Thomas A. Cole, Senior Counsel and Chair Emeritus of the Executive Committee

NEW TIME: Monday, January 9 at *5 p.m. in the Culbertson Room
and Livestream.

Bill Evertsberg and long-time Kenilworth Union Church member Tom Cole will engage in a “fireside chat” to discuss Tom’s  book Collaborative Crisis Management: Prepare, Execute, Recover, Repeat.  The book, written with co-author Paul Verbinnen (a leading crisis communications consultant), was published by the University of Chicago Press in September 2022.  Reviewers have called their book “an invaluable resource”, “a master class” and “a classic”.  Among the topics to be covered will be how adherence to Christian values help leaders of organizations prepare for and manage crises.

*The odd time avoids the NCAA Football Championship at 6:30 p.m. and the Stephen Minister training at 7 p.m.

In addition, the discussion on January 9 will explore—

• The why and how of collaboration
• The dynamic nature of crises
• The ways in which the environment for managing a crisis has changed since the exemplary handling by J&J of the Tylenol murders crisis some 40 years ago
• Critical elements of risk management to prevent, and mitigate the impact of, crises
• The myriad issues that must be addressed in the management of a crisis
• The importance of a focus on culture in risk management and the need to emphasize HR considerations during the management of a crisis
• Special risk management issues for universities and not-for-profits

In writing the book, Tom and his co-author drew upon a collective nearly three-quarters of a century experience in advising clients on risk and crisis management.  As a leader of his law firm, Sidley Austin LLP, for 15 years as the chair of its Executive Committee, Tom collaborated with colleagues in the management various crises—including the destruction of the firm’s NYC office on 9/11. Tom is retiring at the end of 2022  after a 47 year career at Sidley as an M&A lawyer and public company corporate governance advisor.  For over 10 years, he taught the seminar on corporate governance at the University of Chicago Law School. Since 2001, Tom has served on the Board of Trustees of the University.

The fireside chat will take place in the Culbertson Room. Refreshments will be served. Tom has donated a number of copies of the book to the Church; they will be made available to those in attendance (with a request that consideration be given to making a donation to the Church). Kenilworth Union members and their families and friends are all welcome. Please RSVP on or before noon on January 9 to Karen Gaynor.

We hope to see you there!