Recap of the March 27, 2008 Leadership Forum
"The Next Generation Holds Companies Socially Accountable."
Patty Stonesifer, CEO of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, told the standing room only crowd on March 27, 2008 at the Bentley Leadership Forum, "The Next Generation Holds Companies Socially Accountable.”
“There’s a growing movement for corporate responsibility…and it’s becoming the norm in the corporate world because to get the right employee base, you have to have it, " Stonesifer added. This year’s forum was the fourth annual in collaboration with TIME; the theme was The Global Imperative to Serve the Public Good.
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Citing a movement toward corporate responsibility and a socially conscious generation of young people entering the workforce, Stonesifer said, “Every corporation has assets that can and should be used, not only to further the self-interest of the shareholders, but also to further the shared responsibility we have to leave the world a better place. It’s growing conversation in corporate board rooms.”
Having spearheaded programs to help ensure that American students are college-ready, and helped create alliances for malaria and AIDS vaccine development, Stonesifer said that spotlighting these issues — and thus creating a believability that something can be done — is one of the biggest benefits of the foundation.
During a conversational keynote with TIME Deputy Editor Romesh Ratnesar, Stonesifer noted that the attributes of a good leader include “the ability to look harsh reality in the face and to still have hope, and a belief, and the necessity of moving forward and doing what you can. Resilience…is what’s necessary to change the world.”
A dynamic discussion among a panel of international leaders,, moderated by Professor of Management and Coordinator of the Bentley Alliance for Ethics and Social Responsibility Tony Buono, included Swanee Hunt, former U.S. Ambassador (Austria), founding director of the Women and Public Policy Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Charles Stith, former U.S. Ambassador (Tanzania), director of African Presidential Archives and Research Center, Boston University; and Carol Cone, chair of Cone, specializing in Cause Branding sm and strategic philanthropy.
The panel explored a wide range of topics centered on how all types of organizations can incorporate socially beneficial outcomes into their business models. They described the challenges that lay ahead for the next generation of leaders who see social responsibility as the norm, and how our current presidential candidates can and will shape these expectations while they are also challenged to deliver demonstrable results.
The luncheon keynote speaker was Michael Brown, co-founder and CEO of City Year, a youth service corps operating across the country and in South Africa. Speaking to the Tomorrow25 — a group of high school juniors honored by Bentley as the next generation of leaders — he said, “You are the walking, talking ripples of hope, and together you are a mighty current. The world is truly going to be in good hands when it’s in yours.”
Chosen through a Bentley-sponsored international competition, the Tommorow25 have demonstrated initiative, citizenship, intelligence, technological savvy, cultural awareness, social responsibility, a passion for the real world of people and organizations, and a dedication to making positive things happen in their schools, communities and the broader society.
“It’s time that we establish a year of service as the very centerpiece of American Democracy in the 21st century,” Brown continued, noting his passion to bring national service to scale in America. “I have learned time and again that young people have an almost limitless power to connect, to engage, and to inspire.”
