DIGITAL TRUST SUMMIT - A Leadership Summit for CEOs and Board Members
March 31, 2023
Brown University, Mayer Brown and Bank of America are convening the first in-person Digital Trust Summit on March 31, 2023 at Brown University. The purpose of the Digital Trust Summit is to bring together CEOs and Board members to engage in a thorough discussion of ways of shaping digital culture to create true data leadership – thereby driving value and, importantly, reducing exposures to loss. Speakers include Brian Moynihan CEO of Bank of America, Rosalind Brewer CEO of Walgreens, Dr. Lori Esposito Murray, President of the Committee for Economic Development, the Conference Board and Lord Tim Clement Jones, House of Lords UK (and head of AI for all Parliament). At the Summit, CEO and Board member participants will explore ways in which they can set the intention to innovate through a culture of data ethics. This framework will allow leaders to anticipate, address and implement a culture that enhances responsible data stewardship.
Why CEOs and Board Members Need This Summit.
Data is your company’s most important asset. Unlike other assets, however, data does not appear as an express line item on a balance sheet. Good will does. Digital innovation is on the rise. Global artificial intelligence spending is expected to reach $434 bn in 2022 and will exceed $500 billion in 2023. Since the pandemic, companies have placed their digital strategies on overdrive. Whether AI is used to drive digital asset growth, blockchain, digital advertising, customer analytics, healthcare, financial services, education or national security, AI is at the core of the digital innovation that is crucial for companies.
However we have seen in the press how data and technology advances can go awry when attention to data leadership and ethics is not maintained from the top of the organization. Here are just a few examples:
- NASDAQ listed companies lost over $1.4 trillion in market cap in 2022 due to data privacy.
- Concerns regarding algorithmic bias are on the rise around the globe. In the fall 2022, 3 transformative legislative proposals to eliminate biased algorithms and increase accountability were launched in the US, EU, and Brazil.
- The FBI estimates that cybercrimes cost our global economy $6.9 trillion last year. These costs will rise to 10.5 trillion by 2025. If data breach were a country it would be the 3rd largest GDP behind the US and China.
- The FTC recently named a CEO individually liable for a 20 year consent decree relating in part for failing to implement “basic” security measures.
- Recently, the US Department of Justice instituted a policy of holding CEOs and other leaders accountable for their compliance program that are increasingly covering data.
Whether as a by product or a result, Axios reported in 2022 that:
- “Trust in tech companies has continued to decline in the U.S. and Canada, while rising in most of the rest of the world. That's according to fresh data from Edelman's annual 2022 Trust Barometer, shared first with Axios.”
- “[O]nly 54 percent of Americans trust tech companies to do the right thing.”
Companies investing aggressively in their digital strategies have created value for their shareholders. In fact, Axios has reported that companies demonstrating a “data privacy-forward” approach have enjoyed an increase in market cap of over $2 trillion -- even as market caps have broadly declined.
Agenda forthcoming
Resources to review regarding data leadership are gathered below.
Watch
Read
Resilience Requires a Modern Path to Board-Level Cyber, Privacy and Data Risk Governance
Today’s headlines make clear that privacy and cybersecurity have moved beyond IT and legal compliance issues and are now environmental, social, and governance (ESG) benchmarks vitally affecting market caps and shareholder values.
5 Steps for the Boardroom Community to Address Heightened Privacy and Cyber Risk Oversight