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In 2007 Booz Allen Hamilton set out to help small nonprofits in the Washington, D.C. area gain access to expert advice and guidance on management and fundraising that was otherwise unattainable for them due to cost. In the four years since, the Booz Allen Hamilton Nonprofit Development Conference Series has grown exponentially and now successfully serves more than 400 unique nonprofit organizations with top tier guest speakers from around the metropolitan area who provide the sorely needed advice and guidance.
2010 Conference: Star Search – Where will tomorrow’s corporate citizenship leaders come from?
By Sylvia Kinnicutt, Research Associate, Boston College Center
This 2010 conference breakout session was called “Star Search: Where will tomorrow’s corporate citizenship leaders come from?”and the panel itself was packed with stars, from Dave Stangis, VP of CSR at Campbell’s Soup who has been an outspoken leader in this profession, to Katherine Hopinkah Hannan, national managing partner and Chief Responsibility/Diversity Officer at KPMG, who has led several areas of the company before raising the bar of corporate citizenship at the Big 4 firm. Alongside them were rising stars Joseph Reganato, a corporate communications manager who also works with the foundation of Mitsubishi International corporation, and Maggie McArthur, Deputy Director of Net Impact, who spends her days inspiring, equipping and engaging MBAs to make a social impact.
What advice did they have for becoming a corporate citizenship star? For one, communication skills are key. People in these leadership positions need to be able to connect with diverse individuals, and to tailor their communication methods to meet those diverse needs. In communicating about corporate citizenship, it is increasingly important to demonstrate the linkage to bottom line business goals.
Making these connections requires a strong grounding not only in citizenship and sustainability issues but also in solid business fundamentals. Stangis recommends getting up to speed quickly on the business of your business. McArthur tells new grads to seek out operational and other internal corporate roles, as more and more corporate citizenship positions are being filled internally.
In addition to preparing corporate citizenship leaders, Hannan emphasized the role that corporate citizenship experience can play in developing leadership skills among all employees. At KPMG, a manager’s engagement with corporate responsibility issues can have a strong impact on their promotion potential. “Leaders of corporate America are going to come from those that understand the corporate responsibility issues,” she asserted.
So while there may not be an expansive supply of high level corporate citizenship positions, the field is definitely expanding and growing to include the passions and needs of incoming employees. Leadership is required at all levels of the company, and the sooner business schools and HR departments realize this, the better off business and society will both be.
