Posted by:  Adam Turteltaub

Joseph Suich has been enjoying an interesting and well-traveled career. His work at GE took him from Connecticut to Moscow to Prague to Zurich, where roles ranged from chief compliance officer to general counsel and later Global Chief Compliance Officer for GE Power.

After his time with them he joined the New York State department of Public services to form and run a net unit, the Office of Investigations and Enforcement, which investigates and prosecutes utilities.

He subsequently left there and is currently serving as US Chief Compliance Officer for National Grid, an electric utility that serves customers both in the US and United Kingdom. He also teaches compliance law at the Albany Law School.

In this podcast he shares his fascinating journey as a compliance officer and insights into the minds of regulators from his years of experience interacting with them. For companies facing a regulatory issue he advises approaching the regulator honestly. A company instantly loses credibility, he warns, if it pushes a bad position from the start. If the company or an employee clearly did something wrong, don’t argue otherwise. Admit the mistake and focus on what you did right.

Also, be aware that the regulator may not fully understand the context of your business. Be sure to invest the time in helping him or her appreciate the challenges and the reasons behind the actions your organizations took.

Joseph closes the discussion by looking to the future, particularly the fast evolving Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) movement. While ESG is still in flux from a compliance perspective, he advocates compliance teams begin to get a handle on its scope, how the organization is monitoring it, and the risks involved.

Listen in to hear more about his career and experience.