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CHAPTER FOUR | MITIGATING RISK, SEIZING OPPORTUNITY
“It was important that they understood that I was going to demand respect from them as an individual and as chairman and CEO,” Considine said. There was no time for Considine to ease into the job. She had to oversee the integration of DTC, NSCC, Government Securities Clearing Corporation and International Securities Clearing Corporation. She outlined a 100-day plan to integrate the four companies into a single global organization, but before she could focus on execution, she first had to manage the Y2K issue. Computer codes written in the 1960s were done using a two-digit code for the year, omitting the 19 that marked the century. As the century turned to 20, there were concerns that this could create a massive malfunction, rendering any technology useless. “Everybody was terrified of it,” Considine said. “We thought that might be the end of the world as we knew it. People were taking it incredibly seriously— hiring programmers, rewriting systems, making certain that we had the right dates in place. It was a real threat—a big concern.” DTC did what it always did in a crisis—it tested various scenarios. “It was a matter of going through the checklist, testing, testing, testing, and that was going fine,” Considine said. With the crisis averted, Considine set about on her integration plan, including changing the name of the organization to The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). Despite the new name and branding, Considine knew among her first priorities would be resolving cultural differences among the organizations. While the merger had brought Considine into leadership, some of the core leaders came from NSCC. “It was a lot of trade-offs. We were trying to integrate the company, and we really needed to take both parts and put them together,” Considine said. “NSCC was very innovative, and that had to be honored and reflected, while DTC stood for safety and soundness. It was a beautiful combination.” Another business imperative for Considine was infusing fresh ideas and new approaches into the firm. Too many of the executives at the combined company had significant longevity and tended to hire people with their same mindset. “We needed diversity of thinking if we were going to be successful at a time when the company and the industry were undergoing rapid change.” This prompted Considine to tell leaders that a diverse slate of candidates would need to be interviewed for all open positions. “It wasn’t called diversity and inclusion at the time, but we were certainly at the forefront before most other companies.” With the integration moving forward and Y2K in the rearview mirror, Considine and her executive team turned their attention to pursuing additional opportunities outside of the United States. ■
Patrick Murphy of J.P. Morgan Investment Management, Inc. (left) looks over an ID System Reference Guide
with DTC’s Ken Spinelli and Karen Assenza, both of the ID group.
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