2010 DLF

8:00-9:00 am Registration/Continental Breakfast

9:00-9:15 Welcome Remarks
Todd G. Sears, Director and Head of Americas Diversity and Inclusion, Credit Suisse
Pamela Thomas-Graham, Chief Talent, Branding and Communications Officer, Credit Suisse
Vishakha N. Desai, President, Asia Society

9:15-10:30 Morning Plenary: Perspectives on Leadership Development and Mentorship
Moderator: Nereida Perez, Vice President, Inclusion and Diversity, National Grid
Panelists: Rohini Anand, Senior Vice President and Global Chief Diversity Officer at Sodexo; Ida Liu, Managing Director, Citi Private Bank, North America; P. Anthony Sammi, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and Eileen Simon, Group Executive, Senior Associate General Counsel for MasterCard Worldwide

10:30-11:00 Networking Coffee Break

11:15-12:45 pm Morning/Afternoon Workshops

General Track

G1.    Managing Your Career Through Global Opportunities
Facilitator: David Lange, Aventine Associates
Subject Matter Experts: Kenneth Chung, Chubb; Esther Hahm, Ernst & Young; and Robert Jain, Credit Suisse

Growing global markets have opened the doors to career and business opportunities around the world. Whether you decide to stay in the U.S. or target a job in an Asian market, a successful global career is predicated on developing transferrable skills and competencies that translate well across cultures. What skills will you need to harness for success in a global market beyond spoken language?  Can global job functions add to your leadership capital? How can you use technology and other tools to build critical on-going relationships while you are on assignment in a different location? This session will help build your career development toolkit by helping you take stock of your existing capabilities and learn from experts who have utilized their diverse experiences to advance their careers.

G2.    From Social Club to Resource Group: Engaging Your Asian Network
Facilitator: Audrey Lee, Hyun & Associates
Subject Matter Experts: Ravi Aurora, MasterCard Worldwide; Sue Ann Hong, State Farm Insurance; and Sri Rajagopalan, PepsiCo

Whether launching a new Asian Network with cultural awareness events or beginning to attract Asian talent through an Employee/Business Resource Group’s (ERG) initiatives, companies need to realize the power of these groups in all areas of their business strategy. In this session, ERG leaders and sponsors will give valuable insights on the influential role that they can play on the company’s bottom line, in managing marketplace image, and career development. Topics include:

•    Developing an ERG business case  – moving from a social network to a value-added resource
•    Integrating ERG activities into the business and engaging the right Executive Sponsor
•    Bridging the company initiatives with the broader community
•    Creating a platform for ERG leaders to gain valuable hands-on experience
•    Leveraging a variety of communications/social media

G3.    Developing Asian Women Leaders
Facilitator: Jessica Faye Carter, Nette Media
Subject Matter Experts: Katy Choo, General Electric Company; Christine Lee, PepsiCo, Inc.; and Ruby Sharma, Ernst & Young

As a ‘double minority’ in the United States and an underrepresented force in higher authority positions throughout the globe, Asian women have yet to bring their full value into the workplace. In order to advance them, organizations need to understand the unique needs and subtle cultural differences among women and connect them with opportunities to make an impact.  What are organizations doing to tap into the unique traits that women leaders bring? Hear from forward thinking women and learn what they are doing to advance their careers to their full potential.

In this session, Asian women leaders on the front lines will share their experience, discuss how they’ve developed inside their organizations, and share what organizations need to do to prepare women for next-generation leadership opportunities.

G4.    How to Remain Marketable:  (Re)Creating  Your Leadership Brand
Facilitator: Philip A. Berry, Philip Berry & Associates LLC
Subject Matter Expert: Stephanie N. Mehta, Fortune Magazine

Successful professionals need to understand their value to their employers and can articulate their personal brand. And more than ever in today’s virtual, dynamic global economy, professionals need the ability to flex in their job functions, creating and re-defining a strong leadership brand to position themselves for successive career trajectories.  In this session, we will explore the value of identifying transferrable skills and leveraging strengths into new functions, roles and identities across the organization. Speakers will underscore successful strategies for creating powerful marketing messages and address the specific barriers Asian professionals face that may keep them from moving into influential managerial roles and high-visibility functions.

Executive Track

E1.    The Business of Diversity and Inclusion: Defining the Journey
Facilitator: Joerg Schmitz, Schmitz and Associates
Subject Matter Experts: Todd G. Sears, Credit Suisse and Elana Weinstein, Bloomberg

Today, “diversity” is no longer just about gaining equal access and sensitivity training. The emphasis is now placed on reaching untapped diverse communities, building cross-cultural effectiveness and linking diversity to the external marketplace.

Understanding the stages of your organization’s diversity journey is critical to developing your global leadership team and building a truly inclusive organization — one that is able to fully understand and utilize the strengths of all its members, across cultures throughout all your markets. What is on your company’s diversity scorecard, and where are you along the D&I journey? How do you continuously move your organization, teams and individuals forward so that they can progress from awareness to higher levels of inclusivity? This session will explore what executives and senior managers need to know about the diversity journey and how it applies to the business in various functional areas. Discussions will highlight measurements and appropriate strategies for development at each stage.

E2.    Attracting and Retaining Global Asian Talent
Facilitator: Julian Ha, Heidrick & Struggles
Subject Matter Expert: Conway Shui, Time Warner

In today’s increasingly connected workplace and marketplace, organizations will seek highly flexible professionals who are able to leverage their skills for new opportunities, instead of move in linear career paths.  In the U.S., is there a talent gap for hiring Asians? What are the unique challenges faced by organizations as they seek to attract the best talent here in the U.S. and in other regions of the world? Hear from those in the front lines what key talent experts are doing to hire professionals for their organizations, strategies for retaining their best people, and learn what type of creative solutions they are employing to overcome the talent shortages in critical roles.

E3.    Managing in Turbulent Times: Staying Engaged in the D&I Journey
Facilitator: Michael Chen, General Electric Company
Subject Matter Experts: Nancy Di Dia, Boehringer Ingelheim and Gretchen Hayes, Chartis

Even in these uncertain economic times, Fortune 500 companies across the globe have led the charge in building a business case for fully engaging in their diversity & inclusion strategy. Join us in this session to hear from corporate leaders who amidst budget tightening wouldn’t allow their Diversity initiatives slide. What did they do to engage their senior leadership? How did they link their efforts to bottom-line driven business initiatives?  Engage with corporate leaders who have built their strategic direction for their initiatives, one that works in the midst of turbulent times.

E4.    Breaking Through: Developing Asian Leaders
Facilitator: Jane Hyun, Hyun & Associates
Subject Matter Experts: Erby Foster, Clorox and Steve Miola, Merck

Asians are well positioned to make valuable contributions to a variety of sectors in the local and global workplace, in part because of their cultural assets and skills. However, while companies find traction in recruiting Asians and achieving representation at lower levels, they report a drop-off in their Asian pipeline as they progress to higher levels. Is it a lack of mentors or unconscious bias that could pigeonhole Asians into certain roles? In addition to organizational barriers, what cultural barriers exist for Asians as they navigate Western organizational culture?

Focused development of Asian leaders is a clear mandate for building a high-potential Asian pipeline.  In this interactive session, we will showcase organizations that have experienced wins—and  are taking deliberate steps to develop their Asian talent as well as preparing senior leaders to become mentors equipped to develop diverse leaders to the next level. Speakers will share on-the-ground stories of obstacles encountered and best practices for bridging cultural gaps.

1:00-2:15 Networking Lunch

2:30-4:00 Afternoon Workshops (Repeat Offering of Morning Workshops)

4:15-5:30 Afternoon Plenary: Perspectives from CEOs
CEOs discuss their journey to corporate leadership positions and the nexus between diversity, mentorship, community service, and leadership development in one’s career.

Moderator: Henny Sender, Chief Correspondent, International Finance, Financial Times
Panelists: Ronnie C. Chan, Chairman Hang Lung Properties, Ltd.; Norman C.T. Liu, President and CEO, GE Capital Aviation Services; and Tham Khai Meng, Worldwide Creative Director and Chairman, Worldwide Creative Council, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide

5:30-6:15 Pre-Awards Networking Reception

6:30-7:30 Best in Class Awards Ceremony