The days of the face-to-face meeting in a conference room might have just ended, as Meettheboss.com is providing executive-level, peer-to-peer communications over the Internet, enabling real-time, secure communication during the global financial crisis.
The exclusive, invitation-only website, created in March by GDS International, a Bristol, England-based publisher and conference organizer, looks to differentiate itself from Facebook.com or LinkedIn.com, social networking sites that are free and open to all, by capping membership at 50,000 top-suite executives. Meettheboss.com went live online Sept. 8.
“We are not trying to be Facebook or LinkedIn, but a secure site for executives to communicate with one another,” said John Funnell, marketing director at GDS International.
The site features live weekly executive video interviews, moderated discussion groups, video conferencing, instant messaging and secure e-mail via an executive's profile page. There are now 20,000 members, including top-echelon executives from HSBC Bank USA NA, New York; Fortis Investments, New York; International Business Machines Corp., Armonk, N.Y.; Barclays Bank PLC, London; and others.
Adrian Danescu, executive vice president and chief information officer at Manufacturers Bank, Los Angeles, has been a user of Meettheboss.com since mid-2007 and likes the exclusivity the site offers him.
“You have to have certain limits on participation, and I want to deal with high C-level people,” Mr. Danescu said. “There are so many groups on LinkedIn, I give up trying to find what I need because of all the groups and members.” — John D'Antona Jr.
