Create More Value

Pamela Savino, CEO and founder of Live Authentically, says “There's nothing more magnetic than a leader who's in touch with who they truly are,” but she concedes that, “inauthentic behaviors are pretty prevalent, mainly because our society isn't set up to promote authenticity.” She blends her corporate experience with the concept of authenticity and shows executives how they can attract more in all areas of life and business. Organizations who invest in authentic leadership will create more value.  

Gary Bischoping, a partner at private equity firm Hellman & Friedman and former CFO of Finastra and Varian Medical Systems, explains how “operationalizing value creation” can be a “superpower.” Indeed, at Varian, Gary championed a focus on explicit value management, both at corporate and in operations, that redirected their capital allocation priorities, reignited profitable growth, and dramatically increased the share price. Gary refers to himself as a “corporate finance junky,” and he explains the “art” of strategic finance in terms of alignment, rhythm, and truth.

Investing in small and mid-cap public companies can be tricky, but Glenn Welling, founder and chief investment officer of Engaged Capital, has made a name for himself in the industry. About being an activist, he said, “When we arrive, nobody ever wants us there… [but] once we’ve been there for 90 days, nobody wants us to leave.”. With a background in investment banking and strategy consulting, Glenn brings valuable skills to each company he invests in. Glenn shared what Engaged Capital looks for when identifying companies to invest in and what companies can do to keep activists away. He also shared some of the more interesting situations his firm has faced, including an investment where the board included a priest and a nun as directors. 

Paul Clancy successfully engaged with activist investors for more than a decade as CFO of Biogen, then Alexion. A stalwart believer in value-based management, Paul was recognized in the top three biotech CFOs by Institutional Investor from 2011-2020. He was awarded the number five Top CFO by the Wall Street Journal, across all industries. Now he sits on four biotech boards, teaches at Cornell’s business school, and is an executive in residence at Harvard Business School. We discuss the unique challenges of allocating capital, innovation, and marketing resources with very long product development cycles. Paul is also clear that once “you get a medicine to market, you actually can narrow the range of outcomes” and all the “sound principles of corporate finance” apply.