I have a couple of divorces going on now. Over the years, it seemed to me that I had a divorce going on with at least one of my members at any given point in time. With three TEC groups and 45 members in total, one might expect some “normal” percentage of member marriages to be headed for the rocks.
I wondered, however, if CEOs were more likely to experience failed marriages. The stress of the job. The time commitment. The travel. The temptations. Might they all add up to a higher percentage of divorce among CEOs?
An informal survey of my colleagues, however, revealed no evidence to support the proposition. It was, by and large, the position of other TEC chairs that CEOs were no more or less likely to have a marriage end in divorce. It also appeared that a fair number of CEOs remained in unhappy marriages. This would be similar, I suspect, to the married population as a whole.
There was, however, one common thread among CEOs of privately held companies whose marriages had failed. It was the almost desperate need on the part of the CEO to “keep the company.”
When it came to splitting assets and negotiating marital property settlements, the desire of the CEO to retain his or her company appeared almost as strong as child custody rights. In many cases, CEOs seemingly ignored the valuation of the company and the recommendations their advisors. In the end, they wanted to keep the company. It was, after all, their baby.
The implications? Good divorce attorneys on both sides probably are well aware of the save-the-company phenomenon. It is certainly healthy for the CEO to recognize this financially irrational desire. With the supercharged emotion of a divorce, rational thinking has been known, sometimes, to take the back seat.
Competent legal advice and strategy can help. Trusted advisors, like the peers in a TEC group, can assist. In the end, however, it is the CEO in the divorce who must come to terms with the reality of a fair marital property settlement and the need to keep the company. The evidence suggests that even in divorce, reality always wins.
I wondered, however, if CEOs were more likely to experience failed marriages. The stress of the job. The time commitment. The travel. The temptations. Might they all add up to a higher percentage of divorce among CEOs?
An informal survey of my colleagues, however, revealed no evidence to support the proposition. It was, by and large, the position of other TEC chairs that CEOs were no more or less likely to have a marriage end in divorce. It also appeared that a fair number of CEOs remained in unhappy marriages. This would be similar, I suspect, to the married population as a whole.
There was, however, one common thread among CEOs of privately held companies whose marriages had failed. It was the almost desperate need on the part of the CEO to “keep the company.”
When it came to splitting assets and negotiating marital property settlements, the desire of the CEO to retain his or her company appeared almost as strong as child custody rights. In many cases, CEOs seemingly ignored the valuation of the company and the recommendations their advisors. In the end, they wanted to keep the company. It was, after all, their baby.
The implications? Good divorce attorneys on both sides probably are well aware of the save-the-company phenomenon. It is certainly healthy for the CEO to recognize this financially irrational desire. With the supercharged emotion of a divorce, rational thinking has been known, sometimes, to take the back seat.
Competent legal advice and strategy can help. Trusted advisors, like the peers in a TEC group, can assist. In the end, however, it is the CEO in the divorce who must come to terms with the reality of a fair marital property settlement and the need to keep the company. The evidence suggests that even in divorce, reality always wins.
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