Swine Flu – the forgotten front line

The pharmaceutical industry has been up in arms this year. Giants such as Pfizer, GSK and AstraZeneca are looking for deals in the downturn whilst competing against increasing generic competition as some of the best selling medicines are coming off patent. In addition to the sectors ever changing landscape companies are under tremendous pressure from governments to combat the Swine flu pandemic that has gripped the world.

“The Battle to beat Swine Flu is not just being fought in the lab, the virus must be tackled on all fronts, once the vaccination is discovered the industry must be prepared, have a lean manufacturing and supply system to get it out to the masses” Julia MacKenzie Director Next Generation Pharmaceuticals. In order to face this pandemic, manufacturing heads in the industry are uniting at the NGP Summit to be held in Germany between 15th-17th September. The Next Generation Pharmaceutical Summit (NGP) will host over 50 of the leading pharmaceutical companies to discuss the future of pharmaceutical production and supply.

Impresarios such as Stanley Lech, Vice President - Global Innovation & World Wide Product Development for GlaxoSmithKline, Ronald Massey, Senior Director of Global Engineering for Pfizer, Dick Winokur, Vice President - Clinical Supply Chain for Sanofi-Aventis and Thomas Daszkowski, V.P. BTS-A Process Technology Healthcare for Bayer Technology have all confirmed attendance, with the agenda set to develop strategies and technologies to get Drugs such as the Swine Flu vaccine to Market more rapidly.

“As the Swine Flu pandemic increases, the industry has to be on the ball to deal with the need for vaccine supply. The number of cases has rapidly risen over the last few months, and as Europe heads into its winter season the demand will be worse than ever. “ Julia continues. “With quicker and more efficient regulations, manufacturing and supply to the masses could be improved, but in order for this to happen collaboration and communication within the industry needs to occur”. Can Europe’s finest pharma companies stand up to the challenge that lies before them? Only time will tell.

Vodafone transforms IT nerds into IS leaders

“No longer is it adequate just to get a computer science degree and focus on the technical aspects of the job.” says Albert Hitchcock, Global CIO, Vodafone in an exclusive interview for MeettheBoss.com

Albert Hitchcock took charge of the technology information services organization at Vodafone Group plc (LON: VOD) in August 2007, following some 14 years with Nortel and took time out of his busy schedule to share his thoughts on the future of IT function for MeettheBoss.com.

In today’s super-competitive marketplace, he feels many companies and many technology professionals are missing a trick: “Information systems,” he says, “must be at the forefront of the business.”

Hitchcock believes that in the past the I.T. function was often viewed as “a necessary evil”, remote from the business and running in the background. This has to change “because of the way business is carried out today”, but the people who could benefit most from that change may be short-skilled.

In the interview for MeettheBoss.com, Hitchcock says that many I.T. professionals are missing out on opportunities because they lack business expertise. “Increasingly I.T. professionals have to be confident at communicating. They have to be good leaders. They have to inspire their teams. They have to be able to understand the dynamics of the business they’re in and contribute to business decisions [and] discussions … which is a change, right, and a lot of I.T. professionals are not so comfortable with that aspect.”

To find out how Vodafone is transforming its I.T. staffers:

http://www.meettheboss.com/Broadcast-Player.aspx?Play=1&MediaID=118

If the shoe fits...Zappos’ Secret to Amazon Deal

When it comes to a copy of Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ or a rare Tarantino DVD, Amazon has long been the internet’s go to guy, but even with blood, sweat and tears, it hasn’t had the success and conversion rate that Tony Hsieh’s Zappos has demonstrated. Tony reveals his success in an Exclusive interview for MeettheBoss.tv on how he has built Zappos from a $1million company to the $847 million Amazon has just reached into its pocket for this unprecedented purchase.

During the interview recorded earlier this year Hsieh divulges innovations he has made to Zappos to grow the business from nearly no sales in 1999 to over $1Billion in gross merchandise sales in 2008. Hseih states ‘The number one driver of that growth has been through repeat customers and word of mouth.’ He also shares his secrets to improving company culture through recruitment and to his Marketing Strategies. ‘Most of the money that we would of spent on paid advertising we put into the customer experience......Any costs that we put into investing in the customer experience ends up driving that repeat customer behavior and word of mouth, so we think of it as an in direct marketing cost’. And he clearly was on the right track as Amazon digs deep to increase market share.

With $23 billion in annual sales generated by footwear and apparel online, Amazon appears to have made the move with money in mind. According to Forrester, this sector tops the hyper competitive PC market, ($16 billion) and consumer electronics ($11 billion). This has always been an area where Amazon has been lacking, but today’s purchase of Zappos is perhaps the most obvious admission of its failure to dominate this lucrative sector. In this respect, the deal makes sense. "They've been trying to do it for years with very little success," said Sucharita Mulpuru, a Forrester Research analyst.

Whilst Amazon has stated that they aren’t ‘disappointed’ with the performance of Endless.com (their presence in this market), this move is clearly an indicator of the company’s desire to become a more prominent player in certain areas of online retailing.

The move has, however, prompted some critics to question Amazon’s motives. Is it purely a case of profit and turnover that has led Amazon to tap into a sector in which they weren’t “King of the Hill”? Or, as some are speculating, is it perhaps a pre-emptive manoeuvre to prevent one of the most celebrated online retailers from expanding their repertoire into segments that Amazon has traditionally dominated?

After all, Amazon themselves started as an online bookshop before rapidly expanding into sector after sector. As a shopping option Amazon is engrained into our lives as the de facto choice for online purchasing, a podium place they simply cannot afford to share.

Both companies have shown a resilience and sustainability even in the most challenging of times, which is good reason for such attention from not only Silicon Valley, but the financial and retail titans.

For more information or to see the exclusive video go to MeettheBoss http://www.meettheboss.com/amazon-buys-zappos.html

Executives spend an extra 11 hours a month online

A study run by online business networking service www.MeettheBoss.com shows that executives are spending an extra 11 hours a month online sharing their professional experiences and learning from their peers.

MeettheBoss surveyed 15,000 of its 200,000 executive members to understand more about what effect Web 2.0 has had on the business world.

The survey asked its executive users what direct value they gained from spending time running blogs, writing tweets and connecting with other executives on sites such as Linked-In, Xing, MeettheBoss, Ryze, Facebook and Twitter.

The answers revealed that executives proficient with online activities are spending an average of 11 hours more per month online than this time last year – and over 90% of respondents said they felt their time online was ‘very valuable’ to their daily role.

Professionals are rushing to the Web for immediate answers to their most pressing questions. “I find online business networking very useful,” says MeettheBoss member Oliver Bruns, Head of Polyurethanes at Bayer Material Sciences. “It allows me to create or join a discussion and get immediate answers and experiences from like-minded professionals on issues such as regulation or technology.”

Finding answers for your business is one thing, but most executives have spotted more ‘individual’ advantages to this new phenomenon.

“Everyone knows that building contacts in the industry can strengthen your career prospects, but sharing your knowledge with the world is a very effective personal branding exercise,” says Adam Burns, Editor-in-Chief of online business channel, MeettheBoss.TV.

Many thought leaders agree with him. Manfred Fitzgerald, Director of Brand & Design at Lamborghini, Vinton Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist at Google, Werner Vogels, CTO, Amazon and Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, have all shared their expertise on the site.

“Sites like MeettheBoss are a great help as they aggregate all the information I need to start my day. It is a new, modern, convenient networking and information platform,” says MeettheBoss member, Detlef Guenther, CISO at Volkswagen.

Though most experts agree there is no substitute for face-to-face networking, using social media tools correctly can bring substantial return on your time investment. You can become a thought leader in your niche environment overnight and even pull business to your door. The challenge is finding the best one for you.

Fuel for thought: Total e&p and Aspect Energy CEOs head to Englewood, Colorado

Brian Rovelli, President and CEO of Total e&p Research and Technology USA, LLC, and Stephen Lipari, President and CEO AASLAP/EVP Aspect Energy have both confirmed attendance at the Next Generation Oil and Gas Summit in June.

The summit, which will begin on June 3rd at The Inverness Hotel in Colorado, has been organised for Oil and Gas visionaries to combat the economic crisis and unite in this unreliable climate.

The question has been asked by many. Was the oil and gas industry to blame for the economic downfall? Accused of limiting supply to increase demand and therefore making prices rise, has lead to small businesses failing, subsequently contributing to the crumble in the financial world.

But with its multi-billion pound infrastructure can the Oil and Gas sector lead the economic turnaround?

Mr. Rovelli and Mr. Lipari are two of the most influential men in the sector. Their audience and peers will consist of many other industry leaders, whose decisions and business models in the coming years will shape the way the United States faces the energy crisis, the Obama administration’s regulations and decisions, and the relationship with oil-rich countries abroad.

Amongst this group are BG Group Head of Well Engineering John de Lange, Bill Barett Corporation Onshore Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Executive Wilfred Roux, Bonanza Creek Energy EVP of Engineering and Planning Gary Grove, and Ellora Energy’s Vice President of Exploration Valerie Walker. These industry veterans and many others will spend three days discussing the major issues that will shape the most vital of topics. If targets are achieved, with a large investment and unity amongst the sector, new innovation could pave the way to an economic upturn.

Candidate for US Senate wows elite Oil & Gas delegates at the NG O&G Summit

Commissioner Elizabeth Jones, a recognised leader in the field of energy supply, and recently announced candidate for the US Senate, wowed an audience of top Oil & Gas executives at the Next Generation Oil & Gas Summit last week in Colorado.

The Commissioner¹s policies are well-known throughout the industry, and she impressively oversees the Texas¹s energy supply, which is key to America¹s economical stability.
Last week¹s meeting was focused around Jones¹s political hurdles with the Obama Administration and the issues she faces in developing America¹s energy security by advancing domestic energy resources as an alternative to Obama¹s wish to outsource supplies from other countries. Her focus appears to be on the need to support the industry and the state during the unstable economic climate, and in turn create more jobs for US citizens.

As a fourth generation family member in energy supply, her passion and drive were a mere catalyst at the summit for Oil & Gas visionaries including John de Lange, Head of Well Engineering at BG Group; John t¹Hart, VP of Exploration at Talisman Energy; Juan Uribe, Manager Global Operations Upstream at Repsol; and Jay Still, EVP Domestic Operations at Pioneer Natural Resources. This esteemed group discussed new ways to deliver energy across America with technology leaders from CSC, Dupont, Landmark, Deep Down and MDA Geospatial.

Influential thinkers like Commissioner Elizabeth Jones are now stepping up to the challenge, and willing to take on the responsibility of America¹s energy supply by discussing political and economical ideas with other thought leaders. Platforms like the Colorado summit need to become available to the industry¹s figureheads for discussions to occur more frequently.

It is not very often that leaders of this calibre in the Oil & Gas industry can gather in one place. It is even more rare that a state can be held up as an example for the rest of America as Jones has done with Texas.
The question is ¬ will the US utilise these innovative ideas effectively in order to create a self-sufficient domestic energy supply, or will one of the richest economies in the world ultimately have to depend on smaller, less developed regions in order to survive?

Tired of Twitter? Facebook Fatigue? In one week 200,000 executives choose business over social.

There has been no shortage of conversation about online networking in the last year. Communities such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are a fantastic resource to all - But what are the true business benefits of Social networking?


‘Social networking sites are great to catch-up with old friends, share photographs, music and links but in this climate does the executive community have time for this?’ Asked Spencer Green CEO of MeettheBoss.com - the business networking service. ’’Credit isn’t the only casualty of the crunch: time is another scarce resource for executives, they need immediate value when online’’ and reports show he is right with 200,000 executives world-wide flooding to his business site for answers since its re-launch on May 11th 2009.


US executives are leading the way with nearly 100,000 new active members from companies such as Wal-mart, GE, Procter and Gamble, Citi and Shell signing up. “The influx of new US business members could be associated to the Economic downturn or just simply because the American executive is more innate to the new technology, either way they have embraced the site and are reaching out to the world through MeettheBoss.com’’ – Harlan Davis – Director - MeettheBoss.com
The website has also expanded into key vertical channels such as Telecoms, Pharmaceuticals, Oil and Gas and Utilities. Each industry channel is limited to 20,000 users and provides specific content and contacts related to the user, such walled communities provide each executive an exclusive platform to share ideas and communicate with peers from around the world securely and privately.


If you are a key executive not related directly to the aforementioned channels, you are invited to the horizontal network of business management where you can pick up leadership lessons and business learning from executives like Manfred Fitzgerald, Director of Brand & Design at Lamborghini, Vinton Cerf – Chief Evangelist at Google and Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos . New industry channels will be create on request of the users, the next month will see manufacturing and retail launch.


‘Meet the boss is a new, modern, convenient networking and information platform. I tried to use MeettheBoss on a daily basis, for networking and information research. Meettheboss TV is not only interesting but also enjoyable.’ Detlaf Guenther – CISO – Volkwagen.


‘The site is professional and easy to navigate. Good to see the outside perspective for every executive’ Dragan Majetic - Vice-President Strategic Marketing -Merz Pharmaceuticals.


The sites features include free video conferencing and roundtable functionality, instant messaging, email, calendar, a fully searchable whitepaper module, and most importantly, ‘smartwords’ – an intelligent spine around which the whole site sits.“MeettheBoss.com was built on an ever-expanding database of keywords, dedicated to specific industries,” explains Harlan. “A very cool new central console ‘feeds’ each member specific content, people, and broadcasts based on their activity across the site – from the weather, to industry blogs, contacts, and even news from their favorite newspapers. ‘Smartwords’ means you get everything in one place unique to you, quickly and easily. And if you want to connect with a network of your peers/colleagues at the same time, or join in a live peer-led discussion group, well, you can do that too. It’s the ultimate aggregator”


It seems like sites such as MeettheBoss are the future of Web 2.0. - Well 200,000 executives seem to agree

Questions

Why are executives rushing to join online communities?
What is the true business value of online networking?
Is mere contact building enough? Or will sites have to be more innovative to maintain interest?
And if so, what next?
Will face-to-face contact ever be replaced?

Google’s new ‘PowerMeter’ sparks excitement at the NGU Europe Summit

It is not very often the words ‘Google’ and ‘energy-saving’ appear in the same sentence. However, in Portugal last week at the industry-leading Next Generation Utilities Summit, over 50 European Utility leaders were presented with the company’s new venture; Google’s ‘PowerMeter’.

Utilities, Power, and Energy have the potential to change the way the world operates in today’s environment. Saving money and reducing global energy usage is a familiar occurrence in the media, but there is not enough accessible information for the consumer on where to start. Posted paper bills are made up of complicated figures which give little information on energy consumption and how to save power. Google’s Jens Redmer, Director of Business Development for Europe discussed at the summit of a way to help the consumer in making the right decisions on their energy usage.

Google’s ‘PowerMeter’ provides customers with data on their personal electricity usage right on their own iGoogle homepage. It does this by receiving information from smart meters and energy management devices, calculating a customer’s energy consumption, and allowing each individual the ability to see what, in their homes, wastes the most energy.

Currently Google are testing the tool in the US, India & Canada, with the hopes of expanding later in the year. Not surprisingly, the NGU summit was the perfect place to introduce it to the European market. Redmer’s presentation sparked the interest of utility heads including João Torres, President of EDP Distribuição, Frank Borchardt, Head of Smart Metering at E.ON, Corne Meeuwis, CEO of CASC-CWE, Odd Håkon Holsæter, Chairmanof Nordpool and CEO of Statnett Norway, and Inge Pierre, Head of European Affairs at Svenskenergi. The innovative product was a mere catalyst for this esteemed group to discuss new ways to develop global energy supply with technology leaders from Siemens, Oracle, Alcatel – Lucent, SAP and Navita.

Many different companies will need to work together in order create a “path to smarter power”. Platforms like the NGU Summit need to become available to the industry’s figureheads for discussions and collaborations to occur more frequently. Already, Utility heads are booking their travel arrangements for the next NGU Summit in Europe, which is due to occur next February.

It is not very often that influential companies like Google take the time to develop innovative tools with the ability to aid in the reduction of energy waste. Having said this, it is clear technological applications like ‘PowerMeter’ are just the beginning and alone will not solve the energy saving issues that surround us.

But can Google’s’ initial contribution be the first step needed to move forward, before it’s too late?

NIMBY Attitude Stalling U.S. Growth -AEP Chairman, Michael Morris

Electricity growth has increased over the last decade. Coal in particular accounts for over 50 percent of U.S. electricity and over 32 percent of its carbon emissions. However, with constant media coverage on the urgency to use renewable energy to power our homes, utility leaders seem to be fighting a time-battle to create innovative ways to produce energy whilst keeping up with user demand.

Unfortunately, this is not the only problem they seem to be facing. In an interview on MeettheBoss.com, Michael Morris, Chairman of American Electric Power says that any move towards a cleaner energy future will have to combat two, major challenges: NIMBYs and a lack of proper federal legislative control.

"There is an inertia in the country of nothing in my backyard," says Morris. "We all want energy. We want all of it that we can get. We want it cheap, and we want it clean, and we want no opportunity to see where it came from."

Morris's concerns should be taken seriously. AEP is the largest electricity generator in America, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states over 39,000 miles of network. His influence in creating a sustainable future will be vital over the next decade.

Morris believes that now is the perfect time to build out a better electricity network. "It's great for jobs [and] if we're ultimately going to make this country greener and less dependent on fossil-based fuels, it's essential," he says. "Federal legislative control and a legislative federal cost allocation authority would really take down the barriers that are holding back the capital investment needed."

View the interview now on www.meettheboss.com

Chief Medical Officer ‘very concerned’ about Obama’s healthcare reform agenda

Robert Spiegel, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP), the global science-based healthcare company, says he is “very concerned” that changes to the healthcare system by the Obama administration could affect public health.

In an interview for MeettheBoss.com, Spiegel was asked about the impact of President Obama’s stated aim of increased access to ‘generic’ medicines on the pharmaceutical industry.

“Fixing the healthcare system in America is a very complex issue and I am not an expert on all aspects,” says Spiegel, “the collaboration that has existed to date between academia, government, the pharmaceutical industry and the bio tech industry has been extremely productive … we’re very concerned that changes to the healthcare system and its reimbursement could easily shift this delicate balance that has worked well in the past as a way to make sure that new discoveries do get developed and turned into medicine.”

Spiegel also believes it is ‘ironic’ that part of the stimulus package will be pouring money into the National Institutes of Health to improve and give funding, which has not been “as high as it could have been in recent years to basic science”.

His arguments may seem expected from any Chief Medical Officer who is naturally looking at the situation from a business angle, yet Spiegel is very aware of public perception and the pressures on the Obama Administration to reduce cost and increase medical accessibility for the nation. His reasoning, however does not appear to be determined by business profits, but a future lack of further medical discoveries which may be held back due to a more focused approach towards generic funding, “new drugs don’t come from the NIH, they don’t come from university research labs, they only come out of the industry that’s made to develop and find ways to use the advances in science into drugs... if we say that generics are good enough, that the current medicines you have today in 2009 are probably good enough and we don’t really need any new medicines, I think 20 years from now we’re going to have major issues with an aging population and many diseases that still have major unmet medical needs.”

With media-flooded articles on global diseases such as the recent Swine Flu pandemic, and the Asian Bird Flu, this perspective from an expert in the field pulls into question public concerns on developing new medical discoveries in time to combat disease – will our scientific knowledge be up to adequate standards to withstand any major future pandemic threats? If Spiegel is correct and attention to new drug discovery slips, what will happen when the world is faced with the next major pandemic crisis?



Watch the full interview: http://www.meettheboss.com/Broadcast-Player.aspx?Play=1&MediaID=112

Coca Cola CIO is set to highlight the need for better communication to weather the storm

Esat Sezer, SVP & CIO for Coca Cola Enterprises, has confirmed attendance as the keynote speaker at the CIO Summit US, one of the most important meetings this year for America’s top CIOs.

The summit, which will be held from September 8-10 in Scottsdale, Arizona, has been highlighted as a vital meeting place for all major companies across the US and their CIOs to discuss future investments in order to create an economic upturn for America.
In today’s world, corporations such as Coca Cola Enterprises have the financial reserves to weather the economic climate with the ability to increase their spends over the next year. Stability in US markets are vital during the last quarter of 2009, and we need to see the major players in business come together to execute and promote their companies, creating vital partnerships and investments with each other in order to steer the nation out of any further economic decline.

Sezer is set to highlight the need for better communication, internally and externally, referencing to Coca Cola Enterprises’ 6 month migration to SaaS, and the benefits this has drawn from its increased Employee Productivity and essential Cost Management. He will be joined by impresarios such as Rajesh Rawal, SVP & CIO of Burger King Corporations, Cassio De Oliveira, VP & CIO of Panasonic Corporation of North America, Mike Goodwin, SVP & CIO of Hallmark Cards, Inc., and Paul Johnson, EVP & CIO of BB&T, amongst 50 other visionaries at the meeting in September.

The unstable nature of the climate requires forward-thinking and visionary executives who operate and make decisions outside the vacuum of directors. It is vital that to stabilise the economy, America needs to look towards its large corporations which span over a wide spectrum of markets for quick decisions that will hopefully create an uprise.
Ironically, the world is now relying on companies like Coca Cola and Burger King to help shape its economy – how did we arrive at a place where unhealthy junk food corporations could be the answer to the world’s economic crisis?