On Thursday evening April 4th the CEO Trust Philadelphia Chapter held an event at Drinker, Biddle- Instilling an Ethical Culture: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!
The event was made up of an all-star group of panelists; Marc Hodak-Moderator (Adjunct Associate Professor NYU Stern School of Business & Managing Director, Hodak Value Advisors), Michael Brozzetti (President of Boundless, LLC), Paul Donato (Director, Atlantic Financial Advisory), Greg Miller (Managing Partner, Drinker Biddle), and George Zauflik (SVP of Compliance/Government Relations at Cardone Industries).
The panelists provided real life situations which demonstrated just how very important it is for an organizational leader to instill ethical conduct. At one point a panelist succinctly stated “it all starts at the top.” If a CEO doesn’t lead ethically, the culture will be reflected.
After Mr. Hodak cited a recent day’s Wall Street Journal headline involving a case of corporate malfeasance, Mr. Miller described a hypothetical involving an organization’s lack of oversight with its inconsistent internal pricing schemes resulting in a federal grand jury subpoena seeking all documents related to its contracts… “The Ugly” situation.
Mr. Donato then went on to describe an accounting forensic case whereby a former company owner had circumvented his formal business relationships benefiting from a more favorable pricing scheme from a foreign company in which he was an investor that was selling to his current business partners. In this case the company owner cited being “bored” and wanted to pocket from arrangements about which the current business partners were unaware….“The Bad” situation.
Mr. Zauflik described how due to his company’s principled core values resulted in a supplier’s having to come clean and confessed to price-gouging….”The Bad to the Good” situation.
Finally, Mr. Brozzetti discussed how specific internal controls utilizing I.T. to mitigate risk could be instituted within any organization….”The Good” situation. All in all, the panel discussion could have extended beyond the scope of time allotted due to the spirited discussion. One participant expressed the view that this was quite possibly the best CEO Trust panel event yet!
-- Chuck Steege, Founder and President, SFG Wealth Planning Services, Inc.
Mr. Steege is President of SFG Wealth Planning Services, Inc., SFG Investment Advisors, Inc. (SFG), a fee only financial planning firm. Founded 20 years ago, SFG is dedicated to assisting senior executives and their employees with their complex stock-based compensation and planning challenges.
It was a privilege for CEO Trust to hold their CEO Personal Brand event at the Louis Vuitton Flagship Store on the corner of 57th and Fifth Avenue in New York on April 3 from 6:00-8:00 PM.
The personal branding presentation was led by Jim Miller and stressed the importance of creating your own personal style and differentiation. Jim was supported by the executive management team from the Louis Vuitton store including Alejandra Rositto, Todd Leavitt and Monique Lodi. It was a perfect venue for this topic as Louis Vuitton is a French fashion house founded in 1854. The label’s LV monogram appears on many of its products ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories and sunglasses. For six consecutive years (2006-2012) Louis Vuitton has been named the world’s most valuable luxury brand.
The group sipped Dom Perignon, http://www.domperignon.com and Dom Runiart the first official Champagne house in the world http://www.ruinart.com. This provided an exceptional treat for the evening. Richy Petrina, Private Client Director of Moet Hennessy gave an impressive synopsis of the fine bubbly and a bit of the history around the top champagne brands in the world.
Once primed on the importance of world class branding as a CEO, the group was introduced to the "Art of Packing" and introduced to one of the newer product lines of custom crafted Louis Vuitton Watches created and designed exclusively by LVMH where hand and machine precision is perfected in the watch capital of the world, Geneva, Switzerland.
The meeting went a bit beyond the normal one and a half hours but with all the beautiful champagne, hors d'oeurves and incredible fashion and accessories, it was time to indulge and dream of each CEO building their own personal brand and style to achieve greatness for themselves, their company and society.
-- Jim Miller, CEO Trustee, President, DigiPowers
On March 5, 2013 the New York Chapter event on Social Media was a captivating. The panel consisted of experts with various roles in the social media world. Eve Cline of Tribridge represented the hardware, Richard Gascoyne of EngageSciences offered best practices from his software experience and brand work, and Sree Sreenivasan of Columbia University added his strategic expertise.
The discussion overflowed with questions and answers from the audience and Trustees lingered long after the event. All walked away with ideas and tools that can help your business grow. Another social media conversation is sure to happen down the road as this world is constantly evolving. We hope you can join us at a future CEO Trust event!
The atmosphere was holiday festive during CEO Trust’s December 4 celebration at Tourneau’s luxurious and innovative new Concept Store on Madison Avenue. Members, significant others, and invited guests enjoyed fine wines and gourmet passed hors d’oeuvres beneath New York City's newest holiday landmark: the “World’s Largest Mistletoe Ball.” Measuring six feet in diameter, the brightly-lit sphere was suspended overhead from the space’s soaring 20-foot ceiling.
Surrounded by atmospheric videos on every wall, guests mingled with friends and colleagues around sleek watch tables crafted of walnut, matte brushed nickel, and leather. Of course, stunning timepieces to suit the most discerning of tastes were on display and available for guests to admire and try on throughout the evening. A highlight was the speech given by Philippe Bonay, CEO of Jaeger LeCoultre (a boutique watch brand that is carried in the store). Philippe shared with Trustees and guests a brief history of watches and his insight into what makes an exceptional watch and why such a watch is important for a CEO in an age of cell phones and other electronic gadgets that tell time.
Luxury gift prizes, a highlight of the evening, included a stunning Tiffany’s decanter valued at $200, and a Jaeger LeCoultre timepiece valued at $8,000. Below are the raffle prize winners:
CEO Trust Cap - Joshua Berstein, Vanderberg & Feliu LLP
CEO Trust Coffee Mug - Victoria Rospond, Founding Partner at CR Studios
CEO Trust Keepsake Box - Kimberly Campbell, AccountAbility
Macy's $100 Gift Card - Ken Mandelbaum, The Big M Inc.
Tiffany's Decanter - Paula Morgan, Aveus
These biannual celebration receptions are an opportunity for all our Trustees (members) to get together with friends of the organization. It enables Trustees to catch up with old friends and make some new ones.
On Wednesday November 14th, I had the pleasure of hosting the members of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the CEO Trust, as they gathered together for the CEO Trust’s annual celebration. The event was held at the Perelman Center of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The evening’s attendees included members of the CEO Trust and their spouses along with chapter alliance members.
We enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, beverages and of course each other’s good company. The evening concluded with an opportunity for the attendees to participate in private viewings of the exhibit Shipwreck! Winslow Homer and The Life Line. The viewings were facilitated by knowledgeable museum tour guides who really enhanced the overall appreciation of the artwork on display.
All in all this was a wonderful night for all of the participants and provided everyone with some added excitement for the year that is ahead for the Philadelphia Chapter of the CEO Trust.
-- Cindy Ravitch, CEO Trustee, CFO, Mrops, Inc.
“It couldn’t be an entrepreneurism event without some last minute hiccups. The weather didn’t cooperate but the panelists are are very excited for the rescheduling. I’ll take this time to explain a bit of what we had planned and hopefully, we can have even more questions ready for this group come January.
My intention behind this event is to learn what entrepreneurs can offer seasoned CEOs. I believe there are a number of “basics” we miss in our daily business lives. Two situations (conversations really) sparked this idea.
The first was a conversation with a senior consultant at Accenture. She had led a huge makeover for a company. Each department was given a stack of tasks to tackle. The CEO was so excited and couldn’t wait for his assignment. That assignment? Do nothing. No work, no contact with work, nothing. He could come to the office but he had to stay behind closed doors. They suggested he read the newspaper. Certainly he fought and complained but after a few days his sentence sunk in. 10 days later he emerged with an expansive list of ideas he had for his business. He just needed some space away from the daily influx and the daily grind. The new perspective helped move his business forward.
The second was a conversation I’ve been having off-and-on with one of our Strategic Alliance partners. I brought up a case where a business had recently shed $20MM from its budget during the recent economic crisis. We asked each other, “Why can’t companies stay lean?” Many of us have been in start-up mode where we are bootstrapping through each month; what happens that allows us to lose that spirit?
So, what questions would you love to ask successful entrepreneurs? What perspectives do you wish you had in your business?”
-- Aaron Mandelbaum, Event Chair & CEO Trustee, CEO of StyleQuest.com
Several CEO Trustees have reported in with challenges in the wake of Sandy. In case it helps, here is a Crain’s article that nicely summarizes resources that might be useful.
Crain’s Article – Everything businesses need to rebuild
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