Promise Keepers and Soderquist Host CEO Summit

Two groups will be leading a conference on business ethics for America’s top business executives tonight.

“The CEO Summit: Purposeful Leadership” will be held tonight beginning 5 p.m. from June 9–10, 2005 at the Embassy Suites hotel in Rogers, Ark. Thus far, approximately 50 CEOs have already registered.

Produced by Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics in conjunction with Promise Keepers (PK), a leading ministry for men, the event will help executives make the right decisions in the global marketplace.

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PK's president derails the lack of moral clarity in today's business community and urges businesspeople to take part in this conference to gain a valid, Biblical perspective on some tough choices that face executives today.

“The current business climate indicates a lack of moral clarity,” said Tom Fortson, Ph.D., president and CEO of Promise Keepers. 

“Influencing the marketplace can go no further than the ethical practices of those who lead industry and commerce," he said. "The time is right for this conference and the Soderquist Center is uniquely positioned to offer some badly needed perspective.”

In the wake of some scandals like Enron and Martha Stewart, the organizers saw fit to develop this program that will help professionals foster ethical practices in the market.

Some common business challenges that the conference will help find solutions include, how to address faith in the workplace and honor God in your company and how to be a good steward with the influence you've been given;

Speakers include Ken Blanchard, world renowned speaker and author of seventeen business best-sellers, such as The One Minute Manager with Spencer Johnson; Don Soderquist, former Vice Chairman of Wal-Mart Stores and founding executive of the Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics; Bill Pollard, best-selling author of The Soul of the Firm and Chairman Emeritus of ServiceMaster; call-in guest Rick Warren, best-selling author of The Purpose Driven Life; Eric Pillmore, Senior Vice-President - Corporate Governance for Tyco International; Don Valencia, former Senior Vice President of R&D for Starbucks Coffee, and others.

“How do companies make the tough calls is this ultra-competitive, global economy?  The right calls come from a strong set of ethical values and practices,” said Don Soderquist, founder of the Soderquist Center based at John Brown University.

“Today’s headlines are screaming for more appropriate behavior from our business leaders.  We invite them to join us to press for solutions."

Andy Wilson, chief executive officer of the Soderquist Center said, “Our hope is that the CEO Summit on Purposeful Leadership will help godly leaders understand the significance of the stewardship that God has given them in the marketplace,”

The two-day seminar is $295 and includes materials, meals, and registration for the PK event at Razorback Stadium.  Chief executive officers can still register at www.promisekeepers.org, or by calling 800-888-7595. Media will not be allowed into the event, though a press conference will be held Friday at 11 a.m.

The Soderquist Center’s mission, Equipping People with the Transforming Power of Ethical Leadership, is consistent with PK's vision of "Men Transformed Worldwide." The Soderquist Center (http://www.soderquist.org) and PK believe Christian business leaders do not have to leave the marketplace to serve God.

"By creating, developing and implementing customized leadership development paths for organizations, their leaders, and their people, the Soderquist Center has become a catalyst for organizations who want to move from today’s reality to the unlimited possibilities of the future," according to the website.

This year, PK celebrates 15 years of ministry.  Since 1990, the international organization has directly reached more than five and a half million men. 

The Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1998 in affiliation with John Brown University’s Division of Business and Graduate Business Studies. Located in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, the center is a global resource equipping people in the corporate and non-profit world with the transforming power of ethical leadership.

The event precedes the PK conference June 10-11 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, where over 15,000 men have registered thus far.