The 67th national conference of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals (SCSGP) will tak place from July 10 to 13, in Seattle with more than 800 professionals in attendence.
With the theme ‘Governance wired’, and set in Seattle, Washington – the birthplace of Starbucks – the 67th national conference of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals (SCSGP) is bound to keep attendees energized. From July 10 to 13, the nearly 800 attendees will be able to take advantage of 30 breakout sessions that include a range of topics at all levels of the governance spectrum.
‘This year, we are excited to focus on governance in a world being transformed by social media, big data and cloud technologies,’ says conference chairman Jim Brashear, general counsel and corporate secretary at email encryption company Zix. ‘At the same time, we will offer practical advice and tools to assist corporate secretaries in their increasingly demanding roles.’
Powerful sessions
Conference panels will cover regulatory and legal matters, governance best practices and issues that affect the future role of the corporate secretary. As always, the conference offers areas of interest for public companies, private companies and non-profit entities, with ample opportunities to network. Highlights include:
- Bob Zukis, chairman and CEO of Saaskwatch Systems, will open the conference with a discussion of ‘Social technology, the future of business and implications for governance’.
- The luncheon keynote this year will be served up by Vanity Fair contributing editor and New York Times bestselling author Kurt Eichenwald.
- William Ayer, chairman of Alaska Airlines, and Peter Kraus, senior attorney at Microsoft, will provide the keynote at the opening session on Friday.
- The Saturday session will cover ‘The corporate secretary and resourcing the board of the future’.
Hard-hitting sessions of interest include ‘The crisis in non-profit board governance’, ‘Minutes: key issues now’ and ‘The debate over integrated reporting’.
Networking for fun and business
Networking opportunities abound, including the opening reception on Wednesday evening, the exhibitor-sponsored luncheon on Friday and the closing event at the Museum of Flight on Friday night. There are also plenty of coffee breaks between sessions to catch a colleague for a chat. The conference has fun events for families to enjoy as well, including tours of Seattle and a schedule of children’s and teen programs during the convention. Or stick around after the convention and enjoy sightseeing in the surrounding area, which includes Mount Ranier, the Cascades, the Olympic Mountains, and the beautiful Puget Sound.
The pay-off
Whether you come for the chance to earn CLE credits, to network for business opportunities or to gain skills and insight to help you do your job better, everyone attending the conference will benefit. ‘We have representatives from every size of company and every type of entity,’ says Ken Bertsch, president and CEO of the SCSGP. ‘Small to large-cap firms, non-profit to public authorities and quasi-governmental agencies – all can benefit from the discussions on good governance practices.’
