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SeptOct2005

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Rules When U.K.-based publisher Pearson Education approached Jon M. Huntsman to write a book on ethics in business, he was hesitant. "I was taken aback by their request," Huntsman says. "I sug- gested that other CEOs could probably do a better job." In the end, Pearson convinced Huntsman that, given his long history of philanthropy and fair dealing, he was the one to write Winners Never Cheat: Everyday ValuesWe Learned as Children (But May Have Forgotten). The book, which includes chapter titles such as "Lessons from the Sandbox," "Play by the Rules," and "Keep Your Word," provides an ethical outline that Huntsman believes is crucial to success. "It's a book that's very basic and easy to read. It's easily understood and employed in all languages and cultures," Huntsman says. Its common sense principles, he explains, are meant to remind everyone to act according to his or her internal "moral compass." It's that compass that Huntsman believes will "keep us on the right track toward respect, dignity, and, at the end of the day, profitability in our businesses." Huntsman earned his BBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and his MBA from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. A mainstay in the chemical industry since 1970, Huntsman is the founder and chairman of Huntsman Corp., a petrochemical company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He served as its CEO until 2000, when he named his son Peter as successor. Until its $1.3 billion initial public offering in Feb - ruary, his company was the largest family-owned business in the U.S., going from zero to $13 billion in annual revenues in its 35- year history. Huntsman, the man, has prevailed over the finan- cial fallout of 2001, which almost led to bankruptcy for the com- pany, and two bouts with cancer. In his career, Huntsman has given nearly $500 million to charitable organizations, including millions to the country of Armenia to help it rebuild after a 1988 earthquake. He donated $50 million to The Wharton School, where a building has been named in his honor, as well as $225 million to the charity clos- est to his heart, the Huntsman Cancer Institute. He has been awarded Armenia's Medal of Honor; and, in 2005, he was named a "Giant in Our City" by the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce. He is ranked 26th on BusinessWeek's "50 Most Generous Phil anthropists." Huntsman and his wife, Karen, are parents of nine children, including Utah's newly elected governor, Jon M. Huntsman Jr., and grandparents of 52. Both define success as much by their family as by their philanthropic and business pursuits. However, Huntsman also implores every business school to teach students to safeguard their most precious asset and ultimate measure of success: their characters. BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 19 ROBERT SEVERI

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