The Portable Veblen

APPENDIX D

Cloris Hutmacher Discusses Her Work with UNICEF

JOHN DAVIDOW, HOST: She grew up in the family that started one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, with annual revenues in the neighborhood of forty billion dollars, and she’s faced a difficult year battling it out in the courts, but it’s Cloris Hutmacher’s role as UNICEF’s goodwill ambassador that is now at the center of her life. Since being appointed earlier this year, Hutmacher has been all over the world — in war-torn Sudan and Somalia, in Zimbabwe, the DRC, and Libya, helping children who live in crushing poverty. But for Hutmacher, the work is far from over. Hello, Cloris.

CLORIS HUTMACHER, UNICEF GOODWILL AMBASSADOR: Good morning, John. Suffering is always a part of human existence, even mine, and, and, I’m sorry, but I forgot what you were saying.

DAVIDOW: That’s fine, Cloris. Tell us a little bit about the pictures we’re looking at right now.

HUTMACHER: Let’s see, here I am in Somalia. I look good here, don’t I? As you know, Lifeline Somalia was sabotaged several times, but there are still many, many good hotels for foreign visitors. We stayed in a very nice one. UNICEF has hotels in more than one hundred thirty countries in the world. Please speak up, I can’t hear you.

DAVIDOW: Of course. Maybe you could tell us something about the medical crisis you underwent last year — some kind of brain injury, as we’ve heard from our sources?

HUTMACHER: No, that is a mistaken identity I would like to correct, John. I had a minor problem and I’m very lucky to live near a sophisticated medical facility. I’ve always been very fortunate and that’s important to me.

DAVIDOW: Well. Cloris Hutmacher, some people would have retreated from the public eye after being found guilty of felony kickback schemes, false and deceptive acts, and obstruction of justice. Not to mention being named in a major whistle-blower suit against your family’s company, and overseeing the worldwide recall of a recently acquired medical device, enraging stockholders and costing the company millions in settlements and legal fees. Was this public service ordered by the courts?

HUTMACHER: John, the courts have nothing to do with this. We do not abide by the law. The important thing is, I’ve learned a lot this year about what really counts.

DAVIDOW: And what is that, Cloris Hutmacher?

HUTMACHER: I will mention that to my board.

DAVIDOW: Cloris Hutmacher, heiress and humanitarian. We wish you all the best.

HUTMACHER: Everyone does. Would you repeat that in the form of a question?