Columbia Business School’s Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Center for Leadership and Ethics proudly hosted Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive Global; Founder of The Huffington Post, in conversation with Professor Gita Johar, Meyer Feldberg Professor of Business in Marketing for the 2018 KPMG Peat Marwick / Stanley R. Klion Forum. The Klion Forum was established in 1993 in honor of the late Stanley R. Klion, an executive-in-residence at Columbia Business School from 1986-1994. Mr. Klion also served as Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Partner of Peat Marwick International, one of the world's largest accounting and management consulting firms. The Forum features distinguished business, policy, and academic leaders who are committed to resolving the major ethical, societal, political and economic challenges of our time to commemorate Mr. Klion's unwavering devotion to ethical leadership at work.
The evening’s proceedings were opened by Professor Bruce Kogut, Faculty Director of the Bernstein Center, who noted that The Klion Forum is "widely regarded as one of the premiere speaker series at Columbia Business School. And, this year, is no exception." Kogut went on to note that Ms. Huffington was invited to speak at this year's event due to her "outstanding and courageous business leadership, as well as her extensive community service. She is also a steadfast advocate of individual and corporate health and wellness, a fundamental aspect of business that is too often ignored, in addition to being an engaged public figure on controversial societal issues in a powerful yet accessible manner."
Professor Johar brilliantly navigated the conversation and asked Ms. Huffington about everything from her leadership style to her thoughts on women board member quotas. "I don't believe in quotas," Ms. Huffington stated, "I believe in change in the culture so that you can accelerate the changes around women on boards, but I also believe that it makes a huge difference when a woman is on the board to make sure that she doesn't for long remain the only woman on the board." For every question, Ms. Huffington was open, honest, and forthcoming; and truly provided invaluable advice to the current and future business leaders in the audience.
Each year, the guest of honor at The Klion Forum is carefully selected by a committee featuring Bernstein Center faculty and staff, members of the Student Leadership and Ethics Board, distinguished alumni, and members of the Klion family. The Bernstein Center would like to thank both Mr. Bart Klion and Ms. Cathy Klion, brother and daughter of the late Stanley R. Klion, for their unwavering support of The Forum and Columbia Business School over the years.