Where are you going to find someone who can step into that job? Someone who can earn the respect, so that people will give as much as they used to? (Staff Member)
If Craig can eventually balance a budget without the inclusion of unearned Metcalfe income, he'll be a miracle man." (Board Member)
In November, 2001, Craig Olson stood at the entrance to the horse barn surveying the 140 acres of scenic Maine land belonging to Kelmscott Farm. He had been hired in July, 2001, as chief operating officer of Kelmscott Rare Breeds Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the conservation of rare and endangered breeds of farm livestock. He had come to Kelmscott after nine years experience in museum administration in the Midwest and having grown up on a dairy farm during his youth in Wisconsin. Kelmscott's founder and executive director, Robyn Metcalfe, had hired him to assist with her transition from day-to-day involvement with the organization. According to Russell Brace, current chair of the board of directors, “Robyn took Kelmscott through the development stage, and now wants to spend more time with her family. This is a good time and reason for a transition to a professional executive.”
The past year had been particularly tumultuous for the organization. Not only had Ms. Metcalfe moved to Boston, some 200 miles south of the farm, but there had been an interim COO for two months before Mr. Olson was hired, who had left the organization, and three staff members had resigned during the past six months. As he pondered the challenges and opportunities facing Kelmscott, Mr. Olson knew his central goal was to make it into a viable and self-sustaining entity.
The timing was right for a new COO. Kelmscott was beginning to focus on the second part of its mission, “creating public awareness of the importance of agricultural biodiversity, and delivering quality learning programs to the broadest possible audience.” An educational focus not only would assist Kelmscott in fulfilling its mission, but would be an important source of revenue.
BACKGROUND
Since 1900, half of all breeds of farm livestock had become extinct. Moreover, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization had indicated that 41 percent of the remaining 1,500 breeds were in danger of disappearing over the next 20 years. According to the Kelmscott Farm Guide, . . .
Assignment
- Assume that Ms. Metcalfe and the Kelmscott Board have decided to replace Mr. Olson with an Executive Director (i.e., a CEO, rather than a COO). What criteria should they use to select the most suitable person for the job?
- What are the most significant management issues that the incoming Executive Director should be concerned about in his or her first three months? His or her first year? What critical decisions does he/she need to make?
- How can Ms. Metcalfe best assist the incoming Executive Director? What role should she play in the Foundation during the next year?