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Ben W. Heineman Jr.

Ben W. Heineman Jr.

Ben Heineman Jr. has held top positions in government, law and business. He is the author of High Performance with High Integrity (Harvard Business Press, 2008).

Ben W. Heineman, Jr. was GE's Senior Vice President/General Counsel from 1987–2003, and then Senior Vice President for Law and Public Affairs in 2004 and 2005. He is currently a Senior Fellow at two Harvard schools: the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Law School's Program on Corporate Governance. He is also a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School's Program on the Legal Profession and Senior Counsel to the law firm of Wilmer Hale. A former Rhodes Scholar, editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal, and law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, Mr. Heineman practiced constitutional law prior to his service at GE. His book High Performance with High Integrity was published in June 2008. In 2007, he served on the Independent Review Panel on the World Bank Group's Department of Institutional Integrity and is currently on an international panel advising the President of the World Bank on governance and anti-corruption. He is a recipient of the American Lawyer's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award of Board Member Magazine. Ethisphere Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential individuals on business ethics in 2008.
The Very Real Danger Beyond Cyberhackers: Inside Leaks

The Very Real Danger Beyond Cyberhackers: Inside Leaks

The recent suspension of three senior managers at Renault highlights a traditional risk -- leaks from inside a company… More »

In Repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' Implementation Matters

In Repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' Implementation Matters

If Congress shoots down the 17-year-old policy, can the military make a smooth transition?… More »

The Afghan Strategic Review: Speak the Truth About Corruption

The Afghan Strategic Review: Speak the Truth About Corruption

Writing about the leaks focuses on descriptions of corruption, but not on whether they'll cause an official rethink of our Afghan strategy… More »

Rereading 'Ulysses' by James Joyce: The Best Novel Since 1900

Rereading 'Ulysses' by James Joyce: The Best Novel Since 1900

The book may seem inaccessible, especially when compared with another literary favorite, "The Great Gatsby"… More »

Armistice Day: The Forgotten Fields of Flanders

Armistice Day: The Forgotten Fields of Flanders

On Veteran's Day many Americans will continue their day without commemorating World War I's fallen soldiers… More »

The Afghan Black Hole: Governance and Corruption

The Afghan Black Hole: Governance and Corruption

U.S. war efforts are stymied at every turn by overwhelming corruption in Afghanistan. Is it time to admit the futility of reforming Afghan governance?… More »

Truth and the Art of 'The Social Network'

Truth and the Art of 'The Social Network'

How much does screenwriter Aaron Sorkin owe to the facts of Facebook's creation story—and the character of its founder?… More »

No Cure for the Cancer of Health Care Costs

No Cure for the Cancer of Health Care Costs

Actuaries estimate that even after last year's reform, health costs will rise at a 6.3 annual average over the next decade… More »

BP's Accident Report: Look at the Recommendations for the Future

BP's Accident Report: Look at the Recommendations for the Future

The 25 recommendations are crucial in understanding what led to the catastrophe in the Gulf… More »

HP's CEO, Mark Hurd: How Could He Do Something So Stupid?

HP's CEO, Mark Hurd: How Could He Do Something So Stupid?

The tech giant's chief is on his way out after a series of false claims on his expense account… More »

Let the Revels Begin

Let the Revels Begin

With the failure of the financial disclosure bill, the Senate opens the floodgates for hidden campaign expenditures… More »

Hidden Election Expenditures After Citizens United

Hidden Election Expenditures After Citizens United

Get ready for benignly named front groups, funded by unlimited corporate and union money, to dominate U.S. elections… More »

Blumenthal: Lie or Mistake?

When Connecticut Attorney General and Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal said at a 2008 rally that "we have learned something important since the days I served in Vietnam," was he lying intentionally or making an unintentional mistake? This is the basic issue in an important political story which has mushroomed over the past week. If he was lying intentionally, that would raise questions of character and be an important campaign issue. If he made an…… More »

The Gulf Spill: Who Should Investigate?

The Gulf Spill: Who Should Investigate?

BP won't really change its behavior unless the company does its own inquiry into the oil spill… More »

Valuing Safety is Good for Companies' Bottom Line

Valuing Safety is Good for Companies' Bottom Line

How Europe's air carriers profit from putting dependability at the center of their business model… More »

Alan Greenspan, Regulator?

Alan Greenspan, Regulator?

Former Fed chief says private sector at fault for the financial crisis and adds to the growing consensus for reform.… More »

No Presidential Greatness Without Spending Political Capital

No Presidential Greatness Without Spending Political Capital

Obama's health care gamble echoes the decisions of Truman and LBJ… More »

Where Are the Global Anti-Corruption Leaders?

The continuing scourge of international bribery--and the continuing lack of senior international anti-corruption leadership--were reflected in last week's settlement of a massive bribery case against a major international company, British Aerospace (BAE). The story is depressingly familiar. BAE denies allegations of widespread international bribery indignantly and self-righteously. In 2006, Prime Minister Blair and others effectively pressure an…… More »

Can Trust in Corporate Governance Be Restored?

The headline in The New York Times story from the World Economic Forum read: "Leaders in Davos Admit Drop in Trust."No kidding! After poor business decision-making in the financial sector was a primary cause of the Great Recession, and after years of board and management mistakes leading to the bankruptcies of industrial icons GM and Chrysler, the business community today faces a crisis of confidence in its own ranks and in broader society. Regard for…… More »

The Supreme Paradox: When the Court Overrides Congress

The paradox of the United States Supreme Court is that, from one perspective, it is a traditional judicial institution deciding individual cases. But from another perspective, it makes broad value choices in the name of constitutional interpretation; strikes down acts of democratically elected legislatures; and issues rules with impact on our national life as great or greater than Acts of Congress. This paradox is vividly reflected in the Court's decision in…… More »

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