Another busy year in the world of business ethics went by and left us with plenty to talk about. Nearly every week saw headlines of an individual (or business) who pushed the envelope in legal compliance, business ethics, sustainability or social responsibility. Most of the time, these headlines were for negative actions.
But not all was bad in 2008. Many individuals stood out for their positive achievements in the business ethics world as well. For that, we created this year’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics.
In order to develop the list, we reached out to a number of professors from notable business schools around the world to assemble an advisory board (for the names of the members of the advisory board see below). With the help of the advisory board, as well as a group of Ethisphere editors, writers and fact checkers, we were able to develop a list of 100 individuals from all around the world that greatly influenced the business ethics realm over the past year. All advisory panel members boldly gave up their right to be on this list (they all deserve to be) in order to help nominate others.
What is important to note about this list is that it rewards individuals who were influential this year, rather than over the course of their career. While many people on the list have a lifetime of positive achievements, these individuals made the list for their actions in 2008.
Below you’ll find 2008’s 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics. While you may not agree with the actions, political leanings or personality of some individuals on the list, there is no dispute that each one of them influenced business behavior over the course of the year.
The winners are broken down into the following nine core categories:
| Government and Regulatory Did the individual impact government rules or enforcement trends? |
Business Leadership Did the individual substantially transform a specific business’ operational practices consistent with profitable ethical leadership, forcing competitors to follow suit or fall behind? |
Non-Government Organization (NGO) Did the individual impact a company’s (or industry’s) practices through external, non-regulatory leadership either through positive collaboration or negative publicity for a positive end? |
| Design and Sustainability Did the individual substantially contribute to or lead a product or service redesign, which resulted in less natural resource use, or increased consumer acceptance of sustainability without diminishing the quality of the original product or service? |
Media and Whistleblowers Did the individual raise awareness on a critical issue or expose corruption? |
Thought Leadership Did the individual conceive of new approaches or otherwise materially contribute to the field of business ethics theory in a way that could be easily applied by corporate leaders? |
| Corporate Culture Did the individual show success to transforming the ethical culture and behavior of a corporation or institution, particularly if such corporation or institution previously had a less than ethical culture and values system? |
Investment and Research Did the individual impact corporate behavior through influencing investor decisions and the deployment of investment capital due to research or institutional fund management practices? |
Legal and Governance Did the individual impact any legal cases which set the precedents in corporate compliance, or influence trends or structure in effective corporate governance for public and/or private companies? |
Now, without further ado, we present to you 2008’s 100 Most Influential in Business Ethics:
The List:
Don’t forget to check out 2008’s Top Ten Individuals We Won’t Miss, and the 2008 100 Most Influential in Business Ethics Advisory Panel.
The Details:
1. Liu Qi – Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the 2008 Olympics
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? Stern on corruption
The Olympic Committee for the Beijing Olympics was said to be one of the most stringent ever in regards to anti-corruption/bribery in bids. So much so that it even outpaced western standards. This is a huge contrast to the typical stereotype of China which is often thought of as an opaque country. Could this be the beginning of a new era for China? We probably won’t see drastic change, but it shows that there is some concern, and that the possibility is out there. Liu Qi uses China’s definition of “tough enforcement” on these kinds of issues.
2. Neelie Kroes – European Commissioner for Competition
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? She busted cartels
Kroes fined Microsoft $1.35 Billion for failing to comply with an antitrust decision, regulated the broadcasting of English Soccer matches so that no one TV station will have exclusing broadcasting rights to all top flight matches, busted up the wax industry and all around very proactive as a regulator. She didn’t make quite the splash of last year, but still very deserving of a top spot on this year’s list.
3. The man formerly known as Heinrich Kieber – Former computer technician for LGT bank
Category: Media and Whistleblowers
Did What? He sold DVDs
Heinrich Keiber, or as he was known before entering the witness protection program, is the whistleblower that led to many tax evasion “busts.” These occurred most famously in Germany, as well as many other wealthy European and American individuals who were evading taxes through investments in a Liechtenstein bank. Billionaires and Liechtenstein authorities everywhere are outraged.
4. Kim Yong-chul – Former in-house lawyer for Samsung
Category: Media and Whistleblowers
Did What? He spoke up
After working for samsung for 7 years, Kim Yong-Chul blew the whistle on the company, alleging that they had an extensive network of bribing in place that included the Korean governmentt, the courts and the media. The fallout of this case was huge and led to the CEO of the company, Lee Kun-hee to publicly step down from his position.
5. Mark F. Mendelsohn – Deputy Chief of DOJ’s Fraud Section
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He found corruption
As the Department of Justice’s Deputy Chief of the Fraud Section, Criminal Division, Mendelsohn has more responsibility for regulating and enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act than anyone else. Add to that the FCPA’s high relevance and the supreme attention that the DOJ has given it this year, and you have a top contender for this year’s Most Influential in Business Ethics list.
6. Lee Scott – CEO of Wal-mart
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He invested in clean energy
In the top spot at Wal-Mart, Lee Scott continues his environmental/renewable energy crusade. On top of powering a number of Wal-Mart facilities with solar power in California, the company also announced that it had purchased enough wind power to supply up to 15 percent of the company’s energy needs in 360 Texas stores. This may be the last time that Scott is on the list, as he is stepping down as CEO in February and handing the reins of the company over to Mike Duke. 2009 could see a completely different Wal-Mart, as the company has already settled 63 wage and hour abuse lawsuits from employees, and might pay as much as $640 million to do so.
7. Shan Ramburuth – Head of South African Competition Commission
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He got fed up
Ramburuth was so fed up with the mumbles, groans and rumors of price fixing over bread, milk and other food items within South Africa, he decided to probe the entire South African food industry. Ramburuth suggested to the South African parliament that a median price mark-up from cartels was about 15 percent. While he admits it will be a long process to find any and all cartels, many influential groups in South Africa are behind his efforts.
8. Bobby Jindal – Governor of Louisiana
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He set new standards
Jindal, hailed by many in the media as the “star” of the U.S. Republican party, helped convince lawmakers in Louisiana to pass tough new ethics laws which would give the state some of the most stringent ethics laws in the country. He championed the reforms by arguing that until Louisiana cleaned up its reputation it would be at a competitive disadvantage for attracting new business.
9. Myron Steele – Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He decided
Delaware remains one of the best places to incorporate your business, in no small part to Steele. Public outrage over the poor corporate governance in some companies has moved Congress to suggest a federal incorporations law. However, for the foreseeable future, Steele’s opinions as the Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court will continue to resonate very far.
10. Philip Collins – Chairman of the UK’s Office of Fair Trading
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He rewarded
Collins has kept the UK’s OFT very busy in 2008. One notable accomplishment was the announcement of a £100,000 reward for anyone who can give information leading to the break up of a cartel. In other words, he made whistle-blowing a sound career move.
11. David Steiner – CEO of Waste Management
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He greened waste
Steiner has kept sustainability and healthy-environment initiatives a priority as the head of Waste Management. One example is to build over 50 “landfill gas conversion facilities” that will use the gas emitted from landfills to generate renewable energy.
12. Angel Gurría – Secretary General of the OECD
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He cleaned bribery
Under Gurría’s leadership, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has helped see the number of investigations, convictions, pleas and self-reports rise. The United States has seen the number of self-reports by companies increase from 3 in 2003 to over 200 in 2008. Countries are also sharing information and cooperating more than ever before, largely in thanks to Gurría and the OECD.
13. Ronald Luri – Former employee of Republic Services
Category: Media and Whistleblowers
Did What? He stood his ground
Luri was awarded $47 million by an Ohio jury for NOT firing employees after being requested to do so by his boss. Luri did not fire them because he was worried that it would be discrimination as all three employees the boss wanted him to fire were over the age of 60. This huge award sets a nice precedent for those who don’t want to break the law in order to keep their jobs
14. Barack Obama – U.S. President Elect
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He made promises
Obama has made ethics a cornerstone of his administration, which in turn has already caused a priority on ethics to trickle down into public and private companies. Many businesses have already responded directly or indirectly by shifting their overall business strategy.
15. Christoph Frei – Senior Director, Head of Energy Industries & PACI – World Economic Forum
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He discussed energy
Frei had another busy year in 2008 travelling the globe and helping fight both energy poverty around the world as the WEF’s head of energy industries. He also spent the year speaking out against corruption via his role in Partnering Against Corruption Initiative. One notable initiative of PACI this year was to use YouTube to broadcast business leaders’ messages on anti-corruption and bribery.
16. Jeff Immelt – CEO of GE
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He looked out for the environment
Despite first quarter losses, Immelt is still committed to the company’s green technology, including its “ecomagination” plan, which sets extremely ambitious goals for the company’s sustainability program. He’s so committed, in fact, that he bought millions additional GE stock earlier this year. Given the public’s outcry on the unprecedented salaries executives are making, this was a very smart move by Immelt. Additionally, his commitment to tie executive compensation to company performance is a great way to add accountability to a job performance.
17. Nguyen Van Hai and Nguyen Viet Chien – Vietnamese Journalists
Category: Media and Whistleblowers
Did What? They wrote stories
Both Nguyen Van Hai and Nguyen Viet Chien reported on corruption within Vietnamese Government, then were arrested for “abusing freedom and democracy.” This happened even after their reports led to the conviction of nine individuals and forced the Vietnamese transportation minister to step down from his post. Pioneers like these are important in developing countries to help pave the way for more transparency and accountability in business and government.
18. David L. Stulb – Global Leader, Fraud Investigations & Dispute Services for Ernst & Young
Category: Thought Leadership
Did What? He studied bribery
Stulb was the head of the investigation conducted by Ernst & Young to rank bribery and corruption, a comprehensive report on the state of corruption and bribery around the world. A few important details came from the study: 1) nearly a quarter of senior executives have been asked to accept bribes; 2) as Stulb told Bloomberg News, it was a positive sign to see the number of companies that were willingly open to discuss corruption with the researchers.
19. David Parker – Government Energy Minster of New Zealand
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He ended light bulbs
Parker led the charge to phase out traditional light bulbs in order to reduce costs and save energy. The sales ban will begin next year at the same time Australia will implement a similar ban on old light bulbs. While banning light bulbs isn’t necessarily the most innovative thing that can be done, it is still a reliable and public way of displaying a commitment to sustainability. It also doesn’t hurt that the move is predicated to save 500 million dollars in energy costs.
20. Thomas Friedman – Author
Category: Thought Leadership
Did What? He wrote his thoughts
Triple Pulitzer Prize winning Friedman was one of two New York Times columnists that made this list, both of which had a very busy year. His most recent book, titled Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need A Green Revolution came out in September. With this book, Friedman remains a strong voice for environmental initiatives, especially cleaner energy based on new technology.
21. Davor Harasic – President of TI in Chile
Category: NGO
Did What? He helped government clarity
Harasic, a lawyer based in Santiago, spent 2008 hard at work with the Chilean chapter of Transparency International, attempting to accelerate the process of promulgation of transparency and probity in the Chilean government administration. He’s a leading, respected voice in the region.
22. Anne M. Mulcahy – Chairman and CEO of Xerox
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? She reduced waste
Mulcahy makes the list again this year for continuing the green initiatives that reduce e-waste that Xerox has become known for, including adding sourcing guidelines for its suppliers. Among other awards received this year, Xerox was named to both the FTSE4Good Index and KLD Sustainability Indices this year for the company’s sustainability practices.
23. Dawn Primarolo – Public Health Minister of Britain
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? She regulated cigarettes
After healthy debate throughout the year, Primarolo furthered restrictions on cigarettes in the United Kingdom by forcing cigarettes to be sold under the counter in stores, restricting vending machines that sell cigarettes. The UK Government hopes that these new restrictions will discourage children and young people from beginning or continuing smoking habits.
24. Ben W. Heineman, Jr. – Author, Former General Counsel of GE
Category: Thought Leadership
Did What? He wrote a book
Based on his experience as a former general counsel of General Electric, Heineman released his newest book in May, High Performance with High Integrity. The book, which covers corporate governance and the necessity of business ethics, has already made quite a splash in the business ethics world, and shows signs of sticking around for quite some time.
Back to List
25. Nicolas Sarkozy – President of France
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He set emissions goals
2008 was the year that Sarkozy will be most remembered for issues outside of his love life. On top of brokering deals with Russia over the Georgian conflict, this year as the current president of the European Union he called on all EU nations to keep carbon emission goals high. In the final days of his presidency of the EU he secured an agreement on a package to curb climate emissions among member states.
26. Dong Zhengqing – Former President of Guangfa Securities
Category: Corporate Culture
Did What? He tipped off the government
Dong Zhengqing, the former president of China’s sixth largest stock brokerage, went on trial this year after tipping another individual (his brother) off to a merger. The case resulted in a very high-profile example of insider trading. Is this progress for China? Dong unintentionally showed other leaders around the country that they can in fact be tried for insider trading.
27. Leslie Gaines-Ross – Chief Reputation Strategist of Weber Shandwick
Category: Media and Whistleblowers
Did What? She writes on ethics
Though she is primarily a reputation strategist, Gaines-Ross will often cover governance issues in her regular writing, including her blog, ReputationXchange.com. Just before the New Year she pointed out the vast number of “best of” lists that come out just before the holidays, and in the same post discusses moral dilemmas leading to the 2008 financial crisis (and the related Madoff scandal). The CEO fallout that came about since the crisis began is a perfect example of how ethics effects reputation effects your job.
28. R. Alexander Acosta – U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He imprisoned executives
Acosta sent several executives to jail in 2008 over illegal financial transaction, tax evasion and other schemes. Among the cases is that of a UBS executive that agreed to plead guilty to tax evasion over a wide ranging probe looking into whether or not UBS assisted its clients in tax evasion.
29. Cui Fan – Chinese Journalist
Category: Media and Whistleblower
Did What? She sued China
Cui Fan sued the Chinese government after it shut down the newspaper she worked for. The Chinese government did so in response to an article she wrote on corruption within a Chinese business. This act was symbolic of the possible transparency in Chinese press. Extra recognition goes to Fan because of the risk for suing the government like this.
30. Masamitsu Sakurai – Chairman of Keizai Doyukai
Category: NGO
Did What? He spoke loudly
Masamitsu Sakurai, who heads up the Keizai Doyukai (”Association of Corporate Executives”) in Japan, is also considered the mouthpiece of business interests in the country. He used this position to call for and successfully set business carbon emissions reduction policy in Japan. He’s also the Chairman of Ricoh.
31. Paul Krugman – Nobel prize winner for economics, NYT columnist, Princeton professor
Category: Thought Leadership
Did What? He won a medal
2008 proved that we needed more intelligent economists in the mix, giving watchful scrutiny over our financial systems. Krugman, who also won the Nobel prize this year for his views on trade theory in the modern time, also has been very relevant in our current mess from his pulpit, The New York Times.
32. Alexandra Wrage – President of TRACE
Category: Non-Government Organization
Did What? She fought corruption
This year TRACE International, under Wrage’s leadership, completed the successful implementation of BRIBEline, an anonymous demand-side bribery hotline and published the first annual report of the results. Wrage continues to be a vocal proponent and leading expert of anti-corruption measures.
33. Michael Hershman – President and CEO of The Fairfax Group
Category: Corporate Culture
Did What? He improved a bad company
In 2008, Hershman, the co-founder of Transparency International, was hired to turn around a sinking ship by the name of Siemens. He was brought in to revamp the company, and, before coming aboard in 2007, warned Siemens CEO Klaus Kleinfeld, “Don’t hire me if you’ve got a problem, because I’m going to find it, and if I feel misled or hindered, I will leave, and that won’t be good for your company.”
34. Jed Rakoff – District Judge
Category: Legal and Governance
Did What? He stood up to a bully
Rakoff made this list after he threw out the majority of Johnson & Johnson’s ridiculous lawsuit against the Red Cross. J&J claimed in the suit that the Red Cross was infringing on the trademark of the health-products maker by using its famous red and white symbol. Hopefully 2008 is the last we hear about this frivolous lawsuit.
35. Dr. Anwar Nasution – Chairman, Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He partnered
Dr. Nasution spent 2008 working with many international NGOs to help encourage transparency and accountability within Indonesia, including partnering half way across the globe with Norway to encourage technical cooperation in auditing the public sector.
36. Michael Johnston – Professor of Political Science at Colgate University
Category: Thought Leadership
Did What? He won an award
Johnston won the 2009 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. He won the award due to a book he wrote called Syndromes of Corruption: Wealth, Power and Democracy. In the book he points out that corruption can be different depending on the country in which it’s happening. For instance, buying influence is familiar to established western countries (and Japan) and in the developing world wealthy people develop cartels to protect their power.
37. Jim Senegal – CEO of Costco
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He sold goods
Senegal is known as a leader who is fair to his employees, and Costco has been reaping the benefits for some time. It doesn’t appear that he’ll change his ways in 2008 amidst the financial crisis. In fact, he’s also ramping up Costco’s sustainability initiatives such as investing in solar power and, according to one interview, changing the shape of cashew containers in order to let them stack more efficiently and take trucks off the road.
38. Mike Barry – Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Marks & Spencer
Category: Design and Sustainability
Did What? He continued a plan
Stuart Rose, Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer, got the nod last year for announcing Plan A, Barry gets the nod this year for running the program, of which 20 “points” (of 100) have already been accomplished. To show the company’s commitment to Plan A, the corporate communications team actively promoted a retraction when Marketing Magazine incorrectly printed a line that claimed M&S doesn’t care about Plan A any more. This remains a high priority for Barry, Rose and M&S.
39. Marc Gunther – Former journalist for Fortune Magazine
Category: Media and whistleblowers
Did What? He continued to write
Gunther makes the list again this year for his leadership in the realm of CSR and sustainability. If you haven’t read his blog, www.marcgunther.com, it’s worth a look. Unfortunately he reported on his blog that he was laid off from Fortune, but he continues to be a very high-profile writer on business environment and corporate social responsibility.
40. Neville Isdell – Chairman of The Coca-Cola Company
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He won an award
Isdell was presented the 2008 Ethics Advocate Award from the Center for Ethics and Corporate Responsibility in November for his work advancing the corporate social responsibility and sustainability agendas. Indeed, many of Isdell’s 2008 initiatives with Coca-Cola are deserving of recognition, including their drive to help promote sustainable water supplies.
41. Eric Schmidt – Chairman and CEO of Google
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He committed to clean energy
Google, as is becoming the norm, had an extremely busy year in 2008. Under Schmidt’s guidance, the company grew its love-hate relationship with Yahoo, Microsoft (and all other companies in the Internet business, really). Notably, however, Google and General Electric partnered together to help promote hybrid electric plug-in vehicles and the development of an electrical “smart grid.”
42. Danny Wegman – CEO of Wegmans
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? They banned products
Wegman banned the sale of cigarettes in his stores in early ‘08. Wegmans continues to use their moral compass to influence their business decisions.
43. Larry Thompson – Senior VP and General Counsel for PepsiCO
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He advised a large company
Once on the outside-looking-into business, so to speak, Thompson has moved from his role as a Deputy Attorney General to in-house General Counsel at PepsiCo. Since joining in 2003, Thompson has become one of the most respected and admired General Counsel in business today. His influence is not likely to recede in 2009.
44. H. Dean Steinke – Former district sales manager for Merk
Category: Media and Whistleblowers
Did What? Earned a lot of money
Steinke likely set the record for the amount of money a whistle-blower earned. This February he was given 20 percent of a $671 million settlement for blowing the whistle on the government overcharging health programs and improper payments to doctors. His cut came out to about $68 million.
45. James Jurwa – Resident district commissioner in Uganda
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He launched a new program
Jurwa launched a program this summer to investigate anticorruption in Uganda and the surrounding region. According to Jurwa, “We have rampant corruption, there is a lot of police brutality on civilians and lack of information sharing among the leaders and the led.” It takes guts to try and stand up to this type of bullying.
46. Sven Holmes – Executive Vice Chair Legal and Compliance for KPMG
Category: Corporate Culture
Did What? He raised the bar for ethics in accounting
Chief Legal Officer of KPMG, wrote a number of thought-leadership pieces on corporate compliance. Drove development and implementation of KPMG’s model ethics and compliance program.
47. Lucas Benitez – Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Category: Corporate Culture
Did What? He raised prices
Over the past year, Benitez and his coalition helped raise the price that food outlets like Taco Bell and Burger King pay workers for tomatoes grown in the region. Burger King went to embarrassing lengths (posting anonymously on web forums, hiring private investigators to spy on the group) to decry the farmers.
48. Anonymous Chinese apartment owner – Apartment Owner in Chongqing Municipality
Category: Media and whistleblowers
Did What? He/She reported a leaky toilet
The owner reported to Chinese authorities that the vacant apartment above was leaking water. When police came over they found an overflowing toilet that was stuffed with boxes holding the equivalent of $3.18 million. That led to the death sentence of Yan Dabin, the owner of the above apartment, after it was found all the money was bribe money from road contractors.
49. Earl E. Devaney – Inspector General for the U.S. Interior Department
Category: Corporate Culture
Did What? He uncovered debauchery
Devaney uncovered drug, sex and shady gift financing involved with consultants of energy companies and the Interior Department. His willingness to investigate difficult situations within the Department of Interior is highly laudable. Also, Inspector Devaney deserves recognition for his report on the ethical lapses at the Minerals Management Services division of DOI. Or maybe his quote should be a part of every ethics officer’s portfolio of advice for employees: “Sexual relationships with prohibited sources cannot, by definition, be arms-length.”
50. Nancy Boswell – President of Transparency International, USA
Category: NGO
Did What? She focuses on ethics
As head of a major organization that focuses on ethical practices not only of public/private companies but also federal governments, Boswell is a respected voice on these issues. Her opinion in 2008 was highly regarded on topics from NGO’s anti-graft role to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office’s dismissal of the BAE case.
51. Haruka Nishimatsu – President & CEO of Japan Airlines
Category: Corporate Culture
Did What? He walked his talk
After cutting budgets big time, and encouraging elderly employees to retire early in order to help the financial stability of the company, Haruka Nishimatsu followed suit and cut his own salary to around $90,000. When executive compensation is a very sore spot in today’s business, Haruka is ahead of the curve.
52. Henry Waxman – U.S. Representative from California
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He regulated
Starting in early September this year, it was impossible to turn on any 24 hour news network and not see or hear of Henry Waxman. He was everywhere in the early stages of the 2008 financial calamity, what helped him make this list, however, was his emphasis on the ethics of the bailout and, more specifically, if the companies deserved to be bailed out in the first place.
53. Sudhanshu Pokhriyal – Director Hyderabad & Coastal Andhra Pradesh Operations for Coca-Cola
Category: Design and Sustainability
Did What? He conserved water
Pokhriyal accepted the Golden Peacock award this year for Coca-Cola’s work in water management and conservation in India. This is even more note worthy because it wasn’t long ago that Coca-Cola had a PR crisis after an Indian environmental group release a report on pesticide levels in Coca-Cola products in India. The report said that the products contained 24 times the amount of pesticides as allowed by the Bureau of Indian Standards. Since then Coca-Cola has drastically turned around its image in the region.
54. Virginia D. Klein – Executive Director for the Institute for Integrated Rural Development
Category: Design and Sustainability
Did What? He promoted sustainability
The Institute for Integrated Rural Development is an “organization of Marathwada region in Maharashtra State in India, promoting development alternatives through the initiatives of groups of rural poor.” Those at the very base of the balance of power are often so preoccupied with surviving that they cannot even consider microlending nor child education, clean water, etc. Klein therefore provides help with food and roofing for shelter to the very poor in the villages that the IIRD serves, and helps these villages with clean water, latrines, and small schools for six and seven year olds to get them started on learning, Then it begins a microlending to those who are just above this very base level of poverty. Klein has helped multiple communities throughout India in 2008.
55. James A. Mitchell – Former Chairman and CEO of IDS
Category: Corporate Culture
Did What? He made a forum
Mitchell is founder of the Mitchell Forum – an annual forum on ethical leadership in financial services. The purpose of the program is to bring together practitioners from financial services companies and business ethicists from academia to engage in meaningful conversation and organized reflection on ethical leadership. Never has it been more relevant than in 2008.
56. Tim Costello – Chief Executive of World Vision
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He lectured
Costello has spent plenty of time in 2008 on the lecturing circuit, discussing why everyone must understand the ethical lapses that created this economic crisis so that it isn’t repeated. “If we do not understand the ethical issues around what has happened with the financial crisis we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes,” Costello told an audience at the annual Investment Management Consultants Association conference.
57. Jim Koch – Founder of Boston Beer Co. (Sam Adams)
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He provided hops
In the midst of an unprecedented hops shortage, Koch is selling (at cost) 20,000 pounds of hops to small breweries that would otherwise not be able to stay afloat. Thus proving you don’t just have to be imbibing his product to be generous.
58. Jim Tyree – CEO of Mesirow Financial
Category: Thought Leadership
Did What? He invested wisely
A sufferer of diabetes himself, and nearly dying twice from the condition, Tyree now works closely with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. With his help, the JDRF was able to raise $223 million through various fundraisers, and plans on providing $195 million for research in 2009. All of this was accomplished while being Chairman of City Colleges of Chicago and running Mesirow Financial.
59. Ken Livingstone – Former Mayor of London, UK
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He enforced vendor standards
Earlier this year Livingstone announced a policy that the Greater London Authority would only award private suppliers with contracts if they adhered to a number of sustainable and CSR-related measures. This includes improving sustainability and waste management policies, as well as including racial diversity among the suppliers’ employee base.
60. Kathleen M. Hamann – American Bar Association, Anti-Corruption Initiatives & Compliance Issues Committee
Category: Legal and Governance
Did What? She chaired a committee
Hamann chairs an important committee of the American Bar Association that “facilitates efforts to deter corrupt practices in international businesses.” She is also a leading promoter of anti-corruption initiatives, such as her involvement in the Nexus Technologies case earlier this year over paying bribes to Vietnamese Government Officials in violation of the FCPA.
61. Victor Marrero – U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York
Category: Legal and Governance
Did What? He set a new precedent
Marrero set an important precedent with international implications when he ruled in favor of Rosemary O’Mahoney, a Paris-based employee who blew the whistle on her company’s alleged tax fraud. This ruling in effect spreads whistle-blower protections of Sarbanes-Oxley to foreigners who uncover illegal activity occurring within the United States.
62. Ben Popken – Editor of The Consumerist
Category: Media and Whistleblowers
Did What? He wrote on corruption
“Raise awareness on a critical issue or expose corruption.” That is the mainstay of Popken’s mission and in doing so he provides a mouthpiece for those who may not otherwise have one, and a model for those who have one but might not be sure how to use it. Moreover, his site is an extraordinary resource for educational faculty, who can then use the information to create an exponential impact on students.
63. Howard Schultz – Chairman of Starbucks
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He sourced coffee
Starbucks continues to be a leader in business ethics, CSR, corporate governance and sustainability under Howard Schultz, the company’s chairman. In 2008, for instance, the company announced that 100% of its coffee sold in the United Kingdom will come from fair trade sources, and the company will double the amount of coffee it buys from fair trade sources in the United States.
64. Klaus Topfer – Former Director of the UN Environmental Authority
Category: Thought Leadership
Did What? He travelled the world
Töpfer spent a lot of time in 2008 on the road, so to speak. As a leading voice in protecting biodiversity, he travelled the world speaking about the relationship businesses ought to have with the environment. When abroad, he speaks of the need for nations with developing economies to develop sustainable business practices—something that is often overlooked.
65. Harry Halloran – Chairman and CEO of American Refining Group and Energy Unlimited
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He donated money
Halloran said, “I have come to know and admire St. Thomas’ scholars and programs devoted to corporate ethics,” right before he donated $10 million to the University of St. Thomas’ Opus college of Business. The donation is meant to benefit education regarding ethics. His money will be used exclusively to help the business school’s Self-Assessment and Improvement Process Institute and the Center for Ethical Business Cultures.
66. Le Hien Duc – Retired Vietnamese teacher and activist against anti-corruption
Category: Thought Leadership
Did What? She won an award
Retired 77-year-old teacher Le Hien Duc won a Transparency International Award earlier this year for the time she spent taking on corruption in Vietnam by filing complaints and helping citizens combat injustices by the government. Not a common event in Vietnam.
67. Peter Kinder – President of KLD Research & Analytics, Inc.
Category: Investment and Research
Did What? He continued to invest ethically
Kinder made the list last year as well and he has only since expanded his influence. Partnering with a number of international, socially conscious minded organizations, Kinder’s KLD has become possibly the most talked about firm in the realm of socially responsible investing.
68. Bernard Listiza – Licensed pharmacist, whistleblower
Category: Media and Whistleblowers
Did What? He exposed pharmaceutical fraud
Listiza went to the feds after he claimed Walgreen’s switched patients to different drugs to collect more money from Medicaid. Walgreen’s agreed to settle the case for $35 million of which Listiza is expected to bring in about $5 million for himself. Yet more motivation to blow the whistle on illegal behavior.
69. Joseph Keefe – President and CEO of PAX World Mutual Funds
Category: Investment and Research
Did What? He managed money
Keefe is another investor that takes social investing beyond just placing investor money in CSR-minded companies. He also actively manages funds, divesting in companies it feels don’t belong in an SRI fund, including those that indirectly finance the crisis in Darfur. This year PAX also announced that they would be licensing KLD’s Sustainability Indexes, another group that has been making waves this year.
70. Magnus Berglund – Journalist
Category: Media and Whistleblowers
Did What? He reported on Finnish bribery
Finnish Magnus Berglund made waves in 2008 not just because he reported that Slovenia’s outgoing Prime Minister Janez Janša had taken bribes, but because Janša then said he will press charges against Berglund for writing the story. The story received so much attention that someone created a Facebook group supporting Berglund and his television station, YLE TV. At the time of this publication, there are 775 members.
71. Manny A. Alas – Partner, Co-Leader of global FCPA investigations at Pricewaterhouse Coopers
Category: Legal and Governance
Did What? He monitored
Alas, responsible for the FCPA practice of the largest professional services firm, PwC, was responsible for monitoring a vast number of companies in 2008. As FCPA was the hot-button issue of 2008, Alas’ job was likely a workaholic’s dream.
72. Max Bazerman – Professor of Business Administration at Harvard
Category: Thought Leader
Did What? He presented an idea
Bazerman’s scholarships are extraordinarily influential; but that which he accomplished this year is all the more so. He concluded, supported by evidence and research, that “[b]ounded ethicality is exacerbated by the demands of executive life, which causes an overreliance on intuition rather than on intentional deliberation.” In other words, reflection will result in a lower likelihood of inappropriate behavior (intentional deliberation), while failure to reflect means that we may do things that we might regret! (overreliance on intuition)
73. Bob Langert – VP Corporate Social Responsibility, McDonald’s
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He wrote a report
Langert and McDonalds unveiled a state of the art corporate responsibility report in 2008. If your company is working on a CSR report at the moment, it would be a waste not to take a look at McDonald’s for a little inspiration.
74. Patrick Fitzgerald – U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He indicted high profile people
Fitzgerald has a reputation of being tough and not afraid to take on high-profile people. In 2008, probably the most memorable person he indicted was an Illinois governor by the name of Blagojevich.
75. Thomas Boone Pickens – Hedge Fund Chairman
Category: Investment and Research
Did What? He made a plan
T. Boone Pickens has made quite a splash in 2008 for his eponymous Pickens Plan, an effort to drastically increase the amount of wind energy used in the United States while simultaneously reducing dependency on oil. Pickens argues that the United States could save $300 billion annually by using wind power and natural gas instead of oil.
76. Dave Welch – Whistleblower and former bank employee of Cardinal
Category: Media and Whistleblowers
Did What? He sued his boss
Welch was one of the first whistle-blowers to really put SOX laws to the test. He fought a long and hard battle with his former employer after he was fired for not agreeing to or signing what he thought were unethical book-keeping practices.
77. Edward J. Zore – President and CEO of Northwestern Mutual
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He looked forward
Though the rest of the financial industry was left vulnerable in 2008, Zore ensured that NWM had “less than one-half of 1 percent of assets exposed to subprime markets at year-end.” Under his leadership, NWN continues to be given accolades in all areas of quality, including social responsibility. In an era of technological advancements, Zore is known for his loyalty to the human element—NWM has retained its large sales force and highlighted the fundamentals of personal relationships
78. R. Edward Freeman – Professor of Business Administration at The Darden School, University of Virginia
Category: Thought Leadership
Did What? He wrote…a lot
Another repeat from the 2007 list, Freeman doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. His hand (brain) must be getting tired from all the books he has written (and currently is writing). Notably in 2008 his idea of “stakeholder theory,” a theory that takes into account business ethics when managing an organization, really took off.
79. Mr. Frédéric Wehlré – Principal Administrator, MENA anti-bribery program, anti-corruption division, Directorate for Financial and Enterprises Affairs, OECD
Category: Corporate Culture
Did What? He studied governments
The second individual from the OECD to make the list, Wehrlé looked at Middle Eastern and North African government practices and studied the degree to which governments were trying to reducing corruption. He found that there is, not too surprisingly, room to grow.
80. Greg Valerio – Founder of CRED Jewellery
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He sold jewelry
Based in the United Kingdom, Valerio is leading a movement that encourages ethical, fair-trade jewelry production. That includes promoting jewelry that produces less of a environmental impact through all stages of its life cycle.
81. Chris MacDonald – Author, Business Ethics Blog
Category: Media and Whistleblowers
Did What? He wrote a blog
MacDonald writes one of the longest continually-running blogs on business ethics written by a researcher and educator in the field, which has operated continuously over the last 3 years. Moreover, MacDonald explores and uncovers issues that, at first, might not appear to touch upon subjects relating to ethics; however, upon further inspection, they challenge the reader at a much more core level.
82. James Goodnight – CEO of SAS Institute
Category: Design and Sustainability
Did What? He scored companies
Goodnight decided to step a little bit out of his element and develop analytic software that gives metrics to the “green” factor of a company. The metrics take into account greenhouse gas emissions, resource utilization, ethical sourcing and regulatory compliance—a very comprehensive set of data to grade a company on. Many of the criteria for the software are based on Global Reporting Initiative ranking methodologies.
83. Brenda C. Barnes – CEO of Sara Lee
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? She welcomed back employees
Barnes began a new initiative called the returnship program at Sara Lee in 2008, modeled after her experience taking time off work to spend more time at home with her family. She took a lot of heat for that move back in 1997, and began the returnship program to help other professionals ease back into the office world.
84. Simon Ho – Director of the Center for Corporate Governance and Financial Policy at the Baptist University in Hong Kong
Category: Thought Leadership
Did What? He surveyed investors
On top of winning a Faculty Pioneer Award from the Aspen Institute, Ho was the leader of a survey that found global institutional investors will pay nearly 29 percent more for Chinese companies that have high ethical standards. The study said that the majority of investors rated the overall corporate governance of Chinese companies below average, but will pay more for those companies with good overall corporate governance.
85. Gavin Newsom – Mayor of San Francisco
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He ‘greened’ his city
Newsom instituted many policies in 2008 to improve the “green-ness” and sustainability of San Francisco. The policies include improved public transportation within the city, upgrading to energy efficient light bulbs and calling on other bay area mayors to join in urging automakers to produce plug-in hybrids.
86. Nobutaka Machimura – Former Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japan
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He investigated bureaucrats
Nobutaka Machimura started a government investigation into hundreds of Japanese bureaucrats accepting gifts from taxi drivers for late night fares. Nobutaka uncovered over 500 bureaucrats who accepted gifts on over 12,000 occasions. The gifts included beer and cash from the taxi drivers in order to gain late-night business.
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87. Anders Dalhvig – CEO of IKEA
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He kept his business sustainable
A new member of Ikea made the list this year, and this time it was the man at the top. Dalhvig continues to run the company in a way deserving of the World’s Most Ethical Companies list. For instance, this year IKEA banned all plastic bags from its U.S. outlets. While many European companies have already made this switch, it’s unusual to hear about this from U.S. stores.
88. Odell Guyton – Director of Microsoft Compliance
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He ran a division
Guyton has had to deal with as much as a Director of Compliance can ever hope (or fear) to deal with in one year, and it never seems to end. He’s been forced into the position as a leader in these matters, as Microsoft dealt with anti-trust issues (and others) all around the globe.
89. David Crawford – Journalist for the WSJ
Category: Media and Whistleblowers
Did What? He wrote on corruption
Crawford spent 2008 covering many notable business fraud stories for the Wall Street Journal as the newspaper’s European investigative correspondent. Notably, he wrote a piece on Alstom while investigating the role of Liechtenstein banks in alleged money-laundering and tax evasion cases.
90. Patricia Werhane – Professor of Business Ethics at the University of Virginia and Chair of Business Ethics and Director of the Institute for Business sand Professional Ethics at DePaul University
Category: Thought Leadership
Did What? She promoted business ethics education
Though housed within one of the ten oldest business schools in the United States, and within the largest Catholic school in the country, DePaul’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business did not require ethics in its curriculum until just this year, 2008. That requirement came about only as the direct result of the effort and influence of Dr. Werhane. Additionally, Werhane wields significant influence in the field of business ethics as, notably, she is a founding member and past president of the Society of Business Ethics, and past president of the American Society for Value Inquiry.
91. Paul Newman – Actor/Businessman
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He died
In connection with his “Newman’s Own” brand of food products, Newman donated 100 percent of post-tax profits and royalties to global charitable organizations, totaling more than $250 million. His social contributions included well-known involvement in the Hole in the Wall Camps that he helped to establish for children with life-threatening illnesses, as well as other nonprofit organizations including the Safe Water Network.
92. Barbara Krumsiek – CEO of Calvert Group, Ltd
Category: Investment and Research
Did What? She expanded SRI investment
There’s never been a better time for socially responsible investment than now, and Calvert, under Krumsiek’s leadership, recognizes this. This year Krumsiek has been busy petitioning the SEC to require greater disclosure for investments with Sudan, spoke out on the necessity of SRI and launched three new socially responsible funds.
93. Amy Domini – Founder and CEO of Domini Social Investments
Category: Investment and Research
Did What? She Promoted SRI Investment
Investing responsibly is just one way that Domini works to improve the world. This year Domini Social Investments partnered with various academics, social investors and companies like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to help set up a system of steps that companies will follow when a government attempts to censor them. The goals of the group, called the Global Network Initiative, include improving transparency, challenging human rights violations and supporting whistle-blowers.
94. Richard McClellan – Head, Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) – World Wildlife Fund
Category: NGO
Did What? He worked for the environment
McClellan heads up the Global Forest and Trade Network, another NGO that has slowly been making traction. Wal-Mart joined the initiative this year, agreeing to phase out illegal and unwanted wood from its supply chain for Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores in the United States.
95. Rob Cameron - CEO of FLO International
Category: NGO
Did What? He traded fairly
This is the first year that Cameron made the list, although FLO and the fair trade movement have been around for awhile. FLO International and the fair trade movement grow in prominence every year, and it doesn’t hurt the cause that Starbucks agreed in October to double its purchase of fair trade certified coffee for next year.
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96. Harry Woolf - Former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
Category: Corporate Culture
Did What? He looked into BAE
Woolf was hired by BAE systems, the largest British arms maker, to head up a four person committee that investigated BAE’s business conduct following an arms deal with Saudi Arabia in 1985. It remains to be seen how heavily his decision will create positive influence and reformed ways for BAE.
97. Tensie Whelan – Executive Director of the Rainforest Alliance
Category: NGO
Did What? She started a council
In 2008 it was hard to read about sustainability without hearing about the Rainforest Alliance (particularly in the UK). Needless to say that Whelan, who runs the Rainforest Alliance and helped develop the Sustainable tourism Stewardship Council (STSC), a group that deal with certification for ecotourism, has been very busy this year.
98. Jack Grynberg - CEO of Grynberg Oil
Category: Business Leadership
Did What? He went to court
Grynberg spent a lot of time in court in 2008. Most notably, he sued a number of his rival’s for alleged FCPA violations in order to prove his own innocence. No word yet on the outcome of this strategy, but it’s a unique one. If it pays off, there will be many a lawsuit brought about over FCPA violations.
99. Alexander Solzhenitsyn – Author and Activist
Category: Thought Leadership
Did What? He died
Solzhenitsyn, who died in August of this year, was an inspiration to all who believe in human rights and that there is a line between right and wrong. From a speech he gave at Harvard in 1978: “Thus we mix good and evil, right and wrong and make space for the absolute triumph of absolute Evil in the world.”
100. Kim Hyun-sung and Park Jin-shik – Attorneys at Sangsun and Park; and Next Law, respectively
Category: Legal and Governance
Did What? They found litigants
After Korean online shopping mall Auction was involved in Korea’s largest personal information leak scandal, Kim Hyun-sung and Park Jin-shik recruited thousands of victims online to collect damages from a suit to be filed against the company, which happens to be a subsidiary of e-Bay.
Learning from Others’ Mistakes: 2008’s Top 10 People We Won’t Miss
Influence isn’t only brought about by positive actions, sometimes unintended improvement comes from ethical missteps. Here are the top ten individuals that have influenced business ethics through professional flubs.
- Bernard Madoff – Turns out a lot of people were suspicious of Madoff’s ability to deliver high percentage returns like clockwork for long periods of time. It also turns out that he allegedly ran a $50 billion Ponzi scheme that, when discovered, ruined many a life savings. It’s not yet clear how many people at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities knew of the scam, but it’s clear that Madoff was the mastermind.
- David Colby – Colby was the former CFO of Wellpoint who was caught carrying on multiple affairs on the side, even once texting “ABORT!!” to one of his many girlfriend’s after discovering she was pregnant. He carried on relationships with over 30 women and proposed to at least 12 of them.
- Rod Blagojevich – Blagojevich is the Governor of Illinois who allegedly tried to “sell” Obama’s soon to be vacant seat in the U.S. Senate. Some reports say he tried to trade the seat for ambassadorships, money and positions within pro-union groups and even a $150,000 salary for his wife.
- Heinz-Joachim Neubürger, Karl-Hermann Baumann, and Johannes Feldmayer – The two former CFOs and former Chairman of Siemens, respectively. They got busted over bribery and their company was fined for billions. The bribes that they paid to earn contracts could not have been worth more than the $1.4 billion settlement the company agreed to pay.
- Ted Stevens – Stevens is the Senator from Alaska who was found guilty of failing to report gifts given to him by various contractors. He faces up to five years for each of the seven counts against him. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 25th.
- Bruno A Kaelin – Kaelin was a former senior vice president and head of corporate compliance at Alstom, arrested in Switzerland in August 2008 for a joint Franco-Swiss-Italian investigation for his alleged role in running a bribery slush fund and laundering hundreds of millions of euros. Prior to that, Kaelin was already convicted in a separate bribery case in Italy involving bribing two officials of the Italian electric company Enel.
- Adam Vitale – Vitale was sentenced to 30 months in prison and $180,000 restitution to be paid to AOL after he found a way to spam 1.2 million AOL users in a way that avoided being caught by AOL’s spam filter. Vitale also had 22 prior convictions, including running an online prostitution ring through Craig’s List.
- Robert Rubin – Rubin, like it or not, became one of the faces tied to the 2008 financial crisis. His position of deregulation when he was Treasury Secretary is now faulted by some for many of the problems of today. He also became the fall guy for Citigroup’s business strategy of leveraging more risk.
- Marco Benatti – Benatti was a former Italian director of advertising for WPP. Benatti, who was accused of libel last year for calling WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell a “mad dwarf,” was alleged to have secretly pocketed millions of pounds from a deal he helped to broker. WPP’s lawyers, claiming up to ₤12.5 million for breach of “fiduciary duty,” alleged at a court hearing in London that Benatti was the “secret beneficiary” of most of the proceeds from a ₤17 million takeover of Media Club, an Italian advertising company. Benatti sued back, alleging unfair dismissal. He argued that he was really let go because he had fallen out with Daniela Weber, WPP’s chief operating officer in Italy, with whom he alleged Sir Martin was having a relationship. In last year’s libel case, Sir Martin accused Benatti of circulating a computer-generated image showing him with Ms Weber labeled “the mad dwarf and the nympho schizo.”
- James M. DiBlasio – DiBlasio makes the list for going on a three day bender and breaking into the computers of his company, Ski.com, while drunk. While he was able to avoid hard jail time for what he did, his former employer did press charges and DiBlasio was sentenced to house arrest.
2008’s 100 Most Influential Advisory Panel:
The following individuals offered their knowledge and expertise to lend a hand in creating this year’s list:
Beatriz Calderón Alzate
Coordinator, Program of Enterprise and Economic Ethics
Universidad Alberto Hurtado
Buie Seawell
Louis D. Beaumont Professor of Business Education
University of Denver
Charles Elson
Director, John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance
University of Delaware
John Dienhart
The Boeing Frank Shrontz Chair of Business Ethics
Seattle University
Joseph Holt
Director for Executive Ethics
University of Notre Dame
Laura Hartman
Associate Vice President and Professor, Dept. of Management
DePaul University
Marianne Jennings
Professor of Legal and Ethical Studies
Arizona State University
Rama Velamuri
Associate Professor
China Europe International Business School
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January 29th, 2010 at 3:50 am
wal-mart ceo is listed twice..I would have expected to see him in the first 5 atleast!
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November 6th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
[...] right, though, because he has come a long way since his then fumbling first steps, and in 2008 ethisphere.com nominated him as #81 among the 100 most influential people in business [...]
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June 2nd, 2009 at 10:42 pm
good list
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Good list
May 4th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Are you going to take Senator Ted Stevens name off your list of stinkers?
I suggest you substitute the names of the Federal Prosecutors who cooked the book on old Teddy!
February 12th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Obama does not deserve to be on this list he lied and cheated to get in the white house regardless of what words came out of his mouth! also he is lying about the stimulus plan which is mostly pork and handouts for political favor on the backs of our children!
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjcyODIyZGM2MGU1ZDdkNDgxZDc3OTNjYjM4ZDY1ODI=
I am sure you pride the research that goes into creating this list so please take a second look at Obama
February 10th, 2009 at 5:09 am
You have FAR too many Americans on this list… are we to presume that 90% of the worlds most ethical business people live in America? Is the rest of the world that corrupt?
Aside from the obvious paean to China, I see barely any Europeans on this list – and bearing in mind Germany is the worlds biggest exporter, there are a few glaring ommissions here
February 4th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Please include someone investigating the disgusting tactics of IBM, and their practices of slave labor oversees while unfairly and unjustly laying off thousands and thousands of US employees without cause and then showing up to ‘help’ the federal government by building a ‘green’ data center and taking more public money after being the company that started and fueled the outsourcing that has happened so quickly that there is no longer a middle class. They helped thousands of businesses ’steal’ retirements and then became a clearing house to send the work over seas.
January 20th, 2009 at 8:10 am
This is a great list. Thanks for sharing it.
Tracey Smith
Editor of TheKarmaReport.com
January 17th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Mr Norton, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. How can you discredit an entire article based on such a minor issue (which, in fact, is not an issue at all)? Ethisphere didn’t get the Chinese names backward. Chinese surnames/last names are written before given names (or your so-called “first names”). I am Chinese and can personally vouch for that.
January 17th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
OK seriously why was George Bush and Cheneyface not on the list? Hmmmmmmmmm????
January 16th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
How can you include the chinese apartment owner?? Ethics is about behavior guided by notions of right and wrong. The only right and wrong that guided the apartment owner’s actions is that she believed it is not right for her landlord to allow toilet water to drip on her head. So what? That makes her a hero? She neither knew nor probably cared about the root cause of the problem (rusty pipes? a child stuffing too much TP in the commode?) The discovery of bribe money was purely accidental.
January 16th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Joshua Margolis of Harvard Business School should be atop this list!
January 15th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
You should be embarrassed: you got every one of the Chinese names on the list backward. Liu Qi is Mr. Liu, not “Qi.” Dong Zhengqing is Mr. Dong, not “Zhengqing.” That kind of error, however inadvertent, undermines your credibility. It sounds like you really don’t know much about some of these people.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:22 am
An error: The CEO of Wal-Mart is listed twice, as #6 and #41. I don’t believe he was THAT much of an influence in business ethics last year…
Ethisphere Response: Thanks for the catch. #41 is actually Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Google.
December 31st, 2008 at 6:07 pm
#48 on your list of the 100 most influential people is “Chinese Apartment Owner” – isn’t that an error?