Trust and Estates Practice Chair Stacey Prince-Troutman guides executives through how to plan for their succession upon in the event of their passing in an article she wrote for the November 5th Orlando Business Journal. Using the real-world example of the recent sudden death of Scholastic Corp. CEO M. Richard Robinson Jr., who surprised his sons when he left the company to another executive instead of them, Prince-Troutman explains how Robinson could have improved on his plan, and where to learn from his mistakes.
“Everyone affected by a transition should be aware of the plan before the leader’s demise,” Prince-Troutman wrote. “The company’s operations should continue without disruption after the leader’s death. There was a period of uncertainty after Robinson was gone. Uncertainty leads to instability, and instability is a company’s enemy as it impacts how customers, investors, colleagues, and competitors view the company.”