heather – The Alexander Group

Peruse the headlines, and it seems the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion movement has moved on—at least for now. 

The roster of companies distancing themselves from DEI hiring and practices is a Who’s Who of familiar names—Zoom, Home Depot, DoorDash, Tractor Supply, and Lyft. Social and cultural tastemakers Meta, Tesla, and X join the mix of major corporations that cut DEI teams by 50 percent or more in 2023.

It’s a far cry and a fast fall from the surge of DEI hiring and policies established in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 death. Whether moved by altruism, public pressure, or even economic gains, American companies prioritized racial equality, building teams dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

History, Legislation and DEI

The push for DEI rose to public consciousness in 2020, but its roots are embedded in the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s. Affirmative action and equal employment legislation such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 were the foundation for DEI, setting the stage for future growth.

Fast forward 65 years, and the tide for DEI hiring practices is ebbing, or at least changing shape, in academia and corporations nationwide. 

The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision overturning affirmative action in college admissions fueled the DEI pushback, creating a domino effect throughout academia.

The Chronicle of Higher Education tracks DEI legislation and found state legislators have introduced at least 65 anti-DEI bills since 2023. Florida, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas have passed legislation that, among other things, prohibits colleges from having diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or staff and bans mandatory diversity training.

The decision also prompted executives nationwide to reexamine their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, resulting in the disbanding of programs and internal DEI hires.

Most recently, Tractor Supply Co., the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the U.S., took a public step back from its robust DEI policies, citing customer feedback as the reason for eliminating its carbon emissions goals and DEI programs. 

With its highly respected board and management group and legacy of community engagement, the company made the decision out of respect for its customers, who include recreational farmers, ranchers, homeowners, gardeners, and pet enthusiasts.

In a press release on June 27, 2024, Tractor Supply Co. said, “We work hard to live up to our Mission and Values every day and represent the values of the communities and customers we serve. We have heard from customers that we have disappointed them. We have taken this feedback to heart.”

The company listed five key changes in the release, including “…eliminating DEI roles and retiring our current DEI goals while still ensuring a respectful environment” and “no longer submitting data to the Human Rights Campaign.”

Tractor Supply Co. isn’t alone in its DEI shift. 

Washington Post reporter Taylor Telford disclosed that Zoom’s chief operating officer Aparna Bawa told employees the company would replace its internal DEI team with DEI consultants who would “champion inclusion by embedding our values…directly into our people programs rather than as a separate initiative” according to a Jan. 29 memo.

Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, Tesla, and SpaceX, echoed the sentiments of billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who shared his thoughts about DEI on X, calling it “inherently a racist and illegal movement in its implementation even if it purports to work on behalf of the so-called oppressed.” 

Musk followed Ackman’s post with his own, saying, “DEI is just another word for racism. Shame on anyone who uses it. DEI, because it discriminates on the basis of race, gender and many other factors, is not merely immoral, it is also illegal.”

Data from the job search site Indeed further supports the decline of dedicated DEI policies. It shows a 23 percent decline in job postings with “DEI” in the title or description between November 2022 and November 2023.

The Pew Research Center data shows how the political fault lines reflect the country’s thoughts about DEI. The Pew survey found 78% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning workers say focusing on DEI at work is a good thing, compared with 30% of Republican and Republican-leaning workers.

Quiet DEI Initiatives Gaining Traction

So that’s it, then? Is DEI done? After all, Musk said DEI is immoral, and data shows a reverse in hiring, so it must be true.

Well, not exactly. 

Despite data and the change in hiring, many companies are pursuing Quiet DEI, reframing efforts without using acronyms.

A November 2023 survey conducted by Littler Mendelson P.C., the largest global law practice devoted to representing management in employment, employee benefits, and labor law matters, revealed that despite the gloom and doom of the headlines, the C-suite is still actively pursuing and expanding its diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies.

More than 300 C-suite executives, including Chief Executive Officers, Chief Legal Officers, and Chief Diversity Officers representing a diverse range of industries and company sizes, responded to the survey, which shed light on DEI’s future.

Highlights include the following:

-More than half of U.S. executives say their organizations have expanded their diversity, equity and inclusion strategies over the past year despite an increased backlash against broader diversity initiatives.

-57% of C-suite executives in the U.S. said they had grown their diversity commitments over the past 12 months, even as 59% reported growing opposition to diversity programs in the U.S. following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to roll back affirmative-action college admissions policies in June 2023.

-91% of C-suite leaders say the Supreme Court rulings have not lessened their prioritization of DEI.

“Most of the business leaders with whom I speak across the professional services and nonprofit sectors continue to support a broad definition of diversity, equity, and inclusion that rejects the echo chambers of old and capitalizes on how the differences make them stronger,” said Amanda K. Brady, Managing Director and Chief Client Officer, The Alexander Group. 

There is room for improvement, or rather clarity of program execution. Thirty-five percent of the executives said their organizations need clear plans and goals relating to DEI initiatives. 

The survey revealed the most popular initiatives tend to be straightforward and established. These include providing training and professional development opportunities to diverse employees and providing organization-wide DEI or “implicit bias” training and educational resources, which have already been implemented or are in the planning stages at 77% of organizations. 

About three-quarters of executives (73%) also say their organizations already provide or plan to develop mentorship opportunities for diverse employees.

This data rings true for Jane Howze, Managing Director of The Alexander Group. She has experienced multiple shifts across the executive recruiting landscape throughout her career and says DEI hiring practices may currently look different, but they have taken root.

“Our firm has seen many trends over its 40-year history, and the pendulum always swings back. While there may be a pause in highlighting DEI initiatives, you must think about it in the long term, and we do,” Howze said.

Growing DEI effectively is undoubtedly an evolving process. Caroline Wanga, President and CEO of Essence Ventures, Co-Founder of WangaWoman, and former Chief Culture, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer at Target, thinks it’s time for corporate DEI efforts to take a step back and ask critical questions.

These are Wanga’s five prompts for reframing the corporate DEI discussion:

1. Do your workplace policies give individuals permission to express themselves and ask for what they need?

For the amount of time I invested in being in all the right places for DEI, none of my numbers moved because I was there. My numbers moved when people saw me come to work with dreadlocks and finally started wearing their vacation braids to work.”

2.Do your mentorship programs pair employees based on their appearance or deeper qualities they need to succeed?

Corporate America mentorship should be aligned to the needs of the person and the best person who can give them that. What they happen to look like should not be a factor in whether they’re a good mentor.”

3. Does your workplace offer space for employees to truly listen to each other?

We were teaching everybody how to come out and say stuff that makes people uncomfortable… What we forgot to do is teach people how to listen to it.”

4. Do your DEI programs foster personal accountability and action?

The next time you use the word ‘ ’instead of saying I need DEI to do this, or I’m worried that DEI is doing this, take out the word ‘ ’and put your name and see how you feel. Because if you’re not doing it, I don’t care about DEI.”

5. Are your DEI initiatives primarily for meeting business objectives or creating a more humane workplace?

DEI is not about ‘How many of this do you have? ’DEI is not about meeting goals. DEI is about teaching people how to get in touch with what they are good at.”

Bottom line?

DEI initiatives aren’t going anywhere.

“The firms I have spoken to indicated they are doubling down on their DEI initiatives,” said John Lamar, Managing Director of The Alexander Group. “Prioritizing diversity in their workforce, leadership and client engagements will continue, as will efforts on creating an inclusive workplace culture.”

As one Chief Strategy Officer explained, “I am responsible for nothing and accountable for everything.” Because the CSO is a relatively new role, it has yet to develop a consensus definition. In a recent survey, Deloitte found that 37 percent of the CSOs they surveyed revealed that strategy has existed as a formal function for less than five years at their organization. Deloitte published a white paper describing six distinct roles of a CSO:

The Advisor, who translates the various perspectives of the organization’s senior leadership into a comprehensive corporate strategic plan.
The Sentinel, who monitors the market for changes that could impact their organization’s ability to remain competitive and have medium- and long-term scenario plans in place.
The Banker who addresses lapses in business development opportunities, drives Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A;) deals, licensing deals, and venture capital investments that support the strategic plan.
The Engineer who ensures that the organization’s various business units effectively execute the strategic plan.
The Chief of Staff, who is a liaison between the CEO, outside contractors, and consultants. They drive projects forward and communicate the strategy to internal stakeholders.
The Special Projects Leader, who evaluates adjacent markets and executes strategic objectives such as geographic expansion.

The Characteristics of a Successful CSO

The characteristics of a successful CSO are as varied as the role’s responsibilities. Ernst & Young surveyed numerous executives to understand what it takes to be a successful Chief Strategy Officer. Most importantly, a CSO needs to have a good relationship with their CEO. The two need to be on the same page as the organization’s overall strategy, and a CSO must challenge their CEO when their ideas do not align with the plan.

A CSO also needs to have a sound working knowledge of financial best practices to foster a good working relationship with their organization’s Chief Financial Officer. A well-developed strategy that does not have a financial foundation is ultimately an exercise in futility. A successful CSO must also be up-to-date with the latest advances in technology and collaborate with their Chief Information Officer to develop new ways to leverage technology to achieve their organization’s long-term goals.

In addition to developing and maintaining good working relationships with their fellow senior executives, an effective CSO needs their role clearly defined with a scope appropriate for their company’s size. A CSO needs to know what is and isn’t under their purview, which must also be communicated and agreed upon by the other members of the senior executive team. A consensus among the executive team will prevent any feelings of encroachment on their respective duties.

What is the career trajectory for someone in the chief strategy officer role?

Career Progression for the CSO

For many organizations, the strategy department is used as a way to identify top talent and to prepare young managers for long-term success. Concurrently, many Chief Strategy Officers are moved into Profit & Loss (P&L;) executive positions within the company, based on the knowledge they have gained by working closely with line leadership to develop strategies. According to a survey conducted by Boston Consulting Group, “although only 41 percent of CSOs sit on the executive committee or management board, they do tend to rise in the executive ranks, with 67 percent either becoming the head of a business unit or taking on another role on the executive committee.”

Deloitte’s 2020 survey of Chief Strategy Officers confirmed this natural progression. While 48 percent of CSOs surveyed said they wanted to ascend to the CEO role within five years, it is rare to be promoted directly to that position. The most well-known progression from CSO to CEO was PepsiCo’s former Chairman and CEO, Indra Nooyi, who previously served as the company’s Vice President of Strategy Development. After seven years in the role, she was promoted to Chief Financial Officer then Chief Executive Officer in 2006.

Some roadblocks for a CSO progressing to CEO are practical operational and P&L; management experience. Since the focus of the CSO role is long-term, success or failure in the role cannot be determined for many years. For these reasons, many strategy professionals move on to become line executives.

As the world works to move on from a pandemic that rocked the global economy, organizations must adapt to an ever-changing global marketplace, and the role of chief strategists has become more critical with each new challenge. The Chief Strategy Officer’s job is to predict what other challenges lay just over the horizon and how to best position their organization to remain competitive and achieve long-term success.

Alex Schoultheis has joined Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP as Chief Recruiting and Development Officer. Mr. Schoultheis is an experienced legal recruiting professional who has a keen eye for talent and strategy. Previously, Mr. Schoultheis was the Director of Talent Acquisition for Squire Patton Boggs.

Learn more about Mr. Schoultheis here.

Anyone who has ever been involved with a not-for-profit will at some point be asked to serve on a search committee or lead a search committee’s search for a new CEO/President or senior officer. We have written previously about the responsibilities of search committee members and how candidates can prepare for a search committee interview but wanted to take a deeper look at the role of the Search Committee Chair. We turn to Steve Taylor, a leader in the not-for-profit community for nearly 30 years, who is currently serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Mission Officer of the Arthritis Foundation. Steve recently chaired the search committee for the President & CEO of the National Health Council which has been widely viewed as a well-run search with an outstanding result. Below, Steve answers the questions we are frequently asked as not-for-profits recruit using search committees.

How big should a search committee be?

I believe the ideal size is seven, including the Chairman who should also have a vote. You could possibly do nine or five, but frankly, if the Committee becomes too large, it can be hard to coordinate schedules. You have too many opinions in the discussions, and you want every voice to be heard. You’ll also want to make sure it’s an odd number; that way there is no tie.

Who should be on a search committee?

Much of it depends on the position. Ideally, one to three members of the Executive Committee should be on the Search Committee and supplement that with volunteers who represent different parts of the organization. I recommend looking at the various responsibilities of the position you are trying to fill. Which volunteers can best represent and understand these responsibilities? The key to a successful search committee is that you want members with perspective but who are not living in the past. On the other hand, you don’t want search committee members being so free-spirited they are substituting their vision for that of the Board’s.

The ideal Search Committee member understands the history of the organization as well as its future vision.

And that is what is so important when selecting volunteers to serve on a search committee: they need to be familiar [with] and embrace the Board’s vision for the organization and also represent different constituencies of the organization.

Should current employees sit on a search committee?

That is a question that many organizations wrestle with. Sometimes it can make sense, especially when you have long-term employees who understand the organization. But this is not a choice without challenges.

If there are internal candidates for the position, it can be difficult to ask a colleague [to] make an unbiased choice.
Secondly, a staff member on the Committee may not have the strategic view of the organization that a high-ranking volunteer or board member will have.
Thirdly, it can be sensitive for an employee to be involved in salary discussions involving the successful candidate.

What I typically recommend is that one of the Search Committee members serve as a liaison to a group of employees/staff. On the recent search I led for the National Health Council, I personally maintained contact with the senior leadership team. While I did not discuss individual candidates, I asked the search firm to solicit their opinions for the type of leaders we were seeking, and I communicated to them on the progress of the search.

Who selects the search firm, and what should be considered?

I can’t overemphasize the importance of a strong partnership with the search firm. You want it to be a partnership, not just a firm presenting resumes. The Chair should have meaningful input on selecting the search firm because they’ll be the one working [most] closely with them. Of course, the Search Committee reviews proposals and meets with a small number of finalists. But ultimately the Chair of the Search Committee should have a strong voice in selecting a search firm.

For me, it was critical that the search firm had experience in organizing and administratively providing infrastructure to the committee so that I and the Committee could focus on the candidates.

I also believe the Chair shouldn’t rely on the Search Committee or search firm to do all of the coordination. There will be times that it is important for the Chair to jump in to either facilitate meetings or deal with scheduling or personnel challenges. The search firm should be willing to do more than just conduct the search as many members of a search committee have full-time jobs.

I advise my colleagues running search committees to be very specific with what you would like the search firm to do.

Do you want them to:

Attend search committee meetings?
Set the agenda for search committee meetings?
Provide interview questions?

I believe you need a search firm to do anything the Search Committee and its Chairman cannot or do not want to do because of time restraints.

It is a given that a search firm needs to have a robust Rolodex, but I’m still trying to figure out how to evaluate that. [laughing] What you can evaluate is recent searches a search firm has conducted for similar positions. As we evaluated search firms, some listed searches they conducted more than a decade ago! That was a lifetime ago in the not-for-profit world.

And finally, I believe you need to find a search firm that is upfront and honest with you about who the lead staff will be—and that you have the opportunity to meet with that lead staff to ensure compatibility and understanding of the process you envision—before you finalize your selection on a firm.

What allowances did you make during COVID in the most recent search you chaired?

Overall, it worked out well. In certain ways, the process moved more efficiently given the Search Committee met by Zoom and the candidates were interviewed by the search firm and us for first-round interviews by Zoom. One advantage we had as a search committee is that we all knew each other—some better than others—but this familiarity allowed us to work together well virtually.

Once we narrowed the process to our finalists, we asked them to meet face to face, of course, social distancing, wearing masks, etc. with another search committee member and me. Despite adapting to video conferencing, meeting the candidate in person makes a big difference. To have a candidate being willing to invest the time, to travel to a meeting, meet a group of people, some in person, some virtually, was critical to the final steps of our process.

We were able to observe how they handled themselves in the middle of a pandemic, watch how they coordinated their presentation, and even how they arranged the papers on the conference table. In a virtual interview, you have no idea if the candidate has sticky notes all over their computer screen providing possible hints to questions. That was important to us because that’s what the job is going to be (ultimately): face-to-face meetings working with different constituencies and being able to communicate and think on their feet. Interestingly, I believe we would have ended up with the same candidate if we had conducted the search before COVID.

How do you, as a search committee chair, handle candidate withdrawals and surprises?

As a search committee chair or member, you understand that many of the candidates currently are in good positions, and you are hoping to attract them to your organization. You can’t get too nervous about that. It is part of the process. You reach for candidates, and some you attract, and some you lose. And if a candidate pulls out, I believe it’s better that they do it in the search process rather than later.

As for the second part of your question, as Chair, you have to be flexible, responsive, and nimble because issues arise that need to be acted on quickly. Several times, I had to reach out to Committee members individually to keep the process moving either because an issue arose on a Friday night or there was simply not the time to call a full committee meeting. You establish that at the beginning of the search so there is no misunderstanding. In every search, there may be small decisions made either by the chair or by a smaller group on the committee, because trying to get everyone together all the time isn’t possible, but ultimately the big decisions are made as a group.

How much time does it take to do a good job?

The time required ebbs and flows during the search. If you have a good search firm, as we did in using The Alexander Group, there’s less time initially because you allow them to do the search and trust their judgment on the candidates they’re presenting. The search committee chair is then free to focus on the higher-level items most important to finding the right candidate. Once the interview process is underway, you will need to be available for the search committee, search firm, [and] staff as the process unfolds. There is a significant time commitment required for the Chair. The organization needs someone who can make that time commitment because, if it is not a priority, you’ll never finish the search.

Who should be the Chair?

Choosing the right search committee chair is critical to a successful search. It needs to be a leader in the organization who understands its past but also understands the future vision of the organization. It does not have to be the current board chair. It could be a past board chair who might have more time because they’re not the current board chair. It is important that the chair can lead without supervision and is trusted by the board.

Liz Sobe has joined Robinson + Cole as Director of Business Development. Ms. Sobe is a growth-driven leader with more than 25 years of experience driving strategic growth and delivering value for lawyers, legal professionals, and clients through seamless collaboration with firm-wide business operations teams.

Read more about Ms. Sobe here.

Summer travel season has arrived and with it comes opportunities to catch up on New York Times bestsellers, beach reads, and inspiring and informational books written by modern thought leaders. This holiday weekend, Alexander Group team members are sharing the books they are reading for pleasure, personal enrichment and professional development.

John Lamar, Managing Director

From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks

Book Description:
Many of us assume the more successful we are, the less susceptible we become to the sense of professional and social irrelevance that often accompanies aging. But the truth is, the greater our achievements and our attachment to them, the more we notice our decline, and the more painful it is when it occurs.

What can we do, starting now, to make our older years a time of happiness, purpose, and yes, success?

At the height of his career at the age of 50, Arthur Brooks embarked on a seven-year journey to discover how to transform his future from one of disappointment over waning abilities into an opportunity for progress. From Strength to Strength is the result, a practical roadmap for the rest of your life.

Drawing on social science, philosophy, biography, theology, and eastern wisdom, as well as dozens of interviews with everyday men and women, Brooks shows us that true life success is well within our reach. By refocusing on certain priorities and habits that anyone can learn, such as deep wisdom, detachment from empty rewards, connection and service to others, and spiritual progress, we can set ourselves up for increased happiness.

Jean Lenzner, Managing Director

Managing Director Jean Lenzner is a voracious reader and the ultimate TAG source for book recommendations from every literary genre.

Favorite Audiobook:

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett narrated by Meryl Streep

Book Description:

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family’s orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today

“I would gladly listen to anything with Meryl Streep as the narrator. This explores love, family dynamics and the lives people lived before marriage.”

Favorite Fiction:

The Women by Kristen Hannah

Book Description:

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

“A young American woman coming of age novel set against the backdrop of the of the Vietnam War.”

Favorite Non-Fiction:

Crooked by Nathan Masters

Book Description:

Many tales from the Jazz Age reek of crime and corruption. But perhaps the era’s greatest political fiasco—one that resulted in a nationwide scandal, a public reckoning at the Department of Justice, the rise of J. Edgar Hoover, and an Oscar-winning film—has long been lost to the annals of history. In Crooked, Nathan Masters restores this story of murderers, con artists, secret lovers, spies, bootleggers, and corrupt politicians to its full, page-turning glory.

Newly elected to the Senate on a promise to root out corruption, Burton “Boxcar Burt” Wheeler sets his sights on ousting Attorney General Harry Daugherty, puppet-master behind President Harding’s unlikely rise to power. Daugherty is famous for doing whatever it takes to keep his boss in power, and his cozy relations with bootleggers and other scofflaws have long spawned rumors of impropriety. But when his constant companion and trusted fixer, Jess Smith, is found dead of a gunshot wound in the apartment the two men share, Daugherty is suddenly thrust into the spotlight, exposing the rot consuming the Harding administration to a shocked public.

Determined to uncover the truth in the ensuing investigation, Wheeler takes the prosecutorial reins and subpoenas a rogue’s gallery of witnesses—convicted felons, shady detectives, disgraced officials—to expose the attorney general’s treachery and solve the riddle of Jess Smith’s suspicious death. With the muckraking senator hot on his trail, Daugherty turns to his greatest weapon, the nascent Federal Bureau of Investigation, whose eager second-in-command, J. Edgar Hoover, sees opportunity amidst the chaos.

“Jazz Age story of corruption and scandal perpetrated by our most corrupt US Attorney General and a US senator who goes against all odds in his fight to bring him down, while also documenting the rise of J. Edgar Hoover. Hard to believe this book is non-fiction.”

Sarah Mitchell, Director

Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee

Book Description:

Meet Casey Han: a strong-willed, Queens-bred daughter of Korean immigrants immersed in a glamorous Manhattan lifestyle she can’t afford. Casey is eager to make it on her own, away from the judgements of her parents’ tight-knit community, but she soon finds that her Princeton economics degree isn’t enough to rid her of ever-growing credit card debt and a toxic boyfriend. When a chance encounter with an old friend lands her a new opportunity, she’s determined to carve a space for herself in a glittering world of privilege, power, and wealth—but at what cost?

Set in a city where millionaires scramble for the free lunches the poor are too proud to accept, this sharp-eyed epic of love, greed, and ambition is a compelling portrait of intergenerational strife, immigrant struggle, and social and economic mobility. Addictively enjoyable, Min Jin Lee’s bestselling debut Free Food for Millionaires exposes the intricate layers of a community clinging to its old ways in a city packed with haves and have-nots

“I’m always reading fiction! I try to read for an hour every night before bedtime – my brain appreciates going somewhere a little less real at the end of the day before sleep. Up next in my queue is Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee. She wrote Pachinko – I read that book last year and never got it out of my mind. Right behind it is South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami, one of my top five novelists of all time.”

Abby Buchold, Senior Research Associate

Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Book Description:

Two newlyweds are searching for their dream house visit the remote home of a renowned psychiatrist who disappeared four years prior. They wind up stuck there overnight due to a bad snowstorm. While looking for something to read to pass the time, Tricia finds a secret room containing audio transcripts for all of the doctor’s patients. Tricia listens to the tapes and discovers the horrific events leading up to Dr. Hale’s disappearance. All will be revealed when she listens to the final tape.

“I have not gotten very far into the book yet, but I’m thinking it will be a good mystery for summer with plenty of twists and turns.”

Jodi Smith, Manager of Administration Support

The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman and Paul White

Book Description:

Dramatically improve workplace relationships simply by learning your coworkers’ language of appreciation.

This audiobook will give you the tools to improve staff morale, create a more positive workplace, and increase employee engagement. How? By teaching you to effectively communicate authentic appreciation and encouragement to employees, co-workers, and leaders. Most relational problems in organizations flow from this question: do people feel appreciated? This audiobook will help you answer “Yes!”

A bestseller—having sold over 300,000 copies and translated into 16 languages—this audiobook has proven to be effective and valuable in diverse settings. Its principles about human behavior have helped businesses, non-profits, hospitals, schools, government agencies, and organizations with remote workers.

When supervisors and colleagues understand their coworkers’ primary and secondary languages, as well as the specific actions they desire, they can effectively communicate authentic appreciation, thus creating healthy work relationships and raising the level of performance across an entire team or organization.

The Alexander Group proudly announces Leah Salinas has joined the firm as a Director in its Houston office. Salinas’ clients include a broad range of middle-market companies, and private equity and venture capital firms.

“Leah’s record of helping clients build impactful executive management teams—particularly in the energy sector—is a terrific fit for us,” said Amanda Brady, Managing Director of The Alexander Group. “We are delighted to welcome her to our team.”

Salinas has extensive experience recruiting energy executives for leadership roles, with an emphasis on midstream, transition, and carbon capture, and also for the industrial, manufacturing, distribution, technology, and construction sectors.

“I am thrilled to join The Alexander Group, with its 40 year history, a global presence, and outstanding reputation. The firm’s client-first commitment, coupled with its research-intensive approach, gives it a competitive edge and makes it an exceptional home for long-lasting client relationships,” Salinas said.

Allison Rosenthal has joined Lykos Therapeutics as the company’s first Chief Commercial Officer. Ms. Rosenthal leads Lykos’ trailblazing commercial strategy and operations, initially focusing on the potential launch of MDMA-assisted therapy for their lead program to treat those suffering with PTSD. If approved by the FDA, anticipated in Q3 of 2024, this will be the first psychedelic-assisted therapy approved for medical use.

Learn more about Allison and her role here.

Managing Director Beth Ehrgott has been named to the Life Science Cares National Board of Advisors.

Life Science Cares is a nonprofit organization that leverages the power of the life science industry to solve poverty by uniting the human and financial resources of life science companies and industry leaders.

Life Science Cares works with organizations in the areas of basic human survival (hunger, homelessness, domestic abuse, crime prevention, etc.), education (STEM education, college preparation and college success, educational enrichment and inspiration) and sustainability (job creation, job training, mentoring and economic development.)

Life Science Cares operates in Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay area and New York—five locations that are home to mass companies working in biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical technology and research.

Beth joins other industry leaders who shape and support the work of Life Science Cares across the country, but don’t live in one of the hub cities.

“Thank you Rob Perez and Sarah MacDonald for all that you do! I am humbled and honored to join the Life Science Cares family and excited to help champion such an inspiring mission!” said Beth.

Beth is the Head of The Alexander Group’s Global Life Sciences Practice, bringing more than 35 years of both global and national business development and executive search expertise to The Alexander Group.

She has conducted searches for top C-Suite executives across research and development, commercial, finance, corporate development, tech ops, legal, information technology, compliance, human resources, and diversity and inclusion for Fortune 500 companies as well as private equity/venture capital backed emerging growth clients across multiple industries, including pharmaceutical, generics, biotech, medical device, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, not-for-profit, retail, financial services, and professional services.

Prior to joining The Alexander Group, Beth was Head of Talent Acquisition for Europe & ROW as well as Head of Global Talent Acquisition Projects for Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics. Beth was tapped by this newly formed division of Novartis not only for her consultative approach to executive search but also for her proven track record to achieve the “slightly impossible.”

Previously, Beth was Co-founder & Partner of a national interim staffing firm that recruited executive level human resources professionals for a Fortune 500 client base.

As graduates across the country turn their tassels and embark on life’s next chapter, The Alexander Group team is applauding their efforts with collective words of wisdom.

Our thoughts for 2024 graduates veer more toward the practical, but we also value resilience, a trait needed no matter where you are in life.

Golden glitter number 2024 with graduated cap. Class of 2024 concept

John Lamar, Managing Director

Q: What are two to three practical tips you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Try to exercise every day. It’s a great reliever of stress.

Communicate with clients every day. Past, present and future clients. It is what I do, and it is how I try to set an example. Jane does it, Johnny does it and Amanda does it. It’s so important for any person in business.

We all make mistakes. Admit it. Apologize for it and move on.

Jane Howze, Managing Director

Q: What’s a practical tip you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Over communicate. No one complains about over communication.

John Mann, Managing Director

Q: What are two to three practical tips you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Maintain a sense of urgency and anticipate and exceed your client’s expectations; take leadership, ownership and responsibility in your career and work; find a career that you enjoy (I know it’s cliché, but true).

Kyle Robinson, Director of Research

Q: What’s a practical tip you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Best tip I could give: utilize a second brain.

Don’t try and remember all the tasks and deadlines you have, both professionally and personally.

As soon as a thought pops into your mind, write it down in your second brain (a notebook, the notes app on your phone, your calendar) and reference it later when either finishing your day or planning the next.

De-clutter your mind so that you can be more intentional with your daily projects.

Jacqueline Griffin, Director of Accounting and Administration

-How have you fostered resilience throughout your career? Why is resilience important?

By adapting to change and developing a growth mindset by believing in my ability to learn and grow from experiences. View change and challenges as opportunities to develop rather than obstacles.

Resilience is important because it enables one to overcome obstacles and pursue goals with confidence and determination.

William Lepiesza, Director

Q: What are two to three practical tips you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Put in the time upfront to ensure success at the end: conduct thorough due diligence, know your client as well or better than they know themselves, and do your best to anticipate where problems or issues might occur

When issues or obstacles do arise, don’t simply communicate problems, communicate solutions: don’t leave it up to the client to figure out the answer, provide alternative paths, and recommendations to overcome hurdles.

There are many external factors and things we can’t control, so do your absolute best to control the things that you can.

Sarah Mitchell, Director

Q: What’s a practical tip you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Don’t forget to find inspiration and fulfillment outside of your job.

It can be from family, a rich social life, making art, a physical practice (yoga, running, team sports, weightlifting, whatever), adventure travel, and so on. Finding a sense of self-value outside of your job will help you weather the inevitable ups and downs in your career. And beyond that, it will lead you being a more authentic, inspired, and interesting person–that’s the kind of person others want to work with.

Beth Ehrgott, Managing Director

Q: How have you fostered resilience throughout your career? Why is resilience important?

A: A few thoughts:

Aristotle quote:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

And these are my own thoughts:

You will have to fight to have a seat at the table…and then keep it. Be resilient and relentless.

You will be pushed to your limits and resilience and being relentless will empower you with the mindset to embrace setbacks as opportunities.

Show up everyday and there will always be adversity and more to learn and conquer.

Commit to lifelong learning.

Always act with integrity and compassion and they must never be compromised.

Anthony Ott, Senior Associate

Q: What’s a practical tip you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Find the right balance between pushing boundaries and drawing from life’s lessons. You must do both.

The only way to create life lessons is by pushing the boundaries. It will always be a consistent pendulum swing. Life lessons learned can shape how you should push the boundaries. Pushing those boundaries will shape new life lessons.

You will never know if you don’t try. Always be willing to set your pride aside, make necessary adjustments, then push the boundaries again.

Jonathan Daniels, Associate

Q: What are two to three practical tips you employ that makes you successful at your job?

A: Use a calendar for everything in your life, and proactively plan your days. I have missed lots of events and deadlines because I was not organized. Today, my calendar helps keep me on track for everything I need to accomplish, a good record for follow-up with clients, and plan trips with friends.

Proactively Communicate. Despite Elon Musk’s best efforts, we cannot read minds yet. Always share updates with your supervisor, clients, and other stakeholders so they are aware of your work and can better partner with you.

Assume Positive Intent. Life is too short to worry about other people. Be kind, do your best, and always assume others are doing the same.

Document everything. You will forget your notes and you will need to show proof to others. Clients and Courts alike need paper trails.