Dennis Gentilin is a financial services professional who has been employed in the banking industry for over 15 years. His first ten years were spent working in a variety of roles in financial markets, and more recently he worked within corporate strategy.
Without question Dennis’s defining career moment was his association with the FX trading scandal that rocked the National Australia Bank (NAB) in 2004. Although he was publicly named as a “whistleblower” in that incident, he has been reluctant to allow this label to define him (for better or worse) and become central to his identity.
This being said, it goes without saying that the experience profoundly shaped Dennis and his view of the world. What’s more, his inquisitive nature and capacity for deep thought means that he reflected on the incident like very few would, allowing him to develop a very unique perspective on business ethics.
It is only recently that Dennis felt compelled to share his insights, and this has culminated in a very unique book. In The Origins of Ethical Failures, Dennis has managed to salvage, like very few could, the lessons associated with an ethical scandal.
Dennis’s primary motivation for writing the book and talking about his experience is to educate. He hopes that the lessons he shares will be valuable to all leaders, and illustrate the central role they play in creating institutions that are more resilient to unethical conduct.
But in addition, Dennis hopes that he can play a role in continuing the push we have seen in recent times that looks to make ethics a key priority in the business world. As he himself says, the costs associated with failing to do this are too great:
“Ethical failures produce no winners. The victims are not just those found guilty of engaging in illegal or unethical conduct. Community and customers lose faith in a brand they once believed in, shareholders suffer considerable losses, and employees are left to deal with the drawn out consequences associated with loss of trust and greater scrutiny. Ultimately, society at large carries the cost.”
Dennis lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife Kate, daughters Amelia and Charlotte, and two cats Lucy and Jasper.
 

Testimonials

“Dennis possesses a deep academic intellect and interest in business ethics, combined with extensive leadership and change management experience in the corporate sector. This unique blend of skills, competencies and capabilities makes Dennis an engaging and authentic keynote speaker who inspires enthusiasm, reflection and humility through an allocentric view.” – Professor Amanda Pyman, the current Head of the Department of Management (Faculty of Business and Law) at Deakin University: