The Santa Fe Group

Reducing the Risks of Litigation

Kelly Wagner — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:54:44 +0000

As becoming involved in lawsuits is typically not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ for banks today, institutions need to develop policies, procedures and practices to reduce the risks of such suits proceeding to trial.

Read the full BAI Banking Strategies article by Bob Jones and Jodi Pratt

Keeping the Focus on Value in 2012

yadzinski — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:25:27 +0000

To improve their value for customers and shareholders in 2012, bankers need to avoid distractions such as replacing debit card fees and moving too soon on mobile commerce.

Read the full BAI Banking Strategies article by Scott Peterson

Shared Assessments Summit 2012

Kelly Wagner — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:24:00 +0000

March 13-14
Boston, MA

– Now in its fifth year, the Shared Assessments Summit will provide you with an opportunity to hear from experts on hot topics in Security, Privacy, Cloud Computing, Innovation, Vendor Risk Management, Regulatory and Supervisory Issues and Data Security Oversight.

Our program will include:

Cross-industry perspectives: Get the big picture from leaders in financial services, healthcare, energy, and others
Managing the “new reality” in healthcare privacy: Project findings from the ANSI/Shared Assessments/ISA Data Breach Report.
Intergrating Cloud Computing and making it work: What you need to know about storage, infrastructure, application and risk.
The future of outsourcing: Insourcing, ITO/BPO convergence, new relationship models and risk
The regulators’ perspective: Vendor management requirements for risk management and data security

→ View the official event website

NEW! This year we’re offering a Pre-Conference Workshop. Members and nonmembers are invited to register for this half-day program to learn more about Shared Assessments, including hands-on, interactive sessions explaining how member companies have integrated the Shared Assessments standards into vendor management programs.

Learn more about Shared Assessments at the Shared Assessments website.

Reboot Your Life Retreat – Brooklyn

Kelly Wagner — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:17:06 +0000

Friday, March 16, 2012 through Sunday, March 18, 2012 from 12am to 12am

Join us for a long weekend in historic downtown Brooklyn and discover how to reboot and recharge your life with our REBOOT YOUR LIFE™ Retreat.

Whether you are figuring out if you can take a sabbatical, are deep in the planning, or in between jobs and trying to decide what to do next, you will benefit from a personalized plan in a small group setting offered by “The Sabbatical Sisters.” You’ll take home concrete ideas and plans of action – from making the first decision to take time off, to developing your funding strategy, to discovering how to make the best use of your time. Our retreats provide knowledge, experience, and a sense of community.

Our workshops and retreats have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and on Martha Stewart Radio, Oprah’s OWN Network, and WPIX New York.

Click here to register or for more information.

Geoffrey Milligan

Kelly Wagner — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:34:15 +0000

Geoffrey Milligan consults with The Santa Fe Group’s CEO to help identify potential growth opportunities in emerging markets. Geoff provides The Santa Fe Group with expertise in such areas as geo-political analysis, risk assessment, and emerging markets. He is exceptionally knowledgeable about understanding potential risk, maneuvering the economic, regulatory, and industry-specific hurdles of foreign country, and expanding businesses into foreign countries.

Monitoring Complex Risk Companies

Kelly Wagner — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:45:43 +0000

December 1, 2011 – Catherine A. Allen, Chairman and CEO, The Santa Fe Group, discusses monitoring complex risk companies on the Corporate Board Member weekly on-demand webcast program, “This Week in the Boardroom.”

HITECH’s Hidden Opportunities

Kelly Wagner — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 18:21:04 +0000

Recent changes in federal healthcare regulation provide revenue opportunities for banks savvy about healthcare compliance and data management technology.

Read the full BAI Banking Strategies article by Senior Vice President and COO, Robin Slade

Devil in the Social Media Details

Susanna Space — Mon, 16 May 2011 17:41:23 +0000

May 9, 2011 - Financial institutions need to probe into the details of their social media programs since unexamined risk can lurk in unexpected places.

Read the full BAI Banking Strategies article by Senior Consultant Brad Keller.

Burned Out? You Might Just Need a Sabbatical

Susanna Space — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:55:34 +0000

April 20, 2011 - Sabbatical programs can help employees refresh and recharge while improving corporate morale and productivity.

Read the full BAI Banking Strategies article by Catherine A. Allen, Chairman and CEO of The Santa Fe Group.

Taking a ‘Reboot Break’ Offers Cure for Burned Out Employees, Boosts On-the-Job Creativity and Productivity

Susanna Space — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:00:16 +0000

April 5, 2011, New York, NY – Did you recharge your cell phone yesterday? What about your laptop? Have you taken your car in for a check up lately? When was the last time you took time to recharge your battery?

According to a 2009 Gallup Poll and data from Monster.com, 86% of American workers are experiencing job stress, and half describe their stress as “extreme fatigue” or “feeling out of control.” More than 50% of employees are either somewhat or completely dissatisfied with their jobs, and 83% of workers plan to look for a new job when the economy improves.

And we don’t give ourselves a break! According to an Expedia.com survey, 63% of Americans work more than 40 hours a week and hand back more than $21B in unused vacation dollars each year.

These trends come at a real cost to employers. According to the recent MetLife 9th Annual Study of Employee Benefit Trends, employee loyalty is at a three-year low. More alarming, a recent Gallup survey found that 17% of those interviewed were actively disengaged and trying to subvert their organization, posing a real reputational risk for financial institutions and other organizations where employees have access to sensitive corporate and customer information.

Grim statistics, but according to the authors of a new book, there is a cure: take a sabbatical! Catherine Allen, Nancy Bearg, Rita Foley and Jaye Smith, (the Sabbatical Sisters), authors of Reboot Your Life: Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break (Beaufort Books, 2011), can discuss the profound and long lasting benefits of taking a sabbatical to recharge and renew people’s lives. And they offer new research on the many benefits reaped by organizations that offer sabbatical programs, including employees at all levels who are less stressed and more creative and productive.

Reboot Your Life gives real-life examples of how over 200 people, from all socio-economic backgrounds, and over 50 organizations have benefited from sabbaticals.

“Taking time out from work to reboot your life is not just a new and enduring trend; it’s a necessity in our stress-ridden world whatever your age and stage of life and even in tough economic times,” explains Allen. “Meaningful time off can be an important path to personal development, career advancement, and organizational success.”

Catherine Allen is an innovator and expert in financial services and technology and has held assistant professorships at several universities. Today, she owns and manages The Santa Fe Group. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Nancy Bearg has had a long career in international security policy, including serving as National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States. Today Bearg works in the area of conflict prevention and post-conflict peace building, consults on national security, and teaches a university course on leadership. She lives in Washington, DC.

Rita Foley is a corporate director, retired Fortune 500 global president, and a committed leader in numerous organizations dedicated to improving the health and lives of individuals. Today Foley is an advisor with Crenshaw Associates, leading their board services practice. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Jaye Smith is the resident expert on the topic of navigating careers. Today Smith continues to work with her former firm, Partners In Human Resources International, as well as designs and facilitates team and organizational effectiveness programs for corporations, not-for-profits and universities. She is an honored adjunct faculty member at a major New York university. She lives in New York City.

The sabbatical sisters have collectively taken 12 sabbaticals and individually have been featured in print, on radio and TV. Appearances include CNN News, ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC’s Dateline, PBS’s Nightly News Business, and New York’s WPIX. They also serve on several non-profit and national boards.

Website: www.rebootbreak.com

Reboot Your Life is available in April 2011 at www.Amazon.com, www.BarnesandNoble.com, and in major bookstores and airports across the country.

Review Copies Available Upon Request