Program Overview - Looking forward, traditional risk identification processes may not be enough to uncover the really critical risks that a company should address.  What questions should directors be asking outside of the ERM model?  Risk Intelligence addresses the issue of "What Got You Here Won't Get You There!"  Creating risk intelligence is very challenging for directors in the current environment.  We're seeing an interdependency that presents sets of risks that we haven't seen before. These tend to have multiple components, are large scale in nature, have global and societal implications and tend to be on longer planning horizons than traditional risks.  There may also be more "Black Swan" events that are hard to predict, may have low likelihood but catastrophic if they occur. And, the potential for substantially increased regulatory, legislative and activist impacts on boards and managements.  The question for the 21st century world of "new normals" is how do boards really plan for longer horizons and broader scenarios and for risks beyond the traditional strategic or operational risks.  A panel with a CEO and two directors will examine the questions that need to be asked, and will lead in interactive real life case discussion on the subject.

John Elofson (Moderator) is a partner with Davis Graham & Stubbs where his practice focuses on securities offerings and compliance and mergers and acquisitions.  He has represented clients in a variety of industries in securities offerings, mergers, stock and asset purchases, joint ventures, tender offers and proxy contests. He frequently advises clients on reporting obligations under the federal securities laws and stock exchange rules as well as on corporate governance matters and takeover defenses. Prior to joining his current firm, he practiced for five years at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York City.  Following the completion of his legal studies, Mr. Elofson served one-year terms as a law clerk for the Honorable Shira A. Scheindlin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and for the Honorable Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. While attending Columbia University, Mr. Elofson was a James Kent Scholar for two years and a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar in another year.  He also served as the Managing Editor of the Journal of Law & Social Problems. He has been an adjunct professor at the University of Denver College of Law and has written numerous articles on corporate law. He holds B.A and M.A. degrees from the University of Colorado and a J.D. degree from Columbia University.

Andy Drenick is CEO of Qualmark Corporation, a Denver based provider of advanced test equipment and services.  Qualmark's products and services are used by leading companies around the world in industries such as automotive, avionics, computer, consumer electronics and telecommunication to improve product reliability and reduce warranty costs.  Prior to Qualmark, Mr. Drenick was co-founder and CEO of Inovonics Wireless, which makes and sells wireless products for commercial security and meter reading applications.  In 2005, Mr. Drenick led the sale of Inovonics to Roper Industries.  Prior to Inovonics, he was in business development with American Management Systems, an IT services company. He was a director of Inovonics, and has been a director of small companies owned by private equity groups.  He started his career as a Design Engineer followed by roles in Engineering and Operations management.  Mr. Drenick holds a B.S. in Engineering from Colorado School of Mines, a M.B.A. from Stanford University and is a licensed Mechanical Engineer.

John Holcomb is a professor at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business, joining the College in 1989. His other teaching experience includes the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Maryland; Rutgers University and George Washington University. He served as the director of the Foundation for Public Affairs, which tracked political and social issues affecting business as well as analysis and newsletters on political interest groups, corporate public affairs initiatives and executive training. He was also director of Urban Affairs and Corporate Responsibility-Public Affairs Council, counseling corporate executives and conducting conferences and seminars on corporate governance, shareholder resolutions, corporate social responsibility and corporate urban affairs activities. He is a member of the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline, is past president of the Rocky Mountain Academy of Legal Studies in Business, and is a member of the International Association for Business and Society, the Academy of Management, and the American Political Science Association. He holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center,  a M.A. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. in Political Science from Augustana College.

Dick Swanson is a director and chairman of the audit committees of two NASDAQ companies: ADA-ES, Inc., a Denver industrial technology company serving the power industry, and Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a Denver thin-film solar energy technology company serving a range of industries.  He has accomplished the turnaround and recapitalization of several small companies and has been a director of several private companies, two banks and a Chicago-based public company in the health care supply field.  For 15 years he was a chair for Vistage International -formerly known as TEC- the world's largest CEO membership organization.  In this capacity, he was a coach and advisor to the CEOs of more than 75 Colorado companies. He has a background with Accenture, was the CFO of a $250 million business, the founder and president of a commercial real estate investment and development company, and had a corporate turnaround consulting practice. Mr. Swanson has conducted workshops on Corporate Governance for companies and industry groups.  He is a History graduate of the University of Colorado and holds an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

 

Agenda:
5:30-6:15 PM:  Cocktails & Networking
6:15-7:00 PM:  Dinner
7:00-8:00 PM:  Program