Page 13 - Delaware Lawyer - Spring 2019

two-story room defined by soaring arches decorated with acanthus-leaf rosettes and lined with Greek keys and egg-and-dart molding. The ceiling medallions that had once showcased pendant chandeliers were chipped and crumbling. At each end of the room, where there once had perched majestic, gilt American eagles atop a plas- ter cartouche, there was left what looked like police chalk outlines.
Weeks later, when the walls were pulled down, windows were revealed. Natural light came flooding in. Now this dark and dreary room looked very different; it was overflowing with potential if we were will- ing to put the work into taking the raw material we had inherited and making it something special. It felt a lot like Che- mours and the purposeful path before us. Transforming this building into the sleek, open, elegant and, yes, even playful work environment we envisaged would be ev- ery bit as challenging as transforming our new company into a nimble and profitable growth engine populated with people who have a bias for action and collaborative problem-solving. But that’s exactly what we set out to do. We were going to do this.
When the walls were pulled down and windows were revealed, natural light came flooding in. Now this dark and dreary room looked very different.
Yes or No to Wilmington?
But was downtown Wilmington really the best option, the potential-laden Du- Pont Building notwithstanding? Some thought that making a clean break from our parent company was best signaled by establishing our global headquarters any- where but Wilmington. The symbolism of a decision like that was undeniably strong. And as communications professionals are
always reminding us — perception is real- ity. So as a senior management team, we went looking for another site. We toured soy fields in southern New Jersey (“I think there’s a Howard Johnson’s nearby where the board of directors can stay,” a col- league quipped.) and undeveloped acres near high-end shopping in Pennsylvania (“Wegman’s for lunch again?”) — both of which could be redeveloped into bespoke, modern workspaces. We even looked at soon-to-be-vacant, cookie-cutter office park buildings with an abundance of both free parking and contrived landscapes of mini-lakes and jogging paths. They all had their allures, their pluses, and one more thing in common: they were all more eco- nomically attractive than Delaware.
Delaware simply could not compete with the tax structure of its neighboring states. And as a company born with a chal- lenging balance sheet, let’s just say that ev- ery decision was price-sensitive. Our heart was in Wilmington, without question. We wanted to stay. Anywhere else would feel like renting. But the economics weren’t there. And in truth, other companies were wrestling with the same problem, as
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