Our piece, Pundit’s Mailbag — PBH/Imagination Farms Alliance Questioned, which was based on a letter received after we ran our article, Imagination Farms/Disney Garden Score Big With PBH and Pixar, has continued to cause consternation among many who question the propriety… or the prudence… of PBH in deciding to enter a “strategic alliance” with one particular produce company, even while soliciting support from direct competitors.
Among those most concerned are several members of the PBH Board of Directors who tell us they were never even consulted about this “strategic alliance.” Now PBH has an unusual Board structure, in which PBH basically assigns Board seats to companies based on a $10,000 contribution, so the Board is very large and a lot of work gets done in the Executive Committee. Perhaps it was discussed there.
Still, this type of decision, a self-proclaimed “strategic” decision, is what you would expect to come before the Board. Especially because this very large Board would quickly bring to the surface competitive factors that might make PBH think twice about this whole matter.
If the Board is too unwieldy to be used in this way, it may point to a need for structural reform at PBH so that governance can be effective at helping the foundation achieve its goals.
