Trewstar Boardroom Commentary: Action From the Front Lines

Dear Friends:

We put TrewNews aside for much of 2019 while we focused on a record-breaking year of adding people – 90% female – to corporate boards. That time of intense productivity allowed us to hone our best practices and, according to many of our clients and candidates, become the best in this quirky business.
 
We hope we have kept our promise of publishing TrewNews only when we have something new or different to say. Since we have positive news, we thought that qualified.
 
Like you, we have received many messages from product and service providers assuring clients and customers of their cleanliness policies. We decided to spare you the details of how often we wash our hands before Zoom calls or how much disinfectant we use on our phones. Even though we have always operated with a flexible approach to location, thanks to Covid19 we have temporarily shifted to fully remote as of March 9th. We are successfully adapting to our new reality and managing to maintain a high-level of productivity, even as we have scattered beyond NYC. 
 
The parents among us are learning how to integrate our adult children back into our daily lives, and some of our younger colleagues are figuring out how to be comfortable back in their parents’ homes. Both allocating the residential internet and sharing the dining room table as a communal workspace are issues we have been unexpectedly forced to confront.
 
We thought our readers, all connected in one way or another to the corporate boardroom, would be interested in the impact, so far, of Covid19 on the substance of our work. The takeaway message is that making decisions about adding new corporate directors remains very much underway:
 

• In each of the past three weeks, one of our clients has announced a new director.

• We expect three more directors to be selected this week.

• The industries for these particular companies range from technology to biopharma to oil and gas to real estate.

• The companies range in size from pre-IPO to Fortune 100.

• We are continuing to launch new engagements, even as we wrap up the many that were underway.

 
Maybe our clients are very brave, or maybe everyone is optimistic about a fast return to normal. In either case, it certainly feels as though our clients have found ways to focus on the long term and move forward. 
 
Historically, all of our assignments have included in-person interviews. So, we believe that we will be able to execute the board search process in such a way that our clients are either satisfied with what can be gleaned from video conference calls or will be ready to do final interviews in person once travel and social distancing restrictions are lifted.
 
While I never thought I would quote Vladimir Lenin, I recently came across this line, which feels so apt for today:
 
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”
 
We would be delighted to hear your stories or your views on this interesting time in our lives. Please feel free to email me at bstewart@trewstar.com.

All the Best,