DENVER, September 14, 2016—Ethics and business leadership do not always go hand-in-hand. In fact, reports of some very unethical behavior from several well-known organizations have recently made the news.
Does “Deflategate” ring a bell? What about Volkswagen’s emissions scandal? It turns out that many companies bypass ethics all together, and focus narrowly on the bottom line—whether that’s winning, making a huge profit, or coming out on top no matter the cost.
But here’s the good news: many business leaders in Denver believe in doing the right thing.
A student selection committee from the University of Colorado Denver Business School spent the summer reviewing nominations for the 2016 Bill Daniels Ethical Leader of the Year Award. The submissions were impressive. Denver is home to many outstanding business people who firmly believe in a personal commitment to ethics and integrity, just as Bill Daniels did.
Nominees were judged for how well they embody the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Principles of integrity, trust, accountability, transparency, fairness, respect, rule of law, and viability. While every nomination was impressive, one stood out from the rest.
With a long and successful history of leadership in healthcare, and an unwavering commitment to “doing what’s right,” Kate Paul, President and CEO of Delta Dental of Colorado, has been selected as the recipient of the CU Denver Business School’s 2016 Bill Daniels Ethical Leader of the Year Award.
Throughout her career, Ms. Paul’s commitment to ethics and integrity has influenced the business decisions she’s made. As a young executive with Kaiser Permanente, she took on medical leadership to fight for transparency and accountability, risking her job to do what was right. Her efforts led to sweeping changes across the organization and ultimately throughout the industry. That’s just one example of her dedication to ethics. It’s impossible to summarize Ms. Paul’s lifetime commitment to ethics in a few paragraphs.
To recognize her steadfast commitment to ethical business leadership, representatives from the CU Denver Business School will present Kate Paul with the 2016 Bill Daniels Ethical Leader of the Year Award on November 2, 2016 at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce State of Small Business Breakfast.
Congratulations to Kate Paul, and to all of Denver’s most ethical business leaders!
About the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at the University of Colorado Denver Business School
The University of Colorado Denver Business School received a grant from the Daniels Fund to participate in the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program, which is aimed at teaching students principle-based ethics, emphasizing real-world application of ethical principles, and extending ethical behavior beyond campus and into the community.
The Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative was launched in 2010 with a $7.5 million grant and eight participating schools, and was renewed for another five years (2015-2019) with an $11.25 million grant and the addition of three more schools, including the CU Denver Business School
To learn more about the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at the University of Colorado School of Business, visit https://business2.ucdenver.edu/ethics/. To learn more about the Daniels Fund, visit DanielsFund.org/ethics.
