In the new era of digital media, just 140 characters on Twitter have the potential to affect a company’s reputation and severely impact its brand. In this communications minefield, it is essential that boards stay up-to-date on their companies’ social media strategies.
While directors should consider the defensive mechanisms in place, social media presents more than threats to cyber security and reputation. Websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can create new opportunities for brand-building, instantaneous communication, and increased engagement with stakeholders.
A session at the upcoming NACD Board Leadership Conference, “Social Media and Reputational Risk,” will help directors dig in and discuss both the risks and advantages that viral communications present. The panelists include some of today’s top experts in the field:
Richard Levick, Esq., president and CEO of LEVICK
Levick represents countries and companies in the highest-stakes global communications matters—from the Wall Street crisis and the Gulf oil spill to Guantanamo Bay and the Catholic Church. Levick was honored for the past three years on NACD Directorship’s list of the 100 most influential people in the boardroom and corporate governance community and has been named to multiple professional halls of fame for lifetime achievement. LEVICK’s digital team is a communications industry leader, deploying potent social media resources on behalf of clients worldwide.
Allan Grafman, CEO, All Media Ventures; chairman, Majesco Entertainment
Grafman monetizes content and investor capital for owners of intellectual property. As president of All Media Ventures, he advises investors, content owners, and media companies.
Grafman is chairman of Majesco Entertainment, a video game producer and distributor. He also serves on the board of directors at Big Tent (licensing), Pixfusion (technology), and is an operating partner at Mercury Capital Partners. He publishes frequently (Directors and Boards, NACD Directorship, Licensing Book, Inventors Digest) and contributes to MSNBC’s “Your Business.”
All of this experience has uniquely positioned Grafman to provide insight—from within multiple technology industries—into the importance of social media as a key component of any corporate strategy.
Fay Feeney, CEO, Risk for Good
Fay Feeney, a self-described “digital whisperer,” is a trusted advisor to corporate boards and executives on the newest trends in business and social media. Feeney founded Risk for Good to advise board chairs, CEOs, the C-Suite, and the entire boardroom on how they can fast track their learnings in a digital world. In addition, Feeney provides strategic insights on how to connect to real time information, whether it’s found on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, or Google. This is a competency that will strengthen directors’ “duty of care,” while improving their governance of these emerging strategic risks.
Feeney is a regular attendee at governance education events and is an NACD Governance Fellow. Her insights at conferences have always proven fruitful and her participation in this panel is sure to help directors develop their digital skills.
Neil S. Braun, director, IMAX Corp.; dean, Pace University
Braun has done it all: entrepreneur, corporate attorney, and television network president and CEO. He has been managed and mentored by some of the world’s best executives and, in turn, has had the opportunity to manage and mentor other talented people who have gone on to great success. He currently serves as the dean of the Lubin School of Business at Pace University.
Braun began his career in 1977 as a corporate attorney for the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and later joined a client of the firm, International Film Investors (an SBIC), where as senior vice president he structured and negotiated financing and distribution for feature films, including Gandhi, The Killing Fields, Hopscotch, Escape from New York, and The Howling. He has also served as president and COO of Imagine Films Entertainment as well as chairman and CEO of Viacom Entertainment. In this capacity, Braun was responsible for the turnaround of the production/distribution division for prime-time network programming. Continuing his career in the media, Braun served as president of the NBC Television Network and a GE corporate officer. Most recently, he has served as president and COO of Vanguard Animation LLC, which he founded with the producer of the Shrek animated feature franchise.
This is a small sampling of the long career that has uniquely suited Braun to comment on the issues challenging companies today, specifically in the realm of social networks.
Please join this distinguished panel at the “Social Media and Reputational Risk” session at the NACD Board Leadership Conference, and learn how to succeed as a director in the age of social media.
The conference will be held Oct. 14-16 at the Gaylord National Resort inNationalHarbor, M.D.—just minutes from downtown D.C.
