The accolade, in its second year, recognises the tireless efforts and dedication of E&C professionals who are leading the charge to embed integrity and ethics as a core value within their organizations.

Nominated by the Ethics and Compliance and Vault Platform community, these individuals stand out as the movers and shakers of the ethics and integrity space.

The 2024 Integrity Innovators

– Amy Mertz Brown, Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer, Boeing Employees Credit Union 

– Laurel Burke, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer and In-House Leader, Axiom

– Candace Ciresi, Chief Compliance Officer, Mobileum

– Sam Craft, Global Director, Compliance Training and LMS Management, Alcon

– Claudia Curtis, Senior Vice Presidents, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, BD

– Rupert Evill, Founding Director, Ethics Insight

– Linda Frazier, Chief Compliance Officer, TripAdvisor 

– Adam Hunt, Leader (Senior Director) of Global Ethics and Compliance Org, Netflix

– Ellen Hunt, Principal Consultant and Advisor, Spark Compliance Consulting

– Sandhya Sharma Global HR Program Manager, MiQ 

– Joseph Philipose, Senior Vice President, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Emergent Bio Solutions

– Gitanjali Sakhuja, Fractional CCEO, GS Consulting

– Carolina Santos da Silva, Head of Ethics & Compliance EMIA, Bridgestone EMIA

– Sonja Sefrin, Associate Director, Ethics, ING

– Micheal Sheely, Chief Compliance Officer, Payoneer

– Monica Thurman, Director, Ethics and Legal Compliance, Intel

 – LaSalle Vaughn, Chief Compliance, Ethics & Risk Officer, Bestow

– Hitomi Walter, Legal Compliance Lead, Wellcome Trust

– Emma Williams, Director of European Risk & Compliance MLRO, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Promoting Active Integrity

At Vault, we believe that companies must be active in their pursuit of flawless integrity. And Vault’s core value – promoting Active Integrity – is at the heart of what Integrity Innovators is all about. 

Everyone selected embodies this value, and exemplifies a commitment and vision to make work a better place for everyone.

Their endeavours are serving as inspiration for the next generation of Ethics and Compliance leadership, showing that integrity is not just a buzzword, but a fundamental principle that shapes organizational culture and success.

Our Innovators have also been earmarked as thought leaders in their field, the ones to watch for the latest trends. 

In coming weeks we will hear from them about the projects they’re most proud of, their vision for creating better ethics programs, and their thoughts on the hot topics within the profession.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to find out more about how innovators are building active speak up cultures in their organizations, get in touch.

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One of the biggest miscarriages of justice in Britain’s history, the Post Office Horizon IT scandal has rocked the country, with recent revelations catapulting the saga to center stage in the media spotlight.

An ITV drama brought to life the astonishing accounts of hundreds of innocent people whose lives were ruined after incorrect data from Fujitsu’s faulty IT system had wrongly suggested they stole money. 

The TV programme captured the public imagination and sparked huge national outcry, applying pressure on politicians to act and move forward with proposed new laws to quash the wrongful convictions of hundreds of innocent Post Office sub-postmasters.

Around 900 were prosecuted and more than 200 sent to prison from 1999 to 2015. 

It’s taken a very long time for the truth to surface. But would it have ever emerged without whistleblowers?

The critical role of whistleblowers

The role of those with inside knowledge of what was really happening behind the scenes has been cited as crucial, alongside the incredible efforts of campaigners.

Whistleblower Richard Roll’s crucial contribution in unveiling the truth about the flawed Horizon software was highlighted in the TV adaptation. His testimony was key in the 2019 High Court Case, which helped prove the innocence of many victims.

An ex-Fujitsu engineer, he was part of a team who had access to Horizon terminals remotely. He’s been giving evidence to the ongoing Public Inquiry in recent weeks.

Mr Roll went on camera in 2015 to tell the BBC’s panorama what had happened behind the scenes.

The challenges of speaking up

The dramatisation showed the difficulties for a potential whistleblower of speaking up. It highlighted the fears and anxieties that come with going up against such large organisations.

And as the full details continue to emerge in the glaring spotlight of the ongoing inquiry, further startling revelations emerge.

More whistleblowers have come forward – with the latest via the Guardian newspaper regarding possible destruction of evidence that might have cleared wrongly accused victims.

How could things have been different?

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak,  The Criminal Cases Review Commission, and even the Post Office itself, have described the scandal as one of the greatest miscarriages of justice ever seen in Britain.

Could it have all been prevented before it escalated to this stage?

It’s not clear if misconduct reporting systems were in place within the organisations at the centre of this case at the time. But Mr Roll, in his written evidence, describes certain problems being “hushed up” by managers at Fujitsu during his time working there. 

Mr Roll blew the whistle years after leaving the company by going directly to campaigners.

Hugely damaging for businesses

The enormity of the scandal that has engulfed both the Post Office and Fujitsu is unquestionable.

It illustrates that businesses can easily have blindspots to potentially disastrous headline-grabbing business risks. 

The reputational damage is likely to be gigantic, analysts have said.

Fujitsu Europe Director Paul Patterson acknowledged the damage to the firm’s reputation when speaking to UK MPs recently, as he issued a company apology.

Then there’s the financial implications, with compensation claims in this case still far from resolved but estimated at more than £1bn.

The saga offers a sobering case study for all modern day organisations who aren’t actively seeking to uncover risks and misconduct at source.

How can other brands avoid such a scandal?

One study from The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission estimated up to 75% of workplace misconduct is never formally reported.

And an Ethisphere research paper found nearly half of employees who observed misconduct in the past 12 months failed to report the matter.

So, there could be many problems bubbling under the surface that organisations are not being made aware of.

For companies seeking to avoid a scandal like the Post Office, the key is to uncover wrongdoing and risks early before they escalate into something far larger. 

Developing an advanced Speak Up culture

To achieve this requires developing an advanced Speak Up culture within the business, empowering employees to report misconduct. And backed by a robust misconduct reporting solution.

Traditional one-size-fits-all channels – like legacy hotlines are not fit for purpose and most incidents are either not reported or surfaced through anecdotal feedback.

Businesses risk compliance failings if processes to surface concerns, investigate cases and report progress are not connected and the workflows are inefficient. Instilling a modern, sophisticated, fully equipped modern case management and whistleblowing system is essential.

It empowers everyone in your ecosystem – investors, employees, vendors, customers – to help you uncover unreported incidents, contribute to resolving them faster and enable you to prevent future wrongdoing. 

How can Vault help?

We believe companies can be protected from major risks – perhaps the next big crisis scandal or lawsuit – if their people are protected too. Our platform delivers the true opportunity to Speak Up.

Uncover risks early by: 

– Enabling the people in your ecosystem to gain access and speak up about incidents by offering multiple reporting channels, including the mobile app and Vault Talk, our AI-powered hotline.

– Capturing actionable insights (rather than unstructured reports) that lead to credible investigations through tools that make reporters feel psychologically safe, including anonymous reporting.

Book a call with one of our specialists to find out more.

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Artificial Intelligence is not a nebulous concept for the future anymore. It’s right here and now.

And it’s adding value to organisations and their risk management practices by:

• Reducing costs
• Increasing operational efficiency
• Advancing the Speak Up culture

Ethics professionals are set to reap the benefits.

1. AI-powered hotlines

Seven out of ten ethics professionals across the world have indicated their speak up and hotline processes are not a strong element of their Ethics programs. That’s according to LRN’s 2024 Ethics & Compliance Program Effectiveness Report. And 40% of the 1,400 surveyed say it’s an area they must focus on improving this year.

Are you operating an outsourced call centre as a solution for employee reporting and whistleblowing?

You may have pondered how to cut through the drawbacks and high costs this outdated legacy hotline incurs.

You can save money, increase efficiency and build a better speak up culture by harnessing the power of AI. AI can power an alternative internal hotline – cutting out the costs of employing staff or third-party operators. 

2. Breaking down language barriers

Artificial intelligence is making great breakthroughs in assisting communication between people in different countries by cutting through language obstacles. This very much applies for global businesses seeking solutions for misconduct reporting. 

With AI translations, companies operating in multiple countries can get instant reports in dozens of different languages. This means case managers can quickly move the process forward without the help of external translation services, thereby substantially reducing costs and time. The average SLA for report translations by humans is two days.

Chief Ethics and Compliance Officers should look at solutions that not only apply to reports, but also to asynchronous communication “chat”. That means you can converse with reporters (even anonymously) and interview them in their own language, without relying on translators.

3. Automatic case assignment

Modern case management tools offer Advanced Routing capabilities, which greatly increase efficiency and speed for assigning cases. Reports can automatically be sent to a predetermined team or individual. 

Depending on the established set of rules and categories, reports can all go to central or local or regional teams and to specific people. In other words, tailored to the set-up each business wants. Look for software that can route to different teams based on the category of the report (distinguishing between compliance and HR cases, for example), site and location of the report’s origin, and other parameters.

4. Connecting to messenger platforms

To build an enhanced Speak Up culture, it’s vital to make reporting as easy as possible. To do so requires reaching staff where they most commonly operate and communicate – such as apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams. AI-powered reporting bots can now be embedded in these mainstream communication platforms to achieve just that.

How do organisations get these AI and automation benefits?

Vault Platform provides the AI and automation capabilities described above and more.

We believe companies can be protected from major risks – perhaps the next big crisis, scandal or lawsuit – if their people are protected too. Our platform delivers the true opportunity to Speak Up.

And with increasing needs to meet an evolving list of regulatory demands, such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission, EU Whistleblower Directive and Sarbanes-Oxley Act, it’s clear that business leaders must act now.

Want to learn more?

Delve into the details and see how Vault can enhance your Ethics program by booking a quick demo with us.

And if you’d like to hear more about AI in ethics and compliance, watch our on-demand webinar.

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The views expressed in this article are of Max Beilby’s and do not reflect those of his employer.

What do you foresee to be the biggest challenges for ethics and compliance in the coming year?

The world is infinitely complex and it’s incredibly difficult to predict what will transpire in the future. That aside, I think it is highly likely that the cost-of-living crisis will continue to place great pressure on consumers and small businesses. The central ethics and compliance challenge is to make sure lenders meet the standards society expects of them to support waves of people experiencing financial hardship.

Do you see any trends that are particularly exciting? 

I’m both incredibly excited (and freaked out) by the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence. Like most disruptive technologies, I suspect artificial intelligence will be a double-edged sword. With thoughtful application and appropriate regulation, AI could revolutionize the way we work and usher in a golden era. Implemented badly, AI could in turn help create a dystopian nightmare.

Read “13 Principles for Using AI Responsibly” co-written by Max and published in Harvard Business Review.

What headlines regarding misconduct really caught your eye over recent months?

The collapse of Credit Suisse certainly caught my attention. Whilst I don’t want to succumb to confirmation bias, the lesson I think we should take from this failure is that cultural issues can bring down giants of finance. Despite Credit Suisse having solid financials in several respects, it was a collapse of confidence, due to a continuous flood of breaches and scandals, that ultimately led to its demise.

What do you think innovation looks like in an ethics and compliance function?

With regards to technology, we’ve already touched on how artificial intelligence has the potential to transform how ethics and compliance functions operate (for example, breakthroughs in natural language processing and predictive analytics). However, I do think AI and big data more generally will also underscore the necessity of good theory. Breakthroughs in behavioral science are also a key source of innovation in the field of ethics and compliance. 

Is there another ethics and compliance professional who inspires you and if so, why? 

The eminent social psychologist Jonathan Haidt founded Ethical Systems, a think-tank created to help translate and apply academic research to the corporate world, with the ultimate purpose of increasing trust and integrity in business. I am truly inspired by the core team (Alison, Noel and Brian) and what they have accomplished.

This blog post is part of our ongoing Integrity Innovators series recognizing the movers and shakers of the ethics and compliance space who truly embody Active Integrity. Know someone who fits the bill? Let us know and check out some of our other Integrity Innovator blog posts here.

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We call this Active Integrity.

Adopting this new approach by focusing on active risk mitigation will support your organization’s most critical resilience, profitability, efficiency, and workforce needs. But how do you go about implementing this shift?

Uncover every incident and reduce risks early

Becoming aware of your business’s major risks requires active participation from various stakeholders, so having the right tools to empower everyone in your ecosystem is crucial. A reliable, multichannel solution can ensure that misconduct is uncovered at all levels by all stakeholders. Vault Platform allows for anonymous reporting through the mobile app, Open Reporting web app, or through manual creation following a confidential conversation. With real-time data analytics, your team can then uncover high-risk areas and patterns of misconduct.

Tap into the data and weed out root causes

You can now investigate the data and quickly manage cases through to resolution, with cross-department collaboration. People and HR teams can contribute by funneling reports from their respective channels into Vault Platform to centralize and standardize misconduct data. Communication with reporters (even those who choose to remain anonymous) throughout the investigation process is crucial to show them that their reports are taken seriously and acted upon.

Be transparent with stakeholders and regulators

Transparency and collaboration are fundamental to Active Integrity, and keeping executives, shareholders, and regulators well informed about your compliance efforts is key. Vault Platform offers audit reports functionality that generates reports automatically, saving time and reducing the risk of manual data entry errors. Integration of Vault Platform with other core business platforms, such as HRIS and payroll solutions, allows for seamless data connectivity across the organization.

Nurture a healthy ecosystem

Establishing a robust, accessible process around Speak Up and demonstrating that risk areas are being effectively investigated, identified, and prevented, will encourage a mindset shift among your stakeholders. This shift will be reflected in increased report submissions and improved resolution times. Active Integrity is an ongoing process, continuously changing attitudes and driving exponential change in your business, one case at a time.

Vault Platform has already helped organizations from various sectors center their business approach around Active Integrity, fostering action and accountability to create organizations that contribute to a better world.

Discover how Active Integrity can help your business overcome its biggest challenges with Vault Platform.

The post How to move from Reactive Mitigation to Active Integrity appeared first on Vault.

Kevin is a purpose-led senior lawyer and ethics and compliance executive with a passion for building positive work cultures with strong climates of integrity. He advocates for a modern approach to Speak Up and orchestrated TI Fluid System’s adoption of Vault Platform. The organization is now setting the tone for the rest of the automotive sector through its innovative compliance programs.

He said: “We’re maintaining momentum and traction in our efforts to build a culture of ethics and make headway in keeping colleagues engaged.”

Kevin is also the Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Diversity X, supporting underestimated founders of purpose-led start-ups. He applies his world travels and deep insights into the shift towards human leadership and the demand for businesses to align their purpose with making the world a better place for everyone.

TI Fluid Systems is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of automotive fluid systems technology with nearly 100 years of automotive fluid systems experience and manufacturing facilities in 28 countries.

Check out some of our other Integrity Innovator blog posts here.

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Airbnb is a brand that needs no introduction. The online marketplace for homestays has invested heavily in its ethical health and has embedded integrity in the way it does business. The brand wants to promote a culture within the Airbnb community that goes above and beyond mere compliance.

Alongside the Airbnb team, Jennifer has built a compliance program that goes beyond legal requirements; from prevention and detection to transparent and direct responses to reports of misconduct. Jennifer leads with empathy and is motivated by the continuous challenge to innovate with data-driven systems and standards that incentivize accountability. She likes to use brain teasers and hypotheticals to bring the Airbnb Code of Ethics and other policies to life.

She said: “Over the last five years, I’ve developed a real passion for teaching. I love leveraging my experience as an instructor at Harvard’s Trial Advocacy Workshop in presentations I make to Airbnb employees across the globe. I take care to tell every member of the audience that their voice matters; that we want – and need – to hear from them, before detailing how, when, and to whom to raise any concern or complaint. These presentations proactively prevent policy violations. They also help create a culture in which we feel inspired, encouraged, and empowered to speak up whenever any of us fall short. Whether or not the word is in your job title, ethics is everyone’s responsibility.”

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Driven by a personal manifesto to lead with positive psychology and happiness, Gustavo shapes the culture of OLX through anti-corruption partnerships and renewed investments in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Having worked in risk analysis, risk management, compliance, internal controls, internal audits, investigations, and more, Gustavo is always keen to find new ways of reinventing ethics and compliance functions. His current focus is on leveling up OLX’s Speak Up program for 2023.

When asked about the challenges facing ethics and compliance professionals, Gustavo said: “With advances in technology, the associated risks have become increasingly complex and concerns are no longer solely data-centric. For example, despite its adaptive predictive power and autonomous learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI) does not work in the same way as human intelligence. Without proper safeguards, an AI system can introduce cognitive risks that could have legal implications for an organization. To guard against these risks, organizations need to make informed and cautious decisions about the design, development, implementation, and use of a wide variety of emerging technologies.“

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Fraser’s work on ethics initiatives is a driving force for change. He’s brought a new approach to Speak Up at Wellcome, moving the organization away from a hotline and adopting digital channels that provide proactive insights for the business.

His innovative ethics-focused initiatives include ‘The Only Way is Ethics’ – open discussions between staff and board members and external speakers who talk about different integrity topics, including fraud, modern slavery, and ethical standards. Fraser and his team then link each session’s topic to Wellcome’s mission and values, demonstrating why integrity is so important to the organization and how everyone can be accountable and have a direct impact. This kind of dialogue around integrity and accountability in the workplace is raising the bar for foundations and nonprofits.

Fraser said: “We’re continuing to try ‘humanise’ what we’re doing – to truly embed our process of engaging mindsets (in particular through storytelling and role-modeling), sparking conversations, and providing simple and human tools for changing behaviours and habits in the moments that matter.”

Fraser is inspired by the wonderful Wellcome team, who consistently inspire great ideas and motivation.

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