My reading - Todd is gone, the thing about advisory whatever is just there for window-dressing, almost all directors and high ranking officers leave in such manner.

Forget about Todd, he's history.  And the comment about himfeeding from the trough - OMG, what the heck are you thinking - that's the same darn trough we're all trying to get a little nourishment from!

The new guy has some impressive credentials, although there appears to be a typo in terms of his expected graduation from Stanford.  I would think he is smart enough not to join a company without some chance of going somewhere.