Board of Directors honored for technology leadership
The Kellogg School of Management presented Corning’s Board of Directors with its 2008 Corporate Board Award. The honor recognizes Corning directors’ role in supporting the company’s strategy of growth through innovation.
The Kellogg School – part of Evanston-based Northwestern University – lauded Corning’s turnaround after the telecommunications downturn, when stock hit $1.10 in the fall of 2002. “Throughout this trouble time,” reads the citation presented May 12, “Corning’s board – with one eye on the possibility of bankruptcy – was steadfast in its belief in the company’s ability to innovate and develop new products.” The citation describes Corning's sustained investment in research and development that enabled rapid growth of the liquid crystal display business, now the key driver of the company's profitability.
“The Corning board and Corning’s Management Committee deserve to be applauded,” the citation continues. “They did not permit external pressures to cloud their belief in the promise of Corning’s technology or the ability of the company’s leaders to develop and commercialize new products. Rather than blaming a scapegoat, the Corning board embraced the company’s legacy of innovation and supported its strong leadership team. They have been proven to be right, and we are pleased to honor and recognize their wisdom and achievement tonight.”
In accepting the award, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wendell P. Weeks explained the board’s role in setting the company’s long-term technology strategy and cultivating its innovation portfolio.
The board participates in half-day technology reviews five times a year, in addition to formal board and committee meetings. Directors review projects in the innovation pipeline, bring in scientists to demonstrate products, and have candid discussions to assess opportunities and risks.
The board also devotes one formal board meeting per year to review our technology strategy and assess the innovation pipeline. As part of this session, the board tours Sullivan Park and directors get a close-up look at six to eight top R&D initiatives.
“We need directors who can look beyond the next quarter’s performance, and make the bets required to ensure long-term success,” Wendell said. “This requires a commitment to our Values and collaborative culture, as well as judgment, patience, and courage – in both good times and bad.”
During the difficult years of 2002 and 2003, Wendell noted, “we could have returned to profitability sooner by cutting our R&D budget. In many ways, that would have been the easier path – for management, and certainly for our board. But to their credit, our directors recognized that long-term success would come from sustained investment in innovation.”