Nuggets from Behind Closed Doors
Inside every private Alliance meeting, there are hundreds of years of experience. While keeping confidentiality of the member who provided the challenge to their group, we’ve captured (with permission) just some of the insightful comments from a handful of members. Read what these members had to say to get a glimpse of what it is like to be an Alliance member.
To see insights for a certain category, choose one from the following list:
Member Rob Conant Speaks: External Skills Solving Internal Problems
Alliance Member, Rob Conant, CEO of Cirrent, shares his insights on a case brought by the CEO of a recently purchased company, whose parent seemed unwilling to loosen the purse strings and invest in growing his company.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership M&A Strategy & Planning
Member Burt Cummings Speaks: Sell Yourself Through the Pain You Solve
Read what member Burt Cummings, CEO of Versaic, shared with his Alliance peers during a brainstorming session with a CEO who was challenged to more clearly explain his company’s value proposition.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Marketing Sales Strategy & Planning Technology
Member Brad Freitag Speaks: Go Direct, Go Small, Learn Lots
Alliance Top Team Member, Brad Freitag of FileMaker, shared his thoughts on a case brought by an SVP whose company was reinventing itself as a cloud provider offering SaaS in place of their current hardware/software package.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Boards Leadership Marketing Operations Sales Strategy & Planning Technology
Member John Maydonovitch Speaks: Inspire with Breakthrough Objectives and Stretch Goals
Here’s what member John Maydonovitch, CEO of MCE, shared with his Alliance peers following a case presented by a CEO who had prepared a very detailed business plan to guide his management team through the next fiscal year.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Entrepreneurship Leadership Strategy & Planning
Member Doug Dooley Speaks: Speak to Your Audience’s Language and Viewpoint
Alliance Top Team Member, Doug Dooley of Venrock, shared his insights on a case brought by the top leader of a software subsidiary of a global technology giant who was preparing for a meeting with the CFO of the multi billion-dollar parent company.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership Strategy & Planning Technology
Member Shane Buckley Speaks: Reaffirming Executive and Non-Executive Function
Here’s what Shane Buckley, CEO of Xirrus, shared with his Alliance peers following a discussion from a CEO who was seeking clarification between executive and non-executive board member functions to help clarify precisely what is expected of a CEO.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Boards Leadership
Member David Traversi Speaks: When CEO Passion Ebbs, Discipline Is Required
The case at hand was brought by a CEO, who was in the middle of a taxing M&A deal. He was feeling intense CEO fatigue and looked to his Alliance group for advice. In response, here’s what David Traversi, former CEO of Traversi Capital Advisors, shared with this Alliance peer.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership M&A
Member Praful Saklani Speaks: Technology in a Luddite’s Industry
Read what Praful Saklani, Co-Founder & CEO of Pramata, shared with his Alliance peers regarding a case presented by a CEO in an industry with weak technology adoption and a history of poor employee retention. The CEO was looking for strategies to differentiate himself from his competitors and better retain his sales force.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Culture Sales Strategy & Planning Technology
Member Pat Lashinsky Speaks: Hire Fresh Talent from Outside Your Industry to Drive Innovation
When a CEO was looking for ways to innovate in a commoditized market, he felt discouraged by the consumer perception that their industry’s products are “all the same” and wondered how he could find the right people to innovate his product portfolio. Here’s what Pat Lashinsky, CEO of RealMassive, shared with his Alliance peers.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership Strategy & Planning
Member Lesley Stolz Speaks: Build a Shared Vision
Lesley Stolz shared some well-seasoned insights regarding a case brought by a fellow Alliance member who planned to eventually sell their company and own the critical technology it then only licensed.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Finance M&A Strategy & Planning Technology
Member Rick Martig Speaks: Get a Product Marketing VP
When a fellow Alliance member's product management efforts were stuck in research, Alliance Top Team Member, Rick Martig, CFO of Nexenta Systems, suggested jumpstarting their marketing initiatives in a way that tied its R&D with market needs.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Marketing Operations Sales Strategy & Planning
Russ Harrison Speaks: Change the Nature of the Conversation
When a fellow Alliance member wanted to acquire a company that would not allow any due diligence on its critical technology, Russ Harrison, President and CEO of The Leadership Group and an Alliance Director, shared the following insights with his Alliance peers.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership M&A Strategy & Planning
Member Sudhir Aggarwal Speaks: Not All Companies Are High-Growth
Read what Sudhir Aggarwal, Managing Partner of Transition Management, shared with an Alliance member who wanted to know how to double his company's sales in five years in order to sell it, even though the company had limited cash to put into growth efforts.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Exiting Sales Strategy & Planning
Member Anthony Sperling Speaks: Let Your Hunters Hunt
Here's what Alliance Top Team Member, Anthony Sperling, former SVP & General Manager of Advent Software's Asset Management Group, shared with his Alliance peers after a fellow Alliance member presented a sales team structuring challenge.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Operations Sales Technology
Member Jerry Turin Speaks: Try Being More Subtle First
Here's what Alliance Top Team Member, Jerry Turin, CFO of Intematix, shared with an Alliance member, a GM of a business unit, who had been asked by his CEO to contribute more at the corporate level. The member decided the firm needed a more formalized planning structure, but his efforts received a lackluster support from the CEO and mixed signals from other executives.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Culture Operations Strategy & Planning
Member John Weber Speaks: Be Honest With Yourself
The case at hand was brought to a recent Alliance meeting by an Alliance CEO who was considering whether or not to take the company public, but was concerned about his responsibility to employees who have been issued equity. Here's what John Weber, then President of CooperVision, shared with the Alliance member.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Finance Leadership Organizational Design Strategy & Planning
Member Israel Niv Speaks: Create a Fuller Solution
An Alliance CEO believed his company's stock price was extremely undervalued because of past missteps by prior management. Here's what Israel Niv, CEO of DCG Systems, Inc., shared with the Alliance member.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Finance Organizational Design Strategy & Planning Technology
Mike Kamm Speaks: Have an Expert Help Make the Case
When a fellow Alliance member had an issue with his company's board, the company needed to make investments to ensure long-term growth. However, the board was more concerned with quarterly growth and meeting the expectations of Wall Street. As a result, the Alliance member was having difficulty making his case. Here's what Mike Kamm, former President of Cassidy Turley, shared with his Alliance peers.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Boards Strategy & Planning
Member Alain Couder Speaks: Wait, Then Make the Call
The case at hand was brought to a recent Alliance meeting by an Alliance CEO whose company had a major acquisition in the works. As a result of the acquisition, the CEO believed that the company needed to change from a functional structure to a business unit structure. In response, here's what Alain Couder, then CEO of Oclaro, a global provider of optical products for the telecommunications market, shared with the Alliance member.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership M&A Organizational Design
Member John Senaldi Speaks: Start Small Before Going Big
Read what John Senaldi, CEO of Freeslate, shared with an Alliance member whose investor-backed firm was considering whether to gamble big by going after a difficult segment of the market, which would take major investment and take years, but could yield big results.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Boards Finance Strategy & Planning
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About
The Alliance of Chief Executives is an active community of business leaders that focuses on deep strategic exchanges, challenging existing assumptions and generating fresh ideas.
Newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay up to date with the latest Alliance news!
Member Resources
Contact Us
2185 N. California Blvd., Suite 590
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
925-942-2400 Office
925-956-4424 Fax
Email: info@allianceofCEOs.com
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