How Common Agenda Got Its Name

Years before Matthew Reaves founded the firm, a noteworthy placement with a telecom leader landed him an invitation by a friend, Rick Nickells, to participate in a unique executive search assignment with Northern Telecom (now Nortel Networks). The challenge was to recruit 7 VPs to be Nortel’s ambassadors in the newly formed RBOCs (Regional Bell Operating Companies) and to help inaugurate a Canadian/American corporate culture merge. This was a formidable and difficult recruiting task.

The new client, a Group VP, proposed on the white board an organization that charged the new recruits with “Joint Leadership, Joint Responsibility sharing a Common Agenda!” Immediately, Matthew knew that it would be a great name for an executive search firm and began to plan…

Over the next few years, while Matthew continued his successful search and recruiting career, Common Agenda’s vision was defined, and business plan was written. The dream of running his own firm kept calling until one day in 1996, the death of his friend Rick inspired him to leave his employer of 13 years and start up Common Agenda.

Below is a copy of the very Organization Chart that spurred Matthew Reaves to the name “Common Agenda”.