Rockwell Automation Integrity Champions Demonstrate Company's Ethical Values

MILWAUKEE, February 17, 2022, /3BL Media/ - Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) annually honors employees whose courageous actions and choices demonstrate the company’s ethical values. The company’s Global Integrity Champions have spanned all business units, organizational levels, and regions, with each making the right decision when faced with a difficult ethical choice.

For Rockwell’s 2021 champion, Stefano Pini, that decision came after someone posing as a potential customer tried to bribe him for passwords to another customer’s network. Based in Italy, Pini is a software solutions sales engineer who works for ASEM, a Rockwell company.

“Like a scene in a movie, after Stefano rejected the first request, the individual wrote ‘€10,000’ on a napkin and slid it across the table,” explained Rockwell’s Gary Ballesteros, vice president, Law and Chief Compliance Officer and Ombuds. “As directed in our anti-bribery and corruption policies, Stefano immediately refused the bribe, left the meeting, and reported the matter to his manager and Human Resources.”

Given the seriousness of the issue, Rockwell’s Ombuds office and Legal Department notified the Italian criminal authorities and informed the customer someone was attempting to breach their password-protected network.

Rockwell also recognized two employees with Global Integrity Champions honorable mentions. Canninah Mapena, country sales director for South Africa, faced multiple ethics and compliance challenges including the discovery of a theft ring. Mapena reported the issue and worked closely with Rockwell’s security team and police to crack the ring. She has also fostered a “speak up” mindset and has organized town hall sessions engaging hundreds of Rockwell’s South African employees for candid discussions with her, the company’s Ombuds, and other business leaders.

Marcelo Tarkieltaub, regional director for Southeast Asia, hired someone he knew and recommended to Rockwell. But when he suspected his new hire of behavior that violated Rockwell’s Code of Conduct, he reported the behavior and stepped aside to ensure Rockwell’s Ombuds office could conduct a fair and impartial investigation. When those violations were confirmed and substantiated, Tarkieltaub supported his recent hire’s separation from the company.

“Stefano, Canninah, and Marcelo all reflect why Rockwell has earned a valued reputation for integrity,” Ballesteros said. “We work hard to meet business goals, but never at the expense of our ethical standards.”

Learn more about Rockwell’s robust ethics and integrity commitment.