Principled

LRN’s Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames interviews Bruce Karpati, global chief compliance officer at KKR. Karpati has experience both within the government, when he led the SEC’s Asset Management Unit, and within companies, which gives him an appreciation of the importance for compliance and taking regulations seriously. He shares the key characteristics for a chief compliance officer to be successful, talks about innovative initiatives he is implementing to get lift-off for his programs across KKR’s portfolio companies. These endeavors help to ensure the company gets ahead of potential threats. What You’ll Learn on This Episode [0:53] Karpati shares a bit about KKR as an organization and its reach? [1:32] He talks about his program and how it approaches compliance across a global footprint? [3:09] How does he partner locally to convey some of the core critical messages? How does he hold those local stakeholders accountable? [4:38] How much two-way input is he open to from a cultural compliance standpoint? [5:51] What innovative tactics does Karpati employ as it relates to lift-off of his compliance strategy? [8:51] Karpati recounts his time leading the SEC’s Asset Management Unit and how his approach to E&C was impacted by sitting on both sides of the compliance profession? [11:31] What are some of the characteristics a CCO needs to have to be successful? [15:27] What drew him to a career in compliance?

“Our decisions, to a large extent, are predictable but not rational. Research has also shown that, when faced with ethical dilemmas, people behave virtuously not when they are moved by reason but by their intuition, emotion, and empathy. … If the rational was enough for ethical decision-making, then ethics professors would probably behave better than the rest of the population, right? Curiously, though, there is scientific evidence showing that now even ethics professors behave systematically better than the rest of the population.” “My key finding was companies that score higher on unethical culture are less profitable. … Companies with lower unethical scores--which is the say, the best ones--exhibit an average return on equity of 14 percent, about twice as much as the worst ones with the highest unethical scores.” This episode of the Principled podcast is hosted by Ben DiPietro, editor of LRN’s E&C Pulse newsletter, sits down to talk with Alexandre di Miceli, a professor, consultant, researcher, and expert on corporate governance and business ethics. Di MIceli is a founding partner of Direzione Management Consulting in Brazil and has authored several books, including “The Virtuous Barrel: How To Transform Corporate Scandals into Good Business via Behavioral Ethics.” Behavioral ethics is a new and multi-disciplinary field, which addresses two questions: How do people actually behave when exposed to ethical dilemmas and why do good people do bad things? Because behavioral ethics addresses the inner psychological factors and the contextual pressures that influence a person’s transgressions, di Miceli explains how it has greatly changed how companies address ethics and compliance issues.  What You’ll Learn on This Episode  [1:12] How did he develop an interest in behavioral ethics, and what led him down this career path?  [4:17] Are companies understanding the importance of developing an ethical corporate culture, or is there still some way to go?  [6:49] What role does emotion play in the study of behavioral ethics?  [8:52] Is there an economic case to be made for using behavioral ethics?  [11:00] What are two challenges companies face when they try to use behavioral ethics and what would you suggest they do to overcome those challenges?  [13:45] Are there ethical considerations to companies using behavioral ethics on their employees, in light of things like artificial intelligence and technology?  Find this episode of Principled on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Podyssey, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

“Go out with people in the field. Watch them do their jobs. Ask questions. The challenge for a lot of compliance folks is we’re often telling people how to do things, as opposed to watching and learning how people are doing things and try to identify ways to integrate into their approaches. … In the end, it’s going to make your advice much more effective, much more efficient, and much more tailored to the specific needs of each functional unit that you are engaging with.” “One-size-fits-all approaches really don’t work. In fact, I think it’s the opposite; compliance risks are local. The best programs, in my view, for multinational companies are almost a series of individually designed programs for each locale. And the consistency surrounds the infrastructure, the rigor and the continued message about the importance of ethics and compliance.” On this episode of the Principled podcast, host Ben DiPietro, editor of LRN’s ENC Newsletter, interviews Jonathan Drimmer, a Partner of the law firm, Paul Hastings, LLP. Prior to his current role, Jonathan was the Chief Compliance Officer at Barrack Gold, a large mining company, where he worked to improve the programs across five continents, including workforce engagement, training, monitoring through metrics, driving company culture through behavioral modeling, and using values to positively identify third parties to work with. Jonathan explains how a one-size-fits-all Compliance program doesn’t work for a multinational company, and how programs, training and engagement can all be improved by taking a hyper-local approach to each locale. What You’ll Learn on This Episode [0:58] Drimmer recounts his journey from being a lawyer to getting into ethics and compliance, and what he does in his role at Paul Hastings? [3:25] During his time at Barrack, what were the main ethics and compliance challenges Drimmer faced and how did he handle those? How did the program change or improve during his tenure? [6:29] How did he deal with the issues in far-flung jurisdictions when integrating the ethics and compliance program with the human rights program. [8:49] What are some tips to ensure program consistency and yet still be specific to each locale that you are doing business in? [10:04] How can training better engage stakeholders in the company’s ethics and compliance program? [12:15] What are two things that companies should do, but often don’t, to better embed ethics and compliance in the organization? [14:10] Drimmer provides tips for ethics and compliance professionals to build key relationships that bolster buy-in and support in organizations? [15:32] What does he predict will be happening in ethics and compliance over the next 10 or 25 years? Find this episode of Principled on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Podyssey or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

On today’s Principled episode, Ben DiPietro, editor of LRN’s E&C Pulse newsletter, speaks with Lisa Beth Lentini Walker, founder and president of Lumen. Lentini Walker explains why now is a great time to be in the ethics and compliance profession, and how companies, boards and consumers are demanding more in terms of workplace health, inclusion and governance.  She has been a mentor to many successful E&C professionals because she believes it’s a crucial part of developing future leaders and continuing to learn emotional intelligence and empathy as a leader herself. She discusses how fears some men have with mentoring a woman in the wake of #MeToo are unjustified, and how companies can improve and monitor diversity and inclusion going forward.  What You’ll Learn on This Episode  [0:52] What was her path she took to get to the point of starting her own company.  [2:49] Was the need for wellness something she noticed as lacking in the marketplace, or did she experience firsthand the burnout in the people around her?  [5:49] What can E&C professionals do to improve relationships with other business units, and are there any things that they should avoid?  [7:25] What happens if E&C can’t get buy-in and support?  [9:15] How important is mentoring in the E&C profession?  [11:25] Some men have said they are less likely to mentor a female colleague. How can we ensure there aren’t lost opportunities for mentorship?  [12:32] What are some of the biggest obstacles when working through issues of diversity and inclusion in organizations, and how should progress be measured?  Find this episode of Principled on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Podyssey, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.