The following list of 100 individuals represents those that had significant impact in the realm of business ethics over the course of the year. Although many listed here are deserving of a lifetime achievement award, this list recognizes those that have made a significant impact specifically during 2010.
These individuals represent eight distinct categories; Government and Regulatory; Business Leadership; Non-Government Organization (NGO); Design and Sustainability; Media and Whistleblowers; Thought Leadership; Corporate Culture; Investment and Research; and Philanthropy.
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.
Some are world famous and some are unknown, but from designing sustainable packaging to recovering billions of dollars from ponzi schemes, the following 100 individuals have impacted the world of business ethics in ways that will continue to resonate for many years.
The winners are broken down into the following eight 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, on-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? |
Philanthropy Did the individual donate a substantial amount of money towards a cause or organization that significantly promotes business ethics? |
The List:
1. Lord Willy Bach- Member of Parliament, UK House of Lords
Category: Government and Regulatory
Bach, along with Straw (tied for first place) Introduced the UK Anti-Bribery Act, probably the single most discussed law in corporate ethics and compliance. Every multinational company that operates in the United Kingdom (regardless of where the company is based) is currently revamping their anti-corruption policies and training programs to account for some of the new provisions in the UK Anti-Bribery Act. Foremost among them is the new prohibitions on corporate gift giving. Experts anticipate the UK Bribery Act will have implications for a decade or more.
1. Jack Straw- Member of Parliament, UK House of Lords
Category: Government and Regulatory
Straw, along with Bach (tied for first place) Introduced the UK Anti-Bribery Act, probably the single most discussed law in corporate ethics and compliance. Every multinational company that operates in the United Kingdom (regardless of where the company is based) is currently revamping their anti-corruption policies and training programs to account for some of the new provisions in the UK Anti-Bribery Act. Foremost among them is the new prohibitions on corporate gift giving. Experts anticipate the UK Bribery Act will have implications for a decade or more.
3. Jon Leibowitz- Chairman, U.S. Federal Trade Comission
Category: Government and Regulatory
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), under Leibowitz’ leadership, has been busy in 2010. Some developments include the online “do not track list” as well as new guidelines for environmental advertising claims.
4. Abu Kassim Mohamed- Chief, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Comission
Category: Government and Regulatory
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has been leading the way in Southeast Asia around Anti-Corruption efforts. Mohamed has been instrumental in creating the country’s program.
5. James Wetta- Former Sales Rep, AstraZeneca
Category: Media and Whistle-Blowers
In 2004, Wetta blew the whistle on his former employer AstraZeneca. In 2010 he blew the whistle on Eli Lilly. Both lead to massive settlements (and financial gain for Wetta). Needless to say, he will probably struggle to find another job in the pharmaceutical industry.
6. Indra Nooyi- CEO, Pepsi
Category: Business Leadership
Pepsi, under Nooyi’s leadership, has spent significant resources and effort building dams and reducing water usage in India (among other initiatives). Pepsi continues to lead the way in corporate sustainability efforts.
7. Paul Volcker- Chairman, Economic Recovery Advisory Board
Category: Thought Leadership
Volcker, Chairman of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, substantially influenced the way that the U.S. responded to the economic crisis. Early in 2010, new rules determined by Volcker were proposed by President Obama which would make it more difficult for financial firms to make speculative investments on behalf of their clients.
8. Lanny Breuer- Assistant General Attorney, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Category: Government and Regulatory
As the head of the U.S. DOJ’s Criminal Division, Breuer had significant influence on corporate behavior and enforcement priorities throughout 2010.
9. Jeff Immelt- CEO, General Electric
Category: Business Leadership
GE, with Immelt’s guidance, consistently leads the way in various facets of business ethics, including sharing best practices with industry peers and participating in global ethics events.
10. Joaquin Almunia- Commissioner, European Competition Commissioner
Category: Government and Regulatory
Almunia makes the list again this year for the European Commission’s
new antitrust rules for online sales that were issued in 2010. Last year we anticipated Almunia would rise quickly through the ranks of this list, and he did. We anticipate he will be back next year, too.
11. Barney Frank- Representative, U.S. House of Representatives
Category: Government and Regulatory
Along with Chris Dodd (below), Frank makes this list for co-sponsoring the new Dodd-Frank Act. The Act is expected to have a profound impact on the number of whistle-blower complaints that regulatory agencies will receive. The fear of many companies is that whistle-blowers will have financial incentive to go straight to regulators and avoid internal reporting channels.
11. Chris Dodd- Senator, U.S. Senate
Category: Government and Regulatory
Next to the UK Bribery Act, the new Dodd-Frank Law is the second most talked about bill issued this year around ethics and compliance. The bill is having massive impact in the corporate world, and Ethisphere has spoken with numerous compliance and ethics professionals seeking guidance on best practices for abiding by the new laws. Dodd co-sponsored the bill.
13. Delaware Supreme Court-
Category: Government and Regulatory
We’ve previously listed the Chief Justice in former years, but decided that all five justices should be recognized this year for the influence that the Delaware Supreme Court had in 2010 over U.S. corporate law.
14. Mary Schapiro- Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Category: Government and Regulatory
Schapiro makes the list again this year because of the SEC’s continued aggressive enforcement. The agency’s influence has also been extended simply through bills like Dodd-Frank, which have reportedly caused the SEC to receive on average 1 tip per day.
15. Mike Duke- CEO, Wal-Mart
Category: Business Leadership
Duke, as head of retail behemoth Wal-Mart, signed off on the company’s investment of $1 billion in supply chain sustainability efforts, which will be spent over five years.
16. Bill Gates- Co-Founder, The Giving Pledge
Category: Philanthropy
Gates, along with Warren Buffet (below), earns a spot on this list for his role in creating The Giving Pledge, a high-profile movement encouraging high net worth individuals to commit to donating half o ftheir wealth to charity over the course of their lives.
16. Warren Buffett- Co-Founder, The Giving Pledge
Category: Philanthropy
Buffet, along with Bill Gates (above), was the co-architect of The Giving Pledge, an effort for wealthy citizens to commit to donating half of their savings to charities over the course of their lives. The Pledge has received the support of a number of high-wealth individuals, and will likely continue to gain traction throughout 2011.
18. Jeffrey Swartz - CEO, Timberland
Category: Business Leadership
Timberland, a company with a strong focus on ethics, did a lot this year, including expanding its Green Index to its Entire Footwear Collection, and announcing a commitment to plant five million trees in fives years. The trees will be planted in regions of Haiti and China that have experienced an unnaturally high rate of deforestation.
19. William Sessions- Chairman, U.S. Sentencing Commission
Category: Government and Regulatory
Under Sessions, the U.S. Sentencing Commission maintained its substantial influence over ethics and compliance programs, issuing various new guidance in 2010.
20. Robert Zoellick- President, The World Bank Group
Category: Government and Regulatory
The World Bank Group oversees a number of important Ethics and Compliance-focused subdivisions and in 2010, under Zoellick’s leadership, the World Bank Group continued to punish firms and countries that engaged in corrupt behavior. Similar to the IMF, the World Bank’s prominence actually grew as a result of the recent financial crisis, as more organizations looked to it for support.
21. Peter Löscher- CEO, Siemens
Category: Business Leadership
Löscher is turning Siemens’ reputation around and actively working to improve its corruption controls. In fact, an article by The Economist pointed out how Siemens’ market share has grown as a result of less bribery taking place.
22. Irving H. Picard- Trustee, Bernard L. Madoff Bankruptcy Proceedings
Category: Investment and Research
Picard, who is tasked with recovering money from the Madoff fraud, reached a $7.2 billion settlement with the estate of Jeffry Picower,
an investor who profited from investing with Madoff. The money will go towards victims of the fraud.
23. Andrew Cuomo- Attorney General, State of New York
Category: Corporate Culture
Cuomo, despite a contentious campaign for governor of New York, aggressively went after a prominent member of his own political party, Steve Rattner, for alleged fraudulent activity. Cuomo has long been a high profile figure in fighting fraud, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down, even after successfully winning his political campaign in 2010.
23. Dominique Strauss-Kahn- Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
Category: Government and Regulatory
Straus-Kahn had his hands full with debt crises around the world in 2010, but seemed to manage the various challenges he faced in an expert manner. The crises seemed to revitalized the importance of Straus-Kahn’s post at the IMF.
25. Nitin Nohria- Dean, Harvard Business School
Category: Thought Leadership
Nohria, along with Rakesh Khurana, wrote an influential
article on business as a profession with a strong emphasis on ethics. In 2010, Nohria also became dean of Harvard Business School (HBS) and is using the influential post to help promote business ethics initiatives throughout HBS.
26. Jeff Bezos- CEO, Amazon.com
Category: Business Leadership
Amazon has done a number of unique things in 2010. One of the most unique, particularly as its important to Amazon’s industry, is a new initiative that develops stronger protection against billing fraud in Amazon.com transactions.
Back to List
27. Ernst Ligteringen- Chief Executive, Global Reporting Initiative
Category: Non-Government Organization
Netherlands-based Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has become the go-to source for CSR and sustainability reporting by major corporations. The group, headed by Ligteringen, spent 2010 hosting a major CSR conference, and continued to issue thought leader research articles around the important area of CSR disclosure.
27. Kathleen Edmond- Chief Ethics Officer, Best Buy
Category: Corporate Culture
Edmond, another serial winner of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics’ list, continues to operate with a high level of transparency and maintains a must-read blog for ethics and compliance officers. Edmond is one of the best examples of compliance officers who really engage with employees to further entrench the idea of ethical operations from the top down.
29. Mo Ibrahim- Founder, Mo Ibrahim Foundation
Category: Philanthropy
Ibrahim, through his Mo Ibrahim Foundation, awards ‘incorruptible’
African leaders with financial rewards. The goal of the foundation is to help the economic and social prospects of African countries. The Foundation in 2010 continued to rank African countries by level of corruption.
30. Danny Holmes- Former Police Officer, Kansas City Police Department
Category: Media and Whistle-Blowers
Holmes won a $6.5 million whistle-blower suit for wrongful termination
after refusing to write a false report and hold on to a box of ammunition rather than turn it over for evidence. He made a strong example for others to follow around the country.
31. Len Sauers- VP Global Sustainability, Procter & Gamble
Category: Design and Sustainability
Sauers makes the list after Procter & Gamble announced its new Supplier Environmental Sustainability Scorecard. The new Scorecard examines P&G’s suppliers’ efforts towards reducing energy, water, waste and greenhouse gas emissions. P&G will reexamine the suppliers it uses based on the results of the Scorecard.
32. Huguette Labelle- Chair, Transparency International
Category: Non-Government Organization
Labelle, another anti-corruption expert who seems to have the energy of 10 people, was very active in 2010 representing Transparency International around the world at conferences and other leading anti-corruption events. TI grows in influence every year, and 2010 was no exception.
33. Michael Luscombe- CEO, Woolworths Limited
Category: Business Leadership
Australia-based Woolworth’s Limited has a strong focus on ethics,
which continued in 2010. In 2010, under Luscombe’s leadership, notable initiatives from Woolworths include the company’s Water Wise Project, various recycling programs and multimillion dollar investments in local community programs.
34. Robert Chatwani- Director Global Citizenship, eBay
Category: Business Leadership
eBay has been a leader in sustainability for some time and recently made news for its new initiative: handing out 100,000 reusable shipping boxes to vendors. The boxes will first be given to some of eBay’s most active sellers. Depending on whether or not the boxes stay within the eBay seller/buyer system, the company will decide whether or not it distributes another round of reusable boxes.
35. Elizabeth Warren- Special Adviser, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Category: Thought Leadership
Warren in 2010 became the head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She was the primary champion of this new bureau and already has shown signs that she will proactively work to establish new consumer protections in the financial world.
36. Wolfgang U.- UBS Whistle-Blower
Category: Media and Whistle-Blowers
Austrian whistleblower died in Swiss prison this year (suicide, allegedly) after revealing thousands of wealthy tax evaders
37. Sue Cischke- VP Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering, Ford Motor Company
Category: Corporate Culture
Cischke makes this list after Ford, in 2010, became the first automotive company to join the Carbon Disclosure Program’s Water Disclosure Program. The Water Disclosure Program helps large companies understand business risks and opportunities around water-related issues.
38. John Dugan- Founder and Chairman, Charity Navigator
Category: Philanthropy
Charity Navigator, which is overseen by Dugan, indexes charities around the world and helps provide information for individuals looking to donate towards charities that promote specific causes. Charity Navigator was created in 2001 but continues to grow in influence. In 2010, the company contained rating information on more than 5,000 charities and helped guide approximately $10 billion in charitable donations.
39. Sharon Allen- Chairman, Deloitte
Category: Corporate Culture
Allen makes the list this year for a number of reasons, including her role overseeing Deloitte’s ‘Ethics in the Workplace’ report. That, long with other ethics initiatives, has helped solidify Deloitte as one of the most ethics-focused large professional services firms.
40. Rakesh Khurana- Professor, Harvard Business School
Category: Thought Leadership
Khurana, along with Nitin Norhia (see #25), is the co-author of the influential Harvard Business Review article that described business as a profession. The article, and the ensuing discussion about some of the topics that it addressed, helped build and support the idea of an MBA Ethics Oath.
41. Shan Ramburuth- Commissioner, South African Competition Commission
Category: Government and Regulatory
Ramburuth, who is another repeat winner on Ethisphere’s 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics list, continues to be overshadowed by U.S. and EU regulators, despite his regular efforts to clamp down on cartel activity. In 2010, Ramburuth went after the polymer industry, among other industries, for alleged price fixing.
42. Mike Robinson- VP Environment, Energy and Safety Policy, General Motors
Category: Business Leadership
Robinson, as the head of General Motors’ environmental and energy policy, earned a spot on this year’s list after GM announced that 62 of its plants have become zero waste to landfill facilities. Similar to other individuals who worked towards reducing waste in their companies, GM’s efforts are significant because they are way ahead of the curve in terms of timing. Many other companies aspire to accomplish this in 2020 or later, GM gets kudos for achieving it earlier.
43. Kate Ellis- Employment Participation Minister, Australia
Category: Government and Regulatory
Ellis spearheaded new anti-discrimination laws that were passed this year in Australia. Her efforts include allowing additional protection for female and elderly workers.
44. Bill Marriott- Chairman, Marriot
Category: Business Leadership
Marriott makes the list for Nominated for a number of sustainability and ethics related initiatives at Marriott Hotels that were launched in 2010. Notable work includes the company’s efforts towards ethical sourcing and ensuring equal rights across the globe.
45. Paul Polman- CEO, Unilever
Category: Business Leadership
Polman earns a spot on this list after he denounced the all too common short-term profit mentality that exists in business leaders today. Polman made his statements in an interview with the Financial Times.
46. Lily Safra- Philanthropist
Category: Philanthropy
Safra makes the list after she donated $12.3 million to Harvard University to help support the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. The gift, in memory of Ms. Safra’s late husband, Edmond Safra, will help to permanently endow the graduate fellowship program offered by the Center. The Center will cover ethics issues in a wide range of important topics, specifically in the business world.
47. Jim Balsillie- Co-CEO, Research in Motion
Category: Business Leadership
Balsillie earns a spot on this list alongside Research in Motion Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis (see below) because of the way that his company handled requests from governments to turn over personal information on Blackberry users. Research in Motion pushed back on the requests, knowing that many of the governments were seeking personal information on political dissidents. Although RIM’s efforts could be greater, many companies will be following RIM’s lead.
48. Mike Lazaridis- Co-CEO, Research in Motion
Category: Business Leadership
Lazaridis, tied on this list with Research in Motion Co-CEO Jim Balsillie, earns a spot for standing up to governments (particularly in the Middle East) that wanted the company to turn over private texts and phone information to prosecute dissidents.
49. Frank Baldino, Jr.– CEO, Cephalon
Category: Business Leadership
Baldino makes the list for reimbursing Cephalon for his use of the company’s private jet — $63,835 paid back in 2010 Despite security justifications offered by other companies for paying for their CEOs’ vacation travel, Baldino does not use such cover – he pays when it is personal. His trip, his dime.
50. Peter Welch– Representative, U.S. House of Representatives
Category:Government and Regulatory
Welch in 2010 introduced the Overseas Contractor Reform Act, a piece of legislation that bans government contractors from receiving federal contracts if the contractor is found to have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
51. Paul Bulcke– CEO, Nestle
Category: Business Leadership
Nestle, under Bulcke’s leadership, announced in 2010 that it will spend nearly $500 million on supply chain sustainability. The bulk of that money will go towards coffee in particular, specifically focusing on sustainably grown coffee. The plan was announced in Mexico City in late 2010 by Bulcke.
52. Martin Kreutner– Chairman, International Anti-Corruption Academy
Category: Non-Government Organization
Kreutner, the head of the International Anti-Corruption Academy,
spent 2010 working to provide training to anti-corruption practitioners around the world. The IACA is a new institution, but there is a lot of hope that it will become a leading institution in the fight against corruption.
53. Zachary Bentley– Corporate Officer, Vent-A-Care
Category: Media and Whistle-Blowers
Ven-A-Care profits from exposing health fraud by collecting bounties
on whistle-blower suits — this is a unique way to battle fraud. Bentley, who is the most prominent member of the organization,
leads investigations. Particularly interesting about Ven-A-Care’s
methods is that it underscores a number of concerns that companies
have about Dodd-Frank.
54. Oliver Kuttner– Founder and CEO, Edison2
Category: Design and Sustainability
Kuttner, like Cerven (below), and his team won an X-Prize contest for creating a 100 MPG car. The contest, called the Automotive X-Prize, awarded three teams that were able to create a car with fuel efficiency better than 100 miles per gallon. For those that aren’t familiar with the contest, the X Prize Foundation regularly issues challenges for contests ranging from fuel efficiency to space travel.
54. Ron Cerven– Founder, Team Li-ion
Category: Design and Sustainability
Cerven shares a spot on this list after hie lead a team that created a 100 MPG Car and winning an X-Prize contest for the feat.
54. Roger Riedener– Team Leader, X-Tracer
Category: Design and Sustainability
Riedener, tied with Cerven and Kuttner (both listed above), earns his spot on this list for leading team X-Tracer, one of the three winners of the Automotive X Prize, a contest which awarded three teams for creating cars that could travel with fuel efficiency greater than 100 miles per gallon. X-Tracer won $2.5 million as part of the prize.
57. Vinod Khosla– Venture Capitalist, Khosla Ventures
Category: Investment and Research
Khosla and his firm, Khosla Ventures, spent 2010 investing heavily in renewable energy sources. To help bring some name recognition to his efforts, Khosla recently brought former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on board to help guide renewable energy investments.
58. Matthew Lee– Former Senior Vice President, Lehman Brothers
Category: Corporate Culture
Lee was a former risk officer for Lehman who wrote a letter indicating that the company’s accounting violated its own code of ethics. Mr. Lee, a 14-year-employee at the company, was fired. Lehman collapsed 4 months later. While this happened in 2008, his letter was discovered this year and so he is getting a somewhat late recognition.
59. Alexandra Wrage– President, TRACE
Category: Non-Government Organization
Wrage, who has made this list for several consecutive years, earns another spot for her truly tireless efforts towards combating corruption world-wide. TRACE continues to be a NGO with leading anti-bribery efforts.
60. Angel Gurria– Secretary-General, OECD
Category: Thought Leadership
Gurría makes the list after the OECD in 2010 issued the good
guidance on internal controls, ethics, and compliance, an influential
guide for creating an effective compliance program.
61. Andrew Kassoy– Co-Founder, B-Lab Blog
Category: Investment and Research
B-Lab, co-founded by Kassoy, helps promote open and transparent cultures at companies of all sizes through its B Corporation Certification. The organization recently launched its “Better” ad campaign, which is an effort to better engage companies in best practices around ethics programs and initiatives.
62. Jermyn Brooks– Director, Global Private Sector Programmes, Transparency International
Category: Thought Leadership
Brooks in 2010 established and launched a well respected anti-corruption framework on behalf of Transparency International.
63. Alexei Navalny– Political Activist, Russia
Category: Media and Whistle-Blowers
Navalny, a political activist in Russia, is a very active transparency advocate in his home country. His fame is growing every year as he begins to leverage new web-based tools to promote his cause. While many anti-corruption advocates in Russia focus on the public
sector, Navalny has found some success dealing with companies. He
spent 2010 attempting to increase the level of transparency in financial disclosure that come from state-owned corporations.
64. Daniel Thelesklaf– Executive Director, Basel Institute of Governance
Category: Non-Government Organization
The Basel Institute is an influential governance and risk management organization, particularly around anti-money laundering efforts. This year, under Theleskiaf’s leadership, the Institute launched a free anti-money laundering tool to help multinational corporations develop and improve on their internal anti-money laundering programs.
65. Marjorie Doyle– Principal, Majorie Doyle & Associates
Category: Thought Leadership
Marjorie Doyle, principal at the eponymous Marjorie Doyle & Associates, LLC, is a thought leader in business ethics and compliance. She and her firm spent 2010 working with companies to help develop new ethics and compliance initiatives and helping companies improve on their existing programs.
66. Salam Fayyad – Prime Minister,
Palestinian National Authority
Category: Government and Regulatory
Fayyad, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, spent 2010 campaigning for increased public transparency and anti-corruption in the Palestinian government. Fayyad has a number of admirers within Western governments around the world, and was even named as one of Foreign Policy Magazine’s top 100 thinkers of 2010.
67. Geoff Lye– Executive Chairman, SustainAbility
Category: Non-Government Organization
SustainAbility is a leading consultancy that advises companies on ethics and compliance and issues leading reports on new trends. In 2010, SustainAbility began the ‘Rate the Raters’ research project, a comprehensive research project that analyzes sustainability ratings issued by companies around the world.
68. Ethan Zuckerman– Founder, Global Voices and Media Cloud
Category: Non-Government Organization
Zuckerman founded an organization called Global Voices in 2004, a non-profit network of “global citizens” which promote transparency and freedom of speech online. In 2010, the company actively grew its citizen media newsroom, an international community of bloggers who publish stories covering the state of media transparency and freedom around the world. The group is based in The Netherlands and currently has more than 200 employees and contributors.
69. Gary Aguirre– Attorney, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Category: Media and Whistle-Blowers
Aguirre is a former SEC enforcement attorney who blew the whistle on Pequot Capital for allegedly trading on insider information. It turned out he was right and the SEC was wrong to retaliate against him for insisting on problems. The agency ended up doling out $755,000 in June of 2010 to compensate him.
70. Chris MacDonald – Author, Business Ethics Blog
Category: Thought Leadership
MacDonald tirelessly writes the unique and informative Business Ethics Blog, a great source for articles on business ethics. In 2010, MacDonald continued to be a well-respected thought leader on the subject.
71. Dick Cassin– Author, The FCPA Blog
Category: Thought Leadership
The FCPA was an important topic in 2010 (and will continue to be for
years), and Cassin authors one of the most read and widely respected blogs on the subject, appropriately titled The FCPA Blog.
72. Roy Snell– Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics
Category: Thought Leadership
The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) is a leading
membership organization of corporate ethics and compliance officers
representing major multinational corporations. The group provides
a leading forum to share best practices in business ethics.
73. Kate Heiny– Sustainability Manager, Target
Category: Design and Sustainability
Target has been promoting sustainability for many years now, but Helny makes the list after Target announced in 2010 that it is adding recycling bins to U.S. stores. As a company with significant reach across the U.S., we anticipate this will have a tangible impact on consumers’ recycling habits.
74. Mindy Lubber– President, CERES
Category: Investment and Research
CERES, under Lubber’s leadership, is a leading ethical investment firm. The company, which was founded in 1989 just after the Exxon-Valdez oil spill, has become a respected thought leader in ethical investing.
75. Hu Shuli– Editor, Century Weekly
Category: Media and Whistle-Blowers
As most people would agree, China is not a bastion of free speech when it comes to rival political views. Hu earns a spot on this list for her role in overseeing a new investigative journalism outfit in China, Century Weekly. Hu has a reputation of aggressively going after controversial topics in China and will surely put this new weekly publication on the map.
76. Shai Agassi– CEO, Better Place
Category: Design and Sustainability
Agassi earns a spot on this list for his work as the head of Better Place, a Palo Alto-based company that develops electric car infrastructure. The company, which has subsidiaries around the world, helps promote rapid acceptance of electric vehicles.
77. Professor Stanley Fischer– Governor, Bank of Isreal
Category: Government and Regulatory
Fischer is widely credited with maintaining strict fiscal discipline and helping to keep Israel out of financial trouble throughout 2010, a year that saw governments of all shapes and sizes struggling to manage the fallout from the recent recession.
78. Toby Heaps– President and Editor, Corporate Knights
Category: Thought Leadership
Heaps is the editor and publisher of Corporate Knights, a great Canadian magazine that covers business ethics and CSR. One of the highlights of the magazine each year is the magazine’s “Best 50 Corporate Citizens” listing. In 2010 the company also began to become more active in policy debates, working to ensure business ethics as a legislative priority.
79. Birgitta Jonsdottir- Member of Parliament, Icelandic Parliament
Category: Government and Regulatory
In a year that cemented Julian Assange and Wikileaks as household names, Jonsdottir has been encouraging transparency efforts of her own, albeit in a more clear-cut legal manner. As a member of Iceland’s Parliament, Jonsdottir is encouraging Iceland to be the transparency capital of the world through new legislation that would provide substantial protection for whistle-blowers. The outspoken
Jonsdottir is not free of controversy, however, as she has been
aligned with previous Wikileaks activity. Some opponents of her
legislation argue that Iceland would become a haven of rogue computer hackers looking to steal confidential information.
80. Brad Smith– General Counsel, Microsoft
Category: Corporate Culture
Smith and Microsoft granted free licenses for Microsoft products to Russian NGOs, partly as a way to combat arguments that the company was abetting crack downs on political dissidents.
81. Lola Gonzalez– Founder, Accurate Background Check
Category: Business Leadership
The founder and owner of Accurate Background Check, Gonzalez had few new clients and one-fifth of her customers were not paying their bills. Rather than lay off her employees, she ended her six-figure annual salary and took a job as a social worker for half the pay. Ms. Gonzalez felt that she could find work more easily than her employees, whom she trusts to run things in her absence.
82. Arlen Spector– Senator, U.S. Senate
Category: Government and Regulatory
Some say the most effective senator is an outgoing senator (i.e. there’s nothing left to lose for speaking one’s mind). Specter may have taken that to heart in 2010 when he was outspoken in saying that the U.S. Department of Justice should fine executives personally for FCPA violations, rather than just imposing huge fines on the company.
83. Michael Hershman– President, The Fairfax Group
Category: Non-Government Organization
Hershman spent 2010 tirelessly traveling the globe to help fight corruption and bribery in the public sector. Hershman and his company, The Fairfax Group, work with governments around the world to develop best-in-class anti-corruption programs.
84. Rich Lechner– VP Energy & Environment, IBM
Category: Corporate Culture
IBM topped Newsweek’s second annual “Green Rankings,” a ranking of the largest 500 U.S. corporations by environmental efforts (as well as the 100 largest global corporations). Lechner earns a spot on this list for leading the company’s sustainability efforts in 2010 and helping earn the company a top spot on Newsweek’s rankings.
85. Mark Makepeace– CEO, FTSE Group
Category: Investment and Research
Makepeace makes the list as the top officer at FTSE, which oversees the FTSE4Good Index, a great CSR-focused index that many multinational companies aspire to join. To maintain membership in the index, companies must maintain substantial CSR initiatives.
86. Ashraf Ghani– Co-Founder, Institute for State Effectiveness
Category: Non-Government Organization
Along with his colleague Clare Lockhart (above), Ghani makes the list for his efforts working to fight corruption in Afghanistan. Ghani co-founded the Institute for State Effectiveness with Lockhart in 2005, but the organization’s mission has never been more important than in 2010.
86. Clare Lockhart– Co-Founder, Institute for State Effectiveness
Category: Non-Government Organization
In 2010 the Institute for State Effectiveness (ISE) spent a significant amount of time and effort in Afghanistan to promote Transparency there. Lockhart (along with Ghani, tied for #86, below), founded the organization in 2005. At a time when many governments around the world appear to be giving up hope on fighting corruption in Afghanistan, organizations like the ISE become much more important.
88. Ron James– President & CEO, Center for Ethical Business Culture
Category: Thought Leadership
The Center for Ethical Business Culture (CEBC), a non-profit organization affiliated with the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, is a leading business ethics thought leadership organization. Under James’ leadership, the CEBC held a number of ethics-related events for its membership base of national and regional companies in 2010.
89. Ellen Iobst– Chief Sustainability Officer, Sunny Delight
Category: Corporate Culture
Lobst earns a spot on this list after Sunny Delight announced that its manufacturing plants achieved zero waste to landfill in 2010. Many companies set zero waste to landfill goals for 2020, Sunny Delight deserves special recognition for accomplishing this feat in 2010.
90. Joe Solmonese – President, Human Rights Campaign
Category: Non-Government Organization
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an influential group promoting worker rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender employees. Under Solomonese’s leadership, HRC was busy in 2010 issuing a number of thought leadership pieces and events promoting its cause.
91. Dick Bednar– Coordinator, CIECI
Category: Thought Leadership
Many industries are forming ethics-focused membership initiatives, but only a handful of them seem to be truly effective. The Construction Industry Ethics and Compliance Initiative (CIECI), lead by Bednar, is one such effective industry initiative. CIECI in 2010 increased the resources it provides to its members and continues to champion ethics issues in the construction industry.
92. Prince Charles– Prince, Wales
Category: Thought Leadership
Charles Philip Arthur George (“Prince Charles”), spent 2010 campaigning for environmental stewardship. His efforts can be seen in a recently released documentary, “Harmony: A New Way of Looking at our World.”
93. Susan Forsell- VP Supply Chain, Quality Systems, Mcdonald’s USA
Category: Design and Sustainability
Forsell earns a spot on this list after McDonald’s issued its 2010 annual suppy chain sustainability award. We find that it is often all too easy to overlook the impact from deep supply chains of multinational companies when it comes to sustainability and other ethics issues. Recognition like this helps to reinforce the impact and value of “green” suppliers.
94 (tie). Samuel Rubenfeld- Journalist, The Wall Street Journal
Category: Media and Whistle-Blowers
The Wall Street Journal recently launched its “Corruption Currents” blog, a compilation of top news stories around the world that cover anti-corruption and anti-bribery efforts. Rubenfeld, in 2010, was one of the most active contributors to the blog. Although there are many comprehensive anti-corruption related blogs and web resources available, the Corruption Currents blog receives added points because of the large audience that the Wall Street Journal is able to reach. We expect the blog to gain further notoriety throughout 2011.
94 (tie). Joe Palazzolo– Journalist, The Wall Street Journal
Category: Media and Whistle-Blowers
Palazzolo, along with Rubenfeld (right), created Wall Street Journal’s Corruption Currents blog. The site provides daily updates and articles from around the Web on anti-corruption and anti-bribery developments and related issues.
96. Peter Webster- Executive Director, EIRIS
Category: Investment and Research
EIRIS, under Webster’s leadership, is a leading investment organization dedicated to researching and investing in companies that focus on environmental, social and ethical issues. In 2010 EIRIS helped develop ethical investments from FTSE.
97. Tensie Whelan- President, Rainforest Alliance
Category: Non-Government Organization
In 2010 the Rainforest Alliance maintained its leadership in the environmental conservation arena. Last year the Alliance continued to secure high profile corporate clients that aspire to improve their global sustainability efforts.
98. Christiana Figueres- Head of the Secretariat, UNFCCC
Category: Non-Government Organization
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), under Figueres leadership, held a very public meeting in Cancun to help fight climate change — The results were not as great as hoped, but UNFCCC is slowly progressing efforts around clean energy and climate change.
99. Kamal Kar- Visiting Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
Category: Design and Sustainability
Last year, Kar helped improve sanitation processes in developing countries both by helping to develop new sanitation facilities and by encouraging local populations to use the new facilities. His efforts helped prevent various life threatening diseases transmitted through unclean water in more than 39 countries, ranging from Bangladesh to Malawi.
100. Christy Wood- Chairman, International Corporate Governance Work
Category: Investment and Research
Wood is Chairman of the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) Board of Governors. ICGN is a membership group of governance experts and institutional investors and spent 2010 hosting an influential conference on global corporate governance best practices.
Learning from Others’ Mistakes: 2010’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.
- Tony Hayward – How can Hayward not make this list after he came to embody a company (BP) responsible for the largest oil spill in decades?
- Vitaly Borker – Borker, the founder of decormyeyes.com, was arrested last year after allegedly stalking and threatening customers who tried to return products bought on his webste. Borker claimed the negative attention that came from the threats increased his sites ranking on Google searches.
- Cecilia Chang – Chang was the former Dean of Asian Studies at St. John’s University. She was charged in 2010 for enslaving some of her students. Specifically, she instructed foreign students to perform household duties such as cooking and cleaning and driving her son to the airport.
- David H. Brooks – Brooks, the former chief executive and chairman of DHB Industries, was found guilty in 2010 of insider trading and securities fraud. Brooks wasn’t shy about spending his money, either (allegedly $185 million obtained from illegal methods), exemplified by his $100,000 belt buckle.
- Kristin Ann Stahlbush – Stahlbush, a former Ohio attorney, was caught billing the Lucas County Juvenile System for more than 24 hours in a single day on multiple occasions.
- Eginhard Vietz – Vietz is the CEO of german pipeline supply firm Vietz GmbH. In 2010 his company was penalized for paying bribes, and Vietz’ response was, essentially, “So what?” He told a newspaper, “Nobody is disadvantaged by what I am doing.”
- Ken Kratz – Kratz, a Wisconsin District Attorney, was accused by several women of “sexting” them after they came to his office seeking legal help. One text, obtained by the AP, showed Kratz asking a 26-year-old woman, if she was “the kind of girl that likes secret contact with an older married elected DA.”
- Bonnie Hoxie – Hoxie, a former secretary for Walt Disney Co., tried to sell early access to Disney’s quarterly reports to a number of investment firms. The firms promptly reported her and she was arrested in 2010.
- Paul Galzerano – Galzerano, a former Northeast Health Systems Executive accused of stealing artwork from his employer decided not to show up to a court hearing and became a fugitive in 2010. His lawyer said that Galzerano, who was accused of taking $500,000 in bribes, is now homeless.
- Oscar Hernandez – The former mayor of Bell, California was arrested in 2010 with charges of misappropriating funds and taking illegally obtained loans. According to news reports,the city of Bell has a median household income of $36,000. City officials under Bell were receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
Ethisphere would like to thank the following individuals for their help in creating this list:
• Marianne Jennings, Professor of Management, Arizona State University
• Professor David Lovell, Head of School, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of New South Wales at The Australian Defence Force Academy
• Charles Elson, Director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, University of Delaware
• Mary C Gentile PhD, Director, Giving Voice To Values, Babson College
