Mark Edward Whitacre, the highest-level corporate executive in U.S. history to become an FBI whistle-blower, will present 鈥淲hen Good Leaders Lose Their Way,鈥 a free public lecture on Wednesday, March 27, at 11:10 a.m. in Eberly Auditorium.
Whitacre is responsible for uncovering the Archer Daniels Midland price-fixing scandal in the early 1990s. As president of the BioProducts Division at ADM, Whitacre spent three years aiding the FBI in its investigation of the corporation.
A subsequent ADM investigation of Whitacre led to an FBI embezzlement probe that resulted in Whitacre's losing his whistle-blower immunity and spending eight and a half years in federal prison. ADM leaders, whose fraudulent activities netted billions of dollars, received three-year prison sentences.
The story inspired the film The Informant, starring Matt Damon as Whitacre.
Whitacre is currently the chief operating officer and president of operations for Cypress Systems Inc. in California. He has a Ph.D. in biochemistry, degrees in psychology and economics, and a juris doctor degree.
In his lecture, he'll discuss his real-life lessons in personal and business ethics, the value of accountability, and the need to think long-term in personal and business decisions.
This event is co-sponsored by the Christian Business Men's Connection and Eberly College of Business and Information Technology.