The Advisory Board
The Company has a Board of Advisors consisting of distinguished individuals. Its in depth and successful experience spans a number of different specialties -- banking and investment banking, law, corporate management and operations, employment, accounting, corporate intelligence, risk analysis, insurance, and academia.
Depending on the circumstances and needs, the Board as a whole and individuals among the Board have various responsibilities. Working with Mr. Seidel, the Board members are central to the selection and monitoring of the members of any team formed for a client.
Beyond this, on some occasions individuals on the Board are themselves available, with others or on their own, to assist clients on a project.
Sir David Bell is Executive Director of Pearson, an international media company with market-leading businesses that specialize in business information as well as education and consumer publishing, and he is Chairman of Pearson Inc, its U.S. arm. Pearson includes the Financial Times Group, Pearson Education, and the Penguin Group among its numerous companies. In addition to his role as Chairman, Sir David is Pearson’s worldwideDirector for People, bearing the responsibility for recruiting, motivating, and developing employees across the company, which currently has over 30,000 employees based in 60 countries.
Sir David is also the Chairman of the Financial Times newspaper. He served as Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Times from 1993 until 1996 when he joined the board of Pearson. In addition, he is a Non-Executive director of The Economist and has recently stepped down as Senior Independent Director of the Vitec Group plc. He has lectured widely on a number of topics, including the media, business, finance, and management.
Sir David is active in numerous philanthropic and cultural organizations. He is former Chairman and current member of the board of the International Youth Foundation, a leading international organization that works in over 70 countries and territories to improve conditions and prospects for youth. He is a member of the board of ImagineNations, a global network of thought leaders and entrepreneurs dedicated to empowering youth in the developing world. He is the Chairman of Crisis, the UK’s national charity for single homeless people, and of Common Purpose International, a leadership development organization that equips global leaders with the tools and connections to create change in their communities and beyond. He is also a founder board member of Silatech, a $100 million project to help increase job creation across the Middle East.
Sir David is the Chairman of Sadler’s Wells, a member of the Honorary Council of the Royal National Theatre, and Chairman of the Council of the University of Roehampton.
He is a former Chairman of the Millennium Bridge Trust, where he was responsible for the project which built the first new bridge across the Thames in central London in over a century.
He is a graduate of Cambridge University and has received, as a Thouron scholar, an MA in Economics and Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He has honorary degrees from City University and South Bank University in London.
Mr. Burton is the Chairman of the Trustees Board of three of Aon Corporation’s United Kingdom pension schemes. He is a non executive director of Hirco plc, a company listed on the UK AIM market with substantial real estate investments in India. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Globaltech Solutions Ltd, an IT training and recruitment business. Mr. Burton is a non-executive Director of Sigma QC Ltd, and of Central & Overseas Securities Limited (which is part of The Tongaat-Hulett Group Ltd, a South African and UK listed company). He is also an advisory partner with Lancea Partners, a corporate finance boutique
Formerly, Mr. Burton was a senior partner of Deloitte & Touche, with international experience in the United States, Southern Africa, and offshore financial centers. For many years, he also ran the Isle of Man operations of Deloitte & Touche, with extensive international responsibilities.
Ms. Disney is currently the Executive Vice President for Content of News Corporation (“NewsCorp”) where she oversees a portfolio of businesses from television channels to digital media. She is a member of NewsCorp’s Executive Management Committee. She is also the Chairman of the Board of Gemstar - TV Guide International, Inc. Ms. Disney is a board member of HSBC North America Holdings, Inc., and also serves on several boards of philanthropic and academic institutions.
She started her career as a journalist and later moved into management as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Harper Collins Publishers, and the Chairman and CEO of News America Publishing.
Mr. Gration is a recently retired Major General in the United States Air Force. He served as Deputy Director, International Affairs, for the Air Force and was the Director, Strategy, Policy, and Assessments, for the United States European Command. He has had over twenty years of international experience, especially in the areas of management, strategic planning, and negotiations. While serving in the Air Force, he was deeply involved in crisis management and financial planning. He has also been frequently involved in developing and expanding security capability and protection.
Mr. Gration has also served as Chief Executive Officer of Millennium Villages, a non-profit NGO established to help end extreme poverty. He has been committed to a number of other humanitarian assistance programs.
Mr. Herrmann is The Vice Chairman of Lincoln International, a world-wide Mid-market Merger and Acquisition advisory firm with offices in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Frankfort as well as close affiliations with major financial organizations in India, China and Japan. Prior to joining Lincoln, Mr. Herrmann was a Managing Director in the M&A businesses of JPMorgan and was a founder of Lehman Brothers’ M&A Department in the 1970s. Mr. Herrmann has had many years of experience advising corporations around the world and their Boards of Directors on acquisition and divestiture transactions, strategies and tactics as well as advising them on value and fairness.
Mr. Herrmann has been President or Chair of a number of philanthropic organizations in the fields of mental health, education, radio and the environment. He graduated from Yale University and The Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.
Scott Kurnit is an investor and advisor. He sits on the Boards of Brightcove, Dotomi and Goodmail and advises Black Arrow, Critical Mention, Digital RailRoad, Email Data Source, Flock, Plum.com, SendMe Mobile, SmartBrief and Sphere and is a trustee of the Paley Center for Media.
He founded and was Chairman/CEO of About Inc. (market value reaching $1.5 billion; IPO, sold: PRM, New York Times, current owner) and Sprinks (sold to Google as component of its Ad Words System) and was the Founding President of Showtime Event Television and InDemand. He holds 4 patents and led the teams that launched the first browser into an online service and the first use of National caller ID.
He has received various awards, including the Vanguard Award from Cable Television Association, and an Emmy as a producer of a weekly news magazine. He has worked at Warner, Viacom, News Corp., MCI, Prodigy and PBS. He’s been a Filmmaker, TV Director, Station Program Manager, Marketer and CEO.
Mr. Land was the immediate past Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ernst & Young United Kingdom LLP, where his career spanned 36 years. He was appointed to the Ernst & Young Global Executive Board in 1995.
Mr. Land is a non-executive director of Royal Dutch Shell, BBA Aviation, Vodafone Group, and the Ashmore Group. He is on the Advisory Board of the Business School at Cambridge University (the Cambridge Judge Business School). He is a member of the Finance and Audit Committee of the National Gallery in the UK. He is also Chairman of the Practices Advisory Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England, Wales and of Farnham Castle.
Mr. Schubert has served in leadership positions in law, business, government and the non-profit sector. He is currently as Senior Vice President of the Executive Coaching Network and Washington representative and founding board member of Management & Training Corporation. He is also Chairman Emeritus of the International Youth Foundation, Vice Chairman and founding board member of the Leader to Leader Institute, formerly known as the Drucker Foundation and Chairman of the board of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, Inc., He is a member of the Executive Committee of the friends of the Czech Republic and co-founder of the Friends of Zambia. .
Mr. Schubert is the former President and Vice Chairman of the Board of Bethlehem Steel Corporation and the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross. He is the founding President and Chief Executive Officer of the Points of Light Foundation. He has also served as the General Counsel and the Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Labor. Mr. Schubert has been a member of numerous other corporate and non-profit boards.
He graduated cum laude in 1958 from Eastern Nazarene College. Mr. Schubert graduated from Yale Law School in 1961.
Mr. SyCip is founder of the SGV Group, a leading firm of management consultants and auditors, with operations throughout East Asia. Mr. Sycip currently sits on the boards of a number of major corporations in various parts of the world. In prior years, he has been on the International Boards of AT&T, the Chase Manhattan Bank, Australia & New Zealand Bank, Caterpiller, Owens-Illinois, Pacific Dunlop and United Technologies Corporation.
Mr. SyCip is a member of the International Advisory Boards of the American International Group and the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the boards of Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships and the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, a member of the Board of Overseers of the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University, Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees and Board of Governors of the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines, Honorary Chairman of the Euro-Asia Centre of INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, and Honorary Life Trustee of the Asia Society.
Mr. SyCip has also served as Chairman of the Asia Pacific Advisory Committee of the New York Stock Exchange from 1997 to 2004, as Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Conference Board, New York from 2000 to 2004, and as a board member of the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies at the University of Pennsylvania from 1983 to 2000.
He has been the recipient of many international awards and citations, including the 1992 Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding, Star of the Order of Merit conferred by the Republic of Austria, Officer First Class of the Royal Order of the Polar Star awarded by H.M. the King of Sweden, the Philippine Legion of Honor, Degree of Commander conferred by the Philippine Government, and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit (Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse) conferred by the Federal Republic of Germany.
Mr. SyCip graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree from the University of Santo Tomas, Philippines and also obtained a Master of Science in Commerce (Meritissimus) degree from this university. He received a second Master of Science in Commerce degree from Columbia University, New York. He has been conferred the Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) by the University of Melbourne, the Doctor of Philosophy in Financial Management by De La Salle University, Philippines and the Doctorate Degree in Accounting Education by the University of Santo Tomas, Philippines.
Anthony Wu is the former Chairman of Ernst & Young Far East, Hong Kong and China. He was for many years until he retired in 2005 responsible for the Asian operations for E & Y and was instrumental in building E & Y’s operation in China from less than a hundred staff to over 5000 . He now serves as Senior Advisor to the company. He is Chairman of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, the second largest employer in HK with 53,000 employees and running all the public hospitals and clinics in HK. Mr. Wu is Chairman and one of the three co-founders of the Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre, the leading think tank for Hong Kong, and a National Committee Member of China’s People’s Political Consultative Conference. Mr. Wu is, in addition, an investor and transaction advisor.
Mr. Wu is a member of the board of the United Nations Association of China, a trustee of the China Oxford Scholarship Fund and a member of the Commission on Strategic Development in Hong Kong. He is Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, the second largest employer in Asia, Chairman and one of the three co-founders of the Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre, the leading governmental think tank for Beijing and Hong Kong. He is also National Committee Member of China’s People’s Political Consultative Conference.
Christopher Bogart is a Managing Director of Fulbrook Capital. His background includes a wide variety of legal, executive management and investment experience.
Most recently, Mr. Bogart has simultaneously served as Chief Executive Officer of Churchill Ventures Ltd., a $110 million publicly traded investment vehicle; Managing Director of Glenavy Capital LLC, a global media and technology investment firm; and General Partner of the Glenavy Arbitration Investment Fund LP, a dispute financing firm.
Previously, Mr. Bogart held a number of senior executive positions with Time Warner Inc. He served as Executive Vice President & General Counsel of Time Warner Inc., managing one of the largest legal functions in the world with more than 350 lawyers. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of Time Warner Cable Ventures and one of four senior executives operating Time Warner Cable, Time Warner’s largest business, with $9 billion in revenue and 30,000 employees.
Mr. Bogart came to Time Warner from the New York law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore where he was a trial lawyer representing companies such as IBM, GE and Time Warner.