Predictive Analytics in Perilous Times

Corporate Performance Management will focus on the latest developments in corporate performance management and analytics — topics core to the finance department and to the CFO role.

What are the latest best practices in corporate performance management? How can analytics help in a volatile economy? How can a CFO push the use of analytics throughout the organization? What impact will the current credit crunch have on performance management? CPM is designed to provide answers through best practices and thought leadership for attendees interested in getting the most out of internal and external data.

Topics will cover:

• Brand analytics

• Customer analytics

• Human capital analytics

• Chief performance officer

• Budgeting and forecasting

• Metrics

• Benchmarking

• Portfolio management

Through case studies and advice from thought leaders, attendees learn best practices. Through peer networking, they learn what their peers are doing to gain better predictive measures and how they are rolling out analytics throughout their organizations. Through the exhibit hall, they learn new techniques, products, and solutions to bring back to their companies.

To Register

Full Payment must be received 14 days prior to the event.

Is Your Job Search Where You Want It To Be?

Take the 60-question SixFigureStart Career Assessment and see exactly what you are doing well and what you need to do better;

Learn the six job search steps that really matter in the hiring process, developed by former Fortune 500 recruiters who have hired thousands of candidates just like you; Hear strategies and tips that you can use specifically in this challenging market.

This workshop will be led

by Connie Thanasoulis and Caroline Ceniza-Levine, co-founders of SixFigureStart and former recruiter for Accenture, Booz

Allen & Hamilton, Citigroup, Disney ABC, Merrill Lynch, Pfizer, Time Inc

and others.

Workshop is presented via

teleconference line. You call in from the comfort of your own home/ office. The assessment will be emailed prior so you can complete in advance. The call will be a combination of lecture on specific topics, interactive discussion and small group coaching and Q&A.

Space is limited. Advance registration is required.

Email caroline@sixfigurestart.com or call 212-372-0277 with questions or to register.

by Elizabeth Harrin (London)

You wouldn’t say no to a pay rise, would you? Well, be warned. Once your salary rises above £52,000 (about US$75,000) your alcohol consumption is likely to go up too, according to figures from the UK government released in January.

Women earning more than £52,000 a year drink more heavily than women who earn less. It’s not only the frequency of consuming alcohol – high-earning women also drink more units than lower earners. A lot of this is wine: half the weekly maximum recommended units of alcohol drunk by managerial and professional women comes from sloshing back the Chardonnay, Bordeaux or Zinfandel. And we’re not very sociable when we do it: women in managerial roles drink more wine than other women, but we are also more likely to drink at home.

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Contributed by Martin Mitchell of the Corporate Training Group

In case you were too busy to have kept up with all the news, contributor Martin Mitchell has gathered some important market events from last week to help you start this week well informed:

Mergers and Acquisitions

• In light of Pfizer’s $68bn takeover of Wyeth, French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis has expressed its interest in acquisitions to expand and diversify its range of businesses. UBS estimates that Sanofi-Aventis could raise $17bn to $20bn and potential targets include Bristol Myers Squibb.
• A consortium of investment banks and inter-dealer broker Icap are in discussions about a possible purchase of LCH.Clearnet, Europe’s largest clearing house. If it goes ahead, the move will break up the deal that would see LCH.Clearnet sold to the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) of the US. LCH.Clearnet signed a non-binding agreement to merge with the DTCC in October 2008, and due diligence on that deal is still ongoing. The DTCC deal would see LCH.Clearnet’s shareholders receive up to €739m, and the Icap deal is working on offering a premium to that price.
• The shares of the minority in Swedish truckmaker Scania could end up being acquired by Porsche as its share price is now below Porsche’s offer price. Porsche was required by the Swedish regulator to make a bid for the remaining shares in Scania after it took control of Scania by increasing its stake in Volkswagen in January. Porsche stated that it had no strategic interest in Scania, and so launched a lowball bid of SKr67.10 per share. Scania shares have now fallen to SKr66.75.
• Warren Buffet and his company, Berkshire Hathaway were active in the markets. First, by pouring $300m into iconic motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson, buying bonds paying a15% coupon and maturing in 2014. Second, by providing $3bn in funds to Swiss Re in the form of perpetual notes paying 12% with an option to increase his equity stake at an attractive price. The capital injection enabled Swiss Re to retain its AA credit rating.

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