ESG News and Views

ESG News and Views, from The Conference Board ESG Center, provides compelling in-depth interviews with ESG thought leaders, and timely updates on hot button topics in corporate governance, sustainability, citizenship and philanthropy.

Surviving a Near-Death Experience: Lessons on Resilience (Pt 2) 04/11/2023

Surviving a Near-Death Experience: Lessons on Resilience (Pt 2) Geralyn Ritter knows about personal and organizational resilience. She was on Amtrak Train #188, which derailed outside Philadelphia in 2015 at 106 miles per hour. The crash killed eight people and injured more than 200. Geralyn was critically wounded. Her doctors use the word “miraculous” to describe her survival and recovery. She also knows about organizational resilience, as the current Head of External Affairs and ESG for Organon, following twelve years at Merck, where she held numerous leadership positions, including Senior Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Assistant General Counsel, Head of Global Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility, and President of the Merck Foundation. She is the author of Bone by Bone: A Memoir of Trauma and Healing. In part one of this two-part podcast, Paul Washington, Executive Director of the ESG Center, speaks with Geralyn about surviving the accident, her road to recovery, and lessons in personal resilience. They discuss the importance of optimism, acceptance, an action orientation, connection, and a sense of purpose. They discuss how these traits are equally important for leaders, organizations, and society. In part two, they go deeper into the subject of organizational resiliency, with practical insights on how to develop a more resilient organization, including the role of ESG in creating a healthy organization, the link between resiliency and sustainability, maintaining resilience in a hybrid work environment, and the value of sharing stories of personal resilience in building a stronger organization. The discussion spans 9/11 to the COVID-19 pandemic to Silicon Valley Bank, with insights for all of us on resilience. Related Resources: , Geralyn S. Ritter, June 2022 , The Conference Board, 2023 , The Conference Board, January 2023 ," The Conference Board, September 2021 , The Conference Board, April 2020. /episode/index/show/governanceperspectives/id/26507727

Surviving a Near-Death Experience: Lessons on Resilience (Pt 1) 04/11/2023

Surviving a Near-Death Experience: Lessons on Resilience (Pt 1) Geralyn Ritter knows about personal and organizational resilience. She was on Amtrak Train #188, which derailed outside Philadelphia in 2015 at 106 miles per hour. The crash killed eight people and injured more than 200. Geralyn was critically wounded. Her doctors use the word “miraculous” to describe her survival and recovery. She also knows about organizational resilience, as the current Head of External Affairs and ESG for Organon, following twelve years at Merck, where she held numerous leadership positions, including Senior Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Assistant General Counsel, Head of Global Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility, and President of the Merck Foundation. She is the author of Bone by Bone: A Memoir of Trauma and Healing. In part one of this two-part podcast, Paul Washington, Executive Director of the ESG Center, speaks with Geralyn about surviving the accident, her road to recovery, and lessons in personal resilience. They discuss the importance of optimism, acceptance, an action orientation, connection, and a sense of purpose. They discuss how these traits are equally important for leaders, organizations, and society. In part two, they go deeper into the subject of organizational resiliency, with practical insights on how to develop a more resilient organization, including the role of ESG in creating a healthy organization, the link between resiliency and sustainability, maintaining resilience in a hybrid work environment, and the value of sharing stories of personal resilience in building a stronger organization. The discussion spans 9/11 to the COVID-19 pandemic to Silicon Valley Bank, with insights for all of us on resilience. Related Resources: , Geralyn S. Ritter, June 2022 , The Conference Board, 2023 , The Conference Board, January 2023 ," The Conference Board, September 2021 , The Conference Board, April 2020. /episode/index/show/governanceperspectives/id/26507607