“Corporate Edge has brought tremendous value to our company, making a great board even better and helping a strong executive in his first public-company CEO position quickly understand and meet the unique demands of a role that is under such public scrutiny today.”

  • Kathryn A. Tunstall
  • Chairman, Board of Directors
  • Conceptus, Inc.

 

  • Robert N. Barone
    Chair, Board of Directors
    AAA Northern California, Nevada, and Utah

    • “Having the support of Corporate Edge has proved to be an investment worth every penny. The Executive Partnership between Corporate Edge and our company president has enhanced her leadership and decision-making capabilities. In addition, we leveraged Mike Takagawa’s firsthand experience in running organizations and managing Boards of Directors when he assisted us in reaching consensus amongst Board Members and management on key strategic issues. Now, the Board and management team’s viewpoints are aligned on the future direction of the organization. We are communicating effectively as a result and are supporting each other more than ever. Together, we are now well positioned to focus on the real issues facing our business and have begun that process. When it is time to hand the reigns over to the next Chair, I am confident that the Board/Management relationship will be one of trust and mutual respect.”

  • Paula F. Downey
    President
    AAA Northern California, Nevada, and Utah

    • “As a relatively new company president, I engaged Corporate Edge as my Executive Partner to help me, as well as our organization, succeed in achieving key, high-stakes business initiatives. As a coach and Executive Advisor, Mike Takagawa and his high-caliber team have helped me to become much more effective in leading my organization through significant changes, while simultaneously delivering greater business results. Our work together has increased my confidence to tackle and communicate challenging issues which has paid large dividends with my Board of Directors – as well as with my senior executive team. By integrating active and supportive efforts from our Board’s leadership and CEO, our Board is now operating at even higher levels of overall productivity, strategic decision making, and communications effectiveness. This success has now been leveraged to include my senior executive team, both individually and collectively. With the coaching and consulting assistance of Corporate Edge, I feel we are making key strides in ensuring the long-term health of our organization.”

  • Bruce Chizen
    Former President and Chief Executive Officer
    Adobe Systems, Inc.

    • “Mike Takagawa is a remarkable CEO Coach. Our work together was so beneficial that we also enlisted Corporate Edge’s solutions for our senior executive team. As a result, I am a more successful CEO and my team has elevated its collective leadership performance immensely.”

  • Jan Willis
    Former Senior Vice President, Industry Marketing
    Cadence Design Systems

    • “Corporate Edge has been an essential aid to our reorganization and turnaround efforts, enabling us to improve productivity by over 30%. Our teams are now able to lead major projects in less time, with fewer resources. My executive partnership with Mike Takagawa was also a huge factor in my promotion to Senior Vice President. I turn to Mike for feedback when faced with difficult decisions. With each unique challenge that arises, he hand picks the right people from his team of specialists to deliver the support I need to achieve outstanding results.”

  • Mark M. Sieczkarek
    President and Chief Executive Officer
    Conceptus, Inc.

    • “Our challenge was to enhance communication between our Senior Management team and our Board of Directors. Corporate Edge has helped us leverage our Board as a resource in decision-making while clearly conveying how much we value them. Mike Takagawa’s deep-rooted experience with Boards as a CEO was invaluable. An excellent facilitator, Mike helped Senior Management and Board members recognize one-another’s concerns and expectations in a positive context. As a result of our work with Corporate Edge, I have established a more relaxed and inclusive relationship with the Board. My recommendations now have greater analytical rigor, our meetings are much more productive, and my team is confident that the Board will support us in accomplishing our goals.”

    Kathryn A. Tunstall
    Chairman, Board of Directors
    Conceptus, Inc.

    • “Corporate Edge has brought tremendous value to our Company, making a great board even better and helping a strong executive in his first public-company CEO position quickly understand and meet the unique demands of a role that is under such public scrutiny today.

      It has always been a key public-company CEO responsibility to support the development of an effective and independent board of directors. This task has become even more urgent due to recent mandates requiring clearer demarcation of management and governing roles. Mike Takagawa’s high-level operating experience combined with his many years of successfully coaching CEOs and boards, make him an excellent resource for public companies in their efforts to continuously improve corporate governance.

      Mike’s work with our Board has had a very positive impact on the quality of strategic and operating deliberations, and our ability to leverage the collective expertise of our Board.”

  • Mark S. Sutton
    Senior Vice President, Supply Chain
    International Paper Company

    • “I had just transferred from an international assignment in line business management into my first staff role in 20 years. It became necessary for me to learn to work in a different way - from running my own show to getting things done through influence and collaboration. I selected Mike Takagawa as an Executive Advisor because of his significant business experience and practical connection with the challenges at my level. Mike and I talked about the issues I deal with on a regular basis. Early on, he guided me in resolving a contentious situation and building equity with a key leader from one of the biggest parts of our organization. Overall, our discussions helped me to make right decisions for the company, avoid costly mistakes, save time, and prepare for what we need to do in the future.”

  • Jerry Fleming
    Senior Vice President, National Health Plan Manager
    Kaiser Permanente

    • “Even though I am a long-time Kaiser veteran of 25+ years, Mike Takagawa's coaching inspired me to take on new and rich challenges. This has allowed me to significantly increase my value and contributions to our organization.”

  • Arthur M. Southam, MD
    Executive Vice President, Health Plan Operations
    Kaiser Permanente

    • “Corporate Edge is the primary coaching entity I chose to help senior and high-potential executives throughout the organization keep up with high demands. As our industry becomes increasingly competitive, the need to be market-driven and customer focused is critical. Over 20 senior leaders have benefited from Corporate Edge’s personalized coaching as they implemented a new performance management system and executive development plan. Corporate Edge also worked with key teams, ensuring that the positive results cascaded throughout the organization. Over the years, our work with Corporate Edge has significantly improved our ability to collaborate effectively and confront issues more constructively.”

  • Dr. C.S. Park
    Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
    Maxtor Corporation (Acquired by Seagate)

    • “Our executive partnership has had a tangible, positive impact on our shareholder value. As a result of Mike Takagawa’s assistance, my Board of Directors and I were better equipped to make critical decisions concerning corporate growth, ownership, and executive strategy. I highly recommend Corporate Edge’s solutions to any organization.”

  • Josh Levine
    Chief Executive Officer
    Mentor Corporation

    • “After evaluating several executive coaching and management consulting firms, we were impressed with Corporate Edge’s strong public company references and track record of helping new CEOs succeed. Our executive partnership with Corporate Edge proved to be a wise investment. Mike Takagawa and his team helped us to improve communications between our executive team and Board members and enhance the productivity of our meetings. In addition, Corporate Edge’s assistance in establishing our "On Boarding" program was invaluable during a period of heavy executive level recruitment.”

  • Joseph Whitters
    Chairman, Board of Directors
    Mentor Corporation

    • “Our work with Corporate Edge has clearly paid off. Our CEO has shown striking improvements in his strategic thinking and overall leadership - skills that will benefit our company for years to come. Initially, we wanted to help our new CEO fine-tune key leadership skills and learn from the feedback of our Board of Directors. We decided to retain an impartial third party advisor, so that our CEO would feel comfortable fully exploring and openly discussing opportunities for improvement. Bringing the right combination of objectivity and leadership, Mike Takagawa and the Corporate Edge team served as an excellent conduit between the Board and CEO. On a regular basis, they listened carefully to our high-priority issues and the examples we relayed. Some of Corporate Edge’s team members even joined us in Board meetings to observe our interactions first-hand. They were proactive in building on our examples and capitalizing on real situations to help our CEO further develop his talents."

  • Dian Harrison
    Chief Executive Officer
    Planned Parenthood Golden Gate

    • “Over the years, the results of our Executive Partnership have been amazing. Working with Mike Takagawa has been an uplifting experience. It has alleviated a lot of the fears and stress I had as I transitioned into a much larger organization. Mike and the Corporate Edge team helped us achieve a major business turnaround that generated more than $1 million in new revenue sources. Corporate Edge also helped us establish an internal mentoring program that dramatically increased the productivity, retention levels, and spirit of collaboration among our employees."

  • Steven B. Falk
    Former President & Chief Executive Officer
    San Francisco Chronicle

    • “The results of Mike Takagawa’s expertise and support have made a tremendous impact on our bottom line. Corporate Edge introduced new leadership behaviors into our organization, which was steeped in long-standing habits. Given our role as San Francisco's major news media provider with 2,500 employees, this accomplishment required exceptional strategic facilitation and coaching skills."

  • Hong Lu
    Chief Executive Officer
    UT Starcom, Inc.

    • “Corporate Edge has helped us instill a much higher level of accountability and bottom-line impact into our organization."