Source: WSJ
Labor market remains surprisingly robust despite concerns about the economy
The recent headlines about tech layoffs don’t seem to match broader economic indicators, which show a strong job market and a historically low unemployment rate. WSJ’s Gunjan Banerji explains the disconnect
Source: WSJ
Source: WSJ
Areas that were largely spared in 2020 are now among those with the largest numbers of job cuts
Collectively, employers in the slumping tech sector cut more than 150,000 jobs in 2022, based on estimates from Layoffs.fyi, a website that tracks the events as they surface in media reports and company releases.
Board
Source: Directors and Board
Companies should prepare now, before a proxy contest or a campaign against the election of individual directors.
This new and challenging environment will require most boards to greatly enhance their review of board composition and individual director vulnerability in the event of a proxy contest.
Even if these campaigns do not garner strong investor support, they can publicly reveal board skill gaps and individual director vulnerabilities.
Source: Directors and Board
Top executive succession rates climb as challenges multiply and boards gain confidence.
Source: Deloitte
For those seeking a director role, a carefully crafted biography focused on potential contributions can be an important tool for success.
Source: Tripwire
CISOs – the senior level executives responsible for developing and implementing cybersecurity programs for corporations and other organizations – are not happy campers these days. And it’s not just because they are chronically understaffed and under constant pressure.
Good boards often make bad decisions. They make bad decisions about management and governance. They make bad decisions about people and process. They make bad decisions about strategy that have long-term consequences.
People serve on corporate boards for excellent reasons, including networking, enhancing their credentials and using their business knowledge in new ways. There is often compensation, averaging about $74,000 per year.
Here are some ways good boards provide that oversight.
A good board looks at stakeholders, not just shareholders.
A good board takes ESG seriously.
A good board looks at compensation at every level and asks questions.
A good board welcomes healthy friction with management.
Entrepreneurs
Source: HBR
Startup founders often look to incubators and accelerators to help them find product/market fit and raise initial capital. But there’s another option for entrepreneurial founders who want to go out on their own but maybe lack the right idea or team. Venture studios don’t fund an existing idea — they incubate their own ideas, build a minimum viable product, find product/market fit and early customers, and then recruit entrepreneurial founders to run and scale the business. Examples of companies that have emerged from venture studios include Overture, Twilio, Taboola, Bitly, Aircall, and the most famous alum, Moderna.
However, in exchange for de-risking much of the early-stage startup process, venture studios take anywhere from 30% to 80% of a startup’s equity. The author explains how venture studios work, why they might be an attractive option for some entrepreneurs, and what questions to ask if you’re considering joining one
Source: HBR
Startup founders typically face a fundamental tradeoff: They can grow the company, increasing its value and the value of their shares, but to do so they must give up some control. Or, they can keep control, at the expense of growth.
That tradeoff exists for good reason: Investors who supply the capital necessary to grow want to make sure their money will be well spent. Co-founders and employees who join the startup want to know that it is well managed.
To grow their startup to its full potential, a founder needs to relinquish control. But in cases like the collapse of FTX, this tradeoff breaks down — with predictable but disastrous results. It’s time to retire the founder-as-monarch model.
Tech
Source: WSJ
Exit of Bret Taylor from role he has shared for about a year wasn’t long planned
Source: WSJ
Rising energy prices and new regulations contribute to an increase in projects
With an energy crisis hitting Europe, governments are exploring ways to recycle electricity used in social-media scrolling, conference calls and video streaming to help heat homes and offices.
Electricity-hungry data centers are seeing huge growth in usage, leading to pressure from European officials to funnel the excess heat generated by their computer chips into municipal heating networks.
Source: WSJ
Made-to-fit industry clouds offer CIOs the promise of cost savings and vendors a means to reverse slowing cloud sales
A St. Luke’s hospital in Bethlehem, Pa. St. Luke’s University Health Network has deployed a healthcare industry cloud developed by Microsoft.
Corporate technology leaders looking to cut costs are turning to industry-specific cloud platforms, which are outfitted with tailor-made capabilities for running hospitals, banks, stores or other businesses.
The system, built by Microsoft Corp. , helped St. Luke’s develop a healthcare-specific data system needed to integrate IT platforms and capabilities across its network of a dozen hospitals and more than 300 outpatient sites
Gartner Inc., an IT research and consulting firm, expects companies worldwide to run more than half of their critical business technology in an industry cloud within the next four years, up from less than 10% in 2021
Gartner Inc., an IT research and consulting firm, expects companies worldwide to run more than half of their critical business technology in an industry cloud within the next four years, up from less than 10% in 2021
Source: WSJ
A tumultuous geopolitical landscape and continued economic tightening are expected to influence the CIO agenda
Some chief information officers have to adapt quickly to meet their goals in 2023—some say they’re giving priority to select technology projects, others are finding ways to speed up their operations and work more closely with their executive peers.
What has changed somewhat for us is the need to move even faster on all fronts, including the speed with which we deploy disruptive new technologies, deliver what the business needs for new opportunities, and expand and improve our offerings to customers - Fred Killeen, vice president of global IT and chief information officer at automotive manufacturing company General Motors Co.
Digital transformation initiatives that “drive value against core metrics for our business.” Chris Bedi, CIO of software maker ServiceNow Inc.
Source: WSJ
The mantra of the year: Trust no one
Cybersecurity remains a top investment agenda for corporate technology chiefs in 2023 as companies race to combat cyber threats.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center said it received a record 847,376 complaints around cyberattacks in 2021, with potential losses exceeding $6.9 billion.
Bill Braun – CIO Chevron Corp | John Roese - Global Chief Technology Officer of Dell Technologies Inc. | Fletcher Previn - CIO Cisco Systems Inc | Sharon Mandell, CIO Juniper Networks Inc.
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