Tyco senior vice president to speak on restoring trust in corporate world
Eric M. Pillmore, senior vice president of corporate governance at Tyco International, will be the guest speaker at the 15th annual Conference on Business Ethics organized by the Department of Management in the Pamplin College of Business. Pillmore’s talk at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 25, in Burruss Auditorium, is titled: “Tyco: restoring trust in the corporate world and related lessons learned.” No tickets are necessary for the event, which is free and open to the public.
Pillmore also will meet faculty during an informal session earlier in the day to discuss Tyco and how the case surrounding Tyco can be used in classroom teaching. As part of conference activities, faculty members who teach ethics or business strategy will use a case study on the company and a Harvard Business Review article that Pillmore wrote (“How we’re fixing up Tyco”) in their class discussions before or after the lecture.
Tyco’s former chief executive and chief financial officer are being tried in the New York State Supreme Court on charges of securities fraud, grand larceny, conspiracy, and falsifying business records. In the company’s announcement of Pillmore’s appointment in August 2002 to the newly created position of senior vice president of corporate governance, then newly appointed chairman and CEO Ed Breen noted that he had made “an absolute commitment to establishing the highest standards of corporate governance in every aspect of this company’s financial reporting, operations, and management” and that Pillmore’s hiring underscores that commitment.
Pillmore previously worked in senior management positions at Multilink Technology Corporation, General Instrument Corporation, and GE. Pillmore, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1975 from the University of New Mexico, also served in the U.S. Navy as an officer in the Western Pacific and as an auditor with the Naval Audit Service in Washington, D.C.
Previous guest speakers for the ethics conference have included Ralph Nader, journalist James Fallows, 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. A member of the college’s marketing faculty directs the interdisciplinary Sloan Foundation Forest Industries Center at Virginia Tech. The college’s other research centers focus on business leadership, electronic commerce, and organizational performance. The college is committed to serving business and society through the expertise of its faculty, alumni, and students.
