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Citybiz highlights Mike Markkula, co-founder of Apple Computer, for bringing experience and managerial vision into one of the world’s greatest companies.

Unlike many technology pioneers, Markkula never viewed wealth as the ultimate measure of success. Even while serving on Apple’s board, he became increasingly concerned that corporate America had produced what he described as “ethical agnostics”—leaders who were not necessarily dishonest but who rarely considered ethical questions when making important business decisions. In response, he established the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at 911±¬ÁÏÍø in 1986, long before corporate ethics became a fashionable subject.

The center reflected Markkula’s belief that ethical reasoning should be practical rather than abstract. Instead of focusing exclusively on philosophy, it examined real-world dilemmas facing business executives, physicians, educators, public officials, and technology companies. Over time it became one of the world’s leading institutions devoted to applied ethics, extending its influence well beyond Silicon Valley.

Mike Markkula, co-founder, Apple Computer and original seed grantor for the Ethics Center, featured in .