Global Teams: Achieving Corporate Agility to Address Critical Needs

The Conference Board KnowlEdge Series™

Join a high-level conversation with fellow industry leaders and experts from The Conference Board to address emerging business issues identified by our members. Each KnowlEdge Series is composed of three or four half-hour programs that build on each other. The interactive, web-based format ensures ease of access. Supplemental materials and online availability keep the discussion going long after the series ends. Provocative and proactive, the KnowlEdge Series informs and deepens your company’s internal dialogue on the most pressing issues of the day.

Dates: December 1, 7 and 9; 11:00 am New York, 16.00 London, 17.00 Brussels, 21.30 Mumbai

There is one fee for unlimited logins at your company.

If you are interested in learning more about this program, contact Customer Service at 212-339-0345

Corporations are facing tremendous pressure from the combined impact of outsourcing, globalization of the marketplace, ubiquitous instantaneous telecommunications, and ever-accelerating technological change. Established products, services, production process, and even business models risk losing their competitive standing in the emerging global economy.

Leading corporations are discovering that one of the best responses to global challenges is to create “global teams.” Quickly assembling agile groups of employees from within the company, and beyond, from around the world -- often using social media and other virtual technologies -- these companies are creating effective resources with which to address new challenges. Whether penetrating a new market, producing goods more competitively across the globe, or optimizing work with outsourcing partners, global teams are proving to be mission-critical as companies embrace the many new opportunities for growth and profit that new technologies and a world marketplace make possible.

This KnowlEdge Series will provide strategic and tactical insight about how to assemble and deploy global teams to solve new problems, create new products and services, retain competitive position, and open new streams of

Business Issues: As companies increasingly pursue global strategies, how are they using models based on various team structures to achieve the agility they need to address rapidly evolving opportunities and threats in their competitive environment? What are the lessons learned?

Audience: This KnowlEdge Series is targeted at executives involved with organizational effectiveness and design, human resources, talent management, strategic planning and global operations and management.

Hosts: Jon Spector, CEO, The Conference Board and Jim Lichtenberg, Program Director, Digital Strategies Council and The Council on Innovation, The Conference Board

Part 1: (30 min) Redefining "We": Identifying, Enlisting and Engaging Team Members across Functions, Time and Space (Tuesday, December 1, 2009 11 AM EST)

Guest: Robert Jones, International Marketing Manager, FedEx

What is the evolution of a corporate culture that encourages the rapid assembly and deployment of effective global teams? What are the barriers to this kind of organization-wide agility? What are the supporting factors that can help build that capability? FedEx exemplifies the global organization reliant on a loosely-coupled network of professionals around the world addressing product development and delivery and operational challenges in multiple markets, geographies and cultures around the world. This session will address the human and technical issues related to building and leading an effective cross-functional global team.

Part 2: (30 min.) Institutionalizing Results: Solving Problems/Moving On (Monday, December 7, 2009 11 AM EST)

Guest: Krishna Medepalli, Technical Director, House Hold Care, Procter & Gamble

Global teams can be very effective when focused on a specific challenge that can be “solved” with the timely application of dedicated resources. How do the results of these “swat team” projects get effectively integrated into the larger organization? What are best practices for incorporating ongoing innovation and problem-solving agility into the organization as a whole? This session will look at how, using global team, P&G innovated a whole new manufacturing process in order to build – and maintain – their competitive position in Latin America.

Part 3: (30 min.) Network Power: Enabling Teams in the Virtual World (Wednesday, December 9, 2009 11 AM EST)

Guest: Thomas J. Hoehn, Director, Interactive Marketing and Convergence Media, Eastman Kodak Company

The social media channels that are breaking down structural barriers and enabling revolution are proving to be a powerful tool for building both formal and ad hoc teams within organizations. How are these tools being used to enable collaboration, spark innovation and increase productivity? What are the longer term effects of these tools on organizational competitiveness and how should companies be thinking about actively supporting their use in the pursuit of corporate agility?

Panelists

Jonathan Spector, CEO, The Conference Board
Before joining TCB, Jon served as Vice Dean of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was responsible for significant growth and strategic repositioning of the school’s Executive Education activities and for strengthening Wharton’s involvement in book publishing, in globalization and in collaborations across the university. He began his career at McKinsey & Company, where he was elected a Senior Partner. He founded and managed the firm’s Taipei office and helped lead McKinsey’s NorthAmerican electronics practice until his departure to become the CEO of two startup technology companies. He is the author (with Barry Lipert) of We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business.

Jim Lichtenberg, Program Director, The Conference Board Council on Innovation and Digital Strategy Council
Jim Lichtenberg is president of Lightspeed, LLC, a management consulting practice in New York City. He was senior vice president at the corporate public relations firm of Hill and Knowlton and served as president, Higher Education Division, the Association of American Publishers, where he helped clients understand and profit from new digital media and information technology. His articles on technology, business, and culture have appeared in The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Publishers Weekly, Publishing Trends, and the Journal of Contemporary Business.

Robert Jones, International Product Development, FedEx
As part of the global FedEx marketing organization, Robert Jones is involved with international product development, segment marketing and international product management. He began his career with the U.S. Department of State as an International Relations Officer and worked for Evergreen International Airlines in international sales and marketing and fleet scheduling and flight operations. He has a Master of International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Krishna Medepalli, Technical Director, House Hold Care, P&G
Krishna Medepalli has spent his career at P&G, involved with multiple launches of global products. Born and raised in India, he has degrees in chemical engineering from India and the US. He is focused on connecting people globally to make ideas bigger and better and bringing new business to market. He has been involved with the global launches of Febreze, Downy and many other Procter & Gamble products. A current focus is the significant reduction of water usage.

Thomas J. Hoehn, Director, Brand Communications and Convergence Media, Corporate Marketing & Business Development, Eastman Kodak Company
Tom Hoehn has been involved with Kodak's Internet activities since their inception. In his 20th year at Kodak he has held various roles in web marketing, leadership, and business development. He led social media efforts to extend Kodak communications and engagement, has worked with product groups to initiate web-based programs to meet business goals and has developed content activities to drive traffic to fuel online store, relationship marketing, and product awareness. He is a visiting lecturer at Cornell, University of Rochester, Syracuse University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Geneseo, and American University. He coordinated a benchmarking study of internet marketing practices for the American Productivity and Quality Center of Kodak, Dell, Cisco Systems, and Charles Schwab. He is Chair, Conference Board's Digital Strategy Council whose members include: IBM, GM, John Deere, State Farm, P&G, and 15 other Fortune 500 companies.