Tom Donohue, head of U.S. Chamber, to talk on “Civility in Business” in Stamford

Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will talk on “Civility in Business” on Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. at the Ferguson Library in Stamford.

His talk is part of a series on Civility in America, organized by the City of Stamford and The Dilenschneider Group. Sacred Heart University and Purdue Pharma LP are sponsoring the series on civility in conjunction with Hearst Media Group in Connecticut and the Ferguson Library.

Since assuming his position in 1997, Donohue has built the Chamber into a lobbying and political powerhouse with influence worldwide. The Chamber’s lobbyists, policy experts, legal advocates, and communicators have helped secure business victories on Capitol Hill, in the regulatory agencies, in politics, in courts of law and in the court of public opinion, and before governments around the globe.

In an era of economic and fiscal challenges, Donohue has advanced The American Jobs and Growth Agenda, a plan that includes expanding trade and domestic energy production, rebuilding America’s infrastructure, combating new regulations, protecting intellectual property, revitalizing capital markets, and reforming entitlements and the tax system.

Donohue has also spearheaded the creation of the Campaign for Free Enterprise, a long-term program to defend and advance a free enterprise system. A signature project of the campaign is Hiring Our Heroes, which identifies job opportunities for thousands of returning military veterans and spouses.

Under Donohue’s leadership, the Chamber has emerged as a major political force in races for the Senate and the House of Representatives. As part of this bipartisan effort, millions of grassroots business advocates, as well as the Chamber’s federation of state and local chambers and industry associations, mobilize in support of pro-business candidates.

Previously, Donohue served for 13 years as president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, the national organization of the trucking industry. Earlier in his career, Donohue was deputy assistant postmaster general of the United States and vice president of development at Fairfield University in Connecticut. He serves on the boards of Union Pacific Corporation and Sunrise Senior Living Corporation.

Born in New York City, Donohue earned a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University and a master’s degree in business administration from Adelphi University. He holds honorary doctorate degrees from Adelphi, St. John’s, and Marymount universities, as well as the National University of Ireland at Maynooth.

Public opinion polls show that in every sector of society, civility has declined, and this decline is manifested in political attacks, lack of personal decency, outrage in the media and cyber-assaults in the blogosphere.

Stamford Mayor Pavia believes the Civility Series will fuel an ongoing discussion of civility and encourage people to follow through with action.

“The series brings together leaders from many disciplines -- the arts, media, business, politics, and now law enforcement -- to have a meaningful and powerful dialogue about an unmistakable tenet of our society,” he said. “Our city really is the ideal place for such a conversation to begin, because I know Stamford can lead other cities, the state, and the country on this critical front.”

Robert L. Dilenschneider, founder and president of The Dilenschneider Group, who conceived the idea for the series, said, “Certain segments of society have become known for their lack of civility, such as politics and the Internet, and the world of business is certainly a meaningful area to address because of changes that have occurred in recent decades. Business is surely one area that must be founded on principles of civility and honesty.”