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Dear Samuel: Negotiating Executive Employment Offers in the era of COVID-19

March 20, 2020 by Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

Dear Samuel,

I have been with a large, well known company for a while in various finance and operations roles. I am ready to take on the CFO role at a smaller, growing company. I recently received an offer. The company looks like a good choice for me to start my CFO career path.

I’m in middle of negotiating my agreement and package. When I received the offer, things were still in the pre-COVID-19 state. With a pandemic being declared and the business world being uncertain, I have one major concern and I would like your advice.

There is a severance package attached to the opportunity that is fair (after we’ve negotiated a few things). The issue is that it kicks in on start date. I’m going to resign from my well know blue chip employer and going to a much smaller growing company. With the new world of uncertainty of COVID-19 and a business world that is changing from day to day, what happens if I resign today and when I start in a few weeks the situation at my new employer-in-waiting changes so drastically that they tell me they don’t need me anymore?

Living on the Edge, Massachusetts

Dear On the Edge,

Your question shows that you have a sharp mind.

Usually, your concern is not an issue. You’ve likely done your due diligence, like the prospects of your potential new employer and feel that there is a good fit for you to go in and make a difference while you tackle new responsibilities and challenges. Waiting a few weeks is usually not an issue.

Businesses are now facing challenges they have never had to face before. And, when taking a look at the speed and depth of this natural disaster and the impact it has on business, who can really say that companies with limited cash and resources will pull through this crisis?

I have never seen anyone ask a potential employer to cover the risk between resignation date and start date. I have never seen the need to either. Until today.

I recommend that you go to your potential new employer and express your concern to them. If they have been reasonable with you throughout your negotiation process, I expect that they will be reasonable as well.

I do not recommend that you go to them with a proposed solution. Ask them to solve the problem. If the method that they come back with is fair and deals with your concern, accept it.

I also recommend that you get into your new company as soon as possible. I actually had one new CFO start at a client on Monday March 16, 2020. Their first day in the office was bedlam, but the leadership and ownership were grateful to have a steady hand on deck to help them deal with the stormy seas.

Close the deal and get on board. Your new employer needs you even more than they did a month ago.

Good luck and keep me informed,

Samuel

Dear Readers,

Dear Samuel is a feature of our Leadership Blog that deals with questions executives have about their leadership roles and career situations. If you have any questions that you would like Samuel Dergel to address, please send your questions to dearsamuel@dergelsearch.com.

Please note that all questions asked will be treated in the strictest of confidence and all identifying material in questions asked will be edited to respect the privacy of all participants and companies.

Employers: Your Opportunity during the Panic

March 16, 2020 by Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

I do not take the current pandemic situation lightly. And neither do you.

It can be hard to realize that while this is a challenging time, both from a personal as well as a business perspective, I can tell you that employers like you have a significant opportunity.

No doubt the current situation has you worried and concerned, both about your business and your people. You have some very difficult decisions to make, many times very quickly, sometimes with not enough information.

Now is the time to build your team for the future. The current situation is temporary, and the rebound will be very strong.

The executive talent market over the last years has been a challenge. Until recently, business has been very good. The ability to attract and hire the best talent possible was a challenge because, let’s face it, things were going well – so why would great talent want to leave?

I promise you that in the current situation, executive talent is now more open to listening to other career opportunities. With many executives are beginning to work at home, and situations at their employers are challenging, they will be more responsive to opportunities they are called for.

You have a lot to focus on now. But do not miss the opportunity at hand to build your star leadership team for the future.

I urge you to get cracking now. Waiting for the rebound will leave you behind the curve and in tough competition, and ultimately will delay your rebound.

You do not have to do this by yourself. Choose to work with an executive recruiter who understands your business and how to pitch the opportunity and has the reach to get star talent to the table (or video conference) for interviews. Now.

Samuel Dergel is Principal and Founder at DERGEL Executive Search.

State of your Supply Chain in the COVID-19 age

March 6, 2020 by DERGEL Executive Search Leave a Comment

The spiraling human impact of the COVID-19 virus has many of us rethinking our personal exposure to proper hygiene and to examine our travel plans into potential “hot zones”. For Supply Chain professionals, it is a time to examine how our supply chains have fared with the disruption caused by COVID-19 and to potentially revamp our underlying Supply Chain Management practices.

While “Black Swan” events such as COVID-19 might be dismissed as rare, lessons we have learnt from previous “Black Swan” events such as 9/11, SARS, Eyiafjallajokull, Asian tsunamis and earthquakes, have desensitized many of us in building robust supply chains. We continue to pursue single-source procurement strategies, consolidate distribution centers, outsource logistics, even though such actions build more risk into the supply chain. We have yet to embrace the resilient supply chain, one that has continuous improvement as one of its core principles and one that is dynamically restructuring itself at breakneck speed in times of need.

The impact of the spread of the COVID-19 virus will keep stressing our long, thin, Tier-one-supplier focused chains. We need supply chain professionals that understand visibilty, nimbleness and, above all, resilience.

What are you doing to keep your supply chain resilient?

Is the Boeing CEO departure enough to save the company?

December 23, 2019 by DERGEL Executive Search Leave a Comment

With today’s not-totally-unexpected announcement of Dennis Muilenberg parting ways with Boeing, the question remains whether this is enough to turn Boeing’s fortunes around. The adage that “the buck stops at the head of the organization” having been touted amongst regulators and aviation pundits, many have hailed this event as a turnaround moment for the beleaguered manufacturer. Indeed, investors are rewarding this announcement with an upward bump in Boeing’s stock price. But is this the event that will re-invigorate the company, instill aviation community faith and trust in the company? I believe much more needs to be done to satisfy Boeing aircraft stakeholders that change is underway.

In recent hearings, Mr. Muilenberg was depicted as the architect of the Boeing culture that pervades the Boeing organization. His various leadership roles at Boeing did indeed leave a legacy of getting the job done, managing costs, delivering aircraft and, more importantly, delivering value to Boeing shareholders. And here’s where the legacy that Mr. Muilenberg leaves as he exits the CEO role will be defining. But the Boeing Board of Directors needs to do some soul-searching as they are complicit in Boeing’s cultural paradigm.

Boeing has pursued a product development strategy in recent years that put market share and cost containment in the pilot’s seat. With Airbus’ A320neo series aircraft in the marketplace as both fuel- and performance-leader, Boeing’s board elected to pursue the 737MAX path to quickly bring a competitive aircraft to market rather than design and develop and new aircraft with the needed economics and performance. In hindsight, a strategic error for which Boeing is currently paying the price.

Along with Mr. Muilenberg’s departure, the Boeing Board of Directors needs a membership review. The next generation of Board membership along with the new CEO will need to reinvent the Boeing culture and reshape the aircraft manufacturer into the trustworthy entity it once was.

What do you think will happen next?

Delta Airlines’ Next Step in Private Aviation

December 12, 2019 by DERGEL Executive Search Leave a Comment

With today’s news that Delta Airlines is acquiring a majority interest in WheelsUp, the world’s largest airline continues its path to rationalize its operating portfolio by merging Delta Private Jets into the WheelsUp organization. The statement by Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO, highlights the airline’s desire to expand its footprint beyond its current commercial aviation market further into private aviation. The question remains as to Delta’s long-term private aviation strategy with this merger and whether this new WheelsUp entity will offer enough differentiation against NetJets in the private aircraft market.

The world of private aviation has become quite crowded in recent years, with a wide variety of business models vying for a static set of target customers. The creation of a 190-aircraft fleet with this merger seems to be aimed at the “last mile” segment of well-heeled North American clients, and Delta is most likely looking to capture a larger share of the longer-haul travel segment by offering a larger variety of options on “last-mile” services on private aircraft. Surely this is one way to broaden the DL service base to more North American cities.

A greater cynic than I might look at this transaction as a further effort by Delta to rationalize its core businesses by getting out of the increasingly competitive private jet market. Delta needed a home for its 90-aircraft private jet fleet and WheelsUp was a more than willing recipient of this transfer. Will Delta get fair market value for its fleet in exchanging it for majority ownership in WheelsUp?

A shake-out of the private aviation market is inevitable, but in the meantime, look to this transaction to benefit Delta’s premium travelers looking to get to commercial aviation’s underserved markets. This can be a more time-effective solution for some of these last-mile locations.

How will this impact your business travel decisions?

Contact us and let’s get started!