John E. Pepper, chairman of Procter & Gamble's board of directors and former chief executive of the consumer products giant, will be speaking at Cornell University Thursday, Nov. 1, at 4:45 p.m. in the PepsiCo Auditorium, 305 Ives Hall. His talk is titled "Leadership for a Changing World" and is free and open to the public.

The 163-year-old P&G markets over 300 brands, including Crest, Tide and Pampers, to nearly five billion consumers in 140 countries. It also produces the soap operas "Guiding Light" and "As the World Turns"-- as befits one of the world's largest manufacturers of soap.

BusinessWeek , which once described Pepper as "a manager willing to listen to underlings," dubbed him one of the top 25 managers of the year in a January 1998 cover story and wrote that he "has simplified marketing and product development, trimmed wasteful ad spending, and plowed the savings into lower prices."

Pepper, who joined Procter & Gamble in 1963, became its chief executive in 1995 and before that oversaw the company's U.S. and international businesses. Under his leadership, P&G experienced strong earnings growth, including doubled sales figures, increased profits abroad and consistent gains in established markets. In June 2000, 17 months after his retirement, he was pressed back into service as chairman of P&G's corporate board to help get the company back on track after profits tumbled under Pepper's initial successor, Durk Jager.

Pepper is chairman of the United States Advisory Committee for Trade and Policy Negotiations, an organization of more than 500 U.S. companies with substantial international operations or interests. In 1997 he spoke before a congressional subcommittee, arguing for reinstating fast-track negotiating authority in international trade agreements.

Pepper has helped establish mentoring programs in Cincinnati public schools, is vice chairman of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative and co-chair of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Development Campaign. His talk is part of the Park Leadership Speakers Series and also is the keynote address of the student-run Marketing Symposium at the Johnson Graduate School of Management. For information, call Clint Sidle (607) 255-4104.