Rediscovering Greatness: Nation's CEOs Gather at Yale to Address Uncertainties in Economic Recovery and to Honor Former Procter & Gamble Chairman and CEO John E. Pepper, Jr.

New Haven, Conn.- May 26, 2004- Despite strong economic indicators, international financial markets currently reflect geopolitical uncertainties that make it hard for business leaders to guide the next 12 months. In an effort to review strategic business directions amid these conditions, 100 world-renowned chief executives, policy makers, and academics gather at the 49th CEO Summit of The Chief Executive Leadership Institute of the Yale School of Management. The conference, entitled "Rediscovering Greatness: The Secrets of Successful Transformation,"  takes place at Yale University on May 27 and 28, 2004. Conference sponsors include: UPS, Bloomberg News, RHR International, Russell Reynolds Associates, Toyota, and The Council of Better Business Bureaus.

Leaders participating in this invitation-only event include: U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao; SEC Commissioner Harvey Goldschmid; Congressman Christopher Shays; Brad Anderson of Best Buy; John Beystehner of UPS; John Pepper, former Chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble; Mac Crawford of Caremark Rx; Stuart Miller of Lennar; John Eyler of Toys "R" Us; Dennis Cuneo of Toyota; Sandy Warner, former Chairman and CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase; Rick Goings of Tupperware; Sharon Patrick of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia; William Zollars of Yellow Roadway; Jeffrey Katz of Orbtiz; Richard Cavanagh of The Conference Board; as well as management professors from Yale, Harvard, and Berkeley, and 80 other distinguished top opinion leaders such as North Carolina State Treasurer Richard Moore, and President and CEO of the American Red Cross Marsha Johnson Evans.

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Associate Dean of the Yale School of Management and conference organizer, said, "Chief executives learn best from peers on the frontier of their field. In such uncertain times, they look for fellow pioneers who have taken bold risks and tested new strategic waters. Neither predecessors nor textbooks offer a blueprint for them. We are delighted that these distinguished leaders continue to come to Yale as a forum to exchange their wisdom with each other and thought leaders from academia."

On the evening of Thursday, May 27, John Pepper, the widely respected retired Chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble, will be presented with the Legend in Leadership Award  by Brad Anderson, CEO of Best Buy. Also at this dinner, ABC News television host George Stephanopoulos will address the topic of "Rediscovering Greatness in Presidential Politics." This event is open to members of the press who register in advance at the number listed below.

Past winners of this award include: Hershey's retired Chairman and CEO Kenneth Wolfe; Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Jack Valenti; Vanguard founder Jack Bogle; Home Depot founder Bernard Marcus; former Coca-Cola President Donald Keough; former PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico; MCI founder, the late Bill McGowan; musician entrepreneur Quincy Jones; Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone; catalogue entrepreneur Lillian Vernon; Dunkin' Donuts founder, the late Bill Rosenberg; former J. Walter Thompson CEO Charlotte Beers; Bell South Chairman Emeritus John Clendenin; Rich Teerlink, former CEO of Harley-Davidson; Gordon Binder, former CEO of Amgen; Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic; and Kemmons Wilson, creator of Holiday Inns.

A Yale graduate, John E. Pepper, Jr., Class of '60 B.A. and M.A., is currently the Vice President for Finance and Administration of Yale University. He joined Procter & Gamble in 1963, becoming general manager of Procter & Gamble Italia in 1974 and group vice president in 1980. In 1980 he was elected to the company's board of directors and in 1986 became president of Procter & Gamble. Mr. Pepper was named chairman and chief executive in July 1995 and retired from the company in 2002.

Mr. Pepper served as Successor Trustee of the Yale Corporation from 1995 to 2003, which included election by his peers to the post of Senior Fellow for his final 18 months.

He is a director of the Xerox Corporation, Motorola, Inc., and Boston Scientific Corp. A former chairman of the U.S. Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations and the Ohio Business Roundtable, he serves on the executive committee of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative. He is also honorary co-chair and member of the executive committee of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

The conference will conclude with a lunch at Noon on Friday, May 28, which will feature an address by The Honorable Elaine Chao entitled "The Responsibilities of an ERISA Fiduciary." This final event is open to members of the press who register in advance at the number listed below.


About The Chief Executive Leadership Institute:
The Chief Executive Leadership Institute, the world's oldest CEO college, is part of the Yale School of Management. It was founded in 1989 to provide original research on leadership and lively current educational forums through peer-driven learning for accomplished leaders across sectors. To learn more about the CELI, visit: http://celi.som.yale.edu/.

About the Yale School of Management:
The mission of the Yale School of Management is to educate leaders for business and society. The school prides itself on preparing men and women to combine rigorous business skills with a broader appreciation for the economic, social, and political factors that shape the global environment. To learn more visit: http://mba.yale.edu


For an interview with Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, or to register for the Legend in Leadership Award dinner or the closing lunch, contact Tabitha Wilde, Associate Director of Media Relations at the Yale School of Management, 203-432-6010 (tabitha.wilde@yale.edu) or Bonnie Blake, 203-432-0867 (bonnie.blake@yale.edu).