The Leadership Bench Problem No One Wants to Admit
The Leadership Bench Problem No One Wants to Admit sophia.defreit…Peter Thies
Biography
Peter Thies is a managing director with Pearl Meyer. Before joining Pearl Meyer, Peter was the co-founder and president of The River Group, a leadership and organization development firm. He has over 30 years of experience helping global companies implement strategic organizational changes. Present and past clients include public company CEOs and executives across numerous industries, including financial services, consumer products, healthcare, retail, industrial, professional services, telecommunications, and the nonprofit sector.
Peter was a senior client partner with Korn Ferry’s Leadership and Talent Consulting division and co-leader of the firm’s CEO succession practice. At Mercer Delta Consulting (now Oliver Wyman), Peter held several leadership positions during his 11-year tenure, including responsibility for consulting practice development, client relationship management, and client satisfaction processes. Peter also worked in Accenture’s change practice for several years.
Peter has published numerous articles in business journals and books on organizational change and is frequently quoted by the business media on CEO succession, executive development, and M&A integration. He holds a PhD and an MBA in organizational behavior from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an MS in educational psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BA in psychology from SUNY Albany.
I believe great leaders positively impact the lives of thousands of employees, customers, and stakeholders, and this, in turn, creates significant value for their organizations. I strive to build strong organizations and leadership teams. I am dedicated to helping leaders transform their organizations and helping organizations transform their leaders.
David T. Clary
Biography
David Clary is a Managing Director and Head of the Leadership Advisory Practice at Pearl Meyer based in New York City. He has more than 30 years of experience building and growing a variety of professional services and advisory firms most recently focusing on board impact and executive leadership.
David works with clients to address critical leadership challenges—aligning talent with strategy, improving team effectiveness, and driving execution against business priorities. He is known for a pragmatic, results-focused approach and for translating strategy into actionable outcomes.
Prior to joining Pearl Meyer, David served as the COO of a prominent leadership advisory firm, and earlier in his career, he was a founding partner at Procurian, a market-leading knowledge-based outsourcing and consulting organization, before its eventual sale to Accenture.
David holds a BS from the Kenan-Flagler School at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and an MBA with honors from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, in the Netherlands.
I am inspired by great leaders and impactful leadership practices. I am committed to helping ensure Pearl Meyer’s leadership consulting solutions are world-class so that our clients can reap the benefits. I believe leaders and their teams are the biggest growth drivers in business today.
Developing an Effective Response Plan to Proxy Advisor “Against” Recommendations
Developing an Effective Response Plan to Proxy Advisor “Against” Recommendations sophia.defreit…Robert James
Biography
Rob James is a managing director with Pearl Meyer with almost 15 years of experience in executive compensation and finance. He serves as a trusted advisor to boards and senior management at public and private firms across North America.
He works with companies in all industries, but he has in-depth knowledge and expertise in designing compensations strategies for organizations in life sciences and technology, particularly emerging and high growth companies that are pursuing or have recently completed a M&A transaction or public offering.
Prior to joining Pearl Meyer, Rob was a co-founding partner at Echelon Compensation Partners, an independent consulting firm specializing in executive and broad-based compensation at privately held and publicly traded companies, and a director at Farient Advisors in Los Angeles. He is a Certified Executive Compensation Professional, a distinction awarded by WorldatWork for excellence in the field, and a Certified Equity Professional, which is the only internationally recognized equity compensation designation focusing on taxation, accounting, securities laws, and administration of equity-based incentive programs.
Rob holds a BSc. with honors degree in international management with American business studies from the University of Manchester, UK.
As a trusted advisor to clients, I work collaboratively with the board and senior management to ensure that compensation programs are optimally aligned with the business and support long-term value creation for stakeholders.
Incentive Plan Design in Early-Stage Growth Companies: Navigating Goal Adjustments During the Performance Period
Life Sciences Compensation in 2025: Five Key Lessons
Life Sciences Compensation in 2025: Five Key Lessons sophia.defreit…Robert James
Biography
Rob James is a managing director with Pearl Meyer with almost 15 years of experience in executive compensation and finance. He serves as a trusted advisor to boards and senior management at public and private firms across North America.
He works with companies in all industries, but he has in-depth knowledge and expertise in designing compensations strategies for organizations in life sciences and technology, particularly emerging and high growth companies that are pursuing or have recently completed a M&A transaction or public offering.
Prior to joining Pearl Meyer, Rob was a co-founding partner at Echelon Compensation Partners, an independent consulting firm specializing in executive and broad-based compensation at privately held and publicly traded companies, and a director at Farient Advisors in Los Angeles. He is a Certified Executive Compensation Professional, a distinction awarded by WorldatWork for excellence in the field, and a Certified Equity Professional, which is the only internationally recognized equity compensation designation focusing on taxation, accounting, securities laws, and administration of equity-based incentive programs.
Rob holds a BSc. with honors degree in international management with American business studies from the University of Manchester, UK.
As a trusted advisor to clients, I work collaboratively with the board and senior management to ensure that compensation programs are optimally aligned with the business and support long-term value creation for stakeholders.