Led by NACD-SV director, Deborah Ludewig, attendees will participate as board members responding to issues faced by a company immersed in an active and complicated M&A process.  William Rusher, Maureen Conners and Tricia Salinero will provide their insights and experience as the case study unfolds, with the results from the actual case revealed at the end of the session.

Board behavior in the context of M&A has been the focus and concern of directors and board advisors for years, but failure to adopt proper practices in the boardroom continues to cause disruption for many companies.  As you tackle the problem presented by the case, a practical approach for directors balancing the realities of cost constraints, timing issues, and in some instances unavoidable conflicts, is adopted. 

The Panel

William H. Rusher, Jr. is CEO of Rusher, Loscavio & LoPresto, an executive leadership recruitment firm, where Mr. Rusher serves as a trusted advisor to boards and CEOs. Recognized as one of the top 50 recruiters in the world byBusinessWeek, Bill is also a founder of the Silicon Valley Trusted Advisor Group and a past president of the San Francisco OTL Club as well as a member of Association of Executive Search Consultants. 

Mr. Rusher’s clients range from start ups to Fortune 50 companies, and he has particularly enjoyed his coaching relationships with corporate leaders, including the chief executives of companies like Sun Financial Group, Acacia Mutual and the international accounting firm, KPMG. 

Maureen Conners has served on the board of the directors of Deckers Outdoor Corporation since 2006.  Ms. Conners is President of Conners Consulting.  Since 1992, Conners Consulting has worked with companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Ralph Lauren Footwear, Bausch and Lomb, Rockport, Polaroid, Monster.com, and Western Union Money Zap, providing a range of services including marketing and strategic planning, new product and new business development, and global brand building.

Ms. Conners received her M.B.A. in Marketing from Wharton and is a member of The Institute of Management Consultants.

Tricia Salinero is a Managing Director of Newforth Partners, an investment banking firm that provides both consulting and transaction services.  Ms. Salinero has successfully completed 50 technology mergers and acquisitions valued at nearly $4 billion over more than 15 years in technology. With earlier success in banking, operations and organizational development, Ms. Salinero helps companies understand transactions as business strategy. Her approach to building value in each company component is among the Newforth anthems.  

During seven years at Broadview International, a global M&A advisor for IT, communications, healthcare technology and media companies, Ms. Salinero was instrumental in numerous transactions including the Kingston / SoftBank equity sale, the INS acquisition of VitalSigns, and the SoftBook Press sale to Gemstar. She has traditional investment banking credentials in fairness opinions, shareholder rights agreements and valuation analysis. 

Deborah J. Ludewig founded DJL Corporate Law in March 2008, after spending 17 years practicing corporate law at several large law firms based in Silicon Valley.  Ms. Ludewig has been a partner at K&L Gates, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Cooley Godward.  She has worked with hundreds of companies in corporate formations, venture capital financings, joint ventures and commercial transactions, public and private offerings, merger and acquisition transactions and as a special advisor on board and governance matters. 

Ms. Ludewig is a frequent speaker and educator and has developed governance seminars for board members, executives and entrepreneurs.   Ms. Ludewig is a faculty member of the Practicing Law Institute and Chair of the PLI’s annual program in San Francisco on Drafting Corporate Agreements.