William E. Connor & Associates Only Sourcing Firm to be Named a '2014 World's Most Ethical Company' by the Ethisphere Institute

NEW YORK, March 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --



William E. Connor & Associates ('Connor"), the global sourcing partner of some of the world's most elite brands, announces today that it has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, an independent center of research promoting best practices in corporate ethics and governance, as a 2014 World's Most Ethical Company^®.

This is the third time that Connor has been honored with this award, which recognizes organizations that continue to raise the bar on ethical leadership and corporate behavior, and it continues to be the only sourcing company globally to achieve this status.

Connor's Chairman and CEO, William E. (Chip) Connor commented: "This business was built 65 years ago on a philosophy of industry-leading commitment to ethics, integrity and long-term relationships, all of which are still firmly rooted in Connor's culture today. It is these principles that have contributed to the accomplishment of becoming a World's Most Ethical Company honoree for the third year running. We have been experiencing increased interest from clients based on their desire to be ethically compliant, which makes me very proud of what we have achieved as a business."

"The entire community of World's Most Ethical Companies believe that customers, employees, investors and regulators place a high premium on trust and that ethics and good governance are key in earning it," said Ethisphere's CEO, Timothy Erblich. "Connor joins an exclusive community committed to driving performance through leading business practices. We congratulate everyone at Connor for this extraordinary achievement."

The full list of the World's Most Ethical Companies 2014 can be found here.

About  William  E.  Connor 

Connor was founded in Tokyo in 1949 by William E. Connor Sr., who had served as a trade attaché in the administration of General Douglas MacArthur after World War II. Now headquartered in Hong Kong, Connor employs over 1,400 professionals in more than 35 locations across 20 countries, representing the procurement requirements of globally recognized retailers and consumer brands on four continents.  

Connor does not trade, broker, or sell merchandise, focusing instead on representing clients and their global procurement needs.   Connor's services include identifying markets and vendors for required product; providing product development assistance; sampling; order placement; on-site production tracking, quality control, social accountability, and human rights due diligence.   

The company has made the foundation of its business that of providing top tier service with uncompromising integrity.  Many client partnerships have endured for decades, in part because Connor has never strayed from their core philosophy, of uncompromised transparency, ethic, and performance.  More information can is available here.

About  the  Ethisphere  Institute

The Ethisphere® Institute is an independent center of research, best practices and thought leadership that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and governance and enables organizations to improve compliance, mitigate risk, and enhance relationships with employees, business partners, investors and the broad regulatory community. Ethisphere evaluates and benchmarks compliance and governance programs, honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies® recognition program and publishes Ethisphere  Magazine. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs that include: Ethics Inside® Certification, Compliance Leader Verification™ and Anti-Corruption Program Verification™.  For more information visit: http://www.ethisphere.com

Media Contacts: Connor, Susanna Robinson / Hannah Gilmore (Living Group), +44(0)20-7739-8899, [email protected] ; JON WHITE FROM CONNOR AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW, VIA LIVING: Ethisphere.

SOURCE William E. Connor & Associates