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Thunderbird a key player in shaping the global agendaThunderbird a key player in shaping the global agenda

Thunderbird School of Global Management’s unique mission, global vision and proven track record in the areas of corporate social responsibility, sustainability and ethics have garnered the attention of top global organizations, including the World Economic Forum. Thunderbird President Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D., will attend and present at the Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland Jan. 28- Feb. 1. Cabrera serves as the Founding Chair of the Forum’s new Global Agenda Council on Promoting Entrepreneurship.

The Council, which met in Dubai in November, has identified the most important entrepreneurial challenges of our time and will be working on recommendations to government councils and policy leaders on strategies for advancing entrepreneurship worldwide. Cabrera and the Council will be presenting their conclusions during the WEF, and Cabrera will be participating in panel discussions on: “Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs” and “Can Corporations Turn the Corner.”

Cabrera says this year’s Forum theme, “Shaping the Post-Crisis World,” provides an excellent platform for businesses and business schools worldwide to take an honest look at the role they played in igniting the crisis and the role they will have to play to overcome it and prevent it from happening again.

“Managers consumed with maximizing short-term profits—and with them, the value of their stock options—rather than creating real, sustainable value have destroyed billions of dollars in shareholder and taxpayer money. A culture of unrestrained greed lies at the root of the current economic meltdown that has seen banks collapse, markets tank and unemployment rates soar,” Cabrera contends.

“This global catastrophe demonstrates the enormous responsibility business leaders hold, not only in their companies, but in society at large. Managers are entrusted with incredible power to create or destroy value, and in so doing, affect the lives of thousands if not millions of people. This is a power that should not be taken lightly and, as with medical or legal professionals, requires professional standards and ethics that govern its use.”

The debate on whether there should be a professional code of conduct, such as a Hippocratic oath, for business executives is on the agenda for discussion at this year’s WEF, and something Thunderbird has taken the lead on for several years. In 2004, Thunderbird became the first business school to incorporate a professional Oath of Honor for its graduates, something Cabrera says he’d like to see happen at all business schools around the globe.

Cabrera shares his thoughts in a YouTube video response to the WEF’s Davos question: “Should companies have a code of ethics similar to doctors and lawyers? Log on to view his response.

Cabrera will also be blogging throughout the conference on his blog at knowledgenetwork.thunderbird.edu/cabrera/.