For the past 20 years, I have helped hundreds of business leaders manage the myriad details involved in managing, growing, and selling businesses involved in labels, packaging, and specialty graphics.
As CEO of the LaManna Consulting Group, I advised business owners on how to prepare their businesses for sale and meet well-qualified potential buyers. And as a columnist for Label and Narrow Web magazine for more than a decade, I answered dozens of reader questions about
some of the dilemmas that arise during daily operations and planning successful exit strategies.
Now, it’s time for my own business transition.
I am disbanding the LaManna Consulting Group to serve as an independent board director to companies and non-profit organizations. This career pivot wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. I had been preparing for it for the past few years.
From previous experience as an entrepreneur and equity partner in a fast-growing business, I understand the value of insights from a strategically structured board of directors. A good board provides the specialized expertise and outside perspective that companies need to align
short-term objectives with long-term visions and goals.
Now more than ever, boards need honesty and frankness, and connections to people with solid networks, deep experience, and a willingness to ask tough questions.
In addition to the board positions I have already accepted, I am seeking board positions where advice and direction is needed related to succession planning, CEO selection, business growth, and issues of the day such as sustainability, social responsibility, and governance.
It is rare to find entrepreneurs on major boards, and I believe my perspective will be useful in the boardroom and with today’s CEOs. Along with 50 years of boots-on-the-ground leadership, I bring the connections and experience of being an alumnus of the Owner/President
Management (OPM) program at Harvard Business School.
To network and learn from other independent board directors, I have joined the National Association of Corporate Directors, the most trusted organization for board directors. The NACD helps independent board members stay abreast of how boards are addressing issues
such as risk management, artificial intelligence (AI), geopolitical disruptions, economic uncertainty, and cultural shifts such as ESG (environmental, social, and governance) scores.
Going forward, I will refer business owners who need valuations, due diligence preparation, business strategy, and marketing advisory services to trusted providers. Although most of my day-to-day work will be board-facing, some of the M&A-related services I have previously
offered will be handled or referred on a case-by-case basis.
In my final column for Label and Narrow Web magazine, I explained some of the thinking that went into this decision and offer a few of the most lessons I have learned during my over 50 years of work in the graphic arts industry as an owner, executive, and advisor. Click here to learn more about my business transition and read a copy of the article “A Bold Move in the Game of Life.”