Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose Announces Covista Chairman and CEO Steve Beard, Cencora Inc. Former Executive Chair Steven H. Collis, and Ann Fairchild, interim President and CEO of Siemens USA Joining Board of Directors
NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / February 9, 2026 / Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose® (CECP) announced today that three distinguished executives will join the organization's Board of Directors: Steve Beard, Chairman and CEO of Covista, Steven H. Collis, former Executive Chair of Cencora, Inc., and Ann Fairchild, interim President and CEO of Siemens USA.
"CECP continues to attract exceptional leaders who understand that corporate purpose drives business success," said Daryl Brewster, CEO, CECP. "Steve Beard, Steven Collis, and Ann Fairchild bring decades of experience leading purpose-driven organizations and a deep commitment to creating positive societal impact. Their strategic insights and proven track records in building sustainable, values-driven businesses are invaluable as we guide companies on their purpose journeys."
Steve Beard is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Covista (formerly Adtalem Global Education), America's largest healthcare educator serving more than 97,000 students across five accredited institutions. The company graduates 24,000 healthcare professionals annually, with 290,000 alumni practicing across the country. Beard was named CEO in 2021 and elected Chairman of the Board in 2024. Under his leadership, Covista transformed from a diversified education and training company to one centered on healthcare education. He joined the company in 2018 as General Counsel and soon became Chief Operating Officer, where he led the now divested financial services segment and the portfolio repositioning that enabled Covista's new strategic direction. Prior to Covista, Beard served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at Heidrick & Struggles International. He serves as board chair of A Better Chicago, a venture philanthropy expanding opportunity for underserved Chicago youth. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his law degree from the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University-Bloomington.
"Expanding access to quality education is how we're helping to solve one of society's most pressing workforce challenges." said Steve Beard, Chairman and CEO, Covista. "At Covista, we've seen how purpose-driven work creates meaningful impact for students, communities and healthcare systems. I look forward to working with CECP and its network to advance the connection between corporate purpose and sustainable business success."
Steven H. Collis is former Executive Chair of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE: COR) (formerly AmerisourceBergen), a leading global pharmaceutical solutions organization headquartered in the Philadelphia region. Collis served as President and CEO of Cencora from 2011 to 2024, during which time he delivered phenomenal growth in domestic and international markets. He led the company through several strategic investments and acquisitions that enabled expansion of services and solutions, built unprecedented partnerships, and deepened expertise to speed innovation and improve access to healthcare in meaningful ways. With more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical solutions industry, Collis is passionate about health equity and global inclusion and has a depth of experience in supply chain efficiency, specialty pharmaceuticals, oncology, and international business growth.
"Throughout my career at Cencora, I witnessed firsthand how purpose-driven leadership creates healthier futures and drives business performance," said Steven H. Collis, former Executive Chair, Cencora Inc. "CECP's work in helping companies integrate purpose into their core strategies is essential in today's business environment. I'm honored to join the Board and contribute to advancing corporate purpose as a driver of sustainable value creation."
Ann Fairchild serves as interim President and CEO of Siemens USA, the company's largest market, where she leads strategy and engagement across the United States. Siemens employs approximately 45,000 people nationwide and delivers $21.1 billion in annual revenue, supporting critical infrastructure and industrial innovation across all 50 states. With more than 25 years at Siemens, Fairchild is a trusted executive leader known for supporting business growth while strengthening governance, compliance, and enterprise risk management. She has played a pivotal role in shaping the company's U.S. strategy through expertise in corporate governance, M&A, regulatory policy, and operational excellence, while building high-performing, mission-driven teams. Fairchild serves on the Siemens Corporation Board of Directors and the Board of the German American Business Council, where she advances transatlantic business collaboration with policymakers and industry leaders. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the College of William & Mary School of Law.
"I'm honored to join the board of an organization that has consistently demonstrated how purpose and performance go hand in hand," said Ann Fairchild, interim President and CEO, Siemens USA. "At Siemens, purpose is core to how we develop and apply technologies like Industrial AI to create real-world impact. I look forward to working alongside the talented CECP team to drive sustainable growth, foster innovation, and create lasting value for its network of leading companies."
CECP is the only nonpartisan business counsel and network dedicated to driving measurable returns on purpose. It promotes responsible purpose-driven business as it increases customer loyalty, builds employee engagement, improves brand trust, attracts top talent, connects with strategic investors, and contributes to the bottom line. More than 200 of the world's leading companies seek to improve their return on purpose through access to CECP's solutions in insights and benchmarking. With our companies, we harness the power of purpose for business, stakeholders, and society.
Since its founding in 1999, CECP has developed the gold-standard for companies to achieve a return on purpose by providing affiliated companies with tangible frameworks, data, strategies, and goal setting. CECP advises its companies through custom benchmarking and flagship publications such as Giving in Numbers™, the largest and most historical data set on corporate community investment trends. The organization is regularly quoted by top-tier publications as a go-to source on corporate purpose. CECP has grown to a movement of more than 200 of the world's largest companies from ten industries that represent $8.3 trillion in revenues, $33 billion in total community investment, 31.4 million hours of employee engagement, and $21 trillion in assets under management.
The new members will join the current Board of Directors, which includes:
Co-Chairs:
Barbara Humpton, CEO, American Rare Earth (formerly CEO, Siemens USA)
Bill McNabb, Former Chairman and CEO, The Vanguard Group, Inc.
Board Members:
Alex Gorsky, Executive Chairman, Johnson & Johnson
Amit Bajaj, President, TCS North America
Calvin Butler, President and CEO, Exelon Corporation
Douglas R. Conant, Former Chair, CECP; CEO, ConantLeadership, DRC LLC
Fran Horowitz, CEO, Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
James White, Former Chairman, President, and CEO, Jamba Juice
Jessica Foster, CEO, RHR International LLP
John Wood, Vice Chair, Heidrick & Struggles
Kelly Grier, Former EY US Chair and Managing Partner (CEO)
Mauricio Gutierrez, Former President & CEO, NRG
Megan Myungwon Lee, Chairwoman and CEO, Panasonic Corporation of North America
Richard Edelman, CEO, Edelman
Sara Armbruster, Former CEO, Steelcase Inc.
Shelly Lazarus, Chairman Emeritus, Ogilvy & Mather
Theodore Dysart, Managing Director, Russell Reynolds Associates
CECP's Board of Directors also includes the following Directors Emeriti:
Co-Founders
Peter Malkin, Chairman Emeritus, Empire State Realty Trust
Paul Newman, Actor and Philanthropist, in memorium
Alan G. Hassenfeld, Former Chairman, Executive Committee, Hasbro, Inc. in memoriam
Kenneth T. Derr, Former Chairman & CEO, Chevron Corporation, in memoriam
Henrietta Fore, Chairman and CEO, Holsman International
Surya Kant, Senior Advisor, Tata Sons; Former Chairman, TCS North America
Harold McGraw, III, Chairman Emeritus, S&P Global
Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Former Chairman and CEO, Carlson Holdings, Inc.
David Rockefeller, Former Chairman & CEO, Chase Manhattan Corporation, in memorium
Michael I. Roth, Former Executive Chairman & CEO, Interpublic Group
Paul Volcker, Former Chairman, Federal Reserve, in memorium
Sanford Weill, CEO, Casa Rosa Ventures, LLC
John C. Whitehead, Former Co-Chair, Goldman, Sachs, & Co., Former Deputy Secretary of State, in memorium
CECP also works with a group of CECP Ambassadors, which includes:
Mitch Barns, Former CEO, Nielsen
Lynne Doughtie, Former Chairman & CEO, KPMG
Bill Goodwynn, CEO, Discovery Education
Ralph Izzo, Chairman of the Board, PSEG
Hubert Joly, Former Chair & CEO, Best Buy
David Kenny, Former CEO, Nielsen
Deanna Mulligan, CEO, Ceres Life Insurance Company
Phillipe Krakowsky, CEO, Interpublic Group
Duncan L. Niederauer, Former CEO, NYSE, Euronext
Penny Pennington, Managing Partner, Edward Jones
John Veihmeyer, Former Chairman & CEO, KPMG
Mark Weinberger, Former Chairman & CEO, EY
CECP Media Contact
Katie Leasor
[email protected]
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About Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP)
Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose® (CECP) is the only nonpartisan business counsel and network dedicated to driving measurable returns on purpose. We promote responsible purpose-driven business as it increases customer loyalty, builds employee engagement, improves brand trust, attracts top talent, connects with strategic investors, and contributes to the bottom line.
More than 200 of the world's leading companies seek to improve their return on purpose through access to CECP's solutions in insights and benchmarking. With our companies, we harness the power of purpose for business, stakeholders, and society.
For more information, visit http://cecp.co.
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Contact Info:
Spokesperson: Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP)
Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cecp-chief-executives-corporate-purpose
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE: Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP)