Sandra E. Peterson ’80, the 36th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, emphasized the importance of noticing economic trends and disruptions as part of an overarching historical cycle – and being prepared to meet these changes – in her Nov. 1 lecture.
"When you don’t know where you are going, everything is a surprise, and usually not a very pleasant one," she said, noting that when leaders are unable to acknowledge and strategize for disruption, they are reduced to reacting to unanticipated events.
Until her retirement this fall, Peterson was group worldwide chair for Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest health care company. She has previously served as CEO of Bayer CropScience AG in Germany, CEO of Bayer Medical Care and president of Bayer HealthCare AG’s Diabetes Care Division. She is a member of the board of directors of Microsoft and of the Institute for Advanced Study and has appeared on Fortune magazine’s list of most powerful women.