FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2007
Contact:
Fern Marcya Edison, 845-679-6319 or

Eric Yaverbaum, 914-834-2199
Fortune 1000 CEO Father's Survey shows a healthy dose of involved parenting

The annual report gets less hours than helping with homework

(NEW YORK; JUNE 6, 2007) While they may be challenged to use the copy machine (31%) or program their BlackBerrys (62%), a recent survey of 110 CEO's of the Fortune 1000 (who also have the title of dad ) conducted by Ericho Communications shed some interesting light on juggling at the top. While only 19% of those surveyed knew how to program their speed dial and a paltry 17% claimed to have known how to make their own travel arrangements on the internet...a very healthy 68% knew when their kids' last test was.

While 38% of dads in the top spot spend 3-5 hours a week helping their kids with homework, they spend 31.5 hours a year reviewing the annual report before it goes to print. As Father's Day celebrates the role of dad...will these CEO's even turn off their blackberries? A respectable number (31%) have vowed not to be checking in with the office on holidays and an even healthier number (46%) will be with their kids the entire day on June 17th.

With the debate over work-life balance being continually discussed from the dining room to the boardroom, it seems evident that these top dads may have struck a perfect harmony. Well...if not a perfect harmony, they have some respectable priorities. Although the majority said they spend more time with their staff (58%) than they do with their family...when it comes to the kids, more (59%) said they would walk out of a meeting running late rather than miss their kids sporting event. And if it was a piano recital, even better (69%)! It might be depressing news for anyone with a title below Vice President whose CEO does not know their name (69%), but a great sign for their kids whose big shot dads (59%) know the names of three of their friends at school.

Ericho's President and Founder Eric Yaverbaum is currently conducting research for his fourth book and second on leadership--Everything Leadership (Adams, January '08). His first--Leadership Secrets of the World's Most Successful CEO's (Dearborn 2004)--was inspired by his decade-long role in the global and highly selective Young Presidents Organization. Yaverbaum says he's "spent a good part of my 25-year career learning and absorbing best practices of some of America's most inspiring and successful business leaders. As the work life balance rages on in the C-Suite, I thought it would be an interesting time to look at fathers at the top, right before the one day of the year they are honored amongst all dads across the country." He adds, "one of the fundamental qualities of great leadership of large organizations is a keen sense of prioritizing the best and highest use of time." As a father myself, I'm encouraged and inspired to see that parenting remains high on that list amongst today's top business leaders. That's some good role modeling for an awful lot of people!"