Calling on business executives and boards of directors to prevent further scandals in corporate America, former Board of Trustees member and benefactor of the Hart Leadership Program Mitch Hart urged a return to high ethical standards in a speech Tuesday.
Hart--a cofounder and member of the board of directors of The Home Depot, Inc., and chair of The Hart Group, Inc.--spoke to a nearly full audience of students, faculty and alumni at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy. The speech was the first in a series of lectures on "Ethics and Corporate Governance," cosponsored by the Hart Leadership Program and the Samuel and Ronnie Heyman Center for Ethics and Public Policy and the Profession.
After an introduction by Joel Fleishman--the first director of the Sanford Institute, professor of law and public policy, and Hart's longtime friend--Hart expressed dismay at the reported shady business deals and unethical practices by companies such as Enron and Adelphia.
"Anyone here fall through the maze that's Enron? Did you ever figure out what they really did?" Hart asked, drawing laughter. But Hart also gave his opinion on what should happen to those business executives, saying he hoped they would be indicted and spend the rest of their lives in jail.
He emphasized that scandal is not as prevalent in corporate America as the general public often believes and that many people in the trade are angry over recent incidents of bad business.
"I promise you you're not as mad as I am," Hart said. "Over 30 years of sitting on corporate boards, and only twice did I think something unethical might be happening. Legally, [bad business practices] may be all right, but that doesn't make it right in my opinion."
Hart gave advice to the audience about choosing companies to invest in and gave an anecdote from his past as an example.
"Has anyone ever seen the movie Jerry Maguire? Remember 'Show me the money?' Look at the balance sheets. Show me the money," he said.
Hart described an incident where the CEO of Home Depot did not inform the board of directors of potential embezzlement in the company's South American branch. When Hart and the board found out, they terminated the CEO and hired a new one.
"Home Depot is clean," Hart chuckled. "I promise you that."
Audience members seemed to respond eagerly to Hart's ideas. Senior Brandilyn Dumas said she appreciated hearing Hart's ideas for punishing white-collar offenders. Alma Blount, director of the Hart Leadership Program, said she thought students enjoyed the speech.
"He genuinely cares about students and he is passionate about leadership," she said.
Several alumni returned to Duke to listen to the benefactor speak. Brandon Busteed, Trinity '99 and former Young Trustee, participated in the Hart Leadership Program when he majored in public policy studies and came all the way from Boston to finally meet the program's namesake.
Connie Bishop, Nursing '75, a city alderman for Gibsonville, N.C., said she came to hear "an inspiration in leadership."
Whether musing on the evils of unethical business practices, discussing his own experiences managing several companies, or providing advice for choosing trustworthy investments, Hart stressed the importance of individuals finding a sense of themselves and their own ethics and morals.
"You cannot legislate morality or ethics, but you can damn sure demand it," he said.
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