NVA Entrepreneur-in-Residence Named Private Company Director of the Year by the National Association of Corporate Directors

Greg Cessna, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Auburn University’s New Venture Accelerator (NVA) and a renowned leader in start-up and established company governance, has been named Private Company Director of the Year by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD).  

The NACD is an independent, not-for-profit organization founded in 1977 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with a membership of more than 24,000 that includes some 1,750 corporate boards and over 22,000 individual directors. For the past 47 years, this prestigious peer-to-peer network has helped leaders build successful companies that make a difference in the world through their more than 20 chapters across 35 locations – all committed to navigating the governance landscape together.         

Cessna is the Lead Director or Vice Chairman of three privately held, family-owned companies – Hillandale Farms, Maclean Fogg and Henderson Brothers. Prior to these director positions, Cessna served on the boards of several non-profits, including Propel Charter School Foundation, University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence, Pittsburgh YMCA, Dadeville Performing Arts Center, and Auburn’s MBA Advisory Board. 

The award will be formally presented at a gala NACD event in New York City, NY on December 16, 2024. Read the NACD announcement for more details here.  

“Congratulations to Greg, someone who has been instrumental to the growth and success of the NVA right from the start,” said Lou Bifano, Director of Auburn’s New Venture Accelerator, who  pointed to the impact of this award in helping elevate the extraordinary expertise in residence at the NVA. “When an organization as prestigious as the NACD recognizes Greg and all the work he does,” noted Bifano, “it shines a bright light on all of us here at Auburn.”  

The NVA sat down with Cessna to find out more about the role of a private company board member, how it differs from being a director at a publicly held company, and what that difference means to start-ups and emerging new businesses at the NVA.  

NVA: Let’s start with what a director of a privately held company does. What role do you play in providing the governance so critical to a company’s success? 

Cessna: Serving as a director of a privately held, family-owned business is not that different from serving on a public company board with respect to good governance. However, there are some unique circumstances that impact your ability to govern. 

First, in a family-owned business the shareholder group is well known, considerably smaller than in a public company, and can have a clear and direct impact on the business. 

Second, owners of family businesses often have been successful over decades and have a strong point of view on what drives success. Oftentimes, these owners have broad voting rights that must be considered in governing the company. 

Finally, many times a family-owned business spans generations, with future generations having a vested interest in the sustainability of the business while the older generations might be more risk-averse in their strategy. 

Consequently, directors on a family-owned company board must govern as a fiduciary and manage risk as a fiduciary while at the same time keeping in mind the interests of the family, the shareholders, the management, and what is in the best interest of the shareholders and the company itself. Doing so requires the ability to communicate effectively with truth and grace while maintaining your integrity in your duty to care and duty to loyalty.  Most importantly, it requires the skill to build relationships and navigate the unique attributes of the family and owners.  

NVA: Let’s talk about how that role differs from what a director at a publicly held company does. 

Cessna: As noted earlier, private company director roles are in many ways similar. but there are significant differences that are important to recognize. 

Private company directors often have a longer planning horizon than public company directors, allowing them to have more tenacity and commitment to their strategic plans. Private company directors are able to build genuine and intimate relationships with the shareholders and the management team along with the CEO. These relationships allow the board to act in the best interest of those shareholders with clarity and purpose. Most importantly, private company directors are able to get immediate and direct feedback from shareholders, the CEO and management. All of these factors result in an ability to have an immediate impact on the companies we serve.  

NVA: How does your experience and expertise in corporate governance for privately owned companies play into what you do as an entrepreneur-in-residence at the NVA? 

Cessna: The work being done at the NVA to create our next generation of companies and company leaders is incredible, and I have the opportunity to react to the strategy for the NVA in many of the same ways I react as a director on my boards. In addition, I am able to deploy my experiences as a CEO, C-Suite Leader, Entrepreneur, and now Director to help student teams learn how to start and build companies, how to think about capital allocation, conduct competitive analyses, connect with channels and sales strategies, and understand the leverage points in leveraging their ideas to create companies.   

While not all ideas will evolve into a business, the learning process through these experiences ultimately creates better students for employment. Finally, I love the idea of the NVA and I do all I can to publish, teach and encourage the growth of the NVA so we get more teams, more pitch competitions and more funding for students. 

NVA: Finally, you believe in giving back – to offer a hand up to those who are less fortunate. Can you talk about that a bit? 

Cessna: A lack of resources shouldn’t be a factor when it comes to a given individual’s ability to get an education – it is not a measure of their intellect or potential to contribute to society. In addition to a perpetual scholarship with Auburn University, our family started a family foundation in 2018 to fund underprivileged kids with college tuition.  While small today, we have managed to fund over $100,000 in tuition for kids graduating from Propel Charter Schools in Pittsburgh and another $25,000 in tuition for a Christian school in Wickenburg, AZ.    

In addition, in 2018 we established the EMBA Class of 2017 Endowed Scholarship in Memory of Adam Sturgeon.  We established the scholarship to support our classmate Donnie Sturgeon, whose son Adam, then a rising senior at Auburn, was killed in a car accident while heading home for Thanksgiving break. 

The New Venture Accelerator is proud to congratulate Greg on this extraordinary industry recognition and look forward to all that’s sure to come. 

To learn more about the New Venture Accelerator’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence program and the broad array of expertise and start-up support services they offer, contact Lou Bifano at ljb0022@auburn.edu or visit the NVA website HERE.