Columbia Business School’s W. Edwards Deming Center for Quality, Productivity, and Competitiveness recently honored David M. Cote, chairman and CEO at Honeywell, and Indra K. Nooyi, chairman and CEO at PepsiCo, with the 2016 Deming Cup for Operational Excellence.
In addition, the center bestowed the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award to Paul H. O’Neill, 72nd Secretary of the US Treasury and former director and chairman at Alcoa, for his legacy of leadership across the public and private sectors over five decades. Presented annually since 2010, the Deming Cup recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the area of operations and have fostered a culture of continuous improvement within their organizations. David Cote was recognized for successfully deploying a business model for Honeywell focusing on three pillars: portfolio, process, and culture. Under his leadership, Honeywell has grown to have an impressive portfolio, solid positions in different industries, differentiated technologies, and a constant process focus, combined with a unified, performance-driven culture.
“This honor celebrates Honeywell’s commitment to operational excellence that has helped to propel our growth and has made our company a place where customers want to do business, employees want to work, and investors want to invest,” said Cote.
Indra Nooyi was honored for demonstrating success in creating a consistently high level of returns to investors while following her guiding principles of “Performance with Purpose,” making PepsiCo a high-performing global enterprise. “Our work at PepsiCo is driven by a sense of responsibility towards our stakeholders and our planet,” said Nooyi. “I am truly honored to accept this award on behalf of all my colleagues at PepsiCo, whose dedication and commitment to continuous improvement inspire me each day." Paul O’Neill’s leadership has embodied the essence of Deming’s principles, proving time and again that business success can be driven by a values-based, employee-oriented culture.
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognized O’Neill’s significant achievements as a leader, saluting the unflinching integrity and data-driven approach that guided the practice of his leadership. “This is something embedded in the Deming Principles — organizations are either habitually excellent or they are not. I’m not done yet.… I’m still out there pushing every day to get people to adopt what I know — ideas that in so many ways can liberate people in our society,” said O’Neill.
The Deming Cup for Operational Excellence and Lifetime Achievement Award represent Columbia Business School’s drive to honor practitioners who promote excellence in operations and create lasting impact through the practice of their leadership. Nelson M. Fraiman, director of the W. Edwards Deming Center for Quality, Productivity, and Competitiveness and professor of professional practice in the Decision, Risk, and Operations Division, commented on the importance of the awards. “By honoring outstanding leaders for their achievements and legacy, we have created a group of exemplary leaders who can inspire Columbia Business School’s students — the next generation of business practitioners — to embrace excellence in leadership as a core guiding principle of their practice.
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About the W. Edwards Deming Center for Quality, Productivity, and Competitiveness
The W. Edwards Deming Center for Quality, Productivity, and Competitiveness was established in 1993 within Columbia Business School to honor Dr. Deming’s legacy and inspire future generations of academics and practitioners to maintain the highest standard of operational excellence. The center promotes operational excellence by bridging theory with practice through applied research support, professional development offerings, and best practices dissemination. For more information, visit www.gsb.columbia.edu/deming
About Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School is the only world-class, Ivy League business school that delivers a learning experience where academic excellence meets with real-time exposure to the pulse of global business. Led by Dean Glenn Hubbard, the School’s transformative curriculum bridges academic theory with unparalleled exposure to real-world business practice, equipping students with an entrepreneurial mindset that allows them to recognize, capture, and create opportunity in any business environment. The thought leadership of the School’s faculty and staff, combined with the accomplishments of its distinguished alumni and position in the center of global business, means that the School’s efforts have an immediate, measurable impact on the forces shaping business every day. To learn more about Columbia Business School’s position at the very center of business, please visit www.gsb.columbia.edu.