All About the Executive Vice President Role: An Interview with Whitney Hill What is the Executive Vice President position? From the Junior League of Charlotte, Inc. (JLC) bylaws: “The Executive Vice President shall preside at all meetings of the Management Team and shall coordinate the management and operations for the JLC.”
Whitney: The Executive Vice President (EVP) oversees
the day-to-day operations of the JLC and presides over the Management Team. The most straightforward way for me to explain it is that the President is the JLC’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), while the EVP is the Chief Operations Officer (COO). The EVP is one of the six officers of the JLC. President, President-Elect, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Finance and Board Secretary are the other five officers.
When was the position created and why? The JLC’s first EVP was Ashley Soublet in 2018-2019, so this is only the fourth year the JLC has offered this role. The position was created and approved during the 2016-17 League year, allowing the Nominating Committee to slate the first leader during 2017-2018 for the following League year. The rationale for the addition of the role relates to splitting the Board’s strategic focus from the management and operational focus. Before creating the EVP role, the President-Elect (PE) would spend her elect year presiding over the Management Team. The benefit was the PE was immersed in how the JLC operates, but it didn’t give her much time to plan for her year as president. With the EVP role, the PE still sits on the Management Team for exposure to the operations, but the split in responsibilities allows her to focus on the JLC’s strategic vision. These two jobs also require different skill sets and attract different types of women. The president must be able to think and plan strategically. She is forward-thinking, comfortable 32
as the face of the League and has the long-term and 30,000foot view of the League. Conversely, the EVP must be detailoriented. She must be able to manage projects, teams and timelines; she must ensure the execution of short-term, annual plans. In my opinion, a woman interested in serving as the president is more comfortable being the face of the League, while an EVP may be more comfortable operating in the background to ensure everything is running efficiently. When you think about it this way, it makes sense to have these separate roles to recruit the women who are best suited to each job.
Where does the EVP sit within the organizational structure of the Junior League of Charlotte? The EVP oversees the Management Team and is also a voting member of the JLC’s Board of Directors (the Board). The JLC has a split governance model, meaning we have two boards that run the JLC: the Board of Directors and Management Team. The two boards are parallel and the EVP and the President are peers in running their two boards. The EVP also serves as the link between both the Board and Management Team in reporting on the day-to-day work of the JLC at Board meetings. The Board is responsible for the JLC’s 5-year strategic plan, vision and establishing the JLC’s end goals. The Management Team is responsible for annual plans, the day-to-day work of the JLC and determining the means to achieve the end goals established by the Board.
Strategic Governance Future focus
aimed at the outcomes a League seeks to accomplish
Management Present focus
aimed at accomplishing the programs and activities that will achieve the outcomes
