June 4, 2024 • 35 mins
With an extensive background in policy, advocacy, and corporate governance, Karen shares insights from her roles at Pfizer, iFIT Health & Fitness, and the NAACP. She recounts her journey to becoming a board member including her experiences during the IPO process at iFIT, and the challenges and triumphs of leading through turbulent times.
Additionally, Karen reflects on the significance of diversity in board composition and the enduring impact of Brown v. Board of Education on the 70th anniversary of the decision.
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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes
1. First For-Profit Board Experience: iFIT Health & Fitness
Karen recounts her journey leading to joining the board of iFIT Health & Fitness, her first for profit board seat, emphasizing the importance of networking and building relationships. She shares how an unexpected opportunity arose from her connections with the Church of Latter-Day Saints and describes the rapid onboarding process and initial experiences as a new board member during a critical time for the company.
"You never know who's watching, it came through a relationship."
Challenges and Decisions During the IPO Process
Karen provides an inside look at the fast-paced environment leading up to iFIT’s planned IPO. She discusses the board’s decision-making process in response to adverse market conditions and the strategic adjustments that were necessary. The conversation highlights the importance of having a diverse and well-composed board to navigate events that are significant & challenging for a company.
"When you are preparing an S-1, you learn everything about a company very quickly."
"The numbers weren't where they were projected to be at that particular time, and I'm really proud of us because it could have been easy to just buckle down and go forward, but that was not the right thing for the company."
Post-IPO Attempt and Company Turnaround
The discussion moves to the aftermath of the decision to not proceed with the IPO and the strategies employed to stabilize and grow iFIT Health & Fitness.
"What I'm happy to say is that despite the overall industry being at a bit of a downturn, we have come through the worst of it, at least we hope we've navigated through the turmoil and are at a new era."
2. Work at Pfizer
Karen reflects on her 20-year career at Pfizer, where she transitioned from government work to corporate affairs. She discusses her role as Pfizer’s first Chief Diversity Officer and the development of a global diversity and inclusion strategy.
Leadership During COVID-19
Karen discusses the significant challenges and achievements of Pfizer during the COVID-19 pandemic under the leadership of Albert Bourla. Karen’s insights emphasize the
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Hello and welcome to On Boards, a deepdive at what drives business success.
I'm Joe Ayoub, but I'm herewith my co-host Raza Shaikh.
Twice a month On Boards is the place tolearn about one of the most critically
important aspects of any company ororganization; its board of directors
or advisors with a focus on theimportant issues that are facing boards,
(00:28):
company leadership, and stakeholders.
Joe and I speak with a wide range ofguests and talk about what makes a board
successful or unsuccessful, what it meansto be an effective board member, and
how to make your board one of the mostvaluable assets of your organization.
Our guest today is Karen Boykin-Towns.
(00:50):
Karen is a visionary driver of strategicresults in the areas of policy, advocacy,
communications, and change management.
She has brought her powerful skillsetto Encore Strategies, a consultancy
that focuses on integrating businessand public affairs initiatives where she
(01:10):
serves as CEO, as well as to the boardof the NAACP in her role as vice chair
of its national board of directors.
Karen also serves on the board ofiFIT Health & Fitness, a global
fitness and connected content company.
Previously, she worked at Pfizer, aFortune 50 global biopharmaceutical
(01:35):
company while also championing civilrights and social justice issues.
Welcome, Karen.
It's great to have youwith us today on On Boards.
Thank you, Joe.
Thank you, Raza.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Karen, we'll talk a little bit aboutyour background at Pfizer and some other
things later, but first I want to askyou about your first for profit board
(01:58):
experience because in a very brief periodof time, you experienced what many board
members experience over years, if ever.
So, first, let's talk about joiningthe board because lots of folks who
have not yet joined a board willask, "Well, how do you do this?
How do you get on a board that'sa good board and a good fit?"
(02:20):
So, let's talk about the process, how youheard about it and what you went through
before you actually joined the board.
Well, it's interesting because I hadn'tdone a board readiness program at
that point or anything, and my firstopportunity came through a relationship
that had been built with the Churchof Latter Day Saints of all places.
(02:43):
In my role with the NAACP, we havea partnership with them and over
the time, I had gotten to know them.
They had gotten to know me.
I never was expecting there to be aboard seat that could come from it, but
you never know who's watching, and ElderStevenson one day gave me a call and I
(03:05):
knew from his background that he was afounder of what was known as ICON Fitness.
When he called me on a January, heasked me if I would be interested
in learning more about the companyhe helped to found that he was on
the board of called ICON Fitness.
Of course, I knew of NordicTrack, andI was an owner of NordicTrack and I
(03:31):
was more than flattered, and he askedif I would be willing to talk to the
CEO, and that's how it happened, soyou never know who's watching, and
it came through a relationship andI couldn't believe that this is how
I would get my first opportunity.
So, first, let me just set some context.
(03:51):
This is January of 2021, correct?
Correct.
And you end up joining the boardin about March of that year?
Is that right?
Yes.
It was only a couple of weeks after Italked to Elder Stevenson that I had
an opportunity to speak with ScottWatterson, founder, then chairman and
(04:14):
CEO, and Scott Dahnke from L Cattertonwho had the interview with me to see
if I would be a good fit, and we spokefor maybe 45 minutes to an hour and
found that my skillset matched up towhat some of their needs were, and I
think they saw my enthusiasm for thebrand and the mission of the company.
(04:39):
Why were you interested in the company?
What was it about the brand orwhat they did that attracted you?
All of my life I have been into fitness.
Like I said, I was theowner of a NordicTrack.
I did not know that NordicTrack waspart of ICON Fitness because you know
the brand, not necessarily the company,and I believe that fitness is something
(05:01):
that we need to be more mindful of.
We need to ensure there's inclusivity.
We need to really work to ensure thatpeople are knowledgeable for their
long-term well being and health,and so it was a great fit for me.
One thing I want to say is when peopleask about how to get On Boards, one of
(05:23):
the things that Raza and I talk aboutis serving on a for profit board or
any board is a job, it's an actual job,and so when you think about getting
a job, or if you're talking to yourkids about getting a job, one of the
things you always tell people is goto your network, like any other job.
The fact that you got it through otherthings you had done, the broad network
(05:46):
you've created over years of all theactivity you've had is not only not
surprising, it's exactly how these thingshappen, and I say that because while
one of the things you talked about whenwe spoke a few weeks ago was it's great
to be on recruiter databases, but it'simportant that you're out there networking
(06:08):
and building relationships, and when thetime comes to think about this as you
would, if you were ready to go to a newjob, how am I going to find what I want?
Who are the people in mynetwork that can help me?
And let's expand that network.
Like I said, it goes back toa board as a job, so treat it
like that in a lot of respects.
So, this wasn't just anyboard that you joined.
(06:30):
This was a board that was alreadygearing up for an IPO, so you knew that
when you joined the board, correct?
Yes.
Talk a little bit about whathappened when you landed.
You're now on the board sometime inthe spring of 2021, and what was it
like, what was the first board meetinglike, what was the onboarding like?
(06:51):
It must've been wild.
It was fast and furious.
Yes, they were very clear interms of what the plans were.
It was a very exciting time.
It was drinking from a fire hose in thesense that I had to catch up quickly.
Let me just say If I had it to do allover again, I would want it to happen the
(07:12):
same way because when you are preparingas as one, there is where you learn
everything about a company very quickly,and so we were in that process, and so I
was learning, I was contributing as bestI could, but really, understanding what
we were trying to do and being up for it,and we had frequent board meetings, some
(07:37):
that was scheduled others that you gotnotices that you needed to join in on.
But it was an exciting time, the companywas preparing for this monumental thing.
The company has been around foralmost 50 years, and all of that
hard work taking these global brandspublic, it was an amazing time.
(07:58):
How long had they been discussingit before you joined the board,
and when you joined, how many boardmembers all together were there?
That's a great question, and I thinkfrom the media before, there had been
anticipation that the company would begoing public, so I would assume before
(08:21):
I joined there were conversations.
Them reaching out to me waspart of that strategy of moving
forward, and at the time we had 11members of the ICON Fitness board.
When they recruited you, you wereobviously an independent member.
(08:42):
Were there other independent membersserving on the board when this process
of going public was in full gear?
Yeah.
The other members were independent, butI think there were two others that would
join the board upon us going public.
There were two other people that wereto join once we clear the process.
(09:07):
When you joined the board, not onlywere you one of the few independent
members, but you were the onlywoman on the board at that time.
Is that right?
That's correct.
And part of this work they were doingwas to put a board together to really
look at their board composition sothat when they formally went public,
(09:29):
the board would reflect the type ofboard that they thought they probably
wanted and needed for a public company.
Absolutely, and that is veryimportant, and we see companies
looking at the composition of theirboard of directors and making those
adjustments that would help themto be better and more successful.
(09:52):
Right, and I'll just interject herethat Raza had a similar experience
with a board I helped build where theyalso took a look at their board and the
composition before the IPO and broughtin new board members because obviously
taking a company public requires a wholedifferent set of skills and experience,
(10:15):
and really the emphasis on the diversityof perspective we all talk about as being
important for boards is particularlyimportant if you're going public because
now there are more risks, there are morepeople watching, and the more diverse
the perspective is, the better theboard is likely to be able to navigate
(10:36):
those sometimes very challenging waters.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Let's talk about what it waslike to be in that situation
as a brand new board member.
It was exhilarating, for sure.
Like I said, it was fast and furious, andlearning very quickly about the company,
but also imagine this, trying to learnyour board members when you're doing
(11:00):
everything virtual because we were inCOVID, and so you're working as a team.
It's a very intense time.
You're trying to get to knoweach other at the same time.
But I will fast forward to say thatwhile we were doing all of this work, and
everyone was working so diligently, it wasless than a week before we were supposed
(11:25):
to go public that we met to determinethat due to adverse market conditions, the
timing was no longer a good one, and youcan imagine what that must have been like.
I actually can't, but Ibet it was something else.
How long had you been on the board whenthat particular meeting occurred where
(11:46):
you decided to pull the plug essentially?
Five months.
Wow.
And during the five months, howmany meetings do you think you had?
Oh, countless.
Did your compensation go up?
No, I'm kidding.
Oh, no, it didn't.
And that's a good point because whenone joins a board and it's in the middle
of something so significant as an IPO,the understanding is all hands on deck.
(12:10):
You got to do what you got to do.
You got to be where you got to be,and it's funny because people ask
this question all the time, whathappens if there are more meetings?
The answer is, it's like a job.
Suddenly, you have a big project at work.
Everyone comes in a little early.
They stay late.
They work weekends.
You do what you have todo to get the job done.
Is that a fair way tolook at it, do you think?
(12:33):
Absolutely, and that's why it's reallyimportant for you to be on boards of
companies that you are connected to, thatyou believe in the mission, where you
like the people who you are working with,because it is a job and you spend maybe
four meetings a year, but then there mightbe these committees and there's other
(12:54):
projects that come up or situations, so itis critically important because anything
can happen and you're expected to dive in.
So, in this case, something did happen.
Just talk about what were the marketconditions that led the board to determine
that you should not go forward with theIPO, and how soon before the IPO was
(13:17):
scheduled did you make the decision?
Well, the valuation,the math wasn't mapping.
The numbers weren't where they wereprojected to be at that particular time,
and I'm really proud of us because itcould have been easy to just sort of
buckle down and go forward, but that wasnot the right thing for the company and
(13:41):
to have all of this attention to thisprocess but then to determine that it's
not the right one, like I said I'm reallyproud of that, and so it was a few days
before we were supposed to goforward when we pulled the plug.
When you came to the decision,was there consensus among the
(14:03):
board and management about the
decision?
Absolutely.
So, before we go on into post-IPO,let's talk a little about
what happened with the board.
So, my understanding is thatessentially they dissolved the
board and then reconstituted it.
Talk about that process becausethat's very interesting.
Yeah.
So, what I would say is thatafter we decided not to move
(14:27):
forward, our board was intact.
We were still a group, andthis is all public information.
There were two layoffs that happenedwithin a span of a few months, and then
we got an influx of cash about $335million of investment for L Catterton
(14:50):
who was part of the board and thatinvestment really helped to shore some
of our financial footing because wewere having some challenges with that.
How big was the newly reconstitutedboard after they finished?
There's eight of us.
(15:11):
How many of those folks hadbeen on the pre-IPO board?
I would say three, which includes ourfounder who's the chair of our board now.
And he had been the CEO, moved over to bechair and you brought in an outside CEO
Scott Watterson, who built thisamazing global company, was the
(15:33):
co-founder, chairman and CEO.
After our not to move forward withthe IPO and the funding that came for
from L Catterton after 40-plus yearswith the company, he decided to become
chairman of the board and allow forthere to be new management, which I
(15:54):
understand was part of the plan thatwas going to happen, regardless.
And was the new CEO fromoutside the organization?
Initially, we had two insiders from thecompany that became co-CEOs, and they
ran the company for a bit, and thenour new CEO, Kevin Duffy, who is this
(16:21):
next era of leadership that we have,he did come from outside the company.
Fantastic.
And outside the industry.
Wow, Interesting.
Karen, the journey continues, as wementioned in the intro that this went
through in a compressed timeframe to a lotof things, maybe talk a little bit about
(16:42):
the post-IPO attempt and the challengesthat the company faced off to that.
Wow.
Another sort of whirlwind in thesense that people had expectations
in terms of colleagues, employees.
They had expectations in terms of whatwas going to happen, and so when we were
(17:05):
looking at having to do layoffs becausethere were some liquidity issues, there
was also the need to retain top talent,those who thought that they were going
to be in a different future with iFIT.
So, working to support the colleagues ofthe company, we had to be more focused,
(17:27):
and so there was a need to look atthe assets and determine if they were
core, with real estate, determiningif all of that was still needed.
So, a lot of critical decisions thatwere needed to ensure the company
could continue to move forward, andtough decisions, but at the same time,
(17:49):
there wasn't division of the board.
There was an understanding of wanting tomake sure it could continue to go forward
and what we needed to do, we needed to do.
From there on, looks like ithas been a turnaround effort.
(18:09):
How is that working?
Looks like in the bigger picture ofthe fitness industry, post-COVID era,
companies have been coming back up
Yeah.
We're not dissimilar to a lot ofcompanies, whether they be in fitness
or otherwise, that had to readjust.
(18:32):
I think a lot of people thought thatthis was going to continue, and so there
was a lot of demand and hard to keep upwith supply and we, along with others,
found ourselves with more equipment inthe system than when things opened up.
People's habits changed.
(18:53):
They started going back out to gyms.
They identified other exercisesthey wanted to do and things of
that nature, and so it's been anadjustment, but with our new CEO
and the team that he has brought on,we were very clear in our strategy.
(19:13):
We had to stabilize the company.
The company needed toperform and then to grow.
I remember there being boardmeetings where we would have these
ideas, and it's just, no, growthis not where we are right now.
We are still under stabilizing thecompany, and so the excess inventory,
(19:34):
finding ways to get rid of that andbring cash in selling at a discount.
Not so much the treadmills andellipticals, but we had dumbbells
and things of those natures thatneeded to move out of the system.
Making decisions, like I said,on real estate, and the number
(19:55):
of SKUs in the system, lookingat those and being critical.
What I'm happy to say is that despitethe overall industry being at a bit of a
downturn, we have come through the worstof It, at least we hope we've navigated
through the turmoil and at a new era.
(20:18):
Really proud that in December of lastyear, we launched our first campaign
on intellectual fitness and incrediblemachines, and it talks about the new
era of iFit and connected fitness, andhow we're going to be using AI with
our AI coach, which is now in beta,and I am one of the lucky ones that
(20:44):
gets to use it, and so every day Ihave my AI coach that is talking to me
about what we're doing today or in therest of the week and encouraging, and
so personalized fitness is the way ofhow people want to engage and to keep
them coming back and staying on track.
(21:06):
How do you like your coach?
No, it's funny.
I do have a personal coach, but my AIcoach, I think he knows me because the
days that I don't do what we said we weregoing to do that day, still there is a
supportive nature to it and remindingme what my goals are, so instead of like
(21:27):
beating me up, really sort of remindingme and encouraging me that it's okay
for today, we're back at it tomorrow.
Yeah.
Let's see how long that goes.
That's a good way of now talking aboutthe brands and positioning that iFit
has, and as I understand, the companyis becoming a software company, a SaaS
(21:49):
company, so talk a little bit about thevarious brands that come under iFit and
the connected products that are coming up.
Certainly.
So, iFit is a integrated healthand fitness platform, and what is
great about It is you can use it inconnection with iFIT products such
(22:13):
as NordicTrack or ProForm, or youcan use it in your everyday life.
So, you can take it to the gym.
Freemotion is our commercial product.
So, if your gym does not have Freemotion,you can have the iFIT platform that
(22:34):
really helps you to get through whatyour workout is for that particular day.
So, yes, we are integrated.
There's a subscription base, which isanother thing, where, unless you have
an annual membership, you're payingmonthly for the service, and so our
library has 17, 000 pieces of contentthat that isn't just in a studio,
(22:59):
which we have those, but where theyare destination, so you can climb Mount
Kilimanjaro from your iFIT platform.
The other day.
I did a walk in Nashville.
I haven't been in Nashville forseveral years in the development.
It's crazy, so I thought how cool mightit be just to have a walking tour on my
(23:19):
elliptical, and so these experiences area way to keep you engaged while you are
also achieving your personal health goals.
Karen, I want to go back to thatcritical decision for not going with
iPO, how did the team manage notimpacting the brand out of that decision?
(23:43):
That's a great question.
I would say that we would have probablydamaged the brand if we would have moved
forward, and so the management of itwas having all the facts to help make
the right decision and certainly havingstrong, good communications that were
(24:05):
used in announcing the decision that
we are strong, and frankly,which carried the day.
We said it was adverse marketconditions, and if you paid attention
to the market, you could tell thatthe market was not doing well, and
so that allowed us to move forward.
(24:26):
Then quite frankly, keeping thecompany running during this time was
critical to also ensure that therewas no disruption of any type to
allow us to continue to move forward.
Yeah, that must have been challenging.
I can't imagine that, but it clearlysounds like you made the right call,
(24:49):
and that you handled it extremelywell, so congratulations on that.
Let's talk briefly aboutyour work at Pfizer.
You've only been on thisboard for a few years.
You were at Pfizer for over 20 years.
Talk a little bit about your backgroundand particularly the work you did
with the chairman and the CEO.
(25:10):
Well, I joined Pfizer after leavinggovernment, and my time there was
mostly within corporate affairswhere I worked in policy, government
relations, communications, and the like.
Pfizer is a huge company with a lot ofopportunities, and so in 2008, our then
(25:32):
CEO asked me if I would consider taking ona developmental assignment and being our
company's first chief diversity officer.
I had been with the company nine yearsat that point, and the company was
really struggling to have an integratedglobal strategy despite the investments
(25:53):
of millions and millions of dollarsand a lot of time and effort by our
executives, as well as our colleagues,and it would be an opportunity to do
something different stretch to grow.
As I like to say, if I didn't growmyself up in the process, be able
to go back into corporate affairsand continue to do work globally.
(26:16):
And that's what I did, 22 months wasthe assignment, and we were able to
have a global integrated D&I strategywhere our focus was to use diversity
and inclusion as a competitive advantagefor our global company, and I'm really
proud of the work and the work that thecompany continues to do to this day.
(26:38):
I want to just say congratulationsto Pfizer for doing that in
2008 before George Floyd wheneveryone jumped on that bandwagon.
By the way, jump on any time, nothingwrong with jumping on late, but
congratulations to a mammoth companythat decided making it a part of its
(26:59):
global strategy was important that farback and to you for getting through it
because it could not have been easy.
It's funny because I talkabout this a lot publicly.
I told our CEO at the time, all I knowabout diversity is being black and
being a woman, but I was a quick study.
(27:20):
I was someone that the company turnedto on many occasions to help turn things
around and I quickly learned that itwas about not looking at diversity and
inclusion as a standalone, but reallylooking to incorporate it into the systems
within HR and within our business, andit was a great learning opportunity,
(27:43):
but I was very clear that I was doingit for the company that I had invested
so much time into, but not somethingthat I would want to do anywhere else.
Finally there, you did work for theperson who is the chair and CEO during
COVID, which I don't think it takes abig leap to understand that had it been
(28:04):
one of the most amazing, difficult,challenging, significant times in the life
of that company as well as many others.
I retired from Pfizer in 2019, but Ihad the pleasure of being the corporate
affairs lead to Albert Bourla when hewas the global president for our then $34
(28:28):
billion innovative medicines business, andI got to know him very well, and he is a
remarkable leader, and he is the type ofleader that pushes you to know that you
can do more than what you think you'recapable of, and so when the pandemic hit,
he was and is the chairman and CEO, andI was not surprised at all at how the
(28:54):
company moved forward because I know himas a leader, and I believe to my core that
no one else could have gotten that companyto be able to have that level of impact
in such a short period of time other thanAlbert Bourla and the team that he leads.
(29:15):
So, my comment to thatis leadership matters.
Leadership matters for sure.
Last and definitely not least, somepeople might think we buried the
lead here, but we wanted to talkabout your role with the NAACP last
to make sure we could focus on it.
You are currently the vice chair.
(29:37):
How big an organization isit, just so people know.
How big is the board?
And then i'll ask you a few more questionsabout what is on your agenda right now.
So, yes, I'm vice chair of theNAACP National Board of Directors.
We are 115-year-old civilrights organization.
We have 2,200 units, branches,chapters, within 47 states.
(30:03):
We have a national staffof about 120 colleagues.
Our budget is about $49 million and weare on the front lines of advocating
for the advancement of colored peopleand colored people come in all colors.
(30:23):
Mm.
Great way to say that.
How big is your board?
Our board is 64 members, and we have a17-member executive committee that meets
monthly and does really the day-to-day,so to speak, of the organization.
We had an exchange earlier in whichyou reminded me that last week was the
(30:46):
70th anniversary of one of the mostimportant decisions ever made by the
United States Supreme Court, Brown vBoard of Education, in May of 1954.
You're in the White House for this.
In fact, you're in the Oval Officefor this, so talk about the visit to
the Oval Office, but also about thatdecision and how it continues to impact
(31:08):
the work that you do and that a lotof people are doing around equality.
Yes.
So, Friday, May 17th was the 70thanniversary of Brown v The Board of
Education, and we had heard that thePresident wanted to also highlight
(31:31):
this, and so we had been working foralmost a year on a big celebration.
We had a whole program at the Smithsonian,did a program with the Legal Defense Fund.
It was very special where we were ableto bring together the descendants of the
litigants of Brown to the White Houseto meet with the President, and all I
(31:55):
can say is, it is a moment I will neverforget and it's not just about being in
the Oval Office with the President, butit was being there with these family
members who had made so many sacrifices.
I think that when a lot of peoplethink about Brown, they think about
it being for little black kidsto be seated next to white kids,
(32:21):
but it's much bigger than that.
It was about the facilities and kidshaving access to an education that
was one that was not segregated,where they had new facilities and
new books and those sorts of things.
What we know to be true is that in manyinstances, even though segregation is
(32:47):
no longer legal in many of our schoolsystems, there is a lot of places where
students are not in a school system thatis being properly funded, and so I would
just say there's a lot of work stillto be done around education and in this
(33:08):
space, but that groundbreaking decisionis one that we have to continue to keep
front and center as we look to haveeducation policy that ensures that all
our children are educated and providedopportunity to succeed and to thrive.
I would also just note that we also hadmembers of the Little Rock Nine also part
(33:32):
of this past weekend and to hear theirstories of trying to get an education
and all that they went through, someof which we saw in pictures and read in
books, but to hear from their mouths whatthey went through in the building, in the
classrooms, I mean, it was truly riveting.
(33:54):
Well, we're often reminded howimportant it is to understand history.
And it is kind of amazing tome that separate but equal was
the law of the land until 1954.
That's not that long ago.
Karen, it's been amazingspeaking with you today.
Thanks so much forjoining us on On Boards.
(34:16):
The pleasure has been mine.
Thank you so very much for thisopportunity and wishing you all the best.
Thanks so much.
And thank you all for listening to OnBoards with our guest, Karen Boykin-Towns.
Please visit our websiteat OnBoardsPodcast.com.
That's OnBoardsPodcast.com.
(34:36):
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(34:59):
We hope you'll tune in forthe next episode of On Boards.
Thanks
Hello and welcome to On Boards, a deepdive at what drives business success.
I'm Joe Ayoub, but I'm herewith my co-host Raza Shaikh.
Twice a month On Boards is the place tolearn about one of the most critically
important aspects of any company ororganization; its board of directors
or advisors with a focus on theimportant issues that are facing boards,
(00:28):
company leadership, and stakeholders.
Joe and I speak with a wide range ofguests and talk about what makes a board
successful or unsuccessful, what it meansto be an effective board member, and
how to make your board one of the mostvaluable assets of your organization.
Our guest today is Karen Boykin-Towns.
(00:50):
Karen is a visionary driver of strategicresults in the areas of policy, advocacy,
communications, and change management.
She has brought her powerful skillsetto Encore Strategies, a consultancy
that focuses on integrating businessand public affairs initiatives where she
(01:10):
serves as CEO, as well as to the boardof the NAACP in her role as vice chair
of its national board of directors.
Karen also serves on the board ofiFIT Health & Fitness, a global
fitness and connected content company.
Previously, she worked at Pfizer, aFortune 50 global biopharmaceutical
(01:35):
company while also championing civilrights and social justice issues.
Welcome, Karen.
It's great to have youwith us today on On Boards.
Thank you, Joe.
Thank you, Raza.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Karen, we'll talk a little bit aboutyour background at Pfizer and some other
things later, but first I want to askyou about your first for profit board
(01:58):
experience because in a very brief periodof time, you experienced what many board
members experience over years, if ever.
So, first, let's talk about joiningthe board because lots of folks who
have not yet joined a board willask, "Well, how do you do this?
How do you get on a board that'sa good board and a good fit?"
(02:20):
So, let's talk about the process, how youheard about it and what you went through
before you actually joined the board.
Well, it's interesting because I hadn'tdone a board readiness program at
that point or anything, and my firstopportunity came through a relationship
that had been built with the Churchof Latter Day Saints of all places.
(02:43):
In my role with the NAACP, we havea partnership with them and over
the time, I had gotten to know them.
They had gotten to know me.
I never was expecting there to be aboard seat that could come from it, but
you never know who's watching, and ElderStevenson one day gave me a call and I
(03:05):
knew from his background that he was afounder of what was known as ICON Fitness.
When he called me on a January, heasked me if I would be interested
in learning more about the companyhe helped to found that he was on
the board of called ICON Fitness.
Of course, I knew of NordicTrack, andI was an owner of NordicTrack and I
(03:31):
was more than flattered, and he askedif I would be willing to talk to the
CEO, and that's how it happened, soyou never know who's watching, and
it came through a relationship andI couldn't believe that this is how
I would get my first opportunity.
So, first, let me just set some context.
(03:51):
This is January of 2021, correct?
Correct.
And you end up joining the boardin about March of that year?
Is that right?
Yes.
It was only a couple of weeks after Italked to Elder Stevenson that I had
an opportunity to speak with ScottWatterson, founder, then chairman and
(04:14):
CEO, and Scott Dahnke from L Cattertonwho had the interview with me to see
if I would be a good fit, and we spokefor maybe 45 minutes to an hour and
found that my skillset matched up towhat some of their needs were, and I
think they saw my enthusiasm for thebrand and the mission of the company.
(04:39):
Why were you interested in the company?
What was it about the brand orwhat they did that attracted you?
All of my life I have been into fitness.
Like I said, I was theowner of a NordicTrack.
I did not know that NordicTrack waspart of ICON Fitness because you know
the brand, not necessarily the company,and I believe that fitness is something
(05:01):
that we need to be more mindful of.
We need to ensure there's inclusivity.
We need to really work to ensure thatpeople are knowledgeable for their
long-term well being and health,and so it was a great fit for me.
One thing I want to say is when peopleask about how to get On Boards, one of
(05:23):
the things that Raza and I talk aboutis serving on a for profit board or
any board is a job, it's an actual job,and so when you think about getting
a job, or if you're talking to yourkids about getting a job, one of the
things you always tell people is goto your network, like any other job.
The fact that you got it through otherthings you had done, the broad network
(05:46):
you've created over years of all theactivity you've had is not only not
surprising, it's exactly how these thingshappen, and I say that because while
one of the things you talked about whenwe spoke a few weeks ago was it's great
to be on recruiter databases, but it'simportant that you're out there networking
(06:08):
and building relationships, and when thetime comes to think about this as you
would, if you were ready to go to a newjob, how am I going to find what I want?
Who are the people in mynetwork that can help me?
And let's expand that network.
Like I said, it goes back toa board as a job, so treat it
like that in a lot of respects.
So, this wasn't just anyboard that you joined.
(06:30):
This was a board that was alreadygearing up for an IPO, so you knew that
when you joined the board, correct?
Yes.
Talk a little bit about whathappened when you landed.
You're now on the board sometime inthe spring of 2021, and what was it
like, what was the first board meetinglike, what was the onboarding like?
(06:51):
It must've been wild.
It was fast and furious.
Yes, they were very clear interms of what the plans were.
It was a very exciting time.
It was drinking from a fire hose in thesense that I had to catch up quickly.
Let me just say If I had it to do allover again, I would want it to happen the
(07:12):
same way because when you are preparingas as one, there is where you learn
everything about a company very quickly,and so we were in that process, and so I
was learning, I was contributing as bestI could, but really, understanding what
we were trying to do and being up for it,and we had frequent board meetings, some
(07:37):
that was scheduled others that you gotnotices that you needed to join in on.
But it was an exciting time, the companywas preparing for this monumental thing.
The company has been around foralmost 50 years, and all of that
hard work taking these global brandspublic, it was an amazing time.
(07:58):
How long had they been discussingit before you joined the board,
and when you joined, how many boardmembers all together were there?
That's a great question, and I thinkfrom the media before, there had been
anticipation that the company would begoing public, so I would assume before
(08:21):
I joined there were conversations.
Them reaching out to me waspart of that strategy of moving
forward, and at the time we had 11members of the ICON Fitness board.
When they recruited you, you wereobviously an independent member.
(08:42):
Were there other independent membersserving on the board when this process
of going public was in full gear?
Yeah.
The other members were independent, butI think there were two others that would
join the board upon us going public.
There were two other people that wereto join once we clear the process.
(09:07):
When you joined the board, not onlywere you one of the few independent
members, but you were the onlywoman on the board at that time.
Is that right?
That's correct.
And part of this work they were doingwas to put a board together to really
look at their board composition sothat when they formally went public,
(09:29):
the board would reflect the type ofboard that they thought they probably
wanted and needed for a public company.
Absolutely, and that is veryimportant, and we see companies
looking at the composition of theirboard of directors and making those
adjustments that would help themto be better and more successful.
(09:52):
Right, and I'll just interject herethat Raza had a similar experience
with a board I helped build where theyalso took a look at their board and the
composition before the IPO and broughtin new board members because obviously
taking a company public requires a wholedifferent set of skills and experience,
(10:15):
and really the emphasis on the diversityof perspective we all talk about as being
important for boards is particularlyimportant if you're going public because
now there are more risks, there are morepeople watching, and the more diverse
the perspective is, the better theboard is likely to be able to navigate
(10:36):
those sometimes very challenging waters.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Let's talk about what it waslike to be in that situation
as a brand new board member.
It was exhilarating, for sure.
Like I said, it was fast and furious, andlearning very quickly about the company,
but also imagine this, trying to learnyour board members when you're doing
(11:00):
everything virtual because we were inCOVID, and so you're working as a team.
It's a very intense time.
You're trying to get to knoweach other at the same time.
But I will fast forward to say thatwhile we were doing all of this work, and
everyone was working so diligently, it wasless than a week before we were supposed
(11:25):
to go public that we met to determinethat due to adverse market conditions, the
timing was no longer a good one, and youcan imagine what that must have been like.
I actually can't, but Ibet it was something else.
How long had you been on the board whenthat particular meeting occurred where
(11:46):
you decided to pull the plug essentially?
Five months.
Wow.
And during the five months, howmany meetings do you think you had?
Oh, countless.
Did your compensation go up?
No, I'm kidding.
Oh, no, it didn't.
And that's a good point because whenone joins a board and it's in the middle
of something so significant as an IPO,the understanding is all hands on deck.
(12:10):
You got to do what you got to do.
You got to be where you got to be,and it's funny because people ask
this question all the time, whathappens if there are more meetings?
The answer is, it's like a job.
Suddenly, you have a big project at work.
Everyone comes in a little early.
They stay late.
They work weekends.
You do what you have todo to get the job done.
Is that a fair way tolook at it, do you think?
(12:33):
Absolutely, and that's why it's reallyimportant for you to be on boards of
companies that you are connected to, thatyou believe in the mission, where you
like the people who you are working with,because it is a job and you spend maybe
four meetings a year, but then there mightbe these committees and there's other
(12:54):
projects that come up or situations, so itis critically important because anything
can happen and you're expected to dive in.
So, in this case, something did happen.
Just talk about what were the marketconditions that led the board to determine
that you should not go forward with theIPO, and how soon before the IPO was
(13:17):
scheduled did you make the decision?
Well, the valuation,the math wasn't mapping.
The numbers weren't where they wereprojected to be at that particular time,
and I'm really proud of us because itcould have been easy to just sort of
buckle down and go forward, but that wasnot the right thing for the company and
(13:41):
to have all of this attention to thisprocess but then to determine that it's
not the right one, like I said I'm reallyproud of that, and so it was a few days
before we were supposed to goforward when we pulled the plug.
When you came to the decision,was there consensus among the
(14:03):
board and management about the
decision?
Absolutely.
So, before we go on into post-IPO,let's talk a little about
what happened with the board.
So, my understanding is thatessentially they dissolved the
board and then reconstituted it.
Talk about that process becausethat's very interesting.
Yeah.
So, what I would say is thatafter we decided not to move
(14:27):
forward, our board was intact.
We were still a group, andthis is all public information.
There were two layoffs that happenedwithin a span of a few months, and then
we got an influx of cash about $335million of investment for L Catterton
(14:50):
who was part of the board and thatinvestment really helped to shore some
of our financial footing because wewere having some challenges with that.
How big was the newly reconstitutedboard after they finished?
There's eight of us.
(15:11):
How many of those folks hadbeen on the pre-IPO board?
I would say three, which includes ourfounder who's the chair of our board now.
And he had been the CEO, moved over to bechair and you brought in an outside CEO
Scott Watterson, who built thisamazing global company, was the
(15:33):
co-founder, chairman and CEO.
After our not to move forward withthe IPO and the funding that came for
from L Catterton after 40-plus yearswith the company, he decided to become
chairman of the board and allow forthere to be new management, which I
(15:54):
understand was part of the plan thatwas going to happen, regardless.
And was the new CEO fromoutside the organization?
Initially, we had two insiders from thecompany that became co-CEOs, and they
ran the company for a bit, and thenour new CEO, Kevin Duffy, who is this
(16:21):
next era of leadership that we have,he did come from outside the company.
Fantastic.
And outside the industry.
Wow, Interesting.
Karen, the journey continues, as wementioned in the intro that this went
through in a compressed timeframe to a lotof things, maybe talk a little bit about
(16:42):
the post-IPO attempt and the challengesthat the company faced off to that.
Wow.
Another sort of whirlwind in thesense that people had expectations
in terms of colleagues, employees.
They had expectations in terms of whatwas going to happen, and so when we were
(17:05):
looking at having to do layoffs becausethere were some liquidity issues, there
was also the need to retain top talent,those who thought that they were going
to be in a different future with iFIT.
So, working to support the colleagues ofthe company, we had to be more focused,
(17:27):
and so there was a need to look atthe assets and determine if they were
core, with real estate, determiningif all of that was still needed.
So, a lot of critical decisions thatwere needed to ensure the company
could continue to move forward, andtough decisions, but at the same time,
(17:49):
there wasn't division of the board.
There was an understanding of wanting tomake sure it could continue to go forward
and what we needed to do, we needed to do.
From there on, looks like ithas been a turnaround effort.
(18:09):
How is that working?
Looks like in the bigger picture ofthe fitness industry, post-COVID era,
companies have been coming back up
Yeah.
We're not dissimilar to a lot ofcompanies, whether they be in fitness
or otherwise, that had to readjust.
(18:32):
I think a lot of people thought thatthis was going to continue, and so there
was a lot of demand and hard to keep upwith supply and we, along with others,
found ourselves with more equipment inthe system than when things opened up.
People's habits changed.
(18:53):
They started going back out to gyms.
They identified other exercisesthey wanted to do and things of
that nature, and so it's been anadjustment, but with our new CEO
and the team that he has brought on,we were very clear in our strategy.
(19:13):
We had to stabilize the company.
The company needed toperform and then to grow.
I remember there being boardmeetings where we would have these
ideas, and it's just, no, growthis not where we are right now.
We are still under stabilizing thecompany, and so the excess inventory,
(19:34):
finding ways to get rid of that andbring cash in selling at a discount.
Not so much the treadmills andellipticals, but we had dumbbells
and things of those natures thatneeded to move out of the system.
Making decisions, like I said,on real estate, and the number
(19:55):
of SKUs in the system, lookingat those and being critical.
What I'm happy to say is that despitethe overall industry being at a bit of a
downturn, we have come through the worstof It, at least we hope we've navigated
through the turmoil and at a new era.
(20:18):
Really proud that in December of lastyear, we launched our first campaign
on intellectual fitness and incrediblemachines, and it talks about the new
era of iFit and connected fitness, andhow we're going to be using AI with
our AI coach, which is now in beta,and I am one of the lucky ones that
(20:44):
gets to use it, and so every day Ihave my AI coach that is talking to me
about what we're doing today or in therest of the week and encouraging, and
so personalized fitness is the way ofhow people want to engage and to keep
them coming back and staying on track.
(21:06):
How do you like your coach?
No, it's funny.
I do have a personal coach, but my AIcoach, I think he knows me because the
days that I don't do what we said we weregoing to do that day, still there is a
supportive nature to it and remindingme what my goals are, so instead of like
(21:27):
beating me up, really sort of remindingme and encouraging me that it's okay
for today, we're back at it tomorrow.
Yeah.
Let's see how long that goes.
That's a good way of now talking aboutthe brands and positioning that iFit
has, and as I understand, the companyis becoming a software company, a SaaS
(21:49):
company, so talk a little bit about thevarious brands that come under iFit and
the connected products that are coming up.
Certainly.
So, iFit is a integrated healthand fitness platform, and what is
great about It is you can use it inconnection with iFIT products such
(22:13):
as NordicTrack or ProForm, or youcan use it in your everyday life.
So, you can take it to the gym.
Freemotion is our commercial product.
So, if your gym does not have Freemotion,you can have the iFIT platform that
(22:34):
really helps you to get through whatyour workout is for that particular day.
So, yes, we are integrated.
There's a subscription base, which isanother thing, where, unless you have
an annual membership, you're payingmonthly for the service, and so our
library has 17, 000 pieces of contentthat that isn't just in a studio,
(22:59):
which we have those, but where theyare destination, so you can climb Mount
Kilimanjaro from your iFIT platform.
The other day.
I did a walk in Nashville.
I haven't been in Nashville forseveral years in the development.
It's crazy, so I thought how cool mightit be just to have a walking tour on my
(23:19):
elliptical, and so these experiences area way to keep you engaged while you are
also achieving your personal health goals.
Karen, I want to go back to thatcritical decision for not going with
iPO, how did the team manage notimpacting the brand out of that decision?
(23:43):
That's a great question.
I would say that we would have probablydamaged the brand if we would have moved
forward, and so the management of itwas having all the facts to help make
the right decision and certainly havingstrong, good communications that were
(24:05):
used in announcing the decision that
we are strong, and frankly,which carried the day.
We said it was adverse marketconditions, and if you paid attention
to the market, you could tell thatthe market was not doing well, and
so that allowed us to move forward.
(24:26):
Then quite frankly, keeping thecompany running during this time was
critical to also ensure that therewas no disruption of any type to
allow us to continue to move forward.
Yeah, that must have been challenging.
I can't imagine that, but it clearlysounds like you made the right call,
(24:49):
and that you handled it extremelywell, so congratulations on that.
Let's talk briefly aboutyour work at Pfizer.
You've only been on thisboard for a few years.
You were at Pfizer for over 20 years.
Talk a little bit about your backgroundand particularly the work you did
with the chairman and the CEO.
(25:10):
Well, I joined Pfizer after leavinggovernment, and my time there was
mostly within corporate affairswhere I worked in policy, government
relations, communications, and the like.
Pfizer is a huge company with a lot ofopportunities, and so in 2008, our then
(25:32):
CEO asked me if I would consider taking ona developmental assignment and being our
company's first chief diversity officer.
I had been with the company nine yearsat that point, and the company was
really struggling to have an integratedglobal strategy despite the investments
(25:53):
of millions and millions of dollarsand a lot of time and effort by our
executives, as well as our colleagues,and it would be an opportunity to do
something different stretch to grow.
As I like to say, if I didn't growmyself up in the process, be able
to go back into corporate affairsand continue to do work globally.
(26:16):
And that's what I did, 22 months wasthe assignment, and we were able to
have a global integrated D&I strategywhere our focus was to use diversity
and inclusion as a competitive advantagefor our global company, and I'm really
proud of the work and the work that thecompany continues to do to this day.
(26:38):
I want to just say congratulationsto Pfizer for doing that in
2008 before George Floyd wheneveryone jumped on that bandwagon.
By the way, jump on any time, nothingwrong with jumping on late, but
congratulations to a mammoth companythat decided making it a part of its
(26:59):
global strategy was important that farback and to you for getting through it
because it could not have been easy.
It's funny because I talkabout this a lot publicly.
I told our CEO at the time, all I knowabout diversity is being black and
being a woman, but I was a quick study.
(27:20):
I was someone that the company turnedto on many occasions to help turn things
around and I quickly learned that itwas about not looking at diversity and
inclusion as a standalone, but reallylooking to incorporate it into the systems
within HR and within our business, andit was a great learning opportunity,
(27:43):
but I was very clear that I was doingit for the company that I had invested
so much time into, but not somethingthat I would want to do anywhere else.
Finally there, you did work for theperson who is the chair and CEO during
COVID, which I don't think it takes abig leap to understand that had it been
(28:04):
one of the most amazing, difficult,challenging, significant times in the life
of that company as well as many others.
I retired from Pfizer in 2019, but Ihad the pleasure of being the corporate
affairs lead to Albert Bourla when hewas the global president for our then $34
(28:28):
billion innovative medicines business, andI got to know him very well, and he is a
remarkable leader, and he is the type ofleader that pushes you to know that you
can do more than what you think you'recapable of, and so when the pandemic hit,
he was and is the chairman and CEO, andI was not surprised at all at how the
(28:54):
company moved forward because I know himas a leader, and I believe to my core that
no one else could have gotten that companyto be able to have that level of impact
in such a short period of time other thanAlbert Bourla and the team that he leads.
(29:15):
So, my comment to thatis leadership matters.
Leadership matters for sure.
Last and definitely not least, somepeople might think we buried the
lead here, but we wanted to talkabout your role with the NAACP last
to make sure we could focus on it.
You are currently the vice chair.
(29:37):
How big an organization isit, just so people know.
How big is the board?
And then i'll ask you a few more questionsabout what is on your agenda right now.
So, yes, I'm vice chair of theNAACP National Board of Directors.
We are 115-year-old civilrights organization.
We have 2,200 units, branches,chapters, within 47 states.
(30:03):
We have a national staffof about 120 colleagues.
Our budget is about $49 million and weare on the front lines of advocating
for the advancement of colored peopleand colored people come in all colors.
(30:23):
Mm.
Great way to say that.
How big is your board?
Our board is 64 members, and we have a17-member executive committee that meets
monthly and does really the day-to-day,so to speak, of the organization.
We had an exchange earlier in whichyou reminded me that last week was the
(30:46):
70th anniversary of one of the mostimportant decisions ever made by the
United States Supreme Court, Brown vBoard of Education, in May of 1954.
You're in the White House for this.
In fact, you're in the Oval Officefor this, so talk about the visit to
the Oval Office, but also about thatdecision and how it continues to impact
(31:08):
the work that you do and that a lotof people are doing around equality.
Yes.
So, Friday, May 17th was the 70thanniversary of Brown v The Board of
Education, and we had heard that thePresident wanted to also highlight
(31:31):
this, and so we had been working foralmost a year on a big celebration.
We had a whole program at the Smithsonian,did a program with the Legal Defense Fund.
It was very special where we were ableto bring together the descendants of the
litigants of Brown to the White Houseto meet with the President, and all I
(31:55):
can say is, it is a moment I will neverforget and it's not just about being in
the Oval Office with the President, butit was being there with these family
members who had made so many sacrifices.
I think that when a lot of peoplethink about Brown, they think about
it being for little black kidsto be seated next to white kids,
(32:21):
but it's much bigger than that.
It was about the facilities and kidshaving access to an education that
was one that was not segregated,where they had new facilities and
new books and those sorts of things.
What we know to be true is that in manyinstances, even though segregation is
(32:47):
no longer legal in many of our schoolsystems, there is a lot of places where
students are not in a school system thatis being properly funded, and so I would
just say there's a lot of work stillto be done around education and in this
(33:08):
space, but that groundbreaking decisionis one that we have to continue to keep
front and center as we look to haveeducation policy that ensures that all
our children are educated and providedopportunity to succeed and to thrive.
I would also just note that we also hadmembers of the Little Rock Nine also part
(33:32):
of this past weekend and to hear theirstories of trying to get an education
and all that they went through, someof which we saw in pictures and read in
books, but to hear from their mouths whatthey went through in the building, in the
classrooms, I mean, it was truly riveting.
(33:54):
Well, we're often reminded howimportant it is to understand history.
And it is kind of amazing tome that separate but equal was
the law of the land until 1954.
That's not that long ago.
Karen, it's been amazingspeaking with you today.
Thanks so much forjoining us on On Boards.
(34:16):
The pleasure has been mine.
Thank you so very much for thisopportunity and wishing you all the best.
Thanks so much.
And thank you all for listening to OnBoards with our guest, Karen Boykin-Towns.
Please visit our websiteat OnBoardsPodcast.com.
That's OnBoardsPodcast.com.
(34:36):
We'd love to hear your comments,suggestions, and feedback.
And if you're not already a subscriber,please be sure to subscribe to the
podcast at Apple Podcast, Spotify, orwherever you get your podcasts, and
remember to leave us a five-star review.
Please stay safe and take careof yourselves, your families and
your communities as best you can.
(34:59):
We hope you'll tune in forthe next episode of On Boards.
Thanks
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!