So much attention is given to the topic of how a would-be director can join a board. Fewer words have been written about how a current director would leave a board … and why. A look at some of the highest-profile board resignations of 2024 can offer some insights.
Let's get the “how” out of the way first and then we can move on to the sexier examples of director resignations in 2024. And, no, you should not resort to simply sliding a piece of paper that says, “I'm out” under the CEO's door and never showing up again, a scenario that actually took place at a place where I used to be employed. This tactic did not go over well at all.
According to a September 2024 Forbes article by T. Alexander Puutio on best practices for leaving a board, the first step is to inform your board chair about your decision, being honest about your reasons for stepping down. Step two is to perform due diligence and research the protocols you must follow to ensure your resignation is considered official. Third, Puutio suggests you obtain assistance on writing your resignation letter from professional service providers, such as attorneys or career coaches, or search online for examples of resignation letters from board members who have gone through the process.
The fourth step is writing the actual resignation letter. Puutio recommends making it direct, clear, positive, supportive and gracious … and all of this in no more than four paragraphs. Lastly, Puutio recommends that you prepare for board acceptance of your resignation, which includes wrapping up any ongoing board responsibilities and being ready to field questions about the reasons behind your departure.
So let's take a look at how the process went for a few high-profile 2024 board departures.
Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
In February 2024, TV talk show host and all-around megastar Oprah Winfrey left the board of WeightWatchers after almost a decade in the role. Expressing the desire to “talk about whatever I want to talk about” on the topic of weight loss, including the fact that she began taking weight-loss medication when she realized that weight management does not depend solely on a person's self-control. Pair that with WeightWatchers' 2023 acquisition of telehealth subscription service Sequence and its possible conflict with an hour-long “Oprah special” on weight-loss drugs that aired on ABC in March 2023, and the possibility of a conflict of interest was high. And so, Winfrey left the board.
What's Under the Surface?
The story of Lip-Bu Tan's departure from the board of Intel is a complicated one. Initially, it seemed cut-and-dried, with Tan's reasoning being among the oldest in the book: He was just really busy.
Tan released a statement, saying, “This is a personal decision based on a need to reprioritize various commitments, and I remain supportive of the company and its important work.” It's worth noting, however, that while Tan is most likely incredibly occupied in his roles as chairman of Walden International, Credo and Artera.ai (this is but a small sampling of his board positions), Reuters later reported that Tan left the board because of another well-worn reasoning: let's call it “creative differences.” Apparently, Tan disagreed with the approach of Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger (along with other board members), feeling that the company's workforce was overly large, its culture was overly risk-averse and its AI strategy was simply behind the times. And so Tan took the exit ramp.
Not Holding Back
In our first two examples, you have Oprah Winfrey and the skillful navigation of a potential conflict of interest and then you have Lip-Bu Tan with the more diplomatic resignation that hides possibly more volatile reasoning bubbling under the surface. Let's now move to our third example, which we can call the “scorched earth” approach. Marc Desaedeleer was an independent director on the board of Suzlon Energy, an India-based wind energy company that operates in the United States through its subsidiary as Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation. I say “was” because, in June 2024, he stepped down from that board via a resignation letter that expressed his pleasure with the company's performance but aired his concerns about how it had gotten there.
Referring to the most recent 18 months, when Suzlon had displayed that sterling financial performance, Desaedeleer, a retired partner and executive committee member of The Rohatyn Group, said in his resignation letter, “…over the same period and including recently, several situations occurred where the corporate governance standards applied by the company did not meet my expectations, including situations where communications lacked the level of openness and transparency I would have liked to see.”
The letter, addressed to Suzlon chair Vinod Tanti, continued, “We discussed several of these situations, some were shared with board members, and I sent you recently a note covering these situations with the hope that this information can be used in a constructive manner.” Evidently, it wasn't. And so Desaedeleer was a Suzlon director no more.
The Right Stuff
These are just a few examples of the board resignations that took place in 2024, and they don't include instances of multiple or en masse board resignations, such as what took place at companies like Southwest Airlines, Warner Bros., Gildan and 23andMe during this calendar year. I did not include those instances for two reasons: First, I have only so much space and, second, I wanted to explore the traits of individual directors who chose to leave boards. In other words, when is the right time to leave a board and what stuff do you have to be made of to make the call? The verdict? Well, the answer to the first question is most likely “You'll know it when you see it.” The answer to the second question?
It evidently takes conviction, determination, a clear vision, a lofty set of personal values … and the ability to display these traits in 200 words or fewer.