Our fifth class and mid point of the quarter had two very accomplished people Chris Cabrera CEO and Chairman of Xactly Corporation and Mike Millegan Independent Director, Founder-CEO of MAG3 and Independent Board Member of Portland General Electric (NYSE) and formerly President of Verizon Global Wholesale.
Chris is the Founder and CEO of Xactly Corporation (NYSE). He is in a small elite group of Technology Company Founders. 14 years since founding the Company, taking it thru a successful public offering in 2015 and subsequently driving a sale to Vista Equity Partners he is still running the Company as he was Vista’s choice to run Xactly. A very unusual decision and proof of his skill as a CEO. His remarks in class centered around his experiences with his Board of Directors in start up mode and as the Company matured thru it’s public offering. He described Board dynamics both positive and negative which were wonderful teaching moments. His comments about the unique difference between his Venture Capitalist board-public board and his current Board of only Vista people provided great insight for the Students. A single shareholder board vs public shareholders is fascinating. He was informative, entertaining and very well received by the students.
Mike is the Founder – CEO of the Millegan Advisory Group –3 which drives technology innovation for start ups and mid sized Companies . He is also very much in demand Independent Board Member of Public and Private Companies including Portland Gas and Electric (NYSE) and Wireless Technology Group (NYSE). He previously was President of Verizon Global Wholesale and $11 billion division of Verizon Corp. His years of Board experience were on display with his remarks to the class. He talked about the critical function of the three main Committees of a Board and why good Boards function and bad Boards fail. He also had a real teaching points for the role of the Lead Director.
Mike reflected on a Board Members first and most important task. “Preserving share holder value” In his closing remarks Mike described his first Board seat and his early learnings. A very relevant topic for the students most of which are seeking their first Board positions with Non Profit Organizations. Mentoring was also discussed and its critical importance considering the majority of the Students are taking major new roles in new Companies and finding a mentor to navigate their new organization should enhance the success. The Students gained much from Mikes experience on Board but also from his many and fascinating stories of his life’s work. Uncharted waters as he likes to say. The proper culture of Boards was his final topic which is probably the most critical part of a well functioning Board.