Ben Heineman
Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Contact:
Telephone: 617-496-7305
Fax: 617-495-8963
Email: ben_heineman@harvard.edu
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March 25, 2013
"On DOMA, Real-World Arguments Could Sway the Supreme Court"
Op-Ed, The Atlantic
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"After the Supreme Court hears oral argument in the two same-sex marriage cases next week, it could issue a momentous ruling that gay marriage is a constitutional right in all 50 states -- or that it is not," writes Ben Heineman.
..."Moderate justices (read: Kennedy) may hesitate to call same-sex marriage a constitutional right. But these briefs written by military and business leaders may give them a more modest way to strike down the Act."
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January 10, 2013
"Why Are Some Sectors (Ahem, Finance) So Scandal-Plagued?"
Op-Ed, Harvard Business Review
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
In the past 25 years, the size of settlements, fines and penalties for individual corporations found guilty of wrongdoing has escalated from millions of dollars, to tens of millions, to hundreds of millions, to billions. Think Siemens and widespread bribery — about $2 billion. Or, bigger yet, think BP and the gulf disaster — almost $20 billion to date, with another $20 billion-plus likely in the future.
December 11, 2012
High-Risk, High-Reward: Will Obama Seek a Free-Trade Pact With Europe?
Op-Ed, The Atlantic
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Just after the New Year, President Obama will have to decide whether to take a dramatic, high-stakes gamble on a very unsexy topic: a U.S.-EU free trade agreement. It will be one of the key high-risk, high-reward choices of his second term, writes Ben Heineman.
Citigroup
November 5, 2012
"Citigroup: A Symbol of Board Resurgence?"
Op-Ed, Harvard Business Review
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
At the center of the corporate wreckage of the past fifteen years — the accounting scandals, the outright fraud, the environmental disasters, the financial meltdown — sits the boards of directors. Their failure to choose the right CEO and to provide appropriate oversight on core risks and opportunities has, in my view, reflected a broad failure of the corporate governance movement and its reliance on directors to effectively to oversee the corporation and its business leaders.
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March 30, 2009
"It's About Accountability, Stupid"
Op-Ed, On Leadership at washingtonpost.com
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"One of the fundamental issues raised by the economic crisis, primarily in the financial sector but also in failing industries like the automobile industry, is: Where was the board of directors to set meaningful performance goals (not simply stock price) and hold business leaders accountable?"
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December 8, 2008
"Pay For Performance"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"For the CEOs to say that they will work for a dollar a year if Congress forks over the cash ignores the vital importance of providing compensation carrots (and sticks) for the key executives who, as a team, will have to defy auto history and transform the industry, which these executives had a hand in creating."
AP Photo
September 26, 2008
Boards Fail -- Again
Op-Ed, BusinessWeek
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Sadly, it is clear that the boards of our major financial institutions did not understand the risks the entities were taking. It may be that the CEOs and top management didn't understand, either, but it is the board's job to press management. As experienced individuals, it is board members' duty to ask hard questions when things are going extremely well as well as when they are going badly.
AP Photo
April 27, 2009
"SARS Corporate Playbook"
Op-Ed, On Leadership at washingtonpost.com
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"Multinational corporations have seen this movie before. It was a horror flick called "SARS" (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)."
AP Images
March 25, 2013
"On DOMA, Real-World Arguments Could Sway the Supreme Court"
Op-Ed, The Atlantic
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"After the Supreme Court hears oral argument in the two same-sex marriage cases next week, it could issue a momentous ruling that gay marriage is a constitutional right in all 50 states -- or that it is not," writes Ben Heineman.
..."Moderate justices (read: Kennedy) may hesitate to call same-sex marriage a constitutional right. But these briefs written by military and business leaders may give them a more modest way to strike down the Act."
AP Images
January 15, 2013
"Obama's Chief of Staff Will Be the Most Important Appointment of His Term"
Op-Ed, The Atlantic
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
President Obama will soon make what could be the most important appointment of his second term: his chief of staff.
