Boardrooms, Training Facilities and Presentation Centers - Brief Article

Chief Executive, The, March, 2000 by David English

Privacy and security are big, big issues, says Costello Maione Schuch's Chris Maione. His firm handles many of the top financial institutions in New York City. Most of the boardrooms that CMS has been involved with undergo bug sweeps before each meeting. Some of CMS clients perform a bug sweep of the whole building, while others continually limit access to the floor of the building that contains the boardroom.

Thinking about using a wireless microphone? Think again. A Fisher Price baby listening device picks up a wireless microphone just fine, says Maione. Corporate spies could also use an inexpensive scanner radio to monitor the conversation. As a result of advancing technologies, companies have to rethink their usual ways of doing business. One company had spent many thousands of dollars to equip its boardroom with the latest privacy measures only to discover that the board members used cell phones inside the boardroom to discuss confidential mergers. The inexpensive scanner radio that can be used to pick up a wireless microphone can also be used to pick up cell phone conversations.

One of the more elaborate measures that corporations use to ensure the privacy of their meetings includes vibrating the walls and windows to evade eavesdropping. We flush the walls with white noise to prevent external eavesdropping devices or devices that might be fixed to the walls, says Maione. He installs tiny speakers into the wall that emit a steady stream of static. You don't hear it, because the noise is in the wall. Instead of picking up the boardroom conversation, a listening device detects only the noise. CMS has installed several of these systems, which are completely hidden from view. Another common method for preventing electronic surveillance is to install a half-inch sheet of lead or copper around the entire room.

If walls have ears, so do windows. Most boardrooms are situated in a corner office with a spectacular view, explains Maione. You can point a laser at a window and pick up the voices within the room. The glass vibrates from the voices, and the laser measures the vibration. The guy at the other end has an earpiece and something that resembles a gun, which points a laser beam at the window. The best way to counter this form of corporate espionage is to mount tiny mechanical motors into the window frame to vibrate the glass. Like the white-noise wall speakers, the technology is hidden from view. The motors are usually installed above the ceiling line.

Maione has seen a broad range of boardroom-based security measures. We did a room with a hidden elevator door as a measure against terrorists, he says. Other anti-terrorist devices include boardroom entrances that automatically deadbolt or become impenetrable gates, enough stored food to last several days, and razor blades attached to the lining of the air conditioning ducts to prevent anyone from crawling through.

CEO Wants and Needs

One thing is certain in the process of designing and constructing a high-tech corporate boardroom: Most CEOs don't have the time to become involved in the technical details. However, Randy Triz, of New York-based Shen Milsom & Wilke, is spending more and more time talking with CEOs, CFOs, and presidents. They have a goal and vision for the room, he explains. They know that when it comes to their sweetheart room, they need to impart the information themselves. Triz says that executive involvement is especially important for high-tech board rooms because the technology can't run the meeting. If we're going to be successful, we need to obtain the most concise information -- and that has to come from the person with the vision that started the room.