Press Release - June 30, 2008
LAFAYETTE, Calif., Jun 30, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Private Companies Scramble to Attract Board Members as Battles Brew to Take Control of Boards of Directors
One common denominator of successful companies is an outstanding Board of Directors. Yet it is often more difficult to staff a Board at a private company. “Serving on a Board at a private company is a tough balancing act,” says David Broman, CEO of Syzygy Consulting Group, a San Francisco Bay Area executive compensation consulting firm. “Board members must have specific expertise and also manage the diverse interests of talented, but often untrained, founders as well as outside investors and employee shareholders,” said Broman.
How and why the role of Board of Directors is changing at publicly traded corporations has been widely reported in the national press. New regulations, legal precedents and proxy fights are changing the landscape of corporate governance. Shareholder battles to demand seats and gain control of company Boards is becoming commonplace, and includes household names like Yahoo! and Anheuser-Busch. “The job of an independent director is tough -- period, but at private companies it's more than safekeeping shareholder assets and judging the performance of the CEO,” Broman explained. “You also have to bring expertise that does not exist within the management ranks, and often have to educate management and shareholders on significant matters of strategy, acquisitions and liquidity.”
Syzygy’s annual survey of pre-IPO and private company compensation practices has consistently found that the pay necessary to attract Board members at private companies is quite different than in public companies. “The naked truth is that the role and depth of the Board at private firms is often the distinguishing factor of a successful venture,” concludes Broman, “and the compensation strategy necessary to effectively motivate top-notch Board members is often over simplified or simply overlooked.”
To further understand how these companies attract and retain talent, Syzygy is seeking private technology companies to participate in its annual compensation survey. Administered since 1999, Syzygy’s nationwide 2008 Pre-IPO and Private Company Total Compensation Survey is the only one of its kind conducted in association with numerous leading law firms including Cooley Godward, Fenwick & West and Gibson Dunn.
The confidential survey is available only to participants and reports upon total cash and stock compensation data for Board members, CEOs and other executives. It also reports on the total compensation provided to management and other employees in over 35 benchmark jobs.
Private companies can visit http://www.syzygyconsulting.com/ipo.html or contact a Syzygy compensation consultant at 925-284-3669 to participate and request updated survey results.
About Syzygy Consulting Group LLC
Syzygy Consulting Group, established experts in high technology compensation practices, serves clients ranging from the largest multinational corporations to small private companies. Founded in 1995, Syzygy’s customized consulting services help clients define and implement compensation programs to retain key talent, link compensation to performance and improve the effectiveness of overall compensation programs. Syzygy is a registered trademark of Syzygy Consulting Group LLC.
Contact: Brandon Butler
925-284-3669
925-284-0858 Fax
info@syzgyconsulting.com
http://www.syzygyconsulting.com
