Board & C-Suite Consultant
SELECTED CLIENTS
With over 35 years of experience, Ted has been a trusted advisor to ownership, Boards, and CEOs. He has guided a wide variety of corporate and nonprofit organizations through every phase of the business lifecycle.
*Client names have been withheld to protect confidentiality.
Client A: Nonprofit and For-Profit C Corp
Client A was formed as a university-sponsored medical research consortium in 1993. Its mission was to find a cure for a fatal genetic disease. Client A became an independent nonprofit organization in 2013 with a vision to expand its community of doctors, researchers, advocacy groups, and families to share knowledge and best practices and to develop innovative treatments in support of its mission.
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As a result of the growth of its professional community and its success in clinical research, in 2020 Client A spun out a wholly owned, for-profit subsidiary to conduct commercial clinical trials in support of Client A’s nonprofit mission. This strategic change created significant challenges within the existing governance structure.
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Ted was engaged to guide and advise the CEO and Board on restructuring the governance system and implementing and updating governance, management, and operating relationships, and structures within and between the nonprofit parent and the for-profit subsidiary.
“Ted was instrumental to the success of our organizational transformation. He was able to establish credibility quickly with both the Board and the management team. After a thorough baseline assessment and diagnosis of our situation, he helped build alignment and consensus among the stakeholders as to our best path forward. Ted worked closely with us to implement the transformation and was an excellent teacher and mentor to the leadership team throughout the process." -- Client A CEO
Client B: Nonprofit
Client B is a faith-based organization whose mission is to ensure a strong, sustainable future for its community through philanthropy, engagement, education, and advocacy. It is the leader and convenor of the more than 25 independent faith-based nonprofits that comprise this community, including healthcare organizations, service providers, program sponsors, and houses of worship.
Recent demographic, financial, and religious trends suggested that the needs of this faith-based community would be changing dramatically in the future, and the organizations that served this community needed to change to meet those needs. As the community convenor, Client B initiated a broad effort with participation across the community to develop a 5-year collective vision and a roadmap to get there.
Ted was engaged by Client B to provide hands-on leadership of this community visioning effort. Shortly after the effort got underway, it became apparent that one of the oldest and largest organizations in the community was facing significant challenges that could substantially delay or derail the whole project. As a result, the first phase of the engagement focused on the feasibility of integrating the programs and services at risk into Client B and on developing an implementable action plan to make it happen.
“Ted’s leadership experience and expertise in building, restructuring, and integrating organizations were key to our ability to navigate through these complex, unfamiliar waters. While his business acumen and legal understanding were vital, his ability to work across multiple organizations and earn their trust was invaluable.” -- Client B CEO
Client C: For-Profit C Corp
Client C operates in the biomedical imaging field and specializes in innovative systems for research purposes. Founded over a decade prior by a team of researchers, the company developed proprietary technologies that enabled novel investigations of tissue and organ structures.
Initially funded through grants in its startup phase, Client C achieved significant progress in its technology and established a foothold in the research market. In recent years, the company launched its first commercial product, achieving initial market success, and was poised for further commercial expansion. However, differences between the founders about the company’s future direction led to a critical impasse.
Ted was engaged to facilitate the development of a strategic plan to reposition the company and mediate between the co-founders to address their differing visions for the company’s future. If the founders could not agree on a path forward, they would then consider other options including the sale of the company to a third party and various shareholder buyout scenarios, several of which would require raising capital. Despite Ted’s efforts to guide the process, explore potential solutions, and mediate an agreement, the parties ultimately could not reach a resolution. Recognizing this, he stepped away from the situation to let emotions cool until the co-founders were ready to restart discussions. This groundwork leaves hope for a future solution to emerge.
“Ted was a calming influence in a highly emotional situation. He listened carefully to each of our concerns and was trusted by all parties for his sensitivity and confidentiality.
He demonstrated deep knowledge and experience in the business aspects of the situation, and, above and beyond, we found his attention and advice to be most valuable.
Ted’s involvement was instrumental in moving the founders beyond the status quo, ensuring that doing nothing was no longer an option.”