Computer Associates: A Probe -- And A Bitter Feud

It seemed like the ultimate expression of a deep friendship. Charles B. Wang, co-founder and chairman of software giant Computer Associates International Inc., stood on stage at the company's 2001 shareholder meeting beside his protégé, Chief Executive Sanjay Kumar. Together, they called on shareholders to defeat an attempt by a group called Ranger Governance to replace Wang and three other directors. An angry Kumar told the crowd: "There's a lot of rhetoric and negative energy focused on Charles Wang. I think it's extremely unfair for people to tear down 25 years of effort." Then Kumar, dressed nearly identically to Wang in a black suit and red tie, embraced the man who had plucked him from obscurity in a Texas software company 14 years before and turned him into the leader of what was then the world's fourth-largest software company.

Turns out, it was all a charade. Behind the scenes and known to only a handful of people, the two men were at war with one another, according to current and former CA board members and executives. Practically from moment Wang had handed over the CEO job to Kumar in mid-2000, they had been jousting over their roles. And just three months after they beat back the challenge from Ranger, their relationship blew up. During a confrontation one November day at an IHOP restaurant in East Norwich, N.Y., Wang told Kumar he was fired, according to sources told about the incident. Wang said the board had approved the move -- which was not the case, the sources add.