Do you know where the second largest vault in the Federal Reserve is located? Houston, Texas. When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, what happened behind the scenes? How did people come together? Last week, EPIcenter CEO Kimberly Britton convened a half-day summit, Disaster Disabled | Resilience Reinvented, that walked business leaders through questions to consider, scenarios to revisit, assets to protect, and response success stories.
From Navigant Managing Director Jan Vrins discussing climate change and resiliency, to a panel on grid resilience featuring the Chamber’s 2018 Chair-elect and CPS Energy President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams, the early morning discussions set the stage for the summit. When quantifying the effect of disasters, Vrins encouraged attendees to consider loss of business in addition to physical damage – which companies closed their doors? How quickly could goods move in and out of a city? Gold-Williams emphasized that resilience is key to prevention, as well as a quick recovery – which includes personnel, as well as physical and cyber infrastructure.
A panel of CPS Energy employees shared their experiences from Puerto Rico, how they adapted to local conditions, and pushed past the minimum expectations to get people connected again. San Antonio EDF CEO Jenna Saucedo-Herrera moderated a discussion regarding local businesses and their responses to disaster, which included USAA, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Amegy Bank, and HOLT CAT. Most striking from that conversation: the emphasis on employees’ mental and emotional health and the need to have updated contact information for every employee. When disaster strikes, there are long-term effects that managers and executives need to be aware of, and respond to with empathy, flexibility, and patience.
Sprinkled throughout the summit were case studies featuring local startups – two of the most compelling: Moses West, founder of Paladin Water Technology, and Matthew Marchetti, co-founder of Crowd Source Rescue. West is transforming water purification and access in Vieques, Puerto Rico, and Marchetti coordinated 14,000 boats during Hurricane Harvey rescue efforts. The Summit wrapped up with a dynamic discussion around IT assets with Lui Chambers of Langley & Banack, Chuck Rodriguez of Rackspace, Bret Piatt of Jungle Disk, and James Turgal, Jr. of Deloitte. Understanding which operations are critical to your business maximizes resources during a disaster. If telephone systems are down, for example, do you really need them immediately, or would you rather focus on a crucial platform or data center? To harden your workforce, are you rewarding your staff for coming forward when they click on a phishing email, or are you shaming them and cutting off a relationship needed to prevent future incidents?
In order to prepare for disasters – whether they are natural or manmade – the change management process is critical. Business continuity plans should address how to deal with sudden changes when something does not function appropriately. The EPIcenter leadership and staff presented an excellent slate of speakers who provided insight into how to respond to disasters, and remain resilient.
