Corporate Boardbound Workshop—January 12, 2023
Summary
Summary of Homework
Read pre-reading assignments
Prepare Avanos Case Study
Begin Networking Plan
Submit your Board Bio and Resume by January 12th
Come to January meeting prepared to discuss your Networking and the Avanos case study
Preparation
Basic Pre-Reading
Read pages 25-37, “Develop Your Network” in the book Be Board Ready by Betsy Atkins.
Due Diligence for your target companies. As you network and identify sectors, industries and, companies you would like to target in your search AND when you are asked to interview, Bill Heck designed this Due Diligence Guide to help you start creating a template you will want to customize for your use. Remember, you are looking for those elements of the company that attract you the most and elements you will need to focus in on as you create questions to ask during your interview with the Company.
Optional Pre-Reading
For a summary of timely key issues in corporate governance, read “Thoughts for Boards Going into 2023” by Wachtell Lipton. Also, “2023 Governance Outlook” by NACD.
Homework Exercises
Case Study—there will be three case studies during the Corporate Boardbound program. The purpose of the case studies is to give you practice evaluating companies to determine whether you are interested and prepared to join their board. Ideally, you would prepare a case study for each of your top target companies. In preparation for the July workshop, you will select one of three case studies covered in Corporate Boardbound and prepare for a mock interview.
For the January workshop, the case study will be on Avanos Medical (NYSE: AVNS). The emphasis in this case study is a financial analysis of the company. How would investor analysts evaluate the company’s strengths and weaknesses? What are the company’s main financial challenges?
Avanos Medical, Inc. operates as a medical technology company. It focuses on delivering clinically medical device solutions to improve patients' quality of life. The firm’s portfolio of product offerings focuses on respiratory and digestive health, along with surgical and interventional pain management to improve patient outcomes and reduce the cost of care. Its brands include ON-Q, Coolife, Microcuff, MIC-Key, Quilbloc and Home pump. The company was founded on February 25, 2014, and is headquartered in Alpharetta, GA.
$1.25b market cap with 4,555 employees and $745M annual revenue
Board Composition 1-CEO; 3-Ret CEO, Medical Product; 1-Ret CEO, Hospital Services; 1-Ret CFO
2 women – 4 men board of directors
These resources from Value Line and Reuters may be helpful to you, as well as the company’s 10Q filing. You may also be interested in their proxy. Another good way to learn about a company is to listen to their Quarterly Investors Call.
Please be prepared to discuss in a breakout discussion these types of questions:
· Income Statement—are they making money? Is there attractive growth of both the top line and the bottom line? Are there any concerns?
· Balance Sheet—what do they have? Are their assets more than their liabilities?
· Cash Flow—are they generating the cash they need to sustain their strategy? Is Operating Cash Flow healthy and growing? Is the Net Cash for Investing and Financing activities reasonable given their strategy?
· Ratio Analysis
o Can they cover their debt comfortably?
o Is their stock price considered a value given their earnings and expected growth in earnings?
o Are their returns attractive to investors?
· Identify some key challenges or opportunities they are experiencing operationally or in the board room that you can support them in?
What value and experience could you bring to this board? How do your credentials fit with the mix of the other board directors?
Networking Plan—name at least 5 people you want to be in contact with in the next quarter. Be prepared to share your networking approach at the first breakout session. You can download the attached Touch Base Tracker Excel document to keep track of your Routine Regulars, Occasional Acquaintances and Potential Prospects. Feel free to use this tool or your own method of organizing your contacts and follow up.
By January 12th, submit your Board Bio and Resume at boardbound@womensleadershipfoundation.org. The value of doing this is we will utilize it for our Boardconnect program and it will be posted on our website under “Resources: Corporate Boardbound Participants”. You will also be invited to enter your profile into the Equilar database which is used by search firms and companies to find board candidates. See more details of other ways you can post your profile for board opportunities here.
Optional
Search Strategy Plan (downloadable)—this is your personal document that you will work on during the Corporate Boardbound Program. Your milestone is to have it completed by June 15, 2022. You could fill out the portions through your networking plan if you like or you can work on the Search Strategy Plan later in the program.
Read the SEC Financial Expert definition which is relevant to Audit Committees.
Agenda
Learning Objectives
To feel confident that you can financially evaluate companies and conduct due diligence to evaluate whether you are interested in serving on their board and, if so, prepare for an interview.
To deepen your networking with board directors and influencers who can give you guidance and hopefully connect you with appropriate board opportunities.
Location: First Western Trust, 1900 16th Street, Suite 1200, Downtown Denver
For those needing remote access, here is the Zoom link.
Optional Networking begins at 4:15
Wine and Appetizers available
Opening begins at 4:30 pm
Welcome and Purpose | Mary McBride
Breakout Session: Networking
Financial Acumen
Financial Acumen | Polly Buster and Julie Courkamp See Presentation shared here.
Discussion and Sharing Insights | Mary McBride
Breakout Session: Case Study for Avanos
Thanks and Closing
Next Meetings Assignments | Kate Frazier
Closing and Survey Feedback | Sue Williamson