Commercial Blade Corp. (A)
2 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2008
Abstract
General Managers Taking Action: Variety of Decisions
Excerpt
UVA-OM-1298
Commercial Blade Corp. (A)
Background
Bob Pease, founder of Commercial Blade Corp., reflected on his 60th birthday, considering how far the company had come in the 17 years since he started the company in his neighbor's garage. It was time to move on, he realized, and he had a couple of quiet conversations with the Board of Directors. After several weeks of consideration, the Board announced it would run a successor selection process to replace Bob.
The Search for a Successor
Jack Humphrey had joined Commercial Blade Corp. 10 years previously after working with Bob as a vendor. By the time Bob started to think about retiring, Jack was the President, in charge of day-to-day operations, although he was not on the Board. Knowing that the Board had decided to select a successor, it was little surprise to him that his phone rang Friday afternoon. Jeff Goldman, the lead independent director, was on the line letting Jack know he was under consideration for the CEO role. Jack was surprised, however, by the news that the Board was also considering Lee Costello, a Vice Chairman who sat on the Board and held responsibility for the finance, administration and business development functions. Lee was 15 years older than Jack and had little input in most of the business decisions on which Jack consulted with the Board. Nonetheless, his experience and relationship with the Board made him a natural rival to Jack.
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Keywords: decision making, general managers
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