“BE PREPARED”- MELANIE HEALEY

BOARD DIRECTOR FOR VERIZON, HILTON HOTELS, TARGET AND PPG.
Melanie Healey closed one chapter of her career when she left Procter and Gamble North America in 2015 after six years as group president, and opened another one she has found fascinating, being an independent director for four very different companies. Healey views her board membership as a way for her to contribute as well as hold a position of influence on a company and in an industry.

"I FELT THAT this is a place I could make a difference, could bring my experience to bear, but I also could make a difference in helping to develop board diversity, develop leadership talent pipelines across multiple companies, not just one," she said. What the Brazilian-born director brings to the table includes three decades of management experience which before P&G included marketing leadership roles for Johnson & Johnson and S.C. Johnson.

One of the two primary reasons underlying her migration from management to governance in her post-P&G life is to satisfy a personal passion "to pursue stronger diversity across multiple boards and to importantly improve shareholder value because of that,” The other one, relates to a penchant for learning and to be intellectually challenged, explained Healey. "You get to see a lot of the dynamics across four different industries, focused obviously on the United States, but also an understanding about what is happening in the rest of the world," she said. "You go from retail focused on North America, to the hotel industry which is obviously global, to Verizon, a mostly a North America industry and to PPG which is global," she said.

She also mentioned that being less familiar with some of these industries is a big plus "because it kind forces you to study." This was the case with Verizon where when she joined the board she admittedly did not know anything about wireless, cellular and broad band. "There was a lot that I had to learn," Healey said.

On the other hand, Healey also can be instructive, including in sharing her perspective in what Latinos need to do to end their under representation on corporate boards. “The first thing is we have to continue to expose the reality," she said, and to underscore the facts, “…. Latinos, contribute $2 trillion to the gross national product. Also, 87 of the companies owned by Latinas, grew 87 percent, more than any other cohort out there, according to research; from 2007-2012”.

However, she said, "then you go to board seats, and you say, there are only 1.1 percent Latinas on boards and four to five percent Latinos in general on boards, yet you have almost 20 percent of the U.S. population and 35 percent of households."

What Latinos in general, can bring to boards, Healey said, is a perspective into the

multicultural market in the United States that other people who have not lived that reality or can understand that population's culture, can't do. The number one solution to fixing this disparity is exposing the facts, Healey said. Also, Latino leaders need to find ways to draw attention to their population’s different diverse talents, "to take away the excuse there is no talent out there," Healey said. Meanwhile, Latino candidates in general need to network and to get out there, which in her case, she was able to at Fortune magazine summits which were great place to network with other board members, other CEOs. "People are more likely to put people on boards that they know," she said. "Finding ways to promote that interaction between CEOs and board directors with the best Latin talent out there in the country I think can be a powerful to way to eliminate any level of “uncomfort “they may have," she said. "Once they meet these people, they may say, 'Wow this person is amazing,' which cannot work when it is only on paper. "Healey's introduction to the world of governance, she said, offers a lesson in "you got to let people know what you want." Healey made it clear to executive search companies when they reached out to her during her career at P&G was that she did not want another management job, she wanted to serve on a board.

Her first board opportunity came from Bacardi, a private company. Because of the spirit retailer's Latino background, she felt a sense of connection, she said, and she also was impressed with Bacardi's strong portfolio of brands. She had served on the Bacardi board for five years when her CEO at P&G said the company wanted her to sit on a public board as a way to develop professionally out a desire to get diversity at the top of the company. Healey could only sit on only one board while at P&G, so to serve on a public board she had to leave Bacardi, she said, a relationship which she "totally loved and enjoyed."

Her move to Verizon was facilitated by a member of P&G board, who was then the CEO at Verizon Wireless which was looking for diverse talent for their board.

This connection was made eleven years ago, and what Healey said came out of the Verizon experience is "that sometimes it does take your own CEO, your own board members to help the talent in their company to get the board experience. It doesn't just happen through executive search companies."

The oversight role that comes with being a board member, Healey said, entails several responsibilities. "We have to make sure the processes are in place which enable management to do their jobs and to do it in an effective and ethical manner," she said.

Another focus is on CEO succession and making sure the company has the right leadership. This relates to the development of talent in general, making sure that these people are compensated in a way that helps them be motivated and retains them in the company, she said. Another board responsibility is to ensure that the company has a strategy that delivers on the goals that shareholders expect.

Currently, shareholders are becoming increasingly focused on "making sure that boards are addressing diversity and inclusion, climate change, and sustainable practices, she said. This Includes a greater interest in ESG, environmental social governance. Healey said boards are really beginning to decouple the three, the E, the S, the G, and where that falls in their committees, to provide oversight on these elements and to make sure they are tied into strategy.

For anyone considering a board seat, Healey emphasizes, doing your homework. "Do not let yourself be surprised," she said, "because if you join the wrong board, it can really suck you in in a way you don't want to be brought in." Healey said it is important to choose companies that run their business in an ethical fashion, where the other board members are excellent directors, strong and have good reputations. "Make sure the CEO has a good reputation and cares about diversity and inclusion," she said.

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