The Business Ethics Alliance is a unique Omaha-grown ethics initiative that began in response to the Enron Scandal that rocked the community in the early 2000s. The concept of the Alliance grew from Greater Omaha business leaders' interest in avoiding ethical issues at any scale. In 2005, Dr. Beverly Kracher, holder of the Robert B. Daugherty Endowed Chair in Business Ethics & Society at Creighton University's Heider College of Business, joined forces with Omaha business leaders who recognized the need, interest, and support for local business ethics education.

By Spring 2006, Dr. Anthony Hendrickson, Dean of Creighton University's Heider College of Business, and Fr. John Schlegel, President of Creighton University, approved the formal creation of a business ethics group to be housed in the Heider College of Business. Organizers then met with David Brown, then President and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, and Jim Hegarty, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), to form a unified business ethics initiative. Throughout 2007, initial business ethics programs were tested for interest in the local community.

Robert Bates, the former CEO of Jefferson Pilot, and Butch Ethington, developer of several ethics and compliance programs at Union Pacific, offered additional leadership to this initiative along with other key business executives in Omaha. In October, the Greater Omaha Alliance for Business Ethics was legally established as a stand-alone, independent, not-for-profit entity.

With three founding partners at the helm-the Heider College of Business, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, and the Better Business Bureau Midwest Plains-formal programming was launched. A fourth partner, the Greater Omaha Business Community, represented by our Trustee Partner Program, communicates that the Alliance is for and by the business community. These partnerships comprising the Alliance's foundation make it a unique and highly innovative organization-there is no other organization like the Business Ethics Alliance anywhere!

Dr. Bev led the Alliance for over 12 years as the founding Executive Director and CEO, retiring in 2019. Michael Robinson took the helm as Executive Director and CEO from 2020 through 2022.
Dr. AnnMarie Marlier begins her leadership of the Alliance as Executive Director, ensuring the Alliance continues its legacy and reputation for providing high-quality, relevant business ethics education to the Omaha community.

In the fall of 2025, to ensure sustainability for years to come, the Alliance's founding partners began discussions with Alliance leadership about the future. After exploring several options, the Alliance and the Better Business Bureau of the Midwest Plains entered into an extended partnership, solidifying mission alignment and enabling additional collaboration and resources to support integrity and ethical business practices.