Sonali Pathirana

From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, corporate boardrooms are facing unprecedented scrutiny. The convergence of complex social issues, disruptive technologies, and global events is reshaping expectations around transparency, accountability, and ethical leadership. In the latest episode of my podcast Tech Beyond the Hype, I speak to Coco Brown, the visionary founder and CEO of Athena Alliance about how boardrooms are adapting to this new paradigm. Together, we explore the trends rattling the foundations of how corporations operate and engage with society. Coco offers invaluable insights into the interplay between corporate brands, products, and societal movements. Her perspectives underscore how boards can no longer afford to treat these as separate spheres. In our hyper-connected world, corporate actions reverberate far beyond the boardroom, shaping narratives and impacting lives in profound ways. From industry titans grappling with their role in undermining democracy to the role of community in driving brand messaging, we explore the practical and ethical complexities facing business leaders everywhere. Whether you're a seasoned executive, an aspiring leader, or simply passionate about the future of business, this conversation will give you lots of food for thought around strategic governance, diversity, and authentic community engagement. Tune into the episode now:  https://lnkd.in/ePpHHUn5 #podcast #corporategovernance #leadershipstrategy #artificialintelligence #futureofleadership #futureofmarketing #marketingstrategy #communityengagement #tech #emergingtech

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Emerging #technology like #AI requires a long view and a “responsibly courageous” mindset. NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors) and corporate directors are charting a future for good governance in the tech era of today and in the future. Thank you to the Edelman Trust Institute for a shared perspective on #buildingtrust https://lnkd.in/eBGj8mUb #goodgovernance

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Check out our 2023 ESG Report to see the different ways McKinsey is accelerating sustainable and inclusive growth. ⬇️ #SustainableInclusiveGrowth

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As I approach my third month at The Baltimore Banner, I have been thinking a lot about defining success. A mentor offered the following thoughts: For reporters, it is much easier to define success. Editors often need help seeing that their goals should be quite different than their reporters'. They need to see each of their reporters as individuals with different strengths and weaknesses. So editors need to meet each reporter at a different place and help them improve, and hopefully, thrive. Sometimes that means focusing on reporting or writing skills, sometimes it is helping a reporter figure out how to cover a beat, or how to distinguish their work from the competition. Editors of course are key to guiding coverage, whether it's breaking news or a more conceptual beat, when the goal has to be finding the front edge of the topic (for an education reporter, that might be new trends in teaching and for the city hall reporter it might be who are the emerging power brokers.) When it comes to editing copy, editors have to avoid rewriting stories, which can completely demoralize reporters, but they also can't send along stories that are confusing or take too long to get to the point. It takes awhile for editors to figure out that sweet spot between improving copy but not just rewriting it the way they would have written it. The hardest part of editing is probably dealing with difficult reporters and there is no easy answer for that. The only part of running a newsroom that I could advise on is running the coverage and for me, that was always driven by focusing on the big news of the day. You have to make sure that editors have put enough staffers on the big stories and are looking across the news cycle, e.g. what will we have to publish first thing tomorrow, and make sure some people are trained on the bigger, deeper questions that take a few days to report. If you are clear on your top priorities each day and the newsroom aligns behind those, then the smaller stories will take care of themselves. You will be judged by how the Banner did on the big things, not the small things.

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Increasing understanding and knowledge surrounding climate-change at absolutely every level - from students to CEOs is critical if we are to effectively build the workforces we need for a greener future. Check out the latest from The Sustainability Project featuring insights from our exclusive conversation with Viviana Alvarez Sanchez at Sustainability Week London

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The question of what should happen to our data and our digital lives after our physical one end is fundamentally a philosophical and ethical one, as the terrific book I reviewed this week makes clear: https://lnkd.in/euYyyRj3

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Digital News Report, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism flagship annual study, is out this week. Big-picture findings won’t come as a surprise, but it’s still a must-read. For The Fix Media, I picked a subjective list of three interesting insights from the report: 📍Video-first platforms are rising, and traditional media are struggling to compete with individual news creators. YouTube is a key platform for news, and TikTok has overtaken Twitter in news consumption for the first time this year. Unlike on Facebook & Twitter, traditional journalists are lagging behind individual news creators. Interesting examples from the report – Hugo Décrypte in France (who, across all platforms, gets more mentions than Le Monde or BFMTV) and TLDR News in the UK. 📍Paying for news isn’t becoming more widespread – and even existing numbers are skewed by heavy discounts. Last year 17% of people across 20 richer countries paid for online news. This year it’s still exactly 17%. One interesting addition in the 2024 report is the look at how heavy discounting might distort the numbers. “[W]ell over half of those in the US who are paying for digital news report paying less than the median cost of a main subscription ($16), often much less”. In Poland, over three quarters of respondents pay less than full price for their subscription. 📍Elections have had little effect on interest in news so far, but we’ll see full effect in 2025 Interest in news has fallen across much of Europe and other countries. It increased in the US but only slightly. But the surveys for this report were conducted at the beginning of the year. It will be interesting to watch the impact of elections throughout 2024, especially in the United States.

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Top takeaways from the "Beyond the Basics: A #GenerativeAI Masterclass for Business Communicators" at #IABC24. Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending a workshop led by Matt Russell from the Mayo Clinic. The masterclass focused on leveraging #ChatGPT and other AI tools to grow and enhance business communications. Here are my top takeaways (first draft thanks to ChatGPT;) 1. Expand AI Use: Start using tools individually and then scale their uses across teams for enhanced productivity. 2. AI in Project Management: Integrate AI into project planning to streamline processes and boost efficiency. 3. Promote AI Integration: Develop strategies to advocate for AI adoption, keeping in line with policy and culture, while staying on top of advancements.

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Understanding your stakeholders, their politics and priorities among many other things is essential for planning impactful engagement...tailored to your stakeholders. A not-one-size-fits-all world! Click below for insights from a brilliantly strategic colleague:

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A new analysis from Ampere Analysis looks at content spend by Neflix, broken down by geography. Roughly 70% of Netflix subscribers are outside North America which provides context to the chart below. In 2024, an estimated $15B will be spent on film/TV production with 51% of that being allocated to ex-NA sourced content. According to Ampere, this is the first time more film/TV money is being allocated ex-NA. #streaming #netflix #movies #tvshows #productioncosts #international #contentproduction #streamingvideo

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Earlier this week I had a chance to put my thinking cap on with a few very thoughtful people. We spent an hour delving into Edelman's 2024 Trust Barometer data for the Asia Pacific region. A few notable takeaways: -Asia Pacific has a sizeable regional tech advantage opportunity that has the potential to benefit all if well delivered.  -Expectations and needs of AI vary by market. In India and Indonesia AI is seen as a gateway to bettering education, while in South Korea AI is expected to boost the economy by enhancing productivity and innovation, and in Japan with the backdrop of an ageing population AI is seen to be enabling better access to health care.  -There’s good news for communicators, we have a willing and receptive audience who want to know more. Half of them are already coming to our company’s owned channels as a source of information. We spoke about these themes and much more besides. Thanks to Institute for Public Relations for hosting and to Margot Edelman Warren Fernandez Lynne Mulholland Andrew Wheatley for a great conversation https://lnkd.in/gYUfahFn

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🤩What do you think? Less #Workism and more #PortfolioLife? I definitely am seeing those trends around me. 🌴🦸‍♀️Colleagues and friends who take 80 or 60% jobs to travel more, or who have taken freelance jobs while they build their own businesses. In fact, in our annual Global Workforce of the Future research, we see that a quarter of workers (25%) are quitting their jobs this year to run their own business. Second reason after quitting for a better salary. But this is the year of the "BIG STAY". The majority of workers, 73%, are staying in their current jobs in the next 12 months. Does that mean that people love their current roles? Not really. Most of them want change, skills and progression, they are just not taking action for fear of the economic uncertainty. If you are interested, don't miss The Adecco Group and LHH's latest report on what's going on with workers and how companies can ensure they empower their greatest potential. 👉https://lnkd.in/dXqhZKqi

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@EdelmanSmithfield is pleased to share the 2024 @Edelman Trust Barometer Supplemental Report: Insights for Financial Services. Our latest research explores public perceptions of the companies’ people rely on, work for, and entrust with their finances, offering fresh insights for the financial services sector. Whether you're a consumer, industry professional, or investor, our recent analysis provides invaluable perspectives crucial for navigating today’s dynamic markets. Explore the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eqeSqD5m  

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Some great reporting and analysis over the last few days aimed at unpacking the nuances of US equity market performance and trends driving American _________ fill in the blank ... exceptionalism, prosperity, wealth...?? Callie Cox looking ahead with optimism in a new piece, “The United States of relentless optimism”: https://lnkd.in/eiEWyutc ➡ "The United States accounts for 25% of the world's economy and 43% of its stock market with just 4% of the population." Claire Ballentine digging into the retail trading boom over the last few years and the tech that fueled it in a new piece, “How Stocks Became the Game That Record Numbers of Americans Are Playing”: https://lnkd.in/e8PzWitP ➡ "Thanks to better technology and competition, those fees kept decreasing, to a typical $13 a trade in 2005, then $5 by 2019, eventually giving way to the zero-fee era we’re living in now." David Uberti takes us on holiday with some analysis on US dollar strength in the piece, “Americans Are Everywhere—and Taking Their Strong Dollars With Them”: https://lnkd.in/ekNm_8nC ➡ "The U.S. currency has gained 15% against the yen and 2.3% against the euro since the end of 2023. In Argentina and Vietnam, the buck has never gotten so much bang." Charlie Wells hits on private market access from an investor and investment standpoint in his piece, “The Rich Investor Club Is Getting Crowded”: https://lnkd.in/e-yR72-X ➡ "Now roughly 1 of every 5 American households could be an accredited investor. In the early ’80s the figure was 1 of every 50." Philip Lawlor takes a 50 year look back at US equity markets in a new research piece, “How We Got Here: Mapping 50 Years of Equity Market Evolution”: https://lnkd.in/eYp8Hwbg ➡ "$100 invested in 1974 has turned into $29,193 (Total return). If dividend income wasn’t reinvested, the capital return would have been $7,807."

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Interesting move by New York lawmakers to tackle the recommender algorithms pushing harmful content to teenagers. Like with #disinformation, more needs to be done to change the incentive structure that makes having a harmful business model profitable. 😱pushing fearful/sensationalist/angry content ➡ greater engagement ➡ more data collected on users ➡ more individualised digital ads sold 💰 Redirecting technology doesn’t have to be done only by this kind of initiative. We can also use taxes, subsidies, strengthened user controls on data collection/use, and other market incentives. Check out 'Power and Progress: Our 1,000-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity’, by economists Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson for a well articulated argument on that. https://politi.co/3VFtBkj #trustandsafety

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Corporate and Startups keep a close eye on the elections, government affairs and public notices. Why??? Because it impacts their businesses. Politicians are Policy Makers. Policies they make have a direct and indirect impact on the business operations. Corporate Communications professionals need to be an expert in Public Policy tracking and Public Affairs too apart from Public Relations. Government and Politicians are a key external stakeholders and influencers for businesses. Lobbying by entrepreneurs across the globe since a century is a common phenomenon. Industry Bodies of varying ministries gives an option to varying entrepreneurs and organisations to share their feedback to the Ministry, elect their representative for that body, suggest changes in policies, propose policy plans and participate in the engagement for nation building. Public Affairs is a serious business and needs to align with the PR planning. #hemamalini #superstar #loksabha #memberofparliament #parliament #delhi #mathura #legacy #legend #publicpolicy #publicaffairs #corporateaffairs #artist #influencer #keyinfluencer #messaging #governmentaffairs #publicrelations #pr #corporatecommunications #internalcommunication #stakeholdermanagement #stakeholderengagement #brandengagement #thoughtleader #thoughtleadership

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Corporate and Startups keep a close eye on the elections, government affairs and public notices. Why??? Because it impacts their businesses. Politicians are Policy Makers. Policies they make have a direct and indirect impact on the business operations. Corporate Communications professionals need to be an expert in Public Policy tracking and Public Affairs too apart from Public Relations. Government and Politicians are a key external stakeholders and influencers for businesses. Lobbying by entrepreneurs across the globe since a century is a common phenomenon. Industry Bodies of varying ministries gives an option to varying entrepreneurs and organisations to share their feedback to the Ministry, elect their representative for that body, suggest changes in policies, propose policy plans and participate in the engagement for nation building. Public Affairs is a serious business and needs to align with the PR planning. #shatrugansinha #superstar #loksabha #memberofparliament #parliament #delhi #mathura #legacy #legend #publicpolicy #publicaffairs #corporateaffairs #artist #influencer #keyinfluencer #messaging #governmentaffairs #publicrelations #pr #corporatecommunications #internalcommunication #stakeholdermanagement #stakeholderengagement #brandengagement #thoughtleader #thoughtleadership

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