April 3, 2006
Under new management | Four major employers in the Bangor area appointed new leaders in the past year. Many are watching how they pick up where their predecessors left off.
By Deborah Turcotte
Robert Kennedy had a solid reputation when he was named University of Maine president last April. He had been the school's executive vice president and provost since 2001 and helped launch many of the institution's research and development projects, including a biomedical school and a partnership in Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems' Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health. His resume showed a steady climb up the ladder from educator to executive ˆ but he had never been in charge of an entire organization.
A year later, though, Kennedy is hardly the newest face among chief executives at some of the Bangor area's biggest employers. Also named to a top position last June was Jim Conlon, chief operating officer at Bangor Savings Bank before being named president and CEO to replace P. James Dowe, who in February became CEO of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. Shortly after Conlon's appointment, Rob Bennett, vice president and general manager at Bangor Hydro-Electric Co., was appointed chief operating officer (the utility's highest office). He filled a position vacated by Ray Robinson, who was transferred to manage other projects at subsidiaries of Nova Scotia-based parent company Emera Corp.
The February appointment of Michelle Hood of Montana to replace Norm Ledwin as CEO at Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems in Brewer fills the last of four prominent executive openings in the Bangor area. Though it might seem like a high rate of turnover, those management changes aren't unusual compared to the national business environment. Last year, CEO departures hit an all-time high, with 1,322 leaving public companies, according to a January report by Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc., a global outplacement firm headquartered in Chicago. The previous high was 1,106 departures in 2000, during the height of the dotcom bust.
What makes the trend in Bangor significant, though, is how big an influence the organizations in question have on the region. Collectively, they contribute more than a billion dollars to the area's economy and employ about 6,500 workers in facilities in Bangor, Brewer and Orono ˆ three communities with a combined population of 50,000. The University of Maine alone generates $600 million in economic activity, most of which stays in the Bangor area, according to a university study. What's more, each of the organizations underwent substantial growth or radical reorganization under their previous CEOs, which means local and statewide observers will be watching to see how their new leaders maintain that momentum or set new directions for the future.
Still, the scenario doesn't appear to concern members of the search committees that chose the new executives, politicians in area communities or the executives themselves. It's a coincidence that the four major departures occurred around the same time, says Kennedy. "I don't see any grand scheme," he says.
Neither does Bangor City Manager Ed Barrett. He notes that three of the four recent CEO exits came because of resignations, while the fourth, at Bangor Hydro, was the result of a new job assignment. "I would be a lot more concerned if it was because of controversy at these institutions," he says. "I think all businesses, all organizations take a step back and determine where they want to be in the future. I don't anticipate any dramatic changes."
Barrett's observations could be right on. According to the Challenger Gray & Christmas report, boards of directors nationwide are looking for growth opportunities in an improving economy and are searching for leaders who can bring results while stabilizing a firm during periods of change. In the Bangor area, the four new CEOs have been told to do just that.
New names, but business as usual
In picking a new CEO ˆ whether promoting from within as at Bangor Savings Bank and Bangor Hydro or conducting a nationwide search as did UMaine and EMHS ˆ each organization's goal was to find a leader to maintain and improve upon initiatives begun by a predecessor. At the University of Maine, the primary objective continues to be increasing research and development investment at the institution.
Kennedy was appointed interim president of the Orono campus following the resignation of Peter Hoff in 2004, who stepped down after seven years during a disagreement with University of Maine System Chancellor Joseph Westphal over the system's strategic plan.
Last April, after "interim" was removed from his title, Kennedy wasted little time in announcing a six-year, $150 million campaign for private donations to fund research and development projects, including a biomedical school that will be located at University College in Bangor.
So far, the campaign has been successful, according to UMaine spokesman Joe Carr. "Private giving, as of the end of February, is up by 60% over the previous year," he says. "In eight months, UMaine has raised more money than it did in the previous fiscal year."
At Bangor Savings Bank, the objective is to continue the push initiated by former CEO Jim Dowe for a greater presence and customer base in southern Maine. With only 1.3 million people in the state, and 600,000 of them using credit unions, the bank must continue to go where the people and the money are, says new CEO Conlon: Portland and surrounding cities. Dowe began the geographical expansion eight years ago with the purchase of 28 Fleet Bank branches. Last year, the bank opened a branch and small-business assistance center on Fore Street in Portland's Old Port area, and is heavily promoting itself as an alternative to larger or out-of-state institutions such as TD Banknorth and Bank of America.
The new CEO acknowledges that expanding Bangor Savings Bank to the south has been met with consternation from the bank's board of incorporators and others in the community who believe the institution should stay in Bangor and rural areas. Conlon says the expansion was necessary, though, to gain operational efficiencies needed to survive. "You have to do some things to change your business plan or you're not going to be here anymore," he says.
While Kennedy, Conlon and Bennett at Bangor Hydro were viewed as heirs apparent to the top jobs even before their bosses stepped down, the newly named CEO of EMHS isn't known in the community. Michelle Hood, who previously was president and CEO of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System in Montana, had tentatively scheduled an introductory meeting with the system's board of incorporators for the end of March. Dr. Stan Bergen, who co-chaired the search committee with EMHS board chairman Jack Palmer, expects the meeting to go well. "I think Michelle will dispel all that resonance of being from away," Bergen says. "People with a half-open mind will size her up as a whole-hearted, generous person. I think she's a winner."
Hood, too, is expected to complete tasks begun by her predecessor. When Ledwin was hired at Eastern Maine Medical Center in 1993, his assignment was to create a regional health care system with the Bangor hospital at its center, according to Jerry Whalen, vice president for business development at EMHS. The system now includes seven hospitals, numerous physicians' offices, home health care facilities and medical transport carriers. "The overwhelming majority of people believe that Norm did what he was hired to do," Whalen says. "It did come with some difficult conversations. We see [Hood's appointment] as a way to strengthen the foundation."
Although Whalen says EMHS hasn't developed specific objectives for continuing that growth, the company's strategic plan includes completing the construction of the Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health and a proposed cancer center building, and creating a system-wide information system to share electronic medical records, according to Daniel Coffey, executive vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer at EMHS. "That hasn't stopped with Norm Ledwin's retirement," he says.
Answering to more than the board of directors
While the new CEOs at Bangor Savings, EMHS and the University of Maine are taking positions held by executives who had served for between seven and 13 years, Bangor Hydro seems to have a revolving door of leadership. Three COOs have led the firm in the six years since parent company Emera took ownership in 2000.
Bennett, who has been at the utility since May 2002, was named chief operating officer last September and immediately assumed the task of completing permitting and construction of a 345 kilovolt transmission line linking New Brunswick to the New England power grid through Maine. Emera had moved Robinson, the previous COO, to other New England facilities it owned after he accomplished what he had been asked by the board to do ˆ cut costs, including more than 115 jobs, and rewrite the controversial transmission line plan so the project could get through the regulatory process. Since then, the project has received permits from the Maine Public Utilities Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and has received the approval of nine municipalities along the line's path. Bangor Hydro has started clearing the right-of-way.
While that progress likely pleases Emera's board, the repeated turnover in the top job is causing concern among some customers about the utility's ability to maintain an historical perspective on how it got to where it is today. The Industrial Energy Consumers Group, a coalition of businesses that use large amounts of electricity, was supportive of Emera's purchase of Bangor Hydro and believes the Canadian parent "is dedicated to the creation of a better utility," according to spokesman Anthony Buxton, a law partner at PretiFlaherty in Portland. "That said, it is also true that [Bangor Hydro] must become more deeply involved in and knowledgeable about Maine affairs," Buxton says. "This means having more executives who take root here, and who invest in our society as citizens."
Bennett could not be reached for comment. Bangor Hydro, however, is meeting customer-service standards monitored by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, according to PUC Chairman Kurt Adams. "Bangor Hydro has a history of working with customers, and that's what the PUC cares about," he says.
It's clear that a CEO's efforts to grow or transform a large operation have a significant impact outside the organization's walls. Even with new executives in place at UMaine and EMHS, Brewer is poised to see continued impact from those organizations' previous moves. In January 2005, EMHS revealed plans to build the Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health at the Brewer Professional Center. Partners in the project include the city, the University of Maine and The Jackson Laboratory of Bar Harbor. The facility will be on a 72-acre parcel capable of holding complimentary doctors' and researchers' offices, and one possible tenant sharing a building with the institute would be Eastern Maine Medical Center's planned $28-million cancer center. "Doctors are going to be where the technology is," says Brewer Mayor Gail Kelly. "I think it's a win-win situation for everybody."
Kelly says she remembers the four CEO departures as "some big hits with some big shoes to fill." But she says she never worried about who would step in, because she expected the firms' boards of directors or trustees to choose leaders that could complete projects underway and maintain an historical level of community service. "These are institutions that have been here a long time," Kelly says. "People who come in are not going to come in and do anything harsh."
Orono is hoping for an economic development jolt such as Brewer is receiving. Needing to increase taxable entities, Town Manager Catherine Conlow says she'd like the university's push for more R&D investment to result in more spin-off businesses founded in Orono. She says she's met with Kennedy and he's assured her he's going to try. "We're looking for some of the private spillover to land in Orono," Conlow says. "We haven't seen as much of it as we'd like. Orono is the front door of the university. You always want your front lawn to look the best."
Orono's wants ˆ and those of others dependent on the university and its investments ˆ are on Kennedy's mind. For as a top manager at an institution the size of UMaine, he says he knows his decisions can impact more than just the employees, students and trustees he serves. "I have a responsibility to the people of the state," he says. "It's an awesome responsibility. It's humbling at times."
Bangor Hydro-Electric Co.
21 Telcom Dr., Bangor
Number of employees: 240
New COO (the utility's top position): Rob Bennett
Background: Joined Bangor Hydro in May 2002 as general manager of transmission and delivery asset management; later promoted to vice president and general manager
Objectives: Overseeing the ongoing approval and construction process for a new transmission line between Maine and Canada; promoting safety and high-quality customer service
Bangor Savings Bank
99 Franklin St., Bangor 04401
Number of employees: 550
New CEO: Jim Conlon
Background: With the bank for nine years, most recently as chief operating officer
Objectives: Continuing the bank's expansion into southern Maine; expanding products and services geared towards small businesses
Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems
43 Whiting Hill Rd., Brewer
Number of employees: 5,000
New CEO: Michelle Hood
Background: Current president and CEO of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System, Montana Region, overseeing three of the system's eight hospitals; previous positions include associate hospital director at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, executive vice president and chief operating officer at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., and chief administration officer at Norton Hospital in Louisville, Ky.
Goals: Overseeing the development of the Institute for Human Genetics and Health in Brewer and construction of a $28 million cancer center; implementing a system-wide electronic medical records system
The University of Maine
Alumni Hall, Orono
Number of employees: 2,600
New president: Robert A. Kennedy
Background: At the university since 2000, first as vice president for academic affairs and then as executive vice president and provost
Objectives: Spearheading a six-year, $150 million fundraising campaign; implementing plans to increase the number of graduate students by 2,500; overseeing the development of the Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health in Brewer; developing a doctorate program in biomedical sciences
A year later, though, Kennedy is hardly the newest face among chief executives at some of the Bangor area's biggest employers. Also named to a top position last June was Jim Conlon, chief operating officer at Bangor Savings Bank before being named president and CEO to replace P. James Dowe, who in February became CEO of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. Shortly after Conlon's appointment, Rob Bennett, vice president and general manager at Bangor Hydro-Electric Co., was appointed chief operating officer (the utility's highest office). He filled a position vacated by Ray Robinson, who was transferred to manage other projects at subsidiaries of Nova Scotia-based parent company Emera Corp.
The February appointment of Michelle Hood of Montana to replace Norm Ledwin as CEO at Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems in Brewer fills the last of four prominent executive openings in the Bangor area. Though it might seem like a high rate of turnover, those management changes aren't unusual compared to the national business environment. Last year, CEO departures hit an all-time high, with 1,322 leaving public companies, according to a January report by Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc., a global outplacement firm headquartered in Chicago. The previous high was 1,106 departures in 2000, during the height of the dotcom bust.
What makes the trend in Bangor significant, though, is how big an influence the organizations in question have on the region. Collectively, they contribute more than a billion dollars to the area's economy and employ about 6,500 workers in facilities in Bangor, Brewer and Orono ˆ three communities with a combined population of 50,000. The University of Maine alone generates $600 million in economic activity, most of which stays in the Bangor area, according to a university study. What's more, each of the organizations underwent substantial growth or radical reorganization under their previous CEOs, which means local and statewide observers will be watching to see how their new leaders maintain that momentum or set new directions for the future.
Still, the scenario doesn't appear to concern members of the search committees that chose the new executives, politicians in area communities or the executives themselves. It's a coincidence that the four major departures occurred around the same time, says Kennedy. "I don't see any grand scheme," he says.
Neither does Bangor City Manager Ed Barrett. He notes that three of the four recent CEO exits came because of resignations, while the fourth, at Bangor Hydro, was the result of a new job assignment. "I would be a lot more concerned if it was because of controversy at these institutions," he says. "I think all businesses, all organizations take a step back and determine where they want to be in the future. I don't anticipate any dramatic changes."
Barrett's observations could be right on. According to the Challenger Gray & Christmas report, boards of directors nationwide are looking for growth opportunities in an improving economy and are searching for leaders who can bring results while stabilizing a firm during periods of change. In the Bangor area, the four new CEOs have been told to do just that.
New names, but business as usual
In picking a new CEO ˆ whether promoting from within as at Bangor Savings Bank and Bangor Hydro or conducting a nationwide search as did UMaine and EMHS ˆ each organization's goal was to find a leader to maintain and improve upon initiatives begun by a predecessor. At the University of Maine, the primary objective continues to be increasing research and development investment at the institution.
Kennedy was appointed interim president of the Orono campus following the resignation of Peter Hoff in 2004, who stepped down after seven years during a disagreement with University of Maine System Chancellor Joseph Westphal over the system's strategic plan.
Last April, after "interim" was removed from his title, Kennedy wasted little time in announcing a six-year, $150 million campaign for private donations to fund research and development projects, including a biomedical school that will be located at University College in Bangor.
So far, the campaign has been successful, according to UMaine spokesman Joe Carr. "Private giving, as of the end of February, is up by 60% over the previous year," he says. "In eight months, UMaine has raised more money than it did in the previous fiscal year."
At Bangor Savings Bank, the objective is to continue the push initiated by former CEO Jim Dowe for a greater presence and customer base in southern Maine. With only 1.3 million people in the state, and 600,000 of them using credit unions, the bank must continue to go where the people and the money are, says new CEO Conlon: Portland and surrounding cities. Dowe began the geographical expansion eight years ago with the purchase of 28 Fleet Bank branches. Last year, the bank opened a branch and small-business assistance center on Fore Street in Portland's Old Port area, and is heavily promoting itself as an alternative to larger or out-of-state institutions such as TD Banknorth and Bank of America.
The new CEO acknowledges that expanding Bangor Savings Bank to the south has been met with consternation from the bank's board of incorporators and others in the community who believe the institution should stay in Bangor and rural areas. Conlon says the expansion was necessary, though, to gain operational efficiencies needed to survive. "You have to do some things to change your business plan or you're not going to be here anymore," he says.
While Kennedy, Conlon and Bennett at Bangor Hydro were viewed as heirs apparent to the top jobs even before their bosses stepped down, the newly named CEO of EMHS isn't known in the community. Michelle Hood, who previously was president and CEO of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System in Montana, had tentatively scheduled an introductory meeting with the system's board of incorporators for the end of March. Dr. Stan Bergen, who co-chaired the search committee with EMHS board chairman Jack Palmer, expects the meeting to go well. "I think Michelle will dispel all that resonance of being from away," Bergen says. "People with a half-open mind will size her up as a whole-hearted, generous person. I think she's a winner."
Hood, too, is expected to complete tasks begun by her predecessor. When Ledwin was hired at Eastern Maine Medical Center in 1993, his assignment was to create a regional health care system with the Bangor hospital at its center, according to Jerry Whalen, vice president for business development at EMHS. The system now includes seven hospitals, numerous physicians' offices, home health care facilities and medical transport carriers. "The overwhelming majority of people believe that Norm did what he was hired to do," Whalen says. "It did come with some difficult conversations. We see [Hood's appointment] as a way to strengthen the foundation."
Although Whalen says EMHS hasn't developed specific objectives for continuing that growth, the company's strategic plan includes completing the construction of the Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health and a proposed cancer center building, and creating a system-wide information system to share electronic medical records, according to Daniel Coffey, executive vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer at EMHS. "That hasn't stopped with Norm Ledwin's retirement," he says.
Answering to more than the board of directors
While the new CEOs at Bangor Savings, EMHS and the University of Maine are taking positions held by executives who had served for between seven and 13 years, Bangor Hydro seems to have a revolving door of leadership. Three COOs have led the firm in the six years since parent company Emera took ownership in 2000.
Bennett, who has been at the utility since May 2002, was named chief operating officer last September and immediately assumed the task of completing permitting and construction of a 345 kilovolt transmission line linking New Brunswick to the New England power grid through Maine. Emera had moved Robinson, the previous COO, to other New England facilities it owned after he accomplished what he had been asked by the board to do ˆ cut costs, including more than 115 jobs, and rewrite the controversial transmission line plan so the project could get through the regulatory process. Since then, the project has received permits from the Maine Public Utilities Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and has received the approval of nine municipalities along the line's path. Bangor Hydro has started clearing the right-of-way.
While that progress likely pleases Emera's board, the repeated turnover in the top job is causing concern among some customers about the utility's ability to maintain an historical perspective on how it got to where it is today. The Industrial Energy Consumers Group, a coalition of businesses that use large amounts of electricity, was supportive of Emera's purchase of Bangor Hydro and believes the Canadian parent "is dedicated to the creation of a better utility," according to spokesman Anthony Buxton, a law partner at PretiFlaherty in Portland. "That said, it is also true that [Bangor Hydro] must become more deeply involved in and knowledgeable about Maine affairs," Buxton says. "This means having more executives who take root here, and who invest in our society as citizens."
Bennett could not be reached for comment. Bangor Hydro, however, is meeting customer-service standards monitored by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, according to PUC Chairman Kurt Adams. "Bangor Hydro has a history of working with customers, and that's what the PUC cares about," he says.
It's clear that a CEO's efforts to grow or transform a large operation have a significant impact outside the organization's walls. Even with new executives in place at UMaine and EMHS, Brewer is poised to see continued impact from those organizations' previous moves. In January 2005, EMHS revealed plans to build the Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health at the Brewer Professional Center. Partners in the project include the city, the University of Maine and The Jackson Laboratory of Bar Harbor. The facility will be on a 72-acre parcel capable of holding complimentary doctors' and researchers' offices, and one possible tenant sharing a building with the institute would be Eastern Maine Medical Center's planned $28-million cancer center. "Doctors are going to be where the technology is," says Brewer Mayor Gail Kelly. "I think it's a win-win situation for everybody."
Kelly says she remembers the four CEO departures as "some big hits with some big shoes to fill." But she says she never worried about who would step in, because she expected the firms' boards of directors or trustees to choose leaders that could complete projects underway and maintain an historical level of community service. "These are institutions that have been here a long time," Kelly says. "People who come in are not going to come in and do anything harsh."
Orono is hoping for an economic development jolt such as Brewer is receiving. Needing to increase taxable entities, Town Manager Catherine Conlow says she'd like the university's push for more R&D investment to result in more spin-off businesses founded in Orono. She says she's met with Kennedy and he's assured her he's going to try. "We're looking for some of the private spillover to land in Orono," Conlow says. "We haven't seen as much of it as we'd like. Orono is the front door of the university. You always want your front lawn to look the best."
Orono's wants ˆ and those of others dependent on the university and its investments ˆ are on Kennedy's mind. For as a top manager at an institution the size of UMaine, he says he knows his decisions can impact more than just the employees, students and trustees he serves. "I have a responsibility to the people of the state," he says. "It's an awesome responsibility. It's humbling at times."
Bangor Hydro-Electric Co.
21 Telcom Dr., Bangor
Number of employees: 240
New COO (the utility's top position): Rob Bennett
Background: Joined Bangor Hydro in May 2002 as general manager of transmission and delivery asset management; later promoted to vice president and general manager
Objectives: Overseeing the ongoing approval and construction process for a new transmission line between Maine and Canada; promoting safety and high-quality customer service
Bangor Savings Bank
99 Franklin St., Bangor 04401
Number of employees: 550
New CEO: Jim Conlon
Background: With the bank for nine years, most recently as chief operating officer
Objectives: Continuing the bank's expansion into southern Maine; expanding products and services geared towards small businesses
Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems
43 Whiting Hill Rd., Brewer
Number of employees: 5,000
New CEO: Michelle Hood
Background: Current president and CEO of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System, Montana Region, overseeing three of the system's eight hospitals; previous positions include associate hospital director at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, executive vice president and chief operating officer at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., and chief administration officer at Norton Hospital in Louisville, Ky.
Goals: Overseeing the development of the Institute for Human Genetics and Health in Brewer and construction of a $28 million cancer center; implementing a system-wide electronic medical records system
The University of Maine
Alumni Hall, Orono
Number of employees: 2,600
New president: Robert A. Kennedy
Background: At the university since 2000, first as vice president for academic affairs and then as executive vice president and provost
Objectives: Spearheading a six-year, $150 million fundraising campaign; implementing plans to increase the number of graduate students by 2,500; overseeing the development of the Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health in Brewer; developing a doctorate program in biomedical sciences
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