SITUATION

Namar Foods was at a crossroads. For years the company was navigating significant challenges of leadership change and intra-Board conflict. With a newly hired Chief Executive Officer, the founder’s third generation coming into the business, and growing revenues and expansion opportunities in the wings, the Board of Directors was ready to do the heavy lift of addressing where they were and look to a future of how they, individually and together, would like to participate in the company’s upward trajectory. 

OUR WORK

In our first phase of work, we engaged in an in-depth discovery phase—downloading institutional knowledge (financials, board reports, minutes and charter, human resource policies, etc.), and conducting individual interviews with directors to gain essential insights and anchor rapport with each Board member. These insights led to a thorough SWOT analysis that would frame the retreat; dictating the goals, objectives and ground rules for the offsite that would yield clear, precise steps for the Board with a focus on the immediate future of the business. 

Specifically, we sought to:  

• Clarify opportunities present for the company and the expectations of the Board around those opportunities

• Redefine the role(s) of the Board, its members and what its governance looks like in the future

• Frame the future of NAMAR’s ownership for the next generation

With framework in hand, we facilitated the two-day retreat in the woods of Northern California. With the trust established through our discovery and working together as a true team, we addressed the objectives, identified actionable pathways for the Board to consider and eventually vote on, and gathered the “elephants in the room” in an effort to make them the Boardʼs allies instead of heated points of contention. 

IMPACT

Our work resulted in an honest, open, and productive Board retreat that brought a family business and its members closer—aligned in a cohesive legacy and equipped with a roadmap for the new leadership and next generation’s success. We presented Namar’s Board with a comprehensive assessment of the work—opportunities investigated, visions and hopes for the future of the company, and the Board overall—along with general insights and recommendations to empower the Board to optimize its role for the company as it determines its path forward.