Boardroom INSIDER for… MAY
MUSK, TWITTER AND THE NEW DEAL IN CORPORATE TAKEOVERS
The hottest worldwide business story of the past month has been Elon Musk’s takeover campaign for Twitter, which shook up so many of proxy battle conventions. But writing in the May issue of online monthly Boardroom INSIDER, publisher and business speaker Ralph Ward notes that the Musk/Twitter coup is even bigger news than we’ve noticed, and is “a preview of how media, popular culture and celebrity will upend the rules of investor activism.”
First, while most raiders spend months knocking on the boardroom door to gain attention, Musk “used Twitter itself as a medium for his campaign,” combining 280-character manifestos and his own global celebrity to make himself inevitable. Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX-fueled wealth also allowed him to buy up over nine percent of Twitter in short order, far more than most raiders.
But Ward writes that several aspects of the Twitter saga point toward a “new deal” in future takeover tactics. Twitter employees have made their “stakeholder” concerns loudly known when it comes to Musk as their new boss. “Stakeholder power is a new factor… expect both sides to draft it as a tool.” And, the ubiquity of Twitter makes it both pervasive and unloved, allowing Musk to shape a new “populist reformer” model for raiding. Musk “has done for takeovers what Donald Trump did for politics.”
Articles in the MAY issue of BI include:
- Building the chemistry between your board and COO.
- How board candidate background checks have become so crucial.
- Q&A: The new world of board retreats.
CONTACT: Tel 1+989-833-7615 or via email
Ralph Ward’s latest book, Board Seeker: Your Guidebook and Career Map into the Corporate Boardroom (Business Expert Press) gathers 20 years’ experience in board counseling and research to give “board wannabes” the steps and insights needed to craft a successful board search campaign.
NOW ON AUDIOBOOK.
— Here’s why you have more “board experience” than you think (and why your current resume hides it).
— How women can jump the career obstacles they face into the boardroom.
— Finding your board search mentors and networks.
— How board searches really work (and how to turn flaws in the process to your advantage).
— Gaining the attention of board contacts and search firms.
— Prepping for a board interview… and for your first board meeting.
