June 4 – Four-Topic Morning Event Attracts Over 170
The Economy Will Turn – Is Your Business Ready?

The Collaborative hosted the first of three 4-Topic Morning Events to help growing companies prepare for growth through and beyond this recession. The series got off to a great start with this first session featuring two panels on Boards and substantive panels on Advisors and Executive Compensation. The audience of more than 170 entrepreneurs executives, investors and students were treated to a jam-packed morning of 4 topics, 17 speakers and lively networking.

Panel 1 (L-R): John Houston (moderator), Jim Bullock, Ed Spencer, Jay Coughlan and John Wilgers

The first panel, “Board of Directors I: Developing and Motivating a Great Board,” included Jim Bullock, CEO, Atritech; Jay Coughlan, CEO, XATA; Ed Spencer, Founder and Chairman, Affinity Capital Management; John Wilgers, Office Managing Partner, Ernst & Young, and moderator John Houston, Partner, Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi. The panelists discussed how to identify, attract and motivate the members of a “perfect” board. The panelists shared their experiences on how to find key individuals who are a fit for a company’s board and how to maximize their commitment to the company. Coughlan said, “You have to always be recruiting.” “Fresh perspective is important,” Wilgers said. “You need fresh perspective; the one nobody else has.” On the subject of partnership with one’s board Bullock suggested, “If you ask the question and don’t consider the advice, that can be the beginning of a bad relationship.” Spencer went on to say, “One of the most important things you can do as a board member is to believe in the vision [of the company]. It’s often a lonely job being a CEO.”

Panel 2 (L-R): Scott Dongoske (moderator), Bjorn Honda, Cliff Hoffman and Rob Wolf

The second panel, “Boards of Directors II: The Costs, Responsibilities and Commitment Necessary in Today’s Board,” featured Rob Wolf, CFO, Rimage; Cliff Hoffman, Partner, Deloitte & Touche; Bjorn Honda, Executive Vice President, RJF Agencies, and moderator Scott Dongoske, Partner and President, Winthrop & Weinstine. The speakers delved into ways to maximize a board’s output and had a frank, constructive discussion on the costs and board member characteristics necessary to thrive in today’s environment. “Getting everyone together, making sure they’re on the same page,” was Wolf’s suggestion. “It’s very important so that [going forward] you are minimizing time and maximizing effort.” When a concern was raised about board members splitting their time between different boards, Bjorn offered, “I would argue that in the biggest companies in the world no one is worrying about interlocking different directors or how many boards they’re on.” “At the end of the day,” Hoffman said, “does everyone understand their role in adding value to the company?”

Panel 3 (L-R): Dan Carr (moderator), Dennis Allingham, Barb Rummel, Jay McNeil and Al Boyden

After a busy networking session attendees returned to the auditorium to hear the third panel, “Leveraging Your Advisors.” The panelists were Dennis Allingham, President and CEO, Lifecore Biomedical; Jay McNeil, Senior Relationship Manager, SVB Silicon Valley Bank; Barb Rummel, Partner, Lindquist & Vennum; Al Boyden, Partner, Wipfli, and moderator Dan Carr, CEO, The Collaborative. This panel, comprised of both executives and experts, explored the obvious but often underutilized resource in growing any company – advisors. “We spend time with our team to acknowledge what we don’t know before we bring in outside advisors to shore up our blind spots,” Allingham said. “Clarity is absolutely critical.” McNeil added that when considering advisors one should ask, “Can they ‘get me a seat at the table’?” When asked what experts should expect from a company, Rummel offered, “Candor and honesty. If you’re not clear with us, how do you expect us to do our job?” Boyden agreed, “Don’t hide bad news from us. Don’t wait to see if we find it.”

Panel 4 (L-R): Pat Pazderka (moderator), Todd Krautkremer, Jack Judd and Eric Gonzaga

The fourth panel of the morning, “Executive Compensation and Equity Compensation,” featured Todd Krautkremer, CEO, Gearworks; Jack Judd, CFO, Compellent Technologies; Eric Gonzaga, Managing Director, Executive Compensation Consulting Practice, Grant Thornton, and moderator Pat Pazderka, Partner, Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly. Panelists discussed the use of options and stock-based and cash compensation for an entire company in today’s environment from a variety of perspectives. “The world has changed dramatically,” Krautkremer said. “You have to ask yourself, how does this type of compensation incentivize the employees? Is it equal? How does it value? What can we do on a daily basis to value?” When putting together compensation packages Gonzaga suggested, “It’s all about how you communicate the compensation and how your align it all the way down from the executive.” Judd added, “Be very exact with your policies. You can’t make mistakes in the environment today.”

After an audience Q&A session, there was another busy networking session before the doors opened to The 14th Annual Entrepreneur & Investor Luncheon: The Economy and Its Effect on Our Businesses and Minnesota…Revisited.