David Hess

David Hess is the Everett E. Berg Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Business Law at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He is also a Research Member of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI). Professor Hess is co-President of the Global Business and Human Rights Scholars Association and co-Editor-in-Chief of the Business and Human Rights Journal. He served ten years as the Law, Public Policy, and Business Ethics Section Editor for the Journal of Business Ethics, and he serves on the editorial boards of the American Business Law Journal and Business Ethics Quarterly. He has served as the Reporter for the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Standards on corporate monitors and is the author of the 2024 book Advanced Introduction to Corporate Compliance.

Professor Hess has taught a variety of courses on business law, business ethics, business and human rights, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and negotiations. Professor Hess’s research focuses primarily on the role of the law in ensuring corporate accountability. His publications in this area have analyzed the use of non-financial reporting by corporations; efforts to combat corruption in international business; the link between corruption and business and human rights; human rights due diligence; modern slavery in global supply chains; the use of corporate monitors in criminal settlements; and the role of compliance and ethics programs in creating more ethical corporate cultures. This research has been published in leading law, ethics, and management journals, and has been recognized with national awards, such as the Faculty Pioneer Award from The Aspen Institute.