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The Compliance Life

Scott Sullivan on The Empathetic CCO


The Compliance Life details the journey to and in the role of a Chief Compliance Officer. How does one come to sit in the CCO chair? What are some of the skills a CCO needs to success navigate the compliance waters in any company? What are some of the top challenges CCOs have faced and how did they meet them? These questions and many others will be explored in this new podcast series. Over four episodes each month on The Compliance Life, I visit with one current or former CCO to explore their journey to the CCO chair. This month, my guest is Scott Sullivan, the Chief Integrity and Compliance Officer at Newmont Mining. Scott Sullivan is a versatile and innovative governance, risk, compliance, ethics and legal executive with significant experience advising C-suite leaders and Boards of Directors in a global enterprise in a wide array of sensitive, high profile subject matter areas. He has extensive leadership in designing, implementing and enhancing world-class programs and favorably resolving regulatory crises for multinationals. He has managed ethics and compliance for a $5B global Fortune 500 corporation, directing a Business Integrity & Compliance function impacting 20,000 employees in over 55 countries with over 100 legal entities. 
In this first episode, we consider what does empathy mean in the context of being a CCO? Why does a CCO need empathy? They are often seen as the Conscience of the Company, the Moral Compass, and Doing What is Right – consequences otherwise damaging to company, relationships, etc. When does a CCO have to say ‘No’? Your goal is rarely and it you say no, it means no. How does empathy relate to communications? A CCO needs to understand/walk in someone’s shoes.