George Clooney to sit on board of Swiss energy company

I'm pretty sure I disagree with everything George Clooney has ever said outside of his movie and television scripts, but he's a pretty decent actor. I'm not going to be one of those who says he's a talentless hack just because I disagree with his politics. But being a talented actor does not a business leader make.

George Clooney will become an executive board member of a new Swiss energy company that will develop environmentally friendly techniques for car motors and other devices, the billionaire who is setting up the firm said Saturday.

The new company will have different branches doing research and development in the clean production of hydrogen, solar energy and fuel cells, said Nicolas Hayek, chairman of the Swatch Group.

"First I hesitated between Al Gore and Clooney," Hayek said in an interview with daily Berner Zeitung.

But he didn't ask the former vice president because it was still unclear whether Gore would run for president and therefore might have accepted the post as a mere public relations exercise, Hayek said.

Hmmm...so Herr Hayek thought Gore would only accept as a PR exercise, yet he's not afraid to hire Clooney for the same reason. He certainly couldn't be taking on Clooney for his impeccable business school credentials. Here's how Wikipedia describes Clooney's education:

Clooney began his education at the Blessed Sacrament School in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky. Spending part of his childhood in Ohio, he attended St. Michael's School in Columbus, the Western Row and St. Susanna schools, both in Mason, and - briefly - William Mason High School. Eventually, his parents moved to Augusta in Kentucky, where he went to Augusta High School and graduated in 1979. He was a poor student but was an enthusiastic baseball and basketball player. He tried out with the Cincinnati Reds in 1977 to play professional baseball, but was not offered a contract.

Clooney attended Northern Kentucky University from 1979 to 1981 and, very briefly, the University of Cincinnati, but did not graduate from either.

And here's what Wikipedia says about his one known previous business venture:

On July 8, 2005, news reports said that Clooney would be working with Cindy Crawford's husband Rande Gerber to design and build a new casino hotel in Las Vegas. On August 29, the same year, Clooney officially announced his involvement with the Las Ramblas Resort project. However, the project never came to fruition, and the property on which the resort was to be built was sold in June 2006.

I'm not exactly qualified to hand out investment advice, but I feel pretty confident in providing this hot stock tip: Don't invest in Swatch Group's fledgling energy company.

No charge, man.