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Partner at Shearman & Sterling LLP discusses the historical importance of Salzburg Global Seminar and his personal connection with the organization
While facilitating discussions at the Salzburg Global Seminar session The Corporate Balancing Act: How Can Directors Manage Conflicting Pressures?, John Cannon III, who is a partner in Shearman & Sterling and co-chair of the firm’s Corporate Governance Advisory Group, found time to explain the connection he and his colleagues feel they have with Salzburg Global Seminar: “Shearman & Sterling have a long global footprint – they’ve been in Europe 50-60 years.” With the firm having been “heavily involved in helping with the Marshall Plan,” Cannon feels attending Salzburg Global Seminar is “really very consistent with the history of Shearman & Sterling.”
Cannon sees parallels between the work done by Shearman & Sterling in Europe in the post-war period and the work Salzburg Global continues to do today to foster transatlantic and global dialogue.
Shearman & Sterling are a lead partner in the newly established multi-year series, the Salzburg Global Forum on Corporate Governance, with several staff members participating in sessions of the Forum in Salzburg and aiding the development of series through membership of the Advisory Committee. Salzburg Global Seminar has clearly benefitted from the financial and intellectual support of Shearman & Sterling, but how does participation in programs at Salzburg Global Seminar benefit Shearman & Sterling? “Salzburg Global Seminar helps us advise our clients around the world and in having a better understanding of local and changing conditions,” explains Cannon. Further to this though, he adds: “One of the other things that’s great about Salzburg Global Seminar is the ability to make connections with people all over the world, from corporate, NGOs, advisory groups and more.”
In addition to serving on the Advisory Committee that helped to formulate the program, during the October session Cannon also led a discussion on diversity and independence on boards, and what makes a board effective. In regards to leading the discussion, Cannon makes it clear that he’s a facilitator, not a lecturer: “We’re not giving a speech,” he says. “It’s enjoyable to have some control over the direction of the discussion, but ultimately you’re trying to turn it over to the audience.”
Rather than one-way information delivery, Salzburg Global programs are designed to facilitate an exchange of ideas and offer the opportunity to discover and possibly even change perspectives; The Corporate Balancing Act: How Can Directors Manage Conflicting Pressures? was no exception. How can you know if you’ve chaired a fruitful discussion? Cannon says: “Silence is the worst thing – it’s successful if everyone else is doing the talking.”
Cannon emphasizes how Salzburg Global has opened up his own perspectives: “Anglo-Americans have dominated the conversation on what is good corporate governance,” he explains. “How other companies approach corporate governance with a greater regard for stakeholders other than shareholders is something that in America we’re recognizing more and more.”
Cannon also reflects on his own personal connection with Salzburg Global: “My mother, my in-laws – they were all immigrants from war-torn Europe. They suffered from World War Two, so for me the whole idea of an organization that was designed to build bridges across very divided countries is very important.”
“The sessions are wonderful opportunities to learn and get to know new people,” says Cannon, and he hopes to come again in the future for both is professional and personal development.
John Cannon III was a participant at the Salzburg Global session The Corporate Balancing Act: How can Directors Manage Conflicting Pressures? More information on the session can be found here: www.salzburgglobal.org/go/567