Network 2015 New York Volume 1 by BritishAmerican_Business

2015, VOL. I

NETWORK www.babinc.org

The

NEW YORK LONDON

Innovation Imperative With insights from:

Craig Kreeger CEO Virgin Atlantic Airways

Ed Bastian President Delta Air Lines

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CONTENTS

2015, VOL. I

NETWORK www.babinc.org

NEW YORK LONDON

The

Innovation Imperative With insights from:

2 A Message from Wendy Mendenhall, Managing Director 3

MEET THE NEW MEMBERS

THE INNOVATION IMPERATIVE Craig Kreeger, CEO of Virgin Atlantic Airways and Ed Bastian, President of Delta Air Lines

Ed Bastian President Delta Air Lines

8 BRITISHAMERICAN BUSINESS

London 75 Brook Street London W1K 4AD Tel: +44 (0)20 7290 9888 Fax: +44 (0)20 7491 9172 E-mail: ukinfo@babinc.org @BABLondon Website: www.babinc.org EDITOR Andrew Boyd aboyd@babinc.org

4 A Message from our Board Chairman and President

Craig Kreeger CEO Virgin Atlantic Airways

New York 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, 20th Floor New York, NY 10017 Tel: +1 212 661 4060 Fax: +1 212 661 4074 E-mail: nyinfo@babinc.org @BABNewYork

TRANSATLANTIC COUNCIL MEMBER LISTING

13 Giving Back to Grow as a Company Bev Hendry, Co-head of Americas Aberdeen Asset Management

Innovation and the Role of Leaders: Why Strategy Needs a Strategy by Martin Reeves, Senior Partner & Managing Director, The Boston Consulting Group

10 A NEW YORK MINUTE J. Frank Brown, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, General Atlantic 11

14 Business Ethics: An Oxymoron? Frank L. Holder, Chairman, Latin American Region, Forensic & Litigation Consulting, FTI Consulting Digital Is Everything, But Not Everything Is Digital David Sable, Global CEO, Y&R 15 Asset Tracing in a Borderless World Ian Casewell, Partner, Mintz Group and Christopher Weil, Partner, Mintz Group

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

12 The New Quest of Business Sarah Diamond, General Manager, Global Consulting Services, IBM Global Business Services

Emerging Economies Risk Update Andrew Van den Born, Executive Director, Willis Financial Solutions

Banks Search for Sustainable Growth, But Where Will it Come From? Michael Inserra, Vice Chair, Ernst & Young LLP; Regional Managing Partner – Financial Services Organization, EY Americas

If It Makes You Feel Good, It’s Probably a Bad Idea Matthew Sherman, President, Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

17 POLICY UPDATE

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

19 New York Program Highlights 22 London Program Highlights

Photos by Elsa Ruiz, Marc Hall and Jerry Speier

BritishAmerican Business NETWORK 2015, VOL. I

Wendy Mendenhall Managing Director BritishAmerican Business wmendenhall@babinc.org

ith his highly visible unkempt blonde hair and a blustery style, Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, rolled into New York in February bringing with him a group of leaders from London’s burgeoning FinTech Sector. Visiting many local politicians and a number of our member companies, he also took time from his busy schedule for an evening reception with senior executives from our membership. In his trademark frank style, he commented on the strengths of the New York/London business environment and on obstacles that still remain to more extensive free trade. Members of the FinTech delegation were also able to get a taste of New York hospitality, ideas and access for expanding into the US market. We were also delighted to host Sir Mark Lyall Grant, UK Ambassador to the UN, for a briefing in January on how regional conflicts are impacting global businesses. This was Sir Mark’s last program with us as his assignment here in New York is at an end. We thank him for sharing his expertise and supporting our business community. This winter also saw us host a one of a kind launch party for New York’s newest sports franchise (and one of our newest members) New York City Football Club. We also braved the snow for our first “Community Reception” welcoming new member companies and expats from within the membership. In March, I was honored to join leaders of several BABC chapters at the British Embassy in Washington

as we welcomed the new EU Ambassador to the United States, Dav id O’Sul l ivan, and several governmental and business leaders for a discussion on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. I can’t emphasize enough what this “NAFTA Moment” means for our member companies and the future of transatlantic business. I encourage you all to find concrete ways to not only support this agreement, but to provide feedback to ensure it fits your business needs. In this issue, we focus on innovation with a unique feature interview with the President of Delta Air Lines and CEO of Virgin Atlantic that focuses on their transatlantic joint venture. Join us on May 14 to hear them in person, along with senior executives, experts, and thought-leaders at our conference on Innovation hosted by Thomson Reuters at their Times Square offices. Registration and more information can be found at www.babc2015newyork.com. Follow the conference on twitter for the latest updates and live tweets from the panel discussions: @BABCNY15 As always, we have a full calendar of events planned for the spring. We look forward to seeing you and your colleagues at our forums, networking receptions and business briefings. We are always delighted to hear your ideas, questions, news, and feedback. You can reach me at wmendenhall@babinc.org. Thank you for your strong support during this cold winter and we look forward to working with you through the rest of 2015. Happy reading…

N ew B o a rd a n d I A B M e m b e rs BAB is governed by a transatlantic Board of Directors, led by our Chairman, Nicholas Walsh, Senior Advisor, AIG and our Deputy Chairman/President, Christopher Perry, President Global Sales, Marketing & Client Solutions, Broadridge Financial Solutions. The Board’s active support and commitment to BAB and its objectives are important to ensuring our continued success as an organization. We also enjoy strong support from our International Advisory Board, consisting of chairmen and CEOs from more than 100 major, multinational companies. We are delighted to announce that the following new members have recently joined our Board of Directors and International Advisory Board.

NEW INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS:

NEW BOARD MEMBERS:

ZANNY MINTON BEDDOES Editor-in-Chief The Economist

FRANK D’SOUZA CEO Cognizant

JOHN HOLLAND-KAYE CEO Heathrow Airport

WILLIAM LEWIS Chief Executive Officer Dow Jones

SIR WIN BISCHOFF Chairman JP Morgan Securities

TOM FARLEY President NYSE Group

IGNACIO JAYANTI President Corsair Capital

MARK MAKEPEACE Chief Executive FTSE Group

ERIC CANTOR Vice Chairman and Managing Director, New York Moelis & Company

DENNIS FRIEDRICH Chief Executive Officer Brookfield Office Properties

RICH LESSER President & CEO Boston Consulting Group

ILIAN MIHOV Dean INSEAD

MARTIN DAVIDIAN Managing Director, Sales UK & Ireland Federal Express Europe (FedEX) RODNEY WARREN ZEMMEL Managing Partner, Northeast Offices McKinsey & Company

BritishAmerican Business NETWORK 2015, VOL. I

Tr a n s a t l a n t i c C o u n c i l M e m b e r s

T RA N SAT L A N T I C CO U N C I L M E M B E R S Transatlantic Council Membership is reserved for a select group of BritishAmerican Businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; leading companies, and offers them a customized program of exclusive networking, promotional, and business opportunities, in addition to the regular benefits associated with membership in BritishAmerican Business.

A.T. Kearney

Brunswick Group

Goldman Sachs & Co.

McKinney Rogers

Simon & Partners

Aberdeen Asset Management

McKinsey & Company

Standard Chartered Bank

Ace Group

Burson-Marsteller

Hakluyt & Company (North America)

Merrill Corporation

State Street Corporation

AIG

CBRE

Mintz Group; The

Sullivan & Cromwell

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Chadbourne & Parke

Moelis & Company

Tata Consultancy Services

AlixPartners Ally Financial Alston & Bird American Airlines Aon Hewitt Aon Risk Solutions Aquiline Capital Partners Arup Aspen Insurance Holdings BAE Systems Applied Intelligence

Chubb & Son CIT Citi City Football Group Cognizant

Hearst Corporation Heidrick & Struggles Hill+Knowlton Strategies Hinduja Group of Companies HSBC Bank USA IBM Corporation INSEAD

Monitise Group Morgan Lewis & Bockius Mountbatten Institute National Grid News Corporation

thebigword Thomson Reuters Tradeweb Travel Leaders Corporate

Coller Capital

InterContinental New York Barclay

Colliers International

Invest Northern Ireland

Norton Rose Fulbright

Corsair Capital

IPSA International

NYSE

Cushman & Wakefield

Jaguar Land Rover

NYU Stern School of Business

Debevoise & Plimpton

JetBlue Airways

PA Consulting Group

Deloitte.

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

Pfizer

Virgin Atlantic Airways

PR Newswire Association

VisitBritain

Promontory Financial Group

Vodafone Global Enterprise

Prosek Partners

WeiserMazars

Proxima Group

Wells Fargo & Company

PwC

Williams Capital Group, The

Risona

Willis Group Holdings

NFL

Turner & Townsend UBS UK Trade & Investment United Airlines Verizon

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Delta Air Lines

Barclays

Dentons

BBC Worldwide North America

Deutsche Bank

Beazley Group

DLA Piper

Kingstree Group U.S., The

BGD Holdings

Economist Group, The

Korn Ferry

BLJ Worldwide

EHS Partners

KPMG LLP

Bloomberg

EMC Corporation

Latham & Watkins

Royal Bank of Scotland, The

Winchester Capital Withers Bergman

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Just Marketing JWT

BNY Mellon

Exxon Mobil Corporation

Legg Mason

Russell Reynolds Associates

Boots Retail USA

LexisNexis

Said Business School, University of Oxford

Witt/Kieffer

Boston Consulting Group; The

Finsbury

Linklaters

Samba Brands Management

WL Ross & Co.

BP America

Fragomen Del Rey Bernsen & Loewy

Lloydâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s America

Santander

WPP

Schroders Investment Management North America

Xerox Corporation

LSG (US)

General Atlantic

Marsh & McLennan Companies

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton

Gibney Anthony & Flaherty

McGraw Hill Financial

Siemens Financial Services

British Airways Broadhaven Capital Partners Broadridge Financial Solutions Brookfield Office Properties

FTI Consulting FTSE

BritishAmerican Business NETWORK 2015, VOL. I

Lloyds Bank

Young & Rubicam Group Zurich Insurance Company

A M essa g e From our Board C h airm an a n d P res i d e nt Dear Fellow-Members of BritishAmerican Business: As you know, Richard Fursland, who was a co-founder of BritishAmerican Business and has led our outstanding growth and development with great dedication and success as our Chief Executive since our establishment in 2000, stepped down from this role as of March 1. We very much appreciate Richard’s exceptional leadership of BAB, and are delighted that he has agreed to stay on in a part-time advisory role to advise and support us and BAB’s new executive leadership. We are also very pleased that as of March 1, Jeffries Briginshaw, previously Managing Director of our London office, took over from Richard as our Chief Executive, and that Wendy Mendenhall continues to lead our US operations as Managing Director of our New York office.

Nicholas Walsh Chairman BritishAmerican Business nwalsh@babinc.org

Jeffries and Wendy are both outstanding executives who, along with Richard, have contributed greatly to BAB’s continuing success; and it is thanks in large part to Richard’s and their efforts as well as your support, that BAB is now in the strongest position it has ever enjoyed and had one of our best-ever years in calendar 2014. Since the start of 2015, we have continued to make good progress with implementation of our 3 –Year Forward Plan (‘14-’17), which will further expand and improve BAB’s business offering and membership base; and we are confident that, with this outstanding leadership team in place and your ongoing and active engagement with us, we will continue to grow and to succeed in the years to come. With all good wishes for the rest of 2015, and many thanks for all your support for BAB,

M Jeffries Briginshaw CEO BritishAmerican Business

any of you have supported us from our beginning, and have worked with us ever since BritishAmerican Business was born out of the merger of AmCham UK & the British American Chamber of Commerce. You have watched us grow into what we are today. I am sure you will join me then in thanking our successful founder and CEO, Richard Fursland for the fundamental role he played in shaping that destiny. He has played such an important role in helping us to become an exceptional transatlantic business organization, proudly representing the best of American and British business. Richard couldn’t have achieved what he did without a group of people, ‘Team BAB’, day in and day out delivering with good ideas, hard work and good humor, the best possible membership experience. We are now only a few months away from our 15th year anniversary and this year, as well as celebrating that rich heritage, we will be looking forward to developing exciting plans and projects that will help shape and define our future. For example, by unveiling a new and improved website, we hope to consolidate and strengthen our visibility online and find new ways to engage with you, based on the superb ‘content’ we already generate as a network, but updating some of the platforms we use to communicate it. As a member, you can look forward to experiencing these exciting changes, all part of our efforts to ensure maximum value is being derived at each membership level. And you can be sure that both cities will continue to deliver

Chris Perry President and Deputy Chairman BritishAmerican Business cperry@babinc.org

an outstanding calendar of premier events, to provide unique networking and business building opportunities at each and every one of our future event initiatives. Look out for the launch of new programs as we embrace today and tomorrow’s corporate priorities on topics ranging from diversity to cyber resilience and more. One of the key moments this year so far has been the launch of our comprehensive TTIP case study report, ‘Local, Specific, Tangible’. I am pleased to say that the report has been extremely well received, in particular by key stakeholders in government. When it comes to championing our ongoing policy work, the report demonstrates that we have added some ‘campaign style’ spirit to the way we do things. The underlying initiative, not only reflects member core interests but it ties in with our continuing efforts to bring a fresh, outgoing and engaged approach to our policy work. Looking forward to June, London will once again play host to our 12th Corporate Citizenship Awards Dinner and later on in the year, New York will host this year’s Transatlantic Business Awards Dinner. These aren’t just glitzy events in the awards calendar but more importantly a superlative celebration of British and American Business at its best. This is our opportunity to applaud and acknowledge those that have led outstanding businesses but also, in their leadership demonstrated broader contributions in a tangible way. I hope to see you there!

BritishAmerican Business NETWORK 2015, VOL. I

MEET THE NEW MEMBERS

Tra n s a t l a n t i c Co u n c i l M e m b e rs BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS

PROXIMA GROUP

www.broadridge.com

EMC CORPORATION

Our expertise encompasses every aspect of Securities Processing to Investor Communications, while our clients include global banks, retail, institutional & discount brokerage firms & special trading firms, mutual funds, hedge funds & annuity companies, all of whom look to us to help them enhance their performance, increase efficiency, reduce costs and allow them to increase their focus on their core business activities.

www.emc.com EMC is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver information technology as a service (ITaaS). Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset — information — in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way.

Proxima, the fastest growing independent procurement services company in the USA and the largest provider in the UK. We deliver operational and financial benefits to clients by changing the way procurement works with the business, bringing market insight and deep expertise to optimize third party spend. We call it Catalytic Procurement.

SAMBA BRANDS MANAGEMENT

BURSON-MARSTELLER

www.sambabrandsmanagement.com

www.bm.com Burson-Marsteller is a leading global public relations and public affairs firm. It provides clients with strategic thinking and program execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, advertising, and web-related services. The firm’s seamless worldwide network consists of 57 whollyowned offices and 46 affiliate offices, together operating in 59 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s leading communications services networks.

CITY FOOTBALL GROUP www.cityfootball.com City Football Group is the owner of a number of football clubs and football related businesses, including Manchester City FC, New York City FC, Melbourne City FC and a minority stake in Yokohama F. Marinos.

HINDUJA GROUP OF COMPANIES www.hindujagroup.com

www.insead.edu INSEAD is a leading graduate business school distinguished by an approach to management education and research that is multicultural and diverse in perspective, content, and experience. Campuses in France, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi and strategic partnerships with Wharton, Tsinghua University, and Brazil's Fundação Dom Cabral, among others, create an unparalleled global platform for the delivery of degree (MBA, EMBA, PhD, special masters) and executive programs that draw thousands of participants from 100+ nations annually.

Ebner Publishing International dba WatchTime Magazine Instinctif Partners La Compagnie LiftForward, Inc. London Speaker Bureau

BritishAmerican Business NETWORK 2015, VOL. I

Samba Brands is an international operator of the SUSHISAMBA, SUGARCANE, Duck & Waffle and BOCCE restaurant brands. With sought-after destinations for cuisine, culture, music and design, the restaurants have garnered great critical acclaim, appealing to culinary aficionados, critics and media alike.

INSEAD

Co r p o ra te M e m b e rs Altios International Asset TV Bloomsbury Publishing Blue Sky MLS Deborah A. Nilson & Associates, PLLC Diversified Search Inc.

www.proximagroup.com

SIMON & PARTNERS LLP www.simonlawyers.com Simon & Partners LLP is a litigation law firm representing companies and individuals in the U.S. and Europe in a variety of legal matters. The firm also advises European companies on compliance issues affecting their ability to transact business in the United States. The firm also represents corporations and individuals under investigation or indictment by federal and state law enforcement authorities.

Co n ta c t New York Institute of Finance Rethink Autism, Inc. Travis Manion Foundation TheMIGroup Truth Consulting NY Inc. Warburg Realty

To access the online directory of member companies and contacts, please contact Cynthia Xavier for your unique member key and password on 212 338 9462 or cxavier@babinc.org.

B U S I N E S S I N N OVAT I O N

The

Innovation

An Interview with Craig Kreeger, CEO of Virgin Atlantic Airways and Ed Bastian, President of Delta Air Lines employees have been enormously receptive to our drive to come up with new and better ways to successfully serve our customers, and they are the main source of our ideas. One of the results of that innovative approach was our recent switch to a dollars-spent, rather than miles-flown, frequent-flier program, Delta was the first major airline to make the change. We’ve also moved into ancillary businesses including our aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul business, a private jet service and our vacation consolidation subsidiary. Delta made headlines by becoming the world’s first airline to own an oil refinery, which was a move to take control of our number one expense, jet fuel, rather than always being at the mercy of global price fluctuations.

The airline industry hasn’t always been seen as an engine of innovation. How do your companies value and encourage innovation? Craig: I’m not sure why the industry isn’t thought of as the engine of innovation! Not much more than 100 years ago, the idea of a powered passenger aircraft flying across countries, continents and oceans would have been beyond expectation. Now there are thousands flights a day taking people all over the world. There has been an enormous amount of innovation in our industry transforming the overall experience of our customers for the better. Since our launch, 30 years ago, innovation has played a key role in how we deliver our overall customer experience. We have encouraged both our employees and customers to share their ideas to help enhance the overall customer experience. Such ideas have led us to become the first airline to introduce the seat back TV’s, create the concept of Premium Economy or even most recently working with Google Glass to enhance our Upper Class Wing experience at Heathrow. Ed: We realized that if we wanted to achieve our goal of long-term, continuous stability and profitability, we had to make innovation part of everything we do, and break out of the old ways of thinking. Historically, Delta was known for its innovative approach to aviation, so that drive was already ingrained in the company’s culture. Our

What technological advances are impacting and transforming your industry? How are you taking advantage of them? Craig: I’d say connectivity and wearable technology. When it comes to staying connected, people want to be able to do pretty much everything they do on the ground, in the air. Through our mobile trial in 2012, we have observed how people have used inflight connectivity and are now rolling out Wifi connectivity across our fleet, becoming a fully connected fleet by 2017. With regards to wearable technology, in addition to the Google Glass, we have recently partnered with Sony to test how their SmartWear products can help improve the airline’s maintenance and engineering processes, for example, by allowing real time communication between the engineering team on the aircraft and in the engineering support areas. Delta and Virgin Atlantic have recently entered into a joint venture. What aspects of this transatlantic partnership are particularly innovative? What have you learned from each other as growing and changing partners that have their own distinct brands, products, and culture?

Ed Bastian President, Delta Air Lines

BritishAmerican Business NETWORK 2015, VOL. I

Imperative Craig: The great thing about the joint venture with Delta is that both airlines put the customer at the heart of everything we do. In order to do this, our products may each have their own style, however, we both invest heavily on ensuring that we give our customers the best possible travel experience. For example, Delta business class customers travelling out of Terminal 3 can now access Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class Wing in Heathrow – a unique experience that gives a 10 minute ‘limo to lounge’ airport experience. Another example would be where Delta has been able to share with us their expertise and experience in simplifying the process of checked baggage and the possibility of digital baggage tags which store flight information, avoid re-labelling of luggage and enable global tracking. Ed: This partnership has strengthened both airlines while providing unique benefits to each carrier. For Delta, the alliance has helped us more effectively compete on transatlantic routes, particularly on the New York-London route, which is the largest airline route between the US and Europe. Virgin Atlantic has been able to significantly expand its reach with its new access to Delta’s North America network. From aligned schedules to reciprocal lounge access and the ability for frequent fliers to earn and use miles across both carriers, we are showing how a partnership should be operated to benefit passengers. This is a fully integrated joint venture that operates on a “metal neutral” basis, with both airlines sharing the costs and revenues from all joint venture flights. This metal neutrality is unique to this joint venture and allows us to allocate the right aircraft for the right routes, which gives our customers the ability to more easily fly to the places they want to go to. We’re also looking for additional opportunities for further integration. Next year Virgin will adopt Delta’s passenger-service system, which will allow us to actually share software and infrastructure — something that is particularly innovative and unique to this partnership. This will go even further in ensuring a seamless customer

Craig Kreeger CEO, Virgin Atlantic Airways

experience when flying on either carrier. We are two customer-centric carriers with great services, strong brands, and complementary business models. Both airlines share a firm belief that flying is something to be enjoyed, not endured, and our employees embrace a philosophy of ensuring we do the right thing for the customers and provide a high level of service. How do you, as large and established companies, make sure that there is room for innovative ideas and new thinking? Craig: The best ideas come from the people closest to the experience — our front line employees and of course, our customers. One thing we do is to encourage innovation through something we call the ‘Innovation Forum’. The forum is made up of people from across the business who have been challenged with driving innovation in their area. All employees, whether front line or back office, are encouraged to submit their ideas and potentially be part of the next innovative project for the airline. We also look to our customers for ideas — from visiting their homes (and sneaking a peek in their fridges) to help design our food offerings in the Clubhouses and on-board, to listening to their feedback and bringing them into our facilities to test new products — including overnight stays to test our Upper Class beds! Continued on page 8.

BritishAmerican Business NETWORK 2015, VOL. I

INNOVATION CONTINUED Ed: It’s really all about our culture. I can’t say it enough. The key to Delta’s outperformance has been our people and our anythingbut-standard approach to doing business. This culture — the Delta culture — has allowed us to bring innovation back to an industry that was once known for it. Delta is now one of the healthiest, most profitable airlines in the world, with the best performance rankings (including on-time flight arrivals, cancellation avoidance, baggage handling, and customer service) in the industry. The US airline industry often finds itself out of favor with investors and sometimes derided by consumers. But Delta has become consistently profitable, we are rewarding our employees and shareholders, and we are investing in providing the industry’s best customer service.

How specifically has this UK-US relationship allowed you to build on that core strength to realize new gains and access new markets? Ed: The partnership allows both carriers to offer a greatly expanded network at London Heathrow and to overcome slot constraints, which had limited the growth and competitive capability of both airlines. The two carriers will operate up to 39 peak-day round-trip flights between the UK and North America this summer, 25 of which operate at LondonHeathrow. The enlarged network will benefit customers of both carriers by providing greater access to a broader network, improved connectivity and convenient booking options. The strength of Delta’s network in the United States combined with Virgin Atlantic’s position at London Heathrow delivers a strong network proposition.

In what ways are you communicating with your customers in order to innovate and strengthen your products? Ed: Since 2006 Delta has incorporated multiple platforms to connect with customers. Delta was the first US airline with customer service professionals trained to assist customers instantaneously using tools preferred by an increasing number of today’s media-savvy passengers. Delta information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google. com/+Delta, Facebook.com/delta and Delta’s blog takingoff.delta.com. And our Fly Delta app, which has been downloaded by more than 13 million people, now provides customers the ability to track their bags at all points of their journey. Our in-airport kiosks and in-flight entertainment systems are also important elements of our customer communication efforts. We think of all of these vehicles as members of the same family – and even though they serve somewhat different functions, it’s valuable to view them as parts of a connected whole.

What is on the horizon in the airline industry? What radical innovations coming down the pipeline will change how you do business and how all of us travel? Craig: It’s such an exciting time for innovation in the aviation industry. The needs of our customers are growing and we need to keep one foot ahead in order to have the solution in place before they even ask for them. One example would be that customers are constantly being provided with personalized information so that they can manage their travel experience more effectively. We have recently worked with iBeacon technology to send our customers information and alerts during their airport experience, tailored to their needs. We also recognize that people are changing the way they consume content, therefore we are looking at new ways that passengers can enjoy a more shared experience — for instance, sharing the films they are watching, or on-board gaming against friends on the ground. n

Perk Up!

Member Perks from BritishAmerican Business

Many of our members provide exclusive offers or discounts on their services and products to fellow members of BritishAmerican Business, and the wider BABC network of 21 chapters, either through an online or in-store redemption. BritishAmerican Business Member Perks are reserved exclusively for our members. To view the details of our current offers listed in Business Services, Travel & Accommodation and Retail & Leisure, please visit: http://babinc.org/whatweoffer/memberperks If you would like to promote any of your own services/products in this way to your fellow BritishAmerican Business members, please contact Danny Girton Jr. at: dgirton@babinc.org or 212.661.4057 For more information on the BABC network, please visit: www.babc.org/chapters

BritishAmerican Business NETWORK 2015, VOL. I

B U S I N E S S I N N OVAT I O N

INNOVATION AND THE ROLE OF LEADERS: WHY STRATEGY NEEDS A STRATEGY By Martin Reeves, Senior Partner & Managing Director, The Boston Consulting Group

hat is the traditional relationship between strategy and innovation? How is a more dynamic business environment changing that?

Traditionally, strategy and innovation were treated as different activities. Strategy was about the things you could plan. And there was a lot that you could plan, with confidence, in the relatively stable period from the 1960s up to the mid-1980s. Innovation was more about the unplannable, the occasional leaps in imagination and creativity in products or technology that renewed the strategy. But with the increasing dynamism and unpredictability of today’s business environment—driven by technology, globalization, and other factors—innovation has become increasingly vital to success, and strategy and innovation are converging. In many cases, innovation has become the heart of strategy. Importantly, today’s business landscape is characterized by an increasing diversity of environments—some companies operate in stable environments, others in quite unstable ones. This means that companies must tune the relationship between innovation and strategy to their specific situation. One size doesn’t fit all.

along three dimensions: predictability, malleability, and harshness. Each environment necessitates a different approach to strategy and execution. In classical environments, which are highly structured and predictable, companies can win by leveraging position strategies based on size, differentiation, or capabilities. Adaptive environments, which are characterized by rapid change and unpredictability, demand continuous experimentation. Visionary environments, which are predictable and malleable, can be conquered by creating a new market or disrupting an existing one. In a shaping environment, one that is unpredictable but malleable, a company can shape an industry to its advantage by orchestrating the activities of other stakeholders. Finally, in a renewal environment, one in which a company’s viability is threatened, the company must conserve resources to ensure its survival and then choose one of the other four approaches to rejuvenate growth. The role of innovation is different in each of these. In a classical approach, for example, innovation is typically incremental, occasional, and occurs mainly at the product level. In an adaptive approach, innovation is fast, continuous, and occurs not just at the product level but at the business-model level.

How can CEOs prepare their companies for the future without compromising the present?

Some pundits believe that classic sources of competitive advantage are eroding and that strategy is therefore in danger of becoming obsolete. Do you agree? In aggregate, classic sources of advantage—position and scale—are indeed eroding, though it varies by environment. But that doesn’t make strategy any less critical. Indeed, strategy is more important than ever, since making the right choices has bigger and bigger consequences. The performance gap between the top and bottom quartiles of U.S. companies, for example, has risen to historically unprecedented levels.

You mentioned an increasing diversity of business environments. Can you expand on how that affects strategy and innovation? The expanding diversity of business environments means that we need a corresponding range of approaches to strategy. The challenge is to pick the right approach for the right environment. BCG has designed a framework we call the strategy palette to facilitate these decisions. It consists of five archetypal approaches to strategy that are suited to different business environments, defined

BritishAmerican Business NETWORK 2015, VOL. I

CEOs must recognize that their job is no longer solely to run the company. Rather, they must both run and reinvent it at the same time. This demands that leaders are ambidextrous—able to apply multiple approaches to strategy sequentially or simultaneously in different parts of the business. Now, how do you optimize something while reinventing it? There are a numerous ways, in fact, ranging from separating units using different approaches to creating a selforganizing ecosystem.

How do leaders need to think differently about their roles in this increasingly complex world? Leaders should view themselves as animators of the strategy collage—the combination of multiple approaches to strategy that emerges from application of the strategy palette. A leader’s task is to keep this collage dynamic and in tune with the environment and make sure it doesn’t get “stuck” due to organizational inertia. A leader can do so by asking the right questions, challenging prevailing presumptions, and putting his or her weight behind critical change initiatives. n

A N E W YO R K M I N U T E W I T H …

… J. Frank Brown, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, General Atlantic We sat down recently with Brown for a quick NEW YORK MINUTE: When you’re in London for business, what’s your “go to” spot for relaxing? Lansdowne Club Your favorite novel is? Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks Your favorite cocktail is? Kir Royale What was your first job? How has that impacted your career? Internal auditor at Manufacturers Hanover (now Chase). Taught me attention to detail. Your most memorable vacation was? 2012 Olympics with family What’s your most prized possession? I’ve got a pretty nice mountain bike! Tea or coffee? Coffee

Your briefcase always contains… Ipad, book or two You don’t have fun when… I’m wasting time waiting for someone or something What do you still find surprising about New York? We can’t deal with the snow What’s the most rewarding part of running a global business? After 37 years in business I am still learning — particularly about people, places and cultures Your life philosophy in under 10 words… Don’t sweat the small stuff An interesting fact about General Atlantic is…. We are a very philanthropic firm, taking after our founder, Chuck Feeney

s Chief Operating Officer, Frank focuses on General Atlantic’s (GA) global operations. He has had over 30 years of business experience and joined GA in 2011. From 2006 to 2011, Frank served as Dean of INSEAD, a leading international business school with campuses in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. During his tenure as Dean, INSEAD opened its campus in Abu Dhabi and established the Blue Ocean Strategy Institute and the Social Innovation Centre. Under his leadership, the school increased participation of women students in the MBA program by more than 50%, built stronger connections with alumni and the business community and raised awareness of the INSEAD brand.

Before joining INSEAD, Frank had a distinguished 26year career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, including leadership of the $3.5 billion Advisory Services practice. He serves on the board of directors of The Home Depot and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut State Societies of Certified Public Accountants. He is a trustee of the Asia Society and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He is on the International Advisory Board of BritishAmerican Business. Frank is the author of The Global Business Leader: Practical Advice for Success in a Transcultural Marketplace, and is a frequent speaker on leadership. Frank earned his BSBA from Bucknell University and studied in an advanced management program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, with Frank at a recent BAB Event

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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT PREVENTING VIOLENT CONFLICT IN AFRICA Horizontal inequalities are root causes of violent conflict in Africa. Yet, people take actions not because of statistical data on inequalities, of which they might not be aware, but because of injustices they perceive. This volume analyzes the results of original surveys with over 3,000 respondents in African cities and towns, exposing clear discrepancies between objective inequalities and people’s subjective perceptions. The contributors examine experiences in country pairs and probe into the reasons why neighbouring countries, sharing common historical traits, sometimes took contrasting pathways of peace and violent conflict. Combining quantitative analysis and qualitative anatomy of historical experiences of conflict and reconciliation in Rwanda, Burundi, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria, the study brings forward a set of policy recommendations for development practitioners. This work further addresses the issue of institutional choice and reveals how sustainable power-sharing and decentralization contribute to political stability in Africa. Thandika was honored with The AfricaProf. Thandika America Institute’s 2014 Distinguished Alumnus Mkandawire Award at their annual gala. AAI is a member of London School of BritishAmerican Business in New York. n Economics

SECRETS OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES The National Archives is one of the most remarkable collections of documents in the world, holding over 120 miles of papers. In 2010 the staff at the Archives were asked to select their favorite document. The results of this poll form the basis of this book, skillfully curated by bestselling author Richard Taylor, who is also a partner at International Law Firm DLA Piper. Each of the documents has a timeless quality, acting as a true testament to a moment in history. The Magna Carta is a document sealed in a damp field in Surrey, yet is deferred to centuries later by Governments and Courts around the world; a parchment letter written by a terrified young girl pleading for her life paves the way for the girl to become Elizabeth I; the first example of musical notation is discovered on the back of a tax form; the actual telegram sent from a sinking Titanic remains heart-rending today; a ship's log written by Captain Cook, at anchor in Botany Bay, records his first encounter with Australian Aborigines. Far from being dusty documents from the past, these papers twinkle with life and resonate powerfully today. Richard Taylor Fully illustrated, this book allows us to glimpse Partner history as it really happened. n DLA Piper

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CHANGE YOUR SPACE, CHANGE YOUR CULTURE: HOW ENGAGING WORKSPACES LEAD TO TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH 50% of employees venture to work each day wishing they were going somewhere else and another 20% actively undermine people and process in their workplace. An industrial era shadow hangs over the work environment — one that should be emerging as a platform for a highly networked, team-based and transparent workforce yet we are using outdated models to create outdated environments. The physical workplace plays a vital role in both strategy and revealing the culture that can enable engagement. Space is the catalyst for building desired cultures within organizations and “Change Your Space, Change Your Culture” represents over 2 years of work, with more than 30 individuals in 8 different summits to address this ‘wicked problem’. Read about the journeys of more than a dozen companies who tackled this problem to succeed in leveraging space to disrupt old habits and behaviors — bridging space to sustainable cultures of innovation and engagement. n

Mabel Casey VP of Global Marketing Haworth

THE POWER OF WE In The Power of We, Jonathan Tisch, one of today’s most imaginative and influential executives, explains how to achieve lasting success through creative partnerships. In his appealing and personal style, Tisch discusses how he developed his leadership philosophy through a lifetime of adventures in the travel and tourism industry, and shows how it can be applied anywhere — not only in business but also in community service, government, and everyday life. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, Tisch provides a blueprint for achieving enduring success through partnerships that empower employees, satisfy customers, contribute to communities, and improve the bottom line. Revealing how smart leaders can do well and do good at the same time, he demonstrates how partnerships can solve real problems and drive sizable profits. Entertaining, informative, and filled with unique, revealing, and sometimes hilarious stories, The Power of We shows how bringing people together around common goals can make life in business both fun and deeply Jonathan Tisch rewarding. n Chairman & CEO Loews Hotels

I N D U S T RY I N S I G H T S

The New Quest of Business

Sarah Diamond General Manager, Global Consulting Services IBM Global Business Services

obile technologies and intuitive “apps” that have enriched our lives as consumers are now being applied to the business enterprise. New business value is created at the point where access to big data through a mobile device meets and creates individual engagement with both the employee and the customer. Creating value that reflects individual histories, preferences and aspirations is the new quest of business, and it is becoming the priority of leaders in every industry. This quest is being led by a set of C-Suite decision makers — Chief Marketing Officers, Global Heads of Digital Strategy, heads of Lines of Business — who are now driving information technology decisions on investments for mobile platforms that bring industry expertise and real-time information and guidance to front-line employees. Empowering professionals to do their jobs more creatively and effectively in service of their customers is profoundly changing the nature of work. The ability to quickly build made-for-business apps, maintain and enhance them, integrate data and analytics, and provide fleet-scale device management and optimal security are all requirements for a successful enterprise-scale mobile platform. Of course, the

capture of new front-end value depends on end-toend enterprise integration and the transformation of core processes and workflows. The investments in mobile-led transformation are visible in enterprises across every industry. Whether in retail, banking, telecommunications or any other sector, “experience design” has now become a critical element of business strategy. Experience design is the path to personalization — a path forged from a deep understanding of big data, business models and workflow, along with systems integration and application modernization. It is embodied in an elegantly designed, workflowoptimizing app that delivers analytics embedded at the point of decision-making to create a personalized customer experience. This new quest represents the next great wave of business change, following other major phases of business transformation, including Six Sigma, ERP and the integration of Internet technologies. In embracing this transformation, enterprises will engage partners and providers that they can trust, that can simplify the technology and that are sure to keep them on the cutting edge of the next great innovation. n

Emerging Economies Risk Update Russia: It is said that Russia loses about $2 billion in revenues for every dollar fall in the oil price. In spite of this, it continues to pump increased production in a valiant but ultimately fruitless attempt to prop up the rouble. Should low oil prices continue, it is perhaps inevitable that Russia will slump into recession. The $600bn or so that Russian banks and companies owe foreign creditors is fast-becoming a serious issue and, due to the wide range of sanctions imposed by both US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the European Union, they may find it increasingly difficult to refinance its debts with international financial institutions. Brazil: Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned oil firm, is embroiled in a corruption scandal that threatens not only to de-rail Dilma Rousseff’s second term in office but could prove systemic for the whole Brazilian economy. Dubbed “Car-Wash”, it appears that some 3% was essentially siphoned from construction contracts and diverted into slush funds to pay bribes to politicians, primarily from the ruling Workers’ party. Petrobras might very well be too big to fail but it seems inevitable that its fall from grace will heavily impact the Brazilian economy given its sizable share of Brazil’s GDP. The government could possibly step in and

inject some form of emergency funding but this could actually endanger Brazil’s own perilous investmentgrade rating. Such is the scale of the scandal that it is having a domino effect right across the economy. Not only has the construction sector been badly affected but the whole situation has been exacerbated by the collapse in the oil price. China: In China, the government alleges large quantities of metals stored at two ports, Qingdao and Penglai, were pledged multiple times over using multiple warehouse receipts as collateral for loans. Some eight months down the line since the investigation into the two ports began, they have effectively been in lockdown, and banks and commodity houses have found it impossible to assess their exposure to the fraud. The scandal has naturally heightened concerns about the security of commodities stored in warehouses in China and banks could become more reluctant to provide financing to Chinese importers where commodities are used as collateral. A dark storm cloud now hangs over China’s finance sector and the metals market and will likely impact China’s trade flows as large amounts of metals are moved from the country’s bonded warehouses to safer storage elsewhere in Asia. n

Andrew Van den Born Executive Director, Willis Financial Solutions

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Giving Back to Grow as a Company

Bev Hendry Co-head of Americas Aberdeen Asset Management

ompanies often participate in charitable giving, but we look at charity not as an extension of what we do but a core part of what we do. Company-wide charity events and volunteer programs help foster a greater sense of teamwork and camaraderie. They also enable employees from different teams, who might not otherwise interact at work, to meet each other. Most importantly, giving back to the community helps build individual character. About 70% of American employees are not working to their full potential, and actively disengaged employees costs the US $450 to $550 billion in lost productivity each year, according to Gallup. This is a persistent problem and something we try to solve by boosting morale and motivating employees through charity programs. In our Americas office, for example, we have a Charity Committee made up of volunteer employees who develop ways to get our employees more involved with their local communities. We also do charity work abroad. Our employees travel to Brazil or Malawi together to help disadvantaged youth. Our Charitable Foundation oversees these efforts. We offer our employees charity days, where they can take a day off work to give back to the greater good. We recommend everyone in our firm to take

part in this — whether the employee is a new joiner or senior management. Although all of this might not have a direct impact on a company’s bottom line, having employees who participate in and understand the essence of our culture leads to higher employee engagement. Getting employees involved in a cause together can help boost a feeling of commitment. This translates to higher employee happiness. Nearly 71% of employees who took part in a study by LBG Associates indicated that they felt more positive about their company as a result of increased volunteer programs. By giving employees more opportunities to give back, they gain more appreciation for their jobs. More and more corporations are donating to charities, but we believe that is just one part of the equation. The other is to get your employees involved in hands-on, volunteer activities. Allowing your employees to participate and making them part of a greater purpose should play an important role in what it means for your company when you’re thinking about charitable giving. n In the United States, Aberdeen Asset Management (AAM) is the marketing name for the following affiliated, registered investment advisers: Aberdeen Asset Management Inc., Aberdeen Asset Managers Ltd, Aberdeen Asset Management Ltd and Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd, each of which is wholly owned by Aberdeen Asset Management PLC. "Aberdeen" is a U.S. registered service mark of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC.

Banks Search for Sustainable Growth, But Where Will it Come From?

ight years since the beginning of the financial crisis, an unprecedented era of industry change continues — and in many ways the journey has just begun for many financial institutions. On the regulatory front, progress is being made, and the implementation of Dodd-Frank and other global reforms continue. As banks know, however, implementation represents a significant and ongoing investment, and operating models are changing across the core areas of risk, finance, compliance and operations at a time when margins are thinning and competition is abundant. “The conceptual work on regulatory reform is only now coming to a close,” a senior executive recently commented. “The implementation phase is just beginning.” While we continue to enhance the accountability and transparency of our financial system, banks must simultaneously find new paths to sustainable growth. Organizations are undertaking initiatives to identify new revenue sources, as well as automating processes and streamlining activities to generate greater returns. Meanwhile, the pace of innovation is relentless and transformative. For example, the ability to leverage predicative analytics and digitalization is critical to success, whereas a few years ago they were rarely considered such burning platform topics for senior leaders. In a short amount of time, it is becoming the norm for banks to

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be just as much data organizations as financial services providers, and, to remain competitive, they must also be consumer behavioral experts. This intense focus on data and analytics is not new to financial services but is now an industry-wide requirement, and the leaders across all banking services will be those best able to study client data and deliver the right relationship experience. “It is a very fascinating time because we are witnessing disruptive innovation that could potentially change the outlook,” said another executive. More than just customer experience, this disruptive innovation includes nontraditional competitors like technology companies in “shadow banking” who provide specialty finance. This new wave of entrants who are quickly filling any voids also includes more established alternatives to banks, such as private equity firms, traditional retailers, credit card companies and insurance providers. For now, “the top thing on most banks’ agendas is getting returns up to an acceptable level,” added a corporate director. And as the conversations and headwinds continue, so will the transformations in banks’ structures and strategies, as well as the definition of a traditional financial institution.

Michael Inserra Vice Chair, Ernst & Young LLP; Regional Managing Partner – Financial Services Organization, EY Americas

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of Ernst & Young LLP or the global EY organization. n

I N D U S T RY I N S I G H T S

Business Ethics: An Oxymoron?

Frank L. Holder Chairman, Latin American Region Forensic & Litigation Consulting FTI Consulting

he increased incidence of and reporting on global fraud and corruption in business has given rise to a dangerous myth about the cause and cure of business amorality. The myth is that greed is the foundation of all business. This leads to the idea that in the quest for profit, companies inevitably will make unethical decisions that serve the bottom line at the expense of society. Everything from layoffs to reported incidents of fraud fuel the public belief that the phrase “business integrity” is an oxymoron. But the public doesn’t differentiate between business practices that clearly are unethical and those that are unpopular but necessary to run a healthy business. The cure proposed for this perceived inability of business to act ethically is almost always more regulation. Whenever a business scandal erupts, the public clamors for more government oversight. And although regulations may help calm the waters of public opinion, as was the case after the 2008 financial crisis, there is scant evidence of their longterm effectiveness. Even the most stringent regulations don’t stop people from finding ways around such rules. Social

media, however, is becoming a powerful policeman. In effect, social media is democratizing the regulatory role by disseminating reports of corruption, graft and other unethical practices around the globe almost instantaneously. With 24/7 interconnectedness, news of an issue in Kazakhstan can become a public indictment in Chicago. This is not to say that regulations are not needed. They set standards and define the rules of the game for all players. However, regulations become burdensome when they go beyond defining rules to monitoring how businesses should play by these rules. The stakes are high. Regulatory compliance is costly and can erode a company’s ability to compete. To protect a company’s own reputation — and the reputation of business in general — companies must assume responsibility for stamping out corruption in their own organizations and build soft power techniques that foster a self-policing culture. The efforts taken will be far more rewarding than the alternative as the costs of regulatory compliance eventually may far exceed the costs of self-policing. n

Digital Is Everything, But Not Everything Is Digital

espite the fact that just about everywhere you go, the chant was either digital first, and now is mobile first, the truth is that we all still live in the real world. And the real world is not digital first, not is it mobile first. It’s people first. People, who have always wanted, needed and even demanded to connect and share, which, by the way, is what makes the digital world tick. Yet we continue to look at technology the way early man probably looked at the first fire — with fear, with awe, thinking about magic, looking for control. So, are we back to the future? Well, there are some new things: The ability to have objective insights on human behavior based on real behavior. That is definitely new – and wrongly named big data. But Big Data does play a key role. Cheap chips…more memory… unbound communication means a lot of information about human behavior. Life-recording sensors capture real-time data that can measure anything. And perhaps most important is the new generation of people, a Generation World that is constantly connected. They are ageless, borderless, global citizens. And they see mobile as freedom, not as a device. So how are they responding to the onslaught of digital stuff? The Internet of Things, in theory, is supposed to be about purposeful convergence. Yet so much of

what we see is really the internet of useless things. Purposeful convergence? Maybe not. Technology for technology’s sake is empty. It’s the value exchange that matters. It’s about going back to human needs. The bottom line for all of us who are helping our clients engage their customers in today’s world is to build experiences for life, not for machines. To build experiences for life, not for software. Consumers want their off and online lives meaningfully connected. If you remember nothing else, take these truths to heart: • Big data is a buzz word. Primal data helps us understand human behavior. •M arketing to people can never be reduced to algorithms. Humanity always surprises. •R eal life takes place offline. Purposeful connection must be the beacon for convergence. •U nderstand Generation World. Focus on insights that will lead you to leveragable ideas, and ideas are just that. They are neither digital nor analog. • And, beware of being driven by only new things. Let’s use insight to learn from human behavior so we can build a future that is worthy of us. Remember as we reach out to our clients’ customers that creativity is the story, innovation is how we share it. And, technology is the enabler. And that all of it must come together to inspire, motivate and galvanize action. n

David Sable Global CEO Y&R

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Asset Tracing in a Borderless World

T Ian Casewell Partner Mintz Group

Christopher Weil Partner Mintz Group

he online, virtually borderless world in which we live enables those wishing to hide misappropriated assets to do so quickly and quietly. Tracing those assets requires a commensurate response that is web-savvy and multi-jurisdictional. Investigative firms like ours receive asset-tracing assignments mostly in two types of situations: (1) someone has embezzled or misdirected assets to themselves, and our client wants them back; or (2) our client has obtained a judgment against a party that it wants to enforce. The investigative challenges can be similar in both these scenarios, because we find that embezzlers and judgment creditors commonly use the same tools to hide what they have: opaque corporate structures, offshore accounts and fiduciaries, related-party transfers, and directing assets to family members. Our asset-tracing unit at Mintz Group studied dozens of cases in detail and extracted recurring patterns in how assets are hidden, and ultimately uncovered. For example, we found that asset hiders rarely act alone, they need trusted parties to help conceal their secret money movements. But big money can cause resentments, and the helpers’ loyalties often shift over time; those who were instrumental in helping conceal assets

can prove to be a vulnerability to the asset hider, and a source to the investigator. Cross-border asset tracing often involves finding undisclosed connections among corporate entities, trusts and their beneficiaries, and then piercing veils among them. Investigators find the lowest-hanging fruit in obscure public records, like mortgages and financing statements that reveal banking relationships, and customs records of shipped goods. Long before judgment-enforcement day, at the beginning of business relationships, few parties are completely candid about the depth of their pockets. We help our clients test, rather than blindly rely on, other parties’ representations about their financial condition. Research shows that most people lie about their assets, even in relatively friendly contexts, such as when asking their banker for a mortgage (when most people exaggerate their wealth), or briefing their financial advisor (when most people under-disclose what they own). In a borderless world of deals among virtual strangers, and particularly when it comes to money, trust but trace. For further information about the Mintz Group visit www.mintzgroup.com. n

If It Makes You Feel Good, It’s Probably a Bad Idea

hen you’re in a fight, it’s hard to resist the urge to punch back. But for a company facing a contested Annual Meeting election, fighting back has to be carefully considered against the backdrop of: “Will this win me or lose me votes?” In any proxy contest, rhetoric can be heated, events unfold quickly and management teams and boards are subject to greater scrutiny by their stakeholders. Successful companies understand that discipline and coordination are vital given that everything they say potentially can be used against them in the court of public opinion. There is no “one size fits all” approach to conducting and winning a contested election. All actions and words must be developed and tailored to the specific circumstances, often in real time. That said, there are certain communications principles that serve companies well in almost any circumstance: •D o not be defensive. Actions and communications should present the company and its directors as open-minded and receptive to shareholder views. • Take the high road. Avoid personal attacks. Shareholders do not like to see the company or its directors attack other shareholders. • Stay aligned. In a proxy fight, directors and senior

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management are critical to the communications effort. Both should be seen as aligned and supportive of the overall corporate strategy and direction. •H armonize messages and spokespeople. Spokespeople should be limited and messages consistent. Responses, even by directors, should be coordinated with the company and advisors. •B e timely. Companies should aim to respond swiftly to ensure messages are communicated during the same news cycle to key constituencies — including investors and analysts, employees, customers, and partners. Engagement is key. Whether a company is facing good times or bad, it is a mistake to begin preparing for a fight only after one is threatened or, worse yet, has already begun. As a matter of course, directors and management teams should engage with shareholders regularly to ensure that the company understands the expectations of the investment community and that the investment community understands the company’s businesses, vision, and plan for value creation. At the end of the day, this is what wins votes. n

Matthew Sherman President Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

Promotional Opportunities through Network Magazine The New York edition of Network is sent directly to more than 3,600 leading , transatlantic executives in our member companies and highlights the latest in transatlantic news, policy, and events. Produced three times a year, Network features interviews with business leaders and policymakers, covers BAB policy initiatives, and highlights our events program. It also brings readers the latest information from member companies on important topics such as regulatory changes, marketing trends, technological solutions, and talent management. BAB offers bespoke marketing packages to companies looking to promote their thought leadership, products, or services through Network. Take advantage of this opportunity to:  P osition your company as a market leader directly to BAB’s unique audience of executives  Reinforce your company’s brand image and strength.  Market new initiatives, showcase expertise

To take advantage of Network’s promotional opportunities and develop a bespoke marketing package, please contact Andrew Boyd at 212. 983.3727 or aboyd@babinc.org.

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P O L I C Y U P DAT E

n 30th of January 2015, we launched our report ‘Local, Specific, Tangible – How a EU-US trade and investment partnership can help businesspeople and their companies in the UK’ hosted by the UK’s Permanent Representative to the EU, Ivan Rogers, in Brussels. This report is a summary of the knowledge we had obtained about the daily realities, best practices and barriers to trade between the UK and the US on our 18 months-long national roadshow series across the UK. Featuring 16 case studies from mostly small and medium-sized companies across the UK, the report shows that companies have much to gain from a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement as it will address many of the barriers they face, and their stories make a case for why business and local economies stand to benefit from a trade agreement. And if this is the case for the UK, it is likely to be true elsewhere. Widely endorsed by UK, EU and US government and business leaders, this report is also an example of how BAB, with its unique transatlantic brand and heritage, can actively shape the policy debate on an important topic such as TTIP. Following its success, we will run a second series of events, focused on TTIP’s impact on sectors this year. BAB’s transatlantic brand and heritage, with the UK-US economic relationship at its heart, is the key element and USP in our advocacy work on policy issues with governments. Over the past few months, we worked hard to establish the base for an even more efficient policy platform in our organization to discuss and advocate for specific policy issues on behalf of our membership. Reflecting the structure of our membership, we have identified four key areas as our key policy priorities — Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), European Single Market, Capital Markets and

Financial Services and Competitiveness for all issues that most influence the UK/EU and US as attractive destinations for business. Most of our policy-related activities will be built around these priorities, together with a new offering of policy updates, events and communication activities. Recent examples of our work include an informal roundtable with Jeff Weiss, Senior Advisor for Standards and Global Regulatory Policy at US Commerce; a Policymaker Roundtable with Christina Peters, Chief Privacy Officer at IBM, and a BAB/BABC letter in response to the UK Airports Commission on the planned airport expansion in the South East. We also provided witnesses to two Parliament hearings and spoke at numerous events. We also continue our active engagement with our BABC chapters on policy in the UK and the US. One of our main priorities for Spring 2015 is BAB’s 1st ‘Policy Manifesto’. This special report will feature key policy objectives we want to see addressed by Government in 2015, especially by the incoming UK Parliament and Government in May 2015. In March, Wendy Mendenhall, our New York Managing Director attended a special TTIP Ambassador’s program at the British Embassy in Washington, DC. Wendy joined The European Union Ambassador to The United States, David O’Sullivan, policymakers, leaders from our BABC Chapters, and key business executives in discussing the imperative of the EU-US free trade agreement, the potential impact on our member companies, and strategies for securing the political will to accomplish the agreement. Please get in touch at eadam@babinc.org if you are interested to keep up to date with our work and join our Linkedin group ‘Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership’ to receive regular updates on the TTIP negotiations. n

Wendy Mendenhall, Managing Director of BAB (far left) with Rt. Hon. Philip Hammond (center), UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Business, Government, and BABC leaders at the British Embassy in Washington, DC.

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