Insights from our August 7 session on positioning E&C as a strategic business driver
In our August 7 webinar, From Cost Center to Catalyst: How Ethics & Compliance Drives Business Performance, LRN’s Neil Magenheim moderated a dynamic conversation with Chelsea P. Azrak, Vice President of Law & Compliance at Revlon, and Kim van Doorn, Head of Ethics and Conduct at Capital One (Discover). Together, they explored how ethics and compliance teams are redefining their role within organizations by moving beyond support functions and becoming strategic business partners.
Drawing from experience and backed by LRN research, the discussion covered how modern Ethic & Compliance programs can drive operational efficiency, improve decision-making, and build long-term value across the business.
Missed the live session? You can view the full webinar recording at your convenience:
The business case for E&C is stronger than ever
Today’s most effective ethics and compliance teams are proving their value by aligning with business goals and delivering measurable results. As Chelsea and Kim emphasized, success hinges on knowing how to tell your story. Metrics matter to how you tell that story.
LRN’s Caught in the Middle: The 2025 E&C Program Effectiveness Report shows that high-impact programs are nearly twice as likely to use benchmarking and analytics to inform decision-making. Still, challenges persist. Only 31 percent of organizations evaluate ethical behavior as part of performance reviews, and just 44 percent assess comprehension following training. Without data, E&C efforts risk being seen as overhead instead of opportunity.
Bridging gaps in trust and culture
One of the biggest takeaways from LRN’s 2025 Global Study on Ethics & Compliance Program Maturity report is the disconnect between leadership levels. The report found a 42-point perception gap between executives and middle managers regarding ethical decision-making. Gen Z employees report the lowest levels of trust in management, and only 15 percent of companies report a strong tone in the middle. These gaps can weaken program effectiveness and highlight the need for more intentional engagement across the organization.
Bringing the Code of Conduct to life
A major theme of the conversation was the need for a Code of Conduct that does more than sit on a shelf. The conversation explored how leading E&C teams are approaching engagement, usability, and real-time application with a more strategic mindset.
A more effective Code of Conduct is one that employees can actually use. Digital solutions like LRN's Smart Code make it easier to access guidance in the moment, replacing static documents with interactive, searchable content that supports everyday decision-making and keeps pace with how people work.
What comes next for E&C teams
To close the session, the speakers offered a set of practical strategies for teams looking to elevate their impact:
- Benchmark your program using external data to identify maturity gaps
- Align compliance metrics with business performance goals
- Invest in tools that enhance usability and real-time decision-making, like SmartCode
- Partner across functions such as HR, legal, procurement, and finance to broaden influence
- Build trust at every level by addressing cultural gaps and reinforcing ethical leadership
As the conversation made clear, the future of E&C lies in agility, transparency, and alignment with business outcomes. When programs are measurable and embedded into daily operations, they become essential to both performance and culture.
Explore more
If you missed the live session, be sure to watch the full webinar on demand. For deeper insights, check out LRN’s latest research and learn how modern tools like Smart Code are helping ethics and compliance teams drive impact across the business.
