PANEL: Corporate Culture and Entrepreneurship After the Credit Crunch
Keynote: Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
Master of Ceremonies: Ali Velshi, CNN Chief Business Correspondent
Panelists:
Lex Fenwick, CEO of Bloomberg
Stanley Bergman, Chairman and CEO of Henry Schein
Johnny Copelyn, CEO of Hosken Consolidated Investments
Mark Angelson, Chairman and CEO of World Color Press
Panel summary by Josh Sanburn, World Policy Journal
While the downfall of Lehman Brothers occurred just over a year ago, a number of prominent CEOs, as well as the prime minister of the Netherlands, agreed that the collapse that precipitated the global financial crisis will be a catalyst for change. What that change will be exactly is yet to be determined. 
The Dutch prime minister, Jan Peter Balkenende (who arrived directly from the United Nations General Assembly and praised President Barack Obama’s speech), said a change in culture is needed to solve the current global financial problems. “Business as usual is not an option,” he said, insisting that companies across the world curb reckless behavior. “Taking excessive risks has caused real misery. But the current situation allows us to change corporate culture.”
A number of the experts participating in the panel, “Prospects: Corporate Culture and Entrepreneurship After the Credit Crunch,” seemed to be in agreement, though Bloomberg CEO Lex Fenwick, added that employees today are too scared about losing their jobs to offer risky ideas. At the same time, Stanley Bergman, chairman and CEO of Henry Schein, cited the real challenge is getting every employee involved. “How do you get 13,000 people engaged in the business?” he asked. “At the end of the day, it’s a simple concept that is hard to implement.”
Fear was a common theme for panelists, whether fear of employees or entrepreneurs hesitant to take financial risks, or ordinary people who have begun saving rather than living with debt. “People get dominated by fear,” said Johnny Copelyn, CEO of Hosken Consolidated Investments. “The last year has been a very testy time for us.”
World Color Press Chairman and CEO Mark Angelson applauded the work of central banks around the world for righting the financial ship. “We were at the abyss. But those who have declared that we’ve hit bottom may be amiss.” He identified three growth areas in the near future—health care, green technology, and rebuilding infrastructure. “Each involves an opportunity for mass recruiting,” he said.
The panel also urged companies and individuals to become more values-based and socially responsible. “The America I see today is not the one I saw 20 or 30 years ago,” said Louise Blouin, founder and chairman of the GCLS. “This is not a financial crisis; it’s a value crisis.”
But the panel ended on an optimistic, if cautious, note. People should not look to new companies rather than existing ones, for future employment, concluded Fenwick. Historically, recessions have never been bad for innovation, added Bergman. “We have to reinvent our business. We have to find a way to harness that energy.”