Recognized as "beacons of responsible business practices and ethics," the award and medals recipients are John C. Whitehead of the United States, Adrian Cadbury  of U.K., and Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt of Sweden. Whitehead will receive The Laureate Award, while Cadbury and Robèrt will receive the Laureate Medals for Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility.

The awards will be presented at a gala dinner event on June 1, 2005, at the United Nations.

"These outstanding leaders embody the very best in business ethics, principled personal behavior and responsible business practices," said William George, chairman of the Global Center. "They serve as role models for all who wish to build their companies to meet the needs of their stakeholders. We applaud each of them for their life-long achievements."

KPMG International established the Global Center as an independent entity to recognize individuals who exhibit extraordinary business ethics and leadership qualities. Nine thousand nominations for the Laureate Medal & Award Series were issued, and responses were received from more than 15 countries. 

The following are The Laureate Award & Medal Series winners:

The Laureate Award: John C. Whitehead. Chairman of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, John C. Whitehead, 83, was named inaugural winner of The Global Center's Laureate Award, honoring him as the corporate leader who "best embodies the qualities of insight, ethics and courage that are key attributes of visionary leadership."

Whitehead, former chairman of Goldman, Sachs & Co, has chaired the prestigious Lower Manhattan Development Corporation since 2001. He has enjoyed an illustrious career in both public service and private industry, and is widely recognized as a pioneer in the advancement of corporate social responsibility issues.

Whitehead joined Goldman in 1947, was named partner nine years later, and became co-chairman and senior partner in 1976. Under his leadership, Goldman became one of the world's pre-eminent banking and brokerage firms. He retired as chairman in 1984. In addition to his leadership role at Goldman, Whitehead has also served as a director of the New York Stock Exchange, chairman of the Securities Industry Association, and chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. From 1985 to 1989, he served as U.S. deputy secretary of state under George P. Shultz.

In 1993, Whitehead created the John C. Whitehead Fund for Not-for-Profit Management at Harvard Business School. In 2002, the Haas School of Business at University of California-Berkeley created the Whitehead Distinguished Fellowship in Corporate Responsibility Fund in his honor.

Laureate Medal for Corporate Governance: Adrian Cadbury. Adrian Cadbury, 75, former chairman of Cadbury Ltd. from 1969 and Cadbury Schweppes from 1975-1989, is the recipient of The Global Center's Laureate Medal for Corporate Governance, for his "career-long support for innovative approaches to effective financial management oversight and responsible fiscal stewardship." Adrian Cadbury has been at the forefront of corporate governance for almost 25 years.

Cadbury chaired the U.K. Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance, which published its seminal "Report and Code of Best Practice" in 1991. He was also a member of the OECD Business Sector Advisory Group on Corporate Governance, which reported in April 1998.

For his efforts, Adrian Cadbury received the International Corporate Governance Network Award in 2001. His book, "Corporate Governance and Chairmanship - A Personal View," was published in 2002 and has been translated into Japanese and Chinese. He currently serves as a lecturer on the subjects of business ethics and tomorrow's company and is a member of the OECD Business Sector Group, which has just been launched to provide boards with practical guidance on corporate governance.

Laureate Medal for Social Responsibility: Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt. Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, M.D., Ph.D., 57, one of Sweden's foremost cancer scientists and founder of The Natural Step, a Swedish-based environmental organization, is the winner of The Global Center's Laureate Medal for Social Responsibility, honoring him for "his work on sustainability, which encourages an understanding of the relation between ecology, economy and technology."

Dr. Robèrt has focused on pollution's role in cancer and, in consultation with other experts, developed a framework for sustainability, called The Natural Step (TNS). The Natural Step Framework, which provides forums and tools to share leading practices, has been used by a variety of organizations including Home Depot, Nike, IKEA, McDonald's and Mitsubishi Electric USA. Dr. Robèrt has also written many books, articles and scientific publications on the environment and sustainability, described by TNS as "creating new ways to live and prosper while ensuring an equitable, healthy future for all people and the planet."

Dr. Robèrt earned his medical license in 1975 and a Ph.D. in medicine in 1979 from the Karolinska Institute. From 1985 to 1993, he headed the division of clinical hematology and oncology at the Department of Medicine at Huddinge Hospital. In 1999, he was awarded the Green Cross Award for International Leadership, and in 2002 he won the Blue Planet Prize, an international environmental award sponsored by the Asahi Glass Foundation.