important issues facing the company or failed to do so in a timely fashion."

Singled out as particularly problematic instances were the current late filing of accounts, the "Hot Coffee" scandal and its resulting FTC investigation of the firm, and the inquiries by the SEC into Take Two and some of its staff.

For its part, Take Two has pointed out that the statements in the letter are Ms Kaczynski's personal opinions, and the company says that it "does not believe these views are shared by the other board members".

Kaczynski was appointed to Take Two's board of directors in July 2004, having previously served in a number of financial roles at key sports and media companies - including a stint as CFO of the NFL, and prior roles at companies ranging from Adsmart and Netpliance to Time, Inc.