My Exposure to the World and the World Affairs Council
Robert T. Betz retired as the President of Cognis Corp in 2002 with previous endeavors in other chemical and technical companies. He holds a Masters in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati. Robert Betz was the past Chair of the Board of Directors for the World Affairs Council and currently serves on the Board of the World Affairs Council – Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
Robert Betz is the World Affairs Council’s Board Member of the Month. In this blog, he shares his original ties in the Greater Cincinnati area, his exposure to the world, and his experiences working with the Council over the years. He, along with the rest of the Board, steer us towards a sustainable future by making sure this nonprofit has adequate resources to continue our work and advance global competence in our community.
Exploring the World
Here I am at a shrine in Tokyo and also opening an American Oil Chemist meeting in Bali.
I grew up in Cincinnati in St. Bernard and my world was limited to the greater Cincinnati area, Lake Cumberland in Kentucky, and various vacation trips in the United States. It was only after I started working that I was exposed to the world outside of the United States.
After graduation from the University of Cincinnati, I went to work for Emery Industries. Emery was a family owned company until 1979 when it was sold to National Distillers which became Quantum. In 1989, Quantum sold the Emery Division to Henkel which was a family-owned German company similar to Procter and Gamble. In fact, the head of Henkel, Dr. Konrad Henkel, lived in Cincinnati for a short period to learn more about Procter and Gamble.
Henkel was my first exposure to a large global company and my first time in a new country. My wife and I were treated very well and had a great experience. We lived in Dusseldorf for a short time and my boss, Dr. Dieter Ambros, arranged trips to Henkel locations in Europe almost every weekend. Henkels global position gave me the opportunity to travel the world, many times with my wife.
My Exposure to World Affairs Council
Pictured at the Councils Annual One World Gala and Global Trivia Competition
Throughout these travels, I learned how little I knew of the world and how competitive it is. This caused me to become interested in the World Affairs Council; I became a member sometime in the late 90s. Then the Council was heavily in debt and while having a long history in the greater Cincinnati area was struggling to find its place in the nonprofit scene. Art Hull, the Executive Director asked me to become Chairman of the Board which I accepted. Together, we worked to raise money and improve the financial situation. We made some progress but were unable to reduce our debt. At about the same time (2006), the State Department support of the International Visitors Council, a separate non-profit at this time, was reduced and discussions of a merger of the two organizations began. The merged organizations could operate more efficiently and reduce costs. Initially, the organizations operated separately, but in the same office with two Boards and the same Executive Director, Gareth Howell.
In 2007, the organizations merged and named Steve Black as Chairman of the Board. Steve did a great job of restructuring the organization and eliminating the debt. At some point, Gareth Howell, Executive Director, decided to move to Washington, D.C. and Michelle Harpenau was named Executive Director and she continues very ably in this role today with Rich Lauf as Chairman of the Board. The combined organizations operate much more efficiently and at a much lower cost than in the past. Achieving a low cost of operations has allowed the Council to prosper and this lesson should not be forgotten. Thank you to Northern Kentucky University, for sponsoring the Council, as the office location is currently in the Chase College of Law building on the University’s campus.
I continue to support and believe in the World Affairs Council and its efforts to help Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to better understand the world and its complexity, to help make this a welcoming place for people of all nations and cultures, and to lead the region in this role.
