Leslie A. Dach - Leslie Dach is executive vice president of Corporate Affairs and Government Relations for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, reporting directly to CEO Lee Scott. There he manages all levels of internal and external communications; the Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club Foundation, the nation’s largest corporate cash contributor to charity; and the company’s state and federal government relations programs, which represent the company to Congress and to state legislatures around the country. Dach has also been heavily involved in Wal-Mart’s recent launch of a $4-generic-prescription-drug program, its work to bring environmentally friendly products to consumers, and the “Better Health Care Together” coalition. He has devoted a large portion of his professional career to environmental causes and serves as a board member of the World Resources Institute.
John Fund - John Fund is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and writes the "On The Trail" column for the papers OpinionJournal.com.
He is also a contributor to the 24-hour cable new channels CNBC and MSNBC. He joined the Journal in 1984 as deputy editorial features editor. In 1986, he became an editorial page writer specializing in politics and government, and was a member of the editorial board from 1995 to 2001.
A former staffer for the California State Legislature, Fund is author of several books, including Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy and Cleaning House: America's Campaign for Term Limits.
Sidney Harman - Sidney Harman is executive chairman of Harman International Industries, Inc., a leading manufacturer of high-quality, high-fidelity audio, video, and navigation products for automotive, consumer, and professional markets. From 1970 to 1973, he was president of Friends World College, a worldwide experimental Quaker college.
Harman founded the Program on Technology, Public Policy, and Human Development at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He has written extensively on productivity, quality of working life, and economic policy. He is the co-author (with Daniel Yankelovich) of Starting with the People and the author of Mind Your Own Business. He also serves as a trustee of the Aspen Institute.
Benjamin W. Heineman Jr. - Benjamin W. Heineman, Jr., is a senior fellow at Harvard Law School's Program on the Legal Profession and a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
His teaching and research focus on the global anti-corruption movement, corporate citizenship and social responsibility, the corporate response to terrorism, corporate governance, and corporations and public policy.
Previously he was General Electric's senior vice president for law and public affairs and before that a senior vice president and general counsel. During the Carter administration, he was an assistant secretary at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
Stephen C. Parrish - Steven C. Parrish is senior vice president for corporate affairs for Altria Group Inc., the parent company of Philip Morris. He oversees government relations, communications, and corporate contributions, and he has led efforts to build bridges to a range of constituencies, including health organizations, antismoking groups, civic bodies, the media, and government. He previously served as senior vice president for worldwide regulatory affairs for Philip Morris Companies Inc., senior vice president for external affairs, and general counsel for Philip Morris USA. He also served in numerous positions covering a range of legal, regulatory, and public affairs issues after first joining the company in 1990.
Public Trust and the Corporation with Benjamin W. Heineman, Jr., Steven Parrish, Leslie Dach, Sidney Harman and Damon Silver speaking at the 2007 Aspen Ideas Festival. John Fund moderates the discussion.
Some of the most inspired and provocative thinkers, writers, artists, business people, teachers and other leaders drawn from myriad fields and from across the country and around the world all gathered in a single place - to teach, speak, lead, question, and answer at the 2006 Aspen Ideas Festival. Throughout the week, they all interacted with an audience of thoughtful people who stepped back from their day-to-day routines to delve deeply into a world of ideas, thought, and discussion.