About – Robert Zafft

A World of Experience

Over his 30-year career, Robert has lived in 12 cities in six countries, with extended work in 20 more

Author, The Right Way to Win: Making Business Ethics Work in the Real World</span?
Forbes Leadership Strategy Contributor: Ethics, Compliance, and Governance
Former McKinsey & Company consultant
OECD Senior Corporate-Governance Expert for Asia, Eurasia & Russia
Harvard Law School graduate

From West to East cities are:

San Francisco
Houston
St. Louis
Chicago
Washington, DC
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London
Paris
St. Petersberg
Moscow
Nursultan

Canada
Germany
Sweden
Austria
Poland
Finland
Latvia
Lithuania
Ukraine
Israel
Azerbaijan

India
Thailand
Malaysia
Singapore
China
Taiwan
Philippines
South Korea
Japan
Tel Aviv

Real-World Expertise

Robert has served as a McKinsey Consultant, Global Law Firm Partner, OECD Senior Expert, Team Leader for Tony Blair Associates, and Managing Director for Aon's M&A Group

Robert has advised Heads of State, Cabinet Ministers, Fortune 500 executives, and entrepreneurs in the world’s most challenging regions and industries

Thought Leadership

A Harvard Law School Graduate, Robert has written and spoken globally on ethics, compliance, and governance

Global forums include

Major Works

The Right Way to Win: Making Business Ethics Work in the Real World (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020)
The World Bank / OECD White Paper on Corporate Governance in Asia (uncredited), which was welcomed or endorsed by 13 Asian national securities commissions
Numerous articles in business and academic publications

Writing and Teaching

Passion & Commitment

A devoted husband and father, Robert brings passion and commitment to his family, friends, clients, students, and community

His The Right Way to Win programs uniquely explore the managerial tools and techniques for fixing and enforcing ethical behavior

These same methods drive long-term business success

SEE ROBERT IN ACTION!

Ethical choices are often obvious in hindsight. Robert provides a prospective roadmap for winning in the long term

Mark Sherman

Managing Director, Telstra Ventures

CONTACT ROBERT

Social proof beats promises!

SENIOR LEADERS & EXPERTS
EVENT PARTICIPANTS

Robert provides great substance that's user friendly. Online training and certification are ideal for companies of all sizes

Melissa Di Donato

CEO, SUSE

Robert shows how to run business better and more ethically

Bill Canfield

Former CEO of TALX Corp.

Everything you [Robert] say is accurate (private correspondence with Buffett regarding Berkshire Hathaway and the importance of reputation)

Warren Buffett

Chairman & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway

Robert colorfully illustrates how ethics live at the center of market-leading businesses. Online materials translate principles into practice

John Schilling, MD

Partner, TPG Capital

Robert nimbly takes us from theory to vision to action

Ernest L. Greer

Co-President, Greenberg Traurig

Robert's presentation was interactive, informative, and fun. Our colleagues paid him the highest compliment they could: they asked the firm to invite Robert back for more presentations

Angela Dorn

Partner, Partner, Hochschild, Bloom & Company LLP

By far the best. Clear. Direct. Actionable. Zafft's insights into reputational risk and crisis management are particularly dead on

Amos Gelb

Executive Director, Washington Media Institute

Robert provides the first managerial guide for making ethical business decisions. Clear and actionable.

Prof. Edward J. Zajac

Kellogg School of Management

Robert persuasively links how a business behaves with how it performs

John M. Howell

VP, CX & Marketing, Centene

Mixes theory with on-the-ground suggestions to bridge the gap between academia and practice

Prof. Lisa Bernstein

University of Chicago Law School

Real, easily understandable anecdotes make business ethics accessible, interesting, and mainstream. A must for Asia, where lessons learned definitely apply!

Mark Militello

APAC Head of Markets and Collateral, Bank of New York Mellon

Robert lights the path to ethics and integrity with wit and humor.

Marcus A. McDaniel

VP & Deputy General Counsel, Terminix

Robert's thoughtful and engaging frameworks help business leaders develop and maintain a culture that values ethics and reputation

Mark Enyedy

CEO, Immunogen

Ethical choices are often obvious in hindsight. Robert provides a prospective roadmap for winning in the long term

Mark Sherman

Managing Director, Telstra Ventures

One of the most brain-storming experiences I ever had. Spot on in mentioning country-specific rules, cultures, etc., which may not be understood by a “global” team setting up systems, policies, etc.

Yukiko Murata

Sr. Sourcing Manager, Deutsche Bank

Robert's practical recommendations provide business leaders the necessary tools to succeed

Mark A. Menghini

SVP & General Counsel, Aegion

A must for any executive or professional focusing on making business ethics work in the real world

Mark Arian

CEO, Korn Ferry Consulting

Robert attracted an overflow crowd. He delivered a two-hour ethics presentation that was creative, practical, and engaging. A truly great job!

Prof. David A. Lander

St. Louis University School of Law

Grabs you from the start and is totally real. I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in doing the right thing and leading the right way

Prof. MAK Yuen Teen

National University of Singapore

Soundly argued and always entertaining. An indispensable management tool for the modern business executive. Ranks up there with the best of Dale Carnegie

Steve Hellman

Managing Director, Credit Suisse

The most interesting, engaging, and thought-provoking webinar I have ever attended

Heidi-Marie Weeast

NJM Insurance Group

Simply amazing platform and message! The most interactive webinar I've attended with many thought-provoking ethical takeaways. It was awesome!

Renee Suby

U.S. Bank

The most enjoyable ethics course I ever attended. Very well put together. Learned a lot

Alex Lim

Blacklist Games

The best ethics webinar that I have ever attended!! Informative, interesting, and entertaining!

Brenda Cox

United Bankshares

Simply brilliant. Using the Lifeboat Game to teach ethics was an extremely effective way of challenging my thought process

Ndidi Uzo-Ojimadu

Instructor, Univ. of Calgary School of Business

Excellent webinar to demonstrate that there are many ethical solutions to a situation

Jeffrey Hoskins

United Bankshares, Inc.

A FANTASTIC course. Informative, thought provoking and fun, too! Hands down, one of the best I have attended. Look forward to more courses from Robert!

Lisa Holloway

ProfitLinq

Best compliance webinar I have attended in the past 5 years - looking at completing the online courses

Peter McParlane

Jefferson Wells

Best ethics training I have taken. Very engaging!!!!

Jessica Kramer

Caterpillar

Outstanding. Very interesting especially for the topic of Ethics!

Joanne Macdonald

PWC

Program was great! Robert provided actionable insights into regulatory compliance. Absolutely a great course which I will be sharing with my executives and board

Justin Tully

Goettl AC & Plumbing

What a great speaker - who worked in very relevant and real-time examples.

Mary Beth Wert

VITA / AARP

An excellent presentation. So unique and fun!

Morena Chui

Pembina

An outstanding job

Mark Scheiwer

Scotts Miracle-Gro

This has a ton of information that I didn't know I needed

Joseph Wagner

Lowell Observatory

One of the best ethics webinars I've listened to. I really enjoyed it!

Colleen Bantz

McKonly & Asbury

Great Webinar!

Andrew Scherping

Energizer

Very interesting! The method of presentation - game and discussion was effective and kept me engaged

Marcelle Best

Sagicor Finance

Excellent presentation plus slides plus speaker!

Latiff Chagpar, CPA

Small Business Consultants

Very informative and relevant! I learned a lot!

Juvy Shoopman

Arizona State University

Very informative for the business professional!

Susan Von Stein

Intuit

Great summary instruction about ethics in business and life

Jim Baker

Northland Cathedral

Excellent presenter. Scenario of life-boat used to help us figure out how we make decisions was very interesting. I would highly recommend this webinar to anyone!

Janice Beck

Tax Preparer

One of the best webinars I have ever attended. I strongly recommend attendance, which provides a basic foundation of ethics which is very useful

Jack Blumenthal

JE Blumenthal, CPA

Fun and informative, thank you!

Laurie Brown

Charlotte County Sheriffs Office

A breath of fresh air. Enjoyable! Totally new concept!

Sheila Browne-Simpson

Humber-Self

Excellent ethics course. Interactive and informative. One of the best out there

Anh Du

Direct Energy

The interactive game-example really kept engagement throughout the webinar. Interested in learning more about the certification program

Marie McLucas

Primax Properties

Great webinar. Really enjoyed the topic

Sonya Miller

Jefferson County Public Schools

Robert is an excellent instructor! He will definitely keep you engaged and interested in brushing up on your ethics!

Anthony Paone

Self Employed

Interesting and entertaining

Nancy Gillies

HR Block

A fun way to learn about a topic critical to business

Catherine Grattan

St. Clair County Community Mental Health

Great presentation. The presenter really made learning fun!

Donna Gould

Crystal Mountain Products

I loved the lifeboat game. Really made you think

Andrea Griffitts

ORNL FCU

This was a fun webinar and loved the interaction

Amber Hannon

Columbia Sussex

A great webinar. The hour flew by. It was interesting, thought provoking, engaging and educational

Beverly Jones

The Harvey Salt Company

Excellent Program on Ethics! I would recommend the Class to All!

Ronald Kircher

Winkel, Parker & Foster CPAS

Great Webinar. Enjoyed the interactive participation and fun presentation on the topic!

Roxanne Neal

Simplicity Group Holdings

A great course

Denise Kovatch

Tax Pros & Accounting Services

Enjoyed having a fun exercise to enhance the learning experience on a serious topic!

Rita Leung

Rita Leung CPA

Easily applied to today's world

Paul Schneider

Park Forest Group

Excellent webinar. Using the lifeboat example really causes you to evaluate your decision-making processes

Sheila Simmons-Semana

Entertaining and informative

Robert Slowik

Robert A Slowik PA EA CFP

Presenter kept me engaged while providing very worthwhile information

Suzanne Vahratian

Horizon Global

Fabulous for an ethics course

Susan Walz

State of Minnesota

Robert did an excellent job in presenting various ethics frameworks and implications of each. The Lifeboat story was very effective

David Wilkins

Wolverine Business Solutions, LLC

Presenter was great and made the hour go quickly and kept it fun and interesting

Merle Woods

HR Block

Loved the real world scenarios and the Lifeboat Game!

Janine Whited

Janine Whited CPA

Robert was a great presenter, and I look forward to attending additional webinars he presents

Lisa Seemann

DRB Group

Social proof beats promises!

SENIOR LEADERS & EXPERTS
EVENT PARTICIPANTS

Robert provides great substance that's user friendly. Online training and certification are ideal for companies of all sizes

Melissa Di Donato

CEO, SUSE

Robert shows how to run business better and more ethically

Bill Canfield

Former CEO of TALX Corp.

Everything you [Robert] say is accurate (private correspondence with Buffett regarding Berkshire Hathaway and the importance of reputation)

Warren Buffett

Chairman & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway

Robert colorfully illustrates how ethics live at the center of market-leading businesses. Online materials translate principles into practice

John Schilling, MD

Partner, TPG Capital

Robert nimbly takes us from theory to vision to action

Ernest L. Greer

Co-President, Greenberg Traurig

Robert's presentation was interactive, informative, and fun. Our colleagues paid him the highest compliment they could: they asked the firm to invite Robert back for more presentations

Angela Dorn

Partner, Partner, Hochschild, Bloom & Company LLP

By far the best. Clear. Direct. Actionable. Zafft's insights into reputational risk and crisis management are particularly dead on

Amos Gelb

Executive Director, Washington Media Institute

Robert provides the first managerial guide for making ethical business decisions. Clear and actionable.

Prof. Edward J. Zajac

Kellogg School of Management

Robert persuasively links how a business behaves with how it performs

John M. Howell

VP, CX & Marketing, Centene

Mixes theory with on-the-ground suggestions to bridge the gap between academia and practice

Prof. Lisa Bernstein

University of Chicago Law School

Real, easily understandable anecdotes make business ethics accessible, interesting, and mainstream. A must for Asia, where lessons learned definitely apply!

Mark Militello

APAC Head of Markets and Collateral, Bank of New York Mellon

Robert lights the path to ethics and integrity with wit and humor.

Marcus A. McDaniel

VP & Deputy General Counsel, Terminix

Robert's thoughtful and engaging frameworks help business leaders develop and maintain a culture that values ethics and reputation

Mark Enyedy

CEO, Immunogen

Ethical choices are often obvious in hindsight. Robert provides a prospective roadmap for winning in the long term

Mark Sherman

Managing Director, Telstra Ventures

Yukiko Murata

Sr. Sourcing Manager, Deutsche Bank

Robert's practical recommendations provide business leaders the necessary tools to succeed

Mark A. Menghini

SVP & General Counsel, Aegion

A must for any executive or professional focusing on making business ethics work in the real world

Mark Arian

CEO, Korn Ferry Consulting

Robert attracted an overflow crowd. He delivered a two-hour ethics presentation that was creative, practical, and engaging. A truly great job!

Prof. David A. Lander

St. Louis University School of Law

Grabs you from the start and is totally real. I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in doing the right thing and leading the right way

Prof. MAK Yuen Teen

National University of Singapore

Soundly argued and always entertaining. An indispensable management tool for the modern business executive. Ranks up there with the best of Dale Carnegie

Steve Hellman

Managing Director, Credit Suisse

The most interesting, engaging, and thought-provoking webinar I have ever attended

Heidi-Marie Weeast

NJM Insurance Group

Simply amazing platform and message! The most interactive webinar I've attended with many thought-provoking ethical takeaways. It was awesome!

Renee Suby

U.S. Bank

The most enjoyable ethics course I ever attended. Very well put together. Learned a lot

Alex Lim

Blacklist Games

The best ethics webinar that I have ever attended!! Informative, interesting, and entertaining!

Brenda Cox

United Bankshares

Simply brilliant. Using the Lifeboat Game to teach ethics was an extremely effective way of challenging my thought process

Ndidi Uzo-Ojimadu

Instructor, Univ. of Calgary School of Business

Excellent webinar to demonstrate that there are many ethical solutions to a situation

Jeffrey Hoskins

United Bankshares, Inc.

A FANTASTIC course. Informative, thought provoking and fun, too! Hands down, one of the best I have attended. Look forward to more courses from Robert!

Lisa Holloway

ProfitLinq

Best compliance webinar I have attended in the past 5 years - looking at completing the online courses

Peter McParlane

Jefferson Wells

Best ethics training I have taken. Very engaging!!!!

Jessica Kramer

Caterpillar

Outstanding. Very interesting especially for the topic of Ethics!

Joanne Macdonald

PWC

Program was great! Robert provided actionable insights into regulatory compliance. Absolutely a great course which I will be sharing with my executives and board

Justin Tully

Goettl AC & Plumbing

What a great speaker - who worked in very relevant and real-time examples.

Mary Beth Wert

VITA / AARP

An excellent presentation. So unique and fun!

Morena Chui

Pembina

An outstanding job

Mark Scheiwer

Scotts Miracle-Gro

This has a ton of information that I didn't know I needed

Joseph Wagner

Lowell Observatory

One of the best ethics webinars I've listened to. I really enjoyed it!

Colleen Bantz

McKonly & Asbury

Great Webinar!

Andrew Scherping

Energizer

Very interesting! The method of presentation - game and discussion was effective and kept me engaged

Marcelle Best

Sagicor Finance

Excellent presentation plus slides plus speaker!

Latiff Chagpar, CPA

Small Business Consultants

Very informative and relevant! I learned a lot!

Juvy Shoopman

Arizona State University

Very informative for the business professional!

Susan Von Stein

Intuit

Great summary instruction about ethics in business and life

Jim Baker

Northland Cathedral

Excellent presenter. Scenario of life-boat used to help us figure out how we make decisions was very interesting. I would highly recommend this webinar to anyone!

Janice Beck

Tax Preparer

One of the best webinars I have ever attended. I strongly recommend attendance, which provides a basic foundation of ethics which is very useful

Jack Blumenthal

JE Blumenthal, CPA

Fun and informative, thank you!

Laurie Brown

Charlotte County Sheriffs Office

A breath of fresh air. Enjoyable! Totally new concept!

Sheila Browne-Simpson

Humber-Self

Excellent ethics course. Interactive and informative. One of the best out there

Anh Du

Direct Energy

The interactive game-example really kept engagement throughout the webinar. Interested in learning more about the certification program

Marie McLucas

Primax Properties

Great webinar. Really enjoyed the topic

Sonya Miller

Jefferson County Public Schools

Robert is an excellent instructor! He will definitely keep you engaged and interested in brushing up on your ethics!

Anthony Paone

Self Employed

Interesting and entertaining

Nancy Gillies

HR Block

A fun way to learn about a topic critical to business

Catherine Grattan

St. Clair County Community Mental Health

Great presentation. The presenter really made learning fun!

Donna Gould

Crystal Mountain Products

I loved the lifeboat game. Really made you think

Andrea Griffitts

ORNL FCU

This was a fun webinar and loved the interaction

Amber Hannon

Columbia Sussex

A great webinar. The hour flew by. It was interesting, thought provoking, engaging and educational

Beverly Jones

The Harvey Salt Company

Excellent Program on Ethics! I would recommend the Class to All!

Ronald Kircher

Winkel, Parker & Foster CPAS

Great Webinar. Enjoyed the interactive participation and fun presentation on the topic!

Roxanne Neal

Simplicity Group Holdings

A great course

Denise Kovatch

Tax Pros & Accounting Services

Enjoyed having a fun exercise to enhance the learning experience on a serious topic!

Rita Leung

Rita Leung CPA

Easily applied to today's world

Paul Schneider

Park Forest Group

Excellent webinar. Using the lifeboat example really causes you to evaluate your decision-making processes

Sheila Simmons-Semana

Entertaining and informative

Robert Slowik

Robert A Slowik PA EA CFP

Presenter kept me engaged while providing very worthwhile information

Suzanne Vahratian

Horizon Global

Fabulous for an ethics course

Susan Walz

State of Minnesota

Robert did an excellent job in presenting various ethics frameworks and implications of each. The Lifeboat story was very effective

David Wilkins

Wolverine Business Solutions, LLC

Presenter was great and made the hour go quickly and kept it fun and interesting

Merle Woods

HR Block

Loved the real world scenarios and the Lifeboat Game!

Janine Whited

Janine Whited CPA

Robert was a great presenter, and I look forward to attending additional webinars he presents

Lisa Seemann

DRB Group

CONTACT ROBERT