Berges Speaker Series

The Berges Speaker Series, sponsored by the John A. Berges Endowment, is an annual speaker series hosted by the Mendoza College of Business. The series features senior leaders speaking about their experiences with the ethical dimensions of business.

John "Jack" Berges, who died in 2014 at the age of 94, attended MIT where he was in ROTC, played on the golf team, and graduated in 1940 as a mechanical engineer. He worked as an engineer before joining the U.S. Army in 1942 and was awarded  an Honorary Member of the British Empire for his assistance to the British Army while overseas. After leaving the military, Berges subsequently began a 35-year career in management with the General Electric Company. 

Berges was devoted to service throughout his life and served on numerous school boards and parish committees. He continued in retirement as a board member at Holy Cross College. A lifelong proponent of ethics in business, his children endowed the John A. Berges Business Ethics Lecture Series at Notre Dame University in his honor.

Past Speakers

David Schmidtz

Professor David Schmidtz, the Presidential Chair of Moral Science at the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University and director of the Social Philosophy and Policy Center, delivered this year’s Berges Lecture. Schmidtz is a philosopher who began his career at Yale University and has long held appointments in business schools. He is widely known for his service-oriented conception of business ethics and his rejection of utilitarianism—the ethical view that businesses and all institutions are morally required to maximize the good social consequences of their actions, even if, alas, this means treating some of their members badly in the process.

Against utilitarianism, Schmidtz emphasized the importance of ethical guardrails: Firms need to treat their members as ends-in-themselves and never as mere means, giving them scope to reach their own destinations in adequately employee-friendly environments. Consider, for example, a factory that does not install fire escapes or a firm that does not give employees break time. Such a firm might profit more as a result, but it would violate the dignity and autonomy of its workers. Good businesses can and should do better.

Russ Hittinger

Russ Hittinger is widely regarded as the leading authority on Catholic Social Thought. A graduate of Notre Dame with a Ph.D. in Philosophy from St. Louis University, Hittinger's most recent book, On the Dignity of Society, was just published by Catholic University of America Press. Professor emeritus at Tulsa University, a past member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, and a current member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, Hittinger currently directs the Institute for Human Ecology at Catholic University.

Tomasz Konik

Tomasz Konik has worked for Deloitte for over 20 years and works for the Deloitte Poland. He speaks on the behalf of the Ukranian war efforts made by Deloitte. Additionally, the importance of a moral compass in business and how having strong values can help you thrive in business.

Magatte Wade

Magatte Wade is an African entrepreneur changing the environment and culture of business in Africa. She spoke about the importance of the force of entrepreneurship.

Chris Arnade

"From Bonds to the Bronx: A Conversation about Wall Street." After abandoning his twenty year Wall Street career, Chris Arnade decided to document poverty and addiction in the Bronx.