Former Enron executive to speak at Virginia Tech
Former Enron executive Lynn Brewer will talk about her brief but eventful career at the former energy company on Monday, April 5 at 7 p.m., in Burruss Hall auditorium on the Virginia Tech campus.
Brewer is the featured speaker in the 14th annual “Conference on Business Ethics” sponsored by the Department of Management’s Business Leadership Center, the Pamplin College of Business, and the Virginia Tech Union. Brewer’s talk, “House of Cards: Confessions of an Enron Executive,” which is also the title of a book she authored, is free and open to the public.
In her nearly three years at Enron, Brewer worked in Enron’s water company, gas and power trading operations, and broadband unit, where her responsibilities included risk management and e-commerce. According to Brewer, she witnessed “numerous instances of illegal and corrupt dealings, including bank fraud, espionage, power price manipulation, and gross overstatements to the press, public, and financial world.”
Brewer is currently chairman of the International Society of Ethics Examiners, which seeks the development of a uniform certified ethics examination for the ethical environment of corporations. She created the Foundation for Full Disclosure and Ethical Leadership, which offers an annual award to companies that recognize that “sustainable shareholder value and growth can be achieved only through disclosure and ethical leadership.” Brewer previously worked in forensic accounting and spent 18 years as a legal professional until she joined Ralston Purina, where she worked in corporate development for the general counsel and chief financial officer.
Brewer holds a certification in business ethics from Colorado State University. She is also the author of SportsVision: Athletic Excellence through Visualization, a training manual for athletes that is based on her 15 years as a competitive and professional figure skater and coach.
Previous guest speakers for the ethics conference have included Ralph Nader, James Fallows (former editor of U.S. News and World Report), noted academic experts in ethics, and prominent business executives.
Virginia Tech's nationally ranked Pamplin College of Business offers undergraduate and graduate programs in accounting and information systems, business information technology, economics, finance, hospitality and tourism management, management, and marketing. The college emphasizes the development of leadership skills and ethical values and the integration of technology in the academic curriculum, and prepares students for global business challenges through faculty-led study abroad programs. The college has research centers that focus on business leadership, electronic commerce, energy modeling, and wireless telecommunications. The college is committed to serving business and society through the expertise of its faculty, alumni, and students.
