David L. Schwed, CIO & General Counsel for MASS Communications, was recently profiled on the Vistage blog, Executive Street. He and his partners discussed the power of peer advantage, a concept that is truly the driving force of Vistage.
David is a member of Vistage NYC CEO group. He manages MASS Communications information technology organization, plays a key role in formulating the company’s strategic direction, and is responsible for the oversight of all legal matters. He has more than seventeen years of Information Technology, Information Security, and Risk Management experience. Given his particular expertise and that the inclusion of a collaborative, group-oriented approach was so essential to the creation of MASS Communications, I followed up with David about his Vistage experience.
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Why did you decide to join Vistage?
I decided that I needed to join when I saw my partners’ excitement when they would return from their monthly Vistage meetings. There was such an incredible amount of knowledge that was gained from just that first session.
What is your most important take away to date?
That the problems we/I face running our company are not unique and that many businesses go through the same pains. It’s become somewhat therapeutic to be in a room with other business owners and discuss openly challenges and to solicit feedback.
What value does Vistage provide for you?
Definitely the different outlook on my company’s challenges from others in different industries. It’s great to hear how other companies are addressing similar challenges. The speakers have also all been amazing. I’ve been introduced to books and methodologies that were completely unknown to me prior to joining.
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Peer advisory groups are the best kept secret to an organization’s success. Learn more about the influence of peer groups in The Power of Peers, out March 22.
