The Marriott School at Brigham Young University honored former Procter & Gamble Chairman John E. Pepper as the International Executive of the Year last Friday.
It is the most prestigious award given by the Marriott School to honor outstanding executives who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and high moral and ethical standards.
"John Pepper runs his company with the same values we embrace at BYU – service, family, value, integrity and hard work," said Ned Hill, dean of the Marriott School. "He encourages his employees to be involved in community service, he's religious, and he is known as a good family man."
President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, presented Pepper with the award at a special banquet that evening.
"John Pepper's accomplishments are many, and we are happy to think of him as one of the many great men to come to this university to receive this award," Monson said.
After serving five years as chief executive officer for Procter & Gamble, Pepper is retired and is now serving as chairman for Procter & Gamble's Executive Committee of the Board. Under Pepper's leadership, Procter & Gamble increased its sales by 14 percent within five years, totaling over $38 billion in fiscal 1999 and serving almost 5 billion people in 140 countries.
Deeply committed to community service, Pepper has served as co-chair of the Governor's Education Council for Ohio and as the co-chair of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative. He has also been actively involved in recruiting mentors for public school children in Cincinnati.
Pepper has dedicated his time to service on a national level by serving as a fellow of The Yale Corp., as a trustee of the Christ Church Endowment Fund and on the boards of Partnerships for Drug Free America, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
In an earlier address that day to Marriott School graduate students and alumni, Pepper stressed the importance of personal leadership and character as keys to success in today's business environment. He said leadership based on values attracts quality employees, simplifies decision making, earns the respect of the customer and community and instills trust and pride among employees. Personal character, Pepper said, must remain constant across one's corporate, public and private lives.
"I believe it is perilous to have different sets of values for different parts of your life," Pepper said. "I know that my effectiveness and peace of mind demand that the values that guide my life in P&G, in community activities, in my family life, and in the privacy of my own mind and heart be as much the same as possible."
The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally ranked programs in accounting, business management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The mission of the Marriott School is to educate men and women of faith, character and professional ability who will become outstanding managers and leaders throughout the world. Approximately 5000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School's graduate and undergraduate programs.
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Writer: Peter Carr
