Tupperware Brands Corporation today announced that Chairman and CEO Rick Goings has been elected Chairman of the Board of Business Executives for National Security (BENS), a non-partisan organization that supports the U.S. government by applying pro bono best business practice solutions to its most intractable national security challenges. He replaces Joseph E. Robert, Jr., who has served as Chairman since 2007 and will now become Chairman Emeritus.
Chairman and CEO of Tupperware Brands, Mr. Rick Goings (Photo: Business Wire) Goings has been a BENS member since 2002 and a member of the Executive Committee since 2009. He was recently part of a joint delegation between BENS and the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) that visited Iraq to learn more about local businesswomen, the challenges they face in Iraq’s fast-growing economy, and the potential business and investment opportunities in the country. The delegation was the first of its kind to visit Iraq solely for the purpose of studying women’s issues.
“I’m honored to expand my role at BENS and work even more closely with the board and membership to apply best practices from Corporate America against the national security challenges we face today, both here and abroad,” said Goings.
As Chairman, Goings will lead BENS’ efforts to provide government leaders with new ideas and approaches on ways to transform the business of national security. He will also engage BENS members to champion policy projects; interact with senior military and civilian leaders; work directly with federal, state and local government leaders; and visit military and other national security—related institutions.
In addition to his role at Tupperware Brands Corporation, Goings, who served in the U.S. Navy on the Destroyer USS Power is also a member of the national Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. After serving two terms as Chairman of the Board of Governors with distinction he has been named Chairman Emeritus. He is a trustee of Rollins College, in Winter Park, Florida, a participant of the World Economic Forum (WEF), a member of the Board of Executive Advisors for the Yale School of Management’s Chief Executive Leadership Institute and a member of the Florida Council of 100. He is a former member of the Board of Directors for SunTrust Bank, N.A., and of the boards of Reynolds American Inc. (formerly RJR) and Premark International, Inc.
In 2010, Goings was recognized by the President of the French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, with the distinguished decree of “Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur” for his service to and support of disadvantaged children and women in developed and developing nations. The People’s Republic of China recognized Goings with the Marco Polo Award in March of 2000 for his visionary leadership and his significant role in China’s economic development. Additionally, in 1999, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America honored Goings with its highest award, the Herbert Hoover Humanitarian Award, for his outstanding leadership as National Chairman.
“With his leadership demonstrated at Tupperware Brands and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America as our guide, we believe that Rick will expand BENS’ public visibility and reach; continue to improve our board governance; apply excellent business practices and standards to our work; and further energize BENS generally,” said BENS Chairman Emeritus Joseph E. Robert, Jr.
The BENS Board of Directors includes an array of business, non-profit and military leaders, including Herbert A. Allen, Jr., President and CEO of Allen & Company; Raymond G. Chambers, Chairman of the Amelior Foundation; Josh S. Weston, Honorary Chairman of Automatic Data Processing, Inc.; Bernard Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot and Chairman of the Marcus Foundation; and BENS Founding Chairman Stanley A. Weiss.
The BENS Advisory Council includes former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin; former Ambassador to the United Nations Thomas Pickering; former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace; former CIA Director Michael V. Hayden; former FBI and CIA Director William H. Webster; former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Ralston; former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Vernon Clark; former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis Reimer; and former Commander of U.S. Central Command Admiral William J. Fallon.
Each year, BENS honors outstanding Americans with the Eisenhower Award. The award is given to public servants and private citizens whose contributions to America best reflect President Eisenhower’s definition of security as “the total product of our economic, intellectual, moral and military strength.”
Past recipients include President Jimmy Carter; Secretaries of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Condoleezza Rice; Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; Senators Richard Lugar and Sam Nunn; Generals David Petraeus, James Jones, John Abizaid, and Michael Hayden; as well as business leaders Tom Peters, Fred Smith, and Josh Weston, among others. This year’s award will be given to outgoing BENS Chairman Joseph E. Robert, Jr., Founder and Executive Chairman of the J.E. Robert Company.
About Tupperware Brands Corporation
Tupperware Brands Corporation is a portfolio of global direct-selling companies, selling premium innovative products across multiple brands and categories through an independent sales force of 2.6 million. Product brands and categories include design-centric preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home through the Tupperware brand and beauty and personal care products for consumers through the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller Cosmetics, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, and Nuvo brands. For more information, log on to www.tupperwarebrands.com.