WASHINGTON, DC—December 9, 2008—washingtonpost.com, an award-winning news and information Web site, today launches On Leadership, a new discussion forum offering readers inspiration and practical advice on how to be effective, successful leaders in a rapidly changing financial, political and technological environment.
www.washingtonpost.com/leadership

On Leadership will be moderated by Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post Business Columnist Steven Pearlstein, and Benjamin C. Bradlee, who as Executive Editor, brought the Post to national prominence through its coverage of Watergate. The section will feature a regular video interview series and interactive panel discussion with renowned business executives, politicians and scholars as well as leaders in the military, sports, the arts, philanthropy, science and religion.

“With a new administration taking office in Washington and the global economy in crisis, leadership today is at a premium,” said Pearlstein. “On Leadership will be the place for readers to join an intimate conversation with the most successful and thoughtful leaders in the world today.”

The video series launches with the founder and CEO of Federal Express, Fred Smith sharing his leadership secrets and discussing leadership failure behind the current economic crisis, among other topics. “I think you have a perfect storm of about four things that came together that created, for lack of a better term, a group think at the highest level,” said Smith.

In coming weeks, labor leader Andy Stern, presidential historian Richard Norton Smith, and Miami Mayor Manuel “Manny” Diaz, among others, will draw on the lessons learned throughout their careers and offer insider perspectives on how their organizations might overcome today’s challenges.

In the discussion panel, Pearlstein and Bradlee post provocative, news-driven questions to 70 panelists that uncover leadership issues behind the headlines. Today, the panel discusses, “What Else Could the Auto Execs Have Done?” Readers can join in the discussion by submitting comments.

Panelists Include:

• Brad Anderson, Best Buy CEO
• Major General John Batiste (Ret.), Klein Steel CEO
• Warren Bennis, bestselling author and University of Southern California Professor Emeritus
• David Boren, former Oklahoma Senator & Governor, President of Univ. of Oklahoma
• Eli Broad, real estate developer and philanthropist
• William Brody, President of Johns Hopkins University
• Denis Cortese, Mayo Clinic CEO
• Ken Duberstein, Reagan White House Chief of Staff
• Andy Grove, Intel founder and former CEO
• Lee Hamilton, former Congressman, Woodrow Wilson Center President, 9/11 Commission Chairman
• Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, presidential historian
• Wendy Kopp, Teach for America founder and CEO
• Sherry Lansing, Paramount Pictures former CEO, philanthropist
• Chris Nassetta, Hilton Hotels Corp. CEO
• Paul O’Neill, Bush Administration Treasury Secretary, former Alcoa Inc. CEO
• Tom Peters, bestselling author and management guru
• Kurt Schmoke, Dean of the Howard University School of Law, former Baltimore Mayor

The discussion forum will also feature a moderator and panelist-recommended reading list of recent articles, books and speeches on leadership, including brief descriptions and excerpts.

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