Boards

What Smart Boards Do When Investors Knock

How to mold a divided boardroom into a productive team.

by

Michael Useem

and

Dennis Carey

by

Michael Useem

and

Dennis Carey

December 16, 2013

Bulls in a china shop—or catalysts for change? The divides created when activist investors muscle their way onto boards as varied as those of Hewlett-Packard, J. C. Penny, and Yahoo can run as deep as those on Capitol Hill. Has Ralph Whitworth of Relational Investors restored shareholder value at HP? Did William A. Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management destroy value at J.C. Penney? Has Daniel Loeb of Third Point rebuilt value at Yahoo?

Michael Useem is faculty director of the Wharton Leadership Center and McNulty Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the co-author of Boards That Lead: When to Take Charge, When to Partner, and When to Stay Out of the Way.
Dennis Carey is vice chairman of KornFerry and co-founder of ONYX, an invitation-only community for current and former CEOs of the world’s most influential corporations. He has recruited directors and CEOs for many of the most prestigious companies in America, served on several boards, taught corporate governance at the Wharton School, and co-authored seven books on strategy, talent, and risk. He founded the CEO Academy and ThePrium, both of which are best in class forums for corporate leaders. He has held post-doctoral fellowships at Harvard and Princeton.

What Smart Boards Do When Investors Knock

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