Warrington Lecture Series spotlights ethical leadership and the power of speaking up

On Oct. 22, the Broad College of Business welcomed Sherron Watkins, former vice president of corporate development at Enron, as the featured speaker for the 2025 Sylvan T. Warrington Visiting Lectureship in Ethics and Leadership. Hosted by the Center for Ethical and Socially Responsible Leadership (CESRL), the annual lecture invites C-suite leaders to share personal insights on ethical decision-making and leadership under pressure.

Watkins is widely known as the whistleblower who alerted Enron’s CEO to accounting irregularities in the months before the company’s collapse. Her internal memo became a defining moment in one of the largest corporate fraud cases in U.S. history. Speaking to a packed room of students, faculty, and alumni in N130 of the North Business Building, Watkins offered a candid and deeply personal account of the ethical challenges she faced, and the lessons she hopes future business leaders will carry forward.

The event was facilitated by David Souder, the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Dean, whose opening remarks framed the conversation around courage, accountability, and the role of leadership in shaping ethical culture.

Watkins began by recounting her decision to raise concerns internally, and the isolation she felt in doing so. She described the frustration of mentioning her concerns to colleagues, some of whom were senior to her, and being met with dismissal or silence. Despite the resistance, she eventually found the courage to request a meeting with the C-suite to present what she had uncovered. Looking back, she offered candid advice to future whistleblowers: never go in alone, document everything, and seek out trusted allies who can help amplify the message. Watkins emphasized that ethical challenges often arrive without warning, and having a plan of action, and a support network outside the organization, is essential.

“I shouldn’t have gone in by myself that week,” Watkins said. “There were executives higher than me who had the same information. If I had gone in with at least three of them, we might have had a different outcome.”

She continued, “My warnings were too little, too late. But there was a slim chance Enron could have survived if they had restated the financials and done the right thing by telling shareholders what was going wrong.”

Watkins explained how Enron’s internal culture and compensation systems created a high-pressure environment that rewarded short-term gains and discouraged transparency. She described a workplace where employees were ranked against one another, bonuses were tied to aggressive deal-making, and ethical concerns were often ignored in pursuit of performance.

“Our compensation system was toxic,” she said. “It rewarded short-term gains and punished honesty. People were incentivized to ignore red flags because the bonuses were just too big to walk away from.”

The lecture also explored the broader implications of corporate fraud and the reforms that followed. Watkins discussed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank whistleblower protections, which she described as important steps toward accountability, but not complete solutions.

“I’m a big proponent that ethics should be a core course in business schools,” Watkins said. “Not to teach morality, but to give students a toolkit for when the ethical challenge lands in their life, because it will.”

She added, “Most people freeze when they’re faced with something that goes against their values. You need to know it might happen and have a plan. That’s how you avoid becoming complicit through inaction.”

The event was organized by Beth Hammond, managing director of the Center for Ethical and Socially Responsible Leadership. Hammond emphasized the importance of bringing real-world voices into the classroom to challenge students’ thinking and prepare them for the complexities of leadership.

“Leadership is not just about vision and strategy,” Hammond said. “It’s about the willingness to speak up when something’s wrong, even when it’s hard. That’s what we want our students to take away from this series.”

The Warrington Lecture Series was established by Edward and Jeannine James to honor Jeannine’s father, Sylvan T. Warrington, a pioneer in the frozen food industry and a leader in agricultural innovation during and after World War II. The series continues to bring high-profile speakers to campus who exemplify the values of integrity, courage, and socially responsible leadership.

As the lecture concluded, Watkins left students with a final challenge, one that resonated deeply in a room full of future business leaders:

“If you would be embarrassed to explain a decision to your mentor, to the media, or to your mother, don’t do it. That’s your 3M test. And if it fails, you need to act.”

Watkins’ visit underscored what makes Broad so distinctive: a commitment to ethical leadership, real-world learning, and bold conversations that prepare students to lead with integrity. Events like the Warrington Lecture are just one way Broad continues to shape business leaders who are ready to speak up, stand out, and make a difference.

See the photos from the event on Broad’s Flickr page.