Ruchir Sharma, Daniel Lubetzky, Jennifer Golbeck, Roger Ferguson, Jen Easterly, and Admiral James Stavridis, US Navy (Ret.), Lead a Powerful Lineup of Speakers for the 2022 NACD Summit This Week

10/07/2022

Press Releases

More than 1,000 Corporate Directors to Join NACD for Largest Gathering of Corporate Governance Leaders

WASHINGTON, DC (October 7, 2022) – The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), the authority on boardroom practices representing more than 23,000 board members, will host a powerhouse lineup of keynote speakers and panelists for the NACD Summit, taking place October 8–11 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. The conference will be presented in a hybrid format, with in-person and virtual options for attendees.

For more than 30 years, the NACD Summit has been regarded as the largest and most influential director forum in the world, attracting attendees from across the globe to learn, be inspired, and connect with their peers.

The NACD Summit includes a full agenda of engaging conversations led by leading governance experts. The conference mainstage events include "Charting the Future of the American Board," a discussion on the recently released Future of the American Board report. The discussion will be live-streamed and in person on the Summit's opening day, moderated by NACD senior vice president of Content Friso Van der Oord, and feature a panel that includes Future of the American Board Commission cochair Sue Cole, special advisor to the Commission Holly Gregory, and Commissioner Larry Thompson, counsel, Finch McCranie LLP, and former US Deputy Attorney General.

Keynote speakers for the 2022 NACD Summit include:
Ruchir Sharma—Sharma will share a global economic outlook and discuss emerging markets at Summit. Chair of Rockefeller International and founder and chief investment officer of Breakout Capital, Sharma moved to Rockefeller in 2022 after a 25-year career at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, where he was head of Emerging Markets and chief global strategist. His commentary has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Bloomberg, and The Guardian, among others. He was a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times from 2016 to 2021 and is currently a contributing editor and columnist at the Financial Times. Sharma is the author of four books. His most recent is The 10 Rules of Successful Nations (2020). Bloomberg ranked Sharma among the world's 50 Most Influential people in 2015. The following year, GQ India named Sharma the Global Indian of the Year, and Barron's put him on its cover as "Wall Street's New Global Thinker."

Daniel Lubetzky—Lubetzky will share insights into the role that boards can play in breaking down barriers, promoting connection, and why boards should foster and practice empathy, not only in the companies they serve but in the communities in which they operate. The Founder of KIND Snacks and Starts With Us, Lubetzky has demonstrated throughout his career a commitment to bridging divides and increasing appreciation for our shared humanity. He is a social entrepreneur who conceived the civic initiatives OneVoice, Empatico, and Starts With Us to foster empathy and to empower individuals to move our culture away from extreme and divisive positions. Lubetzky is a member of the Anti-Defamation League's inaugural board of directors, is the author of The New York Times bestseller Do the KIND Thing, and is a recurring "shark" on Shark Tank.

Jennifer Golbeck—Golbeck will lead a frank discussion about the benefits and pitfalls of our digital world and how to ethically manage both the data a company collects and the data they could unwittingly expose. She will cover how unwanted exposure of information can pose a threat in the business world, and how boards need to stay aware of areas of risk and ethical "gray areas" in order to provide appropriate oversight. A computer scientist, Golbeck is the director of the Social Intelligence Lab and a professor in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research focuses on analyzing and computing with social media and creating usable privacy and security systems. She writes for Slate and The Atlantic and frequently appears on NPR. Her TED talk was named one of the most powerful talks of 2014.

Roger Ferguson—Ferguson, former president and CEO of TIAA and the former vice chair of the board of governors of the US Federal Reserve System, will share his experience in the session, "Riding the Waves of Change." As the only governor in Washington, DC, on 9/11, Ferguson led the Fed's initial response to the terrorist attacks. Prior to joining TIAA in April 2008, he was head of financial services for Swiss Re, chair of Swiss Re America Holding Corporation, and a member of the company's executive committee. Earlier, Ferguson was an associate and partner at McKinsey & Company. He serves on the board of regents of the Smithsonian Institution and the boards of Alphabet Inc., General Mills Inc., International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., The Conference Board, the Institute for Advanced Study, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Admiral James Stavridis, US Navy (Ret.)—Admiral Stavridis will share his thoughts and expertise on geopolitical risk, the current war in Ukraine, the state of national security, and how business leaders can navigate overlapping crises to best protect their interests at home and abroad. Stavridis spent 37 years in the US Navy, rising to four-star admiral. He was the 16th supreme allied commander at NATO for four years and was commander of the US Southern Command for nearly three years. He led the Navy's premier operational think tank for innovation. Following his military career, he served for five years as dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is the operating executive of The Carlyle Group, chair of the board of counselors of McLarty Global Associates, chair of the board of the US Naval Institute, and also serves as chair of the board of trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation. He is a monthly columnist for TIME magazine, a chief international security analyst for NBC News, and a TED Talk speaker on twenty-first-century security.

Jen Easterly—Easterly will direct the timely conversation on increased connectivity, cyberattacks, and security breaches and the role directors play in mitigating future risks. She will share how boards can navigate through a cyber threat landscape and what questions need to be asked to mitigate future risks. Easterly is the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Before serving in her current role, Easterly was the head of Firm Resilience at Morgan Stanley. Easterly has a long tradition of public service, including two tours at the White House, most recently as special assistant to President Obama and senior director for Counterterrorism. She also served as the deputy for Counterterrorism at the National Security Agency. A two-time recipient of the Bronze Star, Easterly retired from the US Army after more than 20 years of service in intelligence and cyber operations. Easterly was also instrumental in the design and creation of the United States Cyber Command. She is the recipient of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation American Hostage Freedom Award and the Bradley W. Snyder Changing the Narrative Award.

"After two years of fully virtual Summits, we are thrilled to be back with a hybrid format this year that allows for meaningful in-person conversations and connections, in addition to the convenience and reach of a virtual option," said Peter Gleason, NACD president and CEO. "We continue to see rapid changes and transformation taking place throughout all aspects of board governance, and we are eager to unpack and address best practices with engaging insights from a slate of impressive keynote speakers and participants."

More information on the Summit, including how to register, is available here.

About NACD
The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) is the premier membership organization for board directors who want to expand their knowledge, grow their network, and maximize their potential.

As the unmatched authority in corporate governance, NACD sets the standards of excellence through its research and community-driven director education, programming, and publications. Directors trust NACD to arm them with the relevant insights to make high-quality decisions on the most pressing and strategic issues facing their businesses today.

NACD also prepares leaders to meet tomorrow's biggest challenges. The NACD Directorship Certification® is the leading director credential in the United States. It sets a new standard for director education, positions directors to meet boardroom challenges, and includes an ongoing education requirement that prepares directors for what is next.

With an ever-expanding community of more than 23,000 members and a nationwide chapter network, our impact is both local and global. NACD members are driven by a common purpose: to be trusted catalysts of economic opportunity and positive change—in business and in the communities we serve. To learn more about NACD, visit www.nacdonline.org.

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