More than 600 people from New York State businesses, state government, and local chambers of commerce attended The Business Council's Public Policy Institute Forum and State Chamber Dinner May 13 in Albany.
Three major leaders in the business communityJames W. Kinnear, Muriel Siebert, and Eric Mowerspoke at the Institute's forum on "Corporate Leadership and Ethics."
Mr. Kinnear, the retired president and chief executive officer of Texaco, led off the forum with a keynote address on sound corporate governance and on the importance of ethics in business leadership.
Mr. Kinnear said the free market, "the foundation for creating the highest standards of living in the world," sometimes requires "a corrective overview."
With regard to corporate governance, he said, that overview should include adjusting corporate board membership to assure the independence of outside directors, reporting as expenses the value of stock option programs, limiting the service of outside directors to three terms of three years each, and insisting that all elements of executive compensation be fully disclosed.
Mr. Kinnear was the architect of one of the great corporate turnarounds in historypulling Texaco out of the bankruptcy into which it was forced by a 1987 court judgment in Texas, and staving off a hostile takeover attempt.
In her presentation, Ms. Siebert highlighted her career as the first woman to hold a seat on the New York Stock exchange and the need for strict ethical standards and transparent accounting.
Corporate scandals such as that involving Enron have affected all areas of financial life, and those responsible should be punished to the full extent of the law, Siebert said. But capitalism itself remains a powerful force for good, she said.
"The capital formation system has made the success of this country, in my opinion, because we have spawned the companies, whether it's an Intel or a Microsoft where they have created literally hundreds of thousands of jobs," Siebert said.
Mr. Mower, the chairman and CEO of Eric Mower and Associates, a marketing communications firm, outlined the public relations and financial value of good business ethics.
"In the long run, companies with good reputations accomplish far more with less money than those with bad reputations," Mower said.
Governor Pataki made brief remarks to Business Council board members and others at a reception after the forum. He thanked the Council for its support of his efforts to enact a responsible budget.
The annual State Chamber Dinner at the Empire State Plaza followed the forum. State Comptroller Alan Hevesi made the keynote address at the dinner.
The state's current fiscal problems stem partly from the recession, stock market declines and the terrorist attacks of 9/11, as well as state leaders' failure to react quickly enough to the loss of revenues, the comptroller said.