Elizabeth Satterfield has joined Moore & Van Allen as Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Satterfield is a results-oriented law firm executive with unique experience and credentials in Legal Operations, Knowledge Management, Legal Project Management, Pricing, and Innovation.
Previously, Ms. Satterfield was the Innovation & Practice Solutions Officer at Proskauer Rose LLP. Ms. Satterfield received her J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Wake Forest University.
HOUSTON—As leading executive search firm The Alexander Group, celebrates its 40th anniversary, it continues to evolve and grow with the integration of sister firm Alex & Red, and the launch of the firm’s Professional Services Division. The integration of Alex & Red into The Alexander Group expands the firm’s ability to provide a holistic solution to recruiting high-quality executives across an organization unrelated to its size. The merger is effective March 13, 2024.
The Alexander Group, led by Managing Directors Jane Howze and John Lamar, established Alex & Red in 2011, with The Alexander Group’s executive John Mann at the helm, to help entrepreneurial organizations recruit their leaders, as well as recruit future C-Suite leaders for existing clients. Under Mann’s leadership, Alex & Red was an immediate success, building a national client base in multiple industries and functional areas. The firm was recognized for successfully completing “hard to fill” positions with superior talent.
“Prior to the creation of Alex & Red, our clients asked us to help them recruit outstanding mid-level managers who would be future C-Suite leaders. At the time we hadn’t focused on how few options our clients had for getting the quality of search The Alexander Group offers at the Board and C-Suite level for mid-management positions. Combining Alex & Red’s success with ours, we can better serve our clients by offering an integrated firm that fills all their leadership needs,” said John Lamar.
Lamar adds “in addition to offering clients one home for all their executive needs, the merger allows the firm to tailor search teams with uniquely broad industry, capabilities, and functional search experience.
“I was privileged to build and lead the team at Alex & Red that brought The Alexander Group’s commitment to client service and excellence to younger and more entrepreneurial companies. As a result, both Alex & Red and its clients have grown in a very short time to the point that it makes sense to integrate both firms into a seamless organization that will fulfill all our clients’ needs,” said John Mann, Managing Director, The Alexander Group.
Alex & Red Managing Director Jonathan Verlander joins The Alexander Group’s robust staff of executive search consultants including founder Jane Howze, CEO John Lamar, Managing Director and Chief Client Officer Amanda Brady, and Director of Research, Kyle Robinson.
ABOUT THE ALEXANDER GROUP
Established in 1984, The Alexander Group has been an industry-leading global executive search firm for more than 40 years, conducting searches for Board and C-Suite positions in a wide array of industries including Legal and Professional Services, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Financial Services, Industrial and Manufacturing, Energy and Not-For-Profit. The Alexander Group is recognized for its commitment to long-term client relationships, highly acclaimed research capability and recruiting leaders who make a difference.
One of the most frequently asked questions we get is “How do I get on a corporate board if I’m not already on a board?” The hardest board will be your first board.
Here is what you need to know.
1) The Process Is Different than Applying for a Full Time Position
A board seat is usually not a position for which you apply. It is much more like a sorority, fraternity, or even a posh club: Candidacy is by invitation only. While it is helpful to visit and make contacts with search firms, it should not be your only strategy. Search firms fill only a relatively small percentage of board seats though this number is increasing due to the need for highly specialized talents and an commitment to greater diversity.
Because someone can work and still serve on a board, it’s relatively easy for board members to recruit friends, former colleagues or executives with whom they’ve done business. A search firm may not be as helpful to you in seeking a board position as it would if you were looking for a C-suite role, simply because board searches are not put out to search nearly as often as executive positions are.
Secondly, Board positions do not turn over as frequently as C-Suite roles. Average tenure for directors in the larger companies of the S&P 500 Index and the broader Russell 3000 index is nearly ten years.
Lastly, it is expensive. Search firms charge anywhere from $70,000 to $200,000 to complete board searches. Many Boards inquire among their network before retaining a search firm.
2) Know Thy Strengths
What value could you bring to a board? Determine the industry and type of company where your background would be an asset. Would you meet the requirements to serve on a company’s Audit Committee? Do you have a background in a sought-after functional area, such as compliance, data security or executive compensation? Are you a diversity candidate? There are many functional areas or qualifications that boards are seeking to ensure that they have a well-rounded board.
Prepare an “elevator” speech that you will use to introduce your candidacy to search consultants and sources of referrals for board positions that articulates what you have to offer. You will also need a different type of resume that highlights your value to a board, ability to represent shareholders and includes interactions with your own or other boards.
3) Define Your Brand
What would someone learn about you if they Googled your name? Does your resume reinforce the assets you would bring to a board? (Define your strengths; see number 2 above). Who are you and how have you established yourself? What is your reputation? What enterprise challenges have you faced and successfully navigated?
4) Be Visible
It is not enough that you are good at what you do. Being selected for a board requires both an internal and external effort. This requirement is especially important if you are not currently working. One of the fastest ways to disqualify yourself from a board is not to be “current.” Board members today must be up to date with changes in business and technology. To this end, it is critical to becoming versed in social media. Have a LinkedIn profile complete with picture. Have an account with—and understand how to use—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok (even if you don’t actually use it). Submit articles, blogs or comments to industry association websites and publications. Engage in online dialog with your peers on social media. Publish an article on LinkedIn that delves into your area of expertise.
5) It’s All About Contacts and Networking
Landing a board seat is both a numbers game and a contacts game. Let your investment banking, law, bank, public accounting, and consulting firm contacts know of your interest in being on a board and the value you would bring. Use LinkedIn to identify board members of companies whom you can contact. Note if any of the directors are close to retirement. Many individuals have found board positions by contacting venture capital firms. In addition to search firms, check out top registries such as the National Association of Corporate Directors, Catalyst (for women), and various universities that have board training programs. Stanford, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and Dartmouth offer corporate governance programs.
6) Start Small and Leverage Those Successes
Be willing to start small. Are there any not-for-profits for which you have a passion? If so, volunteer to be on their board, even at the local level. Are there small companies that are looking for a volunteer board? What about your church, child’s school, or trade association? Once you’re on an organization’s board, fellow board members are often senior executives from public companies with whom you can network. It may take two or three not-for-profit boards before you get the opportunity to join a for-profit board. We know several executives who got their start on public boards by working with emerging growth companies and rode with those companies as they went from a garage operation to a Fortune 1000 company.
Most executives agree that it is harder to land their first board position than it is actually to serve on a board. Look at your contacts and networking as investing for not only one board but future Board positions. Not surprisingly, most search firms who conduct board searches look first to those already serving on public boards.
