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July 1, 2025 15 mins

Yesterday at the 2025 SHRM Annual Conference & Expo in San Diego, the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund named Brian Moynihan, CEO at Bank of America as this year’s Ethical Leader of the Year Award winner.

Brian Peckrill, Executive Director of the McGowan Fund, presented the award and praised Ethical Leader of the Year Award winner Brian Moynihan's commitment to ethical leadership. With this honor, Brian Moynihan joins an esteemed group of past recipients, including Prudential Financial CEO Charles Lowrey and Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian.

In this special HRchat episode, recorded live at SHRM25, Brian Peckrill returns to the show to reflect on the evolving role of HR in championing ethics and purpose in today’s organizations. 

Host Bill Banham and Brian also dive into the Ethical Leader of the Year Award itself - what makes it special, the qualities of its recipients, and what’s next for the McGowan Fund.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's
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For hundreds more episodes andwhat's new in the world of work,
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Speaker 2 (00:26):
It is day three of SHRM annual.
Hello everyone.
This is Bill Bannam, host ofthe HR Chat Show.
Yesterday, at SHRM in San Diego, the William G McGowan
Charitable Fund announced thewinner of this year's Ethical
Leader of the Year Award.
Brian Peckrell, executiveDirector of the McGowan Fund,

(00:48):
presented the award and praisedthe winner's commitment to
ethical leadership In thisspecial HR Chat episode recorded
.
Shortly after presenting theaward, brian Peckrell returns to
the pod to reflect on theevolving role of HR in
championing ethics and purposein today's organisations.
We also dive into the EthicalLeader of the Year award itself

(01:11):
what makes it special, thequalities of its recipients and
what's next for the McGowan Fund.
If you care about ethicalleadership, purposeful business
and the role of HR in shaping abetter future, and the role of
HR in shaping a better future,this episode is one for you.
Brian, it's my absolutepleasure to welcome you back to

(01:33):
the HR Chat Show.
You and I were chatting beforewe hit record just now.
I think this is your fourthappearance on the pod.
How are you doing?
Welcome back.

Speaker 3 (01:40):
Bill, it's always a pleasure to talk.
I think this is our fourth timeand, as always, I enjoy our
conversations.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
So, for those folks who have been remiss and they
haven't tuned in to our previouschit chats, why don't you take
a minute or two and introduceyourself to our audience?

Speaker 3 (02:04):
Sure, I'm Brian Peckrill, the executive director
of the William G McGowanCharitable Fund.
We are a family foundationlocated in Chicago, and our core
, our core work is addressingpoverty through grant making and
education, health access andhuman services and shelter,
healthy food, workforcedevelopment.
In addition to that, we have afocus on promoting ethical
leadership in business.
That we have a focus onpromoting ethical leadership in

(02:25):
business.
We do so through the McGowanFellows Program, a partnership
with some of the top MBA schoolsacross the United States.
But today we just gave away the2025 Ethical Leader of the Year
Award.
This is our fourth iteration ofthe award and it's our way of

(02:47):
honoring a CEO who's not justjust a prolific business leader,
but also benefiting businessand society.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
You were kind, then, not to mention that winner's
name, and we're going tocontinue to not mention their
name just yet.
We're going to.
We're going to tease ourlisteners just a little bit more
instead.
Instead, before we get there, Ijust want to highlight a recent
post, a very recent post thatyou shared on LinkedIn, in which

(03:16):
you wrote at the McGowan Fund,we believe that organizations
thrive when they lead withvalues and put people at the
center of decision making.
That belief is at the heart ofour fellows program and the Eth
leader of the year award.
Brian, my question for you iswhat do you mean by that, and
what does it mean to putemployees at the center of
decision making?

Speaker 3 (03:33):
I think a lot of people, when they think of
corporate leadership, they'rethinking about, you know,
shareholder capitalism, puttingthe shareholder at the front and
foremost part of the businessdecision-making process.
The McGowan Fund we believe instakeholder capitalism, that
when you're making businessdecisions, it really involves

(03:57):
not just thinking about how tomake as much money, but how can
you grow alongside your people,your customers.
But how can you grow alongsideyour people, your customers, but
also your employees?
These types of long-termdecisions ultimately are good
business.
Over the long term, theorganizations that have done
this have been proven to be someof the most profitable ones,
and it's our belief that ethicsin business is not just good for

(04:22):
people, but it's also goodbusiness.

Speaker 2 (04:25):
Okay, very good, I think I can hear a drum roll in
the background.
Brian, because now is the bigmoment.
This year's honoree is Brian.
Why don't I let you telleveryone who the star of the
show is?

Speaker 3 (04:45):
So I had the honor, just about 30 minutes ago, of
presenting the 2025 EthicalLeader of the Year Award to
Brian Moynihan, the Chairman andCEO of Bank of America.
He's a deserving winner.
I'd be glad to tell you why.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
Please.
I mean, why was he selected?
What sets the Bank of Americaapart?
Tell us more, please.

Speaker 3 (05:14):
Absolutely.
I think his story begins backwhen he became the CEO of Bank
of America in 2010.
I think many of your listenersneed not be reminded about 2010,
but we were at the height ofthe Great Recession and there
was just widespread distrust inbanking and the financial
institutions, in banking and thefinancial institutions.
That is the context in whichBrian Moynihan stepped into as
the newly minted CEO of Bank ofAmerica, and over the past 14

(05:37):
years, he has really rebuilttrust in his organization as
well as the financialinstitutions.
These institutions areabsolutely crucial in our
country for buildingintergenerational wealth and
ensuring that individuals thrive, and one of the core
initiatives that he launched, orone of the core visions that he

(05:58):
launched at Bank of America isthis framework for responsible
growth, which truly emphasizesthat, for Bank of America to be
successful, they're growingfinancially, but they're growing
alongside their clients,they're creating real
opportunities for theiremployees and they're sharing
success with their companies,and one of the core areas that

(06:20):
distinguished him from thecompetition this year is how he
went about implementing thisresponsible growth strategy.
On the community side, moynihanhas committed $1.25 billion to
advancing small businessdevelopment, affordable housing,
workforce development andhealth in the communities in

(06:41):
which Bank of America works Inthe customer side.
They have a goal to mobilize$1.5 trillion in sustainable
finance, leading to developenvironmental and social
projects that benefit people andsociety by 2030.
And truly, what he has done inthe area of workforce

(07:01):
development is spectacular.
Right now, the minimum wage forBank of America for high school
graduates is $24.
When he started in 2010, it was$10.
Next year they're committed tomoving that number to $25.
It increased by 150% in 16years.
On top of that, they've createdpathway programs that help

(07:25):
individuals from low-incomefamilies and communities enter
into long-term career roles.
Right now, of their 200,000employees, over the past seven
or eight years, they've hired20,000 people from these
backgrounds into theselife-transforming positions.
Bank of America has over200,000 employees.

(07:46):
They're the 18th company on thefortune 500.
He has shown that ethicalleadership doesn't just have to
be a nice thing that, uh, smallsocial impact organizations do,
but it's something that canscale and the largest
organizations in society cantake on, and when they do that,
it helps our society flourish.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
I would love to get him on the show and ask him
about his retention rates as aresult of paying his people
properly.
Uh, kudos to him.
Okay, very good.
Um, so once again, youpartnered with sherm to co-host
the awards.
Uh, fourth time around.
Everybody knows who sherm is.
It's the biggest hr associationin the world.

(08:28):
This is the biggest HR eventthat you're currently at in the
world.
Uh, what?
What does that partnership meanfor the William G McGowan
charitable fund brand?
But also, you know the flipside.
What do you think SHRM getsfrom associating with uh, with
you guys and with the concept ofrecognizing ethical leadership?

Speaker 3 (08:53):
Absolutely.
I fundamentally believe that.
Well, first and foremost, Ibelieve that SHRM is known as a
deeply ethical organization thatputs values in front and center
of all the decisions they make.
But really, when it comes toethical leadership, it begins in
HR.
Hr isn't just around managingpeople.

(09:16):
It's about establishing anethical culture.
It's how an organization showsup in the world and with whom
they show up.
So when we are talking aboutethics with SHRM, I think that
this is how we establish ethicalorganizations by instilling the
culture at the very top andhaving it percolate throughout
the entire organization.

(09:37):
So I really believe that ourpartnership is just a perfect
match.

Speaker 2 (09:42):
We're living through rapid change of course.
How do the principleschampioned by the McGowan Fund
apply to the challenges of theworkplace in 2025?
I mean, the world is a verychanged place to only a year ago
.

Speaker 3 (09:58):
Absolutely, and you know, I just finished watching
Johnny Taylor's keynote addressand he addressed this head on.
I think the first piece is todo what is compliant to follow
the law, and with that, it'simportant to know what your

(10:19):
values are.
Your values shouldn't changefrom one week to another.
They shouldn't change if thesky is red or blue.
Values stay the same and solong as your values are
compliant and aligned with thelaw, it sets up a framework for
you to lead from and it sets upa framework for you to stay

(10:41):
steady and make core,human-centric business decisions
that should benefit your people, benefit business and hopefully
set you apart from thecompetition.
Uh, so right now there's a lotof uncertainty in the world.
I would encourage the listenersof this podcast to to not look

(11:04):
outward but look inward todetermine what they believe and
how they can actualize that inbusiness decisions and when we
last spoke, at that moment, youwere preparing for your annual
symposium, I think, brian.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
Uh, have you got?
Have you got another one comingup soon?
If so, what's in store forfolks?
Can you walk us through theformat and some of the intended
outcomes for 2025?

Speaker 3 (11:29):
absolutely.
We're still working on some ofour speakers, but our symposium
this year will be at the end ofOctober at the University of
Pennsylvania Warden School, andour theme this year is around
responsible innovation with AIas a case study.
So I think people are lookingat artificial intelligence right

(11:49):
now but also wary about thedestruction that it's causing.
I think the opportunity to useAI as a case study to understand
that we always are existingwithin cycles of innovation and
that values based decisionmaking the values that you hold

(12:16):
true can provide a framework sothat we responsibly innovate in
a way that puts people insociety at the front and center,
and I hope that we're going tolook back at this conference at
some of the other cycles ofinnovation that we have from the
industrial revolution onwardsto better understand how to
navigate this moment.

Speaker 2 (12:31):
Two more questions for you before we wrap up for
today.
Brian, Looking ahead, how doyou see both the McGowan Fund
and the Ethical Leader of theYear Award evolving in?

Speaker 3 (12:43):
June of 2026.
But I think what's kind ofinteresting about this award is
that the criteria doesn't change.
We're not every single yearreinventing what is an ethical

(13:04):
leader.
We're looking for leaders thatact with integrity, are
resilient to difficult times,are accountable to their
customers, their clients andtheir employees, and they're
courageous in making difficultdecisions.
And every single year we kindof stick true to that model.
It doesn't change.

(13:25):
And those leaders that adhereto their values and are aligned
with ours, they're the ones thatrise to the top.

Speaker 2 (13:32):
Excellent, and Brian, just finally, how can folks
learn more about you?
You're always very generous interms of sharing your contact
details on our show, so, if youdon't mind doing that again in
terms of connecting on LinkedInor whatever else you would like
to share there.
And, of course, how can theylearn more about the William G
McGowan Charitable Fund and thefoundation as well, which does

(13:54):
fantastic work?

Speaker 3 (13:55):
Absolutely I.
You know I direct all thelisteners to William G McGowan
Fund dot org.
That's our Web page and you canlearn more about the ethical
leader of the year award as wellas the rest of our grant making
there.
And for anyone that'sinterested in connecting, please
go to my my LinkedIn.
Brian Peckrell and I'd be gladto connect and continue this

(14:16):
conversation.

Speaker 2 (14:17):
Brian, I always enjoy my chats with you on this show.
I know you're a busy man.
Today You're deep in it, you'rerecording this live from SHRM
and you've got lots moreinterviews to do and whatnot.
So thank you very much for yourtime today.
It's much appreciated.

Speaker 3 (14:30):
Bill, it's always a pleasure.
I hope to see you next year.

Speaker 2 (14:33):
And listeners as always.
Until next time, happy working.

Speaker 1 (14:40):
Thanks for listening to the HR Chat Show.
If you enjoyed this episode,why not subscribe and listen to
some of the hundreds of episodespublished by HR Gazette and
remember for what's new in theworld of work?
Subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
HRGazettecom.
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