C-Suite Perspectives

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Rebecca Ray, Executive Vice President and Leader of the Human Capital Center at The Conference Board, to discuss the legacy of the pandemic and the elements of the workplace that are forever changed. Tune in to find out:

• How most HR processes have been upended—from talent acquisition and performance management to development and compensation
• What the optimal hybrid workplace look like today
• How to maintain innovation, culture, values—and support flexible teams

In the latest episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Mike Archbold. He is a Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development, the public policy Center of The Conference Board (CED). Additionally, Archbold is the founding CEO and a board member of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism at the Vatican, and the former CEO of GNC. The topic of this week’s conversation is gerrymandering, which is once again back in full swing. Tune in to find out:

• What’s at the heart of the redistricting debate
• How gerrymandering undermines democracy
• How gerrymandering fosters political extremism and fuels gridlock
• What some states are doing to de-politicize the gerrymandering process

In a new episode of CEO perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Dr. Bart van Ark, Managing Director of the Productivity Institute at the University of Manchester, to discuss productivity—making the most of human and material resources. Tune in for insights on:

• What the latest numbers say about productivity
• What will happen to productivity as the massive globalization of the 1990s shifts to a focus on securing domestic supply chains
• Why the Fourth Industrial Revolution or digital age hasn’t yet fueled higher productivity across the economy

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Dr. Lori Esposito Murray, president of the Committee for Economic Development, the Public Policy Center of The Conference Board. Tune in for insights on:

• China and Russia's past and present relationship and their strengthening trade ties
• The complicated status of Taiwan and the implications of the One China policy
• The potential impact to global supply chains—and the supply of advanced semiconductors—if China invades Taiwan

This CEO Perspectives podcast focuses on what's going on in the world and how business leaders should adapt, with a special focus on “black swans”: unpredictable events that may have unexpected consequences. Hear from our experts:

• Dr. Lori Esposito Murray, President, Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED), on the potential for a fractured global financial and economic system to emerge in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine
• Dana Peterson, Executive Vice President & Chief Economist, on how geopolitics and supply shocks are filtering through the global economy
• Dr. Rebecca Ray, Executive Vice President, Human Capital, on why traditional ways of thinking about work planning have been blown up
• Paul Washington, Executive Director, Environmental, Social and Governance Center, on how organizations should be thinking about their green goals in the midst of a global energy crisis—can they give them up?
• Ivan Pollard, Center Leader, Marketing & Communications, about why the expectations for companies to speak up on the issues at hand are greater than ever—and what’s at stake if they don’t

“One thing that is most critical and important is the mindset and the commitment of the most senior leaders in an organization – and that includes your Board, your CEO and your C-Suite executives to this issue of diversity” says Anna Mok, Asia Pacific Leader, Advisory, Global Lead Client Service Partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP. In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Mok to discuss the importance for business leaders to embrace diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and why a company’s success could depend on it. Tune in for insights on:

• Correlation with success? Why is diversity important to a company? Do diverse companies perform better?
• Getting to diversity. Are there certain forms of diversity that are more important to companies?
• DEI metrics. What composition should employers seek to attain?
• Importance of the Board. Why is it so important to have a diverse Board of Directors? How should Boards accomplish this?
• DEI in our future. Within a couple of decades the US will be a “majority minority” population. What does this mean?

“[India] agrees with the strategic approach of lessening the importance of the US dollar in international commerce and finance, and consequently diminishing the international influence of the United States as a global leader,” says Dr. Lori Esposito Murray, President of the Committee for Economic Development, the public policy center of The Conference Board (CED). In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Murray to discuss the relationship between India, Russia, and China, and what it means for the global economy. Tune in for insights on:

• A new axis: Is Russia strategically aligning with the dominant economies of Asia to form a new axis? How would this new axis affect Western companies?
• Differing models: Why would India align itself with Russia, given their different economic systems? What is the impact when the longest standing democracy in the world starts aligning itself with an autocracy?
• One world, two financial systems: What would be the effect of an alternate banking system used by Russia, China, and India?
• Pakistan: Is the tension between India and Pakistan driving India’s involvement with Russia?
• Outcomes: What is the best-case scenario for the US? The worst-case scenario?

“If you're anywhere in the world, and you got really sick, where would you want to be? I probably want to be here [in the US]. We are capable of delivering the finest health care in the world. Our challenge is that it's not equitable. It's not available to everybody,” says George Barrett, former chairman and CEO of Cardinal Health and a trustee of The Conference Board. In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Barrett to discuss the current state of our healthcare system, what's working, what isn't working, and how we can lower costs and improve outcomes. Tune in for insights on:

• Why healthcare consumes so much of GDP in the US compared to other countries
• The business model of healthcare in the US and why pay the fee-for-service model creates a “perverse incentive”
• Why COVID-19 is an inflection point and a wake-up call

“The reality is, we have a really fast healthcare system, which means we have to have an extraordinary amount of capacity to be able to act that quick…but we pay a lot for that privilege.” That’s according to Dr. Steve Miller, Chief Clinical Officer of Cigna. In this episode of CEO Perspectives, Miller joins The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland to discuss the US healthcare system. Tune in for insights on:

• The cost of healthcare: Why is the US healthcare system so expensive? How do we balance affordability with innovation?
• Room for improvement: Are there other healthcare models we should consider adopting? How can we take advantage of technology to make healthcare more affordable?
• Drug costs: What goes into developing new drugs and why are drug costs so high? How do we keep prices from rising so much?
• The Affordable Care Act: What were the original goals of the Affordable Care Act? Over a decade later, how are we doing with those goals? What went wrong and what should we do going forward?
• A fatigued system: What impact has the pandemic had on the healthcare system? Why is it important to get vaccinated?

Will Russia Go Nuclear?

“It really is an extremely dangerous time in terms of security—our security, European security, and global security,” warns Dr. Lori Esposito Murray, President of the Committee for Economic Development, the public policy center of The Conference Board.

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, Murray sits down with President and CEO Steve Odland. Murray—a renowned expert in foreign policy and national security—offers a frank assessment of the latest developments in Ukraine and details the threats by Russia to use nuclear and chemical weapons.