Ken Taylor is the founder and CEO of Director Search and Taylor Meyer Associates. He is a trusted global advisor to boards, CEOs and senior leadership teams on matters relating to: Board composition; Director and CEO succession planning and recruitment; and senior leadership team recruitment. From the largest companies in the world to smaller, privately- held companies, Mr. Taylor has been retained during the last 30 years by corporate Boards, CEOs, CHROs and CLOs to identify and recruit corporate directors and senior level executives. His accumulated knowledge is embedded in the Director Search platform, which he conceived and developed and has made directly available to Boards, companies, private equity firms, venture capital firms, and hedge funds on a 24/7 basis to (a) demystify the search process for directors and senior level executives and (b) dramatically lower its costs.
During his prior 17-year career with Egon Zehnder International, Mr. Taylor was responsible for leading and building the firm’s presence in the United States. He was a senior partner of the firm and elected by his partners as: one of eight Executive Committee members managing the worldwide firm; the sole U.S. Managing Partner; and the head of its Board Consulting and Director Search Practice in the Americas. Since the founding of his own firm in 2004, Mr. Taylor has devoted 100 percent of his time to advising boards and CEOs, and recruiting Directors, CEOs and other C-level executives for his clients. Mr. Taylor’s expertise and experience is best evidenced by the long-tenured relationships he has developed with his clients, many of whom have become close friends. He has lectured at IMD, Yale, and Northwestern University, where he is a founding faculty member of the Kellogg Center for Executive Women. He has served as a corporate director and a member of the Advisory Board of Georgetown University.
Previously, Mr. Taylor was a Vice President and Group Executive for a predecessor organization to JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. where he opened the Chicago office for the bank and worked with Fortune 500 companies on matters relating to their capital structure. He holds a BSBA finance degree from Georgetown University, an MBA from The University of Chicago, and a CPA from the State of Illinois. In addition to being a CPA, Mr. Taylor also is a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).
Additional Information on Mr. Taylor may be found at:
http://www.tma-llc.com
W. Ed Tyler is an Advisor to Director Search and Chairman of our Advisory Board. An experienced executive who has served on First Industrial Realty Trust’s Board of Directors since March 2000, Ed Tyler brings a long track record in leadership and entrepreneurial positions to his role. Mr. Tyler served as Chairman of the Board of First Industrial from January 2009 to January 2016. He also served as Lead Director and Interim CEO of First Industrial from October 2008 through January 2009.
Mr. Tyler is CEO of Ideapoint Ventures, an early stage venture fund that focuses on nanotechnologies. In 2017, as a majority investor, Mr. Tyler sold Encore Vision, Inc. to Novartis for $1.25 billion to add first-in-class disease modifying topical treatment for presbyopia patients to the Novartis ophthalmology pipeline. Mr. Tyler currently is an investor in 26 other early stage companies.
Prior to joining Ideapoint, Mr. Tyler served as President and CEO of Moore Corporation Limited, a provider of data capture, information design, marketing services, digital communications and print solutions. During his tenure at Moore, he led a worldwide repositioning and restructuring of the company.
Earlier, Mr. Tyler worked for 24 years with R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company in Chicago, beginning his career as an electronics engineer and ultimately serving as Executive Vice President, Sector President, and Chief Technology Officer. He also was responsible for 77 Capital, an early stage venture capital subsidiary of Donnelley, where he was directly responsible for investment decisions and worked closely with the portfolio companies while participating on many of their boards.
Mr. Tyler is a director of Nanophase Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: NANX). He is a former Chairman of the American Red Cross (Mid-America Chapter) and Campaign Chairman of the United Way of Lake County, and serves as a director for several small, private companies. Mr. Tyler is a member of the Board of Directors of Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, where he is also an adjunct faculty member.
James B. Coleman is an Advisor to Director Search and the Senior Managing Director of the Chicago Office and the Resources Operating Group of Accenture, a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 411,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. As the Senior Managing Director of Accenture’s Chicago office, the firm’s largest office with 6,000 professionals, Mr. Coleman is responsible for: (a) growing sales and revenue across the full breadth of Accenture’s business offerings; (b) mentoring and developing the firm’s local workforces; (c) enhancing the firm’s employee experience and engagement; and (d) managing office operations and (e) positioning Accenture’s brand in the local business community. In addition to Mr. Coleman’s Chicago Office responsibilities, he also leads the Midwest Region of the Resources Operating Group managing the full range of Accenture’s business for Utilities, Energy and Natural Resources clients across the central United States.
Prior to the above roles, Mr. Coleman led the Products North American Digital Business where he leveraged his 25-plus years of marketing and sales experience to help frame the firm’s offerings and drive its largest sales initiatives. Mr. Coleman has significant experience in customer- and consumer-facing processes within both manufacturers and retailers and spans a wide range of strategic marketing, channel, and merchandising oriented work, and includes large-scale implementations of business strategies including the deployment of enterprise- and functional-specific software solutions. Mr. Coleman continues to serve as the Executive Sponsor for a number of Accenture’s Products clients.
Mr. Coleman has a BS in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and participated in Accenture’s Leadership Development Program at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
Additional information on Mr. Coleman and Accenture may be found at:
https://www.accenture.com/us-en/company
Susan Schmitt
W: +1 (408) 235-6068
M: +1 (262) 804-0474
E: susan_schmitt@amat.com
The Suitability Model
The Five Levels of CEO Work and Capability by Mark Van Clieaf
Susan Schmitt is an Advisor to Director Search, and the Group Vice President of Human Resources for Applied Materials, where she leads HR for the company and its more than 20,000 global employees. She has more than 30 years of experience in HR, providing executive leadership for the function most recently at Rockwell Automation and Kellogg Company. Her innovative mindset and commitment to excellence define her leadership style. Susan continually looks to meet today’s global business challenges with creative HR strategies that engage people, enable exceptional performance and support a dynamic, inclusive corporate culture. Her passion for creating value for organizations is evident, whether she is strategizing future workforce imperatives or clarifying talent assessment and development models that will enable all individuals to contribute their best work.
Prior to Applied Materials, Susan was the Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Rockwell Automation, the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information to make its customers more productive and the world more sustainable. For more than a decade, Susan led the company’s human resources function for its over 22,000 employees in 80 countries. A member of the senior leadership team, Susan set global strategies designed to strengthen leadership, build organizational capacity and power the company’s business priorities. Susan’s innovative mindset and commitment to excellence defined her leadership style. This work was consistently recognized by external organizations, and significantly contributed to Rockwell Automation being recognized with the prestigious Catalyst Award in 2017. The Catalyst Award recognized the company’s innovative approach to building a Culture of Inclusion. It focused on the transformation and results of the Culture of Inclusion journey with proven, measurable results that address the recruitment, development and advancement of women. Additionally, in 2017, the Ethisphere Institute named Rockwell Automation as one of the “World’s Most Ethical (WME) Companies” for the ninth time. For the past four years, the company’s inclusive practices have earned a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s annual Corporate Equality Index for LGBT Equality and the distinction of “Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality.”
In addition to culture, Susan responded to today’s information security business challenges while at Rockwell Automation by partnering with its Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Officer to establish a Chief Information Security Office. She then worked closely with the Director of Insider Risk, Legal and IT executives to establish a program that engages the global HR team as agents in managing insider risk. This cutting-edge program was recognized with the 2016 Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Global Leadership Award. These innovative Insider Risk practices are benchmarked by many global companies. She serves as Executive Sponsor for the Company’s Insider Risk program.
Susan was named a National Association of Human Resources (NAHR) Fellow in November 2016, which is the highest honor that can be achieved by an individual in the HR profession. Susan is a member of the HR Policy Association (HRPA), where she serves as a Board member, Subcommittee Chair of the Workforce 2020 Committee (assessing current employment laws in the U.S. to determine the changes required to better support the workforce of the future) and a member of the Center on Executive Compensation.
Susan is an inspiring author known for her insights into creating value through leadership, talent and corporate culture. She provided career guidance for millennials in a January 2016 Fortune 500 Insider network blog on: “How Taking a Smaller Job Title Can Boost Your Career, But It Takes Time and Work.” This is in addition to many blogs, articles, book chapters and being a sought-after engaging speaker, most recently on topics including “Manufacturing 4.0: How Women Leaders are Shifting the Needle in the Digital Age.”
Contributing her expertise to developing future talent, Susan is a Leadership Advisory Board member for the Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan and serves as Chair of the Subcommittee on Values and Culture (one of three pillars of the Dean’s strategic vision) in the College of Engineering; she also is a member of the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Advisory Council for the College of Engineering. Susan serves on the Business School Advisory Board of Alverno College, Milwaukee. Her service to the greater Milwaukee community where she lives includes serving as a board member of Rockwell Automation’s Charitable Corporation, participating in the company’s community and global philanthropic efforts.
Susan has a Top Secret Security Clearance and holds a master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Illinois State University, Bloomington, Illinois, and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and French from Albion College in Albion, Michigan. Additionally, Susan attended the University of Grenoble, Grenoble, France. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She lives in the Milwaukee area with her two sons, Joe (age 18) and Sam (age 16) and enjoys participating in ballroom dancing competitions and riding and showing horses on the United States Equestrian Federation “A” Hunter/Jumper circuit.
Robert J. Stucker is an Advisor to Director Search and Chairman Emeritus of Vedder Price, an international business-focused law firm serving sophisticated clients of all sizes and industries from offices across the U.S. and in the UK and Asia. He is also a member of the firm’s Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits group.
Mr. Stucker’s practice includes advising corporations and financial institutions with respect to executive compensation, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and governance matters. His corporate engagements have included acting as advisor to compensation, audit, governance, and other special committees of the boards of directors of public corporations.
Mr. Stucker is also recognized for his representation of corporations, compensation committees and executives regarding the recruitment of and employment arrangements for chief executive officers. His assignments in this area have included the new CEO compensation and employment arrangements at Albertson’s, Aon, Boeing, Cable & Wireless, Campbell’s Soup, Chubb, Clorox, Cooper Tire, Delta Air Lines, Electronic Data Systems, The Gap, Hershey Foods, Hertz, Hewitt, Home Depot, Honeywell International, J.C. Penney, Kraft Foods, Levi Strauss, Liz Claiborne, Mattel, 3M, Nike, Nortel, Office Depot, Pharmacia, Quaker Oats, R.R. Donnelley, Tyco, TXU, and SPX Corporation. He has also lectured and written on executive compensation and governance issues, and has been the subject of feature articles on these matters in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.
As a current or former member of the Board of Directors for a number of private and public companies and financial institutions, Mr. Stucker served from time to time as the Chairman or a member of the Compensation Committees for several of those companies.
Mr. Stucker was selected by his peers from 2005 to 2017 for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America. He is also listed in Illinois Leading Lawyers and has been recognized by his peers as one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Illinois. From 2011 to 2016, Mr. Stucker has been consistently ranked by Chambers USA in the Illinois Labor and Employment: Employee Benefits and Compensation category and the Nationwide Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation category. Mr. Stucker was selected for inclusion from 2005 to 2016 in Illinois Super Lawyers. In addition, he received an “AV Preeminent” Peer Rating in Martindale-Hubbell.Legal 500 United States recognized Mr. Stucker in the Labor and Employment—Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation category.
Mr. Stucker’s bio, credentials and contact information may be found at:
https://www.vedderprice.com/robert-j-stucker
Stuart A. Taylor II is an Advisor to Director Search and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Taylor Group LLC in Chicago, a non-traditional private equity firm focused on creating and acquiring high potential businesses in partnership with high potential entrepreneurs. Mr. Taylor started the firm in 2001 following a19-year career on Wall Street.
The Taylor Group focuses its operations in three key business areas:
- Private Equity Investing
- Advisory Services
- Entrepreneurial Development
Mr. Taylor previously has held positions as Senior Managing Director at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. (1999-2001), and Managing Director of CIBC World Markets and head of its Global Automotive Group and Capital Goods Group (1996-1999). He also served as Managing Director of the Automotive Industry Group at Bankers Trust (1993-1996) following a 10-year position in corporate finance at Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated.
Mr. Taylor has been a member of the Board of Directors of Ball Corporation since 1999, where he currently serves as Chairman of the Human Resources Committee and is a member of the Audit Committee.
Mr. Taylor has been a member of the Board of Directors of Hillenbrand, Inc. since 2008, where he currently serves as Chairperson of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee.
Mr. Taylor has been a member of the Board of Directors of Essendant, Inc., formerly known as United Stationers, since 2011, where he currently serves as Chairman of the Finance Committee.
Mr. Taylor received his MBA in Finance from Harvard University and his undergraduate degree from Yale University.
Additional information on Mr. Taylor and his firm may be found at:
http://taylorgroupllc.com/about.html
Karenann Terrell is an Advisor to Director Search and the Chief Digital & Technology Officer of GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK); she has a company-wide remit to transform how new technologies are used to improve performance across the Group.
In this newly created role reporting directly to the Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Terrell is responsible for developing GSK’s digital, data and analytics strategy. She will work with a wide range of partners from inside and outside the healthcare sector to bring new technologies to GSK, enhancing areas such as clinical trials and drug development; improving how GSK interacts with healthcare providers, customers and consumers, and making internal processes more efficient.
Ms. Terrell’s previous role was Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., where she led a multi-year effort from 2010 to 2017 to transform Walmart in the use of data, analytics and digital engagement with its customers.
Ms. Terrell, now based in London, has lived and worked in the US, Asia and Europe. Prior to Walmart, she was at Baxter International Inc., where she was Chief Information Officer (2006-2010), and before that, Daimler Chrysler Corporation (2000-2006). Ms. Terrell began her career in 1983 at General Motors Corporation and held various roles in manufacturing, engineering and brand management, ending her career there in 2000 as Director of e-Vehicles. In addition to her broad cross-functional, industry, and geographical experiences, Ms. Terrell possesses graduate and post-graduate degrees in Electrical Engineering from Kettering University (1986) and Purdue University (1988). She is a globally-respected executive and digital and technology expert.
Additional information on Ms. Terrell may be found at:
https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/about-us/corporate-executive-team/
