February 10-11
“Board agendas are being transformed by today’s accelerated pace of technological change and rising stakeholder complexity. Directors are re-evaluating goals, strategies, as well as the impact their companies are making on the world around them,” says Susan C. Keating, CEO of WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation (WCD).
“At our upcoming Americas Institute, WCD will explore the laser focus directors need today as they grapple with everything from the explosive growth of ESG to the ethical and legal quandaries emerging around new technologies.”
On February 10-11, 2020, in Miami, FL, the WCD Americas Institute will bring together an expected 100 directors and C-suite executives from around the world, with a special emphasis on Latin and South America, Canada, and the United States. WCD is the world’s largest community of women board members, who represent companies from the S&P 500 to some of the largest privately held firms around the globe.
In-depth conversations with top CEOs and directors
As part of the program, the Institute will feature one-on-one interviews with leaders who have been instrumental in transforming their industries and, as Keating says, “who are making a profound impact in areas affecting the wider world.” These include:
- Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, the President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises. In 2014, Lutoff-Perlo became the first female head of a major cruise line and has turned Celebrity into the industry leader in shipboard leadership roles for women.
- David Crane, Leader at The B Team and former CEO of NRG Energy. Crane was one of the first CEOs in the U.S. power industry to call for mandatory climate change measures. He is an advocate of the potential for value creation through transformational capitalism, and particularly the opportunity open to the conventional energy industry to lead the transition from fossil fuels to a clean energy economy.
- Martha Finn Brooks, director at Jabil Circuit Inc., Bombardier, and Constellium, and a WCD member. Brooks served as CEO and president of companies in the manufacturing industry, including Novelis, before leaving the private sector to devote her time to fighting poverty and building economic security for women around the world. Brooks will be joined by Brenda Chamulak, the CEO of Jabil Packaging Solutions, one of the fastest growing divisions of Jabil.
Rapid ESG growth, culture’s impact on strategy, new tech risks shape agenda
Informed panels at the two-day Institute – “Focus: How Culture, ESG, and Technology Are Radically Changing Board Agendas” – will address key issues for getting boards “future-ready,” says Keating.
“KPMG is proud to once again be the Lead Sponsor of WCD’s Americas Institute and support a program that will help directors be better prepared as they think about the risks and opportunities that are becoming critical to their business,” said Camille Asaro, Partner, KPMG LLP, who manages the firm’s global relationship with WCD. She continued, “As an audit, tax, and advisory firm, KPMG recognizes that technological disruption has become a standing item on the board agenda and we are helping companies to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape.”
Panels include:
- Culture Cues: Setting Direction, Mitigating Risk – Examines the board’s role in corporate culture, questions board members need to ask of management, and why culture is linked to overall corporate strategy.
- Reassessing Corporate Purpose – Discusses how and why many corporations around the world are incorporating environmental, social, and governance practices into their business models.
- Is Cash Still Queen? How New Technology is Changing Society – Reviews the impact of cashless shopping, banking, and other transactions, and how local governments and other entities are presenting challenges to innovation.
- Is Seeing Believing? How AI-enabled Deepfakes are Challenging Ethics in Technology – Discusses how convincing video and voice manipulation is evolving too rapidly for legislation and defensive solutions to keep pace, and the dangers this presents for individuals and companies.
- In addition to the sessions above, the Institute will have a breakfast panel with a director discussion, “How I Got on My First Board.”
WCD launches industry peer groups
At the Institute, WCD will launch industry peer groups for directors in consumer products and retail; energy; financial services; healthcare; and technology/cybersecurity risk and insurance. These are part of WCD’s expansion of its peer director communities, which include S&P 500 directors, who convened in New York City this fall, and the Nominating and Governance (N&G) Chair Roundtable, which includes both men and women N&G committee chairs from top global companies.
Registration, sponsors, 2020 Global Institute
Registration for the Americas Institute is live; if registrants complete registration by December 30, 2019, they will receive a 15% discount.
Audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLP is the Global Lead Sponsor of the Institute. Additional global sponsors of WCD include: Spencer Stuart, Pearl Meyer, Marsh & McLennan, Latham & Watkins,Vinson & Elkins, IFC, Marriott and Equilar.
In June 2020, WCD will continue its discussions around the “future-ready board” at its annual Global Institute, which will be hosted by Goldman Sachs at the firm’s headquarters in New York City. KPMG LLP will also sponsor the Global Institute.
For more information, please contact Suzanne Oaks Brownstein or Trang Mar of Temin and Company at 212.588.8788 or news@teminandco.com.