About the Montrone Seminar Series
The Paul M. Montrone Seminar Series on Ethics is an intimate series of round tables which focus on real-life ethical issues and the consequences of decisions. This series of sessions fosters open dialogue between business leaders and a small group of students, providing an opportunity for discussion and reflection, which students do not always have in a lecture. While everyone carries values from their upbringing, these values are often latent, not examined or discussed. These round tables provide a forum for bringing assumed values into the open, where they can be challenged and honed.
The round tables create a special environment — one in which students can safely discuss dilemmas of choice they may have already faced or fear facing in the future. These small sessions engage students and allow them to ask questions in a more intimate setting, increasing the comfort with which students think about, discuss and practice ethics, making it second nature, thus preparing them to become responsible leaders.
Topics examined and debated range from how individual behavior can affect entire companies and in turn affect shareholders and the public to how small decisions can be particularly impactful — echoing the School's underlying philosophy as it relates to ethics that "the little things do matter," particularly in day-to-day business decisions. The core values of corporate culture — an emphasis on speed, authority and an orientation to maximize financial results — can sometimes lead to imperfect systems, particularly with respect to ethics. Best practices in business are not always ethical practices, and there is often little time or opportunity to think, to challenge or to reflect on day-to-day actions.
The Paul M. Montrone Seminar Series on Ethics is a critical part of the MBA experience, and provides a forum for a slow-motion approach to breaking down fast-paced decisions. Discussions with corporate leaders expose students to business leaders making real ethical decisions, giving them the chance to engage more directly in dilemmas of choice. This Seminar Series not only allows students to benefit from the experiences of established leaders, but from each other's experiences, as well. The Series emphasizes that ethics is not a compartmentalized issue only relevant to those making major decisions and inspired from the top down, but must be practiced on all levels. This format encourages a free exchange of ideas, enabling students to learn to identify the theoretical and practical issues of recognizing and responding to ethical dilemmas, and allowing them to find the link between good ethics and good business.
For more information, please contact Nicole Royer at [email protected].
Past Speakers
Maryam Banikarim '93 |
Lewis E Sanders |
John Podesta |
Peter Stringham |
Van Jones |
Majora Carter |
About Paul M. Montrone
For more than three decades, Paul Montrone has directed the development of a number of businesses in a diverse set of industries. He is currently Executive Chairman of Liberty Lane Partners and Bayberry Financial Services, both private investment groups, and Chairman and CEO Perspecta Trust LLC, a New Hampshire trust company.
Mr. Montrone was CEO of Fisher Scientific International Inc. from its initial public offering in 1991 until its merger with Thermo Electron in 2006, forming Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Over this period, the equity value of Fisher increased from approximately $200 million to $12 billion, and the annual return to shareholders was 26 percent compounded.
Prior to leading Fisher Scientific, Mr. Montrone was chairman and chief executive officer of Wheelabrator Technologies Inc., a leading environmental services company. Annual shareholder returns at Wheelabrator under his leadership were 22 percent compounded. Previously, Mr. Montrone was executive vice president of the Signal Companies, Inc., and its successor, AlliedSignal Inc. (now Honeywell International Inc.), as well as president of the Henley Group, Inc., and executive vice president and chief financial officer of Wheelabrator-Frye Inc.
Mr. Montrone began his career at the Pentagon, serving in the systems analysis group in the Office of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara while a captain in the US Army. For many years, Mr. Montrone also participated in healthcare policy matters at the national level and in business policy through his activity with the Business Roundtable.
He has served on a number of corporate boards and many nonprofit institutions, especially the Metropolitan Opera, for which he was president and chief executive officer and is now president emeritus. In addition, he is on the boards of the New England Conservatory, the Boston Symphony and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.
Born in Scranton, PA, in 1941, Mr. Montrone graduated magna cum laude from the University of Scranton in 1962 and holds a PhD from Columbia University.