Corporate Governance - Knowledge Areas

The Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprise

The 12-member Conference Board Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprise was formed to address widespread abuses which led to corporate scandals and declining public trust in companies, their leaders and America's capital markets. The Commission examined compensation, audit, and governance issues facing corporate America and issued best-practices guidelines. The Commission was co-chaired by Peter G. Peterson, Chairman of The Blackstone Group, former Secretary of Commerce and Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and John W. Snow, Chairman, CSX Corporation and former Chairman, Business Roundtable. The work of the Commission was supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Reports

Findings and Recommendations
The Commission's final report contains recommendations on executive compensation, corporate governance, designing and enforcing ethical codes of conduct, shareholder relations, and how to improve accounting and audit practices.
Download Full Report (47 pages, 253.7 KB)
Download Executive Summary (16 pages, 191.2 KB)

A Personal Postscript by Commission Co-Chairman Peter G. Peterson
The Co-Chairman reflects on the extent, importance and causes of the breakdown of public trust in American business, the formation and objectives of the Commission, and the five themes of its recommendations.
Download Postscript (20 pages, 122.6 KB)

Roster of Members

		Pete Peterson (Co-Chairman) Chairman Blackstone Group			John W. Snow (Co-Chairman) U.S. Treasury Secretary Former Chairman CSX Corporation
		John H. Biggs Chairman, President and CEO TIAA-CREF			John C. Bogle Founder and former Chairman Vanguard Group, Inc.
		Charles A. Bowsher former Comptroller General			Peter M. Gilbert Chief Investment Officer State Employees' Retirement System Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
		Andrew S. Grove Chairman Intel Corporation			Ralph S. Larsen former Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson former Chairman of The Business Council
		Arthur Levitt Jr. former SEC Chairman and former Chairman of the American Business Conference			Lynn Sharp Paine Professor Harvard Business School
		Warren B. Rudman former U.S. Senator Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison			Paul A. Volcker former Chairman of the Board of Governance Federal Reserve System

Staff

Carolyn Kay Brancato
Director of the Commission
The Conference Board

Alan A. Rudnick
Counsel to the Commission
Principal
Alan A. Rudnick LLC

About the Pew Charitable Trusts

The Pew Charitable Trusts (www.pewtrusts.org) make strategic investments to help organizations and citizens develop practical solutions to difficult problems. Based in Philadelphia, Pew supports nonprofit activities in the areas of culture, education, the environment, health and human services, public policy, and religion. In 2001, with approximately $4.3 billion in assests, Pew committed over $230 million to 175 nonprofit organizations.

For More Information

Please contact Frank Tortorici at +1 212 339 0231 or f.tortorici@conference-board.org.