PricewaterhouseCoopers and AHOLD USA Executives Discuss Sustainability Reporting

Clark University was honored to have senior executives from two large international corporations meet with graduate students recently to take part in a panel discussion on sustainability reporting and assurance.

Executives from AHOLD, an international Dutch retailer and parent company of Stop & Shop, Giant Food Stores, Martin’s Food Markets and Peapod were on hand, as well as a representative from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the world’s second largest professional services network for audit and assurance, tax and consulting services.

Visiting from AHOLD USA were Jihad Rizkallah, Vice President of Responsible Retailing;  Karen Brainard, Director of Operations at MAC Risk Management; Harm-Jan Pieterson, Project Manager Responsible Retailing & Investor Relations; Karin Bogaers, Manager, Responsible Retailing; and Janet McCarthy, Senior Manager Accounting & Compliance.  Joining the group from PwC was Hannah Doran, Manager, Sustainability.

Each speaker talked about his or her role in the company’s sustainability reporting, including how finance and accounting positions have important parts in the process. Mixed into the discussion were anecdotal stories about their backgrounds and career paths. In the end, the group answered some excellent questions from the audience and afterward met individually with students.

It was standing room only, as more than 80 GSOM and IDCE students were in attendance. The visitors truly enjoyed interacting with students and all stayed a full hour longer than planned.

“Their presentation gave me a lot of insight into the grocery industry’s process of sustainability reporting” said Georgia Lawrence, a dual-degree MBA/M.A. Community Development and Planning student. “I am very interested in going into sustainable supply chain management in the food industry, so this was a great way for me to get a better understanding of people’s positions in the field, including their day-to-day responsibilities and how they structure the company.”

 

This post is a contribution by Tianan Gao, MSF ’16.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *