• General Sessions
  • (Each Morning)

General Session 1
8:15 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.

How To Drive Change In Your Organization

Howard Hyden

Business continuity is a constantly evolving process. With hurricane season expected to be the busiest one yet, new risks, new technology and new personnel are even more difficult to handle in the midst of events like Katrina, Charlie, Wilma, 9/11, and tornadoes. Planners are always dealing with change. In this enlightening and motivating session, you learn how to capitalize on the changes and make them work for your organization. You will be given the tools to help your organization use change for competitive advantage. Take your skills to new heights with the techniques offered in this session.
Howard Hyden is the founder and president of the Center for Customer Focus. He brings more than 25 years of experience, leadership and reality-based ideas from major companies. As a corporate executive, entrepreneur, keynote speaker, workshop and roundtable facilitator, and author, he has motivated profound transformations at companies worldwide.

General Session 2
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Inside Out: A Business View of BC/DR Today and Tomorrow

Michael Croy, Forsythe

The nature of running a business has changed over the past few years in the face of unexpected and unprecedented crises. As a result, organizations are struggling on a daily basis to make their businesses more resilient. Learn the trends in IT that must be considered to maintain operations at a time of crisis. One trend, IT optimization, is an initiative that can be leveraged to build a more resilient business. Attendees will leave armed with an understanding of the latest trends not only in BC/DR, but in facility and infrastructure optimization for business continuity and disaster recovery.
Michael Croy serves as director of business continuity solutions. He joined Forsythe Technology in 2002, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience in building, developing and implementing disaster recovery and business continuity programs.

General Session 3
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

Why YOU Need A Pandemic Plan At YOUR Company

Regina Phelps, EMSS

Why should your company have a pandemic plan? A pandemic negates the two basic principals of BC planning: back to business as usual in 30 days or less and going from the affected site to the unaffected site. Pandemics last up to 18 months and there would be no place else to go! Airports, airlines, businesses and the public face the risk of quarantine; air travel could grind to a halt; schools, factories, and offices may need to close; the death toll could be in the millions. With intense media interest, the possibility of exaggeration and misinformation and an increasingly anxious public, our work is cut out for us! This general session will give you the background to help you write a company pandemic plan.
Regina Phelps, CEM, RN, BSN, MPA has provided consultation and speaking services to clients in four continents. She is founder of Emergency Management & Safety Solutions, a consulting and training firm.

General Session 4
8:15 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.

Raising the Bar For Hurricane Recovery

Graeme Davis, Starwood Hotels and Resorts

Starwood Hotels and Resort’s trend-setting hurricane response to the 2005 storms captured national and government attention. Hear how they raised the bar for hurricane recovery in the hospitality industry. This presentation will discuss the plan that was in place for hurricane recovery and how the many crises within multiple properties across the Southeast and Caribbean were handled. Learn how Starwood managed through the hurricanes that affected multiple properties in the New Orleans and Florida and offshore resorts in the Bahamas.
Graeme Davis is area managing director for South Florida and the Caribbean for Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Davis is also responsible for all hurricane response and recovery for the Southeast and Caribbean for the company.

General Session 5
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Crisis Management - Reaching New Heights

Ann Pickren, SunGard Availability Services
Kate Willis, NIKE, Inc.

As news is developing on the Avian Flu, organizations must face the possibility of a major impact to their workforce. It is time for organizations to emphasize their crisis management program and how it will address a major breakout of Avian Flu. This cannot be done without “Reaching New Heights” within your organization, with an executive-level emphasis on global planning for a pandemic. Hear first hand how Nike developed and implemented their approach to involving their executives in the development of a plan for pandemic events. The session will focus on the key program objectives, the methodology, tools and process used.
Ann Pickren, senior vice president, SunGard Availability Services, is responsible for all availability software products that are designed, developed and supported by SunGard.
Kate Willis, global business continuity manager at NIKE, Inc., is responsible for driving, communicating and delivering a vision and framework for BC.

General Session 6
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

Emergency Response To Hurricanes, Bombings and More

Brandon Bond, DHS/DMAT

When a hurricane hits, a terrorist bomb explodes or a fire strikes, it is vital for your organization to have up-to-date emergency response and continuity plans. In this session, the presenter will give a first-hand account of response efforts he and his team put forth in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He will also provide tips for responding to other types of disasters. Are you prepared for terrorist bombings? Special considerations in planning for the safety of your employees will also be included.
Brandon Bond, disaster preparedness manager for Kaiser Permanente’s National Security Services, is a member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Bay Area Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT CA-6).

General Session 7
8:15 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.

Business Recovery Plans in Action

Jim Langendonk, The Gillette Company
Duncan Suter, The Gillette Company

Gillette, a division of Procter & Gamble, has a critical site in Hemel Hempstead, UK, which operates as a packaging centre and supply warehouse for all European blade and razor products. The site also acts as a supply warehouse for markets beyond Europe. In Dec. 2005, a major explosion at an oil storage depot, 400 yards away, caused significant damage to the depot and the Gillette site. Learn how Gilette’s approach to BRP prepared the team for the incident, how it was activated and the outcomes of the recovery effort. Lessons learned and the feedback to BRP teams will be shared.
Jim Langendonk’s current position is a combination of Corporate Compliance and Application & Development (ADM) Governance.
Duncan Suter has developed and maintained the BRP for the Hemel Hempstead facility for the past five years.

General Session 8
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

The Transformation of BC Professionals

Damian Walch, IBM BRCS

Change today happens suddenly, unexpectedly, unpredictably. Change is happening to the BC profession at an unprecedent pace. This presentation will describe the dramatically altered roles and responsibilities of DR and BC coordinators. We will discuss the new skills associated with risk management, technology and governance that are absolutely necessary to achieve the highest results. This session will give you an idea of how to transform yourself into a 21st century expert that manages the resilience of an organization. Several organizational models and radical educational approaches will be discussed.
Damian Walch, CISSP, CBCP, CISA, is national practice executive, business continuity consulting for IBM Business Resilience and Continuity Services.

General Session 9
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

Be a SOLID BCP Player

Barry Pruitt, PruSpeak

Knowing what to do, how to do it, and when to do it is not good enough if you’re not a SOLID BCP player. You must understand what you face and adopt strategies that quickly incorporate opportunities into effective management tools. BCP is vital, but complex. Gain best practices for becoming a SOLID BCP player. You’ll gain ideas on each of six skills to make you successful as a BCP professional. Learn strategies and procedures to maintain your skills, increase your influence in business meetings, implementing functions and processes, and getting results. Discover the traits in this session that separates high achievers from average performers!
Barry Pruitt is president of PruSpeak Incorporated, a global training and consulting organization, and teaches at the USC School of Business.