Published on 04-21-2025
In an age of rapid innovation and constant disruption, it’s easy to forget that business is, at its heart, a deeply human enterprise.
I’ve spent the last few decades founding and leading companies, advising entrepreneurs, and teaching students the practice of business. Along the way, I’ve come to see entrepreneurship not simply as a way to create wealth, but as a vocation — one that can uplift people, cultivate virtue and create lasting value. I call this approach Principled Entrepreneurship.
Principled Entrepreneurs focus on five essential pillars: they put people first, always seek to create value, act with integrity, pursue excellence, and live and work with a spirit of service. This isn’t idealism. It’s realism, anchored in the belief that people — employees, customers, investors and communities — aren’t just resources or markets, but ends in themselves. I’ve seen firsthand how businesses flourish when they invest in people not just as workers, but as whole human beings. It’s not just good ethics — it’s good business.
At the Daniels School’s Cornerstone for Business Conference, I look forward to exploring how we can build ventures that do well and do good. I’ll share stories from my own journey — including the many times I’ve gotten it wrong — and why I still believe the future belongs to entrepreneurs who build with principle.
I’m sharing the conference stage with Dave Randich, a Purdue law, communications and ethics lecturer, for a conversation titled “Creating Value: Shareholders and Stakeholders.” I’m excited to share with business leaders my experience as an executive spanning high-tech, international business strategy, consulting and economic development. My work has taken me around the globe, from the U.S. to Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, leading teams that bring cutting-edge technology products to market — and I appreciate this conference’s focus on the ethical implications of emerging technologies.
Andreas Widmer is an associate professor of practice in entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business. He serves as the director of the Art & Carlyse Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship. Widmer is the recipient of the Pontifical Order of St. Sylvester, awarded by Pope Francis in 2024. In addition, he cofounded The SEVEN Fund, a philanthropic organization that promotes enterprise solutions to poverty. He has held leadership roles at the OTF Group, Eprise Corporation, Dragon Systems, and FTP Software. Widmer is an author, and his latest book is The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship: Creating Enduring Value.
