The Conference Board

#NavigatingWashington 🏛️ The President recently announced a plan for a “gold card” visa program to provide permanent residency and a “path to citizenship” that would cost $5 million and replace the EB-5 program. Although Congress would have to authorize such a change, the potential elimination of the EB-5 program has many in #CommercialRealEstate concerned.     Understanding Existing #Visa Programs 🪪 The current #EB5 visa program has helped fund huge #RealEstate projects, including New York’s #HudsonYards and #TheWharf in Washington, DC, through #ForeignInvestment. EB-5 visa holders invest roughly $1 million into job-creating projects as part of their paths to #GreenCards.      Impact on #ProjectFinancing 💸 The existing program raised more than $2 billion in each of the last two years, with the majority directed to commercial real estate projects, including office, industrial, and multi-family residential properties. ▪️ This has been particularly useful during a time of high #InterestRates and constrained lending.    ▪️ Foreign investors using the EB-5 program are seeking citizenship, not specific returns on investment, which has given latitude to commercial real estate developers.   ▪️ The developer of a 19-story residential tower described how financing through traditional capital markets could come with 10-12% interest rates, compared to only 5-7% with EB-5 investors, cutting the cost of capital significantly.      #TheTCBTake 💡 The Administration should make sure replacing the EB-5 program with the #goldcard does not reduce the foreign investment market for real estate financing and that terms are clear.    ▪️ The proposed “gold card” references $5 million being paid as a fee or donation, not as an investment, which would be paid back (as it is with the EB-5 program). Understanding who would receive this fee, and how it would be invested in the US economy, has not been detailed.   ▪️This creates uncertainty for real estate developers seeking foreign investment. As currently described, the “gold card” program could shrink the pool of investors, due to bringing up the cost of entry to $5 million from about $1 million with the EB-5 program. Read more daily #NavigatingWashington updates from The Conference Board: https://lnkd.in/ePiWm4Ns

How did L'Oréal evolve from a century-old #beauty company to a globally recognized leader in tech? 💅 Matthew DiGirolamo, L'Oréal North America's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, joined our Denise Dahlhoff to discuss the decade-long journey that transformed the image of a venerated #cosmetics brand into the pioneer of #beautytech. His story illustrates the power of internal and external #storytelling — and how #communications professionals can become "supernatural mentors" to the innovators and change agents within their own organizations. The Conference Board thanks all the attendees and speakers who joined us in NYC this week for #CorporateCommunications: Driving the Business Forward. See you next year at #tcbCorpComms 2026! Early registration is open here: https://lnkd.in/d_pfGRCa

How can companies weather the storm of public controversy at a time of record #polarization and media #fragmentation? 🌩️ According to a special panel at this week's #tcbCorpComms event, it starts long before the #crisis hits. Leaders need to cultivate the "emotional buffer" of a longstanding #reputation with stakeholders—and leverage data to uncover and understand all the constituencies at stake as platforms proliferate. Ready to learn more? 💡 Connect with the experts and companies in this fascinating conversation, moderated by our Jan Botz: ▪️ Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, Global EVP, Chief Strategist, The RepTrak Company ▪️ Lisa Kaplan, Founder & CEO, Alethea ▪️ Greg Efthimiou, Vice President, Public Relations, GoDaddy

March 8 marks #InternationalWomensDay, a day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women and calling for greater #genderparity. With a long history of supporting initiatives for women, The Conference Board continues to take a thought leadership role in advancing women in the workplace. That thought leadership includes Trusted Insights for What's Ahead™ in the form of reports, analyses, and events supporting the empowerment of women.

#NavigatingWashington 🏛️ The President has issued an “America First Investment Policy” that will have significant implications for inbound and outbound #investment, particularly regarding China.    What does it say? 📜  ▪️ It praises #ForeignInvestment in the US from allies and partners while also promising new restrictions on investment from defined “foreign adversaries” (China, North Korea, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela).   ▪️ It also includes restrictions on US outbound investment, including from #FinancialServices companies and #PensionFunds.   ▪️ Finally, it proposes revisions to reviews of foreign investment by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (#CFIUS).     Why it matters 💵  ▪️ As the Nippon Steel/US Steel acquisition showed, foreign investment in the US can be difficult. For some investors, the new “fast-track” program will be a welcome alternative to the CFIUS process; for others, it may force difficult choices about dropping partnerships in China as a condition of investment in the US.  ▪️ The Policy includes a broad definition of #CriticalInfrastructure that China won't be permitted to acquire, including food supplies and farmland. It argues that China and other foreign adversaries “systematically direct and facilitate investment in [US] companies and assets to obtain cutting-edge technologies, intellectual property, and leverage in strategic industries.”   ▪️ The Policy further argues that Chinese access to US capital markets helps US “investors to finance and advance the development and modernization of its military.”  ▪️ The Policy promises strong restrictions on outbound investments in China from financial services firms while “allowing only those investments that serve American interests.”  ▪️ Regulations to follow the Policy will be key in determining how far these restrictions will go in practice.     Read more from The Conference Board 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ejJU6ukK  

With so much in flux these days, many CEOs are in waiting mode when it comes to hiring and other business decisions. My conversation this morning with Bill Simon and CNBC’s Frank Holland: https://lnkd.in/eH7WPZtZ

Each year, our Reimagined Workplace survey explores the ways businesses are navigating the rapidly evolving workplace. From #hybrid and #remote work to #recruitment and #retention to #wellbeing and #AI, how is your business adapting to an uncertain economic and geopolitical landscape? Take our short survey and share your perspective. https://lnkd.in/eMV2nT2x

📢 What’s a Little 25% #Tariff Among Friends? Tariffs on imports from #Canada, #Mexico, and #China could push U.S. #inflation up by 0.6% over four quarters, according to The Conference Board modeling. Consumers will feel the bite—but what’s the long-term plan? 🎧 Join Steve Odland and Erin McLaughlin, Senior Economist, as they break down: 🔹 Why tariffs might just be a negotiating tool 🔹 The reality of reshoring—and why “Made in the USA” isn’t so simple 🔹 How businesses are adjusting to trade uncertainty Listen now: Website: https://lnkd.in/er6T23Nx Apple: https://apple.co/3J0xrhQ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3vAxkGM YouTube Music: https://bit.ly/3vBY0XL #Tariffs #TradePolicy #Economy #Inflation #Reshoring #tcbPodcast 🎧 #CSuitePerspectives

#NavigatingWashington 🌊 The new Administration's tidal wave of executive orders and actions has created widespread uncertainty and anxiety among workers.    Who has been impacted? 💥   Especially affected are those working in #diversity, #equity & #inclusion (DEI), international aid, and certain research program areas; federal government employees; and employees of federal government contractors. Hundreds of thousands of #FederalWorkers alone have been laid off, put on leave, or face imminent termination.     Supporting employee #wellbeing 🤲   People leaders need to rise to the occasion with human skills to help remaining employees maintain their #productivity and well-being as they navigate the repercussions of these actions and anticipate further disruption.     Why it matters 🫶  Human skills, or #SoftSkills, constitute people’s ability to relate to one another and are cognitive and behavioral in nature. That’s in contrast to hard skills, which involve technical knowledge and abilities and are more easily quantified. In times of extreme turbulence and uncertainty, people leaders must prioritize drawing upon their human skills in support of their workers.     #TheTCBTake 💡  During times of great instability, people leaders can draw upon their human skills to practice active listening, communicate transparently, provide hope through honesty and positivity, and model self-care. These actions will earn trust—helping them and their workers weather the storm.      Read more from The Conference Board 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eWaaEtrp   

📊 #Shareholder activism campaigns have grown significantly in recent years due to several factors, including a broader investor focus beyond financial performance, regulatory changes, and the emergence of new types of #activists. Indeed, from 2021 to 2024, the number of shareholder activism campaigns in the Russell 3000 nearly doubled. But despite this increase, success rates for activists dropped significantly during this timeframe. Stay up to date on proxy season trends using our tool #tcbBenchmarking: https://lnkd.in/gtsHDJru Read our proxy preview report produced with ESGAUGE - ESG Intelligence & Analytics, Russell Reynolds Associates, and Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance: https://lnkd.in/gmE_zjU3 #ESG #corporategovernance #shareholderactivism #proxyseason #ESGtrends #sustainability #businessstrategy #stakeholderengagement