Speaking at the first Corporate Responsibility Officer (CRO) conference earlier this month, Kaden, 63, told attendees "good governance depends on good processes."

Ironically, Kaden represents a bank that has had its own corporate governance problems. In recent years, Citi came under investigation for its relationship with scandal-ridden Enron Corp. and WorldCom Corp., and has had to close its Japanese private bank investigated for money laundering. This month the bank said it had settled 26 WorldCom lawsuits brought by investors who had opted out of a $2.6 billion class-action settlement and instead sued Citigroup on their own, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kaden joined Citi in September 2005, after more than 20 years at Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he was a partner whose practice included corporate governance. 

In his speech, Kaden made the following observations:

• The corporate culture, set by the corporate board and top executives, must reward responsibility and be able to ethically cope with governance lapses.
• Corporate governance must be a high priority, right up there with targets and performance. But a good system takes time to implement.
• In juggling the many responsibilities a company is faced with today -- from the supply chain to technology to worker protection -- it is essential to find where "business interests and the interest of society" connect.
• Money spent in the short term to improve corporate governance is -- in the long term -- money well spent.

See also: Why Is Corporate Governance Important?

Source: InvestmentNews