ETHISPHERE ANNOUNCES ANNUAL LIST OF
100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN BUSINESS ETHICS
2009 Winners Recognized for Significantly Affecting, Furthering and
Elevating Business Ethics Dialogue
People We Won’t Miss List Highlights Those Who Committed Top 10 Ethical Missteps of 2009
New York – December 17, 2009 – After one of the corporate sector’s most tumultuous years in decades, which resulted in increased scrutiny of corporate transparency, oversight and ethics, the Ethisphere Institute today announced its list of 2009’s 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics. This annual ranking recognizes individuals who have inspired an elevation or shift in the dialogue, standards and even sometimes policy around business ethics.
“This year we not only saw the catastrophic consequences that ethical failings can have on an organization and industry at large, but we were also able to observe the profoundly positive impact that sound corporate ethics can have on the long-term health and wealth of a company,” said Stefan Linssen, Editor-in-Chief of Ethisphere Magazine. “These individuals have impacted the way we think about, practice and oversee ethics in ways that will continue to resonate with the business community for many years to come.”
At the top of this year’s list is John Kopchinski, a former Pfizer sales representative who blew the whistle on Pfizer’s marketing activities. Kopchinski’s 2003 qui tam lawsuit against his employer ultimately resulted in Pfizer’s $2.3 billion settlement of civil and criminal penalties for promoting more than a dozen drugs for unapproved uses and doses. Rounding out this year’s Top 10 Most Influential are:
• Peter Solmssen – General Counsel, Siemens
• Mary Schapiro – Chairman, SEC
• Keith Jubah – Head of Public Procurement and Concessions Commission, Libya
• Neelie Kroes – Commissioner for Competition, EU
• Mike Duke – CEO, Wal-Mart
• Carter Roberts – CEO, World Wildlife Fund
• Sir David Walker – Senior Adviser, Morgan Stanley International
• Huguette Labelle – Chair, Transparency International
• Dame Deirdre Hutton – Chair, Food Standards Agency, UK
For six of this year’s winners, 2009 marks the third consecutive year that they are listed among the Most Influential People in Business Ethics. Darden School of Business Professor R. Edward Freeman, Author Marc Gunther, General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, KLD Research & Analytics President Peter Kinder, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, and TRACE International President Alexandra Wrage were all on the 2007 and 2008 lists as well.
Ethisphere also released its annual list of the Top 10 People We Won’t Miss, which includes now infamous names such as Charles Conaway, the former CEO of K-Mart; Steven Cauley, a partner at Cauley, Bowman, Carney & Williams and Tom Petters, founder of Petters Group Worldwide LLC. “While it’s true that much of the advancement in business ethics occurs as a result of forward-thinking, positive individual and organizational action,” continued Linssen, “The missteps of these 10 individuals have undoubtedly, though inadvertently, brought about improvements in and increased awareness of business ethics.”
Developed with input, guidance and support of professors from leading international business schools such as Notre Dame, Arizona State University and University of Navarre, the Most Influential ranking recognizes individuals in eight categories: Government and Regulatory, Business Leadership, Non-Government Organization (NGO), Design and Sustainability, Media and Whistleblowers, Thought Leadership, Corporate Culture, and Investment and Research.
The full rankings with descriptions of the recognized individuals and activities and list of advisory panel members are available in the Q4 2009 issue of Ethisphere Magazine and online at http://ethisphere.com/2009s-100-most-influential-people-in-business-ethics/.
