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Byron Boston reflects on his time with Salzburg Global, and the need for the organization in today's world
Byron spoke to Salzburg Global during the Finance Forum, "Shaping the Future of Finance: Carbon Markets and Pricing, Digital Money and Financial Regulation." This program took place between June 13 and June 15, 2022.
“I came to Salzburg Global in 2013 and it was recommended to me by Walter Massey who was a former board member. I had become a public company's board member and so I thought the board work would be good. I also felt that the international exposure would be good, and it's been better than I anticipated. It has resulted in me becoming more of a global citizen. I'm far more aware of other people and other cultures. Most importantly for my company, it has made me a much better investor and risk manager, because now I view all investments in risk from a global perspective. It's been extremely valuable for Dynex Capital, which is where I work, in making investment decisions and most importantly, managing risk. I've brought many of these people back to my company to talk to us about either their expertise or their countries. I was very narrow-minded before coming here in 2013. That was a big year. I spent two weeks in China, and then I followed up and started the Finance Forum here in August of that year.
“I'm a happy man that I joined the Salzburg Global board, it’s been great. This was an out of my comfort zone move to join the Salzburg (Global) board and to just begin to come here, and it's been fantastic. My mind is much broader. One of the big results has been a real respect for other people's cultures; recognizing the differences in how they may have been raised or the environment where they grew up in (...). People have a right to be who they are, and that's part of the sentiment of Salzburg (Global). It was started after World War II to try to bridge the divides across continents, and I absolutely have grown to believe heavily in that. I believe global cooperation is possible. I also believe that there will always be humans on the planet who don't care about global cooperation. They will always want to take what someone else has. (…) As long as that exists, the world will always need an organization like Salzburg Global Seminar making attempts to expose human beings to each other and to give a much broader perspective to the world or opening the door for someone to walk through and get a broader perspective to the world.
“Many people who I have met don't have a real idea of what the world was like after World War II. I read a book called Savage Continent. It was describing Europe right after the war, and it just sounded horrible. For them (the three founders) to have the foresight to say, 'let's start an organization to try to bridge the divide across continents', was a great vision. And just like human beings created those problems 75 years ago, human beings can create those same problems today. Salzburg (Global) has a job to continue to try to bring people together from all over the world.
“I have lived a life outside of my comfort zone. I went from growing up in an all-black area of Saint Louis, Missouri (United States) in 1977, to going to an all-white college in northern New Hampshire. That was a major 'out of my comfort zone' moment. But what's amazing is when you are not exposed or never interact with someone who is not like you, you form the wrong opinions about them. If left unchecked, those biases can create wars and violence. So Salzburg Global's purpose is extremely vital today. There are tons of wars all over the planet. We've had more strongmen - or what I would call non-democratic thinking people - rise to power across the globe. It looks like they're going to support each other. We need good humans, and I absolutely believe there are good humans. You need good humans to lock arms together and to push back against bad humans. That's my true belief. Salzburg (Global) has a real purpose there. The genesis of why this organization was started continues to be a need for the world today.”
Byron Boston is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Dynex Capital. He has been a member of Salzburg Global Seminar’s Board since 2013.