Introducer: Phyllis Deiso, leader, SEC Audit Practice, McGladrey; Moderator: Jeffrey M. Cunningham, managing director and senior advisor, NACD Directorship Panel: Herbert Winokur, chairman and CEO, Capricorn Holdings; Ellen Zimiles, managing director, Navigant Consulting; Mike Rozembajgier, VP of recalls, Expert-RECALL; Richard Levick, president and CEO, Levick Strategic Communications; Brad S. Karp; chair, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
As recent crises at BP, Toyota and Goldman Sachs prove, response is critical. During his years as a public company board director, Herbert “Pug” Winokur, dealt with the unexpected death of a CEO, the kidnapping of senior executives and the implosion of Enron. “We were not smart enough back then to have hired a media or crisis communications firm, but we did have a law firm,” Winokur said. “Your normal instinct is to tell the world what you know, and be open and share, but you realize that comes with some risk.”
Goldman Sachs should have taken a different tact when the SEC charged it with fraud. “The absolutist denial was not necessarily the best course,” said Brad S. Karp, adding that public response may have been favorable had Goldman offered to review its disclosure policies.
Transparency, action and leadership are all vital components in how a company responds and the consumers’ subsequent views. Said Richard Levick, a communications expert: “In crisis, there’s not the opportunity for perfect solutions. There’s only the opportunity for action. And consumers…will forgive our mistakes. They will not forgive inaction.”
Mike Rozembajgier cited Toyota’s inadequate communication during its inital recall as an example. “With any recall, the critical factors are what’s the real problem or issue with the product, and what’s the resolution? The goal of any recall, he said, is to protect the public: “That’s got to be paramount.”
Ellen Zimiles cited the importance of having a prepared CEO in place. “Sometimes the CEOs are terrific and take exactly the right tone. And sometimes, they just don’t, and it’s not their strength.”
Editorial Assistant Lindsay Dahlstrom is a recent graduate of Hofstra University.