A jointly sponsored program with the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University
Ethical culture has moved squarely into the board’s risk and oversight mandate. In an environment of heightened regulatory enforcement, instant public scrutiny, rapid growth, and accelerating technological change, cultural weaknesses can quickly escalate into enterprise-level crises.
This program examines ethical culture through a governance lens, helping directors understand where responsibility truly lies and how oversight must adapt as companies face growth pressures, organizational transformation, and increased reliance on AI-driven decision-making. The discussion will explore how incentives, operational stress, and automation can unintentionally undermine ethical expectations—and what boards should be watching for before issues surface publicly.
Directors will gain practical insight into:
How regulators, courts, and stakeholders increasingly view board accountability for ethical culture
The board’s role in overseeing ethics without drifting into management
Signals that indicate when cultural issues require board-level attention
Ethical considerations tied to AI, automation, and technology-enabled decisions
Cultural risks that intensify during periods of growth, restructuring, or strategic change
SPEAKERS
Sue Siegel
For the past 30+ years, Sue Siegel has been on the forefront as an operator, an innovator, VC investor, thought leader, and board member of industry-changing companies. As GE’s Chief Innovation Officer and CEO of GE Ventures for seven years, Sue oversaw investment in startups, creating and scaling new companies, and commercializing GE’s intellectual property. Before joining GE, Sue was a VC general partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures, where she spearheaded investments in personalized medicine, digital health, and life sciences. Since the late 1990s, she has served on over 20+ boards, and her current board portfolio includes Illumina (ILMN), Align (ALGN), Nevro (NVRO), The Engine, built by MIT, and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Additionally, her advisory board appointments include Harvard Partners Healthcare Innovation< UC Innovation, and RAND Health Care. She co-chairs Stanford Medicine Board of Fellows. Sue is also Senior Lecturer, Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management at MIT Sloan School of Management.
Ann Skeet
Ann Skeet is the senior director of leadership ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Her work focuses on the ethical dilemmas of leaders and followers and business ethics, with a particular interest in healthy corporate culture, ethical leadership practices, and responsible technology governance. Her research has explored how to make ethics pervasive in organizations and responsible AI practices in corporations. She teaches ethics literacy and technology governance for boards in the Leavey Executive Center at Santa Clara University. Skeet is a co-author of “Ethics in the Age of Disruptive Technologies: An Operational Roadmap” and "Voting for Ethics: A Guide for U.S. Voters Second Edition." In the Silicon Valley community, Skeet has served on the boards of numerous organizations, including the Silicon Valley Directors’ Exchange; the Institute for Sports Law and Ethics; the Catholic Community Foundation of Santa Clara County; and as a chair for United Way of Silicon Valley and American Musical Theatre San Jose.
James D. White
James D. White is a transformational leader with more than 30 years experience as an operating executive in the Consumer Products, Retail, and Restaurant industries. He is the former Chair, President and CEO of Jamba Juice, where he led the successful turnaround and transformation of the company from a made-to-order smoothie shop to a global, healthy active lifestyle brand. In his experience at Jamba Juice and at companies including Gillette, Safeway Stores, Nestlé-Purina PetCare, and Coca Cola, James has gained invaluable experience that has enabled him to become a coveted board member on over 20 public and private boards including Panera Bread, The Honest Company, Simply Good Foods, CAVA, Affirm and Medallia to name a few. He is co-author of Culture Design: How to Build a High-Performing, Resilient Organization with Purpose, with Krista White.
F. Daniel Siciliano, moderator
Dan Siciliano is a successful technology CEO-founder and entrepreneur, as well as Vice Chair of the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, and a recognized expert in corporate strategy and governance, capital financial markets, executive compensation, and technological disruption (including fintech, AI and cybersecurity). He is currently Chairman of SVDX, board member of the Latino Corporate Directors Education Foundation, chair-elect of the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks, and a fellow at Stanford University.