By GARNET DEAKINS
The Marriott School of Management awarded the International Executive of the Year award to former Procter & Gamble Chairman John E. Pepper at a special dinner Friday night.
It is the most prestigious award given by the Marriott School to honor outstanding executives who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and high moral and ethical standards. Last year, the award was given to Gordon B. Hinckley, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Thomas S. Monson, President Merrill J. Bateman, faculty and members of the Marriott School and members of the National Advisory Council were in attendance to honor Pepper.
“John Pepper’s accomplishment’s are many and we are happy to think of him as one of the many great men to come to this university to receive this award,” President Monson said.
Now retired, Pepper served five years as chief executive officer for Procter & Gamble, and is now serving as chairman for its Executive Committee of the Board. He joined Procter & Gamble in 1963 and 36 years has helped to take the company’s sales from $1 billion to over $38 billion.
Pepper has made many commitments to community service by serving as the co-chair of the Governor’s Education Council for Ohio and as the co-chair of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative. In addition, he has served on a national level as a fellow of The Yale Corp., as a trustee of the Christ Church Endowment Fund and on the boards of Partnerships of Drug Free America, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and the National Underground Railroad.
In honor of Pepper, the Marriott School Men’s Vocal Ensemble, composed of 16 members of the Marriott School staff — including Dean Ned Hill — and students, gave a very rousing performance of several songs, including a comical number from the point of view of a mosquito.
In addition to the laughter and light-hearted atmosphere of the banquet, President Monson, President Bateman, and Hill commended Pepper for his integrity and vision in both the personal and business aspects of his life.
In an earlier meeting, Pepper told the audience that developing personal character is the key to strong leadership and has been his own ultimate challenge. Pepper said ethics and values should always tie corporate, public and private lives together.
“I believe it is perilous to have different sets of values for different parts of you life. I know that my effectiveness and peace of mind demand that the values that guide my life in P&G, in community activities, in my family life, and in the privacy of my own mind and heart be as much the same as possible,” Pepper said.
