The situation: The Board of Directors wanted to ensure a company with no prior history of shareholder activism: 1) kept current on trends, 2) had a robust response plan in place, and 3) had prepared its senior management for various scenarios.
The challenge: Did the company already have a plan in place? How could we create a final work product that met Board and C-suite goals? How should we consider what was documented and what wasn’t for legal purposes? How could we create a sense of urgency and “real-life” scenario for management?
The result: Our approach was collaborative. Working with in-house legal counsel, we interviewed and identified the appropriate external legal counsel, investor relations / public relations firms, and investment bankers. We created a preparedness plan, formed a Preparedness Team which included external advisors, and coordinated a series of Tabletop Drills over a multi-year period. This had the effect of: 1) providing the Preparedness Team with some experience and a sense of urgency; 2) allowing us to evaluate how the team worked together as a whole, and modifying as necessary; and 3) keeping the Team and Board updated on current trends on an ongoing basis.
