Ruth’s consulting work, speaking engagements and writing are in service of her mission to fight corruption by changing attitudes and practices relating to regulation, ethics and compliance.
An international corporate lawyer prior to founding AretéWork, Ruth developed a values-based approach to ethics and compliance while General Counsel and Head of Integrity at Borealis AG.
Ruth is a member of the UNODC E4J panel of experts on Ethics & Integrity and is an experienced Barrett Values Centre Consultant.
Ruth is co-author, with Professor Chris Hodges of Ethical Business Practice and Regulation: A Behavioural and Values-Based Approach to Compliance and Enforcement (Hart Publishing, December 2017).
Ruth’s other publications include the IBE’s Good Practice Guides to Ethics Ambassadors (2010) and Performance Management for an Ethical Culture (2014).
What makes you a Risky Woman?
It gives meaning and purpose to my life – I want to make a difference by supporting risk professionals to move beyond policies and practices and focus on culture and values. I have lived my own life in a risky way; rarely taking the easy path and always hoping to leave a place in a better state than when I found it. Risky Women is a fantastic organisation that can make a major contribution by networking us together and helping us all learn and grow.
Name your top 3 achievements
Invented and implemented the concept of ethics ambassadors while GC at Borealis and since then assisted various companies to create ethics ambassador networks Learned to speak Italian fluently – not just the language but also the culture Forged an international corporate legal career at a time when it was unusual
What is the biggest risk you’ve taken in your career?
Leaving San Francisco alone as a young lawyer and coming to Europe to make a career without the support of a multinational. In the 1980s there was no established career path, and I was not admitted to practice in any European jurisdiction. Not only did I start in Italy (Milan) but I then spent 3 years working in Cairo. It was a pretty crazy thing to do, but other than from a financial perspective, I don’t regret a thing!
What’s something most people don’t know about you?
I love road cycling; both doing it and watching pro cycling. I have the optimal number of bikes (D-1) road, Keiser and folding!
What is the best quality for successful leaders in Risk?
A balance between System 1 and System 2 thinking; in other words the ability to access sound intuition and to analyse issues based on the available data.
