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about what we’re trying to do. It’s an open
environment, a comfortable place to work.”
Its business model continues to evolve.
Jointly owned by three media giants—the
Gannett Company, McClatchy Company and
Tribune Company—CareerBuilder has made
a global push and is now operating sites in
23 countries outside the United States.
“We’ve really become a data company,”
says Green. “We are a place where
companies can come and get incredibly
useful information on the marketplace. That’s
been the biggest transition for us because we
no longer consider ourselves to be just a job
board—though we probably never did.”
Along those lines, Green helped to
facilitate CareerBuilder’s 2012 acquisition
of Economic Modeling Specialists
International (EMSI), an Idaho-based
company that specializes in gathering and
analyzing labor market statistics to create
useful information for employers and
employees. Given the number of players
involved, the deal proved to be extremely
complex from Green’s perspective as
general counsel.
“We had [to meet the legal needs of]
a number of different shareholders, EMSI
employees and a venture fund that was also
an owner,” Green says. “We spent a lot of
time in the due diligence and documentation
processes to make sure we had everyone’s
interests expressed and concerns addressed
correctly. But it was also rewarding because
I probably worked with more departments
internally here at CareerBuilder than I have
on any other deal—finance, technology and
others. It was a real team effort. I’ve been part
of the integration process going forward, and
we now provide [EMSI’s] legal support. It’s
been one of our most positive acquisitions.
These guys just focus on data, so it’s a great
fit for CareerBuilder.”
CareerBuilder’s evolution into a
data-oriented company has presented
Green’s legal department with new sets
of challenges.
“A lot of what we do in the legal
department is to try to understand
the terms, conditions and policies
around the data, because it’s a very
valuable asset,” Green says. “And when
you look internationally, there are
different protection rules in the various
marketplaces. How a product works in
Germany is not going to be the same when
we look at, say, Singapore. So we spend
a lot of time on my team thinking about
those products as they come online and
how we’re going to integrate them and
deal with those data-protection issues.”
With seven attorneys and one paralegal,
Green’s department is relatively lean. Thus,
it’s not uncommon for him to farm out
work to firms. Michael J. Gray, a partner in
Jones Day’s Chicago office who specializes
in labor and employment issues for
CareerBuilder, says Green has a knack for
making outside counsel feel like more than
a hired hand.
“One thing Alex does really well is
promote a partnership between his
department and the outside law firms
he uses,” Gray says. “I think Alex seeks
out lawyers he can talk to and trust,
and he does provide them with a lot of
independence and responsibility. You don’t
want to see outside counsel as your enemy,
and he’s great from that respect. He really
sees outside counsel as his partner in terms
of providing the best legal and business
advice. They tackle problems together.”
You might not know it by looking at him,
but over a quarter-century has passed
since that football found its way into
Green’s hands and the record book. He
doesn’t lament leaving the NFL. “I probably
would have always wondered if I could play
or compete at [the NFL] level,” Green says.
“And I think I left believing that I could. It
kind of gave me the freedom, at the end of
that run, to walk away from that part of my
life. It gave me the freedom to say, ‘I think
I’m done.’ It was a tremendous experience.
I’m glad I had a chance to do it.”
Suiting up for CareerBuilder is no less
sweet.
“I feel like I’ve been fortunate, in that
at McDonald’s, Household International
and now CareerBuilder, I’ve liked what the
companies do,” Green says. “I loved driving
down the street and seeing a McDonald’s,
and thinking to myself that I was at least a
small part of it. And I really love what we
do here at CareerBuilder. I like our mission.
At its base level, we’re trying to help people
find jobs. That just feels right.”
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