— William P. Foley, II, to step down as Chairman, will continue to serve as board member —
— Industry-veteran Russell P. Fradin appointed Chairman of the Board —
— Robert Schriesheim, Robert Lopes, Jr. and Mike Hayes named to Board of Directors —
Alight, a leading cloud-based human capital and technology-enabled services provider, announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) appointed Russell (Russ) P. Fradin as its Chairman of the Board of Directors, succeeding William P. Foley, II, who will continue to serve as a board member, effective March 1, 2025.
“It is truly an honor to be appointed as Alight’s Chairman of the Board, overseeing the team that every day supports 35 million people and many of the world’s most prestigious organizations”
In addition, Robert (Rob) Schriesheim, Robert (Bob) Lopes, Jr., and Mike Hayes have been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors, replacing Erika Meinhardt, Regina Paolillo and Dan Henson who have each chosen to step down, also effective as of March 1, 2025. Mr. Schriesheim will serve on the Audit and Compensation committees of the Board, Mr. Lopes will serve on the Audit and Nominating and Corporate Governance committees of the Board and Mr. Hayes will serve on the Audit and Compensation committees of the Board.
“I would like to share my deep appreciation for Erika, Regina and Dan, who have been a tremendous asset to our Board of Directors, guiding Alight through its early evolution as a public company,” said Dave Guilmette, CEO of Alight. “I am equally grateful to have Bill’s continued presence coupled with Russ, Rob, Bob, and Mike joining our Board, providing unique expertise that supports our next phase of growth and our client-centric work of building a healthy and financially secure workforce.”
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“It has been a privilege to serve as Alight’s Chairman during such a critical chapter that included Alight entering the public markets, executing its technology transformation and divesting its Payroll and Professional Services business,” said William P. Foley, II. “These numerous milestones have positioned Alight for a bright future and I remain a champion of their cause and mission. With his highly relevant industry expertise, Russ is an outstanding choice to succeed me as Chairman, and I look forward to working with him, Dave, and the rest of the Alight Board as the Company continues to execute its strategy. There is a significant value creation opportunity ahead for Alight, and I am confident its leaders have the tools and positioning to deliver profitable growth and robust cash flow. As a result, I intend to remain a meaningful shareholder.”
“It is truly an honor to be appointed as Alight’s Chairman of the Board, overseeing the team that every day supports 35 million people and many of the world’s most prestigious organizations,” said incoming Chairman of the Board Russell P. Fradin. “I have known the power and impact of Alight in various capacities throughout my career and believe the Company is uniquely positioned to guide the benefits industry forward and capitalize on its recent transformation. I want to thank Bill for his leadership and vision and look forward to working closely with him, Dave and the rest of the Board to deliver best-in-class services and unmatched value to our stakeholders.”
Alight worked closely with Starboard Value, LP (“Starboard”), the Company’s largest shareholder, on the appointment of the new directors. Peter Feld, Managing Member, Portfolio Manager and Head of Research of Starboard said, “We appreciate the constructive engagement we have had with Alight over the last year. We welcomed the opportunity to work with Alight on these changes to the Board of Directors, which position the Company well for future success. We continue to believe there is a significant opportunity to improve revenue growth, profitability, and free cash flow generation at Alight, and we look forward to seeing the Company realize the benefits of new leadership and improved Board oversight.”
These changes satisfy Alight’s remaining obligations under its May 2024 Cooperation Agreement with Starboard.
Russell P. Fradin
Mr. Fradin joined CD&R in 2016. He played the lead operating role in the Firm’s investments in Capco, Sirius and TRANZACT, serving as chairman until CD&R’s exit. He served as president and CEO at SunGard Data Systems, a $3 billion software and IT services provider with 15,000 customers across more than 70 countries from 2011 until the company’s acquisition by FIS in 2015. Prior to SunGard, he served as the chairman and CEO of Aon Hewitt, a global leader in human resource solutions. During his tenure, Mr. Fradin oversaw the 2010 merger between Aon Consulting and Hewitt Associates, having been CEO of Hewitt since 2006. Previously, he was CEO of BISYS Group, Inc. and held a range of senior executive positions at Automatic Data Processing, both providers of business outsourcing solutions. He worked many years as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he was a senior partner. Mr. Fradin has been an experienced Board and Advisory Committee member of several public and private companies over the years. Mr. Fradin has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in economics and finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Robert Schriesheim
Rob is chairman of Truax Partners LLC and leads large, complex transformations in partnership with Boards, CEOs and institutional investors as an investor and director. He has served on 12 public boards ranging from under $1 billion in revenue to Fortune 500, including as chairman, and has served as CFO of 4 public companies varying in revenue from $1 billion to $40 billion.
From 2019 to 2021 he served in a full-time capacity as chairman of the finance committee of telecom services provider Frontier Communications leading its transformation and chapter 11 reorganization to restructure $17.5 billion in debt creating $5 billion in stakeholder value. Previously, he was EVP and Chief Financial Officer of Sears Holdings, a broad-based retailer, from 2011 until 2016; SVP and Chief Financial Officer of Hewitt Associates (Alight’s predecessor company), a global human resource consulting and outsourcing company, until its acquisition by Aon in 2010. From 2006 to 2009, he was EVP, Chief Financial Officer and a board director of Lawson Software a publicly traded global ERP software provider until its acquisition by Golden Gate Capital/Infor in 2010.
Rob is a director of publicly traded Houlihan Lokey (“HLI”), a global investment bank, where he serves as the lead independent director and chairman of the audit committee; Indivior PLC a pharmaceutical company where he serves as a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee; and of Skyworks Solutions (“SWKS”), an S&P 500 semiconductor company, serving on the audit and compensation committees. In addition, he is an adjunct associate professor of finance focused in the area of Corporate Board Governance and Activism at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Previously, Rob was a director of numerous public companies including NII Holdings, formerly Nextel International (acquired by América Móvil S.A.B. de C.V.), Forest City Realty Trust (acquired by Brookfield Asset Management), Co-Chairman MSC Software (acquired by Symphony Technology Group and Elliott Associates) and Dobson Communications (acquired by ATT).
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