This isn’t a workbook. It’s the actual set of documents Pat used to plan his own transition: the note he sent when he was finally ready to say it out loud, the email and agenda he used to put succession on the table with his board, and the framework he used to tell everyone about the merger in the right order. Real artifacts, from someone who did it twice. Take what’s helpful, leave what’s not.
What’s Inside
- The Retirement Note — how Pat said it out loud (and made leaving feel like the plan working, not failing).
- Putting Succession on the Table — the board email, the recommendation memo, and the retreat agenda that made it a yearly conversation instead of a one-time bomb.
- Sequencing the Announcement — the real communications framework: who hears it first, what gets built, and the order it rolls out.
If you want help
Pat is now retired (!) and the first to tell you he’s not an M&A expert. But he’s always game to chat succession. Email him at [email protected].
Exploring a merger, partnership, or transition? Kate Harris, a Helia Collective member, does exactly this work for social sector orgs — holding both the human side and the technical side, and she’s available to hire.
Connect with Kate!
About Pat
Pat Donovan spent 35 years across seven industries and five career changes — from running corporate HR at Vail Resorts, to real estate development, to a wild and formative run at Revolution Foods (where he and Jess met), to leading an education advocacy nonprofit in Denver from 2019 to 2025. But education has been the throughline all along: he got the bug when his oldest was in kindergarten, served on his local school board, and helped start a charter network that now serves thousands of students. He’s married to Marcy (34 years and counting), with three adult kids close by. These days he’s retired — which for Pat means skiing, playing guitar, watching soccer, catching live music, and adventuring a whole lot more.
Connect with Pat
