Summary

One of the most important roles in the C-suite is ownership of company ethics, culture, and policy. Who better to give us insights than someone who spearheads this role at a company that’s navigated these waters for over 123 years?! Enter Beth Rose, Chief Compliance, Ethics, & Integrity Officer at Ford Motor Company.

Beth and I sit down to discuss the career and personal path – and, importantly, key choices along the way – remember every decision we make is, in fact, a “choice” – that propelled her into the C-suite at Ford. Beth learned the ropes by tackling multiple in-house Legal responsibilities, gradually moving from general litigation to being a corporate law specialist at Ford.

We discuss how compliance and ethics are viewed at Ford which, despite being a large, family-owned enterprise, stands out for its ethical corporate culture. We also cover the complexities of developing and launching compliance policies, administering integrity training, and running Ford’s “speak up” hotline. Further, we hit on technology and regulatory issues that are a constant in the industry, both in the US and globally.

Beth also touches on the importance of clear and effective corporate communication, especially in a multinational environment with a diverse workforce. For example, maintaining consistency in company policy and culture across different geographical regions can pose challenges, particularly in a hybrid work setting and during times of corporate shift like we all are experiencing. As such, Beth emphasizes the necessity of strong internal relationships and effective communication to manage through these challenges. Using data and feedback to measure the success of compliance programs is crucial, moving beyond simplistic metrics that may not capture the full context of an issue.

We wrap up our discussion with Beth’s personal reflections on career development, the value of mentoring, and the significance of vulnerability, all of which lead to growth and provide insights into the human aspects of how you can navigate your own company’s ethics, integrity and compliance program.

Bio

Beth Rose joined Ford Motor Company as an attorney in 1995 after graduating from Wayne State University Law School. Throughout her career with Ford, she has managed various aspects of the Company’s litigation and compliance program.

Beth previously served as Assistant General Counsel with responsibility for the Product Litigation Group, comprised of the Product Litigation, Asbestos, and Discovery teams. In 2019, Beth became Ford’s Chief Compliance, Ethics, and Integrity Officer and Assistant General Counsel, responsible for the Company’s global ethics and compliance program.

In addition to a juris doctorate, Beth holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Beth is also a board member of Vista Maria, a Michigan non-profit that provides residential and support services for girls and young women dealing with trauma.

Beth is a champion for the development of women, particularly within the legal profession. She has experience curating and delivering career development programming within Ford and the broader legal community. In 2016, Beth established the Legal Alliance for Women (LAW) at Ford, creating a forum for members of OGC to work together on leadership, service, and networking initiatives. Beth also led the OGC Diversity Committee for several years, with a focus on developing and fostering a pipeline of diverse talent within the legal profession. She is actively involved in pro bono, community service, and mentoring projects.

Beth is married and has two daughters.

Summary

In the course of this in-depth conversation, Larry McDonald – author of How to Listen When Markets Speak and CEO of Bear Traps Report – delves deep into the financial insights acquired from his global network, discussing the major economic shifts and their impact on financial markets, as captured in his latest book. His intention is to democratize financial information, moving away from traditional, bank-dominated imprints on markets. This democratization is partly driven by technological advancements that increase access to critical financial data. Our conversation broadens into the implications of recent economic upheavals such as the COVID-19 pandemic, hinting at persistent inflation and the need for strategic financial planning, going forward.

We further explore passive investing's role in current market dynamics, highlighting how long-term disinflationary trends have buoyed such investments, which now face risks from potential normalization of inflation rates. Larry is rightly concerned about heavy investments in financial assets like growth stocks and bonds, favored from 2010 to 2020, that might not perform well under high inflation. Our conversation then transitions into a review of macroeconomic trends, government debt, and the implications of current fiscal and monetary policies. Each topic uncovers deeper concerns about the sustainability of current financial strategies and the potential need for drastic changes in the face of evolving global economic conditions, such as shifts towards multipolarity and its impact on commodity markets.

Finally, we dig into some of Larry's go-to websites and resources for information and news. Enjoy!

Larry's Bio

Larry McDonald, a New York Times bestselling author and a seasoned CNBC contributor, excels as a Political Risk Expert. He founded The Bear Traps Report, an independent weekly Macro Research Platform that delves into global political and systemic risks, providing subscribers with actionable trading insights. Larry is renowned for his ability to intertwine humor with critical analyses on topics such as the Trump Administration, the U.S. Financial Crisis, European Sovereign Debt issues, and the economic challenges facing China.

In 2016, Larry took on a partnership role at ACG Analytics in Washington D.C., leveraging his expertise as one of the foremost political policy risk consultants and strategists. His professional journey includes significant tenure as Managing Director and Head of U.S. Macro Strategy at Société Générale from 2011 to 2016. Furthermore, he founded an investment research firm in 2010 that publishes The Bear Traps Report, focusing on political and systemic risks, complemented by actionable trading strategies. Larry is also a frequent presence on CNBC, where he discusses political and economic risks and opportunities.

Before his current endeavors, Larry McDonald made notable contributions to the finance world as Vice President at Lehman Brothers. There, he successfully led his team in capitalizing on the subprime mortgage crisis, securing over $2 billion in profits for the firm prior to its collapse. This experience formed the basis for his international bestseller, A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers, which has been translated into 12 languages and sold over 400,000 copies. Earlier, Larry co-founded Convertbond.com, an innovative resource for convertible securities, which was later acquired by Morgan Stanley in 1999. His insights are not only sought after in financial circles but have also featured in documentaries such as the Academy Award-winning "Inside Job" and National Geographic’s "The 2000’s." Larry continues to contribute regularly to Bloomberg TV and Radio, Forbes, and Fox Business. His keynote speeches, which now exceed 125 worldwide.

Barak Turovsky is Executive in Residence at Scale Venture Partners, a leading Enterprise venture capital firm. Barak spent 10 years at Google as Head of Product and User Experience for Languages AI and the Google Translate teams, focused on applying cutting edge Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies to deliver experiences across Google Search, Assistant, Cloud, Chrome, Ads and other products.

Prior to joining Google in 2011, Barak was Director of Product in Microsoft’s Mobile Advertising team, Head of Mobile Commerce at PayPal and Chief Technical Officer in an Israeli start up. Most recently, Barak served as Chief Product Officer – responsible for product management and engineering at Trax – a leading provider of Computer Vision AI solutions for the Retail and Commerce industries.

He lived for more than 10 years in Russia, Israel and the US and speaks three languages fluently. Barak earned a Bachelor’s of Law degree from Tel Aviv University and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.

Barak’s recent work on AI:

• A framework for evaluating Generative AI use cases.
• Barak's interview with GLG Experts Network about Generative AI
• Keynote at CES 2021 about latest and greatest in Languages AI
• Talk at CES 2020 about dealing with bias in AI models (super relevant for ChatGBT/Generative AI)
• Google AI work with Google Ads team to improve ads targeting (Semantic Targeting)
• The Great AI awakening story from New York Times (covering the first-ever productization of deep neural networks with Google Translate), is one of best written stories about ML/AI history and challenges
• Barak presentation to Indian Prime Minister Modi when he visited Google campus
• For some fun – Google Translate vs. La Bamba (Google Translate team playing with visual, AR-based translation feature)

Cool investment thesis resource:
Y Combinator Investment Thesis Map for AI (Note: once again, “Productivity” hardly a big theme)