Post By: Adam Turteltaub

Frits van Paasschen, the former CEO of Starwood and Coors Brewing Company, and the author of The Disruptors Feast was good enough to sit down with us for the latest Compliance Perspectives podcast.

In this discussion he begins by offering key insights into the very busy mind of the CEO, advising that a compliance officer should always try to be a provider of solutions, not just someone good at diagnosing problems.

Board members, he warns, want people who can answer their questions.  It’s critical to be prepared to answer and help them connect the dots.

And, speaking of connecting the dots, he also shares the patterns he sees in the business world, which is marked more by disruption, he argues, than most realize.  That’s true, he notes, even during more normal times.

He advises that as technology accelerates change, compliance teams need to constantly ask:  what has changed and what has remained the same?  And, where there is change, it is essential to speak up, even if others are unprepared to hear what you have to say.

That’s a very intriguing proposition and a conversation well worth listening to.