UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As the effects of the coronavirus pandemic strain businesses around the world, traditional notions of leadership are being tested and core values challenged.
Two Penn State Smeal College of Business centers are teaming up to discuss that topic at noon May 27 in a virtual fireside discussion titled “The Impact of Coronavirus on Sustainability and the need for Ethical Leadership.”
The event is part of a series organized by the Center for the Business of Sustainability (CBoS) that takes people beyond the headlines to hear directly from experts in sustainability, social impact, and ESG/impact investing about how COVID-19 is changing the business landscape. Viewers can watch or listen to previous discussions, part of CBoS’s COVID Response.
For May 27, CBoS is broadening the discussion to include ethical leadership and is collaborating with the Tarriff Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility to host two distinguished executives: Karen Quintos, executive vice president and chief customer officer at Dell Technologies, and Jean Oelwang, CEO and president at Virgin Unite.
Both Quintos and Oelwang are members of the Smeal Board of Visitors.
Charles H. Whiteman, dean of Smeal, will provide a special introduction. Erik Foley, director of the Center for the Business of Sustainability, and Michelle Darnell, director of the Tarriff Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, will moderate the discussion.
Registration is open for the hour-long roundtable discussion. There will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions. A virtual reception will follow the fireside discussion, organized by the Smeal Sustainability Alumni Network, an initiative of CBoS in collaboration with Smeal Alumni Relations.