Ethical Leadership Discussion to feature KPMG CEO, NBC’s Anne Thompson

The University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business is hosting a discussion about a topic much on the minds of the U.S. and greater global business community: Ethical Leadership.

The event will take place 12:30 p.m. ET on November 18 in Mendoza College’s Jordan Auditorium. Featured panelists include Lynne Doughtie, chairman and CEO of KPMG, one of the world’s leading professional services firms; and Ann Tenbrunsel, the David E. Gallo Professor of Business Ethics at Mendoza and author of the book, Blind Spots: Why We Fail to Do What's Right and What to Do about It. Internationally known journalist and Notre Dame alumna Anne Thompson, the chief environmental affairs correspondent for NBC News, will moderate the discussion.

The discussion is free and open to the public.

Lynne Doughtie

Doughtie, who also is a member of KPMG’s Global Board and Executive Committee, began her career in KPMG’s audit practice in 1985 and has served in a number of national, regional and global leadership roles. From 2011 to 2015, she served as vice chair of KPMG’s advisory business and oversaw the expansion of KPMG’s capabilities in innovative services and solutions, including information security, strategy, digital/mobile and transformation.

The Richmond, Virginia, native has received numerous accolades, including Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Business, Accounting Today magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People, the National Association of Corporate Directors’ 100 most influential people in the boardroom, and “Woman of Achievement” by the National Association of Female Executives.

Tenbrunsel researches the psychology of ethical decision making, examining why employees, leaders and students behave unethically despite their best intentions to behave to the contrary. She is the author, co-author or co-editor of six books on the topic, including Blind Spots and Codes of Conduct: Behavioral Research into Business Ethics. Tenbrunsel also authored a 2015 study, “The Street, The Bull and The Crisis: A Survey of the US & UK Financial Services Industry,” examining ethics in the financial services industry after the 2008 economic crisis.

As NBC News’ chief environmental affairs correspondent since 2007, Thompson reports across all of the network’s platforms, including “NBC Nightly News,” “Today,” MSNBC and NBCNews.com. She previously served as the chief financial correspondent reporting on financial and economic news for NBC News, covering events such as the economic impact of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, the increased cost of health care and its impact on the economy, alternative fuel vehicles, identity theft, and the politics of the credit card industry. 

Thompson also covered the trials of Martha Stewart, Bernie Ebbers and Tyco. Honors include the prestigious Gerald Loeb Award in 2004 and in 2006, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Journalism Award and the Emmy Award for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She was also nominated for four business and financial news Emmys.

For more information about the Ethical Leadership Panel Discussion, contact Carol Elliott, associate director of Executive Communications at the Mendoza College of Business, at celliot1@nd.edu or (574) 631-2627.