Richard Bowen

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September 12, 2019 By Richard Bowen

ESG and the “New” Business Purpose

Image of a tree within a broken glass orb.

ESG, not a cooking spice, is at the heart of a new business model. In fact, ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) is at the core of this August’s Business Roundtable (“Roundtable”) new statement of business that redefines the purpose of a corporation to promote “an economy that serves all Americans.” This new purpose was briefly discussed… [Read More]

Tagged With: Business Roundtable, environmental, ESG, governance, social, Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation

September 5, 2019 By Richard Bowen

Purpose or Profits? Can we have both?

Graphic of four red shareholders on the left, many blue stakeholders on the right, and corporate priority with green arrows pointing both directions in the center of a round table.

Milton Friedman, the 1970’s Nobel economist stated that “… there is only one social responsibility of a business, to engage in activities designed to increase its profits.” And for over 47 years, the Business Roundtable (“Roundtable”), an association of CEOs of 193 companies with over $7 trillion in revenue and almost 15 million employees, followed… [Read More]

Tagged With: Business Roundtable, Shareholders, Stakeholders

August 29, 2019 By Richard Bowen

More Deregulation? The Caution Flags are Waving

Map of united states with red arrow crashing on it.

According to Merrill Matthews; Senior Fellow at the Institute for Policy Innovation, “We do not think a U.S. recession is imminent, but the threat is very real; the caution flags are waving. Nor do we think recessions are inevitable. Rather, they are almost always the result of misguided policies — sometimes exacerbated by the Federal Reserve Bank,… [Read More]

Tagged With: #2008, #2big2fail, Dodd-Frank, Financial Crisis, Volcker Rule, Wall Street

August 22, 2019 By Richard Bowen

WE’RE BACK! …The corporate debt bubble strikes again!

Word cloud

  Inflated bond ratings were one cause of the financial crisis and it looks as if we haven’t learned from that experience. Here we are ten years later and we’re heading down that path once again. People are concerned right now about an imminent recession for just cause. So how did we circle back? This… [Read More]

Tagged With: Corporate Debt, Ethics, Financial Crisis, Too Big to Fail, Wall Street

August 15, 2019 By Richard Bowen

Too big to be held accountable?

Graphic with the word "Accountability" in all caps running across a circle with a line through it.

Well the jury’s in. And the results are not good. It appears we are more lenient towards white-collar financial crimes than ever, with fewer financial crimes cited and lesser fines/settlements paid. In our present administration, fines and settlements against corporations have plummeted and prosecutions of individuals are falling to record lows. In the last administration the Department… [Read More]

Tagged With: accountability, Administration, Department of Justice, tbtf, Too Big to Fail, Wall Street

August 8, 2019 By Richard Bowen

How to Lose or Gain Productivity and Profitability

Graph showing downward progress.

In a recent post, I commented that once trust is lost it is challenging, at best, to restore it. Trust is an essential ingredient in all relationships, personal or business, whether on the factory floor, the boardroom, marriage or friendship. It is as Steven M. Covey, author of The Speed of Trust says, “it’s the… [Read More]

Tagged With: Leadership, Productivity, Profitability, trust

August 1, 2019 By Richard Bowen

It’s About Trust, Stupid!

Image of a man walking to the left inside a circle, the word TRUST in a box across his head.

Leaders in the C-Suite are responsible for setting the strategic path a company must follow to achieve its desired performance and for determining the means by which those goals will be accomplished. However, achieving those goals and retaining their position and power to get those goals accomplished is not possible if they do not have… [Read More]

Tagged With: Leadership, trust

July 25, 2019 By Richard Bowen

Ethics: Speak Up, Lose Your Job!

Image of a dark sheet with a blue megaphone and the words Speak Up drawn on it.

What makes for an ethical leader? The formula is not complex. [bctt tweet=”An ethical leader consistently does what is right, even if it presents a challenge.” username=”RichardMBowen”] It’s not about being ethical in public and not in private. It’s not about valuing profit or celebrity above people. It’s not about taking advantage of your prominence… [Read More]

Tagged With: business ethics, Ethics, Leadership, whistleblowing

July 17, 2019 By Richard Bowen

A Tribute to Ross Perot

Color portrait of Ross Perot, 1986, standing in front of a portrait of George Washington

Ross Perot was a legend. The eccentric Texan billionaire, lived a colorful and adventurous life, founding major companies and twice running for president as an independent. Mr. Perot handily passed the ethics test with flying colors, deliberately choosing to take a stand and doing the right thing. He knew ethics is good business and his… [Read More]

Tagged With: business ethics, Leadership, Ross Perot

July 11, 2019 By Richard Bowen

We’re getting better ethics grades!

Scrabble tiles spelling out Ethics

How would you rate your company’s ethical culture? Here’s the good news… the corporate fraud and ethical scandals of the last ten plus years have shown a spotlight on the importance of ethics. According to the 2019 Ethics and Compliance Program Effectiveness Report, based on a survey of 480 ethics, compliance and legal professionals at large… [Read More]

Tagged With: ethical leadership, Ethics

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What People Are Saying About Richard M. Bowen

William D. Cohan"Richard Bowen is one of my heroes. His is a story of human fortitude at its best and Wall Street at its worst."

~ William D. Cohan, NY Times Best Selling Author
2017-06-30T10:08:59-05:00
"Richard Bowen is one of my heroes. His is a story of human fortitude at its best and Wall Street at its worst." ~ William D. Cohan, NY Times Best Selling Author
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/2556/

Eileen McDonnell"Richard Bowen reinforced my motto that "there is no right way to do a wrong thing.” Long after his presentation, the conversation has continued about personal responsibility and the courage to challenge things that appear to be wrong. We encourage this dialog and rely on it to help make our business stronger."

~ Eileen McDonnell, Chairman, CEO, & President, Penn Mutual
2015-02-13T19:51:19-06:00
"Richard Bowen reinforced my motto that "there is no right way to do a wrong thing.” Long after his presentation, the conversation has continued about personal responsibility and the courage to challenge things that appear to be wrong. We encourage this dialog and rely on it to help make our business stronger." ~ Eileen McDonnell, Chairman, CEO, & President, Penn Mutual
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/711/

Ben Stein"Richard Bowen, you are a star and a hero."

~ Ben Stein, Economist and Political Commentator
2015-02-13T19:50:26-06:00
"Richard Bowen, you are a star and a hero." ~ Ben Stein, Economist and Political Commentator
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/712/

Jim Farrell"Richard's speech at the April Financial Executives International dinner was informative, interesting, riveting, and fast moving.  The feedback from members was overwhelming positive, and Richard received one of the few standing ovations given by our membership."

~ Jim Farrell, Program Chairman, Dallas Chapter, Financial Executives International
2014-12-28T19:48:17-06:00
"Richard's speech at the April Financial Executives International dinner was informative, interesting, riveting, and fast moving.  The feedback from members was overwhelming positive, and Richard received one of the few standing ovations given by our membership." ~ Jim Farrell, Program Chairman, Dallas Chapter, Financial Executives International
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/532/

Dennis McCuistion"Richard Bowen has been there, done that, and has the scars to prove it, and his message of corruption at the highest levels of industry and government needs to be heard. I only wish that more bankers had the courage that Bowen exhibits. He is not only one of the most talented bankers I have ever met, he has more integrity than all the bankers on Wall Street put together. If his former employer had listened to him taxpayers would not have had to bail out Citi for the third time in the last 30 years."

~ Dennis McCuistion, Host of the McCuistion TV program
2014-12-28T19:48:06-06:00
"Richard Bowen has been there, done that, and has the scars to prove it, and his message of corruption at the highest levels of industry and government needs to be heard. I only wish that more bankers had the courage that Bowen exhibits. He is not only one of the most talented bankers I have ever met, he has more integrity than all the bankers on Wall Street put together. If his former employer had listened to him taxpayers would not have had to bail out Citi for the third time in the last 30 years." ~ Dennis McCuistion, Host of the McCuistion TV program
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/533/

Betty Garrett"Richard Bowen is a dynamic, entertaining speaker and story-teller - a CPA with a great personality!"

~ Betty Garrett, Garrett Speakers International
2014-12-28T19:47:50-06:00
"Richard Bowen is a dynamic, entertaining speaker and story-teller - a CPA with a great personality!" ~ Betty Garrett, Garrett Speakers International
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/531/

fred-timmons"I believe Richard Bowen is the only keynote speaker to ever receive a standing ovation from the Texas Society of CPA’s at any of its annual conferences."

~ Fred Timmons, Chairman of The Texas Society of CPA's
2014-12-28T19:47:22-06:00
"I believe Richard Bowen is the only keynote speaker to ever receive a standing ovation from the Texas Society of CPA’s at any of its annual conferences." ~ Fred Timmons, Chairman of The Texas Society of CPA's
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/530/

"The most emotional and impactful session was absolutely Richard Bowen and the Citi Mortgage case. I was somewhat aware of the challenges and hardships faced by whistleblowers. The HBR case and documentary on Sherry Hunt's experience provided a strong understanding of the case and overall situation. However, the nuance and emotion that Bowen brought in his lecture will be one of my lasting memories of the program. His unique perspective of the exhausting experience of constantly trying to do the right thing only to be stonewalled by his leadership, and later, the US government, highlights the challenges of doing the right thing, yet the importance of someone speaking up. Bowen made whistleblowing personal to us, and I will never forget his quote that if you see wrongdoing, you have two choices, "say something or get out." Taking a stand will have an enduring impact on your career and life regardless of the outcome. It certainly causes me to prioritize selecting the right corporate culture in my future organizations."

~ EMBA student review after Richard spoke to the class

2024-09-25T16:10:48-05:00
"The most emotional and impactful session was absolutely Richard Bowen and the Citi Mortgage case. I was somewhat aware of the challenges and hardships faced by whistleblowers. The HBR case and documentary on Sherry Hunt's experience provided a strong understanding of the case and overall situation. However, the nuance and emotion that Bowen brought in his lecture will be one of my lasting memories of the program. His unique perspective of the exhausting experience of constantly trying to do the right thing only to be stonewalled by his leadership, and later, the US government, highlights the challenges of doing the right thing, yet the importance of someone speaking up. Bowen made whistleblowing personal to us, and I will never forget his quote that if you see wrongdoing, you have two choices, "say something or get out." Taking a stand will have an enduring impact on your career and life regardless of the outcome. It certainly causes me to prioritize selecting the right corporate culture in my future organizations." ~ EMBA student review after Richard spoke to the class
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/4629/

Presentation Topics

Playing for High Stakes: The Principles and Practice of Ethical Leadership

Dark Citi: The Story of a Whistleblower

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About Richard

Recent Posts

  • ‘The Men Who Stole the World’ is on Amazon Prime!
  • Speaking at The Institute of Internal Auditors, Northeast Ohio, Fraud Day
  • Honored to speak to two highly ranked MBA programs this summer
  • Speaking at the 23rd ACFE Annual Emerging Trends in Fraud Conference
  • I was honored to present the 2024 J. Craig Smith Business Ethics Lecture at the University of Alabama

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  • Whistle Blowers

About Richard

Now an ethical leadership speaker, Richard Bowen was Citigroup's Business Chief Underwriter during the housing bubble.

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