Responding to Activist Investors – Ensuring your people don’t get stuck in the middle
Download a PDF of this articleIt’s late. The emergency meeting of your board has been underway for over three hours. There is only one agenda item – how do you respond to the activist investor who is taking aggressive and determined action to change the shape, strategy and direction of your business?
People, change and communication
Remarkably, the majority of activist demands are met in whole or in part. In the strategies and approaches they deploy, in the quality of research they undertake, in their ability to persuade other shareholders and stakeholders and to influence the media – in all these things, activist investors are becoming increasingly sophisticated and successful.
There are three distinct but closely related dimensions of those challenging situations which need special attention – people, change and communication. Our team of skilled and experienced consultants work with our colleagues globally across the firm to focus on how to help clients protect and enhance their enterprise value as they guide their people through change and transformation.
Understanding the importance of these dimensions at each key stage – readiness, response and recovery – is critically important. Taking decisive action based on that understanding can help your organisation prepare for, navigate through and successfully recover from the approaches of activists.
