Month: August 2015

Ethisphere Announces an Updated Ethics Quotient™ Survey and Launch of the 2016 World’s Most Ethical Companies® Process

Posted on by Amy Paul

Companies Cite Multiple Advantages by Participating in the Process, Regardless of Program Maturity

New York, NY – August 31, 2015– Ethisphere, the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, announced today the kick-off of the 2016 World’s Most Ethical Companies program. The program, now entering its tenth year, is designed to recognize organizations that understand the value that permeates throughout an entire community of employees, customers, investors and the public at large when words about ethics, compliance and good governance are translated into action.

“There is great value in participating in this process whether or not the company is eventually named as a World’s Most Ethical Company,” said Katherine A. Lawler, Senior Vice President, Inclusion and Employee Relations, U.S. Bank. She added, “For example, the process provides a holistic assessment of where we stand in our program, we can compare ourselves against a gold standard of leading companies both in the U.S. and in our industry, and we become aware of areas that we can change or enhance. Additionally, by pulling our internal team together to work on the project, we forge and deepen relationships that allow us to mature our program going forward.”

Compare Leading Practices and Outcomes
As part of its mission to promote ethical corporate behavior and help companies move their programs forward, Ethisphere has analyzed data from 2015 and published a whitepaper that compares World’s Most Ethical Company honorees to others, and identifies developing trends for leading companies. “Actionable Insights from the 2015 World’s Most Ethical Companies” offers a robust analysis far different from other surveys and demonstrates for all companies the clear value in participating in the confidential process, whether or not the outcome is the World’s Most Ethical Company designation.The whitepaper can be downloaded here.

Additionally, Ethisphere’s longstanding belief that there is a correlation between ‘ethics’ and ‘the bottom line’ has been confirmed in a recent independent analysis. When publicly-traded companies named as World’s Most Ethical Companies during 2007-2014 are compared relative to the MSCI ACWI, World’s Most Ethical Companies demonstrated attractive returns (see the comparison) with the excess return not explainable by any risk factor tested thus far.

Insights and Company’s Experiences
Ethisphere will host two webcasts for those interested in learning more about the EQ and World’s Most Ethical Company process. The first webcast on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 at 2:00 PM covers how participating in the process impacts and changes your organization. The guest speaker for this webcast is Gregory C. Vamos, Assistant General Counsel – Manager of Office of Legal Compliance, Microsoft Corporation. Register here.

The second webcast will include information about the methodology behind the EQ and why participating in the process provides meaningful feedback to companies, and is scheduled for Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 1:00 PM ET. Michael Gioffre, Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer, Voya Financial, is the guest speaker. Register here.

Starting the Process and the Resulting Analytical Scorecard
Companies wishing to participate complete a brief form naming who should receive a custom link to the EQ. The completed survey along with documentation supporting the self-reported answers is due to Ethisphere before December 1, 2015. Ethisphere analysts score the surveys and conduct needed legal and reputational reviews.

In April, 2016, all participants receive a scorecard comparing their overall EQ and scores on a set of key questions and 5 categories to those of the honorees. Honorees will be announced on March 7, 2016 and celebrated at a gala dinner in New York City on March 8, 2016.

To start the process, visit: http://web.ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/2016-process/. Ethisphere will send EQ survey links beginning September 2.

More information is available at http://web.ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/wme-faq/.

The Ethisphere® Institute
The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with the Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs that include: Ethics Inside® Certification and Compliance Leader Verification™. More information about Ethisphere can be found at: www.ethisphere.com.

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Ethisphere Media Contact
Clea Nabozny
480.397.2658
[email protected]

Ty Francis Joins Ethisphere Executive Leadership Team

Posted on by Ethisphere

Ty Francis

Leader in corporate governance and integrity to direct Ethisphere business development

New York, NY – August 11, 2015 – Ethisphere, the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, announced today that Ty Francis has joined the company as Executive Vice President and Group Publisher with responsibility for the long term strategy and revenue production across the company’s full suite of events, research and magazine business.

Ethisphere has hosted the Global Ethics Summit in New York for seven years and, in the last two years, has expanded its ethics summits globally into Europe, Latin America and Asia. In addition, Ethisphere magazine’s themed issues on topics like trust, reputation, risk, communications, and supply chain, have engaged more than 100 senior leaders and companies as contributors. Mr. Francis will work alongside Stefan Linssen, Chief Content Officer, on these projects, and report to Timothy Erblich, Chief Executive Officer.

“Ethisphere is honored to play an increasingly important role codifying best practices into standards and creating connected communities around the globe that inspire action. Global issues from cybersecurity, diversity, governance, financial transparency, and culture are all ‘bet the company’ issues,” Mr. Erblich said. “As companies look to make a difference around the global ecosystem, Ty’s passion and unique ability to bring together multidisciplinary leaders across the globe in productive forums will be an asset for companies, thought leaders, and experts.”

Mr. Francis most recently served as Vice President and Publisher of NYSE Governance Services, a division of the New York Stock Exchange, where he was the chief revenue driver for all advertising and sponsorship for its Corporate Board Member magazine and events business. Prior to joining NYSE, Mr. Francis was Publisher of Corporate Secretary, a governance magazine and events business serving corporate secretaries, general counsel and governance professionals in North America.

Mr. Francis is a well-known and respected voice in the corporate governance community. His Twitter account @tyfrancis is one of the most read in corporate ethics and governance, and, according to F. Daniel Siciliano, Professor & Faculty Director, Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, and Associate Dean for Executive Education and Special Programs, Stanford Law School, “Today’s competitive global marketplace makes achieving the right kind of company culture a mission critical effort. Proper governance practices and board involvement and oversight in ethics and compliance are central to that process. Ty is both a cutting edge expert thinker in this space and an accomplished innovator when it comes to bringing together board members and helping them share and develop strategies for enhancing their company’s behavior and performance.”

“At a time when key stakeholder groups – customers, employees, investors, legislators, etc. – are increasingly making decisions based on corporate governance and ethics criteria, Ty Francis has emerged as a visionary thought leader who transcends industries,” said Paul J. Gennaro, senior vice president and chief communications officer for Voya Financial.

In 2015, Mr. Francis earned his CCEP (Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional) certification. In 2014, he was appointed as a Business Advocate for Wales, UK by The Right Honorable Carwyn Jones AM, First Minister of Wales, to further Welsh culture, business and promote it as a premium place to invest. Mr. Francis also serves as an advisory board member for ‘Women in the Boardroom Inc.’, a company committed to advancing women in their careers and into the boardroom.

The Ethisphere® Institute
The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with the Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs that include: Ethics Inside® Certification and Compliance Leader Verification™. More information about Ethisphere can be found at: www.ethisphere.com.

# # #

Ethisphere Media Contact
Clea Nabozny
480-397-2658
clea.nabozny(at)ethisphere.com