Summary
In March, 2007, Michael Foley, Chief Executive Officer of Reflexite Corporation, had to decide whether to proceed with a change in the company’s employee stock ownership plan. The management and employees of the Avon, Connecticut, firm had just gone through two rounds of ‘town meetings’ to discuss proposed changes. While the non-binding ‘town meeting’ vote favored the change by a wide margin, the Chairman of the Board of Directors (who happened to also be Foley’s predecessor) was adamant in his opposition. Foley, still in his first year as CEO, pondered the situation: the employees had spoken, but when the man who had built the company strongly objected, shouldn’t one listen?