FORBES MAGAZINE AND WOMENFUTURE HOST PROVOCATIVE CONVERSATION AMONG DIRECTORS AND CEOs OF LEADING COMPANIES ABOUT GLOBAL BUSINESS

Findings Indicate Top Three Issues Keeping Top Executives Up at Night Are Corporate Governance, the Economy and Work-Life Balance

NEW YORK (15 July 2002)-On Wednesday, June 19th Forbes, Inc., a Womenfuture Global Media Sponsor, and Womenfuture co-hosted an intimate dinner for leading business executives at the Forbes Magazine Galleries in New York City, as part of Womenfuture’s Senior Executive Exchange Conversation Series. This networking opportunity attracted representatives from leading companies like IBM, Baker & McKenzie, Merrill Lynch, MasterCard, Alcoa Engineer Products, and Johnson & Johnson.

More than a "mixer" for business leaders, the dinner was designed to provoke substantive conversation about current business dilemmas. In preparation for the event, Womenfuture developed hypothetical scenarios describing issues faced by a fictional company named "TE." Dinner attendees, leaders from a wide range of industries, adapted roles as Directors of TE to discuss issues faced by the company’s various divisions, such as product development, balancing long term and short-term corporate goals, increasing efficiency, and improving the skill/dedication of the workforce. The goal of the evening was to exchange insight applicable in the real business environment.

Tim Forbes (COO, Forbes, Inc.) kicked off the night discussing why now, more then ever, leadership is key in ensuring a successful company dedicated to honesty and improvement. To underscore the point, Forbes said, "Business is not about making tons of money, it’s about making people happy."

The discussion gravitated to the need for increased trust and communication at all levels of the company. One example given was the option of providing yearlong sabbaticals in order to reinvigorate the workforce and cut the costs of rehiring and training new executives.

Frank Bolden, VP, Johnson & Johnson, led the discussion at his table about the importance of diversity in the company’s management team. He also stressed the importance of local awareness within a global company to combat the disenfranchisement of employees.

In preparation for the event each attendee was asked to think about what, as a CEO or Director, "keeps them up at night." The overwhelming consensus was that corporate governance, work-life balance and the current status of the economy are the top three issues facing executives today. Corporate governance seemed to be top of mind in light of the current economy, with weak governance at major institutions and the subsequent loss in confidence by the investment community negatively affecting the marketplace.

Other participants included: PJ Hilbert (Vice President, AT&T), Ted Hartley (CEO, RKO pictures), Frank Bolden (VP, Office of Diversity, Johnson & Johnson), Norman Malo (President, Fidelity Investments), Patricia Wolpert (Vice President, IBM), Greg French (EVP & CMO, Provident Bank), Barbara Allen (Director, Tyson and Maytag), Ruth Ann Marshall (President, Mastercard North America) and Michael Jordan (former CEO, PepsiCo and Westinghouse; Director, Dell and Aetna).

Feedback from the event was positive:

"If I had to choose one idea that stood out, it would be the value of sharing views with people from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and experience. Challenging and useful ideas grow out of dialogue with people who bring different perspectives. It's a mistake to spend all your time with people in similar roles and with similar ideas to your own." --Sarah Stewart (Partner, Boardroom Consultants)

"I found the Forbes/Womenfuture Dinner to be a truly enlightening experience, and a great networking opportunity - I made some excellent new contacts. The event was impeccably organized."—Anthony Wainwright (Vice Chairman, Arnold Worldwide)

"No easy solutions were identified, but I definitely found the discussion about how things are changing to be interesting - helping me think about how I need to define my Board roles and responsibilities." –Barbara Allen (Director, Tyson, Maytag)

"It was a brilliant design for serious fun." –Rose Sculley (Women’s World Banking, Corporate and Foundation Development)

About Womenfuture
Womenfuture is the market leader in creating venues of exchange that connect people in ways that increase productivity, jump-start leadership and spur business development. Its groundbreaking MainEvent™, a live, interactive, annual exchange among senior business leaders telecast via satellite and webcast to audiences around the world, has rapidly become one of the most powerful forums in business today.

Throughout the year and building on MainEvent, Womenfuture provides corporate clients with customized programs that use Womenfuture’s unique TalkSystem™ to find actionable, measurable solutions for particular business challenges. Using state-of-the-art multi-media formats, Womenfuture’s internally focused programs give individuals the tools to be fully engaged in delivering results. And Womenfuture’s externally focused programs assist companies in connecting in new, revenue-enhancing ways with their clients and customers.

It’s not just talk.™

About Forbes
Forbes is the publisher of Forbes, the nation's leading business magazine and its international edition, Forbes Global, which together reach a worldwide audience of nearly five million readers. The company also publishes: Forbes ASAP featuring Best of The Web, the technology publication for management decision-makers, and Forbes FYI, the irreverent lifestyle supplement. Other company divisions include: Forbes.com, the company's Internet business; Forbes Management Conference Group; Forbes Custom Communications Partners; and American Heritage, publisher of American Heritage magazine and two quarterlies, American Legacy and American Heritage of Invention & Technology.

top of page