The Board’s Role in CEO Compensation and Succession Planning

Schedule

5:30 – 6:10        Registration and networking
6:10 – 6:15        Opening remarks
6:15 – 7:15        Panel discussion
7:15 – 7:30        Closing remarks and networking

Overview

What is the Board's role in CEO Compensation and Succession Planning? Our panel of experts will share best practices, board responsibilities, and how the board can best interact with staff on these critically important topics. We’ll answer questions like:

1) What are key differences in private vs. public company boards’ responsibilities in CEO
compensation and succession planning?

2) What are current trends in the design of creative rewards packages to attract and retain
CEOs and executive successors?

3) How can boards support the development of both the CEO and their successors as part
of the board’s responsibility for CEO succession planning?

4) Which leadership traits and skills are most sought after today for CEOs and successors?

5) How are CEO rewards balanced between financial, customer, and behavioral
performance factors?

6) When should board members engage with internal staff (e.g.- CHRO) and seek expert
outside support for attraction, selection, on-boarding, and coaching of CEOs?

Please bring your experiences, stories, and questions for this compelling dialogue!

PDA Atlanta is grateful to RSM US, LLP for sponsoring and hosting this event. Their office at One Atlantic Center, 1201 W. Peachtree St., NW, #800.  The location is at 14^th Street, and is near the Arts Center MARTA.  Parking and refreshments will be provided by the sponsor.

Parking

For detailed parking information, and additional info for registrants regarding entrance to the venue, please click here.

Registration

$25 Member Registration Fee
$35 Non-Member Registration Fee

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Thank you to our National Sponsors!

 

EVENT SPONSOR

 

Speakers

Eric Larré is a Partner in Mercer’s Atlanta office, specializing in executive compensation. He has over 25 years of consulting and industry experience, and has worked closely with management and Boards of publicly-traded and private companies across the country, specializing in the design and delivery of compensation programs that are linked to performance, the creation of shareholder value, and business/talent strategies.

Eric’s experience includes all aspects of executive compensation and management incentives, with extensive experience in the areas of equity compensation design, including private companies, global organizations, PE-owned companies, and for various types of corporate transactions (joint ventures, mergers, spin-offs, IPOs, and divestitures). Eric has consulted to companies in a variety of industries, including banking and financial services, fintech, retail, casual dining, quick service restaurants, insurance, manufacturing, energy services, high technology, real estate, and construction. Prior to joining Mercer, Eric worked for another HR consulting firm for 18 years over two stints. In between, he served as director of international compensation and benefits for Citi. Included among his responsibilities were executive compensation and the development of equity compensation strategies for employees of potential spin-outs and joint ventures.

Eric earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California at Irvine (1977), a J.D. degree from Loyola Marymount University (1981), and an LL.M. degree in taxation from New York University (1985). Eric speaks and writes frequently on the topic of executive compensation, and facilitated the executive compensation sessions for 4 years at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business Directors’ College. He has been an Advisory Board member for the Atlanta Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD).

Lee Esler is the leader of the Board & CEO Practice for Global Technology Markets based in Korn Ferry’s Atlanta office. Mr. Esler has extensive experience working with corporate boards on the full life cycle of CEO succession, including strategic alignment, executive assessment, external search and executive coaching. He previously also led the Korn Ferry Technology practice in North America across the firm’s full suite of talent solutions. Overall, he has over twenty-five years of leadership consulting experience, with a strong focus on CEO, CEO Succession and board engagements.

Before Korn Ferry, Mr. Esler was with a global executive search and management consulting firm, where he served as the managing partner of the Atlanta office and worked extensively on CEO, president, and board engagements across the technology spectrum. He also served as a core member of the board practice and previously lead the North American Technology Practice for that firm.

Previously, Mr. Esler spent three years at another global executive search and management consulting firm. Earlier in his career, he held executive roles at Compaq Computer Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation, and Eastman Kodak Company. Prior to entering the executive search profession, he led a technology startup in the software and services space.

Mr. Esler received his bachelor of arts in chemistry from Miami University (Ohio) and his masters of business administration from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He also has an Executive Coaching Certification from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Kenneth A. Kirk has more than 30 years of experience in the HR consulting, retirement plan, performance plan, and benefit funding business.

Mr. Kirk is an experienced CEO with a demonstrated and successful history of leading midsized and large organizations with a management emphasis
on building effective partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions.

Mr. Kirk is currently the Chairman and CEO of Vinings Management Corporation, a national consulting firm providing strategic design, financial analysis, and ongoing administration of executive compensation, total rewards, performance management, and retirement plans.

Mr. Kirk previously served as CEO of Vinings Mellon, LLC, a joint venture formed with Mellon Financial. This joint venture focused on the integration of consulting, record keeping, asset management, trust and custody, and treasury services for large domestic and international employee benefits programs. Subsequently, Mellon purchased Vinings Melon, and integrated it into a $1B HR subsidiary. Mr. Kirk served on the board of that HR subsidiary. In addition, Mr. Kirk was made a senior vice president at Mellon and given the responsibility of integrating products and services across the enterprise. During that time, those combined
offerings brought approximately $2.7B into Mellon.

Mr. Kirk is a well-known author, with publications in numerous magazines (e.g.: CEO Magazine, CFO Magazine, Human Resource Executive, American Compensation Association News, and Pension Age). Mr. Kirk has also taught at Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, and other universities on the topics of entrepreneurism and M&A strategy. 

Mr. Kirk is a well-known expert witness throughout the country on diverse topics such as financial fraud. As part of his expert witness work, Mr. Kirk has been designated an Expert Witness by FINRA. 

Mr. Kirk has served on numerous organizations’ boards, including the Atlanta Girls’ School, Northwest Atlanta Homeless Shelter, National Association of Leadership Organizations, Leadership Georgia, Atlanta Arts Council, and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Kirk was appointed to the Goodwill Industries International Board in June of 2023. He is serving on the Audit committee, Governance committee, and the Strategic Issues Planning committee for GII.

Mr. Kirk obtained his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and also attended Georgetown University and The George Washington
University School of Business.

Moderator

Valerie leads the global people function to achieve Habitat for Humanity International’s strategic plan and implement its transformation initiatives. She supports HFHI staff and the work of 1000+ U.S. Habitat affiliates and ~70 Habitat-affiliated country organizations in the $2.3B global Habitat network. 

Since 2018, she has built and implemented HFHI’s people strategy, leading quarterly international board of directors’ governance committee dialogues on aligning human resources strategy with business strategy. These have included: culture, values, talent management, succession planning, transformational change, organization design, globalization, employee engagement, retention, total rewards, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She reviews quarterly people progress metrics and co-facilitates the board’s governance committee.

Valerie is a seasoned global transformation leader with over 30 years’ experience in designing and implementing transformational change in large, complex global organizations across several industries, including technology, consulting, communications, financial services, biopharmaceutical, and non-profits. Her change leadership has included merger/acquisition integration, re-branding, technology implementation, globalization, culture, values, organization design/restructuring, HR transformation, and governance.

Prior to joining Habitat, Valerie held global senior leadership roles in talent management, leadership and organization development for Fortune 100 and mid-sized companies, including BellSouth (AT&T), ING, Merck, New York Life, Broadridge Financial Solutions, and QBE Insurance, aligning organizational strategy with business strategy. At IBM, Valerie held line leadership roles in sales, marketing, finance, strategic planning, and consulting. She built and led three IBM business transformation consulting practices, specializing in the human aspects of organizational change, and led over a dozen transformation projects for major corporations.

Over the past two decades, Valerie has been an active board member for two arts organizations (American Repertory Ballet and Rosie’s Theater Kids), and two professional associations (HR People & Strategy and HR Leadership Forum). She has held officer and committee leadership roles and provided HR and strategic transformational change advice in her board work.

Valerie is a frequent public speaker on talent management, diversity, engagement, communication, and organizational change topics, including recent sessions at NYU and Vanderbilt business programs. She holds her MBA in International Business and has lived and/or worked in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. She speaks French and some Spanish, loves travel, and enjoys musical theatre and cabaret singing. Valerie lives in Atlanta and visits New York often.

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