Principled

How do you move your ethics and compliance program along the journey from basic to best in class? How do you keep momentum amid a major business disruption and downturn? And how do you make progress on the holy grail of compliance objectives—a speak-up culture?  In this episode of LRN’s Principled Podcast, host Emily Miner is joined by Gail Lehman, the EVP, general counsel, and secretary at Hexcel Corporation. Listen in as Gail shares how this high-tech materials manufacturing company has evolved its compliance program over the past five years and what that’s meant for the company’s culture. 

For a transcription of this podcast, please visit the episode page at LRN.com.

Gail Lehman is the executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at Hexcel Corporation, having joined Hexcel in January of 2017. Hexcel is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Gail oversees the legal and trade compliance functions for this NYSE public company, a leading global producer of advanced composites for commercial aerospace, space and defense, and various industrial markets. She is also the leader of Hexcel’s Sustainability program at a corporate level. Gail serves as a trusted strategic advisor to the board, chief executive officer, and business teams. Upon joining the company, Gail restructured the legal and trade functions to align with Hexcel’s business teams and operational objectives. She re-engineered the Code of Business Conduct program, redrafting the code and rolling out specially tailored “speak up” ethics training and messaging across all global locations. She collaborates with other senior leaders and teams to drive Hexcel’s sustainability efforts and major growth, strategic and commercial activities, including mergers and acquisitions, cyber incident readiness, and contracting with the company’s critical customers and suppliers.  

Prior to joining Hexcel, Gail served as chief administrative officer, general counsel, and corporate secretary at Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation. Prior to Noranda, Gail was vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at both Hawker Beechcraft Corporation and Covalence Specialty Materials Corporation. Earlier she rose through the ranks of the law department at Honeywell International. She began her career at the law firm of Lowenstein, Sandler in Roseland, NJ after serving a federal judicial clerkship in the District Court in New Jersey. 

Gail has a degree in psychology from Rutgers College, a graduate degree in educational psychology from Rutgers Graduate School of Education, and a law degree with high honors from Rutgers University School of Law. She has served on several non-profit boards, including currently for the Women’s Business Development Council in Stamford, Connecticut. 

Emily Miner is a vice president in LRN’s ethics and compliance Advisory practice. She counsels executive leadership teams on how to actively shape and manage their ethical culture through deep quantitative and qualitative understanding and engagement. A skilled facilitator, Emily emphasizes co-creative, bottom-up, and data-driven approaches to foster ethical behavior and inform program strategy. Emily has led engagements with organizations in the healthcare, technology, manufacturing, energy, professional services, and education industries. Emily co-leads LRN’s ongoing flagship research on E&C program effectiveness and is a thought leader in the areas of organizational culture, leadership, and E&C program impact.

Prior to joining LRN, Emily applied her behavioral science expertise in the environmental sustainability sector, working with non-profits and several New England municipalities; facilitated earth science research in academia; and contributed to drafting and advancing international climate policy goals. Emily has a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida with a degree in Anthropology.

Do hotlines really work? According to the 2019 Global Business Survey conducted by the Ethics and Compliance Initiative, only 6% of E&C complaints went to hotlines, compared to 51% to direct supervisors and the remainder to higher management or human resources. So why are so many E&C programs—not to mention boards of directors—relying principally on hotline data to assess company culture and compliance? In this episode of LRN’s Principled Podcast, Susan Divers talks about reimagining hotlines with Scott Sullivan, the chief integrity and compliance officer at Newmont Corporation. Listen in as Scott shares how his team reinvented Newmont’s hotline channel and reporting process to separate the wheat from the chaff and gain meaningful information. 

For a transcript of this podcast, please visit the episode page at LRN.com.

Scott Sullivan is the Chief Integrity & Compliance Officer of Newmont Corporation, the world’s leading gold company. Newmont has approximately 15,000 employees and 15,000 contractors and has 12 operating mines and 2 non-operated JVs in 9 countries. Mr. Sullivan oversees, develops, implements, and manages Newmont’s integrity and compliance program including ethics, anti-bribery, corporate investigations, and global trade compliance. Previously, Mr. Sullivan was the Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of a global manufacturer of fluid motion and control products with approximately 17,000 employees operating in 55 countries. Mr. Sullivan has written and contributed numerous articles on compliance programs, anti-bribery/FCPA, export controls, economic sanctions, and other ethics and compliance topics to a variety of publications. Mr. Sullivan is also a frequent local, national, and international speaker, moderator, and conference organizer on compliance, anti-bribery/FCPA, export controls, and economic sanctions.

Susan Divers is a senior advisor with LRN Corporation. In that capacity, Ms. Divers brings her 30+ years’ accomplishments and experience in the ethics and compliance area to LRN partners and colleagues. This expertise includes building state-of-the-art compliance programs infused with values, designing user-friendly means of engaging and informing employees, fostering an embedded culture of compliance and substantial subject matter expertise in anti-corruption, export controls, sanctions, and other key areas of compliance. Prior to joining LRN, Mrs. Divers served as AECOM’s Assistant General for Global Ethics & Compliance and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer. Under her leadership, AECOM’s ethics and compliance program garnered six external awards in recognition of its effectiveness and Mrs. Divers’ thought leadership in the ethics field. In 2011, Mrs. Divers received the AECOM CEO Award of Excellence, which recognized her work in advancing the company’s ethics and compliance program. Mrs. Divers’ background includes more than thirty years’ experience practicing law in these areas. Before joining AECOM, she worked at SAIC and Lockheed Martin in the international compliance area. Prior to that, she was a partner with the DC office of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal. She also spent four years in London and is qualified as a Solicitor to the High Court of England and Wales, practicing in the international arena with the law firms of Theodore Goddard & Co. and Herbert Smith & Co. She also served as an attorney in the Office of the Legal Advisor at the Department of State and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the UN working on the first anti-corruption multilateral treaty initiative. Mrs. Divers is a member of the DC Bar and a graduate of Trinity College, Washington D.C. and of the National Law Center of George Washington University. In 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Ethisphere Magazine listed her as one the “Attorneys Who Matter” in the ethics & compliance area. She is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Rutgers University Center for Ethical Behavior and served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Practical Training from 2005-2008. She resides in Northern Virginia and is a frequent speaker, writer and commentator on ethics and compliance topics. Mrs. Divers’ most recent publication is “Balancing Best Practices and Reality in Compliance,” published by Compliance Week in February 2015. In her spare time, she mentors veteran and university students and enjoys outdoor activities.

When it comes to driving ethical behavior in organizations, many ethics and compliance programs are beginning to focus more on leveraging company values than relying primarily on rules. But what does taking a values-based approach look like in practice, especially if you’re a multinational organization? How do talk about it with a wide range of employee populations? In this episode of LRN’s Principled Podcast, Susan Divers is joined by Gabriela Del Castillo, the chief ethics and compliance officer at Arca Continental, to discuss the importance of creating a respectful workplace and the role that E&C plays in developing ethical culture. 

For a transcript of this podcast, please visit the episode page at LRN.com.

Gabriela Del Castillo is the global chief ethics and compliance officer of Arca Continental, the second-largest Coca-Cola bottler in Latin America—and one of the largest in the world. She leads the construction of the company’s corporate sustainability through the management of ethical and compliance risks. In addition, she designs mitigation strategies—including policies, controls, and procedures—as well as communication and training initiatives for Arca’s ethics and compliance program. Gabriela also serves as the secretary of the Audit and Corporate Practices Committee for the organization’s board of directors. 

Prior to joining Arca, Gabriela was the regulatory affairs corporate manager at the food and beverage services company Empresas Polar. In this role, she helped the organization adopt risk management and compliance processes to anticipate risks and opportunities in the regulatory and legal fields. She also designed strategies to minimize costs or capture savings, based on a deep understanding of the company’s operations and stakeholders. Before that, Gabriela worked as a legal analyst for Siderúrgica del Orinoco, C.A. SIDOR, a Venezuelan steel corporation. 

Gabriela earned a master's degree in international legal studies from Georgetown University and graduated magna cum laude from Universidad Central de Venezuela. She also received a marketing and innovation diploma from Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración IESA in 2017. 

Susan Divers is a senior advisor with LRN Corporation. In that capacity, Ms. Divers brings her 30+ years’ accomplishments and experience in the ethics and compliance area to LRN partners and colleagues. This expertise includes building state-of-the-art compliance programs infused with values, designing user-friendly means of engaging and informing employees, fostering an embedded culture of compliance and substantial subject matter expertise in anti-corruption, export controls, sanctions, and other key areas of compliance.

Prior to joining LRN, Mrs. Divers served as AECOM’s Assistant General for Global Ethics & Compliance and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer. Under her leadership, AECOM’s ethics and compliance program garnered six external awards in recognition of its effectiveness and Mrs. Divers’ thought leadership in the ethics field. In 2011, Mrs. Divers received the AECOM CEO Award of Excellence, which recognized her work in advancing the company’s ethics and compliance program. Mrs. Divers’ background includes more than thirty years’ experience practicing law in these areas. Before joining AECOM, she worked at SAIC and Lockheed Martin in the international compliance area. Prior to that, she was a partner with the DC office of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal. She also spent four years in London and is qualified as a Solicitor to the High Court of England and Wales, practicing in the international arena with the law firms of Theodore Goddard & Co. and Herbert Smith & Co. She also served as an attorney in the Office of the Legal Advisor at the Department of State and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the UN working on the first anti-corruption multilateral treaty initiative. Mrs. Divers is a member of the DC Bar and a graduate of Trinity College, Washington D.C. and of the National Law Center of George Washington University. In 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Ethisphere Magazine listed her as one the “Attorneys Who Matter” in the ethics & compliance area. She is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Rutgers University Center for Ethical Behavior and served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Practical Training from 2005-2008. She resides in Northern Virginia and is a frequent speaker, writer and commentator on ethics and compliance topics. Mrs. Divers’ most recent publication is “Balancing Best Practices and Reality in Compliance,” published by Compliance Week in February 2015. In her spare time, she mentors veteran and university students and enjoys outdoor activities.

Rewards and recognition are key tools for building an ethical workplace culture. Leveraging these creates a positive feedback loop and reinforces stated goals and standards. But what does successfully engaging employees through rewards and recognition structures look like in practice? How can these efforts catalyze values in action? In this episode of the Principled Podcast, Dr. Arieana Thompson, ethical culture advisor at LRN, discusses rewards and recognition structures with Alyssa Menard-Szacilo, a global strategic customer success manager at Alteryx. Listen in as the two explore how effective rewards and recognition structures foster ethical culture and inspire values-aligned behaviors in the workplace. 

For a transcript of this podcast, please visit the episode page at LRN.com.

Alyssa Menard-Szacilo is an accomplished global customer success manager at Alteryx with extensive experience in data analytics and customer experience. She holds a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Colorado and a bachelor's degree in psychology and criminal justice from Norwich University. 

Alyssa has played a key role in driving customer engagement and delivering measurable value to clients. She is committed to helping others succeed and is highly regarded by her colleagues and peers. In the last year Alyssa has received the Rookie of the Quarter and the Global Newcomer of the Year awards. 

Overall, Alyssa is a highly skilled and dedicated global customer success manager, committed to delivering exceptional results for clients and helping organizations achieve their goals. She brings a unique combination of expertise, experience, and passion to every project she undertakes, making her a valuable asset to her clients. 

Dr. Arieana Thompson believes in positively transforming the modern-day workplace through thought-provoking, evidence-based insights.

Arieana is a subject matter expert in executive leadership, succession management, ethics and compliance (E&C), wellness cultures, and employee growth. Arieana has experience advising in internal and external settings and professional speaking. Arieana is a Certified Positive Intelligence Coach (CPQC), helping leaders and individuals to cultivate self-awareness, harness natural strengths, and reduce stress.

As a scientist-practitioner, Arieana researches and publishes well-being, culture, and leadership thought pieces in industry and peer-reviewed academic journals. These publications enable executives to create and sustain values-led, profitable, and creative companies.

The benefits of civility in the workplace are well documented. Operating through a lens of courtesy, integrity, and respect helps align teams, lift productivity, and reduce risk. But how to create a workplace environment that prizes these things when so much of society has become so... uncivilized? How can we maintain our own composure in this trying environment, and is it important? In this episode of the Principled Podcast, host Jen Uner explores the value of thoughtful communications with Shana Fried and Marie Corchado-Stewart, two key compliance executives at the global pharmaceuticals company AbbVie. Listen in as Shana and Marie share how their E&C program addresses thoughtful communications and equips employees for success in a time of considerable change both inside the organization, and outside of it.   

For a transcript of this podcast, please visit the episode page at LRN.com.

Shana Fried is AbbVie’s ethics and compliance officer for enterprise compliance, policies, and governance. She leads AbbVie’s compliance team supporting R&D, corporate functions, and operations, EED&I, policy standards, training, governance, and communications. 

Shana joined AbbVie in 2014. A passionate advocate for patients and people, Shana has worked in both the legal and compliance teams to partner with business stakeholders on strategies to deliver products that bring value for patients. Before joining AbbVie, Shana spent nine years as an attorney in the Life Science Transactions practice group of Reed Smith LLP.   

Shana holds a Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University. She is married and has two sons, and enjoys traveling, and being an advocate for social justice causes. 

Marie Corchado-Stewart is AbbVie’s director of standards, training and equity, equality, diversity and inclusion in the Office of Ethics and Compliance (OEC). She is responsible for AbbVie’s corporate compliance training, policies, and EED&I efforts in the OEC.   

Marie joined AbbVie in 2006 and has held various roles, all within the Office of Ethics and Compliance. This has afforded her the opportunity to work cross-functionally with various functions within the organization and gain a deep appreciation for the diversity of thought, background and experiences needed to bring life-changing therapies to patients.   

Marie holds a master's degree in industrial organization psychology from Chicago School of Professional Psychology. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, cooking and spending quality time with family and friends.  

Jen Üner is the Strategic Communications Director for LRN, where she captains programs for both internal and external audiences. She has an insatiable curiosity and an overdeveloped sense of right and wrong which she challenges each day through her study of ethics, compliance, and the value of values-based behavior in corporate governance. Prior to joining LRN, Jen led marketing communications for innovative technology companies operating in Europe and the US, and for media and marketplaces in California. She has won recognition for her work in brand development and experiential design, earned placements in leading news publications, and hosted a closing bell ceremony of the NASDAQ in honor of the California fashion industry as founder of the LA Fashion Awards. Jen holds a B.A. degree from Claremont McKenna College.

How does the largest global security and defense company, with 116,000 employees worldwide, ensure the highest standards for its ethics and compliance program? This is particularly challenging amid an environment of increased regulation, geopolitical conflict, and economic uncertainty. In this episode of the Principled Podcast, host Susan Divers explores this question with Jim Byrne, Lockheed Martin’s vice president for ethics and business conduct. Listen in as the two discuss how Lockheed Martin uses “force multipliers” to empower employees to create an inclusive culture, own their ethical workplace, and act when something is amiss. 

For a transcript of this podcast, please visit the episode page at LRN.com.

The Honorable James M. Byrne currently serves as Vice President, Ethics & Business Conduct, for Lockheed Martin Corporation. He is responsible for the strategic direction and operational excellence of Lockheed Martin’s award-winning domestic and international ethics program and execution of the Corporation’s compliance training across the enterprise. Jim is also on the Corporate Vice Presidents Contributions Committee of Lockheed Martin, established and authorized to review and approve large charitable contributions. Prior to rejoining Lockheed Martin, he served as the Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) where he led modernization initiatives and served as the chief operating officer of the federal government’s second-largest Cabinet department, with some 385,000 employees in VA medical centers, clinics, benefits offices, national cemeteries, and other facilities throughout the country. Previously, Mr. Byrne served as VA’s General Counsel, leading VA’s nationwide team of nearly 800 attorneys, paralegals, and staff who support VA’s mission and priorities by providing sound legal expertise, representation, and, as needed, critical problem-solving skills and risk-management advice to the Secretary and other senior VA leaders. 

Before arriving at VA, Mr. Byrne served as Associate General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer at Lockheed Martin Corporation. He also served for several years on the board of directors for Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE) when it was a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin. Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Mr. Byrne served in the career Federal Senior Executive Service as Deputy Special Counsel with the Office of the United States Special Counsel, and as both the General Counsel and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations with the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Soon after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Mr. Byrne was recalled to active duty for 18 months with the U.S. Marine Corps in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Lieutenant Colonel James Byrne was assigned as the Officer-in- charge of the Marine Liaison Office at the then-National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Colonel Byrne led teams of Marines, stationed in DC-metro-area military hospitals and Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, who were responsible for supporting injured and deceased Marines, Sailors, and their families. 

Mr. Byrne has over 25 years of experience in the public sector, including service as a forward deployed Marine Corps Infantry Officer and a U.S. Department of Justice international narcotics prosecutor. Mr. Byrne’s professional honors include several DOJ awards and The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator’s Award for Exceptional Service. He is also a recipient of the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism and several military decorations, including the Meritorious Service Medal. 

Mr. Byrne also currently serves as a Proxy Holder – Outside Board Director for Rancher Government Solutions, a company that delivers secure and certified open source and cloud-native software for the United States Government adopting DevSecOps across the IT landscape. His past professional engagements include director and advisory board positions on several startup companies, and service on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy & Integrity Advisory Committee and the International Association of Privacy Professionals Board of Directors (Chairman). Jim is very active in his church and community and prioritizes mentoring veterans. He currently volunteers on the American Association of Suicidology Board of Directors, the Navy - Marine Corps Relief Society Advisory Board, Veterans Moving Forward Board of Directors, Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance Board of Directors, Victor Bravo Board of Directors and the Give an Hour Executive Board.  

Mr. Byrne is a Secretary of the Navy Distinguished Midshipman Graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he received an engineering degree and, ultimately, held the top leadership position of Brigade Commander. Mr. Byrne later earned his Juris Doctorate from Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, Florida, where was awarded a public service fellowship. He started his legal career as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Malcolm J. Howard, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina.

Susan Divers is the director of thought leadership and best practices with LRN Corporation. She brings 30+ years’ accomplishments and experience in the ethics and compliance arena to LRN clients and colleagues. This expertise includes building state-of-the-art compliance programs infused with values, designing user-friendly means of engaging and informing employees, fostering an embedded culture of compliance, and sharing substantial subject matter expertise in anti-corruption, export controls, sanctions, and other key areas of compliance. Prior to joining LRN, Mrs. Divers served as AECOM’s Assistant General for Global Ethics & Compliance and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer. Under her leadership, AECOM’s ethics and compliance program garnered six external awards in recognition of its effectiveness and Mrs. Divers’ thought leadership in the ethics field. In 2011, Mrs. Divers received the AECOM CEO Award of Excellence, which recognized her work in advancing the company’s ethics and compliance program. Before joining AECOM, she worked at SAIC and Lockheed Martin in the international compliance area. Prior to that, she was a partner with the DC office of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal. She also spent four years in London and is qualified as a Solicitor to the High Court of England and Wales, practicing in the international arena with the law firms of Theodore Goddard & Co. and Herbert Smith & Co. She also served as an attorney in the Office of the Legal Advisor at the Department of State and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the UN working on the first anti-corruption multilateral treaty initiative.  Mrs. Divers is a member of the DC Bar and a graduate of Trinity College, Washington D.C. and of the National Law Center of George Washington University. In 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Ethisphere Magazine listed her as one the “Attorneys Who Matter” in the ethics & compliance area. She is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Rutgers University Center for Ethical Behavior and served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Practical Training from 2005-2008. She resides in Northern Virginia and is a frequent speaker, writer and commentator on ethics and compliance topics.

There are clear challenges for the road ahead in 2023—economic headwinds, geopolitical conflict, supply chain disruption, stakeholder activism, increased scrutiny by government regulators. How exactly are E&C programs navigating these risks, and how are they evolving in response? In this episode of the Principled Podcast, host Emily Miner talks about how values can sustain ethical performance—the essential element of effective E&C programs—and absorb the shocks of unanticipated business realities with her colleague, Susan Divers. Listen in as the two draw insights from the 2023 edition of LRN’s annual Ethics & Compliance Program Effectiveness Report, which is available now to download.  

Get the 2023 Ethics & Compliance Program Effectiveness Report. 

Susan Divers is the director of thought leadership and best practices with LRN Corporation. She brings 30+ years’ accomplishments and experience in the ethics and compliance arena to LRN clients and colleagues. This expertise includes building state-of-the-art compliance programs infused with values, designing user-friendly means of engaging and informing employees, fostering an embedded culture of compliance, and sharing substantial subject matter expertise in anti-corruption, export controls, sanctions, and other key areas of compliance.

Prior to joining LRN, Mrs. Divers served as AECOM’s Assistant General for Global Ethics & Compliance and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer. Under her leadership, AECOM’s ethics and compliance program garnered six external awards in recognition of its effectiveness and Mrs. Divers’ thought leadership in the ethics field. In 2011, Mrs. Divers received the AECOM CEO Award of Excellence, which recognized her work in advancing the company’s ethics and compliance program.

Before joining AECOM, she worked at SAIC and Lockheed Martin in the international compliance area. Prior to that, she was a partner with the DC office of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal. She also spent four years in London and is qualified as a Solicitor to the High Court of England and Wales, practicing in the international arena with the law firms of Theodore Goddard & Co. and Herbert Smith & Co. She also served as an attorney in the Office of the Legal Advisor at the Department of State and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the UN working on the first anti-corruption multilateral treaty initiative. 

Mrs. Divers is a member of the DC Bar and a graduate of Trinity College, Washington D.C. and of the National Law Center of George Washington University. In 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Ethisphere Magazine listed her as one the “Attorneys Who Matter” in the ethics & compliance area. She is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Rutgers University Center for Ethical Behavior and served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Practical Training from 2005-2008. She resides in Northern Virginia and is a frequent speaker, writer and commentator on ethics and compliance topics.

Emily Miner is a director in LRN’s Ethics & Compliance Advisory practice. She counsels executive leadership teams on how to actively shape and manage their ethical culture through deep quantitative and qualitative understanding and engagement. A skilled facilitator, Emily emphasizes co-creative, bottom-up, and data-driven approaches to foster ethical behavior and inform program strategy. Emily has led engagements with organizations in the healthcare, technology, manufacturing, energy, professional services, and education industries. Emily co-leads LRN’s ongoing flagship research on E&C program effectiveness and is a thought leader in the areas of organizational culture, leadership, and E&C program impact.

Prior to joining LRN, Emily applied her behavioral science expertise in the environmental sustainability sector, working with non-profits and several New England municipalities; facilitated earth science research in academia; and contributed to drafting and advancing international climate policy goals. Emily has a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida with a degree in Anthropology.

For a transcript of this podcast, please visit the episode page at LRN.com.

Corporate boards are feeling more pressure than ever from a variety of stakeholders—government prosecutors and regulators, institutional investors, corporate activists, consumers, and others seeking responsible change in an ever-changing global economy. As the concept of both corporate and individual accountability continues to expand, how can boards adapt their approach to governance and oversight to meet these increasingly complex expectations? In this episode of LRN’s Principled Podcast, host Susan Divers is joined by Michael Volkov, the CEO of the Volkov Law Group and author of the recent white paper “Directors Dancing on the Head of a Pin: Corporate Boards Face Escalating Risks and Enforcement Challenges.” Listen in as they discuss the global challenges corporate boards are facing in 2023, and the steps they can take to meet regulatory pressures. 

Michael Volkov specializes in ethics and compliance, white collar defense, government investigations, and internal investigations. Michael devotes a significant portion of his practice to anti-corruption, sanctions, trade, antitrust, and AML compliance and defense. He regularly assists clients on FCPA, UK Bribery Act, AML, OFAC, Export-Import, Securities Fraud, and other issues.  Michael has extensive trial experience and has developed a problem-solving approach to serve client needs. He has extensive contacts in the federal government and on Capitol Hill. Given his broad government experience, he represents clients in federal and state court, before the Justice Department and other federal agencies, and on Capitol Hill.   Prior to launching his own law firm, Mr. Volkov was a partner at LeClairRyan (2012-2013); Mayer Brown (2010-2012), Dickinson Wright (2008-2010); Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice (2008); Chief Counsel, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, House Judiciary Committee (2005-2008); and Counsel, Senate Judiciary Committee (2003-2005); Assistant US Attorney, United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (1989-2005); and a Trial Attorney, Antitrust Division, United States Department of Justice (1985-1989).  Mr. Volkov resides in Washington, D.C., San Diego, California, and Marsala, Italy, with his wife and six children. He and his wife enjoy traveling, the arts, and philanthropic activities. Mr. Volkov is an avid tennis player. 

Susan Divers is the director of thought leadership and best practices with LRN Corporation. She brings 30+ years’ accomplishments and experience in the ethics and compliance arena to LRN clients and colleagues. This expertise includes building state-of-the-art compliance programs infused with values, designing user-friendly means of engaging and informing employees, fostering an embedded culture of compliance, and sharing substantial subject matter expertise in anti-corruption, export controls, sanctions, and other key areas of compliance. Prior to joining LRN, Mrs. Divers served as AECOM’s Assistant General for Global Ethics & Compliance and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer. Under her leadership, AECOM’s ethics and compliance program garnered six external awards in recognition of its effectiveness and Mrs. Divers’ thought leadership in the ethics field. In 2011, Mrs. Divers received the AECOM CEO Award of Excellence, which recognized her work in advancing the company’s ethics and compliance program. Before joining AECOM, she worked at SAIC and Lockheed Martin in the international compliance area. Prior to that, she was a partner with the DC office of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal. She also spent four years in London and is qualified as a Solicitor to the High Court of England and Wales, practicing in the international arena with the law firms of Theodore Goddard & Co. and Herbert Smith & Co. She also served as an attorney in the Office of the Legal Advisor at the Department of State and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the UN working on the first anti-corruption multilateral treaty initiative.  Mrs. Divers is a member of the DC Bar and a graduate of Trinity College, Washington D.C. and of the National Law Center of George Washington University. In 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Ethisphere Magazine listed her as one the “Attorneys Who Matter” in the ethics & compliance area. She is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Rutgers University Center for Ethical Behavior and served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Practical Training from 2005-2008. She resides in Northern Virginia and is a frequent speaker, writer and commentator on ethics and compliance topics.

For a transcript of this podcast, please visit the episode page at LRN.com.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation, or FAR, is the primary guidance followed by federal agencies—including NASA, the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and all others when acquiring goods and services. It’s also a regulation with its own set of compliance requirements for government contractors. How does FAR differ from other regulatory guidance, and what do government contractors need to know to ensure they have an effective program in place? On the Principled Podcast, host Jen Üner talks with LRN colleague Eric Morehead about why the FAR compliance program requirements matter to broader E&C program effectiveness, and how government contractors can implement those requirements in practical ways. 

Eric Morehead is a member of LRN’s Advisory Services team and has over 20 years of experience working with organizations seeking to address compliance issues and build effective compliance and ethics programs. Eric conducts program assessments and examines specific compliance risks, he drafts compliance policies and codes of conduct, works with organizations to build and improve their compliance processes and tools, and provides live training for Boards of Directors, executives, managers, and employees.

Eric ran his own consultancy for six years where he advised clients on compliance program enhancements and assisted in creating effective compliance solutions.

Eric was formally the Head of Advisory Services for NYSE Governance Services, a leading compliance training organization, where he was responsible for all aspects of NYSE Governance Services’ compliance consulting arm.

Prior to joining NYSE, Eric was an Assistant General Counsel of the United States Sentencing Commission in Washington, DC. Eric served as the chair of the policy team that amended the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines in 2010.

Eric also spent nearly a decade as a litigation attorney in Houston, Texas where he focused on white-collar and regulatory cases and represented clients at trial and before various agencies including SEC, OSHA and CFTC.

Jen Üner is the Strategic Communications Director for LRN, where she captains programs for both internal and external audiences. She has an insatiable curiosity and an overdeveloped sense of right and wrong which she challenges each day through her study of ethics, compliance, and the value of values-based behavior in corporate governance. Prior to joining LRN, Jen led marketing communications for innovative technology companies operating in Europe and the US, and for media and marketplaces in California. She has won recognition for her work in brand development and experiential design, earned placements in leading news publications, and hosted a closing bell ceremony of the NASDAQ in honor of the California fashion industry as founder of the LA Fashion Awards. Jen holds a B.A. degree from Claremont McKenna College. 

For a transcript of this podcast, please visit the episode page at LRN.com.

How can organizations find ways to engage employees and ensure that compliance training content resonates with them, particularly in fast-paced work environments? In this episode of the Principled Podcast, host Susan Divers talks with Craig Huckelbridge and Lyndsey Conrad from Autodesk, a California-based tech company that is well known for its AutoCad design software as well as regular wins at the Academy Awards for the visual effects it enables for major Hollywood movies. Listen in as Craig and Lyndsey describe how they leverage gamification and gameshow techniques to get their employees’ engines revved up for competition, learning, and collaboration. 

Craig Huckelbridge is the Sr. Director of Legal Compliance & Litigation for Autodesk, Inc. Craig’s team is responsible for all aspects of Autodesk’s compliance and ethics program—including compliance with anti-corruption, conflicts of interest, gifts and entertainment, fair competition, and trade compliance laws and policies. His team also manages commercial and IP litigation matters for Autodesk. Prior to joining Autodesk, Craig was a member of Jones Day’s Antitrust & Competition Law practice group, where he represented companies in merger reviews, government investigations, and antitrust litigation and counseling. Craig began his legal career at Cooley LLP, where his practice focused primarily on antitrust and unfair competition litigation. Craig received a B.A. in economics and political science from Northwestern University and earned his J.D. from the Duke University School of Law.

Lyndsey Conrad is the Director of Legal Compliance for Autodesk, Inc. and a member of Craig’s team.  She manages Autodesk’s Code of Business Conduct and related trainings, as well as its global anti-corruption, third-party risk, and conflict of interest programs. Before joining Autodesk, Lyndsey was a Partner at Husch Blackwell LLP, where her practice focused on government regulatory litigation, internal investigations, compliance, and white-collar crime. Her dedication to compliance came when she became a member of Husch Blackwell’s pro bono Human Trafficking Legal Clinic, where she represented victims of commercial sex trafficking and forced labor trafficking in cases referred to the firm by law enforcement, prosecutors, and partnering nonprofit agencies. Lyndsey got her legal start as a Law Clerk to the then-Chief of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. She earned a B.S. in Biology from UCLA and her J.D. from UC College of the Law, San Francisco.

Susan Divers is the director of thought leadership and best practices with LRN Corporation. She brings 30+ years’ accomplishments and experience in the ethics and compliance arena to LRN clients and colleagues. This expertise includes building state-of-the-art compliance programs infused with values, designing user-friendly means of engaging and informing employees, fostering an embedded culture of compliance, and sharing substantial subject matter expertise in anti-corruption, export controls, sanctions, and other key areas of compliance. Prior to joining LRN, Mrs. Divers served as AECOM’s Assistant General for Global Ethics & Compliance and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer. Under her leadership, AECOM’s ethics and compliance program garnered six external awards in recognition of its effectiveness and Mrs. Divers’ thought leadership in the ethics field. In 2011, Mrs. Divers received the AECOM CEO Award of Excellence, which recognized her work in advancing the company’s ethics and compliance program. Before joining AECOM, she worked at SAIC and Lockheed Martin in the international compliance area. Prior to that, she was a partner with the DC office of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal. She also spent four years in London and is qualified as a Solicitor to the High Court of England and Wales, practicing in the international arena with the law firms of Theodore Goddard & Co. and Herbert Smith & Co. She also served as an attorney in the Office of the Legal Advisor at the Department of State and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the UN working on the first anti-corruption multilateral treaty initiative.  Mrs. Divers is a member of the DC Bar and a graduate of Trinity College, Washington D.C. and of the National Law Center of George Washington University. In 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Ethisphere Magazine listed her as one the “Attorneys Who Matter” in the ethics & compliance area. She is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Rutgers University Center for Ethical Behavior and served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Practical Training from 2005-2008. She resides in Northern Virginia and is a frequent speaker, writer and commentator on ethics and compliance topics.

For a transcript of this podcast, please visit the episode page at LRN.com.