THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Friday, September 18, 2015 3
NEWS
EY Global Chair Talks Leadership Strategies Local
Meth Lab Discovered In Dryden A methamphetamine lab was uncovered by members of the New York State Police Community Narcotics Team, Troop “C” BCI and the Tompkins County Sheriff ’s office on Dryden Street Thursday, according to The Ithaca Voice. The meth lab was seized and a stolen watch and cell phone were also confiscated in the search. Tiffany Bailey, 27, the owner of the residence was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and petit larceny. The New York State Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response Team was an early responder and assisted the police with the clean up of the lab. Bailey was arraigned in Dryden Town Court and is scheduled to reappear in court at a later date, The Voice reported.
Around the Ivies Harvard Medical School Receives $20 Million Gift The Warren Alpert Foundation donated $20 million to Harvard Medical School this week, which will be used to fuel research in immunology, according to The Harvard Crimson. The donation will also fund the Department of Health Care Policy professorship and the Warren Alpert Foundation Dean Leadership Fund to dispense at the dean’s discretion, The Crimson reported.
National Potential Abortion Bills Cause Controversy Many Republicans in the senate pledged Thursday to push for legislation outlawing all abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, according to The New York Times. The House has also voted to move forward a bill eliminating federal funding for Planned Parenthood, a hot topic in Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate. Many speculate that the intensifying fight over abortion could lead to a government shutdown at the end of the month. However, there is also evidence that congressional leaders are relying on a fallback plan to keep the government functioning at least temporarily at last year’s spending level, The Times reported. — Compiled by Phoebe Keller
Says executives must ‘lead for tomorrow’ in current economy By DIVYANSHA SEHGAL Sun Staff Writer
Mark Weinberger, the global chair and chief executive officer of professional services firm Ernst & Young, spoke Thursday in Statler Auditorium about the qualities that are necessary to a becoming a global business leader in today’s economy. Weinberger opened the talk by calling the current economy “remarkable,” saying the business landscape is rapidly evolving. “We have geopolitical uncertainties, we have technological revolutions, we have business model disruption and we have increased global connectivity like we have never seen,” he said. “All of this is going to have a profound effect on economy, society and on business models, and employment landscapes over the coming years.” President Elizabeth Garrett, who moderated the talk, asked Weinberger how Cornellians should prepare to face the unique conditions of today’s economy. “As you know, we also want to help form the leaders of tomorrow, and we want to help our students deal with such an ever-changing and unexpected world,” Garrett said. “What should we do as an institution of higher education to help train and prepare our students for the world you just described?” Weinberger specified four qualities he believes a global business leader should have today. The first trait Weinberger described was a leader who prioritizes “leading for tomorrow [and] not just for today.” He said that a leader has to be able to anticipate “mega-trends” and be prepared for them. “If you looked at the paper today … and you look at the emerging markets, [you see] that they are volatile, they are risky, there’s political upheaval, there are very low returns and terrible investments,” he said. “If you made that decision for the short-term, you won’t be around for the long-term.”
Weinberger said that even when long-term issues are clear, business leaders “find it hard to think in the long term.” He added that they are often under extreme pressure to execute solutions in a timely manner. “Information is instant and people judge us instantly,” he said. “There are analysts who look at us every quarter and determine whether we’re doing good or bad. They are forcing us to think more short-term and influencing business judgement.” Weinberger also emphasized leading with a “power of purpose.” “It cannot be about what you do — it has to be about the value that you add to the world,” Weinberger said. “If you have a purpose beyond profit, you will be more successful.” He used EY to illustrate a group that is not merely self-interested, but is composed of talented people working together to create a better world. “This is especially important to the millennials out there ...They absolutely want to do good as well as doing well,” he said. “And so we focus a lot at EY on our purpose — building a better working world. And if our people don’t think of it like that, they’re not going to work the long hours.” He then spoke on the importance of communicating with all stakeholders. “My company is so successful because I am focused on my stakeholders, not my shareholders,” Weinberger said, quoting Mark Benioff, chief executive officer of salesforce.com. “What he’s recognizing is that the shareholder return is not necessarily as important as how happy your employees are,” he said. “It is about the commitment and the sustainability you have in your communities [and] the role that you play in the world.” Finally, he emphasized the importance of “building a diverse team for a diverse world.” “If you don’t have the right people around the table asking the right questions, you will get the wrong answers,” he said.
BRITTNEY CHEW / SUN NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Creating a better world | Mark Weinberger, CEO of EY, speaks in Statler Auditorium Thursday.
Weinberger also emphasized that to understand, serve and trade with different countries, one should have people from those countries on his or her team. “Diversity is no longer nice and just moral; it is a business imperative,” he said. “You have to develop a culture of diversity, not an initiative. And it takes time and energy and effort because there is a lot of unconscious bias out there.” He ended his talk by stressing the importance of universities like Cornell in developing the talent and character of its students. “What you get from a university like this is the ability to learn how you learn, how to have integrity, how to [work in] teams,” he said. “[You take away] things that are life skills and are beyond what you learn in the classroom.” Divyansha Sehgal can be reached at dsehgal@cornellsun.com.
Panel Weighs Implications of Iran Agreement By YUN SOO KIM Sun Staff Writer
Three Cornell professors spoke about the foreign policy implications and historical basis for the controversial Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program in Malott Hall Thursday. Prof. M. Elizabeth Sanders, government, said that because of the United States’ interventionist role in shaping the Iranian government, we “owe Iran” a chance to participate in the international community. “In 1953, a coup by the Eisenhower administration over-
turned the first and only secular democracy that Iran has ever had, and we installed a brutal dictator,” she said. “Iran as it is today [is] very a much a product of the United States’ thoughtless intervention, and if anybody owes bringing them back into the international community and giving them another chance, it’s us.” Prof. Iago Gocheleishvili, Near Eastern studies, emphasized how this agreement marks a turning point in Iran’s diplomatic policies. “I think Iran is very eager to open up the country and start a better relationship with the United States … if the deal goes through, it will be the start of something greater, something
RULA SAEED / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Talking politics | A panel of three professors weighs the pros and cons of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in Malott Hall Thursday.
broader, not only with the west, [but also with Europe],” he said. The deal is a compromise but also a gain for both countries, according to Prof. Sarah Kreps, government and law. “It fulfills both sides’ goals — the United States has a goal of reducing or minimizing the number of countries that develop nuclear weapons especially in the Middle East, and Iran has been under the weight of crippling international sanctions and it will gradually be lifted from those burdens as well,” Kreps said. “I think each side gave up something in this deal, but I think they’re both gaining in the middle as well.” Gocheleishvili, however, said there are two major weaknesses to the deal from the perspective of the United States. “The first one is the fact that the deal does not cover military sites … the agreement only covers facilities and sites that are under the authority of Iran’s ministry of energy,” he said. “So, theoretically, Iranians could move engineering parts to military sites [and] away from the eyes of the inspectors.” He said the second issue is that the deal is simply an agreement, not a treaty. “It’s an international agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and some countries,” Gocheleishvili said. “So, in case one of the parties … aban-
dons the deal, we will not be able to effectively use any international tribunals of court to pressure them to come back to the table of negotiations.” Gocheleishvili also celebrated the fact that Iran’s civilians will now cease to suffer from the imposed sanctions. “The sanctions are not really targeting the average Iranian, but the government,” Gocheleishvili said. “It’s usually very difficult to implement targeted sanctions on Supreme leader of Iran, [and] if anyone suffers it’s the regular Iranian.” Gocheleishvili explained that Iran’s long term associations with Syria are not by choice. “There is no one else who wants to be their ally. They’re cornered. They’re alone. The only country that continuously supports Iran, even during the IranIraq war, when everyone else supported Saddam Hussein, was Syria. That’s where the loyalties lie,” he said. He emphasized that Iran has been isolated and is seeking alliances, as all countries should. “They don’t have any choice — they’ve been excluded from the international community for 35 years, and to survive, they can’t be alone in the region,” Gocheleishvili said. “No one can. We all need allies.” Yun Soo Kim can be reached at ykim@cornellsun.com.