From left to right: George Fontas of Capalino; Guy Franklin of Israeli Mapped in NY; Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer; Neil Giacobbi of AT&T; Andrew Rasiej, Founder of the Personal Democracy Forum.

Technology and innovation in New York City is booming. However, the success of a company is no longer driven by just profits or growth, but also how well the company can do for the community in which it operates. That’s why Capalino is proud to support City&State’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) awards, an innovative breakfast series, which recognizes individuals for their outstanding commitment to CSR.  The event series’ latest installment on July 29, 2015 honored leaders in New York’s Technology, Telecommunications and New Media sectors.

The breakfast, which took place at Hunter College, consisted of an award ceremony featuring remarks by Minerva Tantoco, Chief Technology Officer of NYC, and Jay Hershenson, Senior Vice Chancellor of CUNY as well as a “Thought Leadership” panel featuring George Fontas, Executive Vice President of Capalino

George Fontas (left) and Guy Franklin (right)

George Fontas joined Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Neil Giacobbi of AT&T and Guy Franklin of Israeli Mapped in NY for a thought provoking panel discussion moderated by Andrew Rasiej, Founder of the Personal Democracy Forum. The panelists discussed what strategies companies can use in order to maximize the effectiveness of CSR in the growing technology sector. Discussion was focused not only on how to do CSR, but also the value and the need for CSR in tech as well.

George oversees the firm’s efforts in legislative action, public-private regulatory negotiations, and plays a key strategic role in our clients’ efforts to secure elected official and community support for major initiatives. Leveraging his knowledge from developing successful strategies for our technology clients, George discussed how the City can better engage the growing tech sector delivering the critical message that technology presents a great tool for government to better serve its residents. With the increased focus on innovation and CSR, NewYork City has a unique opportunity to develop strategic partnerships with some of the fastest-growing and most successful companies in the world.

“New workers are coming into the marketplace,” says George Fontas of Capalino. “Not only is CSR beneficial for the company’s bottom line and employee retention, but if you take a civic perspective, the number and strength of these CSR programs can increase in partnership with the City of New York and the number of initiatives the City is already taking.”

George emphasized how growing CSR programs from a corporate perspective in partnership with New York City offers an opportunity for scalability unlike anything happening in-house.

“There are outstanding opportunities for the tech community in partnering with the City of New York in the space of CSR,” said George. “By partnering with the City, you can leverage the dollars and talent you have in-house to reach a wider audience both from a geographic perspective and also from a diversified perspective.”

Stanley Litow, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs at IBM, receives the Chairman’s Award.

When asked the most effective way to measure the success of CSR efforts, George responded: “public-private partnerships”.

“Look at the number of public-private partnerships grown, how many people they are affecting, what they are doing, how much money is being spent. The easiest and most direct way to measure CSR is when government works as the convener for larger initiatives.”

David Hantman, Global Head of Public Policy at Airbnb, was honored with the award “Outstanding Disaster Relief Support in New York & Worldwide.”

Stanley Litow, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs at IBM, received the Chairman’s Award. In his remarks, he gave a stirring speech about the future of CSR.

“Take your greatest assets and use them for the greatest good,” said Litow. Litow is speaking to something that we at Capalino believe strongly: CSR works best when you use the talent and skills of your employees to do good for the community.

This breakfast was the fourth in a series of multiple ceremonies honoring CSR efforts in a variety of sectors, including: Law and Accounting, Technology, Banking, Hospitality, Sports and Retail. The winners of the awards were chosen by the public following a nomination process on City&State’s website.  The next breakfast will spotlight CSR in Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals on September 10, 2015 at Baruch College.

CSR Award Winners: 

• David Hantman – Global Head of Public Policy, Airbnb
  Outstanding Disaster Relief Support in New York & Worldwide
• Timothy Armstrong – Chairman & CEO, AOL
  Lifetime Achievement Award
• Stanley Litow – Vice President of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, IBM
  Chairman’s Award
• John Sabey – President, Sabey
  Outstanding Achievement in Promoting Energy Sustainability for the Internet Economy & Collaborative Genomic Research
• Max Haot – President & CEO, Livestream
  Broadcaster Award for Innovation in Technology and New Media
• Neil Capel – Founder & Chairman, Sailthru
  Vanguard Award for Innovating a 21st-Century Workplace at Sailthru
• Julie Chun – Senior Director of Human Resources, IAC
  Special Leadership Award for Excellence in Promoting Workplace Diversity in New York’s Technology
• Jessica Klein – Open Web Designer, Bocoup
  Excellence in Promoting Community Engagement, Education & Transparency through Technology
• Lou Kerner – Manager, The Israel Syndicate
  Outstanding Innovations in Community Engagement through Social Media
• John Katzman – CEO, The Noodle Companies LLC
  Outstanding Achievement in Promoting Education & Student Safety through Innovation & Technology
• Darryl Ramesy – Business Development Manager & Technical Strategist for State & Local Governments, Juniper Networks
  Outstanding Achievement in Community Engagement, Education & the Promotion of Supply-Chain Ethics
• Thomas Devito – Vice President & General Manager of NY & NJ, AT&T
  Excellence in Volunteerism, Education & Community Engagement

For more coverage on this event, read our blog post: George Fontas to Serve as Panelist at City&State’s Corporate Social Responsibility Awards for Technology, Telecommunications + New Media

Corporate Social Responsibility is now part of the DNA of many of the world’s leading companies. That’s why Capalino has developed our CSR practice – we assist New York firms in developing meaningful programs in which to invest their time, talent and resources to maximize their impact in the communities in which they operate. That’s also why we are so pleased to sponsor this important award series, which allows us the opportunity to recognize and showcase the individuals who are leading the way in this important field.

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