July 9, 2018  San Francisco CA Founders shed plenty of [...]

June 21-22, 2018 San Francisco CA The Work and Impact [...]

Princeton University Foundations of Entrepeneurship | Feb 2018, Princeton NJ

Entrepreneurship is about creating value for the benefit of others. It is about innovating, marshalling limited resources, inspiring teams, and persisting through challenges and uncertainty, often by trying, learning from what happens, and trying something better. This class is designed to equip each student with the approaches and concepts of entrepreneurship and how to apply them to achieve positive change in whatever endeavors they choose to pursue. The course employs several experiential methods of teaching and learning so students will understand how they can follow an entrepreneurial path in organizations and in life.

Latino Corporate Director’s Association Board Leaders Forum | Nov 2017, NYC

AI, sometimes referred to as intelligent automation, is transforming society and business in daunting ways, and there is no turning back! Companies are challenged to stay at the forefront of change with unchartered paths related to talent, capital and time. How will humans and technology work together? How will workflow change and employees be prepared for this new age? What are the implications of cognitive systems performing talks that have always required human intelligence and capacity to analyze?

NACD Global Board Leaders’ Summit Small-Cap Board Committee Forum | October 2017, Maryland

Shareholder activism today affects companies of all sizes/industries, but may be particularly relevant for small- and mid-cap companies: Companies $100M-$1B (44% of total companies) accounted for approximately 60% of all activist targets in FY2016, and the number of activist campaigns remains high due in large part to newer, often smaller activists targeting small and mid-size companies (60% “first-time activists”). While large institutional investors continue to exert significant influence & increase focus on engagement and governance reform, there are concrete steps every board can take to improve shareholder transparency and enhance value creation

ABS Capital Partners Director’s Summit | Sept 2017, Baltimore

Today’s governance environment for both public and private companies place new and shifting governance demands on boards. Presentation and discussion of how boards can remain effective in a dynamic world, and discussion of measures of board effectiveness in public and private domains.

NextGen Director’s Forum | September 2017, San Francisco

A discussion of how the board should engage with the CEO and the leadership team to discuss and evaluate a wide array of strategic options and future enterprise-level value creation decisions, including M&A, as well as “best practices” for first-time directors on how to add value to the board they will be joining.

BDO Board of Directors Forum | June 2017, Palo Alto

Activism is no longer just the purview of a few activist hedge funds, but is increasingly being used by a broader base of investors to elicit corporate change.  Shareholders become activists for a complex set of issues, with CEO & executive compensation being used as the entry point of discussion about larger strategic/financial issues.  For the unwary, compensation can become the trigger point to support that the strategy is flawed, with the flaw being reinforced by compensation.