Nation's CEOs Gather at Yale CEO Summit to Address When CEOs Succeed in Changing the Course of History and to honor Herbert V. Kohler, Jr., CEO of Kohler Co.

New Haven, Conn., December 12, 2006—The 54th gathering of the Yale CEO Summit of The Chief Executive Leadership Institute takes place at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on Thursday, December 14 and Friday, December 15. In this time of vilifying top leaders for their character or competence, this year’s program examines how CEOs can be an effective force for positive change and salutes many triumphant models. The conference theme is entitled “Changing the Course of History: When You Have to and When You Don’t.”

Distinguished global corporate leaders from across industries will engage in lively, candid discussions with regulators, judges, shareholder activists, and scholars at this largely off-the-record, invitation-only leaders’ conference hosted by the Yale School of Management.

Members of the press are invited to attend the conference dinner on Thursday and the Friday lunch session, the only two on-the-record sessions.

On Thursday, December 14 at 7:30 p.m., Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. will be presented with the Legend in Leadership Award followed by a dinner panel entitled “Changing History Away From Public Markets.”

The closing lunch panel on Friday, December 15 at 12:30 p.m., entitled “Overstating or Understating What CEOs Really Change,” will include Alan Murray, deputy managing editor, The Wall Street Journal; Jonathan Wald, executive vice president and chief operating officer, CNBC; and Rui Chenggang, anchor, China Central Television. Seating is limited and advance registration is required.

Conference participants include CEOs, presidents, and chairmen from such firms as: Ford Motor Company; Verizon; Deloitte; Goldman Sachs; Campbell Soup Company; J. Crew; Jefferies Securities; Raymond James Financial; Barclays; Hewlett-Packard; Merck; Wrigley; The Carlyle Group; CarMax; Harley-Davidson; Sandler O’Neill; The Thomson Corporation; BMC Software; Tupperware Brands, and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia; along with prominent financiers such as Wilbur Ross and Ken Langone, historian Paul Kennedy; as well as 80 other distinguished leaders including U.S. congressmen; UN ambassadors; top government officials from the SEC and the U.S. Department of Commerce; university presidents; theologians; economists; psychologists, environmentalists; accountants; and attorneys.

“Some of our participants celebrated great triumphs this year while others suffered tragic setbacks. All of them are distinguished and honorable people with highly varied strategic leadership challenges and personal values. We are thrilled to continue to provide a safe oasis for candid discussions and peer-driven learning,” said Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, associate dean of the Yale School of Management and conference organizer. “The elevated expectations for far-ranging internal accountability, sophisticated technical knowledge, and constant external engagement have created near superhuman CEO job descriptions. This conference will share the secrets of how 100 industrial titans have triumphed in such daunting roles.”

Conference sponsors include: UPS, Deloitte & Touche LLP, NYSE Group, The Thomson Corporation, RHR International, and Russell Reynolds Associates.

About Legend in Leadership Award Recipient Herbert V. Kohler, Jr.

Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. is chairman, chief executive officer, and president of Kohler Co., a large home furnishings company that manufactures products in plumbing under the Hytec, Kohler, Sterling, and Kallista names, ceramic tile and marble stone, furniture under names such as Baker and McGuire, power generators, engines, and golf resorts. Founded by Herbert Kohler’s grandfather John Kohler in 1873, the Wisconsin-based enterprise operates throughout Europe and Asia with a major presence in China. A private company that employs more than 31,000 workers, Kohler industries has been a pioneer in progressive workforce management practices and community development. The company has long been renowned for its product quality and design, and has won numerous artistic, industrial design, and environmental awards. Herbert Kohler had developed and enhanced many prominent golf resorts. He is a leading horse breeder and a member of the U.S. Business Hall of Fame. He has vowed that his company will never go public.

Past winners of this award include: The Home Depot founder Bernard Marcus; Vanguard founder Jack Bogle; McKinsey founder Marvin Bower; PepsiCo’s Roger Enrico, Coca-Cola’s Don Keough; Jim Kelly of UPS; Richard Teerlink of Harley-Davidson; Staples founder Tom Stemberg; Charlotte Beers of J. Walter Thompson; catalog retailer Lillian Vernon; Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson; Quincy Jones; Terry Semel of Yahoo!; and financier, entrepreneur, and regulator William Donaldson.

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://www.ceoleadership.org.

For an interview with Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, or to register for the Legend in Leadership Award dinner or the closing lunch, contact Renee Anastasio: 203-432-9904, renee.anastasio@yale.edu, or Bonnie Blake: 203-432-0867; bonnie.blake@yale.edu.