The Conference Board

Last updated
The Conference Board
Formation1916;108 years ago (1916)
TypeBusiness membership and research organization
Legal status 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Headquarters845 Third Avenue
New York City, United States
Region
Global; regional offices in New York, Brussels, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore
Key people
 Steve Odland, President and CEO
Staff
300
Website www.conference-board.org
845 Third Avenue, Manhattan The Conference Board 845 Third Av jeh.jpg
845 Third Avenue, Manhattan

The Conference Board, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit business membership and research group organization. It counts over 1,000 public and private corporations and other organizations as members, encompassing 60 countries.

Contents

The Conference Board convenes conferences and peer-learning groups, conducts economic and business management research, and publishes several widely tracked economic indicators.

History

The organization was founded in 1916 as the National Industrial Conference Board (NICB). At the time, tensions between labor and management in the United States were seen as potentially explosive in the wake of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 and the Ludlow Massacre in 1914. In 1915 presidents of twelve major corporations in the United States and six leading industry associations met in Yama, New York to formulate the business community's response to continued labor unrest and growing public criticism. [1]

After additional crisis meetings, the National Industrial Conference Board was officially founded on May 5, 1916, at the Hotel Gramatan in Bronxville, New York. [2] Although many of the organizations’ founders—including former AT&T president Frederick P. Fish and General Electric executive Magnus W. Alexander, its first president—had supported the open-shop movement, by 1916 they regarded national unions such as the American Federation of Labor as permanent fixtures of the American economy, and urged negotiation and concord. [3]

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the National War Labor Board formed by President Woodrow Wilson asked the NICB to formulate plans that would keep war industries running and strife-free. Its recommendations—based on cooperation between representatives of employers, employees, and government—were adopted in full. [2] Though often mistrusted in its early years as an “employers union” funding studies against the labor movement, [4] the non-profit NICB was also seen “as a spokesman for the so-called progressive wing of the business community [and] produced hundreds of research reports on economic and social issues facing the United States.” [3]

Pioneering research published in this period include Woman Workers and Labor Supply, [5] The Eight-Hour Day Defined, [6] U.S. Cost of Living Index, and a series of reports on Workers' Compensation Acts in The United States. [7]

The organization today remains funded by the contributions of members, often Fortune 500 companies. By the 1930s, however, it had already lost most of its character as an industry lobby. Virgil Jordan, a writer and economist who replaced Alexander as president on the latter's death in 1932, established a Bureau of Economic Audit and Control to offer members and the public an independent source of studies on unemployment, pensions, healthcare, and related issues in the midst of the Great Depression, when many questioned the credibility of the government's economic statistics. [2] Unions soon joined the NICB alongside corporations for access to its research, conferences, and executive network.

The organization is considered an unbiased "trusted source for statistics and trends, second only to perhaps the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics". [8] After World War II, it expanded to non-U.S. members for the first time. In 1954, it founded The Conference Board of Canada in Montreal, which was spun off as an independent non-profit in 1981. In 1959, its first overseas CEO-level was held in Torquay, England, bringing together executives and board presidents from the US, UK, and Canada.

On January 1, 1970, the National Industrial Conference Board officially changed its name to The Conference Board. This followed the launch in 1967 of the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index , a monthly survey of households that remains its flagship economic indicator. In 1976, it added the Measure of CEO Confidence, which tracks the attitudes of chief executives regarding economic conditions overall and within their industry.

In 1996, the US Department of Commerce selected The Conference Board to produce and distribute the US leading economic indicator series.

In 2002, after an epidemic of business scandals, The Conference Board Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprise was convened. Composed of leaders from both the private and the public sectors, the Commission published a report with recommendations for best practices in corporate governance. [9]

In 2006, The Conference Board established its China Center for Economic and Business in Beijing as a resource for senior executives of multinational companies. [10]

In 2015, the Committee for Economic Development (CED) merged with The Conference Board as its US public-policy center. [11]

Today, The Conference Board has offices in New York, Brussels, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Singapore. [ citation needed ]

Regional Centers

The Conference Board produces research, convenes conferences, and organizes executive peer-learning councils through topical Centers based in business hubs around the globe. In the United States, it currently operates five Centers from New York City:

In Europe, The Conference Board hosts three Centers:

In the Asia-Pacific region, the organization hosts three Centers:

Additionally, The Conference Board operates a China Center for executives of multinational companies.

Economic indicators and data

The Conference Board publishes a number of regular indicators for United States and international economies that are widely tracked by investors, business leaders, and policy makers. They include:

Additional research

The Conference Board's research reports and experts are often featured in a wide range of global business media—from specialist trade publications to the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg News, Forbes and Fortune.

Notable examples include:

Benchmarking data

The Conference Board ESG Advantage software allows US public companies to benchmark their practices in various ESG areas, including environmental, human capital management, CEO and director compensation, board composition and governance, and shareholder voting. [41]

Awards

The Conference Board has received multiple awards.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Tranger, James. The New York Chronology: The Ultimate Compendium of Events, People and Anecdotes from the Dutch to the Present. ISBN   978-006052341-1. p. 356
  2. 1 2 3 "Conference Board timeline" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
  3. 1 2 "Collection: National Industrial Conference Board (NICB) records". Hagley Museum and Library Archives. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  4. ↑ Laue, J. Charles (1926-10-31). "LABOR AND CAPITAL TO BATTLE OVER UNIONISM; Campaign of American Federation of Labor to Combat Company Unions and To Organize Open Shop Industries Is Fought by Anti-Union Employers". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  5. ↑ Board, National Industrial Conference (1936). Women Workers and Labor Supply. National industrial conference board, Incorporated.
  6. ↑ Board, National Industrial Conference (1918). The Eight-hour Day Defined. The Board.
  7. ↑ Board, National Industrial Conference (1917). Workmen's Compensation Acts in the United States: The Legal Phase. National Industrial Conference Board.
  8. ↑ "CONFERENCE BOARD A TRUSTED RESOURCE". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  9. ↑ "The Conference Board Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprise" (PDF).
  10. ↑ "The Conference Board Launches China Center in 2006".
  11. ↑ Board, The Conference. "The Conference Board to Merge with the Committee for Economic Development". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  12. ↑ “Consumer Confidence: An Online NewsHour Special Report.” The Newshour with Jim Lehrer. PBS. May 2001. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/economy/jan-june01/confidence_5-29.html Archived 2013-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Staff, Investopedia (19 June 2005). "CEO Confidence Survey". Archived from the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  14. ↑ "European business confidence hits rock bottom". Financial Times. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  15. ↑ "China's CEOs have spoken, and new confidence index shows how multinationals' hopes turned 'sobering' in mere months". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  16. ↑ "Almost all CHROs say they're responsible for employee well-being, but most aren't investing in it, survey says". HR Brew. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  17. ↑ "The top priority for HR leaders in 2024". Fortune. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  18. ↑ "CMO+CCO Meter | The Conference Board".
  19. ↑ "2023 Salary Budgets Projected to Stay at 20-Year High but Trail Inflation". www.shrm.org. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  20. ↑ Weber, Lauren. "WSJ News Exclusive | Workers Are Happier Than They've Been in Decades". WSJ. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  21. ↑ "Conference Board: Composite Index Of Leading Indicators". 12 April 2005. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  22. ↑ "Press release" (PDF). www.conference-board.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
  23. ↑ "Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) Overview | Lightcast Knowledge Base". kb.lightcast.io. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  24. ↑ Gryta, Thomas (2022-01-13). "Inflation Surge Is on Many Executives' List of 2022 Worries". The Wall Street Journal . ISSN   0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  25. ↑ "A Tectonic Shift in Capitalism Is Underway. How Business Leaders Can Keep Up".
  26. ↑ "Boards aren't shouldering increased corporate responsibility, executives say".
  27. ↑ McGregor, Jena. "Analysis | Fewer companies are forcing CEOs to retire when they hit their golden years". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 2020-10-02. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  28. ↑ Murray, Alan. "After coronavirus, expect a 'new' Delta". Fortune . Archived from the original on 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  29. ↑ Fuhrmans, Vanessa (2019-04-24). "What's Keeping More Women From Board Seats: Little Turnover". The Wall Street Journal . ISSN   0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  30. ↑ Paine, Lynn S.; Srinivasan, Suraj (2019-10-14). "A Guide to the Big Ideas and Debates in Corporate Governance". Harvard Business Review. ISSN   0017-8012. Archived from the original on 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  31. ↑ Davidson, Paul. "Hey millennials, look out below! Gen Zers may already be catching up in the salary race". USA Today . Archived from the original on 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  32. ↑ McGregor, Jena. "Just 4% Of Employers Are Making Everyone Return To The Office Full-Time, Survey Finds". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  33. ↑ "Fix Social Security Now. Waiting Will Cost Us".
  34. ↑ "America's infrastructure has reached a breaking point. It's time to fix it".
  35. ↑ "To make US more cyber-resilient, government and business need far greater collaboration".
  36. ↑ "Health care spending, Medicare, workforce issues should get policymakers' attention". Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet. 2023-10-24. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  37. ↑ Decker, Paul; Fluhr, Howard; Olson, Camille (2023-04-25). "Without Immigration Reform, America's Labor Shortage is Here to Stay | RealClearPolicy". www.realclearpolicy.com. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  38. ↑ Morabito, Charlotte (2023-09-10). "U.S. debt is nearly $33 trillion. But some economists say not all debt is bad". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  39. ↑ Jacob Worenklein, Cynthia Warner and Lori Esposito Murray (2023-09-20). "The climate work we must do now to meet our 2050 goals". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  40. ↑ Cindy Cisneros, opinion contributor (2020-05-15). "Working parents could face lack of child care as the economy restarts". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-04-12.{{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  41. ↑ Segal, Mark (2020-07-16). "The Conference Board Launches ESG Benchmarking Platform for US Companies". ESG Today. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  42. ↑ "Crain's Best Places to work in NYC 2023". Crain's New York. Retrieved 2022-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  43. ↑ "Best Company Outlook 2024". Comparably. Retrieved 2022-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  44. ↑ "Best Places to Work 2023: New York Metropolitan Area". Comparably. Retrieved 2022-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  45. ↑ "Best Company Perks & Benefits 2023". Comparably. Retrieved 2022-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  46. ↑ "Happiest Employees 2023". Comparably. Retrieved 2022-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  47. ↑ "Best Compensation 2023". Comparably. Retrieved 2022-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  48. ↑ "Best Company Culture 2023". Comparably. Retrieved 2022-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  49. ↑ "Best Leadership Teams 2023". Comparably. Retrieved 2022-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

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