Conflict of Interest

Statement of Principle: In the course of conducting normal business, the potential exists for a conflict of interest between Phocuswright, Phocuswright representatives and its clients and between one client and another. Phocuswright will take all practical measures to prevent either real conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest.

Scope: This policy generally addresses the Phocuswright sponsored Battleground, Summit and Launch series  and specifically the potential for conflicts of interest between the innovator participants and the Phocuswright sponsored Dragons who are widely respected business people with ties to the travel industry.

Objective: This policy is in place so that innovators are not unjustly berated by the Dragons and to maintain the integrity of the judging process and assure that all innovators receive a fair and impartial assessment through the voting process.

Identifying a Conflict of Interest: A conflict of interest between innovators and Dragons is deemed to exist if:

• A business relationship exists (or has existed in the past three years^*) between the innovator and a Dragon (and/or their companies). A business relationship includes – but is not limited to – a commercial relationship, a financial relationship, an advisory relationship or a member of the innovator's Board of Directors.
• Dragon's company is a direct competitor to the innovator's company and competes with a specific product.
  
  ^* Three years from the first day of the upcoming Phocuswright Conference. 

Managing Conflicts of Interest:
Innovators will be asked to review the list of Dragons and nominate Dragons for recusal based on this policy. Innovators may ask that other Dragons be recused but must explain why. Phocuswright reserves the final determination to itself.

Dragon Requirements:

• Dragons will be told to recuse themselves based on this policy.
• Dragons will be told to keep their remarks objective and refrain from inappropriate statements.
  At the beginning of each one-on-one session, Phocuswright moderators will control/lead the discussion and identify recusals and review the relevant parts of this policy in front of the innovator.
• Dragons that are recused may not vote or participate in direct discussions with the innovator. Recused
• Dragon's participation is limited to neutral comments in the closed session relating to the innovator's industry sector. The Phocuswright moderator will have the responsibility to ensure neutrality.

Information Barriers:
Prior to Battleground, Summit or Launch, some innovators desire that any information provided to Phocuswright be kept confidential. This confidentiality may range from suppressing any public mention of the innovator's participation in the event to nondisclosure of the products and/or services to be introduced at Battleground, Summit or Launch. Phocuswright will put information barriers (Chinese Walls) in place to ensure that the innovator's privacy wishes are honored by completing certain administrative processes in preparation of the conference. These processes include – but are not limited to – printing of conference programs and ordering graphics for kiosks.

Management of Conflicts of Interest:
Any person that encounters a potential for a conflict of interest that would potentially affect the benefits or awards of Battleground, Summit or Launch should contact a Phocuswright officer (Douglas Quinby, Cathy Plummer or Lorraine Sileo) immediately. Phocuswright would prefer to address conflict of issues proactively instead of reactively.