The Business Ethics Leadership Alliance Welcomes New Members, Amazon, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and More While Recognizing Companies and Leaders in Supporting Growth, Engagement, and Transformation Across the BELA Community

IQVIA, FirstEnergy Corp., Dar al Riyadh, Grupo Energia Bogota, among the latest to join the ranks of Ethisphere’s 325+ member-driven Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA).

NEW YORK, May 17, 2021 (Newswire.com) – Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing standards of ethical business practices, announced today that seven companies and individual leaders have been recognized with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) Impact Awards for their extraordinary commitment to advancing community engagement, growth, and transformation. At the same time, more than 18 major companies have joined the BELA community, building the ranks of the member-driven organization to more than 325 companies. The special recognitions include:

• Community Champion: Given for outstanding contributions to the member community by way of content resources, event participation, publications, and mentorship or peer-to-peer support. Honored: Eaton and Johnson Controls
• Global Vanguard: Given for exemplary leadership in expanding the reach of BELA and advancing our mission to meet the needs of a global compliance and ethics community. Honored: Prudential Assurance Company Singapore and Diageo 
• Beacon: Given to individual leaders who have fostered the growth of the BELA community through their personal efforts and generosity in sharing their time and expertise. Honored: David Huntley, Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer of AT&T Inc. (AT&T) and Ruzbeh Irani, President – Group Human Resources and Communications, and Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited.
• Emeritus: Recognizing those who provided enduring and inspirational advocacy for the compliance and ethics profession over the lifetime of their involvement with BELA. Honored: Melissa Stapleton Barnes, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Risk Management, and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Eli Lilly and Company.

“The ongoing challenges of 2021 mandated an even greater reliance on the community to support the myriad of new work entanglements. At the same time, there are many companies that continue to demonstrate exceptional leadership in times of crisis. The BELA Impact Awards are designed to recognized member companies and leaders who have shared a unique level of immersion and vision to advance community engagement, growth, and transformation,” said Kevin McCormack, Senior Vice President, and Executive Director, BELA. “Compliance and ethics leaders will continue to play a significant role in ensuring that the opportunities exist to bring ‘normalcy’ back to our world, coalesce around purpose, and maintain integrity during this challenging process.”

“I am so very honored to receive this award from the BELA community as it recognizes not just my work, but also the work of our entire team at Lilly. There has never been a more important time for companies and individuals to focus on ethics and integrity as well as their impact on customers and communities at large. Thank you Ethisphere and BELA for your work, your partnership, and this humbling recognition,” Melissa Stapleton Barnes (pictured left), Senior Vice President, Enterprise Risk Management, and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Eli Lilly and Company.

“Businesses are learning that we are, in fact, a significant part of the communities we serve. What we say, what we do, and how we do it matters more than ever before. The compliance and ethics of any company, large or small, sends a message that we are not just bystanders—we are leaders. This BELA Impact Awards recognition is a message to the greater community that the business community is engaged and that we stand ready to make a difference. Thank you for this honor,” said Nancy Berardinelli-Krantz (pictured right), Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel, Digital, Innovation, and Technology at Eaton.

Founded by Ethisphere, the globally connected BELA community of leading companies continues to expand and enrich the work that leaders are encountering across governance, risk management, compliance, and ethical practices. BELA member organizations, including academic institutions, represent more than 60 industries headquartered in 15 different countries. BELA has become a pivotal platform of connected leadership dedicated to progressing company standards and practices across global and regional business ecosystems.

The BELA network continues to grow, rapidly. With the 18 new companies that have recently joined, the total BELA Community includes more than 325-member organizations. New enterprise members include:

• AFL Global
• Amazon
• ATI Metals
• Avolon Aero
• Credicorp
• Dar al Riyadh
• DuPont
• Elbit Systems of America
• Elekta
• FirstEnergy Corp.
• Grupo Energia Bogota
• Ipsen Pharma
• IQVIA
• Lyondell Chemical Company
• MiMedx
• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
• Roper Technologies
• RTI International
• Tennessee Valley Authority

“As we continue to address areas like sustainability, equity, equality, and innovation—in a world that will look vastly different in the coming months and years—it is imperative that companies use their scale for good to lead the way, which is what the BELA community has been doing for many years, said Yousri Omar, Senior Corporate Counsel, Business Conduct & Ethics, Amazon. “We are pleased to join the ranks of BELA and look forward to the spirited discussions that will help the world become a better place.”

“Regeneron leads with science and acts with integrity – core values at the heart of everything we do. Patients trust Regeneron to deliver high-quality, safe, and reliable medicines and we collectively share the responsibility to conduct our business ethically to earn and maintain that trust,” said Beth Holly (pictured right), Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. “As a new member of the BELA community, we look forward to collaborating with like-minded organizations to share and learn best practices to build resiliency and improve our world.”

Earlier this year, BELA announced a selection of leading companies representing a diverse set of industries had joined the group, bringing the year-to-date total of new members to 33. Recent additions include McDonald’s, Nationwide, Spirit AeroSystems, STO Building Group, Rio Tinto, and more.

Based on the continued interest from the community, there’s an increasing desire and increased flexibility in the new work-from-home environment for leaders to connect and engage with industry peers. This year, Ethisphere has expanded upon its tradition of offering one of the most compelling platforms for leadership connectivity and diverse, pan-industry voices at the virtual 2021 Global Ethics Summit, which featured faculty members from around the world representing the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) community. Session replays, polls, and on-demand content are available. Click here for more information.

BELA Member Benefits

BELA members receive enterprise-wide access to the BELA Member Hub—a premier repository of key resources featuring examples of work, presentations, and research provided by BELA companies that are intended to cultivate the exchange of ideas and provide inspiration for companies to continuously improve in the area of ethics and compliance. To enable executive decision-making and resource calibration, members also have the opportunity to measure their own programs through data-driven benchmarking as an independent evaluation of their ethics and compliance programs and analysis of best practices relative to other leading companies’ programs. To request guest access to the BELA Member Hub, click here.

About BELA

Founded by Ethisphere, the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) is a globally recognized organization of leading companies collaborating together to share best practices in governance, risk management, compliance, and ethics. BELA’s membership has since grown to a large community of companies that recognize the inherent value of promoting ethical leadership and world-class compliance culture. Learn more about BELA by visiting http://bela.ethisphere.com. To nominate a company to join BELA, contact Director of Member Engagement Sarah Neumann at [email protected].

About Ethisphere 

Ethisphere® 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 Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere also helps to advance business performance through data-driven assessments, benchmarking, and guidance. More information about Ethisphere can be found at https://ethisphere.com.

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Media Contact
Aarti Maharaj
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@Ethisphere