Heather Duncan has joined Sacks Tierney as Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Duncan is an experienced leader and manager of business operations, finances and strategic growth.
She is adept at at identifying and pursuing new opportunities for expansion and collaboration, as well as fostering a culture of teamwork, accountability, and excellence within firm structure.
Learn more about Heather Duncan here.
The 27th annual Milken Institute Global Conference is underway in Los Angeles, drawing the some of the world’s most ardent thought leaders, visionaries and problem solvers. It’s no surprise then, that forever student and The Alexander Group’s Managing Director Jane Howze, is in the mix observing and absorbing the information gleaned from the three-day event.
“This is my eighth year attending and I am honored to have them as a client,” Jane said.
The 2024 theme is “Shaping a Shared Future,” and Milken organizers have gathered more than 4,000 attendees, including 1,000 speakers made up of C-suite executives from Fortune 500 companies, global leaders, experts, and innovators who are rethinking health, finance, technology, philanthropy, sports and media to discuss and explore the topic.
Day one of the annual Milken Institute Global Conference focused on the critical issues of geopolitical hotspots and the ongoing climate crisis to the complexities of artificial intelligence, examining both its potential and impact on global workers, firms, and markets.
With so many sessions and not enough time, Jane focused her energies on specific speakers and topics. Below are their thoughts, her thoughts and up-close pictures only Jane could provide from prime seating at the panel discussions.
Degree or Not Degree: The Higher Education Dilemma
Experts in a vast field of opinions explored the complex interplay between higher education, skills-based hiring, and the sometimes-elusive value of a college degree in today’s workforce. The discussion touched on the relevance of traditional degrees in a job market that increasingly emphasizes practical skills and competencies, the emerging trend toward alternative skill-building pathways and how individuals can navigate the range of choices to align their educational experiences with their career goals, plus the all-encompassing How are US college students and alumni tackling student debt?
Session Highlights:
-The average tenure in a job 25 years ago was 27 years. Today it is four years.
-54% of college students take at least one online course.
– University of Florida President and former Nebraska senator Ben Sasse on college’s biggest cost.
“The biggest cost of college is the opportunity cost.”
Jane’s Takeaways:
“I was particularly impressed with Ben Sasse. He was asked if tenure was important for faculty. He said yes, but being a faculty member today is more than teaching. It is coaching, grading, writing, presenting, etc. and we should specify what we are giving tenure to. All the panelists agreed that for a college education to be worth the cost— both time and money —it must offer skills that would help the graduate be a viable member of the working (profit or nonprofit) community.”
From Pitch to Profit: How Authentic Harnesses the Power of David Beckham’s Global Brand
A decade after retiring from professional football, David Beckham has remained a household name through a variety of high-profile endorsement deals and transformative partnership with Authentic Brands Group. He discussed his brand through strategic endorsements, innovative business models, compelling digital and media partnerships and more.
Session Highlights:
-Beckham talked about starting his business career 10 years before he retired. He will be introducing a clothing line next year. It was a fascinating discussion on branding and his recent documentary on Netflix is part of that branding since his production company made it.
Jane’s Takeaways:
David Beckham was charming and interesting. Goes back to why my business is so important. It is all about the people you choose to work with, and he felt comfortable with and trusting of the CEO of Authentic Brands
Leadership and the State of American Politics
Disagreement and conflict resolution are foundational elements of the United States’ system of governance; divergent views on federalism, checks and balances, the separation of powers, and other such norms have been present since the founding of the country. While there is partisan division on many critical issues facing the US, broad consensus in some areas continues to lead to the enactment of bipartisan policies.
Bill Cassidy, US Senator, Louisiana, James Lankford, US Senator, Oklahoma, Joe Manchin, US Senator, West Virginia and Krysten Sinema, US Senator, Arizona examined how political leadership plays a role in breaking through the divisive noise and what can be accomplished as we lead up to 2025 and beyond.
Session Highlights:
-Two Democrats and two Republicans
-The group discussed how they have worked together to create bipartisan legislation. They agreed their biggest failure was not pushing immigration through earlier, where it would have had a better chance. There has not been immigration legislation since President Ronald Reagan.
2024 US Election Insights
The 2024 US elections are shaping up to be a rematch between President Biden and President Trump; however, the front-and-center issues today are distinct from the pandemic-dominated 2020 elections. From border security and immigration to the defense of democracy and US policy choices for navigating geo-political turbulence, the issues driving the 2024 elections are causing significant shifts in partisan allegiances and driving political fragmentation in new ways.
Kellyanne Conway, #1 NYT Best Selling Author; President of KAConsulting LLC; Former Senior Counselor to the President, Van Jones, Social Entrepreneur; Bestselling Author; CNN Host; and Founder, Dream Machine Innovation Lab, Chris Liddell, Author, “Year Zero: The Five-Year Presidency”; Former White House Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff, Jim Messina, CEO, The Messina Group; former Obama 2012 Campaign Manager, White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Paul Ryan, 54th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; Vice Chairman, Teneo; Partner, Solamere Capital discussed the critical issues that will reverberate across the partisan divide, impacting voters in battleground states crucial to determining the Senate and House majorities—and delivering the electoral votes for the presidency.
Session Highlights:
-Kellyanne Conway said the election is about people’s relation with their government and border security is much more important now. It’s the number one or two issue in all six swing states that will determine the election.
According to her polling, Republicans are more focused on crime, securing borders and making a better living, where Democrats are focused on abortion.
Conway also said the Democrats made a big mistake by not letting Robert F. Kennedy stay in the race as a Democrat and if she were running the Democrats, she would have removed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris off the ticket 18 months ago.
-Jones likened the election to 1968.
Jane’s Takeaways:
Paul Ryan commented he didn’t like Joe Biden’s policies, but he didn’t like Trump’s ethics —-quite a big change from his appearance at the Milken conference years ago when he was running for president and was much more positive about President Trump.
A Conversation with Elon Musk
It was what the title described. Read on for Musk’s thoughts and Jane’s musings.
Session Highlights:
-You want to believe the future will be better than the past.
-First Amendment Discussion:
“You can’t have democratic elections without people being informed.”
-Socialism Discussion
“The government is the DMV at scale. Would you want that?”
(Jane reports this take received a lot of laughter)
-Regulation Discussion
“If there are more regulations passed, eventually everything will be illegal. Tell kids why it is important. Engage kids.”
-Immigration Discussion
“Immigrants are talented, hard working and honest. Legal immigration is a bizarre process. It’s insane. You can pop across the border easily. What’s going on? Need to expedite legal immigration. Need to tighten who gets in.”
-AI Discussion
“How will AI affect our daily lives? Eventually all intelligence will be digital. We need to develop AI that will be beneficial to humanity. Ms. Truth Seeking AI. Truth telling AI. We need to maximize curious AI. AI has not been helpful in space exploration.”
Jane’s Takeaways:
I know a lot of people don’t like Elon Musk for political reasons, but I found him to be incredibly smart, funny, charming and a basic libertarian. The session consisted of Mike Milken, reading back quotes he had made in the past. With every quote, even those 10 years old, he would say “yeah I agree with that” and everyone would laugh, and Mike Milken would laughingly say “Well, it’s good that you agree with yourself. “
He spoke about how important the First Amendment is, and says you can’t have democratic elections without being informed.
Musk shared historically, prosperity and lack of war reduces the birth rate. The richer a civilization, the lower the birth rate. At that point in his talk a woman posed a question (we are all given QR codes to post questions during talks) that said, “Come pick me up on the way to Mars and I’ll give you a baby”.
What keeps him up at night? Musk worries about the fall of civilizations and listens to podcasts mostly at night about this subject. He ended his session by saying “Maybe I need to stop listening to podcasts on dying civilizations at night.”
HOUSTON—The Alexander Group proudly announces the addition of seasoned international executive Sally King to the firm’s advisory and consulting team. King brings extensive experience in global operations, strategic planning, merger planning and integration, finance, and all aspects of operational management to the consulting role.
King will play a pivotal part in furthering The Alexander Group’s mission to provide unparalleled strategic guidance to its diverse clientele. With more than 30 years of experience working with global, national, and regional law firms, King’s knowledge expands The Alexander Group’s ability to serve clients through team and executive assessment, advisory, and consulting strategies.
“We have followed Sally’s career and her impact on the firms for whom she has worked for decades,” said John Lamar, Managing Director at The Alexander Group. “She is an outstanding thought leader in this rapidly evolving industry.”
Prior to joining The Alexander Group, King served as Regional Chief Operating Officer for Clifford Chance, Chief Operating Officer for Dentons and Akin Gump, completing her career at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler.
“I am excited to embark on this new journey with The Alexander Group,” said Sally King. “I have long admired the firm’s dedication to excellence and its unwavering commitment to client success.”
King holds an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and is a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management and has served on the Boards of British American Business, Infinite Global Consulting, and the Board of Advisors for Catalyst. She is a certified Executive Coach and a member of the International Coaching Council. King was also a Special Advisor to the New York State Bar Association Committee on Law Practice Management.
David Ford has joined Prothena as Chief People Officer. Mr. Ford brings decades of exceptional global biopharma leadership experience to his role at Prothena.
Throughout his career, Mr. Ford has led through significant strategic and challenging operational change with complete understanding and appreciation of what “best” looks like from organizational infrastructure to performance for any specific period of a company’s evolution.
His scope includes commercial expertise on a global scale – through all aspects of portfolio, global commercial build, launch leadership, and full commercial life cycle.
To learn more about Mr. Ford, visit our latest release.
Want to learn more about our Life Science practice?
Contact Beth Ehrgott at behrgott@thealexandergroup.com.
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.
For more information, click here.
HOUSTON—As a leading provider of executive search firm services, The Alexander Group celebrates its 40th anniversary by continuing to evolve and grow with the integration of sister firm Alex & Red and the launch of its 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.
Established in 1984, The Alexander Group has provided top-tier executive search firm services for over 40 years, positioning itself as an industry-leading global executive search firm. Specializing in Board and C-Suite searches across a wide array of industries—including Legal and Professional Services, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Financial Services, Industrial and Manufacturing, Energy, and Not-For-Profit—the firm is recognized for its commitment to long-term client relationships, a highly acclaimed research capability, and a dedication to 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.
Additional resources:
The Executive Leadership Council: Helps provide opportunities for African American executives.
The Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility: Serves as a resource for Hispanic executives vying for board service.
