Principled

S9E18 | What compliance leaders need to know about modern slavery

Modern slavery is on the rise, and criminal organizations are becoming more sophisticated about it. According to the International Labor Organization more than 28 million people experienced forced labor in 2021. That’s equivalent to the entire population of Australia. What can be done about it? How can ethics and compliance professionals make a difference? In this episode of LRN’s Principled Podcast, LRN Global Head of Segments, Matt Plass, talks with Jacob Sims from the International Justice Mission in Cambodia, who has been working actively to address modern slavery in southeast Asia. Listen in as the two discuss how Jake’s work as county director combines investigators, lawyers, social workers, and programmatic and operational staff in the fight against violent labor exploitation. 

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

 

Guest: Jacob Sims

Jacob Sims has worked on human rights and development challenges facing Southeast Asia for over a decade—spanning issues from governance in the Philippines to internal displacement in Northern Myanmar to labor rights in Cambodia. He currently serves as country director of International Justice Mission (IJM) Cambodia where he leads a team of investigators, lawyers, social workers, programmatic and operational staff in the fight against violent labor exploitation. Concurrently with his role at IJM, he serves as a non-resident fellow at Duke University’s Kenan Institute, a leading research center working to understand and address real-world ethical challenges facing individuals, organizations, and societies worldwide. Sims’ team at IJM mounted one of the earliest programmatic responses to the human trafficking epidemic emerging within scamming compounds in Cambodia and have helped facilitate the rescue of over 100 individuals to date. In recent months, analysis from Sims on the emerging global phenomenon has featured in The Economist, The Guardian, LA Times, Al Jazeera, VICE World News, Sydney Morning Herald, ProPublica, Channel News Asia, amongst many others.

 

Host: Matt Plass

Matt Plass is the global head of segments at LRN. He was formerly chief executive officer with Interactive Services, where he led the executive team responsible for bringing Interactive Services’ award-winning integrity, ethics, and compliance learning solution to market. Matt has an extensive background in e-learning, blended learning, classroom education and learning design for adult audiences and has engaged with numerous Fortune 500 organizations in the design of learning solutions for global audiences. He provides advanced learning expertise to partners, and is a regular speaker at learning and development conferences. Matt led Interactive Services through its acquisition by LRN in 2020. He lives in Devon, England.

S9E17 | How compliance professionals can “send the elevator back down”

There are certain people you meet in your professional career that continue to have an impact on you and your industry, long after that initial meeting. For Principled Podcast host Meredith Hunt, that person is Mary Shirley, the former head of Integrity and Compliance Education at Fresenius Medical Care (now head of compliance for Masimo) and co-host of the Great Women in Compliance podcast. On this episode, the two discuss how ethics and compliance professionals can better amplify their peers and build community, using guidance from Mary’s book Sending the Elevator Back Down. They also explore themes from Mary’s upcoming book on how E&C leaders can make the most impact on their programs with limited resources. 

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

 

Guest: Mary Shirley

Mary Shirley is a New Zealand-qualified lawyer with 18 years of ethics and compliance experience that includes working for data privacy and antitrust regulators, in-house and private practice/consultancy across five countries and four regions of the world.  

Mary co-hosts the Great Women in Compliance Podcast, which aims to create a platform for the outstanding achievements of women in the field and sharing ideas and provide learning opportunities for everyone in compliance. 

She co-authored the book Sending the Elevator Back Down: What We’ve Learned from Great Women in Compliance (CCI Press, 2020) and has a second book highlighting trailblazing and innovative ideas to level up compliance programs, coming out later in 2023.  

She has been bestowed the honor of being named a Compliance Week Top Mind 2019, Trust Across America 2020 Top Thought Leader in Trust, and Excellence in Compliance Awards 2022 Mentor of the Year. 

 

Host: Meredith Hunt

Meredith Hunt came to LRN in early 2023 as a formidable compliance generalist, with experience in quality management, project management, regulatory compliance, policy drafting, and compliance program implementation and management. As a self-proclaimed compliance “nerd,” Meredith works as an ethics and compliance specialist on LRN’s Advisory team. In this capacity, she leads LRN’s code of conduct assessment and benchmarking practice and advises clients on how to incorporate code of conduct best practices. Meredith also manages client projects across a range of industries, including code of conduct development and E&C program evaluations. 

S9E16 | What does responsible AI and machine learning look like for business leaders?

Generative AI is on the agenda of most every company right now. Business leaders are grappling with how to use it in products, services, and in workflows. Managers and their teams are wondering if artificial intelligence is coming for their jobs. Regulators are trying to wrap their arms around it as its potential for misuse is high. If you’re concerned about corporate ethics, culture, and compliance, what is your role in the responsible development and deployment of AI-oriented business initiatives? On the Principled Podcast, host Jen Üner talks about responsible AI with Dr. Seth Dobrin, PhD and President of the Responsible AI Institute. Listen in as the two unpack what “responsible AI” means and how business leaders can move forward in this rapidly changing landscape that is surely as monumental a shift as the invention of the Internet. 

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

 

Guest: Seth Dobrin, PhD

Dr. Seth Dobrin is a globally recognized leading expert in AI. He is currently the president of the Responsible AI Institute. Previously, he was IBM's global chief AI officer, where he led the company's AI strategy. 

Dr. Dobrin is also a sought-after speaker and advisor on AI. He believes that AI has the potential to solve some of the world's most pressing problems, but that it is important to use AI responsibly. He advocates for the development of ethical AI guidelines and for the responsible use of AI by governments and businesses. 

 

Host: Jen Üner

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.

S9E15 | The key to effective training and communications? Simplicity.

Building a winning culture of ethics and compliance requires efficiency and effectiveness in all aspects of a program—including training, communications, and a code and conduct. But how do you ensure these elements all work together to create a meaningful and intentional learning experience? While also contributing to desired business outcomes? In this episode of LRN’s Principled Podcast, host Carolyn Grace explores why a deep understanding of curriculum design is essential to developing an effective program. Listen in as she speaks with Erick Sawyer, the chief ethics and compliance officer of Inhabit, (recently rebranded from Inhabit IQ), and Damien DeBarra, the leader of Curriculum Design and Communication Strategy in LRN’s Advisory group, about the learning curriculum they created by leveraging Inhabit’s code of conduct. 

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

 

Guest: Erick Sawyer

As Inhabit’s chief ethics and compliance officer, Erick Sawyer leads the company’s day-to-day compliance operations to ensure Inhabit is in compliance with various regulatory requirements and employees are in adherence with internal procedures and policies. Erick creates strategic programs that are paired with tactical plans to positively impact customers and employees across the software ecosystem. Prior to joining Inhabit, Erick held various roles in legal, compliance, quality, and learning and development in the financial services industry. He has focused his career on bridging the gap between people and process to drive a culture of ethics and compliance, protecting the brand and reputation of leading organizations.

 

Guest: Damien DeBarra

Damien DeBarra brings more than 20 years’ experience to the instructional design and strategic workforce planning spaces.  As the Leader in Curriculum Design and Communication Strategy at LRN, he focuses on creating training solutions that ensure business buy-in and connect hiring practices to day-one learning roll-outs. In the last few years, Damien has helped organizations such as United Airlines, Sun Life Financial, SITEL, Astellas, MFS Investments, and SAP create 90-day action plans for their solutions and develop supporting communication strategies. He has worked with over 200 clients in areas ranging from retail to pharmaceuticals, call centers to nuclear plant manufacturing. Prior to LRN, Damien spent more than nine years as the Learning Solutions Director and Head of Instructional Design at Interactive Services. He has also worked as an instructional designer at NCALT, Electric Paper, and Epic. Damien received his BA from Maynooth University.

 

Host: Carolyn Grace

Carolyn Grace is a content writer on LRN's global marketing team and co-producer of the Principled Podcast. She specializes in writing compelling stories about ethics and compliance that resonate across business segments, industries, and personas while hitting critical KPIs for traffic and engagement. Topics she frequently covers include ESG, data privacy and protection, DEI, the role of boards of directors and leadership, corporate training and e-learning, and ethical corporate culture.

Prior to joining LRN, Carolyn was a writer and content strategist at Thinkso Creative, a boutique creative agency in New York City. At Thinkso, she wrote internal and external communications for clients in technology, nonprofit, law, logistics, and financial services sectors. Before that, Carolyn conducted trend research and cultural strategy at Horizon Media, specializing in entertainment, travel, media and technology, health and wellness, and food and beverage categories. Carolyn graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in American History and French Studies and a minor in Journalism.

S9E14 | From basic to best in class: Evolving Hexcel’s compliance program

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.

 

Guest: Gail Lehman

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. 

 

Host: Emily Miner

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.

S9E13 | Is your hotline running cold? How to get meaningful data from internal reporting.

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.

Guest: Scott Sullivan

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.

 

Host: Susan Divers

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.

S9E12 | Why Arca Continental leads with values over rules in its multinational E&C program

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.

 

Guest: Gabriela Del Castillo

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. 

 

Host: Susan Divers

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.

S9E11 | How rewards and recognition structures build ethical workplace culture

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.

 

Guest: Alyssa Menard-Szacilo

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. 

 

Host: Arieana Thompson, PhD

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.

S9E10 | What you say and how you say it: Thoughtful communication at AbbVie

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.

 

Guest: Shana Fried

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. 

 

Guest: Marie Corchado-Stewart

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.  

 

Host: Jen Üner

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.

S9E9 | The power of “force multipliers” in Lockheed Martin’s compliance program

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.

 

Guest: Jim Byrne

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.

 

Host: Susan Divers

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.