March 29, 2021

Customers Present Unique Risk
Today’s world of mobile-centric ultra-connectivity, where we have access to everything we want through our smartphones, presents organizations with an abundance of opportunities. However, the flip side to this opportunity is the ever-present cyber risk posed by the internet and all things connected.

The role of a board member of any organization is constantly evolving. Economic cycles, leadership transitions, market dynamics, competitive changes, governance activists and even political shifts can impact board composition and best practices in corporate governance seemingly out of the blue. Then add the unexpected challenges of a global pandemic, and the environment changes quickly again.

If my recent aggregate conversations with investment managers are an indication, there is still a lot of seat-of-the-pants decision-making going on out there when it comes to portfolio strategies. And I hasten to add this is not a criticism; it’s merely an observation. Why should we expect anything else?

One of the important elements, if minor, contributing to the maintenance of my sanity amid the pandemic is European football; soccer, if you will. As a mature replacement for the cartoons of my young childhood, I now spend every possible Saturday and Sunday morning watching some of the world’s great athletes battle for supremacy in England’s Premier League.

With spring less than a month away, we can look forward to the promise of more daylight and warmer days ahead. A promise that is maybe more meaningful now than it has been in many years.