…42
It was Alex's first executive meeting. Only directors and above, assistant vice presidents, vice presidents, and chief officers of all departments were gathering in the large conference room on the top floor. They were quite numerous; Alex had no idea there were so many. She recognized few faces, though, and not a lot of people recognized and greeted her either.
She could see signs of worry and low-voice chatter going on, as her colleagues were filling the room, starting from back to front. They were behaving somewhat like schoolchildren, these executives, none daring to sit in the first two rows of seats. Alex saw the opportunity to situate herself in a manner that would give her great visibility to the reactions and expressions of everyone else. She took the first seat on the right, on the first row of seats. She would be able to sit half-turned toward the back, keep an eye on Dr. Barnaby as he spoke, but also see the reactions of most of the people present.
Dr. Barnaby entered the conference room, bringing the low-key chatter to a halt. He looked composed and dignified, his usual self.
"Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining me in this meeting on such short notice. I have an announcement to make. At the end of the fourth quarter of this year, when the trading window will be open, I will be liquidating a significant portion of my stock."
Murmurs filled the room.
"I know you have heard this announcement before, and nothing happened. Let me explain a few things. First and foremost, this company has been my life, my passion, and my dream. It is difficult for me to bring to fulfillment the idea of separating myself from it. Therefore, in the recent past, I have tried to do this a couple of times, yet unsuccessfully. This time it's different. For family reasons, I will no longer be able to procrastinate on this task… I must retire as soon as I can and dedicate much more time to my family."
Another wave of murmurs came and went.
"In the months to follow, we must work together with the board of directors to ensure a smooth transition of ownership, control, and leadership that will follow at the end of this year. I will be communicating my decision to the board at our quarterly meeting in July. Does anyone have any questions?"
A tense silence, then someone in the back of the room raised his hand.
"Is this decision related to the drone incident in Florida?"
"Not directly," Dr. Barnaby answered calmly. "I have promised my wife I would spend our golden years with her in some peaceful place. My work has taken a tremendous toll on our family life. Now is the time for us to catch up on all the things we wanted to do in this life and never had time for. Why now? Unfortunately, my wife's health is deteriorating… I am now pressed for time. However, regarding the drone incident connection I said 'not directly,' because I think the time has come for a younger leader to take over the reins of this company and make sure he or she steers the company clear of all potential problems."
Another hand rose in the back.
"What are your thoughts about the Florida drone incident? How will this affect us?"
"It's hard to say at this time. We don't even know if it was one of our products. Our liaisons are working to get this information. If it is indeed one of ours, we are to expect an inquiry into the causes of this unfortunate incident. Please count on my full commitment and dedication to ensure we get to the bottom of this and figure out everything there is to know about what might have caused this tragedy. We will leave no stone unturned, and no question unanswered."
"Are you concerned at all with how the press will perceive the timing of your exit, vis-à-vis the Florida incident?"
"To some extent it is like a controlled detonation. If my exit will take the heat off the company to even the smallest degree, I would rather have the press think there is a correlation. You, however, know this was not the decision point in this case, as I have planned twice before to sell my shares and retire, but I just couldn't break away."
"How are we addressing the media questions at this time?" This question came from a familiar face — Peter Wilson from Six Sigma, one of Walker's nodding enablers.
"We have secured the services of one of the most powerful public relations agencies in this country, Leesman & Koch."
The mention of this well-known name brought a wave of appreciative whispers from the executive group. Leesman & Koch had earned a solid reputation assisting various politicians to weather corruption or lewdness scandals; handholding movie stars through bail hearings, parole hearings, and rehab trips; and managing the media angle of several presidential election campaigns.
"Leesman & Koch is top dollar, but worth every dime. We are fortunate to have them on our side through this, and they will work to get us trained on how to handle media questions. Expect media training appointments to start appearing on your calendars as of today. Please plan to attend. In the meantime, they have advised me to ask you not to speak with the media at all. Please do not answer any questions, even those that might appear harmless. Defer all media inquiries to our new PR office, the extension is on the Intranet. Please instruct your teams to do the same."
"Going back to your retirement, sir. Who are we allowed to discuss this with?" A young, pale man in the third row asked the question without raising his hand.
"For now, this is executive insider information only. Do not discuss this with your teams and definitely not with the media. If this leaks out before the time has come to file paperwork with the SEC and announce it to the markets in a well-orchestrated media campaign, it could bring this company to its knees. It could destroy us. So please do not discuss this with anyone whatsoever."
Another hand rose from the middle of the crowd.
"Will this change of control bring a restructuring of the company's leadership?"
"There is no way anyone can estimate what changes the new leadership will bring, because we don't even know who the new leaders will be. However, in most change-of-control situations, the new leaders rethink the organizational chart to match their goals. So, yes, the new leadership will, most likely, make changes to the leadership team."
A wave of concerned chatter rose abruptly.
"I wouldn't let this affect your current work," Dr. Barnaby continued, "or scare you away from working at NanoLance. Not all change is bad, you know. For some, it could mean promotions, for others, new challenges and opportunities."
"Then, what are the next steps for us?" Someone seated behind Alex, on the third row, asked in a hesitant voice.
"We will prepare for two important challenges: the aftermath of the Florida incident and the change of control. I will have meetings with you and help you work through both issues. I'm sure we all are quite anxious to put both issues to rest with the best possible outcomes, so you will see, in the next few days, the first steps of an action plan aimed to deliver exactly that. In the meantime, though, the most important thing you need to remember is to keep everything we discussed here today strictly confidential." Dr. Barnaby paused for a minute, waiting for additional questions. None came.
"Thank you all for coming; enjoy the rest of your day."
The attendees rose and began to disperse, Alex trailing behind the crowd. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and turned.
"Please join me for a couple of minutes; there is something I'd like to talk to you about," Benjamin Walker said.
…43