Cranberry Mogul Peter Dhillon Pushes For Business Ethics With Big Contribution To UBC’s Sauder School

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Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics Centre Set To Open In The Fall!

“I was quite surprised that nothing of this sort existed and it gave even more impetus to set one up right here in Vancouver. I felt that we needed to change the perception that businesses can’t succeed without ethics as there are a lot of good ethical business people who have not compromised and have shown by example that lasting success is that is done ethically,” said Peter Dhillon, CEO of the Richberry Group of Companies and Chairman of Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc.

By R. Paul Dhillon

RICHMOND – Indo-Canadian Cranberry King Peter Dhillon is following his heart and has set out to create a one-of-a-kind business ethics centre at UBC’s Sauder School of Business by making a large financial contribution from his Richberry Group of Companies.

“I was visiting a friend and reflecting back to the banking crisis which nearly brought down the world economy, which was the direct result of corporate misbehaviour that had taken place,” Dhillon told the LINK Thursday.

“It could have affected us in a big way because with the loss of credit and credit with extremely high interest rate is bad for the economy. So it really got me thinking that something needed to be done and a culture of business ethics needed to be established at the very core, at a business school.

So last Thursday, Dhillon, CEO of the Richberry Group of Companies and Chairman of Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., put his money where his heart was in launching a partnership with the University of British Columbia to establish a $7.5-million Centre for Business Ethics at the Sauder School of Business, to be called the Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics.

But when Dhillon began inquiring about whether such ethics centres existed in well known business schools in North America and other parts of the world, he was shocked to discover that there wasn’t really any significant fully integrated business ethics centre.

“I was quite surprised that nothing of this sort existed and it gave even more impetus to set one up right here in Vancouver. I felt that we needed to change the perception that businesses can’t succeed without ethics as there are a lot of good ethical business people who have not compromised and have shown by example that lasting success is that is done ethically,” Dhillon said.

The Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics, which could become a revolutionary in instilling ethical behaviour in future business leaders, is intended to support the study, teaching and promotion of values-driven business practices locally, nationally and around the world, according to a press release.

Its research will investigate and influence best practices across business disciplines, from marketing and human resources to finance and accounting. It will also contribute to academic programming across the school, from undergraduate and graduate curriculum to executive education.

Dhillon said an international search will be conducted for a director of the centre, which is expected to open this fall. But it will take some time – a year or two – to put together a comprehensive curriculum which will then be taught to graduating business students.

Dhillon and his company Richberry Group will contribute about half of the money toward the centre. He said he partnering with Sauder School to equip future leaders with the ethical perspectives needed to navigate the increasingly complex world of business.

Sauder School of Business dean Robert Helsley told the Vancouver Sun newspaper the centre will enhance UBC’s research and outreach activities in the field of ethics.

“There’s already some activity in the school in the curriculum and among the researchers. This will provide a way for us to elevate both our activities and the importance of this area for our students,” he said.

Helsley called Dhillon, who was unnecessarily dragged into the scandal-ridden former BC Liberal MLA Kash Heed’s illegal election flyer mess but had nothing to do with it, “somebody with a very strong sense about the importance of both business and business ethics in society at large.”

For Dhillon, who will be celebrating his 50th birthday in two weeks, the latest charitable endeavor is part of a long list of Dhillon family giving back to their community, which began with similar progressive work carried out by the company’s founder and pioneer Rashpal Singh Dhillon, who passed away a few years ago.

Asked whether the Centre is part of his own personal legacy, Dhillon said he had been thinking a lot about that but this Centre felt right in terms of what I wanted to do.

“This Centre in 10 years could be so huge and take on many dimensions, including perhaps the setting up of International Award for Business Ethics, as you mentioned,” Dhillon said. “My hope for the Centre is that it is going to become a world leader in business ethics and produce a new generation of truly ethical business leaders.”