Remedy Consumer Trust – Pharma Execs Unite

It has been no secret that consumer trust in the pharmaceutical industry has taken a knock recently. The industry has been faced with bad press from the US ‘Avandia’ Scandal to the WHO’s reaction to the Swine Flu Pandemic. Big Pharma understands that responsibility to the consumer lies with them and in an active effort to remedy the flagging consumer trust they have agreed to come together at this year’s illustrious NGP Summit in Portugal ran by GDS International.

“An effective compliance program embedded in the ‘right’ compliance culture has become the best practice standard within global jurisdiction.” Says NGP 20 Chair Willy van Buggenhout VP WW Healthcare Compliance at Johnson & Johnson

Big Pharma companies adhere to strict compliance programs which act as a commitment to the consumer and meet with the laws and regulations set by government bodies, but discrepancy between each companies ‘code of conduct’ has lead to confusion both within the industry and for the customer. Representatives from Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi Pasteur and Astra Zeneca are meeting at the NGP EU summit to discuss how they plan to rebuild consumer trust and create a ‘Standard code of practice’ accessible and understood by all.

“The effectiveness of a compliance program is to a large extent determined by the degree with which values are shared and embraced by all levels in an organization.”

Although the outlook looks good for the pharmaceutical industry meetings such as the NGP EU summit promote camaraderie in an otherwise highly competitive Market. The goal is to promote growth while maintaining business to consumer trust. 20 handpicked executives will gather before the summit in a Closed-door meeting to develop a vision on the key steps needed to capture new markets and revenues under the new compliance guidelines.

More Mobile than Banking

Finance leaders across the US will meet to discuss Mobile Banking Growth

Mobile companies are now jumping on the Finance bandwagon, Nokia have just announced the launch of a mobile financial service which they plan to roll out next year. The growth potential of Mobile banking has not yet been harnessed by the banking community, and it is the mobile providers who have made the first move. The opportunities available to the financial industry are to be discussed at the upcoming FST US Summit (hosted by GDS International).

Some of the key points to be raised will focus on Understanding the U.S. wireless ecosystem, Finding the reality of mobile internet, Defining business opportunities, Comparing technology options and managing security complexity while utilizing mobile services to expand on consumer satisfaction.

“Wireless and mobile services are changing the way people live and work impacting the service model of every industry across the globe. The financial industry is no exception. On the other hand, opportunities around the mobile internet often remain undigested despite its popularity in the media.” Ben Riggle - Summit Director
Recent data has also shown that the majority of existing mobile banking users have accessed their information via Mobile browsers as opposed to a using a specific application and a massive 67.8% of US Smartphone users are regularly using mobile banking. However there is a generalized belief that Mobile Banking is not secure and leaders in the finance sector must work with the consumer to build a platform that works for both the industry and the consumer and a trust between the two.

Mobile and financial services offer huge growth, with over 4billion mobile phone users globally but only 1.6 billion bank accounts emerging markets will create fantastic potential which is already seeing interest from industry leaders such as the Bank of America - Ron Tagle, SVP, Capital Group Companies - Julie St. John, CIO, JPMorgan Chase - Michael Sztejnberg, MD Enterprise Technology and Morgan Stanley - Jim Rosenthal, MD who have all confirmed to attend the FST Summit in Florida next month.

It is now up to the finance sector to recognize the consumer calling for mobile services and begin the chase of those mobile providers already exploiting the growth potential of mobile banking.

DreamWorks; How to Train a Corporate Dragon

Dan Satterthwaite – Head of HR for DreamWorks speaks out for MeettheBoss.TV on his training techniques

DreamWorks Pictures spun off DreamWorks Animation as a public company in 2004. And while the company name responsible for big hits like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar carries weight with audiences, continuing to produce such unique family entertainment is always a challenge and that’s where Dan Satterhwaite comes in.
Dan is currently working as Head of HR for DreamWorks and is responsible for developing and supporting the creative talent of their newest 3-D movie,How to Train Your Dragon, which hits theatres March 26. In yet another exclusive interview for www.meettheboss.tv Dan speaks up about his challenges and how he overcomes them to keep a creative team motivated.
“It takes three to three and a half years to produce one of our films, and most of our artists
spend anywhere from 18 months to 2 years within their particular
department working on a project.” Dan continues “How do you keep them constantly
inspired?”

During the interview for MeetTheBoss.TV, Dan continues to share his motivational techniques, from Educational days out, to team shuffling but maintains a firm opinion that real-time communication is the Key, spending on latest communication tools to ensure that each department is fully aware of the ‘bigger picture’.

“Using innovation and technology to make sure that we can really carry forward the collaborative environment is what ends up making our stories and our films so unique and special”

DreamWorks is not like an average company, but has been met with same challenges as everyone else during the Global downturn. Dan’s responsibility was to keep the workforce settled during this difficult time with a mindset to be as creative as possible and believes that lessons could be learnt from his example in other hard industries.

“Virtually every other major company in the state and even across the entire country was doing mass layoffs, or at least had the threat of people losing jobs, and we wanted to make sure that our people knew that if that time ever came at DreamWorks it would be the absolute last resort”

“It was a commitment that we made, because keeping people focused on creative work and keeping people focused on innovation, inherently requires them to take risks. In an
environment where people are fearful they will not taking risks, and we just cannot afford to let the creativity or innovation that drives this entire company in any way be affected by
the uncertainty and fear that the outside world has created over the last 18 months.”

To watch the video in full Log on to www.MeetTheBoss.tv

"Walking the Plank" - Securing Asia's Infrastructure

Leading names in the Oil & Gas industry set to meet to discuss the security of APACS Infrastructure and Oil and Gas reserves.

Previously thought to rest in the fictional novels of Sir Barri or Robert Stevenson, Pirates have made a resurgence over the past decade in the oil and gas rich coasts of Asia. Owing to such real threats leaders in the Oil and Gas industry will be meeting at the NG O&G APAC summit (hosted by GDS International) to discuss the safety and security to maintain a thriving infrastructure while protecting precious cargo needed by global business.

Expansion in shipping routes from the Asia to Europe and the US have just been given the go ahead to try and combat a 39% drop in traffic through 2009. But the security of this depleting commodity stretches far beyond protecting from maritime attack.

“The industry is faced with ever more dangerous extraction methods as the ‘easy oil’ stocks are used. Faced with Labor strikes, political instability and production delays security strategies must be put in place as global business and power needs does not break” David Bannister - Program Director.

A consortium led by Antonio Cailao President & CEO of the Philippine National Oil Corporation will be meeting to discuss the implementation of secure complex Oil and Gas Infrastructure and investments into in the technical, physical and technological disciplines with representatives from over fifty leading organizations from the APAC region such as SANTOS, Petro Energy Resources Corporation and Pakistan Petroleum Limited.

Key discussion points raised will be protecting onshore/offshore infrastructure, New Developments in Offshore Energy Vessels, Meeting the Needs of Deepwater & Ultra Deepwater Drilling & Production, Utilizing Digital Oil Field Information for Asset Improvement and Clean Energy and Sustainability.

With so many solutions available on the market today, these companies are walking a risky plank, choosing which early threat detection security or real time tracking could be the difference between swimming with the sharks or finding BlackBeards treasure.

M&A – The trials and tribulations

Former Schering & Plough CEO speaks out about the pharmaceutical Industry . Where they went wrong and the solutions, which lead to the successful sale.

With the recent announcement of the Merck & Co acquisition of Schering & Plough, Fred Hassan the former Chief Executive Officer has been speaking to Meettheboss.TV on the future of the pharmaceutical Industry, mergers, acquisitions and the resistance felt?
Last year Fred over saw the $41.1 billion sale and predicts that more mergers and acquisitions should be expected throughout 2010. Company investments are a necessity for the funding of key research and development projects. “Innovation costs, but is the price too high for those involved?”

Fred speaks out during this candid interview how he dealt with a plethora of financial pressures and resistance. Shearing Plough were under FDA investigation as well as the SEC for accounting irregularities and although Fred saw this as a challenge it was not an impossible one.
‘We were under a financial challenge in the sense that the major businesses were going down. Part of that financial challenge was something I did not know about before I got there, that was a cash flow challenge. It is something, which is not seen, very often in pharmaceutical companies. But this company was looking at a big cash burn, and something had to be done about it very quickly.’

The trends to combine company earnings to increase spend and meet with the financial demands of R&D is not without its risks. Fred believes that more thought must be taken into account before trying to resolve the situation with a quick fix scheme.
“I joined a company in 1997 that was in great difficulty. There has been a merger between a Swedish company and a U.S. company, and that merger had resulted in a lot of difficulties, I was brought in as a CEO from the outside to try to make this merger work. I realized that the future growth product of this company has been compromised in a deal that had to be untangled.” Fred told MeetthebossTV.

With the daily announcements of big pharmaceutical companies joining forces to combat the ever increasing costs of bringing new and advanced drugs to the consumer market we must remember that short term gains will not always lead to long term prosperity.
“Don’t get enamored by the attraction of the object of the target company, does it fit the next stage of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that my company has at present? Does it fit the strategy?”

To watch the full interview visit Meettheboss.TV

JetBlue CIO shows Creative side to IT

The week that JetBlue Airways Corp announced a 9.1% increase in traffic, CIO Joseph Eng talks to MeetTheBoss TV


JetBlue flew 2.11 billion revenue passenger miles last month, compared to 1.93 billion in January 2008, such growth is encouraging, but the company warns of growing costs throughout 2010. Its apparent due to aircraft maintenance, the volatile fuel market, and the need for greener travel, the aviation industry has a turbulent future ahead and cuts are inevitable across the board. So when in a room with JetBlue’s CIO, the question begs to be asked (and it is one that we have all faced). How do you secure your departments budget in times of cut backs?

In an exclusive interview this week with MeettheBoss.TV Joseph Eng speaks out for IT, sharing how he has aligned his department with JetBlue’s business, illustrating in times of budget cuts, that IT is no longer a technology cost but a business essential.

“The IT department has always been seen as a cost center. We have to be cost effective, But if you are just considered a cost, I don’t think you’re really part of the strategic agenda of the firm and will suffer because of this”

Reinventing the IT Department has allowed Joseph to be creative, to step away from the normal approach, manage expectations with the board and his executive colleagues, giving him time to continually deliver successful projects throughout the organization.

“Successful IT leadership has to be about engaging the business, aligning with the business, building a relationship with the business. We need to get away from the stereotype of being ‘the IT person, the techie person’ because actually in this day and age the more successful organizations are engaged with IT, incorporating it as part of the business leadership team.”

I.T. has developed significantly over the last decade, becoming the business, enabling companies to grow into new markets and to give their consumers a better, more interactive experience. Because of such change to business models, Joseph has built JetBlues IT department into a focused and agile business arm.

“People in IT are the ones that know how the business works. Business is so automated. The business process is now encapsulated in the systems, in the technology. Many times you will find that the business is turning to IT and saying, “help me understand how my business works”.

It is obvious that IT leadership gets more credibility and opportunity to participate in the business by delivering success. It’s clear that Joseph recommends any IT leader to be candid and transparent
about their issues and challenges, and most importantly to demonstrate that the department understands the business needs.

To watch the interview in full go to MeetTheBoss.TV

Cloud: Hype, opportunity, or disintermediation

Under pressure telecoms industry will meet to discuss the pros and cons of the cloud

With the growth of the ‘prosumer’, Telco customers continue to search for the ultimate experience at the lowest possible price, and who can blame them? But with the vast redistribution of wealth from the operators to the ever creative software/hardware companies, is the implementation of cloud solutions just another headache for the industry?

Leaders in Voice such as AT&T, NTT and Virgin Mobile USA have called an urgent meeting at the NGT Summit (hosted by GDS International) to discuss the implications of the Cloud phenomenon in an already volatile and competitive market place.

“As with all business the customer will ultimately drive the move,” said a spokesperson for NGT 20 consortium. “Disintermediation is a key concern for the industry which must be addressed.”

There is no doubt the Cloud creates an improved customer service but will it be to the telecom industry what itunes was to the music industry? Will such disintermediation be the final straw for the ailing Telecom giants already faced with the ultimate threat of being relegated to just bit pipe providers?

Whatever mix of connectivity products and value-added services that are provided by the large operators, the customer needs to address its business needs, and business must be prepared to evolve to meet them. Is the industry ready?

Malaysian Government Excited by Groundbreaking Media Company’s Move East

GDS International awarded Malaysia’s MSC for Innovation and Technology

GDS International is now a global media force, growing 150% in four years and achieving double figure growth in 2009. The media company is composed of four main divisions: digital and hardcopy publishing; C-level global business summits; innovative educational professional conferences; and a digital arm that contains social media and viral marketing, as well as an internet television channel revered by senior executives the world over. GDS grasped opportunities during the global recession and now boasts offices in New York’s Trump Building on 40 Wall Street, Sydney, Cardiff, Kuala Lumpur, and have still maintained its headquarters in the UK.

“The key has been to diversify and innovate,” says Harlan Davis, Vice President of Product for GDS International. “We have a young, vibrant, and highly skilled workforce that adapts exceptionally well in new business verticals and geographic markets. Our products shape the media landscape in many ways.” GDS boasts over 55 C-level summits each year, alongside its 16-year-old publishing business, that circulates over 50 titles world-wide. In 2009 GDS International diversified successfully into new media and digital initiatives, championing some of the fastest growing online industry news services, such as the world’s number one online executive broadcasting network MeetTheBoss TV

Excited about the future release of MeetTheBoss TV Asia, the Malaysian Government approval committee awarded GDS International with the MSC status this week. GDS International was granted the prestigious Pioneer Status that has been granted for the maximum period of five years, with the opportunity to extend the status again in the future.

“GDS International is an exciting new company with innovative products and unique online offerings made them a perfect candidate for MSC Malaysia status. We are thrilled GDS have chosen Malaysia as their Asian headquarters and we welcome our new partnership” – Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, CEO of Multimedia Development Corporation, the government implementation agency to drive the MSC Malaysia vision

MSC Malaysia is the primary gateway to Asia's booming information and communications technology (ICT) markets. Modeled after the Silicon Valley, it gives successful companies first-world knowledge and infrastructure to the region.

“It’s a fantastic time for the company” says Damien Munro, Vice President, Asia, GDS International. “We have played to our strengths throughout the recession and have done the unthinkable, and we look forward to meeting the challenges of Asian businesses. We also thank the MSC for their overwhelming support”.

GDS International plans on hitting all business media channels, in each industry throughout Asia, the same way they have in the US, EU, MENA, and Latin America, while changing the landscape with both traditional media, and its innovative and ever-evolving digital arm.

Rolls-Royce drive through the Downturn

As Tom Purves the current CEO of Rolls Royce Motor Cars reaches the end of his tenure, he gives an exclusive interview to MeettheBoss.TV on how he has lead the company through difficult times, having only a 17% drop in demand since the recession started, which Rolls Royce believes in this economy and in comparison to their competitors is very positive.

“We have a multiplicity of competition not just with motor cars but boats, airplanes, private helicopters” explains Tom, “However we do not sell to our customers, they come to buy a Rolls-Royce”.

Tom and his team saw early in the decline that focus must be concerned with the consumer, spending less on conventional advertising to move efforts onto serving their existing customer base and this proved dividends with no fewer than 150 Ghost models being delivered to customers in December 2009.

“I like to think all of our sales people understand the product, but I prefer that they understand the customers more” Tom Continues “Our customers are very determined people, they make their own decisions”.

Tom admits that his ideals came from his predecessor Sir David Plaistow. “I have to continue the values that have been associated with Rolls Royce”.

Tom Purves is clearly a custodian of quality and has maintained Rolls Royce’s most envious luxury branding, “Our customers have never changed, they have the same desires today that they had 60 years ago and that is to have the finest”. He admits that however ‘Luxury’ the brand, Rolls-Royce will on no account alienate people.

“Never ever allow yourself to make a conclusion about somebody who might be a customer, they come from all walks of life and all styles and manners of living”
Such customer liberality has obviously helped maintain high sales figures, allowing over a 100 new sales staff to come on board in the last 18 months.

Rolls Royce is in the best possible shape for the handover to Torsten Mueller (March 2010) and to capitalize on the economy’s recovery.

To view the entire video and to find out about Tom Purves ambitious plans to double sales in 2010 go to MeettheBoss.TV