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Applying the Distributed Leadership Model and How Top CEOs View Leadership During a Crisis to Highlight the 6th Annual MIT Sloan Leadership Conference on Feb. 12, 2005

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb 7, 2005 — Ongoing corporate scandals, accelerated outsourcing, and continued downsizing has eroded the majority of American workers' faith in their organizations' top leaders, according to a recent survey by Age Wave, an independent think tank. At MIT Sloan School of Management, students poised to take on future leadership roles will meet, question, and explore cutting-edge theory with industry leaders and thinkers known internationally for their employee-centric management philosophies.

Organized by MIT Sloan MBA students in partnership with the MIT Leadership Center — and open to the public — Changing Leaders, Leading Change: The Sixth Annual MIT Sloan Leadership Conference is being held on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel, 2 Cambridge Center in Cambridge. For more information or to register, please visit: http://web.mit.edu/slc/conference.

Peter Senge, the MIT Sloan professor named by The Journal of Business Strategy as one of the 24 people who has had the greatest influence on business strategy over the past 100 years, will present the application of the Distributed Leadership Model (DLM). Developed over a four-year period by Senge and three other MIT Sloan professors — and tested in diverse real world settings — the DLM is a powerful tool for understanding and integrating key components of leadership.

Other highlights of the day-long symposium that brings together industry leaders, academics, and other experts on leadership issues will include the exploration of such topics as: Why do some leaders shine by managing crises while others guide gradual evolution? What formula do individuals need to change organizations? Is change a force you control or a wave you ride?

Slated keynote speakers include:

• Daniel Carp, CEO of Eastman Kodak. Under Carp's leadership, Kodak was ranked among the “100 Best Corporate Citizens” for 2004 in Business Ethics magazine.
• Jim Parker, former CEO of Southwestern Airlines. While under Parker's leadership, Southwest Airlines was named one of the three most admired companies in America by Fortune magazine.
• Ronald Williams, President of Aetna, Inc. Williams is responsible for all of Aetna's business operations.

Other industry leaders who will be presenting at the conference include:

• Desh Deshpande, Founder and Chairman at Sycamore Networks, Inc.
• Alex d'Arbeloff, Founder and former CEO and Chairman of Teradyne
• Jeff Shames, retired Chairman of MFS Investment Management
• David Fialkow, Managing Director of General Catalyst Partners
• Joe Goss, President of Southeast Region for the Cement Division at Lafarge North America
• Charlie Maguire, VP of Engineering at ExxonMobil Corporation
• Ted Hoff, VP of Learning at IBM

Changing Leaders, Leading Change: The Sixth Annual MIT Sloan Leadership Conference is sponsored by the MIT Leadership Center; Aetna; Unilever LaFarge; Teradyne; Dale Carnagie; Linkage; Marshall Goldsmith Partners, LLC; Microsoft; and Marriott.

For more information, please contact Paul John Paredes at paredes@sloan.mit.edu.

About the MIT Leadership Center

The MIT Leadership Center is dedicated to developing leaders who can improve their organizations and the world through ongoing rigorous research, education, global dialogue and action. The center's distinct approach closely aligns leadership and team development with science, engineering and management skills - leveraging the best of MIT — to enable individuals and organizations to lead more effectively in a technology-driven world. These research and education initiatives combine theory with practice and are designed to give students and executives hands-on training while addressing and solving practical problems affecting society. For more information, please visit: http://sloanleadership.mit.edu.

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