After retiring from Newell Brands in the summer of 2019, Michael Polk Newell Brands took some well earned time away from the corporate spotlight. He spent that summer and fall enjoying life outside the demands of running a public company, a break that had been decades in the making.

The rest did not last long. In early 2020, Polk returned to work, joining Berkshire Partners as an advisory director while also taking on the role of chief executive officer at Implus LLC, one of the private equity firm’s portfolio companies.

A New Kind of Challenge

The move to Implus gave Michael Polk a very different kind of assignment than the one he had just left at Newell Brands. Rather than steering a multibillion dollar public company, he was brought in specifically to lead a turnaround and transformation effort at a smaller, privately held business.

Polk has referred to his approach at Implus as a double down strategy, one that combined changes to the company’s portfolio, new ways of working, a redefined set of core cultural beliefs, and the recruitment of a new leadership team.

Navigating Global Disruption

The timing of Polk’s arrival at Implus coincided with the early days of a global pandemic, adding an unusual layer of difficulty to an already demanding turnaround. Despite those obstacles, the company has continued moving toward its goals under his leadership.

While Implus remains privately held and its specific financial results are not public, Berkshire Partners and the company’s management have expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far. For Michael Polk, the role marks another chapter in a career built on guiding organizations through periods of meaningful change.

Friends and former colleagues have said the Implus assignment suits Polk well, giving him the hands on, operator style role he enjoyed early in his career before he rose into the ranks of large public company leadership at Kraft, Unilever, and eventually Newell Rubbermaid. Refer to this article for related information.

Find more information about Michael Polk on https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-polk-7224228