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DSS FOCI Conferences
Once a year, the Defense Security Service holds two annual FOCI Conferences, one for Outside Directors and Proxy Holders operating under a FOCI mitigation agreement and one for Facility Security Officers operating under a FOCI mitigation agreement. The conferences are designed to educate companies operating under FOCI mitigation about new process and policies affecting the DSS FOCI program. Attendance is highly recommended, but is not mandatory. The conferences are only open to companies that are CURRENTLY operating under DSS FOCI mitigation instruments; Voting Trust Agreement, Proxy Agreement, Special Security Agreement and Security Control Agreement.
Announcements
2013 FOCI Conferences Scheduled
The 2012 FOCI Conferences which were cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy have been rescheduled for March 2013; specifically:
- March 26, 2013 for Outside Directors and Proxy Holders
- March 27, 2013 for Facility Security Officers operating under FOCI
The conferences will be held at the MITRE Corporation in McLean, VA. Detailed information to include registration requirement will be distributed to qualified individuals in early 2013.
2011 FOCI Conference Overview:
The Defense Security Service held its annual Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) Conference in November 2011, for companies operating under DSS FOCI mitigation. The event was designed for two audiences; day one for Outside Directors and Proxy Holders, and day two for Facility Security Officers (FSO).
DSS established this event to help educate industry's Outside Director, Proxy Holder and FSO communities on current DSS and FOCI related issues, as well as provide a forum for contractor input regarding the DSS FOCI mitigation and oversight program.
The conference opened with DSS Director Stan Sims welcoming attendees, and presenting an overview of the current state of DSS and his vision for the future of the agency. The keynote speaker, Brett Lambert, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics), shared his perspectives on foreign investment in the defense industrial base and the current challenges facing DoD in the globalized market.
"Foreign investments are becoming increasingly more globalized, more commercialized and more financially complex" said Lambert.
Later in the day, The Honorable Michael Oxley, a current Proxy Holder and co-author of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, discussed and answered questions regarding corporate governance within the role of Corporate Board members; specifically the importance of public board financial transparency as it relates to risks and controls outlined in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Act set new and enhanced standards for all U.S. public company boards, management and public accounting firms, and addresses corporate accountability and responsibility.
Other presentations offered by DSS subject matter experts featured topics such as FOCI Oversight, Cybersecurity, and Counterintelligence. To close out the first day, a panel of DSS experts fielded questions from the audience. Many of the topics presented by DSS on the first day of the conference were also presented on the second day for the FSOs.
In addition, Martin Faga, former CEO of MITRE Corporation and current Outside Director and Proxy Holder, spoke on the relationship between the FSOs and the Outside Directors and Proxy Holders. Faga commented on the importance of teamwork between the FSOs and the Government Security Committee, emphasizing how they must work in tangent to ensure compliance in their mitigation agreements.
At the end of the day, three industry FSOs—Jennifer Brown with iDirect Technologies, Dennis Burnett with EADs North America, Inc., and Daniel Crosby with DRS Technologies—participated in a panel and answered questions regarding best practices for FSOs under DSS FOCI mitigation. During the panel session an audience member asked how a new company and a new corporate FSO should grow their staff s. Crosby responded by discussing the importance of establishing internal standards and having regular meetings with all facility FSOs to ensure consistency across the facilities.
In all, more than 300 Outside Directors, Proxy Holders and FSOs attended this event. Many of the Outside Directors and Proxy Holders are retired flag officers and former senior government officials. This annual event, which launched in 1989, was originally set for one day for only Outside Directors and Proxy Holders. In 2010, DSS hosted the first FSO conference. Based on feedback from the FSO community, DSS has decided to make their involvement an annual event.
The following presentations are from the 2011 FOCI Conference held on November 1, 2011 and the FOCI Facility Security Officer Conference held on November 2, 2011:
