Helping global leader Tennant manage change at the top Unexpected turnover at the top can shake investor confidence. Such was the case at $500 million Tennant Co., when the company's CEO of six years decided to retire by early 2006 without a clear successor. Tennant, a global manufacturer of commercial cleaning equipment, turned to Padilla Speer Beardsley to help smooth the transition. The primary goals were preventing a stock sell-off and preserving employee morale. Padilla developed detailed timelines, press releases, Q&A documents, employee-meeting and investor conference-call scripts, as well as briefing books containing all communications materials for senior management. We also produced videotaped messages from the CEO distributed to employees worldwide. Tennant's stock rose the day of the retirement announcement and continued rising. The company's sole analyst maintained a "buy" rating on the stock. Meanwhile, Tennant's human resources department reported positive employee feedback on the company's communications. |
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