On 30 October 2018, Prof. Jaap Winter delivered an ILF Guest Lecture on the topic "Rehumanizing the Corporation in the Financial Industry" to students and guests of the ILF. In his inspiring as well as eye-opening lecture, he spoke about the influence of generally accepted economic theories followed by managers like the principal agency theory or the commitment to focus on shareholders' value on business, law and about their respective social impact.
He exemplified the different conflicts of interest in societies regarding the remuneration of managers, corporate governance codes or the regulation frameworks for the financial industry. Generally, these systems follow the rationale of increasing efficiencies. However, the rules and regulations applied can demotivate humans and also act as a disincentive for socially responsible behavior. Big data and artificial intelligence pose the next risk for the integrity of human beings in the near future.
Prof. Winter´s closing remarks referred to the key findings of some philosophers on human behavior and motivated the audience to think critically and responsibly about the results of their behavior as lawyers, managers and leaders.
Currently, Prof. Winter is Professor of International Company Law at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, Professor of Corporate Law, Governance and Behavior at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and Visiting Professor of Corporate Governance at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France. He advises boards of executive and non-executive directors on governance and leadership.
Presentation Slides of Prof. Winter.
