http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter Executives around the planet share their experience. Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:54:28 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Joshua Hittman, Gerson Lehrman Group For C-suite executives, leaving the corner office doesn’t mean leaving the field—there are many ways to remain professionally engaged and involved. Whether former CEOs are in transition toward another full-time post or settling in to full-time consulting, they have resources that allow them to leverage their decades ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2010/02/ceo-in-transition/ By Antoine Juaristi, Lovells The recent financial crisis has brought to light the complexity of certain financial products, as well as a profound lack of transparency within the financial system. Despite strong criticism denouncing this lack of transparency, investors have, nevertheless, increasingly had recourse to hidden trading platforms on the equity ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2010/01/dark-pools/ With Pedro Subijana You often talk about the wisdom of the ancients, how would you define it ? As for any art or job, you first need to know the basics and to build solid foundations through academic training. Then, as you get more knowledge and practice, you get the freedom ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/12/learn-to-be-creative/ By Marie-Charlotte Diriart Extending seniors' employability is currently a hot topic for most European countries. European countries are recognizing the value that older workers bring to an organization: experience, institutional memory, wisdom, maturity. In 2010, each member of the European Union must achieve the target of increasing its employment rate of ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/12/extending-professional-life/ By Julian Short, Accenture A pricing function focused on managing in a downturn is fraught with risk. At best, a company could miss the potential short-term gains offered by an improvement in the economy, and at worst it could damage the long-term price positioning of the overall enterprise. With companies clearly ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/12/pricing-for-the-upturn/ By Igor Quézel-Perron A lot of managers, after long careers in big corporations, used to approach head-hunters for positions in companies under LBOs. This has changed in these difficult times for Private Equity: fewer operations, less leverage, smaller dreams... Are there real opportunities today to join an LBO company as CEO or ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/11/lbo-mbi-bimbo/ By Dominique Langlois & Frederic Marquette, EIM Balancing Excellence and Urgency is a hard, daily challenge for many executives. In addition to staying top of the daily business life, executives may face unexpected exceptional circumstances such as the long-time absence of a key man, a deep organizational change, the integration of ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/11/transition-management/ Richard Jadot & Louis-Jérôme Laisney, Lovells France has recently introduced a new trust and security mechanism transferring the management and the ownership of an asset to the trustee. Those new security tools should help the finance industry to leverage new pools of assets, to contribute to lower borrowing costs and ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/11/french-trust/ With Johann Lafer 1. Why is German Cuisine is so diverse and yet relatively unknown? German Cuisine differs a lot by region. In Hamburg, the cuisine is inspired by fish, shellfish, and fresh seafood, while Bavarian food is based more on well-crafted sausage, wiener and sauerkraut. Our vast forests provide ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/11/cooking-naturally/ by Didier Toussaint Some figures assert that less than half of the mergers among business corporations can claim to be successful. While at first it makes sense economically, the implementation of the merger eventually tends to destroy value after implementation. Why? With a growing concern for profitability over the three past decades, ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/10/missions-and-mergers/ By Jacki Johnson, The Buzz Insurance The launch of a total online insurance business within the Insurance Australia Group was about a fundamentally different business model, enabled by a variety of technologies, with the internet as the main customer interface. In the journey to launch, we discovered some insights about ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/10/the-buzz-online-assurance/ by Matthew Robinson, Accenture Business leaders understand that climate change is a major issue, but many are awaiting clarity about future regulation. Here are six actions to take today to prepare for climate change: a. Weatherproof your business: A rise in average global temperatures of 1-4°C under current emission paths could result in ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/10/prepare-for-climate-change/ By Guy Hervier The 90s saw incredible growth in Information Technologies. Few people paused to consider implications of parallel growth in electrical consumption. The US Energy Star specification in 1992 was one of a few initiatives which regulated the efficiency of all this equipment. In 2007, the American Congress published a report considered ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/10/hype-and-reality-in-green-it/ With Patrick Henriroux Patrick Henriroux is the Chef and the proprietor of La Pyramide at Vienne, France. In 1989, he bought this mythical hotel-restaurant which was then in jeopardy. He has transformed it into a must-visit in the Rhône Valley. You have one of the most exclusive wine lists on the planet. ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/09/in-inventory-since-1760/ By Hervé Israël, Lovells Tax lawyers like to think that in any law there are loopholes, and if these loopholes exist, it is because God created them. In international taxation, tax havens are a major loophole for sheltering the assets of the wealthy. Tax havens are vilified as the scapegoat of the ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/09/tax-haven-or-tax-heaven/ With Patrick O'Connell Patrick is the chef, proprietor and the cofounder of The Inn at Little Washington, considered one of the top 10 restaurants of the Planet by the International Herald Tribune. It became America's first 5 Star country house hotel. Usually we refer to the Italian, Spanish, French, Chinese or Japanese ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/09/think-fresh/ By Paul Nunes, Accenture How well positioned is your company to respond effectively to the downturn? The answer is a function of three assessments: relative performance (as measured over recent business cycles and management eras), your own unique circumstances, and overarching global conditions. From our extensive research over the past six ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/09/assessing-your-competitive-strength-in-the-downturn/ By Guy Hervier In the evolution towards the Global Village, Social Networks are accelerating the process. Tools like Facebook are shrinking the world. I can be friends with my neighbor and a Hmong peasant from the Guizhou region, in southern China. Is this sustainable in the long run? It is hard to tell ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/08/mass-or-mess-age/ By Michael Creamer, Vice President Human Resources, Cott Is it a new concept? Not really. Over the years many companies have wanted their employees to think and act as owners. Some are much more successful than others. What strategies have been tried? Granting options, Restricted Stocks and Long Term Incentives. In many ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/08/think-and-act-as-an-owner/ By Philippe Thomas, Lovells More than 90% of new graduates believe that they will be exposed to more geographic mobility than their parents. In a global world, international mobility and employment across borders will continue to increase, and in many cases the applicable legal terms are still evolving. A successful international ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/08/contracting-international-mobility/ With Jean-Michel Lorain Jean-Michel Lorain is the chef of La Côte Saint-Jacques, a prestigious family hotel-restaurant, which won three stars again this year in the famous Michelin guide. Part of a chef’s secret mystery is in the ingredients he chooses. What are your favorite ones? I love mushrooms for their subtle flavours, ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/07/work-with-passion/ By Hugo Ferreira, Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild It is possible to combine the principles of ecology and finance to reach a sustainable development under the regulating umbrella of responsible policy makers. Our strategic development in green finance is not about philanthropy, it's about profit. Corporations have to manage new risk created by constraints ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/07/meshing-finance-and-ecology/ By David Taylor, Lovells The past decade has seen a huge increase in the processing of personal data, both in terms of volume and importance. Whether for the terms and conditions of a social networking website, for a new file implemented by a local government, or for a new data breach, ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/07/personal-data-protection/ By Mark Jaugey, PayPal The common check has a colorful history. In the 1930s, Sir Alan Patrick Herbert, a British humorist created the urban myth that a man called Albert Haddock won a landmark court case to force the tax collector to accept a check written on a cow. ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/07/no-more-check-in-the-mail/ By Guy Hervier After its first ten years, Microsoft had achieved revenue of 140 millions of dollars, compared to Google’s 21.7 billion dollars. Ten years after it started, Google had achieved revenue eighty times higher than that of Microsoft even after including a 3% annual inflation rate. Over the ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/07/is-google-too-successful/ By Catherine Blondel We know the song:"I've got it" . It is exactly what any newly appointed executive wants to say. Finally, after years of hard work: I am, I exist, I made it! But reality soon dispels the fiction. Nothing seems really new. Since the times of Plato, we know that ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/07/the-executive-blues/ By Peter Citron, Lovells One of the key tools that the European Commission uses in its fight against cartels and other anticompetitive behaviour is a dawn raid, an unannounced on-the-spot investigation. There are some hard facts emerging from recent dawn raid practices which businesses should be aware of. Wider use ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/06/the-european-dawn-raids/ By Viky Cooke, Chime Communications Trust in the voice of authority is fading as consumers increasingly put their faith in each other. Messages from businesses, politicians and tabloid newspapers are being listened to with scepticism. The economic crisis has caused a seismic shift in attitude. Consumers are now entering what the company ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/06/from-deference-to-reference/ By Reid Walker, Lenovo With the global economy in upheaval, traditional distinctions between consumer and producer nations, and between developed and emerging markets has blurred, creating promise and peril for multinationals as the early "shoots" of economic recovery take root. 1. Brazil, Russia, India and China ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/06/world-sourcing-opportunities/ By Peter Lacy,  Accenture In our research and work with clients around the world, we see the challenges that many companies are facing in this difficult economy.  Management must demonstrate their ability to run day-to-day operations better than before, maintaining flawless operations despite the need to tighten belts and deal with ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/06/the-sustainable-customers/ By Hervé Kabla What makes top executives like Georges Colony at Forrester, Bill Marriott at Marriott Hotels, Lucien Fa at Yoplait, or Françoise Gris at Manpower so similar? It’s not a question of language, nor sex, nor age, nor even industry. No, the common point between ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/06/starting-your-company-blog/ By Maryanne Perrin A cultural change we cannot ignore. Unless you’ve been completely unplugged, you’ve probably heard some rumblings about the benefits of workplace flexibility.  If not, here’s the scoop: study after study shows that it’s a top priority for employees and it’s good for employers, too. ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/06/making-your-workplace-flexible/ By Bruno Berthon, Accenture Over the past five years, we’ve seen sustainability steadily move from the periphery to the heart of business. Companies have adopted sustainability practices for a host of reasons depending on the industries and geographies in which they operate. By now, it’s safe to say that most companies ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/05/sustainability-in-a-downturn/ By Jean-Georges Betto, Lovells It is commonplace to say that arbitration is the preferred mechanism to resolve international commercial disputes. The growing number and diversity of cases submitted to arbitration together with the use of arbitration clauses in the vast majority of international contracts are particularly convincing evidence of this current ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/05/in-arbitration-we-trust/ By Valéry Marchive It’s referred to as the Indian Enron : by the beginning of January 2009, the fourth biggest Indian IT services provider has been at the center a huge financial scandal, stemming from the misbehaviour of its former CEO, Ramalinga Raju, just weeks after being banned from the ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/05/understanding-the-satyam-case/ By Bruce Tonkin Cloud computing, like - green power -  or - environmentally friendly -, is a marketing term that encapsulates a range of technical, business, and social developments associated with the Internet. The - cloud - term has taken over the previous term the - world wide ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/05/cloud-computing/ By Wayne Herbertson My passion for safety is driven out of a personal loss of a best mate in a work related accident in 2007. Hoping to prevent other losses, I wrote a book Practical Safety Guide To Zero Harm which tries to prevent workplace injuries by sharing my accumulated knowledge ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/05/practical-safety-procedures-reduce-workplace-accidents/ By Bill Moore Several years ago, the Photovoltaic trade publication Photon International posed some questions about biofuels, solar panels, and cars: Given a hectare of land -- roughly 2.4 acres -- which energy crop would power a motor vehicle the furthest? The energy derived from various biofuels grown on ... http://www.theofficialboard.com/newsletter/2009/05/our-electric-car-future/