eBriefing

You Can Become a High-Tech Director

Three veteran board members share their tech journeys, advice

By Eve Tahmincioglu

There’s a building drumbeat to get technology expertise on company boards, and that even includes legislation to push the issue in boardrooms. While the answer is often to bring in younger, geekier directors, the best candidate may already be sitting at the boardroom table.

Existing directors, even those past retirement age, are starting to look in the mirror and say, “I can be a high-tech director.”

With technology invading almost every part of business, from computers to e-commerce, it makes sense for all directors to have a level of tech knowledge in order to do their jobs well. It’s imperative for everything from making sure company systems and customer information are protected to spotting the next disruptive technology that could impact business.

Blockchain: Why directors should take notice

By Horacio Barakat

The Bank of England and the People’s Bank of China are discussing issuing their national currencies on the blockchain. Walmart already uses blockchain to track pork production in China. And MIT researches are developing a system using blockchain to secure electronic medical records.

Is blockchain worth the investment and will it live up to the hype?

With the billions currently being invested in blockchain technology, it seems to be a matter not of  if, but  when. One thing is for certain – it’s imperative for businesses to learn and prepare for what could be the inevitable move towards the blockchain or they will risk getting left behind.

Survival Guide: How Idalene Kesner prepares for board meetings

By April Hall

Adalene Kesner

Director: AACSB International, The Main Street America Group, Lincoln Industries, Berry Plastics

Idalene Kesner, the first woman to serve as dean of the University of Indiana’s Kelley School of Business, sits on a variety of boards, so she finds herself traveling a lot. That means a lot of plane rides and a lot of hotels.

“Carry-on [luggage] for travel purposes, that’s all I ever do,” Kesner says. “You don’t have to wait for your luggage that way.”

She’s already prepped for her meeting before the plane lands, whether it’s by reading up on industry trends for private companies, getting analyst reports for public ones or doing a little bit of both. She also flags articles that may help in committee work (for instance the governance committee she chairs) and passes that along to her colleagues.

Family Business Generational Wealth

Feb. 7 - 9
Developing Wealth Strategies for the Family and the Business

Family Business Generational Wealth 2018, now in its second year, is the only wealth management conference for active family businesses and enterprises.

Family Business Generational Wealth, from Family Business magazine, is a different kind of wealth management conference, created by families for families, focused on real-world solutions to wealth management across generations, presented by family business executives and shareholders themselves.

This conference is ideal for:

• Family business CEOs/Chairs/CFOs
• Family trust directors and executives
• Family business shareholders
• Family council leaders and members
• Family office leaders

Citi Appoints Former Intelligence Official to Its Boards

By Barbara Wenger

Citi, a leading global bank with approximately 200 million customer accounts, doing business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions, bolstered its cyber-threat readiness by appointing a former government intelligence veteran to its board.

S. Leslie Ireland, was head of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA), U.S. Department of the Treasury, and National Intelligence Manager for Threat Finance under the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) until 2016. She was the principal advisor to the DNI on threat finance and oversaw the intelligence process regarding the use of financial information to combat the wide range of U.S. national security threats, including terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, narco-trafficking and transnational organized crime.