LEADERS Magazine April, May, June 2022 Volume 45, Number 2

April, May, June 2022

JOHNSON

Volume 45 Number 2

NOOYI

SCHULMAN

WALKER

STROM

PURPOSE CHAO

BANKE

AL DHAHERI

INZERILLO

RAUCH

ROSENBAUM

QUBEIN

IN A WORLD OF WONDERS...

THERE IS ONLY ONE

DIRIYAH Kingdom of Saudi Arabia diriyah.sa

“People don’t really believe in words. Or rather, people believe in words only for a stretch of time. Then they start to look for action.”

Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine LEADERS Magazine is published quarterly and circulated to distinguished leaders of the world. Circulation is strictly limited. To receive LEADERS Magazine, one must be a leader of a nation, an international company, a world religion, an international institute of learning, or an international labor organization; or a chief financial officer, a major investor on behalf of labor or corporate pension funds, a chief information officer or a Nobel laureate. LEADERS Magazine was founded by Henry O. Dormann (1932-2018).

LEADERS Magazine Publisher and Executive Editor: David W. Schner Editor: Darrell J. Brown Advertising Executive: Laurie McClure Ferber

On the Cover

Printing: Calev Print Media – Freeport Press

Kevin Johnson Starbucks Indra Nooyi PepsiCo Dan Schulman PayPal Darren Walker Ford Foundation Max Strom Dr. James S. C. Chao Foremost Group H.E. Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi

Photo Credits: Cover - ©, 8 candid - © Lindsey Wasson for Starbuck; 10 food share - © Connor Surdi; cover 14 Indra Nooyi - © Dave Puente; family - © Joe Vericker/PhotoBureau; 16 women in the world - © 2016 Marc Bryan-Brown; women CEOs - © 2016 Marc Bryan-Brown; 24 - © Justin French, Ford Foundation; 30, 31 - © Lee S.Weissman; 32 - © Ben Hider; 33 - © Igor Litvinov; 36 - © Risdon Photography; 38 - © Carlos Aristizabal; 42 - © Juliana Patrick Photography; 43 - © Chicago Bears 2018; 55 - © Susan Young Photography; 58 - oryx - © Ahmed Aldhaheri; 64 three people - © Jeff Lorch; 66 people - © Shadille Estepan; 71 wine - © Briana Marie Photography; Banke with horse - © Matt Wooley/EquiSport Photos; 74 author - © Claudia Paul; 75 - © James Nubile 2014; 76 - © 2012 Joseph Moran.; 80 author - © Carol Allen Storey; 80-81 candids - © Getty Images for EJAF; 84 property - © Leonid Andronov; 88 - © Praveen Sundaram; 100 - © David Cooper; 102 group - © Leigh Page; 103- © Nick Pinnoy; 104 - © Leigh Page; 108 author, 109 - © Ameen Qaisaran: 118 - © Brett Nadal; 128-129 - © HSS; 145 - © René Perez; 146 author - © Ben Hider; 149 - © Steve Cantrell; 152 - © Kevin Lynch Inc.; 154 Adams - © Roxxe Ireland; Conant - © Jim Prisching; 164 Fisher - © James E. Smolka; 156 - © Yachin Parham Studio LLC; 166 fashion © Boe Marion; 170 - © Bill Adler; 176-177 performances -© Ethan Miller/2021 Getty Images; 180 - © David Zentz Photography; 182 - © Paul Smith Photography; 192 - © Venkat Reddy Photography; 198 property - © Mark Elst; 199 top property - © Dook Photo; 199 bottom property - © Petrina Tinslay; 200 shop - © Robert Landau, 201 art - © Barron Wolman; 201 pool - © John Russo; 203 room © Michael Stavaridis; 205 - © Troy Campbell; three people - © Getty Images for EJAF

Barbara R. Banke Jackson Family Wines Gerard “Jerry” J. Inzerillo Diriyah Gate Development Authority Melissa Rauch Oscar’s Kids Richard A. Rosenbaum Greenberg Traurig Dr. Nido R. Qubein High Point University

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LEADERS (ISSN 0163-3635 ) is published quarterly by Leaders Magazine, LLC, a Sandow brand; www.leadersmag.com. Leaders Magazine, LLC, Sandow Media, LLC and their respective affiliates, directors, officers, employees, contributors, writers and editors (collectively, “Publisher”) accept no responsibility for inaccuracies, errors or omissions with information and/or advertisements contained herein. The Publisher has neither investigated nor endorsed the individuals, companies and/or products that advertise within the publication or that are mentioned editorially. Publisher assumes no responsibility for the claims made by the Advertisers or the merits of their respective products or services advertised or promoted in the publication. Publisher neither expressly nor implicitly endorses such Advertiser products, services or claims. Publisher expressly assumes no liability for any damages whatsoever that may be suffered by any purchaser or user for any products or services advertised or mentioned editorially herein and strongly recommends that any purchaser or user investigate such products, services, methods and/or claims made thereto. Opinions expressed in the magazine and/or its advertisements do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Publisher. Neither the Publisher nor its staff, associates or affiliates are responsible for any errors, omissions or information whatsoever that have been misrepresented to Publisher. The information on products and services as advertised in the publication are shown by Publisher on an “as is” and “as available” basis. Publisher makes no representations or warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, as to the information, services, contents, trademarks, patents, materials or products included in this magazine. All pictures reproduced in the publication have been accepted by Publisher on the condition that such pictures are reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the photographer. As such, Publisher is not responsible for any infringement of any third party’s intellectual property or other rights arising out of any publication. LEADERS® is a registered trademark of Leaders Magazine, LLC. © Leaders Magazine, LLC 2022. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher.

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VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

PURPOSE

Contents Inspiring and Nurturing the Human Spirit Kevin Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Starbucks

Find the Helpers Fred Guttenberg, Founder, Orange Ribbons For Jaime and Orange Ribbons For Gun Safety

Building a Kinder and Braver World Maya Smith, Executive Director, Born This Way Foundation

Leadership in the 21st Century Indra Nooyi, Former Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo

Public Safety Roseanna Ander, Founding Executive Director, Crime Lab and Education Lab, University of Chicago

Making a Lasting Impact Dino E. Robusto, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CNA Financial Corporation

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Democratizing Financial Services Dan Schulman, President and Chief Executive Officer, PayPal

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Creative Anarchy Barbara R. Banke, Chairman and Proprietor, Jackson Family Wines

A Barometer for Trust Richard Edelman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Edelman

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Investing in Transformative Ideas Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation

A Reputation for Integrity Dr. James S.C. Chao, Founder and Honorary Chairman, Foremost Group

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Breathe to Heal Max Strom

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A Public Health Issue Michael J. Dowling, President and Chief Executive Officer, Northwell Health

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A Holistic Approach Chethan Sathya, MD, MSc, Director, Center for Gun Violence Prevention, Northwell Health

People and Implementation Maurice R. Greenberg, Starr Insurance Companies

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The Forefront of Science Kenneth L. Davis, MD, Chief Executive Officer, Mount Sinai Health System

Protecting Abu Dhabi’s Environment H.E. Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary General, Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD)

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Find Your Fight Steve White, President, Special Counsel to the CEO, Comcast Cable

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Creating a Safer America Kris Brown, President, Brady

Love is the Cure Anne Aslett, Chief Executive Officer, Elton John AIDS Foundation

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Making Communities Safer Joseph Victor Sakran, MD, MPH, MPA, FACS Vice Chair, Clinical Operations, Department of Surgery, Director, Emergency General Surgery, Associate Professor of Surgery and Nursing, Johns Hopkins Medicine and Senior Fellow, Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine

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Shaping Society for the Better Brad S. Karp, Chairman, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison

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A Financial Bridge Between the World’s Two Largest Economies Xu Chen, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of China U.S.A.

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The Ethan Allen Experience Farooq Kathwari, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.

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One Diriyah Gerard “Jerry” J. Inzerillo, Group Chief Executive Officer, Diriyah Gate Development Authority

Research, Innovation and Education Louis A. Shapiro, President and Chief Executive Officer, HSS

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108 Influencing the Impact Economy Phyllis Kurlander Costanza, Head of Social Impact, UBS and Chief Executive Officer, UBS Optimus Foundation

The Worth of Water Gary White, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Water.org and WaterEquity

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Entrepreneurialism, Stewardship and Service Thomas W. Corbett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.

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Addressing Long COVID Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, Dean of the School of Public Health, Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University School of Public Health Employees, Clients and Communities D. Steve Boland, Chief Administrative Officer, Bank of America

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“Turn 2” Healthy Lifestyles Sharlee Jeter, President, Turn 2 Foundation

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Protect and Prosper Timothy J. Gerend, Executive Vice President and Chief Distribution Officer, Northwestern Mutual

Improving the Health of Communities Michael J. Alkire, President and Chief Executive Officer, Premier Inc.

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Responsible Business Peter Lacy, Global Sustainability Services Lead and Chief Responsibility Officer, Accenture

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Community Driven Change Ashlee George, Executive Director, Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project

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Honoring Oscar Melissa Rauch, Co-Founder, Oscar’s Kids

Sustainable Investing Jessica Matthews, Global Head of Sustainable Investing, J.P. Morgan Private Bank

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A Relationship Business Pamela Liebman, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Corcoran Group

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Financial Security Jonathan D. Niemeyer, Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, Western & Southern Financial Group

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Creating Social Change Natalie Tran, Executive Director, CAA Foundation

Commitment to Excellence Richard A. Rosenbaum, Executive Chairman, Greenberg Traurig

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The Power of Collaboration Richard A. Edlin, Vice Chair, Greenberg Traurig

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Advancing Medicine Steven J. Corwin, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, NewYork-Presbyterian

The Future of Law Ejim Peter Achi, Co-Managing Shareholder, New York Office and Co-Chair, New York Corporate Practice, Greenberg Traurig

Transformation Dr. Nido R. Qubein, President, High Point University

Commitment to Community Caroline J. Heller, Shareholder, Litigation Practice, New York Office and Chair, Global Pro Bono Program, Greenberg Traurig

Training the Next Generation of Skilled Tradespeople Shannon Gerber, Executive Director, The Home Depot Foundation

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Diversity Strengthens Decision-Making Devin Glenn, Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Blackstone

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A Trusted Advisor David Lipson, President, Savills North America

Supporting the Frontline Healthcare Workforce Deborah Marcus, Executive, CAA Foundation and #FirstRespondersFirst

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Ending Cancer as We Know It Sung Poblete, PhD, RN, Chief Executive Officer, Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C)

Creativity and Art Daniel Lamarre, Executive Vice-Chairman of the Board, Cirque du Soleil

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Creating a Better World Through Business Sara Appleyard Adams, Senior Director, Communications and Marketing, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose® (CECP), by Doug Conant, Founder & CEO, ConantLeadership, Chairman of CECP, Former President, Nabisco, and Former CEO, Campbell Soup Company

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Virginia’s Bank John Asbury, President and Chief Executive Officer, Atlantic Union Bankshares Continual Innovation Elena Edwards, Chief Executive Officer, North America, Allianz Partners

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Digital Darwinism Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist, Salesforce

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Collaborate to Innovate Jay Mukhey, Global Director of ESG, Purpose & Impact, Finastra

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Effective Leadership Robert B. Catell, Chairman, Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at Stony Brook University and Chairman, National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium

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Building and Creating Steven Fisher, Founder and President, Fisher Capital Investments and Partner, Fisher Brothers and Ben Lindeman, Partner and Chief Financial Officer, Fisher Capital Investments

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Making Sustainability Accessible Matt Scanlan, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, NAADAM

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Improving Patient Care Daniel J. Maughan, MSN, MBA, FNP-C, President and Chief Executive Officer, Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall

Powered by People Juan Bueno, Principal and U.S. President, Avison Young

Generating Economic Opportunities Jennifer Wakefield, APR, President and Chief Executive Officer, Greater Richmond Partnership

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RICHMOND

Heal the Villages Donato J. Tramuto, Chairman and Founder, Health eVillages

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Improving the Future of Youth in Foster Care Jennifer Perry, Executive Director, Children’s Action Network and Co-Founder, FosterMore

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Creating a Safe Space Michael Sparks, Chief Executive Officer, The Underground Kitchen

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A Community for Women Leaders Shannon Siriano Greenwood, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Rebelle Community

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HOSPITALITY Redefining the Luxury Rental Space Jorge Munoz, Co-Founder, StayOne

Creating Positive Change for Women in Music Michelle Arkuski, Executive Director, She Is The Music

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Personal Style Julian Tucker, General Manager, Andaz West Hollywood

Shaping Change Leah Harris, Program Manager, The Theatre Leadership Project

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An Authentic Sense of Place Kristi Cotten-Morris, General Manager, Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta

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A Community of Cause Entrepreneurs Tiffany Wojtkiewicz, President and Co-Founder, ONEHOPE Wine

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World’s Best Suites

Celebrating the Lunar New Year of the Tiger with China General Chamber of Commerce - USA

Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris

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EDITORS’ CHOICE Acqualina Resort & Residences on the Beach

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PURPOSE

Inspiring and Nurturing the Human Spirit An Interview with Kevin Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Starbucks EDITORS’ NOTE Kevin Johnson customers, and to listen and underfirst joined Starbucks in 2009, stand their concerns and make them serving on the company’s board ours. We prioritize initiatives that of dir ectors during a period of promote equality and inclusion, record-setting transformation and address complex problems in our growth. In March 2015, he took communities, and emphasize sustainon the role of President and Chief ability across the business. Simply, we Operating Officer, leading the believe pursuing profit should never company’s global operating busibe in conflict with the pursuit of doing nesses across all geographies, as good. well as the cor e support funcWhat have been the keys to tions of Starbucks’ supply chain, Starbucks’ consistent strength and Kevin Johnson marketing, human resources, techleadership and how do you describe nology and mobile and digital platthe Starbucks difference? forms. He assumed the role of President and Starbucks is a people first company, and CEO in April 2017, as Howard Schultz tran- our strength comes from listening, engaging sitioned into the role of Executive Chairman. and empowering partners in making decisions.

His career spans more than 30 years, scaling One of the key attributes of Starbucks is the global businesses, including 16 years at concept of distributed leadership. We are Microsoft and five years as CEO of Juniper 400,000 partners (employees) in 84 markets Networks. In 2008, he was appointed to the around the world with 34,000 stores. We can National Security Telecommunication Advisory move with consistency and speed when we Committee where he served presidents George remain grounded and connected emotionally to W. Bush and Barack Obama. Johnson was a a common mission, to live a set of values and founding board member of NPower, an orga- have common beliefs. From there, each unique nization that provides nonprofits with access to situation calls for an opportunity to establish technology and the skills needed to fulfill their social missions. He is involved with Catalyst, a leading nonprofit focused on expanding opportunities for women in business. Johnson also supports Youth Eastside Services, one of the largest providers of youth and family counseling in the Seattle area. Johnson graduated from New Mexico State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

principles. With a principled approach, partners then understand the playbook and are empowered to make their own decisions that are appropriate for their market and unique circumstances. This has been a superpower through moments of quick turn and localized decision-making.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities for growth for Starbucks and how critical is it for Starbucks to maintain its culture as it continues to grow and scale?

We see tremendous growth opportunities, specifically in the U.S. and in China. We’ve found that even through the pandemic, our new stores in China performed extremely well.

We’re looking at opening 700 net new stores to position ourselves very well post-pandemic.

Another area of growth we’re leaning into is our strategic partnerships. We’ve just introduced Starbucks BAYA Energy drinks that are a joint venture between Starbucks and PepsiCo. As a company with a 50-year history built on bringing together people and communities, Starbucks is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the Great Human Reconnection that has already begun.

COMPANY BRIEF Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company (starbucks.com) has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with over 34,000 stores worldwide, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world.

Through its unwavering commitment to excellence and its guiding principles, the company brings the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup.

How do you define Starbucks’ mission and purpose?

Our Starbucks mission statement is to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. That means leading a team that honors and uplifts, every single day, our partners and 8 LEADERS

Kevin Johnson with stakeholders at a 2019 Starbucks annual meeting

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Starbucks honoring those who have served in the armed forces on Veterans Day

Over the past four and a half years, Starbucks’ market capitalization has more than doubled and still, the total global addressable coffee market is expected to eclipse $400 billion in the next three years. That represents an 8 to 9 percent compound annual growth rate.

With our scale and vision, we can grow even faster. By focusing on consumer behavior, we can innovate new beverage platforms, expand digital customer relationships and create new store formats. We can introduce the Starbucks Experience to a growing number of customers and satisfy their shifting preferences.

Our partners, cafes, and great coffee are foundational to so many narratives – from first dates to job interviews to daily get-togethers.

With a presence in 34,000 communities worldwide, Starbucks is interwoven into the fabric of our lives. People depend on Starbucks which is an awe-inspiring responsibility and everexpanding opportunity. Together, in partnership with all of our stakeholders, we are up to the challenge.

How did Starbucks adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the pandemic and how proud are you to see the resilience of your workforce during this unprecedented time?

I am in awe of the way our partners have responded and persevered through the last three years. In the face of immense uncertainty, our partners continued to show up and support their communities every single day.

To navigate the pandemic, as I alluded to earlier, we put together a framework of three principles to guide our decision-making. The first was to prioritize the health and safety of partners, and by extension customers. The second principle was to cooperate with local health VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

and safety and government officials. Third, in a uniquely Starbucks way, we set out a principle to show up in a positive way for the communities we serve. We implemented new store safety protocols, provided economic certainty to our fellow partners, and invested in comprehensive COVID-19 care and benefits. We are responding to these unprecedented times by investing in our people, caring for our planet and staying committed to growth-at-scale. This peoplepositive, planet-positive and profit-positive agenda

worked in harmony prior to COVID-19; worked in harmony during the pandemic; and will work and thrive in a post-COVID world.

What is the impact of technology on Starbucks’ business and how do you make sure that technology does not take away from the human touch and personal relationship that Starbucks is known for?

This is such an important question. We believe in a relentless focus of technology and innovation on and in service of partners and

Kevin Johnson speaking at a Starbucks leadership experience in Chicago

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customers – of making day-to-day life easier and better for partners and elevating every aspect of the customer experience.

Starbucks has been able to develop and harness technology that enhances the Third Place experience we are proud to provide.

One example of this is through our industryleading Starbucks App. The look and menu subtly change with the season the same way the stores do, you can personalize an order, access the store’s playlist, and buy and send gift cards. There’s a seamless transition between in-store and the virtual customer experience.

We believe in partner-driven innovation and, in that spirit, we opened the Tryer Lab. It’s an innovation center where anyone – from partners who work at the Starbucks Support Center to baristas in the field – could have an idea, put it to the test, and learn and adapt quickly.

It’s all about eliminating this fear of failure and embracing the celebration of work. Not every innovation has to work for 34,000+ stores – some of them are specific to certain markets which keeps that personal touch in all that we do.

How critical is it for Starbucks to build a diverse and inclusive workforce to mirror the diversity of its customers and the communities it serves?

It’s mission critical. Quite literally. Our increased focus on diversity, inclusion and opportunity has turned into a broader evolution of our culture at Starbucks. We always note that we are on a journey – one that requires us all to work together to advance racial and social equity on behalf of our partners and the communities we serve. I always come back to three principles: intention, transparency and accountability.

A Starbucks employee participating in one of the company’s food share journeys

That is, as we consider the role and responsibility of Starbucks, as a company, to lead by example in areas of inclusion, diversity and equity, we will be intentional about the actions we take and how they line up with our mission and values, commit to transparency with all stakeholders about our thinking and our goals, and hold ourselves accountable.

We want everyone who walks into our stores to feel welcome, seen and accepted. The best way to understand the unique needs and challenges of communities is to have its members represented within our workforce. Greater diversity will enable us to make more thoughtful and inclusive decisions.

What do you see as Starbucks’ responsibility to its communities and how ingrained is corporate responsibility in Starbucks’ culture?

Celebrating Starbucks’ equity and inclusion journey 10 LEADERS

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Community is a word that carries such tremendous weight at Starbucks. As a member of 34,000 communities around the world, we recognize a responsibility to strengthen each and every one. We know very well that our impact in communities is most meaningful when our efforts begin with our partners who know their neighbors best.

That impact comes to life in so many ways, whether it’s through food donation and service to address hunger relief, granting financial support to nonprofit organizations through The Starbucks Foundations, providing disaster relief to communities in need, or building Starbucks community stores which are dedicated to providing economic opportunity in rural and urban communities across the U.S. Our community stores, in particular, make me so proud as they are focused on hiring locally, creating dedicated space for communities to come together for events featuring local artists and working with diverse contractors for store construction and remodels. But that’s all just the beginning. It’s not only a responsibility we feel to strengthen communities, it’s an opportunity for our partners to show up, feel proud and be a part of something bigger than themselves.

What do you feel are the keys to effective leadership and how do you describe your management style?

My journey has been an interesting one in that I’ve seen several founder to successor transitions from Microsoft to Juniper to now my own at Starbucks. It seems simple, but I believe in authenticity. As a leader, you have to be willing to be your authentic self; to lean into

Starbucks’ employees supporting the company’s commitment to sustainability

vulnerabilities and to have a growth mindset each day. As I also mentioned, I believe in distributed leadership – to empower the dayto-day work from a singular individual to a team of amazing partners who are responsible for carrying the company’s soul forward. So, I let leaders think through and even struggle with decisions, and even to make mistakes.

That’s how we often find our most impactful,

meaningful work. We are here to support each other, learn from each other and get better every day. I find that by putting trust into the right people, you get amazing results.

What advice do you offer to young people beginning their careers during this challenging and uncertain time?

Don’t be afraid of failure, push yourself out of your comfort zone and be a lifelong learner.

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Starbucks’ reusable cups are another example of its commitment to sustainability VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

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PURPOSE

Leadership in the 21st Century An Interview with Indra Nooyi, Former Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo EDITORS’ NOTE For a dozen years as independent director of the International You were the first woman of color and Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Cricket Council; and a member of the immigrant to run a Fortune 50 company.

Nooyi was one of the world’s most American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She What were the keys to your success in admired business leaders. The first is on the Dean’s Advisory Council at MIT’s business and what made you such an woman of color and immigrant to lead School of Engineering, and a member of effective leader? a Fortune 50 company, she transthe MIT Corporation. She also serves on the Here are my observations based on my formed the company with a long-term boards of the Memorial Sloan Kettering collection of experiences over the years: First, stay vision, vigorous pursuit of excellence Cancer Center and the Partnership for focused on building the company for the longand a deep sense of purpose. Nooyi is Public Service. Additionally, she is the term while delivering sensible financial results in a revered role model who has long Class of 1951 Chair for the Study of the short-term – manage the company for both spoken up about women, equity, incluLeadership at West Point where she helps level and duration of returns. Second, surround sion and evolving the global economy enhance the ability of both the Department yourself with outstanding talent – competent, Indra Nooyi to support families. My Life in Full: of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership courageous people who are not political and Work, Family, and Our Future is her and the U.S. Military Academy to fulfill the who speak their mind freely. Provide an envifirst book. Nooyi was born in Madras (Chennai), mission of developing leaders of character. She also ronment that encourages honest feedback and Tamil Nadu, India, and grew up in a close family serves as an advisor to several early-stage companies. discussion. Third, treat all of your employees as with two siblings, her parents and her grandpar- Nooyi has received fifteen honorary degrees. In 2007, valuable assets of the company, not as tools of ents. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Madras the Government of India awarded her the Padma the trade. Engage them – head, heart and hands.

Christian College and an MBA from the Indian Bhushan, the country’s 3rd highest civilian honor. Fourth, get out of the office and talk to your Institute of Management Calcutta. She began her That same year, she was named an “Outstanding employees, customers, suppliers, etc. in your business career at the textile firm Mettur Beardsell American by Choice” by the U.S. State Department. In key regions and countries. Be your own boots in Madras and as a product manager at Johnson & 2019, her portrait was inducted into the Smithsonian on the ground. Sustain connections with them Johnson in Bombay. In 1978, Nooyi received a schol- National Portrait Gallery. In 2021, Nooyi became an over time. They serve as early signal indicators. arship to attend Yale University where she earned a elected member of the American Philosophical Finally, family. My family kept me grounded and master’s degree in public and private management. Society and a trustee of the National Gallery of Art. reminded me constantly that power and humility She then joined Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as a She was also inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame have to be kept in balance. They were my biggest strategy consultant and, from 1986 to 1994, worked and National Women’s Hall of Fame. supporters and my best critics. at Motorola and ABB leading corporate strategy and planning departments. Nooyi entered the executive suite at PepsiCo in 1994 and became CFO and then President of the company in 2001. She joined the Board of Directors in 2001 and, five years later, was named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Leading PepsiCo, Nooyi was the architect of Performance with Purpose, the company’s pledge to make healthier and more nutritious products, limit the company’s environmental footprint, and empower its associates and people in the communities it serves. At the same time, the company’s net revenue grew 80 percent and market capitalization grew by $57 billion. In her first sustainability report as CEO, she commented, “When I was a child in India, my mother would ask my sister and me a simple but compelling question: ‘What would you do to change the world?’ Today, I know my answer would be that I want to lead a company that is a force for good in the world. A company that delivers strong financial performance, while embracing purpose in everything it does.” Nooyi is now a member of the board of Amazon, where she chairs the audit committee.

She sits on the supervisory board of Philips, where she is also a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee. She is a member of Indra Nooyi with her family the International Advisory Council of Temasek; an 14 LEADERS

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You have said that “Greatness comes not from a position, but from helping build the future. We have an obligation to pull others up.” Is this how you define effective leadership in the 21st century?

Many qualities characterize effective leadership in the 21st century, and they are continuously changing. When I speak about our obligation to “pull others up,” I refer to the fact that a leader’s biggest legacy is to develop the next generation of talent. These individuals need to be identified, nurtured, coached, celebrated and retained to ensure the company remains successful well into the future.

Today, the idea of “Performance with Purpose” is broadly recognized, but when you introduced this idea at PepsiCo, there were many who questioned the concept. Was it challenging to bring people on board early on with this mission and, in retrospect, do you feel that in many ways you were ahead of your time with this concept?

“Performance with Purpose” has been far more revolutionary than I originally anticipated when I came up with it in 2006. At that time, the audience consisted of senior managers, investors, suppliers, customers, and many critics from the public health world. I had to persuade many of them to take this leap with me – to embrace the idea that we could make money a different way, with an eye toward building a healthier product portfolio, taking environmental sustainability seriously, and nurturing talent.

In a way, “Performance with Purpose” was ahead of its time and a precursor to the ESG push we are seeing today. But in my mind, the concept was badly needed. I firmly believed then, as I do now, that companies are a part of society and have a duty of care to the communities they are a part of. I was merely infusing this into our business model. It was a tough sell at first – I was infamously called “Mother Teresa” by one investor – but almost everyone came around. PepsiCo created a lot of shareholder value in my time as CEO and we did that while transforming key parts of the business.

You placed a major focus on mixing work and home life throughout your leadership at PepsiCo. What made this so important to you and what are the keys to building a company culture that allows the blending of work and family?

Family comes first, plain and simple. The family I created with my husband Raj and two daughters is my proudest achievement. They define me, anchor me, and teach me what love is all about. They are my life.

But as CEO of PepsiCo, I also had to worry about my other family – my 260,000 employees and our customers, suppliers, and many others whose economic well-being depended on the success of the company. I took this job very, very seriously. Both my primary family and my PepsiCo family had to be kept in balance.

It was tough. I was constantly “juggling” the split responsibilities and priorities of my work and family life, and without the advantage of the technology we now have – Zoom, FaceTime, texting, etc. With the advancement VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

of technology and our experience with flexible everything due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a unique opportunity to design the future of work, end to end, putting family in the center.

What if parents could meet their kids at home when they return from school and transition to working remotely while their kids are engaged in homework? Could we help working parents design a schedule that accommodates both their job responsibilities and time to care for

their families? How do companies create a culture where a focus on family is embraced rather than treated as a separate part of life? And what if companies were to augment these considerations with creative, supportive benefits – like sensible paid leave and affordable, available, quality childcare – for their employees who are also family builders? Defining the future of work with these issues in mind is what will allow companies to attract and retain the best and brightest talent.

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LEADERS 15

PepsiCo was known for a culture of continuous innovation. Is it more challenging to stay innovative at the size and scale of a company such as PepsiCo and how were you able to maintain the innovative edge?

Innovation drives growth. Growth is oxygen for companies. Creating an innovationforward mindset and putting in place the right capabilities, goals, and incentive structures to encourage innovation are all critical building blocks for any company. Innovation must be approached deliberately and mathematically.

Start by mapping out a few key factors. For example, what level of top line growth are you looking for? How much of that growth will come from existing products, from line extensions, and from new platforms: What kind of fall off do you have from existing innovation?

What is the net sales number driven by innovation that you must deliver on every year? Work backwards – how can an innovation pipeline be built and moved through various stage gates?

This entire area could be a whole “treatise” on its own, but my key message is this – when a leader talks about innovation, it’s critical that they move from generalities to specifics. Only then can you hold your people accountable and can the company deliver superior growth year after year.

What interested you in writing the book, My Life in Full, and what are the key messages you wanted to convey in the book?

When I retired from PepsiCo, I was adamant that I would never write a memoir. I started off by writing policy papers about how we can make life easier for women managing the competing demands of work and family. But everybody who read my papers said that for my ideas to be memorable, I needed to inform this issue with the story of my own life. I needed to make it personal. My Life in Full is that book. It doubles as a memoir and call-to-action.

Indra Nooyi with leading women CEOs

There are several key messages in the book, and they all intersect. One is that family is core. We have to elevate it into the global conversation, and not minimize it as a female issue. Another is that women r epr esent an untapped talent pool and empowering them to contribute fully to paid work is important for families, companies, and the economy as a whole. This all comes together to reinforce my moonshot: building a support structure that enables women and family builders to thrive while driving our GDP growth higher.

How critical is it for companies to build diverse and inclusive workforces to mirror

Indra Nooyi at Women in the World event 16 LEADERS

the diversity of their customers, clients, and communities?

It is my firm belief that having diverse voices around a table leads to better thinking and better outcomes. Many research studies have proven this. I believe a focus on diversity and inclusion allows a company to draw the best talent from the entire workforce, as opposed to drawing only from a portion of the available pool. With talent being the biggest competitive advantage for any company today, it is critical for leadership to embrace this perspective.

But diversity and inclusion does not happen automatically. It requires diligence. Diversity is a number and inclusion is a mindset, a behavior.

You cannot practice inclusion if a company or workforce does not yet have a critical mass of diverse talent.

The first step may require companies to set goals for hiring diverse talent. Only after enough diverse talent is present in the company can you actually model and reinforce inclusive behavior.

Secondly, appointing a DE&I officer can help draw attention to the importance of this topic within a company, but diversity and inclusion has to be the responsibility of the CEO and all senior leaders.

It has to be tied to their annual incentives. Without this level of commitment, a focus on diversity and inclusion will struggle to take root in a company.

You have devoted a great deal of time and energy to mentoring young women and supporting the advancement of women in business. Do you feel that progress has been made in this area and what more needs to be done to provide equal opportunities for women to grow and lead in the corporate world?

Seventy percent of highschool valedictorians are girls. Nationwide, girls earn the highest grades in high school, accounting for 60 percent of A or A-plus averages, inclusive of STEM fields. They outnumber men at all the top universities and have higher college graduation rates.

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Women are hungry. They want the power of the purse. They want economic freedom.

Yes, some progress has been made with regard to workplace bias, pay parity and other prevalent issues. But we need to do more to help women who want to and have ambitions to balance both work and family. Today, many women enter the workforce with high hopes and dreams and are forced to confront heartbreaking choices: either quit their job to raise a family, delay having a family, or don’t have one at all. All three options are equally worrisome.

As I mentioned before, what if companies provided paid leave, flexible work hours, and access to quality childcare? This could reduce the incredible stress that burdens family builders managing responsibilities both at work and at home and keep them engaged in paid work.

What if we designed intelligent return ramps for those who want to take time off to raise a family and eventually return to work? We could re-integrate these highly qualified individuals so they’re not permanently cut off from meaningful, paid work.

Rather than speaking with despair about the Great Resignation, let’s speak with optimism about the Great Retention and the Great Re-Enrollment.

The talent is out there. It’s about how we attract, retain, and re-enroll them into the job of nationbuilding – empowering them to engage in paid work to grow the economy while also building families that will sustain our society over the long-term.

What advice do you offer to young people beginning their careers during this challenging and uncertain time?

We are living in an extraordinary time. The pace of change feels faster. The young people who are diving into their careers have more tools at their disposal than ever before, but they also face a world that is changing rapidly. So, here’s my advice in that context:

Indra Nooyi with Wayne Calloway, former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo

First, be a lifelong student – technology is advancing rapidly, and to keep pace, you must have insatiable curiosity and be a life-long learner.

That is how you stay relevant and progress.

Second, build strong relationships with mentors. Your mentors pick you, you don’t necessarily pick them, but perform at a level that makes senior leaders want to mentor you. And, when you find that mentor, cultivate that relationship, and take it very seriously – it’s a two-way street.

Finally, whether you’re a corporate leader or a startup founder, remain committed to the job at hand. Don’t focus on where you might be headed next. Deliver on your current responsibilities and priorities and do them to the utmost

Indra Nooyi during her last day as CEO of PepsiCo VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

of your ability – no matter how exciting or onerous. Become irreplaceable.

When you look back at your career, were you able to take moments to celebrate the wins or were you always looking to the future?

I did celebrate the wins, but always had an eye toward the next big challenge. I am wired that way, never content with where I am, always looking to push the boundaries of my work. It was self-generated. This restlessness and desire to keep looking around corners kept me invigorated – although it may have exhausted the people around me.

You are known to be an optimistic person who looks at challenges as opportunities. As you look at the multiple crises facing the world today, fr om public health to social injustice to climate change, are you optimistic that the world will effectively meet and overcome these challenges?

Many of the issues of the futur e – pandemics, cybersecurity, talent availability, environmental issues – all require us to work together, globally and across borders. It will require extraordinary collaboration and leadership. I worry about those in power who hold entrenched, extreme views and who refuse to see a brighter, better future for the world. But I am optimistic about the younger generations that will take charge of these issues.

I am optimistic because I see incredible innovation coming from the minds of the youth.

I see Gen Z and the Alpha generation coming together, building friendships, generating ideas, and doing it with people across the world, irrespective of race, gender, or ethnicity. We need our young people to ascend to positions of power – particularly in the political arena – so that optimistic thinking can permeate across society. With them at the helm, we will overcome these challenges.

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LEADERS 17

A new heart gave Jessica another shot.

Thanks to Montefiore-Einstein, she’s undefeated.

When Jessica’s heart was pumping at just 5% capacity her survival was measured in weeks, not months. She turned to Montefiore-Einstein who saved her with a bridge to a new heart.

See Jessica’s story at montefiore.org/jessica

PURPOSE

Democratizing Financial Services An Interview with Dan Schulman, President and Chief Executive Officer, PayPal EDITORS’ NOTE Before assuming COMPANY BRIEF PayPal (paypal.com) secure, affordable, and convenient by digitizing his role at PayPal, Dan Schulman has remained at the forefront of the transactional processes and bringing massive served as Group President at digital payment revolution for more portions of the population into the global American Express. Prior to joining than 20 years. By leveraging tech- economy for the first time.

American Express, he was President nology to make financial services and How is purpose woven into PayPal’s of the Prepaid Group at Sprint Nextel commerce more convenient, afford- culture?

Corporation following its acquisition able, and secure, the PayPal platform Leading with purpose is the only way we of Virgin Mobile USA, Inc., where he is empowering more than 425 million are going to be able to address the pressing led the company as its founding CEO consumers and merchants in more problems we face as a society. At PayPal, we for eight years. Earlier in his career, than 200 markets to join and thrive in believe that much of the change we seek begins he served as President and CEO of the global economy. with leading from within to drive change as Priceline Group, Inc. He also spent 18 well as encouraging action externally. Our Dan Schulman years at AT&T, where he held a series How do you define PayPal’s mission employees are our most important stakeholder of positions, including President of and purpose? group, and we believe that by investing in them, the Consumer Markets Division. The New York PayPal is one of the largest consumer plat- we create an environment where employees are Urban League presented Schulman with the 2021 forms in the world and is shaping how people engaged and feel like they are being taken care Frederick Douglass Award. In 2020, Robert F. act in the digital age. We want to democratize of. In turn, we can serve our customers better.

Kennedy Human Rights honored him with the financial services, which means that every citizen Through our employee financial health Ripple of Hope Award. In 2019, Schulman was in the world should have access to the manage- initiative, above-market benefits, employee recognized by Endeavor Global with the High- ment and movement of money, and it should resource groups and many other programs Impact Leader of the Year Award and was also be a right – not just a privilege for the affluent and initiatives, we live out our values, and our honored with the Financial Health Network’s inau- and wealthy. That mission drives everything we beliefs are the foundation for how we do busigural Visionary Award in 2018. Additionally, he do, and our products and services have never ness every day. We are all working towards the received the 2017 Brennan Legacy Award and The been more relevant for our customers than they common goal of democratizing financial Council for Economic Education named him as its are today. As we transition into a digital-first era, services – it’s part of what drives people to work 2017 Visionary. He received an honorary Doctor we’re working to make financial services more here and what encourages people to stay. of Humane Letters degree from Rutgers University and delivered the University’s 252nd anniversary commencement speech. In 2021, Schulman was ranked third on Fortune’s list of the World’s Greatest Leaders. He has also frequently been recognized by Fortune as one of the top 20 Businesspersons of the Year. Fast Company has named him one of the top 100 Most Creative People and, in 2019, he was named one of Glassdoor’s Top 50 CEOs. In addition, he has been recognized as one of the top 10 Most Innovative CEOs in Banking. Schulman is actively involved in the World Economic Forum, as a member of the International Business Council, and on the Board of Governors and Board of Stewards for the Future of Financial & Monetary Systems platform. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Business Roundtable. In addition, Schulman is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and an International Advisory Council member of the Singapore Economic Development Board. He serves as a Director of Verizon Communications, Inc., and previously served as Non-Executive Chairman of NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec Corporation). He also serves on the boards of The Economic Club of New York and Autism Speaks.

Schulman earned a BA from Middlebury College and an MBA from New York University’s Leonard N. Dan Schulman greets employees at PayPal’s Omaha office in 2019 Stern School of Business.

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Dan Schulman speaks at Bloomberg’s “Sooner Than You Think” event in 2019

How did PayPal address the challenges caused by the pandemic and will you discuss PayPal’s pandemic relief efforts?

None of us could have predicted the impact the pandemic would have on our lives.

We have all been profoundly affected, and particularly those in underserved communities.

The pandemic widened the racial wealth gap, devastated small businesses and created worklife challenges for workers around the world.

Our first priority was to ensure that our employees were safe and had the resources they needed to continue serving our customers from home while also doing what we could to lighten the load of these challenges in any way possible.

We mobilized immediately and put a number of measures in place for all global PayPal employees, including paid time off for office closures, COVIDrelated illness, and an additional two weeks of paid time off for caregiving through our Crisis Leave Program. We’ve also instituted flexible work arrangements for employees facing childcare or family care challenges related to the pandemic.

I’m so proud of our employees for working around the clock to deliver for our customers when they needed it the most. Their efforts allowed us to launch direct deposit capabilities so that people in the U.S. could receive government stimulus payments quickly into their PayPal and Venmo accounts. We also partnered with the U.S. Small Business Administration to become one of the first non-bank lenders approved to distribute Paycheck Protection Funds to small businesses affected by the pandemic.

Last year, when the White House called for companies to join their vaccine distribution efforts, we joined forces with Uber and Walgreens in a coalition to provide free and discounted rides to vaccination sites in the U.S. with a focus on underserved communities. We also worked with Uber to leverage their giving platform to mobilize customers interested in contributing to the vaccine access effort.

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You mentioned how proud you are of PayPal’s employees during this challenging and uncertain time. Will you highlight the resilience and commitment of your team?

I’m incredibly proud of the resilience and commitment of our employees and the measures we took as a company to support our customers and stakeholders during this challenging and unprecedented time. It quickly became clear that the business community had a critical role to play in addressing the needs of employees, customers and communities, and our employees rose to that challenge. They have done an incredible job of remaining steadfast in our mission and staying committed to deploying our products, services, and resources to help address the hardships that so many of our customers and communities are navigating.

How critical is it for PayPal to build a diverse and inclusive workforce in order to bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the table when making business decisions?

Building a diverse and inclusive workforce is absolutely critical to our mission. Collaboration and purpose inform all of our actions at PayPal and extend to our efforts of fostering a diverse and inclusive culture – one where everyone belongs and feels empowered to bring their full selves to work and deliver for our customers.

That’s why as part of our $535 million commitment to support underserved communities and fight economic inequality, we dedicated $15 million to support diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging initiatives at PayPal and public policy research on issues related to racial equity. It’s so important that our workforce is a representation of our purpose because that is the only way that we are able to build an economy that works for everyone.

Will you discuss PayPal’s employee financial health efforts?

Our employees are our number one stakeholder group, and we take seriously

our responsibility to provide a workplace where employees feel supported. In 2018, we surveyed our employees and found that even though we were paying wages at or above market rates, many of our hourly and entry-level colleagues still didn’t feel financially secure and struggled every month to meet their financial obligations. In October 2019, we introduced a comprehensive set of changes designed to help our employees build financial security, including raising wages, lowering the cost of healthcare, granting equity, and providing financial planning tools.

We’ve also launched the Worker Financial Wellness Initiative with JUST Capital in collaboration with the Financial Health Network and Good Jobs Institute to encourage other companies to prioritize the financial health of their workforce.

We’re proud of the community of practice we’ve created among ten major companies and counting.

Since rolling out our financial health initiatives for employees, we’ve been able to raise the minimum disposable income for our hourly and entry-level U.S. employees by 18 percent – up significantly from the original estimates which were as low as 4 percent in some regions.

How is PayPal addressing the issue of racial equity?

America’s racial wealth gap is as severe as it was in 1968, and the economic fallout from the pandemic has only widened that gap. As a company working to create a more inclusive financial system, we have a unique opportunity and responsibility to help close this racial wealth gap and build a more equitable future.

In 2020, PayPal made a $535 million commitment toward a comprehensive set of initiatives to help address the economic underpinnings of racial injustice. The commitment includes shortterm actions to stabilize small Black-owned businesses disproportionately impacted by COVID and longer-term investments to support wealth creation and community investment in Black and underserved communities.

We have already fully allocated the $535 million we pledged. We’ve found that transparency and partnerships have been integral to deepening our racial equity work and creating opportunities for scalable impact. That’s why we are building on our commitment by investing in new partnerships such as the Southern Communities Initiative, where we work with local elected officials across six major southern cities to tackle structural racism and inequalities.

One of the initiatives that I hold close, and that we plan to continue to reinvest in, is our Maggie Lena Walker Award. Walker, the first Black woman to found a bank, made it her life’s mission to advocate for economic independence in her community at a time when Black people in the United States were denied all opportunity. I first learned of Walker from a Wall Street Journal article and couldn’t believe she wasn’t more well-known and knew we needed to do something to honor her legacy.

Our first award winners have positively humbled me with their work – one of them, Kathryn Finney, has even chosen to give her entire $50,000 award back to her community in micro-loans.

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LEADERS 21

What is PayPal doing to impact Women’s Economic Empowerment?

One of my first actions as CEO of PayPal was to implement global gender pay equity across the company. It is so important that we ensure that women, around the world, have equitable access to economic opportunity. Women make up the overwhelming majority of the world’s unbanked and underserved adults, and we believe we have a responsibility to help expand their role and participation in the economy in order to build more prosperous and resilient communities.

That’s why, in 2021, we committed more than $100 million to advancing financial inclusion and the economic empowerment of women and girls over the next five years.

We believe that through this commitment and our other internal and external initiatives, we can play a role in creating a more inclusive economy. That includes depositing $100 million of our capital into investment funds and depository institutions that are led by or focused on serving women, $7 million in partnerships to increase access to microloans for women entrepreneurs, $1 million to mobilize donations for womenfocused charities, and conducting our own annual assessments to ensure PayPal’s company policies and benefits regarding pay equity, paid leave, caregiver support and workplace sexual harassment prevention remain best practices, among others.

Will you highlight PayPal’s focus on Small Business Empowerment?

For more than 20 years, PayPal has been supporting small businesses around the world with access to capital, products and services to help them participate in the global marketplace.

We’re also continually working to harness the power of our technologies to provide small business owners with efficient tools to manage and grow their businesses and expose them to millions of global consumers. One way we do this every day is by offering business financing solutions such as PayPal Working Capital that give small businesses access to the capital they need in a way that’s faster and easier than traditional loans. I’ve met with many merchants who’ve used Working Capital to fuel their growth, and each one has inspired me in how they are able to adapt to reach more customers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we were proud to partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to provide funding access to small businesses, particularly underserved businesses across the country.

As part of our $535 million commitment to support Black businesses, strengthen communities and address economic inequality, we launched the PayPal Empowerment Grant Program, committing $10 million in grants to support Black-owned small businesses. It’s been an honor to be part of our grant awardees’ journey and support their future growth.

How critical is it for leading companies to address the challenges of climate change and will you highlight PayPal’s Climate Action?

Climate change is among the most urgent issues of our time and should be a top priority for companies at all levels. We all have a role to 22 LEADERS

“Building a diverse and inclusive workforce is absolutely critical to our mission. Collaboration and purpose inform all of our actions at PayPal and extend to our efforts of fostering a diverse and inclusive culture – one where everyone belongs and feels empowered to bring their full selves to work and deliver for our customers.” play and must all do our part when it comes to protecting the health of our planet, and corporations have a responsibility to take meaningful action. At PayPal, we know that achieving climate stability is vital to fulfilling our mission to drive financial health and inclusion for all global citizens.

PayPal has pledged to set greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals validated by the Science Based Targets initiative and has since joined the Business Ambition for 1.5C. We are making good on our commitment and have pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2040 by mobilizing resources to reduce and abate our own greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible. We also look to catalyze the emergence of digital financial tools that can help vulnerable populations prepare for disasters, adapt their livelihoods and build long-term resilience. For example, we are a supporter of the Catalyst Fund to help innovative startups deliver inclusive digital finance products that can enhance climate resilience, such as Crop2Cash, a startup based in Nigeria that unlocks affordable financing for smallholder farmers and provides digital finance solutions along the agriculture value chain, increasing both efficiency and productivity for farmers.

You have accomplished so much during your career. Do you take moments to reflect and celebrate the wins or are you always focused on what is next?

I think the most important thing for anyone to do in their careers, and something I practice on a regular basis, is the power of being humble and always remembering where you came from. I think what is even more important than what we do in moments when we “win” is how we react to and overcome setbacks, and that’s a lesson I learned early in my adult life.

I didn’t get accepted to the college I planned to attend – a college that my family has strong ties to. Rather than allowing that setback to define me or to determine what my future would look like, I

made a different plan. I worked as a truck driver before eventually getting accepted to Middlebury College for the spring semester. I credit that experience with helping both build my resilience and helping me to understand my own capacity to push through and succeed.

What do you see as the keys to effective leadership and how do you describe your management style?

I believe that now more than at any other time in human history, we need responsible and valuesdriven leaders, with vision and courage, to stand up for basic human rights. I take an “employee-first” leadership style. As a leader, it is most important to take care of our employees first. Any company that aspires to move from being a good company to potentially being a great company must have at its foundation the best, most talented, most passionate, most engaged employees. If you have the best employees, then you will inevitably serve your customers better.

Finally, I learned early in my career the power of leading with trust at the forefront and giving credit to others for their ideas and perspectives. The power associated with shining a light on others and building up those around you is significant and should be the goal of any leader.

What advice do you offer young people beginning their careers during this unprecedented time?

The best advice I could give young people as they start their careers would be to let your actions define you, not your words. While young people may just be starting their career journeys, they have a role to play as future leaders to push our business community and society forward.

The past few years’ events have proven that there is no more important time for all of us to stand against hatred and stand up for vulnerable and underserved communities.

Companies, in particular, have an obligation to call out injustices and work for a more equitable and just society.

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VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

Building success through innovation and inclusion In a dynamic world, we’re always focused on what’s next.

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PURPOSE

Investing in Transformative Ideas An Interview with Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE Darren Walker is FOUNDATION BRIEF Ford Foundation President of the Ford Foundation, (fordfoundation.or g) is the third a $16 billion international social largest philanthropy in the United justice philanthropy. He is a States with over $16 billion in assets member of the Reimagining New and $600 million in annual giving.

York Commission and co-chair The Foundation operates worldwide with of NYC Census 2020. He chaired offices in Asia, Africa, and Central the philanthropy committee that and South America. Acr oss eight brought a resolution to the decades, the foundation’s mission has city of Detr oit’s historic bankbeen to reduce poverty and injusruptcy. Before joining the Ford tice, strengthen democratic values, Foundation, Walker was vice prespromote international cooperation, Darren Walker ident at Rockefeller Foundation, and advance human achievement. overseeing global and domestic programs. In the 1990s, he was COO of the Will you highlight the history and heriA b y s s i n i a n D e v e l o p m e n t C o r p o r a t i o n , tage of the Ford Foundation and how you Harlem’s lar gest community development define its mission? organization. Walker co-chairs New York For the past eight decades, the Ford City’s Mayoral Advisory Commission on City Foundation has been working toward its mission Art, Monuments, and Markers, and has served to end poverty and fight inequality in all its forms. on the Independent Commission on New York Around the world, too many people are excluded City Criminal Justice and Incar ceration Refor m and the UN Inter national Labour Or ganization Global Commission on the Futur e of Work. He co-founded both the US Impact Investing Alliance and the Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy and is a founding member of the Board Diversity Action Alliance. He serves on many boards, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the National Gallery of Art, Carnegie Hall, the High Line, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture. In the summer of 2020, he was appointed to the boards of Block, Inc. and Ralph Lauren. He is a member of the Council on For eign Relations, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and is the recipient of 16 honorary degrees and university awards, including Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Medal. He has been included on numerous leadership lists: Time’s annual 100 Most Influential People, Rolling Stone’s 25 People Shaping the Future, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Ebony’s Power 100, and Out magazine’s Power 50.

Most recently, Walker was named Wall Street Jour nal’s 2020 Philanthr opy Innovator.

Educated exclusively in public schools, Walker was a member of the first Head Start class in 1965 and received BA, BS, and JD degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.

from the civic, social and economic institutions that shape their lives. We see this inequity as the defining challenge of our time and addressing it is at the core of everything we do.

Will you provide an overview of the Ford Foundation’s work and key areas of focus?

Ford challenges inequality by investing in transformative ideas, institutions and individuals fighting for social justice around the world. To address inequality in all its forms, we invest and make grants in nine interconnected areas: civic engagement and government, creativity and free expression, disability inclusion, future of work(ers), gender, racial and economic justice, international cooperation and global governance, mission investments, natural resources and climate change, and technology and society. We believe that real change is possible at the intersection of these nine program areas.

“Ford challenges inequality by investing in

transformative ideas, institutions and individuals fighting for social justice around the world. To address inequality in all its forms, we invest

and make grants in nine interconnected areas:

civic engagement and government, creativity and free expression, disability inclusion, future of

work(ers), gender racial and economic justice,

international cooperation and global governance, mission investments, natural resources and

climate change, and technology and society.”

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“In the midst of concurrent and converging global crises, it’s clearer than ever that we face a moral and existential imperative to address the root causes of these widespread social issues.

Philanthropy has the opportunity and, frankly, the obligation to deploy much needed resources to those around the world who are not only directly impacted by these problems, but are taking a first-hand approach in solving them.”

How did the Ford Foundation adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the global pandemic?

When the pandemic hit, we were all uprooted from the status quo and had to adjust our ideas about the workplace. At Ford, our in-office work style was traditional, and though we did not have remote work options before the pandemic, we were lucky enough to have had the systems in place to transition to remote work fairly easily.

Beyond being able to get the work done, we had to ensure we were able to get the work done well, which meant providing our employees and partners with the resources they needed to be successful in an uncertain environment. We implemented a range of work policies to adjust to the pandemic, to avoid burnout, and to protect employees’ physical and mental wellbeing. Moving forward we’ll be implementing a hybrid model, building on what we’ve learned since we made the transition to remote work.

How proud are you to see the resilience of your team during this unprecedented time?

Over the past two years, I have been inspired and motivated by my colleagues at the Ford Foundation for their dedication to their work and their commitment to finding new and impactful ways to better support our partners all around the world who are working to fight injustice and inequality.

Despite all of the unforeseen challenges that have arisen since 2020, it has been encouraging to see my colleagues in our offices across the world continue to push forward, supporting VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

the individuals, institutions and ideas fighting for positive change at a critical time in history.

Thanks to the team’s continued efforts and the foundation’s historic $1 billion social bond, we were able to expedite and expand our work, doubling our grantmaking in 2020-2021.

How important is it for the Ford Foundation to build a diverse and inclusive workforce to bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the table when addressing global issues?

As a foundation with offices all over the world, we take a global lens in everything we do. It’s been made abundantly clear over the past two years that fostering open channels of communication is crucial, and in order to do that effectively we must be in sync with our global partners.

Internally, we know that what may work in our New York Office might not work for our team in Colombia, or South Africa, so we keep our ears closely to the ground, keeping in close contact with our international colleagues to ensure that we take thoughtful steps that are in the best interest of our employees and our organization as a whole.

These fundamental principles apply directly to our grantmaking work and how we engage with and support our external partners.

We believe that trusting the experts with firsthand, on the ground knowledge is the best way to ensure success.

How critical are metrics to track the impact of the Ford Foundation’s work?

As we work to strengthen our nonprofit partners and support their work across the globe,

it’s important to determine a baseline to assess where we are and set targets for where we’ll be headed. We set these goals in partnership with our grantees – giving them the resources and flexibility they need to grow stronger and more effective at reaching the communities they serve.

We know that the most effective approach to good grantmaking is to trust grantees to use funding in a way that addresses the issues they’re trying to solve. We’ve seen success taking this approach to our funding and know that the best way to make an impact is through building a foundation of trust and empowerment.

The world is facing a series of crises, among them public health, social justice, climate change and poverty. What do you see as the role that philanthropy needs to play to meet this moment?

In the midst of concurrent and converging global crises, it’s clearer than ever that we face a moral and existential imperative to address the root causes of these widespread social issues.

Philanthropy has the opportunity and, frankly, the obligation to deploy much needed resources to those around the world who are not only directly impacted by these problems, but are taking a first-hand approach in solving them.

What do you see as the keys to effective leadership and how do you describe your management style?

When faced with any kind of uncertainty or upheaval, we instinctively look to our leaders – to the people we respect and admire, who call on us to be and do better. We expect effective leaders to be competent, compassionate, honest, and forward thinking, especially in times of crisis.

These are values that I aspire to in my own work and try to help foster in others. I’m fortunate to be backed by an incredibly talented team, and I know that it’s crucial to trust the people around us, leaning into their deep well of knowledge and working together to achieve the best possible outcome so we can move forward together toward a common goal.

Did you know early on that you had a passion for this type of work and that this is how you wanted to focus your career?

While I have had a diverse career across different industries, it has always been clear to me that I wanted to be in a place where I could give back and have an impact. It is an immense privilege being able to wake up every morning and have the opportunity to work alongside people who inspire me and support work that is both gratifying and impactful.

You are known to be an optimistic person. During this difficult and uncertain time, what would you say to young people who are deeply concerned and uncertain about the future?

Everyone has the ability to create positive change by choosing to take action, no matter how big or small, that works toward solutions. If we contribute to building a better future by getting involved in our communities or supporting causes that matter to us, we each can do our part to make sure that we leave the world in better shape than we found it.

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LEADERS 25

PURPOSE

Breathe to Heal An Interview with Max Strom

Max Strom

EDITORS’ NOTE Max Strom (maxstrom.com) is impacting the lives of people from all walks of life, teaching breathing patterns and personal transformation worldwide. His method is known to produce immediate results in alleviating anxiety, PTSD, and sleep disorder that are meaningful to both the student and their family. Because of its success across the world, Strom’s work is now being offered to corporations as a sustainable well-being program to organizations that want to not only be successful, but also healthy and to make a meaningful difference in the world. Strom’s TEDx talk, Breathe to Heal, is approaching 3 million views on YouTube.

Many know him for his two inspiring books: There is No App for Happiness, addressing the challenge of finding meaning in the digital age, and A Life Worth Breathing, published in five languages and used as required reading in many yoga trainings.

A dynamic speaker, Strom has presented three TEDx events, keynote addresses at medical, well-being and corporate conferences as well as many yoga festivals. Most recently he presented at the World Government Summit in Dubai, the first Wellness Symposium in Saudi Arabia, and the Inner Peace Conference in Amsterdam. A U.S. citizen, Strom is based in the Netherlands.

26 LEADERS

Your journey in personal transformation began when you were 15 years old. What led you to this interest and focus?

Most people at some point in their life, usually after a crisis, begin questioning what life is – are we just animals that live a short time and die, is there more to us that lives on, is there a God that created the world and runs it – what is going on? I came to that point really early when I was 15 years old and I was quite fervent about it. I began reading about all the world’s religions and about all the world’s philosophers that I had heard of at that time. I started meditation when I was 16, although I had no direction and just made it up, but it had a big impact on me. When I was 18, I started qi gong, which is Chinese yoga, and this was my first introduction to the concept of breathing. That was life changing.

When you look at different aspects of personal transformation, such as meditation, spirituality, breathing and yoga, do you see these as being interrelated?

I would say that personal transformation happens on two tiers. The first tier is when people realize that they just need to get better – they need to not have this addiction or this repetitive behavioral problem that is interfering with their relationships, for example. This is their first introduction to personal transformation, and it is about improving a person’s health and well-being, which is important. The other tier, which I would put side-by-side with the first tier, is when someone wants to understand the nature of the universe we live in and our place in it – what our purpose is and, if there isn’t a purpose, how to create one. This is a different group of people and usually happens after a crisis or a major trauma.

When I look at most of the self-improvement courses, there seems to be missing a psychological element, particularly in the yoga world, which includes very little psychology. The psychological elements must be addressed if we are going to transform, because until we self-regulate and selfimprove, our bodies are going to be chained, so to speak. You need to free yourself of those chains or you are not going to be able to go anywhere.

You have said that self-awareness should be taught at a young age in schools.

Will you discuss the teaching of self-awareness, and do you feel there are aspects to being self-aware that a person is born with?

I think it is true that self-awareness can be taught and that there are also aspects that a

person is predisposed to. One of the assertions in the book I am currently writing is that we are miserably educated when it comes to our emotions, and with some decent education we simply would have different lives. For example, if you look at the military, let’s say the American military – the military is getting better and better at dealing with trauma of its soldiers, while civilian America is not. The number one cause of death in the United States for those between the ages of 18 and 45 is now opioid overdose, so psychologically speaking, we are in real trouble.

We are not heading toward the drain, we are going down the drain, culturally speaking, and until we address these issues we are not getting anywhere.

An example I like to give is this: when I address a crowd, I will ask them to raise their hand if at some point in their life they were taught CPR, and the majority will raise their hand. Then I ask them to raise their hand if as a child or young adult they were taught to deal with the emotion of grief or the grieving of others and, even in a crowd of 500 people, not a single hand goes up. My assertion is that if someone’s heart stops, we know what to do – but if someone’s heart breaks, we have no idea what to do.

Your book, A Life Worth Breathing, was published in 2010. Were you more optimistic about the future at that time and what are your views on the current state of the world?

I was more optimistic then, but I am still optimistic that we can create tremendous change at the grassroots level, although we have been quite distracted by COVID over the past two years. The other thing that happened after I wrote and released that first book was that social media and the smartphone became ubiquitous. When I released my second book in 2013, There is No App for Happiness, I addressed this. It was one of the first books that really looked at the damage that social media was going have on us. Social media has been a destructive factor in our world and continues to be to this day. The good news is when people like me deliver a message that is simple and easily understood, it allows us to reach many people very quickly. This is important because I believe that we are going to have to make cultural changes without the government and without the pharmaceutical companies. We are going to have to do it ourselves at the grassroots level, and social media will actually help make this possible.

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How concerned are you about the prevalence of anxiety today and do you feel that it is rampant in the business world?

Anxiety is rampant in the business world. It manifests as sleep issues, restlessness, loneliness and working 60-70 hours a week and coming home late to put on the television to fall asleep.

Whenever I talk about this in front of a group of people, they begin laughing because they know I am talking about them. A story that I told in my TED Talk about a CEO is one I use often since that one example tells the story of tens of thousands of people. The story took place when I spoke at a small, exclusive meeting of CEOs, mostly from the marketing world, about happiness, breathing and grief. Afterward, I was waiting alone for an Uber in a courtyard area when I was approached by one of the CEO’s who had followed me down to the courtyard. He looked around to make sure no one could hear him, then he struck up a conversation with me revealing that he had started having panic attacks. He was really concerned as it always happened at the most inopportune times, such as an investor’s meeting or a board meeting.

He said that his neck would get stiff, he would have a terrible headache, and he just wanted to run screaming out of the room. He asked if I could help him.

I always point out when telling this story that the CEO’s request included no connection to cause, to why he was having the panic attacks and why they started happening. I led him through a line of questioning, starting with asking how long he had been having the panic attacks. He initially answered vaguely by saying it had been for “some time,” but I was eventually able to get him to specify that it had been about six months ago. The next obvious question was to ask what happened six months ago, and he finally told me that this was when his brother had died. I suggested that he must have been very close to his brother, which he confirmed. I followed by telling him he must be a workaholic, which he also confirmed. At this point, he thought I had some magical powers of sight, but this was all very predictable. I told him that I did not think he had a panic attack problem, but that he had a grief issue. I told him that I assumed that after the funeral he went back to work that same day and had been working more and more hours each week. He became very quiet and then said, “that’s right.”

His way to try to not feel the pain of the loss of his brother was to work himself to death.

I once told this story to a group of physicians when I was invited to a hospital to talk about breath work. I asked the physicians what they would have said to him at this point and one of the doctors shouted out “Xanax.” They all started to laugh. When I asked them if they were seriously all in agreement, they said they were.

But I suggested something entirely different to the CEO. I explained to him that he had not grieved the loss of his brother at all, and he needed to allow himself time to grieve, and that instead of grieving alone, to also include others who loved him. When we grieve with others, it accelerates the process of healing. Neuroscientists do not yet know why, but it is true nonetheless. I also VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

suggested that he come to my breathing workshop the next day, and when I said “breathing,” he looked at me with skepticism. But to my surprise, he showed up at the workshop and learned a few daily breathing exercises. He wrote to me about a month later and told me that he had not had a panic attack since he had seen me and, when I checked in on him a year later, he had still not had another panic attack. So, without medications – simply by taking the time to grieve his brother and by doing breath work every day – he had stopped having panic attacks.

When we suppress our feelings in our chest, they pile up and stay right there. Eventually, that energy has to get out somewhere, and it is going to come out as anxiety and/or panic attacks.

The breath work provides a way to release that energy – the accumulation of stress, anger, and any other emotion you can think of – so that you clear this pile up sitting in your chest. We have not been able to scientifically define this connection between breath and emotions, but we know that the breathing releases anxiety and positively impacts our emotions. We know that when we think something is funny, our lungs do a strange thing we call laughing. We know that when we become sexually aroused, we start breathing deeply. Our lungs express emotions when we are cheering at a sports stadium, or when crying, which we should remember is the first thing we do when we are born. Crying is a language that we are born with that alerts our family, our tribe, that we are in trouble, either emotionally or physically. However, as we get older, we are told not to cry, and that when someone is crying we should leave them alone.

We should be going toward each other when in crisis, not away from each other.

I do a lot of one-to-one sessions with CEOs which are often about panic attack problems, and most who I have met have been existing

on anti-anxiety drugs and sleep medications, but it usually takes just a short time to end these attacks..

What can be done to address the stigma around these issues?

We have to learn that vulnerability should not be mistaken for weakness. There is a perceived vulnerability about talking about our feelings, which is what we really need to do and we need to have the people who are close to us listen deeply and intently so we know we will not be shunned if we reveal our feelings. There is a term I am defining further in my new book and that term is “burden,” because people say that they do not want to be a burden. This is a phrase that is used all over the world and reveals a tragic misunderstanding. If you and I are best friends and you tell me about your deepest pain, it should be a great honor for me to be close enough to you that you would consider sharing that with me. It should be an honor for me to look after you as much as I can when you are in crisis, knowing that next time I am in crisis you will do the same for me.

In the military, they use the term, “no one left behind.” When someone is wounded, you do not abandon them; you make sure they are taken care of even if it means risking your life to do that. In the business world, it seems the opposite is often true.

You have said that personal transformation is not only imperative for the individual, but it is what can save the world. Will you elaborate on this concept?

If someone gets an addiction in our own home, whether it is one of our parents or a child, we know that is affects the rest of the family. Addictions can tear families apart, whether it is to drugs, alcohol, or other things.

The opposite is also true in that, when someone heals, it impacts the entire family as well. It lifts

Max Strom giving a lecture on inner peace

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LEADERS 27

them and gives them inspiration and a sense of hope. When we improve ourselves, we are doing everyone in our lives a favor.

What are the steps that someone can take to find their meaning in life?

I spoke to a CEO recently who said, “I have it all. I have money. I have power. I have prestige. But I have no meaning.” He said that he really wanted to get out of the big company he was running and create a small company that does something that helps people since the products from his current company were not making a difference. His objective was to create change for the better and to find meaning.

To me, happiness is a term that we often have not contemplated. When you ask someone what makes them happy at the deepest levels, they scramble for an answer since they may not have thought about that since they were much younger or maybe ever. This is a major problem.

I have asked huge groups to raise their hands if they want their children to be happy, and every hand goes up. Then I say to raise your hand if you can tell me what happiness is in two or three sentences, and most of them cannot do this. It starts with the need to clearly identify what happiness means to us. For me, it is meaning. It is about having meaning every day and having the kind of life that creates meaning.

Meaning involves serving others in some way or being involved in a cause that serves others.

The question I ask CEOs that gets them to lean in and listen is, “Let’s assume you meet all your personal goals through your work, whether they be financial or other goals, what will be left of you to enjoy them?” This question makes them stop for a moment. I follow it up with this question, “Would you advise your children to live their daily life the way you do?” About half the audience at this point usually has some tears in their eyes. Sometimes you have to ask hard questions to make people stop and think.

The breath work is something that people had been skeptical about. It is less so now than five years ago, but still people feel they know how to breathe since they do it every day – they make it a joke. I ask them to give me ten minutes to do exactly what I instruct with breathing exercises and assure them that they are going to feel better afterwards. A ten-minute commitment is something they will do, and then they really do feel something new and are very surprised and ready to learn what else they can do.

What do you feel are the essential things that are needed to have meaning in life?

I think that there are some core needs all people intently need. One is that we have love, and that we love well. Most of us are not good at this – we can barely say it while making eye contact. If someone says “I love you” to us, we get embarrassed and look at the ground, even though we love hearing it from them. We need to be seen for who we are, not for the façade we create. If my good friend knows me for who I am, and still loves me regardless of my faults, then it feels like a safe relationship. In a safe relationship, there is 28 LEADERS

Max Strom teaching a class

no anxiety around the relationship since you create a culture of trust. We need to be loved and we need to be seen. We also need to know that our existence matters, which we can achieve by being a parent or being involved in our community – with the knowledge that if we were gone tomorrow, we would be missed. We need an in-person community, not an online community. We need real friends, and one of the most important ways to establish real friendship is to be there for someone during a crisis. Be one of the ones who shows up in the first 24 hours of a crisis and your friend will never forget it and will know that you always have their back, like two soldiers on the battlefield. This is how you develop powerful relationships.

In Northern European culture, which includes North America, we don’t do enough of that. We scatter during a crisis. I was in front of an audience not long ago and asked for them to be honest in answering the following question – “Have there been times when you have had a friend in crisis and you avoided them because you did not know what to say or what to do?”

Virtually every hand went up in the auditorium. I have done this as well, sadly, because we receive no education on this topic. We teach people CPR, but we don’t teach people how to talk to each other. If we can learn how to communicate during a crisis – and this includes within a company – it creates genuine emotional intimacy and that creates the strongest of bonds.

There is an important story about Alexander the Great, who is still studied in military schools.

He never lost a battle during his ten years fighting, which is an extraordinary accomplishment. He was part of the cavalry on the front lines and would go with his horse into the arrows

and spears. He had a special horse his father gave him named Bucephalus which he rode into battle for more than five years, and then one day the horse was killed by a spear. Alexander the Great still won that battle but afterwards went back to his camp, went into his tent, and would not come out for two weeks. He mourned his horse for two weeks. People smile when I say that, but just imagine the pet you have loved the most, and then imagine that pet has saved your life multiple times on top of it. It is a very particular relationship as war horses are in the fray with you. Alexander the Great did not care that people knew that he was hurting or that they could hear him crying in his tent – and no one could accuse that guy of being soft. When he finally came out of his tent, he said that he wanted a statue made of his horse put in a specific spot and that the city was now to be named Bucephalus.

You mentioned the difficulty for so many people to be able to express love. Why is this?

Having myself grown up in a household where this was the case, I am somewhat of an expert on this. Not only my father could not express emotions, my mother couldn’t either since she was raised without a mother. The way I like to say it is to imagine that on our chest we have a bunch of dimmer switches and each dimmer switch is for an emotion – we can turn it up or down or off. We think that we can say that we are warriors so we can turn off fear or turn off shame or turn off loneliness or turn off grief and so on. But it seems that what actually happens is that when we start pulling one switch down, we pull them all down. The same people who pull all those down, those socially unacceptable emotions, are also not good at saying, “I love you” or “I am sorry” or, in some cases, “I am proud of you.” Many of us have a parent who we know loves us and would die for us, but they won’t tell us. Many of us have no problem expressing our anger toward someone, but when we try to voice something that is vulnerable the words get stuck in our throat. The vulnerability I am talking about is voluntary vulnerability – in the dictionary the word for that is courage. It is choosing to be vulnerable even at risk.

You have touched so many lives over the years. Do you take moments to reflect and appreciate what you have accomplished and the impact you have made?

Because of the way I was brought up, it is difficult for me to accept compliments. Early on in my working life, it was really hard for me to feel that I was making a difference and to accept positive feedback. It took some time for that to change, and I still need to remind myself to take moments to stop and smell the roses in terms of what I have accomplished in regard to helping other people. It always feels that there is more to do and I am hoping to get my current book out within the year since I think it is a very important book. There are a lot of books on grief, on anxiety, on intimacy, and on breathwork – but not one book that says that this is all the same subject. This is how I see it – this is all the same subject. This is the missing link to our happiness.

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VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

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PURPOSE

Gun Violence Prevention

A Public Health Issue An Interview with Michael J. Dowling, President and Chief Executive Officer, Northwell Health

Michael J. Dowling

EDITORS’ NOTE Michael Dowling is one of healthcare’s most influential voices, taking a stand on societal issues such as gun violence and immigration that many health system CEOs shy away from. His leadership has been invaluable to Northwell’s consistent expansion and prominence. In March 2020, he successfully navigated the health system through the first COVID-19 epicenter in the U.S., detailing Northwell’s experiences in a book entitled, Leading Through a Pandemic: The Inside Story of Humanity, Innovation, and Lessons Learned During the COVID-19 Crisis. Overall, Northwell has treated over 300,000 COVID patients – more than any other U.S. health system.

Prior to becoming CEO in 2002 and joining Northwell in 1995, Dowling served in New York State government for 12 years, including seven years as State Director of Health, Education, and Human Services and Deputy Secretary to the Governor, and the final two years as Commissioner of the State Department of Social Services. Earlier, he was a Professor of Social Policy and Assistant Dean at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services and Dir ector of the Fordham campus in 30 LEADERS

Westchester County. Dowling has been honored with many awards and recognitions over the years, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor,

the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for Irish Abroad, the Alfred E. Smith Award from the American Society for Public Administration, the National Human Relations Award from the American Jewish Committee and the Foreign Policy Association Medal Award. In 2017, he was selected to serve as the Grand Marshal of New York’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

For 15 consecutive years, Modern Healthcare has ranked Dowling on its annual list of the “100 Most Power ful People in Healthcare,” including the #3 ranking in 2021.

He also placed #22 among the nation’s large company CEOs on Glassdoor’s “Top CEOs in 2021” and ranked second among healthcare/ hospital CEOs. Dowling is past Chair of the Healthcare Institute and the current Chair of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences and the North American Board of the Smur fit School of Business at University College, Dublin, Ireland.

He also serves as a board member of the Long Island Association. He is past chair and a current board member of the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL), the Greater New York Hospital Association, the Healthcare Association of New York State and the League of Voluntary Hospitals of New York. Dowling was an instructor at the Center for Continuing

Baldwin High School wins the Feinstein Institutes’ annual science competition

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VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

“To protect the health and wellness of our communities, we should be fueling the public outrage needed to stop the mindless bloodshed.

We in healthcare deal with the results on a daily basis – we see it in our emergency departments, in our operating rooms, in our behavioral health clinics. It is devastating to families and those communities involved – and it’s getting worse.”

Professional Education at the Harvard School of Public Health. He earned his undergraduate degree from University College Cork (UCC), Ireland, and his master’s degree from Fordham University. He also has honorary doctorates from the prestigious Queen’s University Belfast, University College Dublin, Hofstra University, Dowling College and Fordham University.

INSTITUTION BRIEF Northwell Health (northwell.edu) is a clinical, academic and research enterprise with a workforce of more than 77,000 and annual revenue of $15 billion.

Northwell is the largest healthcare provider and private employer in New York State, caring for more than two million people annually through a vast network of more than 830 outpatient facilities, including 220 primary care practices, 52 urgent care centers, home care, rehabilitation and end-of-life programs, and 22 hospitals.

Northwell also pursues pioneering research at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and a visionary approach to medical education highlighted by the Zucker School of Medicine, the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies, and one of the nation’s largest medical residency and fellowship programs.

Northwell Health has taken a leadership r ole on the issue of gun violence in America. What was the thinking behind Northwell’s engagement and commitment to addressing this issue?

I believe very strongly that as leaders of large organizations, we have a special responsibility and obligation – to use our influence to address larger societal issues. One of those issues is the growing “pandemic” of gun violence. It is especially relevant for healthcare leadership because it is, at it’s core, a public health issue. To protect the health and wellness of our communities, VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

we should be fueling the public outrage needed to stop the mindless bloodshed. We in healthcare deal with the results on a daily basis – we see it in our emergency departments, in our operating rooms, in our behavioral health clinics. It is devastating to families and those communities involved – and it’s getting worse. We cannot stand on the sidelines and pretend that it is not part of our obligation. Every leader of every organization should get involved.

At Northwell, we created the Center for Gun Violence Prevention to lead our efforts. We are investing in gun violence research, developing

best practices for health systems and hospitals, partnering with other like-minded organizations regionally and nationally. We have held very successful Annual Gun Violence Prevention Forums and created a nation-wide Learning Collaborative that brings together healthcare leaders from across the U.S. to learn and share. We have also been fortunate to be one of the first to receive an NHI grant to establish and implement a first-of-its kind protocol to universally screen all patients who come to our emergency departments for gun injury risk – we ask questions about firearms in the home, and about the safety of those firearms. We routinely ask questions about diet and exercise, about smoking and alcohol -- we now ask about guns and gun safety and recommend appropriate follow-up based on the answers.

The feedback from employees has been overwhelmingly positive.

Is it possible to drive impact and change on the issue of gun violence prevention without federal legislation?

I think you can move the needle by getting a much bigger audience and getting traction when you talk about it as a public health issue. This builds a broader coalition which is important. It is definitely true that you need federal legislation to create sustainable change and this takes persistence and resilience because the politics of the moment seems to be going the other way. I go back to the days when Ralph Nader talked about the need to put airbags and seat belts in cars, and people thought he was crazy. Today, you cannot buy a car without airbags and seat belts.

When it comes to gun violence prevention, we need to be in this for the long haul. I do not believe there is any quick, immediate fix, but I do believe in the long run there will be action since it has to happen. You have to lay the groundwork

Dr. Chethan Sathya, Director, Center for Gun Violence Prevention at Northwell Health, with Michael Dowling

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“I believe that every CEO has two responsibilities – there is an internal responsibility and an external responsibility. The internal responsibility is to manage the business in the best way possible and to create value. The external responsibility is to be engaged in the community and to be a catalyst to create positive change. I believe it is critical that CEOs have this external focus and take on issues that impact the communities they serve.”

and take it piece by piece – it is about small wins that over time will lead to bigger wins. When I look at our annual conference on gun violence prevention, we have a lot more people involved and engaged today then we did when we started this. If you want to create real change, you have to be committed for the long haul – I agree with the saying, “It takes many, many years to have an overnight success.”

What role can the broader business community play in addressing gun violence prevention?

I There have been businesses that have taken action around selling guns in their stores, even if it may negatively impact their revenue, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart. Ther e ar e businesses that ar e addressing this because they know that we need to build safe communities for our children and grandchildren, and it is also critical to have safe communities for our businesses to operate since our employees live in these communities. They should be supported and applauded.

Michael Dowling speaking on gun violence prevention at a forum hosted by Northwell Health 32 LEADERS

It is important that the message is clear that this effort is not about being against gun ownership – it is about gun violence prevention and safety. The fact is that the vast majority of gun owners are also for gun safety and gun violence prevention.

I believe that every CEO has two responsibilities – there is an internal responsibility and an external responsibility. The internal responsibility is to manage the business in the best way possible and to create value. The external responsibility is to be engaged in the community and to be a catalyst to create positive change. I believe it is critical that CEOs have this external focus and take on issues that impact the communities they serve. It is true that it may bring controversy when you get involved in these issues – with leadership comes controversy, with leadership comes risk, with leadership comes criticism – leaders need to stand up and be accountable.

You mentioned the need to be in this effort for the long haul and to have resilience.

Is it frustrating when you see the slow pace of change?

We would all hope to see a quicker response and more immediate results, but you need to have resilience. This is just a fact of life. There are people that would like to graduate college in six months, but it takes four years. There are people who want to be a CEO in five years, but it may take 20 years. I believe that life in many ways is an exercise and an experiment in resilience.

We do get frustrated when we see basic, common-sense actions that are needed still not taking place, but change takes time. The question is whether we want the United States to be the outlier when it comes to unnecessary gun violence.

The more we broaden the coalition and build awareness and understanding that gun violence is a public health issue, the more opportunity we have to create real, lasting change.

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VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

PURPOSE

Gun Violence Prevention

A Holistic Approach An Interview with Chethan Sathya, MD, MSc, Director, Center for Gun Violence Prevention, Northwell Health EDITORS’ NOTE Dr. Chethan Sathya addition to completing a Fellowship in is a pediatric trauma surgeon and Global Journalism at the Munk School National Institutes of Health (NIH)of Global Affairs and a Global Public funded firearm injury p r e v e n Health program at the Dalla Lana tion r esear cher. He s e r v e s a s School of Public Health. dir ector o f N o r t h w e l l Health’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention What was the vision for Northwell and oversees the health system’s Health creating the Center for Gun expansive appr oach to firearm Violence Prevention and how do i n j u r y p r e v e n t i o n . U n d e r Dr. you define its mission?

Sathya’s leadership, the center We believe that gun violence is has leveraged the health system’s one of the major public health crises Dr. Chethan Sathya diverse patient population and that is facing America. If you look at wide reach to implement groundthe leading causes of death year after breaking preventative strategies and perform year, one is gun violence. In fact, last year gun high-level research. Dr. Sathya was recently violence overtook motor vehicle accidents as awarded $1.4 million from the NIH to study the number one leading cause of death in chilgun violence prevention and implement a first- dren. That is a very stark statistic. It is clear that of-its-kind protocol to universally screen among we have been dealing with COVID-19 which is those at risk of firearm injury. The grant is a public health crisis, but we must remember part of the health system’s “We Ask Everyone. that gun violence has been a public health crisis Firearm Safety is a Health Issue” research for many years and the trend has only gotten study, which aims to shift the paradigm to worse. We use this as the basis for why we view gun violence as a public health issue and formed the Center, and our strategy is to use a approach firearm injury risk similarly to other public health approach to prevent gun violence health risk factors that are part of routine care, and curb the number of hospital admissions due like smoking, substance use and motor vehicle to firearm injuries. accidents. Furthermore, Dr. Sathya spearWe take a multipronged approach to headed the formation of the National Gun addressing this issue. We are trying to identify Violence Prevention Learning Collaborative for risk factors for gun violence, evaluate interHospitals and Health Systems, which is a multi- ventions in a healthcare setting that we know year, multi-phase platform in which hospitals might work, and partnering with communiand integrated health systems can learn about ties. We have five main working groups at the gun violence prevention from experts, engage Center: medical education, policy advocacy, in open dialogue, develop best practices through research, clinical integration, and commuan iterative process, and implement and eval- nity outreach. Each of these working groups uate strategies for the prevention of firearm tackle different elements of public health in related injuries and deaths. Dr. Sathya has respect to gun violence which is required for been an invited keynote speaker at a number a holistic approach. I should emphasize that of events, including the American Hospital research is critical in this effort, and firearm Association Leadership Summit on Violence research is vastly underfunded even though Prevention and the Healthcare Association of firearms are a leading cause of death. The New York State symposium on best practices in amount of funding for firearm research is gun violence prevention. In addition to being dwarfed compared to research for cancer a surgeon, Dr. Sathya is associate trauma and heart disease, and research is essential to director at Cohen Children’s Medical Center have the data and statistics when evaluating and assistant professor of surgery and pediat- initiatives. rics at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School It is also important to be clear in our of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He completed messaging that we are focused on gun violence medical school and general surgery training at as a public safety issue. This is not about the the University of Toronto, followed by a Pediatric Second Amendment and the reality is that Surgery Fellowship at Northwestern Medicine most gun owners are supportive of gun safety in Chicago. He also holds a master’s in clinical measures which is a message that is often epidemiology from the University of Toronto, in lost. This is not about taking people’s guns VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

away – it is about making the environment safer, and responsible gun owners want an environment that is safer, just like a non-gun owner does. There is actually a lot of common ground on this since people want to live in a safe community.

Are you optimistic that real change can happen on this critical issue?

I am optimistic and I think we have moved the needle quite a lot. When we started this journey, for example, there was no federally funded research on this issue. Northwell Health has one of the first Center’s to receive NIH funding and we are rolling out an important universal screening program where we ask about firearm injury risk. We were only able to do this because of our CEO, Michael Dowling, who took a lead on this issue. This has helped build momentum in addressing gun violence as a public health issue.

There was also no healthcare industrywide forum to discuss best practices and implementing health strategies to reduce gun violence in different hospital settings which is why we launched the Learning Collaborative in April 2021 which now has 400 participants from health systems across 35 states which is the largest collaboration of its kind. All of these health systems and hospitals are coming together in this effort which is a big push forward.

You have been a powerful voice and advocate for firearm injury prevention throughout your career. Where did this passion develop and what has made this issue so important to you?

I started my journey in Chicago as a trauma surgeon and I was horrified by the number of babies and children that I was having to treat with bullet wounds – it is something that is heartbreaking to witness. You think about your own kids and your own communities, and it is devastating to see what parents go through when they lose a child to firearm injury. How can you not act and how can this not be one of the most important things you care about?

This is where it started for me and I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to come to an organization like Northwell that has prioritized this issue at the highest level. I am so proud to be a part of Northwell and to be a part of an organization that acts on its principles and is willing to take a leadership role on important public health issues.

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LEADERS 33

PURPOSE

Gun Violence Prevention

Creating a Safer America An Interview with Kris Brown, President, Brady EDITORS’ NOTE As Pr esident How do you define Brady’s of Brady, Kris Brown combines purpose and mission? a lifelong background in policy, Brady works across Congress, law and grassroots activism with courts and communities to end the considerable strategic manageepidemic of gun violence in America. ment expertise to help forge We view gun violence as a public the dir ection of the or ganizahealth epidemic and a preventable, tion’s programs and ensure the uniquely American tragedy. We can successful impact of its national fix it by improving policy, holding gun and field assets. A veteran of gun dealers and manufacturers who violate violence prevention work, Brown the law accountable, and reinforcing started her career on Capitol Hill what it means to be a responsible gun Kris Brown working for Representative Jim owner in American life.

Moran, advocating for the bill that Will you provide an overview would eventually become the groundbreaking of Brady’s programs?

Brady Bill requiring background checks on Brady has state and federal policy teams, federally licensed gun sales. She has also expert litigators and a national advertising served as the Chief Legal Officer to a publicly campaign that underpin our efforts to reframe traded company based in Switzerland and the issue of gun violence as one that is not politas a lawyer practicing at the law firm Weil, ical, but personal, and solvable. Our legal team Gotshal & Manges. Brown earned a BA in has litigated in court on behalf of victims of gun English language and literature/letters from violence for over 30 years. We have secured Virginia Tech and a JD from George Mason more than $60 million in judgments against bad University School of Law. actors who knowingly violated the law and sold guns used to kill or severely injure children, INSTITUTION BRIEF Brady (bradyunited.org) daughters, brothers, sisters, dads, uncles and has one power ful mission – to unite all far too many Americans across the country. We Americans against gun violence. It works across have won landmark precedents holding that gun Congress, the courts, and its communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of its namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, it has fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and will not stop until this epidemic ends.

“We view gun

Will you highlight the history of Brady and how the organization has evolved?

Brady is one of the oldest, national gun violence prevention organizations in the United States and has been active for 40 years. Brady started out as a small nonprofit in Washington, DC, focused on sensible regulation of handguns. However, after Jim Brady was shot in the 1981 assassination attempt against Ronald Reagan, he and his wife, Sarah, joined the organization and achieved what was then thought impossible, the passage of the federal Brady law, requiring background checks before any firearm is sold in the U.S. Today, our organization bears their name in honor of their legacy of taking action, not sides, and achieving lifesaving change.

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violence as a public health epidemic and a preventable, uniquely American tragedy.”

companies can be held legally responsible for the damage caused by their irresponsible business practices and we have forced gun dealers and manufacturers to reform their practices to prevent sales of guns to dangerous people.

We have also launched the nation’s first public interest campaign focused on revitalizing what it means to be a responsible gun owner by giving a name to the preventable gun deaths and injuries that occur because of far too easy access to a loaded and unsecured weapon in the home – Family Fire. Family Fire includes unintentional death and injury from unsecured weapons in the home, which kills or injures eight children and teens nationwide every day.

It also includes the leading cause of gun death: suicide by gun. If every American takes some common sense steps to keep themselves and their families safe from Family Fire, and safely stores their guns, we work hard to expand sensible laws and enforce the laws we have, we can achieve positive change. With over 1 billion views, the End Family Fire campaign is revitalizing the role of safe storage as an essential pathway to reduce gun violence in America which, if fully practiced, has the potential to cut gun death and injury in half in the U.S., saving more than 20,000 lives per year.

Brady also has a team that focuses exclusively on holding gun dealers accountable for failing to incorporate appropriate safeguards in the sale of guns in this country, a major problem that is contributing to the vast majority of guns used in crime across the country. Our crime guns program includes data-driven solutions that allow Americans to understand which gun dealers have known violations of the law, and encourages transparency about those infractions so that public action can be taken to shut down or reform dealers with routine and flagrant violations. For more information on this work, please go to bradyunited.org and gunstoretransparency.org.

What do you feel are the keys to driving sustainable change in the fight against gun violence?

We must treat gun violence as the epidemic that it is. We lose more than 40,000 Americans a year to gun violence, and approximately 80,000 more are injured per year and must live with the lifelong consequences of those injuries. Because we have failed to create a system that prevents gun violence, our children are subjected to and traumatized by active shooter and lock down drills in schools, creating long-term fear and

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“We must treat gun violence as the epidemic that it is. We lose more than 40,000 Americans a year to gun violence, and approximately 80,000 more are injured per year and must live with the lifelong consequences of those injuries.”

impacts. Gun violence has a grossly disproportionate impact on Black Americans in this country: the lifespan of a Black man is reduced by four years compared to his white counterparts because of gun violence, while gun violence is the leading cause of death of Black youth.

We need to treat gun violence in the same way we have begun to think of the opioid crisis and focus on the sources of the problem. This means and includes the relatively small portion of gun dealers that contribute to the vast majority of homicide gun deaths, as well as hold negligent dealers and manufacturers accountable for their role in this crisis.

We must also address drivers in gun injury and death as they exist now and work with individual gun owners to provide solutions and steps that they can take in their own homes to prevent gun violence, most importantly, safe storage. Brady’s End Family Fire campaign does just that, and it can be transformative if every American fully internalizes the need, the imperative, to safely store any firearms in their home to avoid horrific and preventable tragedy.

We must strengthen laws that we know work. The Brady law was passed more than a quarter century ago before the Internet was a thing and gun shows were not big business.

The landscape has changed, and today individuals who are selling many guns with no background checks escape scrutiny because they are not considered “Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers” as currently defined by law. Laws need to be adapted to changing times. Today, that means passing universal background checks, something that over 90 percent of Americans support.

Finally, we must eliminate the shield from civil immunity given to the gun industry by Congress, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. More than a decade ago, the National Rifle Association lobbied for and won an unprecedented and wholly un-American protection for itself: immunity from civil liability for the harm caused by its products. No other industry in America has this protection. This law has left the gun industry largely unregulated and allowed the industry to operate without needing to adapt and improve, such as implementing safer technologies that provide better protection for users, all while leaving victims of horrific violence with few remedies in court. Brady has been poking holes in this law successfully VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

for over a decade, but the law itself must be repealed to put balance back in our society and tip the scales toward safety and away from gun industry profits at all costs.

Do you feel that there is an effective dialog taking place among policymakers on the need to address gun violence?

Yes, in many areas there are great dialogues taking place around this issue. We have seen the Biden Administration unveil a record number of Executive Actions to end gun violence that are meaningful, and that has shifted the role of enforcement agencies to focusing more on suppliers of guns and preventing the problem of gun violence before it starts. But to make a difference, more lawmakers must focus on gun violence for what it is: a public health epidemic that requires strong, effective policy like the Brady law, better enforcement of that policy, and a laser focus on the demands of responsible gun ownership.

Far too many lawmakers are beholden to the NRA – they are doing their bidding and potentially delivering that reality to America.

They need to step back and understand that our very lives are at stake and that the majority of Americans – their constituents – do not want to live in a country where anyone can carry a gun anywhere for any reason. This is not about whether you are Republican or Democrat, from a Red or Blue State, a man or a woman – it is about living in a world where we can go about our daily lives without an omnipresent fear of being shot.

How critical are metrics to track the impact of Brady’s work?

Metrics are absolutely critical. Brady is a data driven organization that recognizes that to end gun violence in America means being focused on facts. And, those facts are clear.

We lose more than 40,000 Americans to gun violence and over 80,000 are injured each year.

But gun violence is a multifacted issue: what drives homicides is different than suicide by gun and that is again different from unintentional injury of kids in the home, and domestic violence. Each of these types of violence is linked by a gun, but how you solve these different problems will take different combinations of policy, enforcement of law, and education. Brady focuses on the data, tracks rates of gun violence across all states and the nation and advances programs with the greatest potential to tackle gun violence in a way that drastically

reduces the rate of gun death and injury in this country. We view ourselves as the legacy leader of the gun violence prevention movement in this country and take that role very seriously.

We invest in differentiated solutions that tackle gun violence at its source and shift the burden of solving this problem from the victims and their families to the source.

When you are addressing an issue such as gun violence prevention that is a long-term challenge, how do you measure success for Brady’s efforts?

We focus on all of the drivers of gun violence in America and measure our programmatic reach, our legislative accomplishments, and our legal case wins. We know, for example, that since the Brady law was enacted it has stopped more than three million sales of guns to individuals who are prohibited purchasers.

We know that this law has contributed to the reduction of what otherwise would be violent acts and helped to save countless Americans. In all that we do, we focus on similar metrics and measures to determine our impact on behavior, on societal norms, and ultimately on lives saved from preventable gun violence.

Did you always know that you were attracted to this type of work and that this is how you wanted to focus your career?

I grew up in a household with a mother who volunteered on political campaigns and a father who spent his career fighting for fair housing and non-discriminatory housing policies as a senior federal employee. I have always been inspired by the need to make the world more fair, more just, and one that lives up to an ideal that I think is essential: that we are all equal and should have the opportunity to live in an environment that allows us to reach our potential. Gun violence robs far too many Americans of the right to reach their potential. It wreaks havoc on our social fabric, furthering gross and disturbing inequities and creating a moral failure as a nation that must be addressed if we are to consider ourselves a just, fair, decent society.

Given my feelings on this issue, my family background, and the world I want to leave my daughters, I can think of no more worthy focus of my time than leading this incredible organization with a legacy of achievement that Jim and Sarah, thousands of volunteers, and victims and survivors of gun violence, left for us all. It is now our job to advance that work and create the safer America we all deserve.

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LEADERS 35

PURPOSE

Gun Violence Prevention

Making Communities Safer An Interview with Joseph Victor Sakran, MD, MPH, MPA, FACS Vice Chair, Clinical Operations, Department of Surgery, Director, Emergency General Surgery, Associate Professor of Surgery and Nursing, Johns Hopkins Medicine and Senior Fellow, Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine EDITORS’ NOTE Dr. Joseph V. Sakran University of Pennsylvania. He also is a trauma surgeon, coalition holds an MPH from the Johns Hopkins builder, policy advisor, public health Bloomberg School of Public Health and expert, and nationally recognized an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School advocate for gun violence prevenof Government. Dr. Sakran earned his tion. A survivor of gun violence undergraduate degree from George himself, Dr. Sakran’s interest in Mason University, where he first trained medicine and trauma surgery began as a medic and firefighter. after a stray bullet nearly killed him during his senior year of high school.

INSTITUTION BRIEF The mission of He has subsequently dedicated his Johns Hopkins Medicine is to improve life to treating the most vulnerable, the health of the community and the Dr. Joseph Victor Sakran eliminating health inequities, and world by setting the standard of exceladvancing public policy that allevilence in medical education, research ates structural violence in low-income commu- and clinical care. Diverse and inclusive, Johns nities. In addition to being an active clinician, Hopkins Medicine educates medical students, Dr. Sakran is widely known for building diverse scientists, healthcare professionals and the coalitions and advocacy efforts within public public; conducts biomedical research; and health and policy communities. Dr. Sakran provides patient-centered medicine to prevent, has been r ecognized for his public health diagnose and treat human illness. Johns Hopkins expertise, specifically on firearm injury preven- Medicine (hopkinsmedicine.org) r eceives tion. He was recently recognized by the Society nearly 4 million patients and 325,000 emerof American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic gency room visits annually. With more than Surgeons as the recipient of the Social Justice and 40 care locations, Johns Hopkins Community Health Equity award. Dr. Sakran has also been Physicians r eceives mor e than 902,000 honored by the Agency for Healthcare Research patients each year. Johns Hopkins Home and Quality (AHRQ) and Academy Health, and C a r e t r e a t s n e a r l y 1 6 0 , 0 0 0 a d u l t s a n d he is a 2020 recipient of Johns Hopkins’ Catalyst children in Central Maryland annually.

Award for pioneering research on physicians’ roles in educating patients on safe gun storage.

In 2019, Dr. Sakran was named a Presidential Leadership Scholar in which he furthered his research on safe gun storage. Selected by the National Academy of Medicine to be a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow, he was honored to serve in the U.S. Senate in the office of New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, where he worked on health policy and regulatory issues from 2019-2020.

Dr. Sakran serves on the governing council of the Young Fellows Association of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), and is chair of ACS’ International Committee for Operation Giving Back. He served on the boar d of Brady United and frequently collaborates with other gun violence prevention organizations. Dr. Sakran received his medical degree from The Medical School for International Health in Israel, a unique collaboration between Ben-Gurion a n d C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y . H e completed his general surgery training at Inova Fairfax Hospital, and later completed a fellowship in Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency General Surgery at the Hospital of the

Will you provide an overview of your role and areas of focus?

Currently, I serve as the Director of Emergency General Surgery, Associate Professor of Surgery and Nursing, and Vice Chair of Clinical Operations at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. As a trauma surgeon, I may spend one moment caring for a patient who has multiple gunshot wounds and the next operating on a patient with acute appendicitis. The breadth of my surgical practice stretches across the discipline of acute care surgery, which for all intents and purposes is trauma, surgical critical care, emergency general surgery and elective general surgery. My practice also incorporates the utilization of robotic emergency and elective general surgery.

How did your involvement in taking a leadership role in addressing gun violence develop and will you discuss these efforts?

The role I currently play in gun violence prevention is never one that I chose to do.

I was catapulted into this world after nearly losing my life during my senior year of high school after being shot in the throat with a .38 caliber bullet. Being a survivor of gun violence led to my interest in medicine and trauma surgery. As I continued to grow professionally,

“The role I currently play in gun violence prevention is never one that I chose to do. I was catapulted into

this world after nearly losing my life during my senior year of high school after being shot in the throat with a .38 caliber bullet. Being a survivor of gun violence led to my interest in medicine and trauma surgery.

As I continued to grow professionally, I began to

realize that the best medical treatment is prevention.”

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VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

“The fight against gun violence rests in understanding that there is no one solution. The complexity of this public health problem requires a multifaceted approach. Sustainable change also requires us to break down the silos that exist in cities to ensure widespread communication, sharing of data, and implementing of comprehensive policies across sectors that allow us to work hand-in-hand to make communities safer.”

I began to realize that the best medical treatment is prevention. I subsequently focused on treating the most vulnerable, reducing health disparities among marginalized populations and advancing public policy that alleviates structural violence in low-income communities. I’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate with other incredible people and organizations such as those at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine where I serve as a senior fellow.

In addition to being an active clinician, I’ve focused on building diverse coalitions and advocacy efforts within public health and policy communities. Following a 2018 comment by the National Rifle Association that doctors should “stay in our lane” with regard to gun violence prevention, I helped spearhead an effort launching the twitter handle @ThisIsOurLane, a community of healthcare professionals dedicated to reducing firearm injuries and deaths.

These experiences have led to broaden my impact in the gun violence prevention community, most recently in my role as a board member at Brady United.

What do you feel are the keys to driving sustainable change in the fight against gun violence?

The fight against gun violence rests in understanding that there is no one solution. The complexity of this public health problem requires a multi-faceted approach. Sustainable change also requires us to break down the silos that exist in cities to ensure widespread communication, sharing of data, and implementing of comprehensive policies across sectors that allow us to work hand-in-hand to make communities safer.

Do you feel that there is an effective dialog taking place among policymakers on the need to address gun violence?

A dialogue is taking place among policymakers; however, whether or not it’s effective VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

depends on how you look at it. At the federal level, I would say no, and this is predicated on the fact that we have not seen execution of common-sense gun reform in decades. When you look at cities and states across the U.S., there are clear examples of policymakers passing gun violence prevention legislation to make their communities safer. When you have that type of change, it would imply to me that the dialog happening is effective.

What role can leading health systems play in addressing gun violence?

Health systems are central to addressing gun violence in that we are the ones caring for the patients and talking to families. Our health systems should be partnering with communities

to invest in programs such as hospital-based violence intervention programs and other community-based programs. Having skin in the game allows us over time to establish the necessary relationships and trust that are critical to driving change in communities and addressing structural violence which is at the core of the urban violence we often see. Healthcare professionals are trusted public messengers – we have both the opportunity and responsibility to make sure our voice is used to continue elevating this public health crisis we face.

Is there an effective understanding that gun violence is a public health issue?

Over the years, we have seen a paradigm shift where Americans are beginning to understand that gun violence is a public health problem. We need to continue to push this concept to change the conversation from this being solely a criminal justice issue to a public health issue that has numerous facets which need to be addressed. A public health approach also requires us to modify our focus from simply placing efforts on changing human behavior, which itself is not cost effective, to developing a system where fewer people are injured or killed.

Are you optimistic that true, sustainable change is possible in the fight against gun violence?

I’m optimistic because despite the lack of change at the federal level, over the past decade the country has changed. We had a Presidential election in 2020 where gun violence prevention was one of the top issues for voters, and of course we had candidates that made this a central part of their platform. In addition, it’s important to remember that most governing in America happens at the local and state level. We have seen what has happened in numerous states like Virginia in their ability to pass common sense gun legislation that ultimately will make communities safer.

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“Following a 2018 comment by the National Rifle Association that doctors should ‘stay in our lane’ with regard to gun violence prevention, I helped spearhead an effort launching the twitter handle @ThisIsOurLane, a community of healthcare professionals dedicated to reducing firearm injuries and deaths.”

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LEADERS 37

PURPOSE

Gun Violence Prevention

Find the Helpers An Interview with Fred Guttenberg, Founder, Orange Ribbons For Jaime and Orange Ribbons For Gun Safety EDITORS’ NOTE Fred Guttenberg am not very good at. My focus immebegan his public life after the diately became by brother who, at murder of his 14-year-old daughter, the time, was living in New York and Jaime, at Marjory Stoneman was struggling with cancer that was Douglas High School in Parkland, related to his service in 9/11. He was Florida. The day after the murder, a physician at the time of the World Guttenberg attended a public vigil Trade Center attack and was Deputy in Parkland where the Mayor asked Medical Director of the New York Fire him to speak. His words shook a Department. My brother was in the nation. Only four months prior World Trade Center at the time of its to this, Fred Guttenberg’s brother, collapse and survived the tragedy of Michael, passed away from cancer that day. In 2013 he was diagnosed Fred Guttenberg r elated to his service in 9/11. with pancreatic cancer, underwent Following his involvement in these treatment, and seemed fine for a few two distinctly American tragedies, Guttenberg years until the cancer came back in 2016. has traveled the country talking about both After I sold my business, I spent the better events, but also talking about perspective, perse- part of the next year going back and forth from verance and resilience. He discusses pivotal my home in Florida to New York to help to moments in a person’s life and how we respond take care of my brother who was single and to those moments. His mission ultimately led him did not have kids. This was my purpose for that to write the book, Find The Helpers. Guttenberg’s year. I got my real estate license during this time previous professional life included more than a thinking it may be work I could do around my decade of experience in sales and management trips to see my brother since I needed somewith Johnson & Johnson, followed by almost thing professionally to keep me challenged.

15 years as an entrepreneur with 19 Dunkin’ My brother died on October 17, 2017 of cancer Donuts, which he sold in November 2016. related to 9/11, and after we returned to Florida from the funeral, I told my wife that I had to ORGANIZATION BRIEFS Orange Ribbons For find something to do. I was thinking about Jaime (orangeribbonsforjaime.org) is a 501(c)(3) possible jobs and businesses, but my wife told foundation whose purpose is to support causes me I should take the remaining two months of important to Jaime during her life, but also causes the year off since she felt I needed a break. I that deal with the way her life was tragically cut remember telling one of my closest friends that short. It looks to make donations to organiza- I was going crazy and needed to find something tions supporting individuals with special needs, to do and he told me that I would figure it out. addressing animal causes, helping the dance I never expected that I would figure it out the community, providing educational scholarships, way that I did. and assisting families affected by gun violence.

On February 14, 2018, I sent my two chilOrange Ribbons For Gun Safety’s mission is dren to school. I sent them on Valentine’s Day, to reduce gun violence by advocating for policies a day of love, and they were running late that and candidates who believe in common-sense morning. I rushed them out the door and my gun safety and to make the Orange Ribbon the last words to my children that day were, “you symbol of the gun safety movement. Orange got to go, you are going to be late” – it was Ribbons for Gun Safety is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit not “I love you.” It was not supposed to be organization. the last time I would speak to my daughter. My children that day were involved in a shooting.

Will you tell your story and discuss how My daughter was murdered at the school that your personal connection to two American day and my son, while on the telephone with tragedies led to your current mission and me hysterical and running, was telling me that purpose? he was hearing bullets. Those were the bullets I would need to begin in late 2016. I was that were coming from the third floor that were a Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee and I had just sold killing his sister. my business. This was going to be the first time My family went from one American tragedy since I was 13 years old that I would wake up to another only four months later and my life in the morning and have nothing to do, which I has never been the same. In the immediate 38 LEADERS

aftermath of my daughter’s death, my world was spinning. I had to plan a funeral, I had to take care of my family, and it had not really hit me yet that this was a result of gun violence.

That changed the night of the 15th when I went to a vigil in Parkland. When I got there, the Mayor asked me to speak and I stood in front of the crowd and saw thousands of people holding candles and crying, and it was in that moment that it became clear to me that my life was forever changed because of gun violence.

A week later I went to a CNN town hall and confronted Senator Marco Rubio from Florida and since that time I have not shut up – this is my life now.

When you came to this realization, how did you figure out what to do next?

It just came to me. Orange was my daughter Jaime’s favorite color, and she was a competitive dancer. The day that she was killed, on February 14, all the girls from her dance studio began making orange ribbons and the next day they came over to our home. The kids marched into Jaime’s room crying and had brought with them thousands of orange ribbons for us to pass out at the funeral. From that day forward, my family and I wore an orange ribbon every single day. About three weeks after Jaime was killed, I was in a Home Depot and all the signage for Home Depot is orange. Someone came up to me and asked what the orange ribbon was for and I explained to them what happened to my daughter and why I wear it. This person, someone I had never met, asked me if I knew that orange was the color of the gun safety movement. I had no idea since I was really not part of the movement yet.

I went home that day and told my wife that we needed to start a foundation and that it needed to be Orange Ribbons For Jaime.

We could not ignore the connection between Jaime’s favorite color, what had happened to Jaime, and the fact that it is the color of the gun safety movement. I started to reach out to people who had experience in setting up foundations, and my cousin connected me to a law firm that sets these up and helped walk me through the process. This was all the business side of it. I still did not know exactly what the foundation was going to do, but I knew I had to do it. As I was going through the process, it became clear to me and to my wife what the purpose of the foundation should be – we wanted this foundation to honor the things that

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“The majority of Americans want to see gun violence prevention measures happen. The majority of Americans feel that we, as a country, need to be better at saving lives that might be lost as the result of gun violence.”

mattered to Jaime’s life, and we also wanted to educate on the issues around why Jaime’s life was cut short.

Orange Ribbons For Jaime was created as a 501(c)(3) which is not intended to be political and not meant to advocate for laws. The foundation supports children with special needs, which is something that Jaime was already doing at the age of 14 in volunteering her time and hoping to one day become a pediatric physical therapist. We support antibullying programs because for my daughter, this was a passion and, even at the tender age of 14, she would literally put herself in between bullies and someone they were bullying to make it stop. We support the humane society because we are a dog obsessed family, my daughter especially so. The foundation also has a college scholarship program and even though my daughter will never have the opportunity to attend college, she will help others go to college. Most recently, we announced a partnership with José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen to start a program to feed families impacted by gun violence. These families live in communities across this country and have lost a breadwinner or have a family member who is not able to return to work. This partnership will become the signature cause of our foundation and, going forward, we will be there for those families in need.

I realized some of the limitations of a 501(c)(3) as we were doing the work of the foundation since I was personally becoming very politically active. I was traveling across the country and pushing legislators and legislation, and going everywhere I could to address voters about the issues they were going to be voting on. I knew that I needed to set up another entity that would allow me to do this which is what led to the creation of Orange Ribbons For Gun Safety which is a 501(c)(4) and is able to fulfill this purpose.

There are many different terms used around the issue of gun violence. What do you feel is the best way to address this issue and how do you define the effort?

That is an important question since the most commonly used term is gun control which I hate. There is nothing that we do that is gun control – we are not trying to control anybody. We are trying to save lives. I use the term gun safety often but still feel this is not the best term since we are not at a place where we have safety. I feel that the best term is gun VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

violence prevention. As a movement, we are getting much better at messaging since in the past the term gun control was commonly used but, to be honest, gun control is a term that is most used by the people on the other side of the issue. Language matters and it is critical that this movement better expresses what it is focused on doing in a clear and concise way. It is time to stop arguing the gun violence prevention movement as a Second Amendment issue, because it is not. Saving lives is not a Second Amendment conversation. The reality is that there are already 400 million weapons on the streets – that is a fact. The question is how are we going to lessen the gun violence that occurs and what are we going to do when an incident happens – that is a public health conversation.

What more can be done to build a better awareness around gun violence prevention as a public health issue?

When we have conversations like this, we need to talk about the country and where voters are, and what the current state of Washington, DC is. The majority of Americans want to see gun violence prevention measures happen. The majority of Americans feel that we, as a country, need to be better at saving lives that might be lost as the result of gun violence. I feel this message is getting through among voters and that this was loud and clear in the last two elections. In 2018, the House flipped primarily on this issue and, in 2020, a President was elected who ran heavily on this issue while the Senate became 50/50 with Democratic control largely because of this issue. This was a big issue in the past two elections. The reality is that while this is true, it has not been enough to move legislation in Washington, DC, and this is a breakdown.

Having said that, we need to focus on how to bring down gun violence, and this means including public health entities and the business community in this fight. Through my ongoing work with the gun violence prevention group Brady, we are engaged with some of the top business leaders right now discussing the risk and cost of gun violence. They need to understand that due to bad legislation or no legislation, the cost has effectively been passed on to them. Business owners now carry the risk when gun violence happens – just look at the hotel in Las Vegas that paid more than $800 million because it happened at their property. We are working with the business community to better understand this risk

and to take steps – whether it relates to training, policy manuals, lobbying – in order to build more engagement since there is so much the business community can do to drive action on this issue.

When it comes to legislation, you have said that “we are closer than we have ever been to the ability to take legislative action against gun violence, however we are also closer than we have ever been to permanently losing the ability to do so.” Will you discuss this moment in time?

I look across this country and I see states like New Jersey where my friend Governor Phil Murphy has led the effort that has resulted in the passing of amazing legislation, as has New York, California, and Pennsylvania. Some states, such as Massachusetts and Maryland, have done so with Republican governors. These states have passed gun violence prevention legislation and they are seeing a reduction in gun violence. In fact, when guns are being used in crimes in those states, they are often coming in from outside the state. It is clear that what they are doing is working. However, this is the reason we need federal legislation since you are only as safe as your closest border. The idea that we argue over background checks and can’t have red flag laws is unbelievable to me.

We are closer than we have ever been to getting gun safety legislation, but yes, we are also closer than we have ever been to losing the chance. We currently have a President that would sign legislation if it came to his desk.

We have a House of Representatives that is debating and passing legislation. We also have a Senate that is stuck at 50/50, so they can’t get anything passed. This is much closer than where we were when my daughter was killed in 2018. If someone would have told me back in 2018 that we would be as close as we are today, I would have said no way, but here we are. The challenge is that this country has changed over the past few years and people’s perspectives on democracy have changed as well.

The reality is that if the Democrats hold the House and increase seats in the Senate, gun violence prevention legislation can pass.

Having said that, I am a realist and know that if the Democrats lose the House and lose seats in the Senate, not only will we lose the immediate chance to pass gun violence prevention legislation, we may permanently lose the chance to do so. The truth is that being as close as we are to getting something done and being as close as we

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“The reality is that we are closer than we have ever been to getting gun safety legislation, but yes, we are also closer than we have ever been to losing the chance.”

are to losing the chance does not just pertain to gun violence prevention legislation, it pertains to so many things that matter so deeply to so many Americans. This is why anyone who knows me understands my push for all Americans to show up and vote.

What interested you in writing the book, Find the Helpers, and what messages did you want to convey in the book?

Before my daughter was killed, I was not someone who did a lot of writing. When I was planning Jaime’s funeral, the funeral director handed me a journal and asked me if I had ever journaled before. I advised him that I had not, and he told me to take the journal as a gift from him and to promise him that I would do it. I did not think much about it until a week later when we all started to try to find our new normal, and I pulled out the journal and started journaling. Writing very quickly became my therapy. This was in February 2018 and two months later I told my wife that I wanted to write a book about our story of being a part of two American tragedies and how this country responded differently to both.

That was the book I wanted to write and I worked with someone for the next six to eight months doing interviews and putting it together. I shared the transcript with someone who I trust deeply and is in the publishing business and he handed it back to me and told me I was not done writing. I said that this was my story and that I had nothing additional to say. He felt that I had written amazing stories throughout the book about other people, but that they were limited and that readers would want to know more. He also said that all the people highlighted in the book seemed like “helpers” and that was the moment when things became clear for me.

I thought about growing up and hearing Mr. Rogers’ famous advice to look for the helpers when he said, 40 LEADERS

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ ” The key message is that as long as there are helpers, there is hope. My book was ultimately about how I went from these tragedies to hope, and the person in the book who really got me to the place to understand how to talk about helpers wasn’t related to February 14 – she was related

to 9/11. There was a lady who saved my family that day. We knew my brother was always the person who would run toward a tragedy while others ran away – that is just how he was wired.

When our family did not hear from him on the morning of 9/11, we knew where he was. By early that afternoon, when we still had not heard from him, we began to think the worst. By midafternoon, we started to prepare ourselves for the worst. At around 4:00 PM that day, a lady called my parents. This amazing lady had gone by where the triage was set up at Battery Park with a book and a pen and went to all of the first responders asking for a name and telephone number of someone to call for them. This amazing lady called my parents, did not give her name, and told them that she had spoken to their loved one and that he was alive and working and that he would call us when he could. That was the sign of life we had about my brother that day. This lady, to me, is the ultimate helper, and I do not even know her.

She is a hero. She helped many families that day and yet is completely anonymous. All these years later, I love to talk about her because of how meaningful she was, and what I realized with her was the need to go through all the people in my book and talk about their impact on me.

I realized that there was not a single thing that I had done in my life, good or bad, that was just because of me. I have not done anything in my life without the amazing help and support of other people, and I think that is probably true of anybody who wants to be honest about their life. I am so thankful for the amazing people who have helped and carried me throughout my life, whether they are my friends, my neighbors or, in the case of when my daughter was murdered, all of the people who became a part of my life. I could not get through this without them and because of these amazing people throughout my entire life, I continue to have hope despite what happened.

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PURPOSE

Gun Violence Prevention

Public Safety An Interview with Roseanna Ander, Founding Executive Director, Crime Lab and Education Lab, University of Chicago EDITORS’ NOTE Roseanna Ander supports along with trauma-informed serves as the founding Executive therapy. Ander was also instruDirector of the University of Chicago mental in helping launch the Rapid Crime Lab (since 2008) and the Employment and Development University of Chicago Education Initiative (READI), a program that Lab (since 2011) with offices in connects men most at risk for violence Chicago and New York, which involvement and victimization with work to design, test and scale datacognitive-behavioral therapy, jobs, driven programs and practices that and wraparound supports. She has improve the public sector’s approach worked intensively on the Education to public safety and education.

Lab’s efforts to support Chicago Public Since their inception, she has led Schools on personalized learning and Roseanna Ander the Crime Lab and Education Lab’s other innovative ways to improve efforts on violence prevention, crimeducational outcomes for all chilinal justice reform, and improved educational dren. She was also key in navigating police outcomes in Chicago, New York and around the training and reform efforts within the Chicago nation. Ander also helped launch the University Police Department (CPD), including the Crime of Chicago Urban Labs network, with the creation Lab’s study of CPD’s Officer Support System, of three new, independently run labs focused a first-of-its-kind, data-driven early intervenon poverty, health, and the environment. Early tion system that flags officers at risk for adverse initiatives Ander spearheaded at the Crime Lab events and provides training and support to include an evaluation of Youth Guidance’s help avert tragic incidents between police and Becoming a Man program and an evalua- residents before they occur. Ander was instrution of a cognitive-behavioral therapy program mental in the production and release of the City delivered in the Cook County Juvenile Detention of Chicago’s Violence Reduction Dashboard, a Center. Recently, she has helped move forward tool for nonprofit organizations, the media the Crime Lab and Education Lab’s evaluation and the general public, which provides nearof Children’s Home & Aid’s and Youth Advocate real-time data and visualizations of violence Programs, Inc.’s Choose to Change program, trends. During her time at the Crime Lab and an innovative effort that engages youth heavily Education Lab, Ander has also served on the impacted by violence and trauma and connects public safety transition teams for Chicago Mayor them with intensive advocate and wraparound Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot

and Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Ander oversaw the Joyce Foundation’s gun violence program, which included helping provide seed funding for the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), a state-based reporting system, and a seminal report on Firearm Violence for the National Academy of Sciences in 2005. She also led Joyce’s grantmaking in early childhood education. Before Joyce Foundation, Ander was a Soros Justice Fellow with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and worked for the Harvard Injury Control Center and the Harvard Project on Schooling and Children. Ander holds an MS from the Harvard School of Public Health.

INSTITUTION BRIEF Scientific research has dramatically changed the understanding of what drives human behavior and what types of social conditions are the most important risk or protective factors for violence involvement. The University of Chicago Crime Lab ( u r b a n labs.uchicago.edu/labs/crime) uses insights from basic science to help government agencies and nonprofit organizations develop and rigorously test innovative approaches to reducing crime and violence. It also combines lessons from randomized experiments with machine learning and predictive analytics to help better understand who benefits most from policy interventions and why as a way to improve targeting and ensure successful scale-up.

“In 2007, after the tragic, fatal shooting of a University of Chicago doctoral student, Professors Jens Ludwig and Harold Pollack and I realized that the university stood to play a much larger role in making Chicago safer and more just. We founded the Crime Lab, an independent research organization that designs, tests, and scales data-driven innovations that simultaneously advance gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform.”

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Chicago Sports Alliance 2018 event - Courtesy of Chicago Bears

Will you provide an overview of the University of Chicago Crime Lab and how you define its purpose?

In 2007, after the tragic, fatal shooting of a University of Chicago doctoral student, Professors Jens Ludwig and Harold Pollack and I realized that the university stood to play a much larger role in making Chicago safer and more just. We founded the Crime Lab, an independent research organization that designs, tests, and scales data-driven innovations that simultaneously advance gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform.

Working with public sector agencies to improve their response to these two crises is central to the Crime Lab’s purpose. There are two reasons why: first, the impact of these issues isn’t equitable – communities of color are disproportionately harmed by the toll of these

problems and our government’s failed attempts to address them; and second, it’s the best way to make progress at scale.

How is the University of Chicago Crime Lab working to improve the public sector’s response to the dual crises of gun violence and America’s broken criminal justice system?

For too long, our elected officials have viewed addressing gun violence and criminal justice harms as zero-sum: either we can reduce gun violence, or we can reform the justice system.

So during surges in gun violence – like the one we’re experiencing now – we’ve historically seen calls for harsher “tough on crime” policies. But those punitive measures have harms of their own that often impact the very communities most affected by gun violence. That’s why the Crime Lab is focused on improving how the public sector responds to both crises simultaneously.

We do this in a few ways. First, we work with the public sector directly through partnerships with entities like the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Police Department.

For example, we helped stand up and bring on a treatment provider, Thresholds, to work with the Chicago Police Department to divert opioid users away from arrest and into treatment. We are working with these groups to evaluate a pilot of their “Narcotics Arrest Diversion Program” which has allowed over 800 Chicagoans to receive addiction treatment rather than be charged with a crime. Early results from the program found it reduced the rearrest rate among participants by 44 percent.

We also partner with nonprofit organizations to help design and evaluate their programming with the idea that by proving an intervention works, we make it more possible for policymakers to fund and scale it. That’s exactly what happened with Becoming A Man (BAM), a program run by the nonprofit Youth Guidance that offers weekly mentoring, cognitive behavioral therapy and educational enrichment to high school boys at risk of gun violence involvement. Our evaluation of BAM – finding that it cut participants’ violent crime arrests in half and boosted their high school graduation rates by nearly 20 percent – led to then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel investing $36 million into the program and other similar mentoring programs. It also informed President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, which now operates in 35 states.

What are the keys to driving sustainable change in the fight against gun violence?

First, it’s important to understand what gun violence in America actually looks like. There’s an idea that most gun violence is “rational” in that it’s a cost-benefit type analysis in which shootings are pre-planned and thought through. But in fact, the vast majority of murders in America are not motivated by money, robberies, or wars between gangs over drug turf. They are most often the result of an argument that spins out of control. In Philadelphia, for instance, the city recently found that half of homicides were sparked by arguments.

“Our contributions through the Chicago Sports Alliance are about more than financial support. We want to form meaningful relationships with these organizations and are proud to provide new opportunities and experiences to the young men in the READI Chicago program, and others, as part of that work. It’s important for us to continue joining forces with partners like the Crime Lab and READI on measurable gun-violence reduction solutions.”

Matt Simeone Director of Community & Alumni Relations, Chicago Bears VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

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That means one way to reduce gun violence is to make the situations in which those arguments occur more forgiving. The best way to do that is to limit the widespread availability of illegal guns. By the Crime Lab’s estimate, illegal gun carrying in Chicago increased by over 100 percent in 2020, driven largely by guns trafficked into Chicago from outside states. Without the presence of a gun, altercations would still happen, but they would be far less likely to result in death.

Fair and effective policing is also critical to help to de-escalate arguments and discourage illegal gun carrying. But policing being “fair and effective” is key. Research shows that when the relationship between police and communities erodes, the public’s willingness to report crimes declines, making people more likely to turn to self-enforcement and retaliation instead of the criminal justice system.

Another area of opportunity is Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs, which have been shown to help people de-escalate stressful situations before they lead to violence. BAM, which I mentioned earlier, is one example. Another is READI Chicago, a CVI program the Crime Lab is evaluating that connects the men most at risk of gun violence involvement with trauma-informed therapy and support that was invested in by the Chicago Sports Alliance. Thirty-five percent of READI participants have previously been shot. Ninety-eight percent have been arrested at least once, with an average of 17 arrests. These are the men for whom our society provides no social safety net; men who other interventions historically struggle to reach. READI is changing that.

In order to drive sustainable change in the fight against gun violence, we need to address the root causes of gun violence and make situations more forgiving. Data and research from Chicago and cities around the country show this is possible.

Chicago Sports Alliance 2019 event - Courtesy of Chicago White Sox

How critical are metrics to track the impact of the University of Chicago Crime Lab’s initiatives?

Being data-driven – and using metrics to track our impact – is at the very core of the Crime Lab’s work as a research institution. Our goal is to have an outsized impact on our streets, in our courts, and across our justice system to support neighborhoods that have disproportionately suffered from the twin crises of gun violence and a broken criminal justice system for generations. We believe that the best way to do that is by harnessing data through rigorous, scientific evaluations to help cities and community-based organizations identify the most innovative and effective policies or programs.

We do research and publish the results in scientific journals, but we also believe it’s critical to put data directly in the hands of residents.

That’s why we partnered with the City of Chicago and dozens of community organizations to create the Violence Reduction Dashboard, which granted the public unprecedented access to near real-time data on gun violence to help target resources and identify violence reduction strategies.

The University of Chicago Crime Lab has worked with the Chicago Sports Alliance since the Alliance was created. Will you highlight this partnership and how the two organizations have collaborated?

In 2017, the five iconic Chicago sports franchises – the Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs,

“The Chicago Sports Alliance represents what’s possible through the power of sports, bringing communities together, building authentic relationships, and supporting community-led solutions. The Chicago Blackhawks are proud to work alongside our sports team partners to direct resources and attention towards such a critical issue facing Chicago. We stand alongside community leaders as they work tirelessly in their neighborhoods to end gun violence in our city.”

Sara Guderyahn Vice President, Community, Chicago Blackhawks, and Executive Director, Chicago Blackhawks Foundation

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“As White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has said, it is our responsibility to be a champion for our city and our fans who have given us so much. The Chicago Sports Alliance represents five iconic sports franchises standing together united against gun violence that has adversely impacted the lives of too many Chicagoans.

We are grateful to lend the collective power and resources of the Alliance to our partners at the Crime Lab and READI Chicago who are transforming the lives of individuals on a daily basis through tested, evidence-based programs.”

Christine O’Reilly Vice President of Community Relations, Chicago White Sox, and Executive Director, Chicago White Sox Charities and White Sox – came together to form the Chicago Sports Alliance in support of impactful, evidence-based solutions to gun violence in the city. Since the Alliance’s inception, the Crime Lab has worked closely with the teams to identify those solutions and direct over $4 million in grants. Since 2019 the Robert R. McCormick Foundation has provided an additional $1.5 million in matching grants to expand the collective work of the Chicago Sports Alliance.

In just five years, the Alliance has been enormously impactful – for instance, through the Alliance’s investment in Choose to Change (C2C), a program reaching Chicago students at risk of gun violence who have become disengaged from the public school system. This program engages youth heavily impacted by violence and trauma by connecting them with intensive advocate and wraparound supports along with trauma-informed therapy to help

them live safe and successful lives. The Crime Lab was able to show that the C2C program reduced participants’ violent crime arrests by 48 percent. In response to our findings, the City of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools expanded C2C to serve more than 2,000 students at the highest risk of gun violence involvement over three years. Additionally, the C2C providers are putting together a manual of the program to help other organizations across Chicago provide this high-quality program to more youth.

In addition to Choose to Change, the Sports Alliance has donated both their time and their funds to the READI Chicago Program. READI connects men at the highest risk of gun violence with traumainformed therapy and jobs. One of the program providers, former Director Eddie Bocanegra, has gone on to become an advisor for Attorney General Merrick Garland. He is providing advice to the Justice Department on CVI. With Bocanegra’s

move to the federal government, we are seeing our theory of change in action as Bocanegra is now instrumental in steering hundreds of dollars towards evidence-backed interventions.

What do you see as the role that Chicago’s professional sports teams can play in addressing societal issues such as gun violence and how valuable has it been to have such engagement and commitment from the teams?

The great power of the Alliance is that it uses the reach and resources of five of Chicago’s major sports teams to engage the entire city on its most urgent challenge. It goes beyond dollars.

Never before have the teams’ owners worked collectively on an issue of such importance to Chicago. By showing that they are on the same team when it comes to reducing gun violence, the Alliance highlights that the violence Chicago experiences is everyone’s problem, and we have to work together to solve it.

“The Bulls are dedicated to using its platform to tackle some of Chicago’s toughest issues and are grateful for the opportunity to amplify our community efforts through the Chicago Sports Alliance. This unique partnership demonstrates the collaborative approach needed to tackle gun violence in our city and the responsibility of Chicago’s sports teams to uplift the communities that support our teams day in and day out.”

Adrienne Scherenzel-Curry Vice President of Community Relations, Chicago Bulls

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Second, we’re prioritizing closing the widening gap in public safety between Chicago’s Black and white, and high-income and low-income residents.

In 2020, the gun homicide rate in Chicago’s four most violent police districts was 25 times higher than in the four least violent police districts. In 1991, the rate was 13 times higher – meaning since the ’90s, the public safety gap has doubled in Chicago.

Reflecting on our current gun violence crisis and safety gap, it is hard to dispute that the situation in Chicago is dire. You can look at these numbers and feel daunted. You can look at these numbers and want to give up.

Or, you can look at these numbers, roll up your sleeves, and continue to work…that’s what we are doing at the Crime Lab, with the help of the Chicago Sports Alliance, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, and others. Our home city is one of the world’s greatest and has the potential to be a positive source of growth and culture. We want to do our part to help that potential be realized for each and every Chicagoan, starting with the most basic requirement: public safety.

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Chicago Sports Alliance 2019 event (above) and 2021 event (right) - Courtesy of Chicago White Sox

Many Chicago teams play on the South and West sides, where the violence is concentrated.

By giving back to the city – in a way that’s informed by the data – the Alliance shows that everyone in a leadership position in the city has a responsibility to stand together against the unacceptable level of community violence.

What ar e your priorities for the University of Chicago Crime Lab as you look to the future?

We will always have a special commitment to Chicago and the problems it faces. Right now, the data illuminates two issues that we’re prioritizing in our hometown. First, we’re in the midst of a gun violence crisis. Between 2019 and 2020, there was the largest one-year rise in the homicide rate in 50 years, and that increase spilled over into 2021 and now 2022. Chicago has been hit particularly hard.

We ended last year with over 800 homicides, a 60 percent increase relative to 2019. The pandemic is certainly a contributing factor to this recent spike, but more research is needed to determine its drivers and find solutions to stem this crisis.

“As gun violence continues to plague our Chicago communities, the Chicago Sports Alliance remains committed to providing resources, funds and collective support to our nonprofit partners in an effort to implement impactful solutions that decrease gun violence throughout our beloved city. Our partners have done a tremendous job creating effective programs based on thorough research and analysis and we look forward to continuing to support their efforts in our fifth year as the Alliance.”

Alicia Gonzalez Executive Director, Cubs Charities 46 LEADERS

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PURPOSE

A Barometer for Trust An Interview with Richard Edelman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Edelman EDITORS’ NOTE Richard Edelman FIRM BRIEF Edelman (edelman.com) is is the CEO of Edelman, a global a global communications firm that partcommunications fir m. He has ners with businesses and organizations to extensive experience in marketing evolve, promote and protect their brands and r eputation management, and reputations. Our 6,000 people in more having led assignments with than 60 offices deliver communications major corporations, NGOs and strategies that give our clients the confidence family businesses. He has advised to lead and act with certainty, earning senior executives through signifthe trust of their stakeholders. Our honors icant disruptions within their include Cannes Lions Grand Prix awards or ganizations, and has counfor PR (2016) and the Entertainment Lions seled countries in every r egion for Sport (2021); Cannes Lions Independent Richard Edelman of the world on economic develAgency of the Year for the Entertainment opment programs. As the creator Track (2021); Advertising Age’s 2019 of the annual Edelman Trust Barometer, A-List; the Holmes Report’s 2018 Global Digital Edelman has become one of the for emost Agency of the Year; and, five times, Glassdoor’s authorities on trust in business, government, Best Places to Work. Since our founding in 1952 media and NGOs. In 2019, he was named by Dan Edelman, we have remained an indethe PR Agency P r o f e s s i o n a l o f t h e P a s t pendent, family-run company. Edelman owns 2 0 Ye a r s b y PRWeek and was inducted specialty companies Edelman Data & Intelligence into the publication’s Hall of Fame; in (research) and United Entertainment Group 2014, he was inducted in the Arthur W. (entertainment, sports, lifestyle).

Page Society’s Hall of Fame. Edelman is regarded as an industry thought leader and How do you define Edelman’s purpose? has posted weekly to his blog since 2004. He Our purpose as a firm is to provide strategic serves on the Board of Directors of the Ad communications counseling and programming to C o u n c i l , t h e A t l a n t i c C o u n c i l , P r o j e c t clients that will allow them to take action to improve HOOD, P33, the Gettysburg Foundation, the society and build trusted relationships across stake9/11 Museum, and the National Committee holders. For clients, we define purpose as the strategic on U.S.-China Relations. He is a member of intersection between what a business does, the impact the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club it has on people and the planet, and its ability to bring of Chicago, World Economic Forum and PR about positive, transformative change in society. We Seminar. Edelman earned a BA from Harvard help companies define and evolve their role in society College in 1976 and an MBA from Harvard by uncovering their purpose, creating a roadmap for Business School in 1978. action and inspiring others to join them.

Will you highlight Edelman’s commitment to global citizenship and how deeply engaged Edelman’s workforce is in the firm’s citizenship work?

Edelman’s commitment to global citizenship and giving back to the community has been embedded in our culture since Dan Edelman opened the firm in 1952, and we are proud to continue that tradition today. Edelman’s fourth core value, The Commitment to Positively Impact Society, encompasses our approach to citizenship.

To us, “citizenship” describes the larger responsibility our firm has to society. It is about performing our work with an environmental conscience and a sense of tolerance, fairness, and equality. In FY21, Edelman employees contributed over 23,000 hours to community engagement.

Today, our program includes, but is not limited to, the following: • Greenhouse gas emissions tracking and reporting • Community investment grant distribution • Pro bono programs • Volunteerism initiatives • Responsible procurement How critical is it for Edelman to build a diverse and inclusive workforce that mirrors the diversity of its clients and the communities it serves?

It’s essential. As an industry leader and advisor to businesses and organizations, we have a fundamental responsibility to advance diversity, equity and inclusion inside and outside of our firm. As of September 2021, we reached our goal of achieving a 30 percent racially/ethnically

“Our belief is that trust drives growth – growth that goes beyond financial metrics. Our work is communications premised on action and we want to be the communications partner of choice for companies and brands willing to take actions that can change society.”

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“Our purpose as a firm is to provide strategic communications counseling and programming to clients that will allow them to take action to improve society and build trusted relationships across stakeholders.”

diverse workforce in the U.S. (ahead of our 2022 goal). As of September 2021, 53 percent of our global leadership were women, and 57 percent of our U.S. leadership were women.

Internally, to build a more open and transparent environment, we’ve focused on advancing, evolving and transforming DEI at the firm. We have accelerated efforts in diverse hiring and retention, diversifying our board, assessing equity measures, partnering with diverse NGOs and nonprofits, and encouraging our clients to be more directly involved in action and change.

Over the last two years, Edelman has conducted several Trust Barometer Special Reports on social and racial justice in America. The insights captured have pointed to a shift in consumers’ mindsets and priorities, and the employee/employer relationship.

The findings from these reports have helped us, the organizations we counsel, and others to become better stewards in driving effective DEI practices, including consistently integrating multicultural perspectives into all our client work to ensure cultural relevance and resonance.

What has made the concept of trust such a focus for Edelman and what was the vision for making the study of trust such a major part of Edelman’s work over 20 years ago?

Our belief is that trust drives growth – growth that goes beyond financial metrics. Our work is communications premised on action and we want to be the communications partner of choice for companies and brands willing to take actions that can change society. Our research and counsel turn the data we collect into real-world insights that help clients plan, make decisions and spark movements.

How did the Edelman Trust Barometer come about and what is the purpose of the Trust Barometer?

We started the Edelman Trust Barometer after the 1999 protests of the World Trade Organization’s conference in Seattle, which became known as the “Battle in Seattle.” There was a surge in activism around the world forcing government and business to examine the social and environmental challenges our world faces and the role they needed to play in addressing them. The purpose of the Trust Barometer is to measure trust in society’s institutions, its leaders and communications platforms and examine how they can work together and lead society in addressing the challenges of our time.

Will you discuss the idea that trust is the ultimate currency in the relationship that all institutions – business, governments, NGOs and media – build with their stakeholders?

Trust defines an organization’s license to operate and lead. It is the foundation that allows an organization to take responsible risk and rebound from its mistakes. For a business, especially, lasting trust is the strongest insurance against competitive disruption, the antidote to consumer indifference, and the best path to continued growth. Most importantly, trust is key to the new employee/employer compact that business needs to lean into to retain teams and meet expectations. Without trust, credibility is lost and reputation can be threatened.

Will you highlight the top findings from the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer?

Government and media are fueling a cycle of distrust threatening social stability, making

distrust the default emotion for society; 59 percent say they tend to distrust until seeing evidence that something is trustworthy.

Government and media are seen as divisive forces in society; Nearly one out of every two respondents view government (48 percent) and media (46 percent) as divisive, and two-thirds of people believe they are intentionally being lied to by journalists (67 percent) and government leaders (66 percent).

Business (61 percent) remains the most trusted institution with even greater expectations due to government’s failure to lead during the pandemic; by five-to-one, respondents want business to play a larger role on climate change, economic inequality, workforce reskilling and addressing racial injustice.

There is a collapse of trust in developed democracies; not one, aside from India, reached a score of 60 on this year’s Trust Index, including Australia (53), France (50), Germany (46), U.K. (44) and U.S. (43), which has dropped 10 points since 2017. This is driven by a m aj or it y o f r e s p o n d e n t s i n e v e r y democracy believing they will be worse off financially in five years and 85 percent fearing they will lose their jobs to forces including automation.

What advice do you of fer young people beginning their careers?

You hold the power so do not settle. Work for a company that shares your values and principles and takes seriously the importance of being a good corporate citizen and making a positive impact on society.

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“The purpose of the Trust Barometer is to measure trust in society’s institutions, its leaders and communications platforms and examine how they can work together and lead society in addressing the challenges of our time.”

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PURPOSE

A Reputation for Integrity An Interview with Dr. James S.C. Chao, Founder and Honorary Chairman, Foremost Group EDITORS’ NOTE Dr. James S.C. Chao Nyack University, Fu Jen Catholic has dedicated his life to the mariUniversity, National Chiao Tung time industry and philanthropic University, National Taiwan Ocean activities to help others. He grew up University, and Massachusetts Maritime in an educated family in a small Academy bestowed Honorary Doctorate farming village. Early in his career, Degrees on Dr. Chao. In recognition he advanced rapidly through the of his outstanding leadership in the ranks to become one of the youngest maritime community, the Seamen’s ocean-going captains at the age Church Institute conferred upon Dr. of 29. He took the national Master Chao its highest honor, the Silver Bell Mariner Examination and achieved Award. Massachusetts Maritime College the highest score ever recorded. This awarded Dr. Chao with its inaugural Dr. James S.C. Chao achievement gave him the opporAdmiral’s Distinguished Service Award tunity to pursue further studies for inspiring leadership and contribuin the United States. After earning his MBA in tions to society. The Chinese Institute of Engineers, Management from St. John’s University in New U S A p r e s e n t e d i t s C e n t e n n i a l M e d a l to York City in 1964, Dr. Chao founded Foremost Dr. Chao for his leadership in adopting energyMaritime Corporation which later expanded to efficient and eco-friendly ship design and techForemost Group. For his outstanding contributions nology. The Organization of Chinese Americans to the maritime industry, Dr. Chao was inducted awarded Dr. Chao the Dynamic Achiever Award. into the International Maritime Hall of Fame at Columbia University awarded Dr. Chao the inauthe United Nations. Dr. Chao and his late wife, gural EPIC Achievement Award. SUNY Maritime Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, have dedicated their College awarded Dr. Chao its Admiral’s Award lives to promoting education and philanthropy. for his inspiring leadership. Lloyd’s List presented Scholarships from their foundations have benefited the Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Chao. thousands of students. To commemorate Ruth’s Most recently, for the outstanding mentorship and legacy of faith, family, and philanthropy, generous inspiration he has given to others, International gifts have been made toward the construction of Leadership Foundation and New York Young many institutions including the Ruth Mulan Entrepreneurs Roundtable awarded Dr. Chao Chu Chao Center at Harvard University, the first the Distinguished Mentor Award. Dr. Chao is the building named after an Asian American and the subject of a recent best-selling biography entitled, first building named after a woman in Harvard’s Fearless Against The Wind, a complement to the history. The recipient of innumerable honors and best-selling biography on his late wife, Mrs. Ruth awards, Dr. Chao has been honored with the Ellis Mulan Chu Chao, Calm Amidst The Storms.

Island Medal of Honor as well as the Horatio Alger Award of Distinguished Americans at the United COMPANY BRIEF Foremost Group (foremost States Supreme Court. The U.S. Department of groupusa.com) is an American shipping company Homeland Security recognized Dr. Chao as an with offices in the United States and Asia. Founded Outstanding American by Choice. The Museum of in New York in 1964 by Dr. James S.C. Chao and Chinese in America honored him with its inau- his late wife, Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, the gural Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award company today is a global leader in the dry in its over 30-year history. He was also presented bulk shipping industry and has earned a worldthe Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award by wide reputation for its commitment to exceptional the Chinese American Academic and Professional service and performance while always holding Society. Dr. Chao and his charitable foundations itself to the highest ethical standards. For more were honored with the International Leadership than 50 years, Foremost Group has maintained its Foundation’s inaugural Organizational Award core values – honor, integrity and performance – and the American Legion Post 1291 presented as the ingredients for success. It has earned its their Outstanding Service Award to him. The U.S.- sterling reputation from partners, including charChina Education Trust awarded Dr. Chao with its terers, banks, shipyards and others, for its faithful Leadership and Achievement Award in recog- devotion to Foremost Group’s mission statement: nition of an inspirational leader who made a “Our mission is to remain a premier provider of difference for his community, country, and the ocean transportation services and a model of world. St. John’s University, Niagara University, excellence for our industry.”

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What was your vision for founding Foremost Group and how do you define the mission and purpose of the company?

It’s all in the name: when founding the Foremost Group in 1964, our goal was to be the foremost company providing outstanding service to customers by moving freight around the world efficiently, safely and productively.

Foremost lives out this mission to this day, but like many enterprises, Foremost started out modestly. It was difficult at first because in the 1960s less than 1 percent of the U.S. population was Asian American, and the Chinese American population was even smaller. So, the challenge was to make myself understood and to find unique ways of standing out so customers could see how hard I would work for them. Despite these challenges, I had confidence because the United States is so beautiful, its potential is unlimited, and people here are so generous. If you have good ideas and a good plan, people will support you. Hard work is rewarded, and you will get results.

International shipping was a good choice for business because of my strong educational background in maritime and engineering at my undergraduate school in China, as well as years of practical experience as a merchant marine officer and master (sea captain). Later on, I went to graduate school and obtained an MBA in Executive Management, which was helpful as well. I knew that shipping had a future. I started with China Merchants, a

Dr. James S.C. Chao working at his desk in his newly established company office in 1965

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governmental ocean shipping agency based in Taiwan, where I learned a lot and this experience provided me with a very good foundation. I also learned to think big from business leaders like Mr. C. T. Shen who founded Marine Transport Lines, Inc., one of the pioneer American shipping companies in the 1960s. At that time, most owners had only one or two ships; Marine Transport Lines had scores of ocean-going and also Great Lakes specialized bulk carriers. So when Foremost was created, we started step by step, always building a strong foundation for the future with bigger plans in mind. Things did not always go smoothly, but with the help of the Lord, we persevered through the many ups and downs of the business cycle. Those early experiences taught me that for a business leader, having first-hand knowledge and hands-on experience in your industry is a tremendous advantage.

How do you describe Foremost Group’s culture and how important has it been to maintain culture as the company has grown in size and scale?

We did not set out to create a corporate culture first, and then follow it. Rather, our culture evolved organically from the ground up.

It was built around the spirit of Foremost and the values it practices every day: honesty, integrity and service. Foremost provides a service that is essential for the global economy: shipping the world’s major dry bulk commodities like wheat, grain, iron ore and other basic necessities around the world. From a larger point of view, it’s not just about us. If we do our jobs well, people can have the food they need to live and grow, and the basic materials they need to build economies, create jobs and generate prosperity for all. At its core, Foremost works for the public good.

Secondly, Foremost’s business philosophy is to maximize the value it creates for its customers.

We want our customers to grow together with us in size and value, so they will remember us and come back again. Following such, transactions must be mutually beneficial. This is not theoretical. It’s a very pragmatic approach which has served the company well for more than 56 years. Even though the survival of the company is now assured, there is much more to do to increase growth and help society. That’s the focus of the conversations I am having now with my colleagues and with my daughter, Angela Chao, who is leading the company as Chair and CEO. We need new thinking to face the new world of the 21st century.

What have been the keys to Foremost Group’s strength and leadership in the industry and how do you define the Foremost Group difference?

To become and remain a leader in such a demanding environment, Foremost Group is committed to providing consistent, exceptional service and performance. In addition, we are known for taking good care of our crews and, as a result, they are always there for us. We are also known for our ability to adapt quickly to unforeseen challenges and global market changes.

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Dr. James S.C. Chao, Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, and Foremost Group Chair & CEO Ms. Angela Chao being welcomed by crew onboard a Foremost ship

Beyond these basics, there are some very important, fundamental differences between Foremost and other companies. First, and most importantly, is our emphasis on integrity – and I really mean that: it’s our most precious asset. Foremost would rather not earn a profit, or earn less profit, than lose its integrity. This is not altruism; it’s an important

long-term advantage. Money can be earned any time, but a company cannot be profitable permanently or enjoy good relationships with its customers and earn repeat business unless it has integrity. At a time when so many companies and institutions are losing the public’s trust, the value of having a reputation for integrity cannot be overstated.

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Foremost Group has a deep commitment to having environmentally friendly designs and technology in its fleet. Will you discuss this commitment and Foremost Group’s long history of supporting the environment and sustainability?

Candidly, these are just new words for something Foremost Group has been doing from the very beginning, which is being a good

corporate citizen that helps protect the marine environment. For example, many years ago – way before other operators – we installed special equipment and features on our fleet to dispose of all the onboard garbage and trash, unlike many others who just toss these items overboard into the ocean. It’s one of the reasons why our crews have such long tenure and loyalty – they are proud of our values and want

Dr. James S.C. Chao with his youngest and sixth daughter, Chair & CEO of Foremost Group, Angela Chao 54 LEADERS

to work for a company that is serious about its responsibilities.

In carrying forward this tradition, Foremost has embraced many new environmental technologies. For example, our fleet has some of the world’s largest and most eco-friendly bulk carriers in the world. That’s possible because we exclusively operate ships that are built new and to our own specifications. We do not operate used, second-hand ships. The average age of our fleet has been maintained at less than five years old. This is quite an achievement that is especially challenging to execute for private companies, and it’s one more example of Foremost’s commitment to keeping up with the latest environmentally friendly designs.

We believe our actions demonstrate that it is both possible and good business to provide exceptional service with technology that protects the marine environment.

You devote your time and resources to many philanthropic causes. What has made this work so important to you and how do you decide where to focus your philanthropic efforts?

My family – and this includes our Foremost family – takes great joy in promoting philanthropy, especially with educational opportunities. This is only natural because of the key role education has played in my own life, in the life of my late wife, Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, and in the lives of our six daughters. The goal of our philanthropy is to help cultivate the next generation of global leaders by giving talented young people access to a high-quality education that they could not otherwise afford.

Supporting education is especially meaningful for me, because my father, Mr. Yiren Chao, was a teacher who became a well-known advocate for rural education in China. I came from a very humble, modest family and grew up in a small rural farm village in China. Fortunately for me, my parents were very farsighted, even though life was difficult for them. They endured three wars in their lifetimes, as well as famine and natural disasters. Yet my father persevered, and established schools throughout rural China.

He taught village children, and me, to study hard and learn well so that we could have a future and help others. He and my mother saved every penny to send me to school, making it possible for me to attend middle school in Jiading county, and then college in Shanghai.

I also earned a fully paid college Fellowship from the government covering all expenses, including tuition, boarding fees, plus some extra living expenses. I really appreciated this assistance which enabled me to be able to associate with my schoolmates who came from much wealthier families. The Fellowships were based not only on need, but on academic excellence.

I was not at the very top academically, but I was a good athlete and a good student because my father taught me what to focus on in my lessons. I finished college as part of a very wellknown, highly respected Fellowship program.

This was not only a professional advantage, but a personal one as well. I believe it’s one of the reasons why my late wife, who came

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The Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center at Harvard Business School, Harvard University, dedicated on June 6, 2016. L-R: May Chao; U. S. Senator Elizabeth Warren; Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria; President of Harvard University Drew Faust; Dr. James S.C. Chao; Secretary Elaine Chao; U. S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell; Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker; Christine Chao; Angela Chao; Grace Chao; and U. S. Senator Ed Markey

from a much higher social status, liked me and believed in me. She probably thought that if I was part of this prestigious Fellowship program, I was likely to succeed and would be a good prospective husband.

To honor the legacies of my father and late wife, our family and corporate foundations donate generously to education. This includes everything from scholarships, to building kindergartens, maritime training institutions and the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center at Harvard University. It is deeply gratifying – and humbling – that this is the first building named after an Asian American, and the first building named after a woman, in Harvard’s history.

Do the same skills that made you successful in business translate to being effective in philanthropy?

Regardless of the environment, success follows the same principles. First, have an interest in the industry you are pursuing or the cause you are promoting. For example, I was interested in shipping as a business because of my educational background and expertise. There are investors who tend to underestimate the shipping industry, viewing it as declining or too old fashioned, or requiring too big an investment relative to the smaller profits generated. I knew shipping had a future because it was, and is, so essential to the increasingly globalized world economy. Second, try to think positively in every situation, and view challenges as opportunities. That’s a real plus. And once you have achieved some success, take time VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

to reflect on how you got there and all the help you have received. Lots of people contributed to my success and I think about them often. Now, it’s my turn to support the next generation of young leaders who will create jobs and help others.

What do you see as the keys to effective leadership and how do you describe your management style?

Leadership does not exist in isolation, or in an ideal world. To be a good leader, you must like people. But to get people to follow, you must first believe in yourself and have a clear vision of where you want to go. That takes a lot of work. It means always striving to be better, always learning, always being a good model for others. Hard work is fundamental for success; but it’s not enough. Innovation is also important, which means being open to new technologies and new ideas and learning from others.

I always set aside time during the day to be very quiet, to reflect, and to think about current challenges. Often, I think about and talk to my beloved late wife, Ruth. I look for inspiration in the way she was able to overcome great societal upheaval and turmoil with such grace and dignity, and in the examples of other people who have inspired and helped me. I ask myself, “How did I get here, and what lessons have I learned from others that can be applied to the challenges of today?” I solve a lot of problems that way. Over the years, I have always tried to lead by example. Who better to set an example for others than the leader of the organization?

You have achieved great success in your life and have made such an impact in business and philanthropy. Do you take moments to reflect and appreciate what you have accomplished or are you always looking to the future?

I do not think of my life in terms of success, but in terms of being on the right path that was meant for me. I continue to live my life the same way now as I did when starting out, which is understanding that true happiness comes from working with a purpose. My purpose is to help others, improve society, and serve the greater good with whatever capabilities and means are available.

I encourage my children, and the company, to set aside a certain percentage – no matter how small – of their income each year to help others. The goal is to work for a good cause, not to aggrandize ourselves.

That’s why I often invoke the name of my late wife, Ruth Mulan Chu Chao – who was my true soulmate – in our charitable giving.

She was named after a heroine in Chinese folklore, Hua Mulan. Ruth was a modern version of this legendary heroine – always brave, always optimistic, full of love and devoted to helping others. I hope when people see her name on buildings or scholarships, they will be inspired to learn more about her spirit and her story, and to know that if she could be so brave in the face of so many challenges, so can they.

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PURPOSE

People and Implementation An Interview with Maurice R. Greenberg, Starr Insurance Companies

Ceremony announcing the renaming of the St. John’s School of Risk Management in late 2019

EDITORS’ NOTE Maurice Greenberg What have been the keys to Starr’s is Chairman of Starr Insurance growth and industry leadership?

Companies, a global insurStarr’s strength is based on two ance and investment organizathings – the quality of our people and tion. Starr traces its r oots to a the implementation of our plans. Our company founded by Cornelius management and our employees Vander Starr in 1919 in Shanghai, are d e d i c a t e d t o t h e o r g a n i z a China. Greenberg formed American tion and to getting things done. Our International Group, Inc. (AIG) and company started over 100 years ago served as that company’s Chairman and we continue to this day to focus and CEO until March 2005. Under on attracting top talent and growing his nearly 40 years of leadership, the business. A strength of Starr has Maurice R. Greenberg AIG grew from an initial market been the ability of our team to implevalue of $300 million to $180 ment our plans and to execute, which billion, becoming the largest insurance company is a differentiator for Starr. in the world. Greenberg is also the Chairman of We are in the people business. While Starr The Starr Foundation, a philanthropic organi- has made significant investments in technology zation initially funded by Cornelius Vander and is leveraging technology to operate more Starr’s estate. The Foundation has made more efficiently and effectively, at the end of the day than $3.8 billion in grants to many academic, our business is about people and relationships. medical, cultural and public policy organizaYou have been a leader in addressing tions around the world. A decorated United societal need through personal contributions States Army veteran, Greenberg served in and as Chairman of the Starr Foundation. both World War II and the Korean conflict, What is the mission of The Starr Foundation serving as a company commander. Greenberg and how has it evolved over time? r eceived his pr e-law certificate from the The Starr Foundation was valued at $15 University of Miami and an LLB from New York million when Mr. Starr died. It is currently worth Law School. about $1.7 billion, and we have donated more than $3.8 billion over the years. The Foundation COMPANY BRIEF Starr Insurance Companies supports many causes and has been heavily (starrcompanies.com) is a global, privately engaged in health and education. There is held insurance and investments organization. great need in our communities, but we can’t do Through its operating companies, Starr Insurance Companies provides commercial property and casualty insurance, as well as accident and health insurance products worldwide, with significant access to the U.S. excess and surplus marketplace for certain lines of business.

Starr Insurance Companies underwrites a wide variety of specialty and international lines including aviation, marine, energy, environmental, crisis management, excess casualty insurance, accident and health, and political risk insurance.

Starr Insurance Companies also provides a broad spectrum of insurance-r elated services including claims handling and settlement, reinsurance, risk assessment, loss control and worldwide travel assisThe Greenberg Pavilion at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital tance services.

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everything for everyone. Instead, we focus our efforts on the areas where we can do the most good. We have done a tremendous amount and are proud of our efforts. We have done great work in the healthcare industry with hospitals in New York and elsewhere, in education within many universities, some of which offer excellent degrees in risk management, such as St. John’s University, and in many other areas. I believe it is a responsibility for leading companies and organizations to be engaged in their communities and involved in addressing societal needs.

You have been a leader in supporting U.S.-China relations. Where do you see this relationship today and how critical is it for there to be a strong, mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries?

I have been traveling to China for more than 50 years and our company has been doing business there for many years, so we have a long and deep understanding of China. The United States and China should do whatever is possible to maintain a relationship that benefits both countries. The leaders of both countries need to realize the importance of having constructive policies in place that encourage investment and doing business to benefit the populations of both countries.

The relationship is challenging now, but we’ll find a way to improve it.

What do you tell young people about the type of career the insurance industry offers?

Starr is recruiting all the time. Insurance is a necessary element to growing any business and any economy. We have hired many people out of the best schools who understand that this is a dynamic industry that offers great opportunities to grow and make an impact. The insurance industry offers tremendous opportunities for young people who have the energy and desire to work hard, and we are attracting the best and brightest at Starr.

It is the responsibility of industry leaders to convey the message that insurance has an important role to play in securing many business needs in our economy. I am certain that as students understand and learn more about the industry, they will continue to be attracted to its innovation, creativity, and importance.

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NORTH AMERICAN

quality & craftsmanship 90 YEARS IN THE MAKING

©2022 Ethan Allen Global, Inc.

PURPOSE

Protecting Abu Dhabi’s Environment An Interview with H.E. Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary General, Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) EDITORS’ NOTE Dr. Shaikha What is your vision for leading Salem Al Dhaheri is the Secretary the Environment Agency – Abu General of the Environment Dhabi ( E A D ) a n d h o w d o y o u Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), the d e f i n e i t s mission? largest environmental regulator As the largest environmental in the Middle East, responsible regulator in the Middle East and for pr otecting and pr eserving as mandated under our establishthe natural resources and ment Law No. (16) of 2005, our goal promoting sustainable develis to protect Abu Dhabi’s environopment in the emirate. Dr. Al ment. This is also perfectly aligned Dhaheri holds a PhD in Wildlife with our vision, “A sustainable, wellConservation and Protection protected and healthy environment H.E. Dr. Shaikha Salem from the University of Aberdeen that enhances quality of life.”

Al Dhaheri in the United Kingdom, which Our mission – “To protect the makes her the first Emirati environment and promote sustainw o m a n t o e a r n t h e a c c o l a d e . S h e a l s o ability, through innovative environmental holds two masters degr ees, one in envi- management, and impact-oriented policies r o n m e n t a l s c i e n c e f r o m U A E U n i v e r s i t y and regulations, in collaboration with our (UAEU) in Al Ain, and another in biolog- partners and the broader community” – helps ical conservation fr om the University of us work towards our vision and we do that Kent in the United Kingdom. She ear ned by using innovative and best in the business her bachelor’s degr ee in envir onmental conservation management tools and effective species from UAEU. Dr. Al Dhaheri began policy and regulatory measures. We also her career at EAD as a Researcher Assistant work closely with our partners and, most in the Agency’s Terr estrial Envir onment importantly, we engage with local communiResearch in 2000 and was later appointed ties as we believe that no environmental as Executive Director of the Terrestrial and issues and challenges can be resolved without Marine Biodiversity Sector in 2012. In this the buy-in and active engagement of our biggest role, she spearheaded initiatives to promote a comprehensive understanding of the state of biodiversity in Abu Dhabi and ensured that the sector’s goals were in line with Abu Dhabi Environment Vision 2030 and the Abu Dhabi Plan, among other national and emirate-level directives. She has played a defining role in establishing a clear vision for the sector to facilitate a sustainable environment and future for Abu Dhabi.

AGENCY BRIEF Established in 1996, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) is committed to protecting and enhancing air quality, groundwater as well as the biodiversity of Abu Dhabi’s desert and marine ecosystem. By partnering with other government entities, the private sector, NGOs and global environmental agencies, it embraces inter national best practice, innovation and hard work to institute effective policy measures. EAD (ead.gov.ae) seeks to raise environmental awareness, facilitate sustainable development and ensure environmental issues remain a top priority on the Abu Dhabi national agenda.

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stakeholders, which is our people. By achieving our mission, we use the best human resources from across the world and some of the most advanced and innovative technologies available today.

As the Secretary General of the Environment Agency, I am responsible for leading the Agency towards our vision. I not only wholeheartedly believe in it, but I constantly strive to achieve this through our institutional process and our five-year strategy.

Will you provide an overview of EAD’s five-year strategy?

Our five-year strategy is our guiding force.

It not only mainstreams our vision and mission, but it also clearly details a series of initiatives across our work areas to help us bring the strategy to life.

To achieve our vision of a sustainable, well-protected and healthy environment, we need to protect our biodiversity, keep our air, water and soil clean and take actions to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. To do this, we undertake several main programs of work, namely: • Monitoring and assessment • Regulation, inspection and enforcement • Establishing protected areas

EAD monitors a wide variety of biodiversity in the emirates, including the Arabian Oryx show above

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• Captive breeding and restoration of biodiversity • Outreach and awareness Our monitoring and assessment program comprises all aspects of terrestrial and marine biodiversity of the emirate, from small insects to large charismatic species, such as the Arabian Oryx and Dugong, to monitoring the quality of our air, soil and water. These provide us with a good understanding of the state of our environment and help inform the development of regulations and policies, and management actions.

We have programs in place to monitor and protect the biodiversity of the emirate.

Our protected areas program helps us identify and establish terrestrial and marine protected areas to help protect some of the most endangered species and their habitats within the Sheikh Zayed Protected Area Network.

We also maintain and protect and propagate species in our collections for reintroduction and release programs, both in the UAE and outside of the country. We have two conservation breeding facilities for animals and have a plant nursery which produces nearly 500,000 plants of nearly 69 native plant species for restoring our habitats. We are developing another native plant nursery, a seed storage facility, and a state-of-the-art plant genetic resource center for supporting our habitat restoration initiatives.

Our outreach programs help raise awareness and change behavior to protect the environment. We have a long running and highly successful program with schools, called the Sustainable School Initiative, as well as with several colleges and universities under the Sustainable Campus Initiative, which also helps raise awareness, build capacity, and promote overall sustainability.

We maintain an ever-growing environmental database on all aspects of Abu Dhabi’s environment. We have automated our field data collection for our scientists and inspectors to allow seamless integration of data from the field into our environmental database. The availability of accurate and credible datasets and advanced computing and analyses capabilities helps us in quick decision-making.

Of course, developing regulations and policies is of little benefit if we do not monitor compliance, so we also have a program of inspections and enforcement for non-compliance with permit conditions.

What are the keys to protecting and preserving the natural resources and promoting sustainable development in the emirate?

One of the main keys to protect and preserve natural resources is through an in-depth understanding of how both the natural and anthropogenic systems of Abu Dhabi function and interact with each other. As we know, most of the current environmental challenges are outcomes of how we have used and interacted with our environment.

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Another aspect of EAD’s mission is to protect the air quality of Abu Dhabi

Our primary objective is protecting the emirate’s natural capital, and as an Agency, we devote ourselves to this task. However, we also have a duty to ensure that Abu Dhabi achieves its economic and social aspirations. Sustainable development can only be achieved by balancing social, economic and environmental forces, both locally and globally.

EAD, as a science-based entity, has a good understanding of the natural environment and how it functions. As a government regulator, we are also positioned to have insight into the political and economic workings of the emirate. As individual members of the communities in which we live, we have a good understanding of society’s needs, wants, and aspirations.

The key, of course, is being able to turn this knowledge and understanding into actions that align all three elements, or at least into a state of balance that supports sustainable development. This requires excellent negotiation and communication skills to convince others of the importance of preserving natural resources, while at the same time achieving the balance that is sustainable development.

There are three other key elements to protect our natural resources and ensure sustainable development in the emirate. These are: a) understanding and appreciation of our natural resources; b) demonstrating its importance to a wider group of stakeholders to protect and conserve them and create awareness for the benefits that follow; and c) recognition of the emirate’s ambitions and aspirations for sustainable economic growth.

Our long-term monitoring of Abu Dhabi’s environment has allowed us to understand our environment and our natural resources and helped to communicate this to everyone, from leadership to the general public, thus

creating an appreciation for them and recognition of their values. It is vital to demonstrate the values of protecting Abu Dhabi’s biodiversity – to government entities, private sector and business entities – and how it benefits and helps Abu Dhabi towards its development and growth and positioning the emirate on a global scale.

The third key element is recognizing the need for development and ensuring that we help Abu Dhabi develop sustainably, balancing the needs of economic growth, environmental protection and preservation of cultures and traditions.

How do you focus your ef forts in leading EAD and what excited you about the opportunity to lead the Agency?

Abu Dhabi’s natural heritage is literally in my blood. I am Emirati – this is my homeland.

I live and breathe the environment.

As our nation’s founder, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan said, “We cherish our environment because it is an integral part of our country, our history and our heritage. On land and in the sea, our forefathers lived and survived in this environment. They were able to do so only because they recognized the need to conserve it, to take from it only what they needed to live, and to preserve it for succeeding generations. With God’s will, we shall continue to work to protect our environment and our wildlife, as did our forefathers before us. It is a duty, and, if we fail, our children, rightly, will reproach us for squandering an essential part of their inheritance, and of our heritage.”

I am fortunate to be of the generation that has seen the rapid development of our country.

I have seen the desert bloom; I have also seen it bulldozed. I know that to develop sustainably, we need to compromise to achieve a balance between our natural capital and our economic and human capital.

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As Secretary General of the Environment Agency, I am so blessed to be entrusted to make sure that we take from the environment only what we need to live and preserve it for succeeding generations. As a mother of five, I take this responsibility very seriously. I want my children and their children to experience the bountiful natural capital Abu Dhabi offers.

How critical are metrics to measure the impact of EAD’s efforts?

That well-known saying, “you cannot manage what you do not measure,” may sound cliché, but it is true, especially when trying to manage the environment. We need to measure and monitor both the environment and the effectiveness of our actions. Unless we understand what is going on in the environment, how it functions, what pressures it faces, the impacts of those pressure, etc., we cannot even begin to manage them.

We have extensive environmental monitoring programs in place that provide us with world-class information on the state of our environment. We know the quality of our ambient air from our sophisticated, e-linked ambient air quality monitoring network, made up of 20 monitoring stations across the emirate. We see the extent and distribution of our ecosystems from our world-leading remote sensed mapping. We know both the quantity and quality of our precious groundwater reserves from our extensive network of monitoring wells, and the quality of our marine waters from our network of automated buoys.

We have long-term trend data on important terrestrial and marine species which helps us with the management of our species. We undertake assessment of species and ecosystems to identify the risk that they face, and we use that information in setting priorities for conservation of species and ecosystems. Our monitoring and assessment of species and habitats provides us with the critical information on areas and species to restore and rehabilitate or implement conservation actions to improve their status.

Performance metrics are essential for our values of “Results-Oriented” and “Ownership and Accountability” to keep us on track and accountable.

How do you define success for EAD? As a member of the community, success is also my ability to go and see Abu Dhabi’s wildlife in protected areas, or to be able to go kayaking in the mangroves, against the stunning backdrop of the Abu Dhabi skyline. Success is also about going to the beach and being able to enjoy a swim in clean waters or even for recreational fishing in our waters.

As Secretary General, success means the same, but somewhat differently. Success is fulfilling our yearly targets as per our fiveyear strategy. Success is maintaining a stable number of dugongs as the second biggest population in the world or maintaining the only breeding population of the flamingos in the Arabian Gulf or maintaining the air quality to an acceptable level.

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Success to me is discovering species new to science; in hosting and protecting the largest population of the Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin, to restoring the Arabian Oryx in our protected areas and seeing their status improve from being once extinct in the wild, to being listed as vulnerable.

“I want my children and their children to experience the bountiful natural capital Abu Dhabi offers.”

Success is also seeing Abu Dhabi and EAD help towards conserving species outside of the UAE. For more than a decade we have helped support the conservation of migratory species of birds of prey and dugongs across their range and we have successfully hosted the CMS Abu Dhabi Office. Success to me is fostering partnerships with international institutions, such as the International Union for the Conservation for Nature, in conserving species globally. Success is also developing facilities, resources, and skills within EAD to see the return of the Scimitarhorned Oryx in the wild in Chad and reversing its status for good.

For me, success is also not resting on our past laurels but using them to step up efforts to further improve our environment. This can be achieved through recovering our fisheries from less than 6 percent caught sustainably to nearly 57 percent caught sustainably in just three years or restoring mangroves. It could also be developing our plant genetic resources to help us in developing the best varieties of native species for restoration.

Success to me is also introducing regulatory and policy measures, such as to sustainably manage our rangelands to prevent overgrazing or help entities maintain important aspects of our culture and traditions such as falconry.

I truly believe the success of my organization is being part of the sustainable economic growth and development of the emirate, recognizing socio-cultural needs, community

aspirations and maintenance of culture and traditions linked to our biological resources.

Success is also to position EAD and Abu Dhabi in shaping the global conservation agenda, when one of our own becomes the President of the largest and oldest conservation organization in the world. Here, I am talking about our Managing Director of EAD and Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Her Excellency Razan Al Mubarak. Global recognition of our protected areas or EAD winning the outstanding contribution to biodiversity and other awards by reputed international organizations are also measures of our success.

What are your key priorities for EAD as you look to the future?

Moving forward, we will continue to work and implement initiatives or introduce new initiatives to help us make real progress to achieve our seven strategic priorities of our five-year strategy. They are linked to air, water, soil, ground water, biodiversity, climate change and creating knowledge and data which helps us develop policies, regulations to manage our environment, and create an environmentally conscious community.

Having said that, the next few decades will be extremely important for all of us. Climate change and the Net to Zero by 2050 strategic initiative, announced by the UAE government last year, will be the driving forces and will define growth and development. My priority will be to ensure EAD is helping the emirate move towards climate neutrality and act as an important player in mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change.

Another important priority will be to ensure we continue to manage our ground water resources and continue to build our strategic water reservoir so that it provides us with water security during any kind of emergency.

We will also continue to work around the clock to ensure that our air and water are clean more than 90 percent of the time.

On the biodiversity front, we will continue to invest in monitoring our biological resources in a manner that helps us protect our species and ecosystems, so that we continue to avoid development in environmentally important areas. We will increase our protected area coverage to 30 percent by 2030 and make the network more representative.

Moreover, we will continue to be one of the leaders when it comes to urban biodiversity, reducing our ecological footprint and undertaking restoration of our degraded coastal and marine areas to complement the UN decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.

Our priorities will also be to restore areas where it is needed, without impacting other equally important habitats. We will continue to restore fisheries to ensure more than 90 percent are caught sustainably in the coming decade, and we will restore mangroves and corals to acceptable levels.

Finally, we will continue to undertake efforts to build partnerships globally and maintain EAD’s leading role in defining the global conservation priorities.

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The door to the future is open We empower financial institutions.

We collaborate to innovate.

We open doors for people, businesses and communities.

#OpenFinance

PURPOSE

Shaping Society for the Better An Interview with Brad S. Karp, Chairman, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison EDITORS’ NOTE Chairman of the firm since 2008, Brad Karp is one of the country’s leading lawyers and corporate advisers. He has extensive experience successfully defending financial institutions and other companies in “bet the company” litigations and regulatory matters.

Judge Rifkind’s statement of firm principles is inscribed prominently on our website, and we continue to abide by those principles today. Our dedication to pro bono and to diversity, equity and inclusion is a big part of what makes Paul, Weiss such a special place to work and it’s why many of us joined the firm in the first place.

FIRM BRIEF Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, We also share core values of collaboWharton & Garrison (paulweiss.com) ration, mutual respect and professionis a firm of more than 1,000 lawyers alism, and we try to incorporate those Brad S. Karp with diverse backgrounds, personalvalues into all that we do. ities, ideas and interests who collabHow do you define the role of oratively provide innovative solutions to their a law firm today and has the role become clients’ most critical and complex legal and more about being a business partner for business challenges. Paul, Weiss represents the clients as opposed to solely providing legal world’s lar gest public and privately held counsel? corporations and investors, as well as clients in At Paul, Weiss, we have always viewed need of pro bono assistance. our role as helping our clients solve their most important legal and business challenges, but the How do you describe Paul, Weiss’ purpose? past two decades have seen a rapid change in Paul, Weiss has always been a purpose- the law firm-client relationship, and the expecdriven law firm. Our commitment to break tations imposed on our firm have also evolved. down cultural barriers began a century ago, A generation ago, large law firms paid when Louis Weiss and John Wharton joined scant attention to the value they produced for forces, creating the first New York firm the hours billed, and the default was that where Jews and Gentiles practiced side by major client relationships were passed down side. Judge Simon Rifkind underscored that between partners. Fast forward to today, where when he wrote a statement of firm principles consumers of legal services are in the driver’s embracing diversity and inclusion in 1963; seat, determining the value of legal matters, he wrote that “we believe in maintaining, by who will provide legal services, how the services affirmative efforts, a membership of partners are provided, and at what cost. The law firmand associates reflecting a wide variety of client relationship is considerably less “sticky.” religious, political, ethnic and social back- To be successful – to have our clients turn to us grounds;” that “our objectives are, by pooling again and again – we need to be not just legal our energies, talents and resources, to achieve advisors, but true business partners. Excellence the highest order of excellence” in the prac- in client service remains vitally important, but tice of law; and that we bear responsibilities we need to continually demonstrate how our “both to our profession and our country.” work offers a compelling value proposition. We

need to approach each matter more commercially and focus on providing solutions, not just presenting advice. We need to deeply understand our clients’ business goals, professional culture, key stakeholders and risk tolerance.

How do you differentiate Paul, Weiss from its peers in the industry and what do you feel is the Paul, Weiss advantage?

Paul, Weiss is a firm with a unique combination of exceptional client service and unshakeable commitment to social justice. We are unusually outspoken within the legal industry on issues of critical national interest, whether we are challenging racially motivated violence or state voter disenfranchisement laws or working to safeguard reproductive rights. This combination is a compelling advantage for us in the market for talent and with many clients, who appreciate our unique identity.

Another important differentiator is that we know our strengths and we stick to our knitting.

We don’t try to be all things to all clients, but rather we focus on five areas where we lead the market: public M&A, private equity, litigation, white collar and regulatory defense, and restructuring.

At the same time, we are continually evolving to meet our clients’ needs – in fact, we go out of our comfort zone to meet them. That responsiveness is why we were the first major law firm to launch a dedicated Sustainability & ESG Advisory practice in April 2020, and why we opened up a new office in San Francisco in January 2021, our first in 11 years.

Will you highlight Paul, Weiss’ commitment to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and how the firm is reaching diverse talent in its recruitment efforts?

Cultivating a diverse community is, and always has been, a crucial ingredient in our success and firm culture. Making space for

“Our dedication to pro bono and to diversity, equity and inclusion is a big part of what makes Paul, Weiss such a special place to work and it’s why many of us joined the firm in the first place.”

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“Paul, Weiss has always been a purpose-driven law firm. Our commitment to break down cultural barriers began a century ago, when Louis Weiss and John Wharton joined forces, creating the first New York firm where Jews and Gentiles practiced side by side.” different worldviews both enriches our experience and leads to more effective and creative solutions for our clients. As we all know, building a diverse and inclusive workforce requires commitment over the long run. While we continue to make progress in recruiting diverse talent, there is still much more work to be done. The challenges we face are not unique to our firm, but we are committed to continuing to lead in this area. Three years ago, we created an Inclusion Task Force, co-chaired by me, Deputy Chair Valerie Radwaner and Litigation Department Co-Chair Ted Wells, to tackle this issue head on and make structural changes aimed at transforming the experience of our associates, with a particular focus on our diverse and women associates. That generated scores of initiatives, which we have implemented.

Within the firm, we are also collaborating with our Black Lawyers Network and our other affinity-based networks to enhance the way we recruit, retain, mentor and advance diverse lawyers. So, for instance, we have increased the number of historically Black colleges and universities where we are recruiting talent, and that effort is already a big success. We have expanded our partnerships with nonprofit organizations to focus on creating a larger pool of diverse talent by demystifying the legal profession for students as young as junior high and high school. Finally, we have increased the number of diversity scholarships or stipends that we offer in partnership with these organizations or through our own hiring process.

What do you see as Paul, Weiss’ responsibility to the communities it serves?

We feel a keen sense of duty to all of the communities we serve. An example of this was our unprecedented effort to support individuals and small businesses in New York after

the pandemic hit. We created and populated a website for those needing urgent help with information on some 1,600 government and charitable assistance programs and instructions on how to access relief. Some 400 lawyers ultimately contributed to that effort and/or provided direct services to those in need.

You see this commitment at every level across our firm. My partner Jeh Johnson, the former Secretary for Homeland Security, and a team of Paul, Weiss lawyers, produced a bracing report on racism and racial inequities in the New York state court system that will help bring about real change for those working in the courts and those passing through. And my partner Jennifer Wu, also alongside a Paul, Weiss team, researched and wrote an impactful, much-covered report with the Asian American Bar Association of New York detailing the rise in anti-Asian hate incidents across the city; Jennifer and others are now representing individual victims of that violence.

Will you provide an overview of Paul, Weiss’ pro bono practice and the key issues the practice addresses?

We have always devoted significant firm resources to high-impact pro bono cases, many of which have shaped our society for the better, from the racial desegregation of schools in Brown v. Board of Education, to marriage equality in U.S. v. Windsor, to our work across several key issues today. Representing the last abortion clinic in Mississippi, we are leading, alongside the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Supreme Court appeal in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the most significant reproductive rights case since Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Roe v. Wade.

We are courageously leading several landmark lawsuits seeking to hold hate groups financially accountable for racist violence. Last

November, our lawyers won a $26 million verdict against the organizers of the 2017 Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally. We are representing the D.C. Attorney General in a similar civil suit against the groups that organized and led the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, on behalf of those injured by the attack, including many police officers.

Alongside the Brennan Center and others, we are leading efforts to challenge state restrictions on voting and, last April, we coalesced over 100 law firms and major corporations to publicly oppose such restrictions.

In February, we were thrilled to welcome Steve Banks to the firm as our new Pro Bono Special Counsel. Steve spent over three decades at New Yo r k C i t y ’ s L e g a l A i d S o c i e t y and most recently served as commissioner of New York City’s Department of Social Services.

He is a national leader in the area of housing rights and homelessness, and I am excited to see Steve make our extraordinary pro bono program even more impactful.

What do you tell young people about the type of career the legal profession offers?

Lawyering opens up a world of opportunities to follow your passions and build a fulfilling, meaningful career. At its core, it is about helping others. There is something in the law for everybody, whether it’s helping businesses grow and evolve, protecting their most valuable innovations, defending clients at trial, serving in important public or academic roles, or fighting to safeguard fundamental liberties and freedoms.

A legal career rewards creativity and innovation because we are solving our clients’ most pressing and complex problems. There has never been a better time to make an impact and effect real change through the law.

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“Making space for different worldviews both enriches our experience and leads to more effective and creative solutions for our clients.”

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PURPOSE

Building a Kinder and Braver World An Interview with Maya Smith, Executive Director, Born This Way Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE In her role as Will you provide an overview the first Executive Director of Born of the work of Born This Way This Way Foundation, Maya Smith Foundation and its initiatives? engages a diverse array of partners Born This Way Foundation builds across sectors to conduct innovayouth-focused programs and engaging tive r esearch, builds authentic campaigns that increase access to youth-focused programming and resources, drive action and build leads effective campaigns that foster community. The Foundation’s work kindness and advance the converalso focuses on research and strasation around mental health. With tegic, cross-sectoral partnerships that nearly 20 years of experience in the inform and bolster these high-impact youth empowerment, civic engageprograms and campaigns.

Maya Smith ment and community developBorn This Way Foundation’s ment fields, Smith previously Channel Kindness (channelkindness.org) served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief is a digital platform and safe space for young Operating Officer of Mobilize.org and began people to tell their stories of kindness, resilher career as East Coast Coordinator for Rock ience and community, as well as pledge to the Vote. In addition to her work with Born take action i m m e d i a t e l y b y s u p p o r t i n g This Way Foundation, she is a proud member o r g a n i z a t i o n s , ad vocating for communiof the Presidential Leadership Scholars Class of ties, writing letters, caring for their own mental 2022 and serves on the Bullying Prevention health and more. Campaigns like #BeKind21 Advisory Committee (BPAC) for the Mental and #PleaseStayPledge engage individuals and Health Services Oversight and Accountability organizations around the world in activities to Commission (MHSOAC). Smith is a graduate support the well-being of their own minds and of Rutgers University. build communities that prioritize mental health.

Born This Way Foundation hosts #BeKind21 annually, a global movement which calls on participants to practice an act of kindness each day from September 1 to September 21, 2021 was the largest #BeKind21 campaign to date, with more than 6.8 million participants and over 142 million pledged acts of kindness. Born This Way Foundation shared a variety of materials throughout the month including evidencebased self-care tips, #BeKind21 social post templates to invite others to join, mental health resources, help lines and chat services, a custom #BeKind21 calendar for participants to follow and practice intentional acts of kindness each day, and more.

In the height of the pandemic, we also partnered with Find Your Anchor, a grassroots suicide prevention resource, to create the Please Stay campaign, which is a resource and pledge encouraging anyone who visits the website to find resources for support. Moreover, Born This Way Foundation works with leading experts and youth themselves to conduct and amplify quality research. The Kindness Is Action report, for example, which we released last spring,

FOUNDATION BRIEF Born This Way Foundation (bornthisway.foundation), co-founded and led by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, supports the mental health of young people and works with them to build a kinder and braver world.

Will you highlight the history of Born This Way Foundation and how you define its mission?

Born This Way Foundation was founded in 2012 by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, and works to promote the mental health and wellness of youth by making kindness cool, validating the emotions of young people and eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health. The Foundation focuses on modeling healthy conversations about mental health, connecting young people with resources and services – online and offline – and building communities that understand, prioritize, and foster good mental health.

This year, Born This Way Foundation is celebrating its 10th Anniversary. Since its inception, Born This Way Foundation has worked in support of and with young people to build a kinder and braver world.

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Left to Right - Maya Smith, Lady Gaga, Cynthia Germanotta

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Billboard in Times Square featuring Please Stay messaging

collected data from thousands of youth and parents to better understand the intersection of kindness and mental health and the factors that affect and support young people’s mental health.

At the heart of our work though, truly is youth voices. We recruited 29 youth from across the globe to advise on the Foundation’s initiatives to ensure the Foundation is responsive to the needs of youth everywhere. Whether it’s messaging or how we discuss something on our own platforms, their voices inform and enhance our work.

This spring, we’re excited to launch many new initiatives that build upon our legacy that we’ve created and bring awareness and action to even more youth and people in general. In March, we released an all-new, first-of-its-kind mental health resource that teaches young people how to identify if their peers are struggling with mental health: the Be There Certificate.

Created in partnership with Jack.org, with major funding provided by Under Armour, the certificate will be the first-ever certificate to provide the tools and the knowledge to support someone struggling with their mental health. Just as Google Analytics or premier U.S. universities launched online training for further education, Born This Way Foundation is now doing the same for mental health. The Be There Certificate is available in English, French and Spanish, offering universal best practices in supporting youth mental health. Realistic scenarios enable learners to dive deeper into the complexities of what they learned online to real-life situations and will train young people to safely support their peers struggling with mental health.

This is just one of the many important milestones we’re focusing on and we look forward to unveiling more groundbreaking programming throughout the year.

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What was the vision for creating the storytelling platform, Channel Kindness, and how has this platform evolved?

ChannelKindness.org, our online storytelling platform, was created to elevate youth voices and inspire readers. It’s a safe space where individuals, organizations, and educators can read and share their stories of resilience, kindness, and bravery to both foster a sense of community and to inspire others across the globe. It has evolved to emphasize the idea of kindness as action, by providing action steps

to take at the end of each story. For example, you could sign a pledge, share your own story, send a kind letter, or sign up for Born This Way Foundation’s annual kindness campaign #BeKind21. Channel Kindness stories and the resulting action inspires me, and the entire team at Born This Way Foundation, to push forward on our mission to build a kinder, braver world.

We often call ourselves and this platform the “Kindest corner of the internet!”

Born This Way Foundation places a major emphasis on research. Will you discuss the importance of research in making sure that Born This Way Foundation’s programming is grounded in the latest scientific evidence?

The goal of our research is to collect, learn from and amplify lived experiences on the issues that guide our work every day. We believe research is a necessary tool to help solve the problems facing our communities and build a kinder, braver world. Collecting and documenting youth experiences of mental health and the factors that impact their wellbeing allows us to effectively leverage our resources and ensure all of our programming is grounded in the latest scientific evidence so we can appropriately meet the needs of youth everywhere.

In 2021, Born This Way Foundation worked with The Harris Poll to survey over 2,000 young people ages 13 to 24 in the United States to explore how kindness affects mental health, including how young people define kindness, the impact of kindness on mental wellness and how young people are using kindness to cope with overlapping and ongoing crises. Released during Mental Health Awareness Month, the results revealed an undeniable link to how kindness helps young people feel safe, confident and less alone. The survey served as a

Born This Way Foundation and Jack.org partnered to create the Be There Certificate (BeThereCertificate.org), a first-of-its-kind mental health resource

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precursor to #BeKind21, our largest annual campaign, by showcasing why kindness is so important for our resilience, mental health and communities, and offers insight into how we can support others and build a kinder, braver world. We also released findings on a two-year comparison study in Las Vegas that looks at why mental health resource accessibility is key, in addition to how college students are open to peer help.

Later this spring, we’ll be revealing findings about research on the importance of kindness in the workplace and its impact on employee mental health in partnership with Indeed, in addition to educators’ mental health with our partner, DonorsChoose.

How did Born This Way Foundation adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the global pandemic?

As communities across the world faced the trauma of a pandemic and a host of global challenges, Born This Way Foundation worked to understand and meet people where they are.

In the Kindness is Action survey, a majority (73 percent) of young people say receiving kindness improves their mental wellness, but experiencing kindness varies across race, ethnicities, gender, sexual orientation and financial security.

This finding has helped guide the Foundation’s programmatic approach.

The 2021 #BeKind21 campaign was uniquely designed to be responsive to today’s movements, to showcase that kindness is not an empty gesture; rather, kindness is a verb. To be kind is to speak up. To be kind is to prioritize your mental wellness. To be kind is to advocate for a world that values, validates and respects all people.

Fortunately, the Kindness is Action survey found that since the start of the pandemic, 70 percent of young people report feeling more

comfortable seeking resources to improve their mental wellness and over two-thirds report a greater willingness among family (68 percent) and friends (67 percent) to talk about mental wellness. Born This Way Foundation has worked tirelessly to provide these resources and meet young people where they are online and provide actionable resources and support.

In a particularly challenging year, the Foundation’s initiatives and campaigns worked in tandem to advance its mission toward building a kinder, braver world. The pandemic has affected nearly every sector of our professional and personal lives, and it’s important that we look more closely at how our mental health contributes to our overall wellness.

Will you discuss Lady Gaga’s passion and commitment for the work of Born This Way Foundation and how deeply engaged she is in its efforts?

The transformative impact that kindness has had on our co-founder, Lady Gaga, or LG as I call her, is what propelled Born This Way Foundation into the world almost a decade ago. She is a driving force in our work and is involved in everything that we do – from the strategic vision to late night texts on messaging for social media. We have many examples, including our CHANNEL KINDNESS: Stories of Kindness and Community book, which was a collection of stories she helped curate, which was inherently designed to fulfill or mitigate the absence of kindness felt by filling the negative space.

Additionally, late last year, we debuted a film, which she took center stage in as part of a World Kindness Day special. It was a commanding short film highlighting the personal mental health experiences of a group of young people and explored the strong relationship between kindness and mental health.

Lady Gaga and mental health expert Dr. Alfiee

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Breland-Noble (she/her/hers) engaged in a compelling and intimate conversation with 11 incredible young people who openly talked about their mental health journeys, supporting one another, to ultimately defy the stigma.

Did you always know you had a passion for this type of work and what makes the work so special for you?

Yes. I haven’t thought of this memory in many years, but given the crisis unfolding in Eastern Europe, I remember my first memory of the power of storytelling. My mother was a journalist in Communist Romania before immigrating to the United States a couple of years before I was born. When the Romanian Revolution was unfolding in 1989, she went back to Romania to tell the stories of her homeland for 60 Minutes. She went to the place many people were fleeing, because stories matter and they must be heard.

Later, my mother became a psychoanalyst and her choices again shaped my passion and purpose in the world. I knew from a very early age that I wanted to build community and bear witness to stories, leveraging every platform, relationship and invitation I received in service to that mission.

What are your priorities for Born This Way Foundation as you look to the future?

Now and forever, kindness is at the cornerstone of everything we do, and we believe that it is the starting point of every first step toward taking care of our mental health. We believe that improving youth mental health is beyond meeting them during crises: it must include supporting their everyday lives while providing skills and resources to address mental health challenges.

That’s our to do list, every day. We will continue to invest in programs, partnerships, campaigns and most importantly, young people, with the goals of increasing access to – and creation of – resources that support mental health and point to kindness as the way forward for all.

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VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

CORPORATE PURPOSE; INVESTING IN SOCIETY

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Sponsored by ConantLeadership

PURPOSE

Making a Lasting Impact An Interview with Dino E. Robusto, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CNA Financial Corporation EDITORS’ NOTE With a career Although culture develops organspanning more than 30 years, Dino ically over time, I believe it can be Robusto is a recognized industry expressly defined and directly influl e a d e r. B e f o r e C N A , h e held enced. Fundamentally, culture is a various positions at Chubb, serving behavior set based on clearly articuas President of Commercial and lated expectations on how to fulfill the Specialty Lines, and President of purpose we established and achieve Personal Lines and Claims. He success. To bring this to life, we has also held several underwriting promote and develop a very intenand field roles of ever-increasing tional set of behaviors and we align magnitude wher e he honed his our reward framework accordingly. trade expertise. Additionally, he We want our people to be externally Dino E. Robusto had r esponsibility and overfocused, accountable, collaborative, sight for several functional areas, innovative and continually learning. including human resources, information tech- We work very hard to give employees the tools, nology, communications, corporate development, resources, and experiences that promote and external affairs and innovation. Robusto serves on develop these behaviors. In doing so, we have the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement USA; been able to create a company that has proven the Board of Trustees for The Institutes; and the to be innately adaptable and capable of consisBoard of Overseers for the Maurice R. Greenberg tently higher levels of performance.

School of Risk Management, Insurance and What are the keys to effective leaderActuarial Sciences at St. John’s University. He ship and how do you describe your manageformerly served on the Boards of Directors of ment style?

Applied Systems and RAND Corporation’s Institute Leadership, when done well, is incredfor Civil Justice, and on the Board of Advisors of ibly liberating. I say this because as a leader, Catalyst Inc. Robusto earned a bachelor’s degree your value and your impact is measured by in commerce, finance and economics from the entire collective impact of your team. The McGill University in Montreal, and is a grad- keys to unlocking this value as a leader are uate of The Wharton Business School Executive twofold. First, leaders must create a compelManagement Program. ling purpose for people in the company. This is more than goals, objectives, or a slogan. It COMPANY BRIEF CNA (cna.com) provides a is forging a palpable connection to how an broad range of standard and specialized prop- individual can truly impact what we are trying erty and casualty insurance products and services for businesses and professionals in the U.S., Canada and Europe, backed by more than 120 years of experience.

How do you define CNA’s purpose and how deeply is purpose engrained in CNA’s culture and values?

At CNA, our purpose is inextricable from our commitment to our customers. We strive to anticipate and meet the market’s prevailing needs by providing deep underwriting expertise coupled with a solution-oriented approach.

We do this by working hand in hand with our agent and broker partners to deliver the best possible solutions crafted by technical excellence, industry insight and backed by world class claims, servicing and risk control in what we know will be a dynamic, demanding and evolving market. This purpose is at the heart of everything that we do. Indeed, it is our culture.

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to achieve. This greater sense of purpose is different for different people, and we need to recognize this. Second, leadership means not only embracing change, but personally executing against it. If you don’t try to create the future, then the pace of change can seem overwhelming. This is why when you truly examine the success of companies that are able to move forward, innovate and create marketplace success, they have leadership that can couple vision and purpose with ground floor execution.

I am a strong believer in hiring and developing great diverse talent and using the power of collaboration to drive performance. This creates a mosaic of approaches, cultures and experiences. The role I take very personally is how to stitch that group together and point it at a singular outcome which is to improve each and every day for our customers, agents and broker partners, and employees. I am very fortunate to have a group of executives with broad and deep technical management skills.

I am most proud that this group is intentionally crafted around complimentary experiences, which when combined with my conviction towards collaboration, creates a whole that is greater than the proverbial sum of the parts.

In a business environment that evolves at an increasingly dramatic pace, this complimentary group will resolve the associated challenges and leverage the opportunities better than any CEO can do on their own.

“Leadership, when done well, is incredibly liberating. I say this because as a leader, your value and your impact is measured by the entire collective impact of your team.”

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“At CNA, our purpose is inextricable from our commitment to our customers.

We strive to anticipate and meet the market’s prevailing needs by providing deep underwriting expertise coupled with a solution-oriented approach.”

How will talent at CNA support CNA’s purpose today and in the future?

I firmly believe that insurance occupies a unique and privileged space. I have always said that a career in insurance is a noble profession, because what we do is provide an underlying stability to the global economy and commerce and mitigate a vast array of risks that companies face.

The shared experience of the last two years has further reinforced this. At the same time, the world is incredibly dynamic and a career in insurance is one that requires constant evolution in anticipation of the changes that you will undoubtedly face. To do this right, talent of all kinds matters. At the end of the day, you win and lose this game on the talent that you continually harness.

We know that our people are the key to our success. We are committed to the ongoing development of our people and ensuring they have new experiences and opportunities to grow. We look at expertise as a living body of knowledge and skills.

This expertise is built through years of experience.

At the same time, we know that we can add to that expertise by introducing new talent. The key is to seamlessly fuse talent in a way that brings different perspectives and experiences to the table and unify it to a larger purpose. We do things like pairing new folks with our more senior leaders for both mentoring and reverse mentoring. This provides immense two-way benefits. This dynamic builds upon itself by creating a team environment that is increasingly innovative, capable of making smarter decisions, and always learning.

Taken as a whole, this virtuous cycle fosters a greater ability for the team to adapt to change, and in the end if you can facilitate all of this, it leads to better performance and prepares the company for today and the future.

How important is it for CNA to build relationships with a broad range of organizations and institutions in order to make sure it is supporting diverse communities and reaching diverse talent?

At CNA, we are lucky to count more than one million businesses and professionals as our customers around the world. Companies of all shapes and sizes rely on our products and services day in and day out. In addition, we have a broad set of longstanding relationships with our agent and broker partners. To us, it is imperative that we support the communities in which our employees, customers, agents and broker partners belong in a meaningful way. Our customers are increasingly diverse – businesses are constantly evolving across industries and geographies. The same holds for our agent and broker partners who are in the same state of change. Both place great value on interacting with employees who understand their needs and that they can connect with.

Equally as important to this is that connections to these communities allow us to reach diverse talent. This makes us as a company more diverse, more culturally aware and stronger critical thinkers.

In turn, this makes us all better. These efforts serve a dual purpose of making a positive impact and advancing our business. We are increasingly

“At CNA, we have an unwavering commitment to the communities in which our employees and customers live and work. We want to make a lasting impact through partnerships, sustainability initiatives and working together for a better tomorrow.”

attracting diverse candidates, ones who are looking for proof that the organization for which they may be employed is one that embraces progressive thought and diversity. Our prospective talent pool has grown not just in terms of numbers, but the type of professionals and cultural backgrounds that are attracted to CNA because we are a company that embraces diversity and inclusion. We make that known and we are quite proud of it.

CNA has a long history of leading in corporate social responsibility. Will you discuss this commitment and the areas that CNA focuses on with its CSR work?

At CNA, we have an unwavering commitment to the communities in which our employees and customers live and work. We want to make a lasting impact through partnerships, sustainability initiatives and working together for a better tomorrow. Corporate social responsibility is not one person or one department, it’s the entire enterprise coming together to make a difference. Our commitment is broad, and our work is continuous throughout the year.

In regard to CSR, we focus on five key areas: Community involvement efforts that assist local communities; disaster preparedness, which helps communities prepare and recover from weather events big and small; diversity and inclusion; environmental issues; and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education.

CNA employees teach students in their local communities about financial literacy through our Junior Achievement program. We’re proud supporters of the American Red Cross, which provides comfort and relief the moment disaster strikes. We partner with organizations like Girls Who Code and Thurgood Marshall College Fund to introduce high school students to STEM career paths in the insurance industry.

For example, in 2021, CNA welcomed a group of high school students from Chicago into our headquarters for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Early Innovators program. These students spent their weekend building solutions for some of Chicago’s largest problems. The weekend concluded in a pitch competition and all students went home with scholarships towards higher education. Also in 2021, employees utilized CNA’s Matching Gifts program to double their impact, giving more than $500,000 to the organizations that matter the most to them.

Our employees place a lot of importance on giving back; it’s part of our DNA. Those seeking purpose and social benefits find a strong fit with CNA.

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PURPOSE

Creative Anarchy An Interview with Barbara R. Banke, Chairman and Proprietor, Jackson Family Wines

Barbara R. Banke

EDITORS’ NOTE One of the industry’s top executives and innovators, Jackson Family Wines’ (jacksonfamilywines.com) Chairman & Proprietor Barbara Banke has spent the last two decades leading the company she co-founded with her late husband, wine icon Jess Jackson. In addition to their flagship Kendall-Jackson winery, Banke and Jackson shaped nearly two dozen premium wineries across Sonoma, Napa, Monterey, Santa Barbara and Mendocino counties.

Today, the Jackson Family Wines’ portfolio is a global collection of world-class estate vineyards and wineries, including acclaimed pr operties in Or egon’s Willamette Valley, France, Italy, Chile, Australia, and South Africa. Banke takes a hands-on role developing and pr omoting the Jackson family’s wine estates, as well as in new vineyard acquisitions and a br oad range of other strategic initiatives. A well-known philanthropist, Banke is a passionate advocate for children’s and educational charities around the country. Most recently she was the Chair of the Sonoma County Wine Auction raising a record-breaking $5.2 million for the local 70 LEADERS

community. She and Jackson committed nearly $4 million to the Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building at UC Davis, designed to train the next generation of winemakers in sustainability practices. In addition, Banke and her family contributed $500,000 to help launch the Family Justice Center Sonoma County, assisting victims of domestic violence. She is also a global ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. When she is not sourcing new vineyard sites, Banke is active in Stonestreet Farms, the family’s Lexington, Kentucky-based equestrian racing stables.

Stonestreet Farms has produced Horses of the Year Curlin and Rachel Alexandra, as well as Eclipse Award winner Good Magic and Cartier Award winner My Miss Aurelia.

Banke is a graduate of UCLA and Hastings Law School. A former land use and constitutional law attorney, she spent more than a decade arguing cases before the United States Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal.

She raised three children with Jess (Katie, Julia and Christopher Jackson), who ar e each involved in Jackson Family Wines.

You are a leader in the wine industry with Jackson Family Wines, a leader in the horse industry with Stonestreet Farms, and a leader in philanthropy. Do you see these three areas as interrelated?

I am a farmer. I raise horses, I raise grapes – we make highly-acclaimed wine and we make champion racehorses.

What have been the keys to Jackson Family Wines’ strength and leadership in the industry?

We have a concept that I call creative anarchy. You start with a really good piece of land, you grow great grapes, you find someone special to make the wine, and you get out of the way. We let our winemakers have the freedom to do what they do best and our job is to provide them with the resources they need to create great wines.

What are the characteristics you look for when hiring your winemakers?

We look for people who are great at what they do, and will fit into our family culture. We have hired people who may not have had a tremendous amount of experience but were super talented and have been able to grow with the company. Sometimes we hire the ones with experience, and other times we hire ones who we know have the talent and the palate to do something special.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities for growth for Jackson Family Wines?

My kids might not react too well if I said we were going to add new wineries but all joking aside, wineries require a tremendous amount of attention in building the team, finding the right winemakers and taking care of the property. Having said that, there are always a few that we have our eyes on and we also plan to develop the existing wineries that we have even further.

How did Jackson Family Wines adapt its business to address the challenges caused by the pandemic and how proud are you to see the resilience of your team during this uncertain time?

I am very proud of our team. We have people that sell wines to restaurants and build relationships with restaurateurs, but there were no restaurants open. We had to put some of our great sommeliers on grocery store accounts during this time. We did not layoff people, instead we asked them to pivot as we needed to sell more

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A selection of Jackson Family Wines

wine off premise in stores and direct – we all did what we needed to do to make it through. I am really proud of the way our team responded and adapted during this unprecedented time.

Jackson Family Wines offers a wide selection of wines. How do you describe the range of offerings that you provide?

My husband used to say that he wanted to be the best damn wine company in the world – that describes our strategy pretty well.

We make the best wines and we have them at different price points. Some of our offerings are in large quantities and others are very limited, but the common factor is that they are all the best quality.

There has been such a proliferation of wines entering the market over the past years. How challenging is it to differentiate in the industry?

You have to communicate directly, and we have a lot of direct operations and partnerships with distributors who know us and understand our quality and value. We are getting more into digital communications and are adding a few people to our advisory board who have expertise in digital communications and direct-toconsumer business. This a real opportunity for us going forward.

Will the wine store and brick and mortar remain relevant as consumers buy more wine online?

If you go into a wine store and you see what they call the “wall of wine” it is an experience and there are people who can direct you and educate you about the different wines.

They can ask your taste preferences and what viticultural areas you like which provides human connection and builds a relationship. It is very hard to replace the human touch and personal relationship.

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Will you highlight Jackson Family Wines’ commitment to sustainability?

The wine world has experienced a series of events relating to climate in the past few years, such as wildfires and drought, and we are focused on making sure we are resilient and proactively addressing the issue of climate change. We see this as our responsibility to the next generation of people in our family, in our company, and in our communities – we feel a strong moral responsibility to lead in this area.

We have committed to cut our greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and become climate positive by 2050. We are partnering with other

wineries around the world in this effort and co-founded with Spain’s Familia Torres an organization called International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) whose mission is to galvanize the global wine community to create climate change mitigation strategies and decarbonize the industry. We currently have 27 members from around the world and are proud of the commitment and progress we have made in this work.

We are also focused on water and working on ways to conserve more water and become more water secure in the future. It is important for the industry to work together and

Barbara Banke with one of her Thoroughbred horses

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Jackson Family Wines’ vineyard in Veeder Park, Napa

collaborate in these efforts in order to make the most impact in addressing sustainability and the impacts of climate change.

Do you feel that there are strong opportunities for women to grow and lead in the wine industry?

The opportunities are there, and I tell young women to go for it. Today, half of our winemakers are women and we have more women in leadership roles than ever before. There are opportunities for women across marketing and PR, sales, production, vineyards, finance, and more. This is a great industry and I encourage young women to give it a try.

Where did your passion for horses develop?

My husband was great, but he was driving me crazy because if he did not have enough to do, he would micromanage everything in the wine business. I told him he should get a hobby, which was in 2008. He had been in the horse business much earlier in his life when he was helping his uncle who had a breeding operation and a few racehorses. My husband decided to go to the horse auction and buy a racehorse. He went into partnership on a horse and then proceeded to buy more and then bought a farm since he needed a place to put the horses. It happened pretty rapidly and I was not very involved in it at that time.

He then bought part of a horse named Curlin who was fabulous and that horse got me hooked on Thoroughbred horses. We would go to the races with Curlin and it was not about whether Curlin was going to win, it was about how much he would win by – it was really fun.

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At that time, my husband got sick and for us to continue this focus, I was going to need to get more involved and take it over. I wanted to continue this passion although I must admit that today I may be a little overcommitted with so many horses and so much property.

You have been a leader in philanthropy and support many causes. How do you approach your philanthropic work?

We have buckets where we focus our efforts.

In the horse world, this is aftercare where we donate to organizations that focus on the care, retraining and rehoming of racehorses once they leave the racetrack. My daughter, Katie, is also very involved in our philanthropy and we also focus on children’s charities where we can make a difference.

You have had many people in the company who have worked with you for a long time. How do you think they would describe your management style?

I think they would say that I am collaborative and fairly even keel. I try be a calming influence and to be there to support their needs.

As the company has grown, has it been important to keep a family culture?

This is important to us. Rick Tigner, who is our CEO, was hired as a young salesperson when he was 29 years old. He worked his way up and is an impactful and inspiring CEO. Many of the people who are with us have been here a long time and we see them as part of the family.

We think of ourselves as a family company.

Do you take time to reflect and celebrate the wins or are you always looking at what is ahead?

I am always thinking about tomorrow. There are times when you can’t help enjoy the moment, such as when I went to Royal Ascot to watch one of our horses, Lady Aurelia .We knew she was fast, but when she came out of the gate in a sprint race and won by eight lengths, that was a “wow” moment.

I am also so proud of our people and to work with family and see them grow and take over. It is really special.

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Trace Ridge vineyard in Knights Valley in Sonoma County, a Jackson Family Wines’ property

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505 Park Avenue at 59th Street, New York, NY 10022 • 212-838-7500 www.Sherry-Lehmann.com

PURPOSE

The Forefront of Science An Interview with Kenneth L. Davis, MD, Chief Executive Officer, Mount Sinai Health System EDITORS’ NOTE Dr. Kenneth How do you define Mount Sinai Davis attended the Icahn School Health System’s purpose? of Medicine at Mount Sinai Our purpose is discovering, and completed a residency developing and bringing to people and fellowship in psychiatry the newest, most cutting-edge theraand pharmacology, respecpeutics and diagnostics. You do not tively, at Stanfor d University come here for routine care – you Medical Center. Upon returning come here because we can provide to Mount Sinai, he became what few others can because we are Chief of Psychiatry at the Mount on the forefront of science.

Sinai-affiliated Bronx Veterans Is Mount Sinai’s medical school Administration Medical Center a differentiator?

Dr. Kenneth L. Davis and launched Mount Sinai’s Our medical school was formed research program in the biology from our hospital – our hospital gave of schizophr enia and Alzheimer’s disease birth to our medical school. They are intimately tied therapeutics. Davis was appointed CEO together and report to one board of trustees, which o f Mount Sinai Medical Center in 2003 is very different from many other medical schools. after spending 15 years as Chair of Mount This link means that there is an easier transition Sinai’s Department of Psychiatry. He was from the bench to the bedside as there are no the first dir ector for many of the institu- administrative obstacles in making that happen. This tion’s research entities and received one of is a differentiator for Mount Sinai. the first and largest program project grants Mount Sinai Health System was on the for Alzheimer’s disease r esearch from the front lines of the pandemic. How critical are National Institutes of Health. Davis also lessons learned in order for the industry to be s e r v e d a s D e a n o f t h e I c a h n S c h o o l o f effectively prepared for future crises?

Medicine at Mount Sinai from 2003 to 2007 When the crisis began, it was very difficult and as Pr esident of the American College to test whether people were COVID positive o f N e u r o p s y c h o p h a r m a c o l o g y i n 2 0 0 6 . or w h e t h e r t h e y h a d a n t i b o d i e s . O u r In 2002, he was elected to the Institute immunobiologists worked night and day to of Medicine of the National Academy of develop an assay to determine antibodies and Sciences, and in 2009 his undergraduate a diagnostic. Our antibody test became the a l m a m a t e r, Ya l e U n i v e r s i t y , p r e s e n t e d main antibody test, so we were right there at him with the George H.W. Bush ’48 Lifetime the beginning. Then, since we have a history in of Leadership Award. vaccines, we continued to develop our own vaccine, even though we knew that Pfizer INSTITUTION BRIEF Mount Sinai Health and Moderna were working on it with massive S y s t e m ( m o u n t s i n a i . o r g ) e n c o m p a s s e s amounts of funding – we kept working as well. the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai What did this mean? This means that we now and eight hospitals, as well as a large and have license and are working on a vaccine expanding ambulatory care network. The eight that is nasal which is important because we hospitals – Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount know this is the point of entry for the virus.

Sinai Brooklyn, The Mount Sinai Hospital, This is where you want your antibodies first Mount Sinai Queens, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, and it will be more effective. COVID is not Mount Sinai South Nassau, Mount Sinai West, going away and breakthrough infections are and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount enormous. A vaccine that is nasal will be Sinai – have a vast geographic footprint another breakthrough and Mount Sinai Health throughout the New York metropolitan region. System is working on making this happen. We The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked number proved once again during COVID that we are 14 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report flexible and are making a difference. and ranked in the top 20 nationally in eight In regard to our efforts with COVID, medical specialties in the 2019-20 “Best we just published a book, Relentless, which Hospitals” guidebook. The New York Eye and chronicles our response during these two years Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is also ranked and includes several “miracle” stories of nationally in ophthalmology. patients who were treated 100+ days.

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How critical is the commitment to addressing long haul COVID which so many people are experiencing?

We identified long haulers very early and were the first to create a long hauler clinic. We brought our specialists in to address these concerns, whether you had kidneys that were compromised, hearts that were compromised, brains that were not functioning the same way – we engaged the experts who had the experience and expertise in treating those organs and they worked as a team to focus on these new symptoms resulting from COVID. We are encouraged by the work we have done. At times it can get a little discouraging by how serious and prevalent these problems can be, but we are all-in and committed to supporting and helping long haulers.

How has Mount Sinai Health System supported its workforce who faced such emotional and mental strain during this unprecedented time?

Our Dean, Dennis Charney, and I are both psychiatrists and Dennis’ entire career focused on neurobiology and the treatment of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders.

He knew immediately the kind of pain and

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anxiety that our staff were under and we quickly established a special program to reach out to our employees and help them with the problems they were experiencing. We set-up a resilience center and we knew that there may be some resistance to coming forward and saying that you were experiencing these problems since our people focus on treating others, so we proactively reached out to them and held meetings with groups to talk about the issues – we brought care to our people who cared for so many during this difficult time.

Will you discuss the importance of addressing the social determinants of health?

The determinants of health outcomes are largely socio-demographic – whether you are employed, what you eat, the quality of where you live. It is critical for the government to realize that they need to spend money on the social determinants of health, otherwise the Medicar e and Medicaid budgets are going to go out of sight. Government needs to invest in areas to be preventive.

Are you confident that the industry will attract and retain the talent needed to address the future challenges of healthcare?

I do not worry about the next generation of doctors. We have a record number of applicants this year for our medical school.

People know that this is a profession where you make a difference. Having said that, I am concerned about other staffing needs, such as radiation technicians, nurses, pharmacy technicians – there is a shortage of people for these vital roles and we need to start the pipeline earlier, find incentives for these people, and make tuition affordable so that we can get people into these jobs earlier.

Mount Sinai campus on Manhattan’s Upper West Side

Will you discuss Mount Sinai Health System’s commitment to building a diverse and inclusive workforce?

This is critical and has been a major focus for us. Over 40 percent of our employees are minority and we are deeply committed to the notion that when people come to Mount Sinai for treatment, they should see their own community. This is how the best outcomes happen. We will continue to build on these efforts and I am part of a group that Jamie Dimon leads that is focused on identifying underprivileged minorities as early as high school and mentoring them and providing the

“Our purpose is discovering, developing and bringing to people the newest, most cutting-edge therapeutics and diagnostics. You do not come here for routine care – you come here because we can provide what few others can because we are on the forefront of science.”

financial assistance that is necessary to assist them in pursuing careers in areas where they are underrepresented.

Mount Sinai Health System also has programs with community partners that expose high school students to careers in healthcare since we need to reach these people early and provide the opportunity for access and exploration for kids with all types of diverse backgrounds to excite them about the industry.

What do you see as the role of the hospital in the future and has the pandemic impacted the focus on the number of beds required or the most appropriate size of a hospital?

It is clear that the long-term outlook for hospitals is that care is becoming more ambulatory because of advances in medicine. However, when COVID hit, it was all about the need for more beds in the hospital to care for patients. This has shown us that we must have the capacity to rapidly expand in case of another pandemic. It is about having the flexibility to adapt and pivot quickly which is a strength for Mount Sinai.

Are you excited about what is on the horizon for new therapeutics and discoveries to meet the future challenges in healthcare?

We are entering a period in the history of mankind where we are witnessing a revolution in biology, and that revolution in biology is going to result in therapeutics we could not have dreamed of, just like the revolution in physics that happened decades ago provided the opportunities for us to be doing this video conference and created communications and computers that we could have never imagined before. We are living through a revolution in biology that began with sequencing the human genome. I am deeply excited about what is to come in the future, and just hope I am around long enough to see it.

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PURPOSE

Find Your Fight An Interview with Steve White, President, Special Counsel to the CEO, Comcast Cable E D I TO R S ’ N OT E Steve White of Directors, and he is a member of curr ently serves as Pr esident, the Executive Leadership Council Special Counsel to the CEO, working (ELC) and Delta Boule’ Denver. with Comcast Cable leadership White earned a bachelor’s degree at and the Company on a number Indiana University Bloomington. of important initiatives including Diversity, Equality & Inclusion COMPANY BRIEF Comcast (comcast (DE&I), leadership programcorporation.com) is a global media and ming and development, and the technology company that connects advancement of digital equity people to moments that matter. It in the areas of accessibility and is principally focused on br oadaffordability. Most recently, White band, aggregation and streaming Steve White served as the President of Comcast’s with 57 million customer relationWest Division. Prior to his role as ships acr oss the United States and Division President, he served as Regional Europe. Comcast delivers br oadband, wir eSenior Vice President for Comcast California, less and video through its Xfinity, Comcast joining in late 2007. Before his California role, Business, and Sky brands; creates, distribhe served as the Regional Senior Vice President u t e s a n d s t r e a m s l e a d i n g e n t e r t a i n of the company’s Mid-South Region along with ment, sports, and news through Universal leading Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast, Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio a 24-hour regional sports network based in Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo Atlanta. Prior to the merger of Comcast and broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, AT&T Broadband, White served as Senior Vice Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC President of AT&T’s Atlanta cluster from 2000 to Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provides 2002. His first assignment in the cable industry memorable experiences at Universal Parks and was in Chicago where he served as Regional Vice Resorts in the United States and Asia.

President with Telecommunications, Inc. (TCI), which was purchased by AT&T. Before joining How do you define Comcast’s purpose and the cable industry, White spent six years with how is purpose ingrained in Comcast’s the Colgate-Palmolive Company where he held culture and values? several positions of increased responsibility. His Comcast connects consumers and busifinal assignment was Marketing Director of nesses to information, entertainment, and loved Colgate-Palmolive’s Toothbrush Pr oducts ones, and the things that matter to them. The Division. White currently serves on the Board of culture of Comcast is a decentralized operating Directors of the Comcast Foundation, Hormel model that allows local teams and organizations Foods, and W.W. Grainger. In addition, he to customize their approach to the local audihas joined the Shaw Communications Board ence needs and desires.

Will you highlight your role at Comcast and areas of focus?

During the past 11 years, I was President of Comcast West. I had responsibility for all cable operations in the western part of the U.S., generating over $18 billion in revenue with the assistance of 30,000 employees. I’m currently President, Special Counsel to the CEO, for Comcast Cable. I provide leadership on a number of important initiatives, including Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), leadership programming and development, and the advancement of digital equity in the areas of accessibility and affordability.

How critical is it for Comcast to build a diverse and inclusive workforce in order to bring diverse perspectives to the table when making business decisions?

The focus on DE&I has been part of our DNA since our birth in 1963 but, similar to other companies, we’ve accelerated our efforts. As a company with a global footprint, we recognize the diversity of our customer base and speaking to them in an authentic way will allow us to be relevant for years to come.

What interested you in writing the book, Uncompromising: How an Unwavering Commitment to Your Why Leads to an Impactful Life and a Lasting Legacy, and what are the key messages you wanted to convey in the book?

I was inspired by the quote, “The two most important days in your life are the day you’re born and the day you find out why.” Once you identify your why, your approach must be uncompromising if you’re to live a life of impact, purpose, and legacy.

A number of important people in my life assisted me with answering that second question. I’m simply

“As a company with a global footprint, we recognize the diversity of our customer base and speaking to them in an authentic way will allow us to be relevant for years to come.”

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“I was inspired by the quote, ‘The two most important days in your life are the day you’re born and the day you find out why.’ Once you identify your why, your approach must be uncompromising if you’re to live a life of impact, purpose, and legacy.”

paying it forward with the desire to assist everyone to be empowered to answer that question. Writing the book allows me to support my why, which is to create a table of prosperity for all.

The key messages in my book focus on seven pathways that have guided me throughout my adult life and helped me find my fight, live my why, and serve a greater purpose.

You mention the need to “Find Your Fight.” Will you elaborate on the seven pathways for discovering purpose?

Pathway 1 – The first step is awareness and desire. A hunger to live a life of purpose and impact. Identifying your why gives you meaning and direction. Usually, your why is revealed through reflection and adversity.

Pathway 2 – Focus on the (real) prize.

Avoiding distractions keeps you on the right road.

Pathway 3 – Live life as a learning lab.

Embracing life’s lessons keeps you alive and growing.

Pathway 4 – Think and act like a business.

Learn to invest in You Inc. Pathway 5 – Own your attitude and your effort. You can only control what you can control.

Pathway 6 – Navigate uncertainty. The straight line to success is actually crooked.

Pathway 7 – Commit to road-dog relationships. Making deposits always yields big dividends.

What do you feel are the keys to creating an organization of inclusiveness through purpose?

1. A “real” commitment from the highest levels of the organization.

2. Constant review of decisions and practices to determine if they are consistent with the purpose and values of the organization.

3. Rewards and recognition around inclusiveness.

Will you discuss your views on leading a team with purpose and intentionality in today’s evolving workplace?

Creating a purpose for your organization is critical to success today and in the future.

We’re experiencing the Great Resignation; however, I refer to this trend as the Great Reset. More employees are pausing and challenging themselves to live their best life.

Ensuring employee stability centers clearly around being part of something that is bigger than themselves.

When you look at your life and your ability to go from growing up in the housing projects to your success in the corporate world, what do you attribute to your success and your ability to overcome obstacles?

I believe the seven pathways outlined in my book represent the practices and beliefs that provided me with a “hand up” – not a “hand out” – from a lot of mentors to move from the housing projects to the heights of corporate America.

What advice do you offer to young people beginning their careers during this unprecedented time?

Be clear on your purpose and why. Once you’re clear on your vision for your life, focus on the journey, work hard at developing your skills (“the work”), and the results will come – but not in the way you might expect.

Remember, the road to success is always crooked.

With all that you have achieved in your life, do you take moments to reflect and appreciate what you have accomplished?

Yes, every morning through reflection. The process of reflection keeps me hungry. I recognize that I’m competing against myself, and if you’re honest with yourself, you always feel you can do more and be more effective.

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“We’re experiencing the Great Resignation; however, I refer to this trend as the Great Reset. More employees are pausing and challenging themselves to live their best life.”

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be here be hugs be heart be home.

F I N D YO U R H O M E AT CO R CO R A N .CO M

PURPOSE

Love is the Cure An Interview with Anne Aslett, Chief Executive Officer, Elton John AIDS Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE Anne Aslett is the Over time, as HIV spread across Chief Executive Officer of the Elton the world, the U.S. entity expanded its John AIDS Foundation (EJAF). remit to cover work in South America Formerly, she served as Executive and the Caribbean, and the UK extended Director of the Foundation based its support to projects in Sub-Saharan in the UK. She has been with the Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Initial Foundation for almost 20 years, funding for both Foundations came having worked on EJAF UK’s from royalties from Elton’s singles, and mission in Europe, Africa and Asia, hugely successful fundraising events directing all its programming across like the Academy Awards Viewing 23 countries as Inter national Party, which still operates today.

Development Director. She joined As our expertise grew, support Anne Aslett the Foundation from the commerfrom governments, multilateral and cial sector, where she managed a bilateral institutions and trusts and news information service for the UK leading foundations increased our income from less print and electronic media, following over five than $1 million a year at its start to over $20 years in UK print journalism and documentary million annually today. We developed coalitions film making on health and current affairs with community organizations, national issues. Aslett represents the Foundation on the health systems, research institutions, activUK HIV Commission. ists and the expanding movement of people living w i t h HIV/AIDS to deliver impact FOUNDATION BRIEF The Elton John AIDS through multifaceted programs in dozens of Foundation (eltonjohnaidsfoundation.org) was countries around the world. established in 1992 and is one of the leading independent AIDS organizations in the world.

The Foundation’s mission is simple: an end to the AIDS epidemic. The Elton John AIDS Foundation is committed to overcome the stigma, discrimination and neglect that prevents ending AIDS. With the mobilization of its network of generous supporters and partners, the Foundation funds local experts across four continents to challenge discrimination, prevent infections and provide treatment as well as influencing governments to end AIDS. Will you highlight the history of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) and how you define its mission?

The Elton John AIDS Foundation was conceived by Elton John back in 1992 around his kitchen table in Atlanta and established as a nonprofit, grant-making organization operating in North America to support people living with or at risk of HIV/AIDS. Six months later, Elton founded a UK charity with the same name and mission to work in the United Kingdom and Europe. The operating model was tiny – a couple of staff and a handful of volunteers. They sought out community organizations, hospitals and clinics and fund their services to help people die in less pain and with more dignity and counter harmful, discriminatory myths about the disease with accurate medical information.

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Will you provide an overview of EJAF’s work and initiatives?

The Foundation is a grant making charity.

We don’t provide services directly but seek out those on the “front lines” of the epidemic who are trusted by their communities to help those who need it: with information about HIV; cheap, effective HIV testing; and linkage to HIV treatment and care. We see ourselves as partners to those we fund, so we work together to develop effective metrics to track progress and course correct where needed. This has seen us play a role in developing an African standard of palliative care for HIV; pioneering work preventing HIV transmission between mother and unborn child for over 800,000 pregnant women; and proving that HIV treatment could effectively be provided to over 140,000 infants and children in extremely resource poor settings.

Beyond the direct services we fund, the Foundation uses its convening power to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders and get consensus on the most important

Elton John AIDS Foundation Chairman David Furnish, Elton John AIDS Foundation CEO Anne Aslett and Sir Elton John attend the 27th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party sponsored by IMDb and Neuro Drinks celebrating EJAF and the 91st Academy Awards on February 24, 2019 in West Hollywood, California

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“We developed coalitions with community organizations, national health systems, research institutions, activists and the expanding movement of people living with HIV/AIDS to deliver impact through multifaceted programs in dozens of countries around the world.” initiatives to bring to scale. Recent examples would be the $1.2 billion MenStar Coalition which was formed to escalate HIV testing and treatment for men in Africa. Whilst multiple initiatives were in place to support young women at risk of HIV – 5,500 young women become infected with HIV in the region every week – there was little targeted work with the men who typically infect them at a rate of one man for up to five young women. MenStar pledged to put an additional 1 million men on treatment within 18 months. It surpassed that goal and programs aimed at getting men to know their HIV status and access treatment are now embedded into national programs across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Finnally, funding services and convening, the Foundation deploys Elton John personally and its network of influencers to challenge policy that hampers the global AIDS fight. For example, over the last decade, the UK has had an intractable rate of approximately 5,000 new HIV infections annually. The Foundation established the world’s first social impact bond for HIV, collaborated with UK hospitals and doctors’ clinics to expand HIV “opt out” testing, then helped convene a national HIV Commission to establish how critical this work and other initiatives would be in ending the UK’s HIV epidemic. So compelling were the results of the social impact bond, and so effective was our advocacy in this space, that the UK government recently pledged £20 million to roll out opt out testing across England, starting this year.

How did EJAF adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the global pandemic?

As reports surfaced of the rapid spread of COVID in March 2020, the Foundation closed its physical offices, took our activities online, and immediately reached out to all current grantees to determine the impact they were facing because of the global pandemic. In the first instance, grantees shared that they urgently needed emergency protection equipment. We quickly established a $1 million COVID-19 Emergency Fund in April to support these needs in the short term, followed by a second $1.2 million Fund in August to help with longer term adaptation and resilience.

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We worked with a team to develop a rapid response mechanism, shortening our application and approval process so that we could get the funds where needed as fast as possible. In a five-month period, over 100 grants were made to organizations across the world, reaching more than 150,000 people.

For many thousands of service users, being quarantined, unable to work or to visit health centers to collect medication, was a major issue.

We helped our partners pivot to fund online counselling, drug prescription and diagnostic services and pooled delivery mechanisms for essentials like food and medicine, as well as advocated for longer prescription periods to ensure people don’t run out of medicine.

Additionally, we partnered with Funders Concerned About AIDS to commission an evaluation of what had worked well in both ours and other COVID-19 emergency responses.

This was shared widely in the funding community, and we also advocated with the G7 and others to capitalize on the systems developed to fight HIV/AIDS in the management of future pandemics.

EJAF was founded almost 30 years ago.

Will you discuss the progress that has been made in addressing the AIDS epidemic and battling the stigma around AIDS? When EJAF was founded, effective treatment or a vaccine were nowhere in sight. Life expectancy post HIV diagnosis was roughly two years. Marginalization and shaming of people infected with the disease, driven by fear and fueled by misinformation, saw people living with HIV scapegoated and judged.

Although HIV treatment programs have expanded across the world with astonishing results, offering those on medication a normal life expectancy, HIV perhaps more than any other disease is still driven by stigma and discrimination. People who are more vulnerable to HIV – the LGBTQ+ community, people who sell sex or use drugs, and young people who lack the information or agency to protect themselves, today form the majority (roughly 62 percent) of new HIV infections.

They are scared to identify themselves as at risk. This is true in high-, middle- and low-income countries. Global LGBTQ+ and People Living with HIV movements have successfully challenged this environment in many places, but their human rights and social inclusion are fragile – over 60 countries and territories still criminalize consensual same sex relations, for example. In 2020, American states proposed more anti-trans legislation than in the whole of the previous decade.

CEO of Elton John AIDS Foundation Anne Aslett and Sir Elton John attend the launch of a new Elton John AIDS Foundation fund aimed at preventing and treating HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia on July 24, 2018 at the 2018 International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam

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Ultimately, taking advantage of the unprecedented advances in fighting HIV disease will require that no one gets left behind in this progress. We have the tools to address HIV, both for those infected and at risk. What we lack is the empathy and pragmatism to change laws and attitudes that treat some groups as unequal or undeserving of those tools. HIV is not a death sentence, unless you are excluded from the medicine that treats it.

How critical are metrics to measure the impact of EJAF’s work?

The global fight against AIDS is underresourced in most places where it is spreading.

In addition, pressures for resources from COVID and other diseases, climate change and civil unrest means we have to make sure that every dollar for HIV works as hard as it can to achieve impact. This makes monitoring and evaluation of our work essential.

The Foundation uses a grants management system to monitor and analyze our funded work alongside our partners. Tracking numbers of people tested for HIV or linked to care in a defined geography are relatively straightforward.

The United Nations program on AIDS has developed a “clinical cascade” metric driving countries to reach or surpass the 90-90-90 metric: 90 percent of people living with HIV know their status; of which 90 percent are on treatment; and for which 90 percent have viral HIV suppression.

The Foundation measures this, where applicable, for all its programs. Evaluating the total cost, or cost range, of programs in different contexts or for different groups is more difficult, but also possible.

We also seek to evaluate “critical enablers” for impact: the quality of program management, the strength or efficiency of local healthcare delivery, external political and social risk, financial leverage and communication opportunities.

As a funder, we also look to monitor our own effectiveness: do our funded programs meet or exceed their targets? To what extent are they delivered on time or on budget? We

“Beyond the direct services we fund, the Foundation uses its convening power to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders and get consensus on the most important initiatives to bring to scale. Recent examples would be the $1.2 billion MenStar Coalition which was formed to escalate HIV testing and treatment for men in Africa.” are developing geospatial mapping for the programs we support that we can overlay with external data on demographics like the human deprivation index to give us greater insights on where we are most needed and what we are achieving.

Will you discuss Elton John’s passion and commitment for the work of EJAF and how deeply engaged he is in its efforts?

Elton’s passion for this cause has never waned over its 30-year history. Whether he is visiting programs in the field and talking to the people we seek to help, giving evidence before a government committee, hosting a gala event or penning an opinion piece for the press, he always gives 100 percent to the work. He is always open to new ideas and reaching out to people with different mindsets. It’s an enormous boost to the Foundation to have such a high profile and influential founder that is still in the fight with such commitment and energy.

“Global LGBTQ+ and People Living with HIV movements have successfully challenged this environment in many places, but their human rights and social inclusion are fragile – over 60 countries and territories still criminalize consensual same sex relations, for example.”

More than anything, Elton has been the “beating heart” of the Foundation. He believes that love and compassion are the cornerstones not just of the fight against AIDS, but of a thriving, fair society. He has laid out these beliefs in his book, Love is the Cure.

Did you always know that you had a passion for this type of work?

I had never envisaged a career in charity or international development. I became involved because I was personally touched by the HIV fight and simply wanted to do something in a small way to help people I had friends who were succumbing to this terrible disease without the love and support they could reasonably have expected. The more I learned, the more I became absorbed in the process of figuring out how to mitigate the difficulties and the pain that vulnerable people experience with local, national and regional changes to healthcare and information systems, social attitudes, and laws and policies. It has taught me that social justice, whatever the issue, is something we can never give up on.

Could you have imagined over 20 years ago when you joined EJAF that this would be a place that you would spend so much of your career and what has made the experience so special for you?

When I joined the Foundation, I imagined I would be involved for maybe three years. Two things have kept me here and propelled me forward: the hundreds of amazing, brave, big hearted people I have met who are involved in this work all over the world (sometimes in the most challenging and unlikely places), and the opportunity to be part of the Foundation’s innovation and evolution. The Foundation has grown to be one of the largest private AIDS funders in the world and continues to “think outside the box” on how people, science, technology and connection can change the world for the better. I never anticipated that being involved in something much bigger than yourself and your own immediate needs and desires could be so incredibly rewarding and fulfilling.

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PURPOSE

A Financial Bridge Between the World’s Two Largest Economies An Interview with Xu Chen, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of China U.S.A. EDITORS’ NOTE Xu Chen started resulted in thriving economies, busihis banking car eer at Bank of nesses, social well-being and jobs.

China’s Head Office in 1990.

Bank of China U.S.A. is proud to Since then, he worked succeshave helped facilitate this growth, sively in various departments serving many key underlying transincluding the Executive Office, the actions while bringing businesses Corporate Banking Department, and people from both sides of the and the London branch before Pacific closer together. he was promoted to the position of Just as the economic and cultural General Manager of the Olympic exchanges between our two nations Affairs Department in 2004. In over the past 40 years have strengthAugust 2008, Xu was reassigned as ened, BOC U.S.A. has functioned as a Xu Chen General Manager of the Financial financial bridge between the world’s Institutions Department, a position two largest economies. For more than he held until January 2015. At that time, he was four decades, we have succeeded in facilitating transferred to the United States and assumed his trade and currency exchanges from our offices current role. He now supervises the New York in New York City. Throughout the ’80s and City, Queens, Los Angeles and Chicago branches. ’90s, we focused primarily on cooperating with Xu holds a bachelor’s degree in management Chinese clients seeking to enter the U.S. market information systems from Tsinghua University, either through importing, exporting businesses China, and a master’s degree from the University or acquisitions. of International Business and Economics, As U.S.-Chinese trade relations grew in China, with a major in business management. the early 21st century and since China’s accession to the WTO in 2001, we have significantly COMPANY BRIEF As China’s most global- expanded our contributions to the American ized and integrated bank, Bank of China banking community. By serving Fortune 500 (www.boc.cn/en) has a well-established global companies, commercial real estate firms, financial service network with institutions set up across the Chinese mainland as well as in 57 countries and regions. It has established an integrated service platform based on the pillars of its corporate banking, personal banking, financial markets and other commercial banking business, which covers investment banking, direct investment, securities, insurance, funds, aircraft leasing and other areas, thus providing its customers with a comprehensive range of financial services. Bank of China U.S.A. (www.bocusa.com) has branches in New York City, Queens, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Bank of China U.S.A. recently celebrated 40 years of operating in the United States. Will you discuss Bank of China U.S.A.’s mission of building a financial bridge between the world’s two largest economies?

When it comes to the economic interaction between the U.S. and China, bilateral trade, investment, and lending all represent a win-win collaboration – at national, subnational, commercial and individual levels.

The relationship that developed between the two powerhouses throughout generations has 84 LEADERS

institutions and SMEs, BOC U.S.A. has evolved into a major player in local and cross-border markets and has helped contribute to local communities throughout the U.S. In recent years, more than 85 percent of our clients at U.S. branches have been local U.S. companies – primarily Fortune 500 brands, 90 percent of our credit portfolios originated from the local market, and 87 percent of our 764 full-time employees are hired locally.

During and after the 2008 financial crisis, when capital was scarce for the commercial real estate markets and most banks retreated from the lending landscape, we provided timely and critical financial support to New York City projects. Even today, BOC U.S.A. has built a track record of financing transformative projects for Tier One sponsors, such as 220 Central Park South, a premier luxury condominium; One Vanderbilt, one of the few new Class A office projects built in midtown Manhattan in the past seven decades; and 50 Hudson Yards, a dynamic new CBD submarket on the Far West Side. As a good corporate citizen, we have also financed billions of dollars in affordable housing multifamily projects across the New York metropolitan area.

The headquarters building of BOC U.S.A. in Manhattan

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Both our nations have benefited from thriving bilateral trade and investments over the past 40 years, especially as China, the second largest economy in the world, shifts from “investment-driven” to “consumption-driven” economic growth, and there emerges greater demands for U.S. exports.

We will continue facilitating business collaborations between the world’s two largest economies, and at a local level, explore the potential for partnerships with both large scale as well as small and medium enterprises across virtually every sector.

Bank of China U.S.A. has placed a major focus on technology and providing its customers with the option to choose how and when they do their banking. Will you highlight Bank of China U.S.A.’s technology platform and how technology is impacting the future of banking?

As a foreign bank operating in the U.S. under a stringent regulatory environment, fierce competition and operating cost pressures, BOC U.S.A. has invested heavily in the digital transformation of our operational and managerial considerations. In recent years, we have launched tens of new IT platforms and upgraded other existing systems. We have also progressed in key business fields, such as liquidity management, U.S. dollar clearing, credit management, cross-border trade and on-line banking services, among many others.

Faced with complicated international antimoney laundering challenges and strict U.S. regulations, we treated the upgrading of IT compliance systems, data standardization and centralization of functions as the cutting points of digitalization. We have enhanced our antimoney laundering capabilities with eight IT systems covering the lifespan of BSA/AML/ Sanction Management from KYC, sanctions screening to BSA/AML transaction monitoring, some of which have even utilized artificial intelligence and natural language processing to identify compliance risks more precisely through automated analytics of real business data.

We are in an era when cross-border e-commerce dominates trading between SMEs and consumers. With burgeoning demand for high frequency, but small value cross-border deals, traditional international financial settlement services such as wire transfers and demand drafts are no longer the best means to meet shifting industry needs. To enhance efficiencies for our clients and stay ahead of these changes, we launched eMPAY, a vehicle that can provide effective and low-cost payment services for cross-border e-commerce by joining forces with fintech firms. Since it was launched, eMPAY has served more than 10,000 small, medium and micro cross-border merchants with billions of dollars in payments, promoting more American exports to China. Furthermore, despite uncertainties in U.S.-China trade relations in recent years, eMPAY has grown by 13 percent annually.

One more example relates to trade services which are characterized by frequent transactions, large amounts of data and a wide range of cross-border money flows, thereby exposing VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

banks to heavier BSA/AML risks. We developed Smart-DD, a tool to provide trade financial services with end-to-end AML due diligence by automated sourcing of external feeds, audit tracking of all activities and advanced analytics.

Digitization is a double-edged sword. As businesses more rapidly digitized and services became far more efficient, banks and consumers have been increasingly exposed to cyber-attack concerns. To address these concerns, we developed Smart-i, an intelligent cybersecurity monitoring tool with AI and big data analytics. Smart-i builds behavior analytical models to detect and alert various known/unknown threats and abnormal behaviors, covering applications, systems, databases, networks, terminals, and information security of associated equipment.

Do you feel that there will still be a role for bank branches in the future as more people continue to bank online and through technology platforms?

Indeed, the banking industry has started shifting away from the traditional brick-andmortar branches towards more online services in the fast-growing digitalized world. The COVID-19 pandemic and the move to working and shopping remotely has only served to accelerate the pace of this shift. While we satisfy the consumer preferences of younger generations who are more comfortable banking online, we cannot ignore the consumption habits of older generations and the need to preserve traditional channels for our neighborhoods.

For instance, cash usage and related services still rely on physical outlets including ATMs. Small and medium-sized enterprises such as restaurants, shops and garages still collect and deposit cash regularly, despite digital payments becoming ubiquitous. Consumers need cash to pay tips as well. In addition to needing physical outlets for some services, many customers still feel more comfortable with direct and personalized communication with bank tellers rather than machines. Corporate banking is also still very much a people-to-people business.

Banks need to segment the markets, whereby management can decide which approach they would follow according to their own strategies. Nevertheless, traditional service channels should be sustained by any means for the satisfaction of various clientele.

How does Bank of China U.S.A. make sure that it is of fering e-banking and internet services while still maintaining the human touch and personal relationships with its clients?

Faced with the rise of digital-oriented banking, we conducted compr ehensive upgrades to our internet banking systems in 2020. These included new services such as online RMB exchange, RMB remittance, SBA PPP loan applications, batch remittance, and recurring wire and transfer, fraud alerts. The upgrades also included a brand-new user interface, which provides a simpler, quicker and more personalized online banking experience.

After these changes, we saw a 32 percent increase in the use of our online banking services and online transactions grew by more

than 62 percent. To date, 70 percent of our overall transactions are conducted via online channels. As these services have grown, we have also devoted resources to cybersecurity and information security enhancements to better protect customers’ and the bank’s information.

While fewer customers visit local branches for their day-to-day needs, our client managers still hold close interpersonal interactions by connecting with them over the phone and through e-mail. Also, if a customer needs to open a new account with the bank, they must still visit one of our branches on site as we are subject to compliance requirements.

Will you discuss Bank of China U.S.A.’s corporate social responsibility efforts and how these efforts are ingrained in all of the bank’s operations?

As a global bank with a local heart, we are committed to supporting the communities where we operate. Whether it is by expanding our CSR programs, satisfying our Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements, investing in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives and through various volunteer and donation efforts, we continue to believe that our investments in society connect us with our communities and help bring about a brighter future.

In recent years, we have provided more than $2 billion in public finance and corporate loans, grants and services to low- and moderateincome communities. We have actively promoted financial education among the underserved and supported housing and community development, especially while countering the costly effects of the pandemic.

How does Bank of China U.S.A. focus its CSR efforts and do the areas the bank supports align with the bank’s business, such as its efforts to improve access to financial services and promote financial literacy?

Our CSR efforts are primarily focused on initiatives that improve access to financial education, promote the well-being of local families and strengthen cultural ties between the U.S. and China. Our support for these programs mirrors our mission to empower our neighbors and communities, create economic value and improve people’s lives, especially as so many seek to recover from the financial and emotional toll of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To this end, we contribute to local and national philanthropic organizations and scholarships such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, Robin Hood, Jump$tart Foundation, Trufund, Cents Ability, The Juilliard School, and the China General Chamber of Commerce Foundation, among others. We also set internal policies and procedures to encourage our employees to volunteer and even take on leadership roles within these organizations, making significant contributions through ideas, education, and structured participation. On this front, several employees sit on the boards of various foundations, including Cents Ability and Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, demonstrating our commitment to our local communities.

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PURPOSE

The Ethan Allen Experience An Interview with Farooq Kathwari, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. EDITORS’ NOTE Farooq Kathwari through the efforts of approximately has been Chair man and CEO 1,500 in-house interior designers since 1988. He serves in numerous and sells a full range of furniture capacities at several nonpr ofit products and decorative accessories organizations including the Board through its website and a network of of Overseers of the International approximately 300 Design Centers Rescue Committee; the advisory in the United States and abr oad. board of the Center for Strategic Ethan Allen owns and operates nine and International Studies; and the manufacturing facilities including six Council on Foreign Relations. He manufacturing plants in the United is Chairman Emeritus of Refugees States, two manufacturing plants in International; an advisory member Mexico and one manufacturing Farooq Kathwari of the New York Stock Exchange; plant in Honduras. Approximately 75 former Chairman of the National percent of its products are made in its Retail Federation; Director Emeritus and former North American plants.

Chairman and President of the American Home Furnishings Alliance; a Director of the Institute How do you define Ethan Allen’s purpose? for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown Our purpose is to improve every client’s University; Co-Chair man of the Muslim- quality of life by helping them create a place Jewish Advisory Council; and a member of the they’ll love to come home to every day. We International Advisory Council of the United achieve this by greeting every opportunity with States Institute of Peace. He served as a member an entrepreneurial attitude, staying focused on of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian long-term growth, and treating our associates, Americans and Pacific Islanders from 2010 to partner vendors, and clients with dignity and 2014 and was tapped to join the congressionally justice. This mindset is critical to remaining mandated United States Institute of Peace both profitable and relevant amidst the constant bipartisan Task Force on Extremism in Fragile changes taking place in the world.

States co-chaired by Governor Tom Kean and Will you provide an overview of the Congressman Lee Hamilton, who formerly led history and heritage of Ethan Allen? the 9/11 Commission. Among his recognitions, Ethan Allen got its start in 1932 in Vermont, Kathwari is a recipient of the 2018 Ellis Island in the depths of the Great Depression. Two Medal of Honor and has been inducted into the entrepreneurs from New York purchased a American Furniture Hall of Fame. He has been sawmill in Beecher Falls, a village in Vermont’s recognized as an Outstanding American by Northeast Kingdom, and the adventure began.

Choice by the U.S. government. He has received They convinced major department stores to the Yale School of Management’s Chief Executive establish dozens of Ethan Allen galleries so Leadership Institute Lifetime of Leadership Award; that clients could see our products in room the National Human Relations Award from the settings. They then established freestanding American Jewish Committee; the National Retail Ethan Allen galleries around the country.

Federation Gold Medal; and Ernst & Young’s In the 1990s, we expanded our offerings Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award. He has also from the early American styles we were known been recognized by Worth magazine as one of for, offering a wider range of designs that were the 50 Best CEOs in the United States. Kathwari more relevant for the time. We made major holds BAs in English literature and political changes to manufacturing and logistics in North science from Kashmir University, Srinagar, and America, relocated stores to more relevant an MBA in international marketing from New locations, and began offering complimentary York University. He is also the recipient of three interior design service, which we’ve enhanced honorary doctorate degrees. over time with the use of technology.

Ethan Allen was built on a culture of COMPANY BRIEF Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. innovation since its founding 90 years ago. (ethanallen.com) is a leading interior design Will you discuss Ethan Allen’s commitment company and manufacturer and retailer of to innovation and the role that innovation quality home furnishings. The company offers has played in the brand’s strength and fr ee interior design service to its clients leadership for the past 90 years?

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Our philosophy of innovation is built on one of our core Leadership Principles – Change – which reinforces the need to embrace new opportunities. We stay focused on the core brand differentiators that have always given us strength, investing in innovation in ways that make those differentiators even stronger.

For innovation to succeed, it has to become part of the culture. Therefore, to find those opportunities, we constantly review every area of our operations. Every week, about 40 percent of our key leaders report on five key areas: the steps we’re taking to attract and cultivate talent; service initiatives across all areas of our enterprise, including manufacturing, logistics, and interior design; marketing improvements at national, regional, and local levels, including both innovative messaging and offerings; technology innovations, which are critical in all areas from manufacturing to the work of our designers; and social responsibility initiatives across all levels.

What have been the keys to remaining innovative and entrepreneurial as Ethan Allen has grown in size and scale?

To maintain a single enterprise for 90 years and be profitable through all that time requires leaders and supporters, at all levels, to have an entrepreneurial attitude.

Circumstances continuously change, but if we maintain our entrepreneurial thinking, we will always remain innovative.

We ar e on an ongoing quest to be relevant – this is a focus that has to be evident throughout our organization – and we remain relevant by responding quickly to change. When consumer tastes change, we change our offerings; when markets change, we relocate our retail Design Centers; when consumer demand changes, we reposition our manufacturing.

Why has it been so important for Ethan Allen to remain committed to North American manufacturing and logistics for its 90 years of existence?

Over the last 25 years, many businesses have rushed to offload manufacturing to overseas vendors. We’ve always believed that it makes sense to control our own destiny; that’s why we manufacture most of our own products in addition to operating retail Design Centers.

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Ethan Allen’s Westport Design Center

When I became President, we operated 30 manufacturing plants, each purchased in different time periods – a very inefficient way of doing business. We decided to manufacture our case goods in Vermont and our upholstery in North Carolina. We also established strong manufacturing bases in Central Mexico and Honduras. Today, our focus on North American manufacturing has become a great competitive advantage because crafting most of our products empowers us to manage the Ethan Allen experience from concept to delivery.

How is Ethan Allen combining interior design service with technology to shape the next 90 years of design?

The introduction of our 3D Room Planner in 2019 turned out to be a game changer in 2020 when COVID-19 kept our designers from meeting with clients in our Design Centers or visiting their homes. It’s a change that has persisted even as we’ve transitioned to a new post-pandemic normal: Most design projects start with that 3D room plan. In fact, by the time they’ve come to the Design Center, most clients have already been talking to their designer via e-mail or video chat, and our 3D Room Planner makes that digital conversation possible.

We see the future of design as collaborative.

Thanks to technology that enhances the personal service of our designers, clients have an exceptionally realistic preview of their proposed design before they place their order.

They can consider more carefully how every element, from furniture finish to window treatment, will fit their lifestyle; many use the 3D room plan to get feedback from family and friends. Because they’re more involved, they tend to be more satisfied with the results, and they build a partnership with their interior designer that often turns into a years-long relationship.

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Will you highlight Ethan Allen’s commitment to being socially responsible and sustainable as its looks to its next 90 years?

Our goals remain what they have been: to create products for the home in a way that honors our planet, the home we all share, and to champion fair working conditions and economic opportunity for artisans all over the world. In our quest to be carbon neutral by 2050, we always look for ways to cut electricity and water usage, decrease our carbon footprint, cut greenhouse emissions, and reduce landfill waste.

We have a strong social responsibility commitment through our Supply Chain and Manufacturing Codes of Conduct, which our vendors must follow if they want to continue working with us. We partner with thirdparty auditors to verify compliance, and we provide training in each artisan partner’s own language to help them meet our standards.

We are very pleased that our manufacturing plant in Silao, Mexico has recently received the distinction of being recognized for their environmental and social responsibilities by the Mexican Center for Corporate Philanthropy and the Alliance for Corporate Social Responsibility.

How critical is it for Ethan Allen to build a diverse and inclusive workforce to mirror the diversity of its clients and the communities it serves?

Ethan Allen is an Equal Opportunity Employer, which means we’ve set clear standards around what we don’t do – for instance, ensuring dignity and respect for all by not discriminating based on protected characteristics. Achieving true diversity, however, requires more than just recognizing the “don’ts,” we need to proactively do.

One noteworthy thing about Ethan Allen is the representation of women within our leadership ranks, which is quite favorable compared to companies in almost every industry. Seventy-two percent of the leaders in our retail network are women, and 47 percent of leaders at our corporate headquarters are women. To increase racial diversity, we’re providing training to our hiring managers and encouraging them to build teams that reflect their community. We focus on this issue because a greater diversity of viewpoints is the key to being resilient.

Our country brings together so many people from all parts of the world and from diverse perspectives; there’s no other country quite like the U.S. Being a proud American brand means emulating that diversity within our walls.

What do you see as Ethan Allen’s responsibility to the communities where it operates and to being a force for good in society?

Ethan Allen’s Design Centers and Service Centers hold events to support local not-forprofits, and some of our Service Center managers have good relationships with local chapters of Habitat for Humanity. We work to foster a culture of dignity and respect for all, setting an example that we hope other businesses will follow.

I always highlight our commitment to North American manufacturing – not just American, but North American – because I believe the skills and work ethic of the associates in our Mexico and Honduras plants contribute to our ability to continue investing in manufacturing in the United States. I chose, for example, to purchase our plant in Silao, Mexico because I realized that the community of leather craftsmanship found there – people who have been dyeing and color-blending leather, and tailoring leather furniture for generations – simply could not be found anywhere else.

As Ethan Allen celebrates 90 years as a leading American brand, how important is it to take time to reflect and celebrate its accomplishments over these many years?

To have nine decades of profitable history, in today’s business environment, is an achievement worth celebrating. This 90-year touchstone is a time to reflect on the values that made that achievement possible: our unique vision for American style, our commitment to combining personal service with technology, our uncompromising quality commitment, and our dedication to socially responsible business.

It’s hard to say how interior design will look 90 years from now; even in the near future, we may ourselves be donning a headset and previewing a client’s proposed space in virtual reality. What will never change is our unwavering commitment to the finest service, from design to white-glove delivery, and the pride and passion that our artisans pour into their craft, every day.

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PURPOSE

The Worth of Water An Interview with Gary White, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Water.org and WaterEquity and financed, innovations that now serve as a model in the sector. He is a leading advisor in the water and sanitation space, counseling organizations such as the Skoll Foundation, Bank of America Foundation, PepsiCo Foundation, IKEA Foundation and the Caterpillar Foundation on responses to the global water crisis. White is a founding board member of the Millennium Water Alliance and Water Advocates. He was selected as a Skoll Foundation Social Entrepreneur in 2009 and a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur in 2012. In 2011, he was named to the TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people.

In 2014, he was named to the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Water. In 2017, White was awarded the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship.

White’s educational credentials include three degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Gary White and Matt Damon play with schoolchildren in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India

EDITORS’ NOTE Gary White is the CEO and Co-Founder of Water.org and WaterEquity, nonprofit organizations dedicated to empowering people in the developing world to gain access to safe water and sanitation. Water.org is the resulting organization of the July 2009 merger between WaterPartners, co-founded by White in 1990, and H2O Africa, co-founded by actor Matt Damon. White developed Water.org’s WaterCredit Initiative, creating new financing options for poor

populations to meet their water supply and sanitation needs. He also developed and now leads WaterEquity, the first-ever impact investment manager dedicated to ending the global water crisis in our lifetime, with an exclusive focus on raising and deploying capital to water and sanitation businesses throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Over the past 25 years, White’s entrepreneurial vision has driven innovations in the way water and sanitation projects are delivered

ORGANIZATION BRIEFS Water.org (water.org) is an international nonprofit organization that has positively transformed more than 43 million lives around the world with access to safe water or sanitation. Founded by Gary White and Matt Damon, Water.org pioneers market-driven financial solutions to the global water crisis. For 30 years, it has been providing women hope, children health, and families a future.

WaterEquity (waterequity.org) is a first of its kind asset manager that invests in financial institutions and enterprises in emerging markets delivering access to safe water and sanitation to low-income families, while offering an attractive risk-return profile to investors.

“Access to water is access to education, access to work, access above all to the kind of future we want for our own families and all the members of our human family.”

Matt Damon, Water.org Co-Founder 88 LEADERS

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“Water.org is a global nonprofit organization that helps people get access to safe water and sanitation through affordable financing, such as small loans. To date, we’ve reached more than 43 million people with access to safe water and sanitation.”

Will you discuss the history and mission of Water.org and highlight its work and initiatives?

In November 1990, I brought together my friends and family – about 100 people. We had dinner in the basement of the parish where I grew up and I shared my experiences working on water projects in Latin America. We raised about $4,300 that night – enough money to get a village water.

A year later, we launched WaterPartners International. Through WaterPartners, I pursued a vision of bringing safe water to communities in need and we did, one well at a time.

However, it was not fast enough. The urgency of the water crisis called for more. I traveled and studied the global needs and economies of families living in poverty until one day I arrived at a solution that, to date, has changed the lives of more than 43 million people.

The idea started when I was in India. I met a woman who was paying a loan shark 125 percent interest to buy a toilet. She was living on $2 a day and absorbing a crushing debt.

As I traveled it became clear this was shockingly common – there are millions of families spending a large portion of their income on temporary water and sanitation access. The expense traps them in a cycle of poverty.

That’s when it hit me. What if we loaned these women the money to install their own water tap or their own toilet at an affordable rate? They could then use the money they were paying each week to a water vendor to re-pay their loan instead. When repaid, they would own their toilet and have long-term access to water. I shared my idea with financial institutions and for the first time, microfinance institutions

started lending for water connections and toilets, establishing WaterCredit as a viable solution for millions in need of safe water and sanitation.

Right around this time, I attended the annual Clinton Global Initiative in New York.

That is when I met actor Matt Damon who, as a result of his passion to help communities in Africa get safe water, had founded his own water charity. We quickly determined we could have significantly more impact around the world if we worked together. In 2009, we merged our organizations – WaterPartners International and H20 Africa – to become Water.org.

Water.org is a global nonprofit organization that helps people get access to safe water and sanitation through affordable financing, such as small loans. To date, we’ve reached more than 43 million people with access to safe water and sanitation. We have leveraged over 3.5 billion in capital to support small loans that bring access to safe water and sanitation to people in need.

You have said that, “Any society with the guarantee of safe water has a chance to realize its full potential.” Will you discuss the critical role that safe water plays in providing opportunity and hope in the world?

Today, 771 million people – 1 in 10 – lack access to safe water and 1.7 billion people – 1 in 4 – lack access to a toilet. Women are disproportionately affected by the water crisis, as they are often responsible for collecting water for their families. Women and girls spend 200 million hours every day collecting water and 266 million hours every day finding a place to go. This takes time away from work, school and caring for family. When women have access to safe water at home, they have time to work and add to their household income.

The water crisis is a health crisis. Nearly 1 million people die each year from water, sanitation and hygiene-related diseases, and every 2 minutes a child dies from a water-related disease.

Access to safe water and sanitation contributes to improved health and helps prevent the spread of infectious disease. It means reduced child and maternal mortality rates. It means reduced physical injury from constant lifting and carrying heavy loads of water.

Children are often responsible for collecting water for their families. This takes time away from school and play. Access to safe water and sanitation changes this.

Reductions in time spent collecting water have been found to increase school attendance, especially for girls. Access to safe water gives children time to play and opportunity for a bright future.

Time spent gathering water or seeking safe sanitation accounts for billions in lost economic opportunities. $260 billion is lost globally each year due to lack of basic water and sanitation.

Access to safe water and sanitation at home turns time spent into time saved, giving families more time to pursue education and work opportunities that will help them break the cycle of poverty.

What needs to be done to drive lasting, sustainable change in achieving full water security for people all over the world?

One of the major barriers to safe water and sanitation is access to affordable financing.

People living in poverty pay 12-15 times more than their wealthier neighbors for access to safe water and sanitation, often spending more than 20 percent of their income on water from other sources.

“The water crisis is a health crisis. Nearly 1 million people die each year from water, sanitation and hygiene-related diseases, and every 2 minutes a child dies from a water-related disease.”

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Our big challenge is how to get sustainable solutions to 20 percent of the global population, most of whom are living on less than $6 per day. What most people lack is access to capital – they simply can’t save enough to install a tap or a toilet in their house. Millions of people around the world could get access to safe water in their homes with the help of small, affordable loans. We calculate more than 800 million people want access to microloans to pay for improved water and sanitation solutions that will increase their resilience to climate change, overall well-being, and ability to work. If we can mobilize the capital into the sector, we can solve the global water and sanitation crisis.

Here is an example of what happens when someone solves their water and sanitation needs: Alice lives in Kenya, on a rural farm. Alice and her family have a dairy cow, a few goats, and dozens of chickens. Beyond the livestock, Alice has pots of herbs and vegetables and a few fruit trees. The livestock, the plants, the trees – Alice and her family rely on the food they produce. In the same way, these things rely on Alice to give them water. So how does one living in rural Kenya get enough water to not only provide for their family’s needs, but to also keep their plants and animals healthy? For a time, Alice had to piece together water from various sources.

Alice gathered water i n buckets and jugs d u r i n g t h e rainy season. She walked a few kilometers daily to draw water from a nearby pond for laundry and cooking. During the dry seasons, Alice paid a local man to haul water from the pond with his truck. This cost about $60 per month.

For decades Alice paid in time and money to secure her water. When Water.org’s partner in Kenya, Equity Bank, introduced the idea of financing water and sanitation solutions for families in Alice’s village, Alice and her husband wanted to learn more. Following a meeting with the WASH program manager, the couple determined a small loan for a large water harvesting tank was what they needed. For 2,000 Kenyan shillings each month – the equivalent of about $20 – Alice now has an 8,000-liter water harvesting tank connected to her home. The rain harvesting tank holds enough water to feed the animals, water the fruits and vegetables, and to cover the families washing, cooking and bathing needs. Not only does this save dozens of hours each week that were once spent on water collection, but she and her husband save about $40 per month.

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Do you feel that world leaders, local governments and the business community have been effectively engaged in this effort and understand the severity of the safe water crisis?

Yes, in fact, the Water Resilience Coalition, founded in 2020, is an industry-driven, CEO-led coalition of the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate that aims to elevate the global water crisis to the top of the corporate agenda and preserve the world’s freshwater resources through collective action in water-stressed basins and ambitious, quantifiable commitments. To date, over 20 companies have joined the Coalition to advance water stewardship.

Together, the members of the Water Resilience Coalition commit to taking the path toward a water resilient future in meaningful and measurable ways.

They confirm that their companies will achieve the following by 2050, through both individual and collective actions: • Net positive water impact: Achieve a measurable and net positive impact in

water-stressed basins on availability, quality and accessibility through industry-leading water operations and basin initiatives.

• Water-resilient value chain: Develop, implement, and enable strategies to support leading impact-based water resilience practices across the global value chain.

• Global leadership: Raise the global ambition of water resilience through public and corporate outreach.

How did Water.org adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the global pandemic?

For Water.org, which works in 13 countries to help people finance and achieve their own water solutions, the operational problems were immediate. Each of those countries instituted its own lockdown, travel restrictions, and bans on gatherings.

Water.org teams everywhere had to shift to remote work, shift assignments, and suspend office visits and field data collection.

We rushed to develop and share videos and other resources o n COVID-19 prevention. We attended and hosted inter national webinars to retain a global perspective among myriad local concerns. We also experienced a significant impact on fundraising that compelled us to make hard choices about costs.

Here is an in-depth article about the ways we flexed: https:// skoll.org/2020/08/25/what-t o do-during-a-pandemic-in-aw o r l d - of-water-inequality/ How critical are metrics to measure the impact of Water.org’s efforts and programs?

Essential. We have a robust Insights and Innovation team that manages our in-country monitoring and evaluation teams. With accurate and timely data, we can move and flex resources to meet changes on the ground, we can swiftly identify barriers and surmount them, and we can support our partners’ internal reporting needs.

Will you discuss Matt Damon’s passion and commitment for the work of Water. org and how deeply engaged he is in its efforts?

Matt and I have co-authored a book, The Worth of Water, due to be published on March 29 by Portfolio, Penguin Random House. Matt speaks for himself in the book and I think that is the best way for readers to hear from him.

In fact, we both voice the audio version, each speaking to his own chapters.

Here is a perspective piece about the book: https://water.org/about-us/news-press/ the-worth-of-water/

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A Sense of Purpose Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a firm of more than 1,000 lawyers with diverse backgrounds, personalities, ideas and interests who provide innovative and effective solutions to our clients’ most complex legal and business challenges.

For decades, Paul, Weiss has been at the forefront of legal efforts towards a more just and equitable society. Our dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion and to providing legal assistance to those in need goes back to our very founding. We strive to uphold these guiding principles every day.

Paul, Weiss, Ri�ind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

paulweiss.com

PURPOSE

Employees, Clients and Communities An Interview with D. Steve Boland, Chief Administrative Officer, Bank of America EDITORS’ NOTE D. Steve Boland COMPANY BRIEF Bank of America is Chief Administrative Officer for (bankofamerica.com) is one of the Bank of America and a member of world’s leading financial institutions, the company’s executive manageserving individual consumers, small ment team. He is also a vice chair and middle-market businesses and for the company’s Global Diversity large corporations with a full range of and Inclusion Council. As Chief banking, investing, asset management Administrative Officer, he overand other financial and risk managesees the delivery of the company’s ment pr oducts and services. The full range of capabilities for clients company provides unmatched convethrough its local markets organience in the United States, serving nization, including mor e than approximately 67 million consumer D. Steve Boland 90 market presidents and teams and small business clients with approxand covering the areas of Public imately 4,200 retail financial centers, Policy; Environmental, Social and Governance; approximately 16,000 ATMs, and awardCorporate and Inter nal Communications; winning digital banking with more than 54 Exter nal Communications; Global Sports million verified digital users. Bank of America is Sponsorship;, Corporate Security and other related a global leader in wealth management, corpofunctions. Boland serves on a variety of corpo- rate and investment banking and trading across rate and nonprofit boards of directors, including a broad range of asset classes, serving corporaFrontdoor, Novant Health Foundation, Greater tions, governments, institutions and individCharlotte Cultural Trust, and the National Urban uals around the world. Bank of America offers League Board of Trustees. He joined the company industry-leading support to approximately 3 in 1995 and previously served as President of million small business households through a Retail Banking and before that oversaw the suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products Community Bank and Consumer Lending. and services. The company serves clients through He was named to Black Enterprise Magazine’s operations across the United States, its territo2017 list of the Most Powerful Executives in ries and approximately 35 countries. Bank of Corporate America, 75 Most Powerful Blacks America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on Wall Street in 2011, and 75 Most Powerful on the New York Stock Exchange.

African-Americans in Corporate America in 2005. Boland was also awarded with Bank of How do you define Bank of America’s America’s Black Executive Leadership Council purpose?

Vanguard Award for his work to support Black I’m proud that Bank of America is not talent. Boland holds a degree in organizational only one of the world’s leading financial instistudies from the School of Education and Social tutions, serving a wide range of customers, Policy at Northwestern University. but we’ve also been recognized as a best

place to work for our commitment to our employees and for our initiatives supporting our communities. From a business perspective, we offer individuals, businesses, and institutional investors a range of banking, investment management and other financial and risk management products and services.

But our purpose extends beyond banking and financial services – our employees and clients are our number one priority, and we focus every day on being an inclusive and diverse workplace that supports our teammates’ physical, emotional, and financial wellness. By doing so, we set our teams up to provide exceptional service to our diverse array of clients in the communities we serve.

How has Bank of America adapted its business to address the challenges caused by the pandemic?

The pandemic’s impact has been felt physically, emotionally and financially – that’s why we’ve continued to listen and respond to our teammates’ changing needs, and that of our clients. Our Global Human Resources team and our CEO, Brian Moynihan, have been flexible and innovative to sup p ort employees with access to no-cost coronavirus va cc ina t ions a nd boosters, paid time off to receive them, and on-site clinics to provide shots. Emotional wellness also starts at the top of our house; Brian is passionate about this topic, encouraging us to engage in conversations about the importance of mental health. And since the pandemic started, Bank of America employees have used more than 4.5 million

“Every day, across the globe, our employees bring a commitment to live our values and bring the power of our people to support our clients and communities. We act as one company and believe that when we work together, we best meet the full needs of our clients and deliver value to our shareholders.”

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“Our diversity makes us stronger, and our company is stronger when we bring broad perspectives together to meet the needs of our diverse stakeholders. Our Board, its committees, our CEO, and our executive management team play a key role in the oversight of our culture, holding management accountable for ethical and professional conduct and a commitment to being a great place to work.” days of adult and childcare services – a commitment of more than $400 million in financial support.

But we’ve also delivered for our clients in significant ways, too. We provided critical financial relief through our programs and those launched by the federal government, and we helped more than 495,000 small business clients receive loans through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, extending more than $35 billion.

Finally, we’ve come together – as a company and as a world – with intensified passion for racial equality. The tragic deaths of so many individuals of color and the disproportionate impact that the health and humanitarian crisis has had on vulnerable communities created an urgency to do more, now. We’re delivering on a $1.25 billion commitment over five years to advance racial equality and economic opportunity, accelerating work already underway to create opportunities for people and communities of color through direct actions, investments and work to catalyze similar efforts across the private sector.

How proud are you to see the way Bank of America’s workforce has shown strength and resilience during this challenging and uncertain time?

Our employees rose to the challenge and pivoted seamlessly at the start of the pandemic.

As an essential business, our Financial Center employees were deemed frontline workers, and they continued to serve our clients throughout the pandemic. We reskilled and realigned over 24,000 employees across our company to serve in new capacities and support our clients as

part of our business continuity efforts. I want to underscore how much our company appreciates all that these teammates have done to support our clients, our communities, and their fellow colleagues.

Additionally, as part of our pandemic response, Bank of America committed $100 million in philanthropic grants to address the impact of the coronavirus on local communities. This was in addition to the $250 million in philanthr opy we pr ovide each year.

These funds went towards food insecurity, medical response capacity and disruptions in education.

How do you describe Bank of America’s culture and values?

Every day, across the globe, our employees bring a commitment to live our values and bring the power of our people to support our clients and communities. We act as one company and believe that when we work together, we best meet the full needs of our clients and deliver value to our shareholders.

To ensure we continue to provide our employees with the best experience, we’ve conducted an annual Employee Engagement Survey for nearly two decades, collecting feedback on how we’re meeting their needs.

We’ve seen record levels of engagement in recent years. We use this data and other internal measures to continue to improve in our diversity and inclusion efforts and opportunities for engagement and growth.

We firmly believe all employees should be treated with respect, live free of discrimination and be able to bring their whole selves to work.

How critical is it for Bank of America to build a diverse and inclusive workforce to mirror the diversity of its clients and the communities it serves?

We believe it is important that we reflect the rich diversity of the communities we serve, and we’re proud of the composition of our workforce. Our global workforce is 50 percent women, and our U.S. workforce is 49 percent people of color – 14 percent Black, 19 percent Hispanic-Latino and 13 percent of Asian descent. Our management team is more than 50 percent diverse, our Board of Directors is 50 percent diverse and Bank of America is one of only nine S&P companies with six or more women on the Board.

Our diversity makes us stronger, and our company is stronger when we bring broad perspectives together to meet the needs of our diverse stakeholders. Our Board, its committees, our CEO, and our executive management team play a key role in the oversight of our culture, holding management accountable for ethical and professional conduct and a commitment to being a great place to work.

We need leaders who not only “talk the talk,” but “walk the walk,” and who show their commitment to these efforts. As Vice Chair for the bank’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Council, I work closely with my fellow leaders to ensure we are always pushing ourselves to track and disclose progress and remain accountable for moving our commitments forward. I also serve on the bank’s Black Executive Leadership Council and as an executive sponsor for the Hispanic Leadership Executive Council.

“Leadership is a two-way street, and this also speaks to my management style. At Bank of America, we want to hear from our teammates, learn from their experiences and understand what they are hearing from clients in each of our businesses. We make it a priority to hear each other – up, down, and across our organization, encouraging open dialogue and diversity of thought as well as of race, gender, gender identity and sexual preference.”

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“From working to advance racial equality and economic opportunity, to driving environmental sustainability, we believe that we must not only deliver for our teammates and our shareholders, but also help make progress on important societal priorities. It is core to how we run our business and drive responsible growth.”

Will you discuss Bank of America’s commitment to supporting its employees, clients and communities during this unprecedented time?

The past two years have challenged us all in different ways. Our company has taken specific actions to support our teammates’ health, and to recognize all that our employees are doing in support of our clients.

We’ve enhanced benefits fo r em ploy ees who need child- or adult-car e services, increased supplemental and overtime pay, and provided meals and transportation for employees. We delivered more than 90,000 laptops to people working fr om home and reskilled thousands of our employees during the early stages of the pandemic t o s u p p o r t programs like the Paycheck Protection Program to best serve our clients.

We also raised our U.S. minimum hourly wage to $21 last October as a next step in our plans to increase to $25 by 2025.

As challenging as the work environment has been in recent years, we believe that in some ways, the pandemic has br ought us even closer. People appreciate working for a company that does the right thing for its people. We have always supported our teamma t es through everyday challenges, special moments, and critical life events – and that includes the ongoing pandemic.

We also looked outward and invested i n our communities. At the start of the pandemic, we committed $100 million in philanthropic grants to address the impact of the c or o na virus, including immediate humanitarian needs delivered by local organizations and global nonprofits. This was in addition to the $250 million in philanthropic support that we provide each year.

Additionally, we also committed up to $250 million in capital for community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to expand access to capital for small businesses and nonprofits in need of financial assistance during the crisis.

What do you see as the responsibility of leading companies to be engaged in the communities they serve and to be a force for good in society?

At Bank of America, we use our voice and partnerships to engage in important conversations that promote understanding and meaningful progress in the areas that 94 LEADERS

impact today’s society. From working to advance racial equality and economic opportunity, to driving environmental sustainability, we believe that we must not only deliver for our teammates and our shareholders, but also help make progress on important societal priorities. It is core to how we run our business and drive responsible growth.

To grow responsibly, we are focused on being the best place to work for our teammates, sharing our success with our communities, and driving operational excellence.

This focus allowed us to vigorously respond to the global health and humanitarian crisis arising from the coronavirus pandemic, while continuing to promote stakeholder capitalism and driving social progress. From supporting the Paris Agreement and committing to achieve net zero by 2050, to our $1.25 billion, five-year commitment to advance racial equality and economic opportunity for people and communities of color and our $15 billion, five-year commitment to create 60,000 new homeowners from historically underserved communities, we have remained resolute in how we help our communities move forward in meaningful ways. I’m proud that Bank of America is a long-time leader in this arena, with more great work to come.

What are the keys to effective leadership and how you do you describe your management style?

Being genuine and authentic in how we care for each other has always been important to me as a leader. We want our teammates to feel comfortable speaking up and being themselves. Effective leadership means looking beyond the immediate and to the big picture. It means going beyond words to action. Being present in the moment and making myself more available and engaged with employees one-on-one and in small groups is critical, as is communicating effectively, with a clarity of vision – setting a course for others to follow and always leading by example.

Leadership is a two-way street, and this also speaks to my management style. At Bank of America, we want to hear from our teammates, learn from their experiences and understand what they ar e hearing fr om clients in each of our businesses. We make it a priority to hear each other – up, down, and across our organization, encouraging open

dialogue and diversity of thought as well as of race, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation. We annually survey our teammates to solicit their ideas and feedback – and we take that feedback seriously.

We also work hard to make this a great place to work, a place where people want to spend their time, and where people have an opportunity to reach their greatest potential. We offer a place to grow and to thrive.

We believe in leading by investing in the success of our employees and by creating jobs, developing communities, and fostering economic mobility.

What advice do you offer to young people interested in building a career in the industry?

Be willing to take risks. In my career, I’ve re-branded myself several times, moving around the country and across several areas of our company. Transitioning to a new role can be intimidating, but those assignments help you to learn, broaden your perspective and distinguish yourself in new ways. Be open to opportunities that are not a promotion. Career trajectory is often not a straight line up – it can take you in different directions, including lateral moves. All of these experiences prepare you with the requisite skills that can position you for your new role. It all ladders up in the end.

Learn from your mistakes. Don’t worry about failing – focus on learning from the experience. We’ve all had times when we think we could have done better. Every time that has happened to me, I review it again and think about how I can knock it out of the park the next chance I get. You’ll learn more from your mistakes and your stumbles than from multiple successes.

Seek mentors. Be intellectually curious, learn from those around you, and remember to pay it forward. Become a mentor yourself. Our industry provides the opportunity to be part of an expanding, more inclusive community and powerful economic force.

Inclusion is everyone’s responsibility – not just that of leaders or industry veterans.

Young people should hold themselves and everyone ar ound them in the industry accountable for change, for breaking barriers, and for pushing for equity and equality for everyone. You can start being a leader from the moment you walk in the door.

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VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

They said it couldn’t be done.

We didn’t listen.

We’ve done hard things before, we do them all the time.

For most cancer patients, the usual options are surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation.

So we’re working on ways to get the immune system to deploy billions of cancer-killing cells and help more patients survive.

When some people experienced mysterious COVID symptoms and had nowhere to go, our team created the first Center for Post-COVID Care.

It wasn’t that long ago we had to open up your whole chest for heart surgery. Now we’re pioneering a bypass that goes through a few tiny incisions. With this surgery, we can get you back on your feet in weeks instead of months.

So if anyone ever tells you there’s no other way—don’t listen.

PURPOSE

Protect and Prosper An Interview with Timothy J. Gerend, Executive Vice President and Chief Distribution Officer, Northwestern Mutual EDITORS’ NOTE Timothy Gerend COMPANY BRIEF Northwestern Mutual was named Executive Vice (northwesternmutual.com) has been President and Chief Distribution helping people and businesses achieve Officer in 2019 after assuming financial security for more than 160 executive r esponsibility for all years. Through a holistic planning aspects of Northwestern Mutual’s appr oach, Northwester n Mutual career distribution system in July combines the expertise of its finan2018. In this capacity, he also cial professionals with a personalized serves as a member of the Senior digital experience and industry-leading Leadership Team, which oversees products to help its clients plan for Northwestern Mutual’s strategy, what’s most important. With more than execution and operations. Gerend $334 billion in total assets, $34 billion Timothy J. Gerend joined Northwestern Mutual as an in revenues, and $2.1 trillion worth attorney in 2002 and has held a of life insurance protection in force, variety of positions of increasing responsibility Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to in the Law, Field Compensation & Planning, more than 4.75 million people with life, disability Enterprise Compliance and Agencies depart- income and long-term care insurance, annuiments. In 2008, he was appointed an execu- ties, and brokerage and advisory services. The tive officer of the company. From 2011 to 2013, company manages more than more than $244 Gerend also was responsible for leading the billion of investments owned by its clients and company’s long-range campus planning initia- held or managed through its wealth management tive. Gerend moved back to the Distribution and investment services businesses. Northwestern function in October 2013 and since that time Mutual ranks 90 on the 2021 FORTUNE 500 has been focused on distribution health and and was recognized by FORTUNE ® as one of growth. Before joining Northwestern Mutual, he the “World’s Most Admired” life insurance was an associate in the Commercial Litigation companies in 2022.

Practice Group at Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago.

Gerend serves on the board of the Schlitz How do you define Northwestern Mutual’s Audubon Nature Center, where he is past pres- purpose?

At Northwestern Mutual, our purpose has ident, and he is a board member of Milwaukee College Prep, a leading charter school that always been to help individuals build their serves Milwaukee’s inner city. He has served on financial security so they can worry less. Every the advisory board for the Center for Ethics in day we strive to help Americans and their famiFinancial Services and on the CFP Board’s lies live the lives they want, and the lives they Center for Financial Planning and now serves never thought they could – especially as the as a trustee of the American College. Gerend world becomes more complex.

Our financial advisors aim to be the is a graduate of Butler University with a BS in economics and received his JD from the partner people turn to during times of optimism and uncertainty, and our employees University of Notre Dame.

constantly work to support the success of advisors and clients. Our goal is to alleviate the anxiety that often comes with navigating financial priorities, while helping to plan for and achieve long-term goals by being a trusted and knowledgeable guide that inspires our clients to take action.

Additionally, as a mutual company, we are owned by our policyowners, meaning that we exist to serve them. This allows us to operate with a different mindset – one in which we are unflinchingly focused on the long term and our interests are fully aligned with those of our clients.

What sets Northwestern Mutual apart in the industry and how do you describe the Northwestern Mutual difference?

Our talented force of advisors is truly what sets Northwestern Mutual apart. The long-term relationships they build with clients and the immense value they provide in helping them stay on course financially is a true differentiator and the engine behind this company’s longevity and growth. While we have made significant investments in technology and evolved the client experience, we remain “all in” on the importance and value of human relationships and the role of a trusted advisor. This human plus digital approach has proven to be the right recipe for best meeting our clients’ needs. There is no technology, tool, or robo advisor that can replace the empathy, care and responsiveness of a human being.

Because our advisors are so critical to our success, we have invested deeply in their success. We are currently rolling out a new national training program to help ensure our advisors are ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow. We also provide an expansive range

“This human plus digital approach has proven to be the right recipe for best meeting our clients’ needs. There is no technology, tool, or robo advisor that can replace the empathy, care and responsiveness of a human being.”

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“Our goal is to alleviate the anxiety that often comes with navigating financial priorities, while helping to plan for and achieve long-term goals by being a trusted and knowledgeable guide that inspires our clients to take action.”

of resources and support – including mentoring, practice management coaching, study groups and joint work partnerships – to help advisors adapt and thrive in an ever-changing environment. Last year, we launched a Private Client Group for our most sophisticated practices to meet their needs and support the capacity, credentialization and capabilities of practices working predominately with higher-net-worth individuals.

Northwestern Mutual is also unique for being one of the most financially sound companies in the U.S., earning the highest available financial strength ratings by all of the four major rating agencies – A.M. Best, Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P. As a mutual company, Northwestern Mutual shares its success with policyowners in the form of annual dividends which are expected to eclipse $6.5 billion in 2022 – our largest payout ever, reinforcing our commitment to provide an unparalleled combination of financial strength and longterm product value.

Finally, we believe strongly that fostering a culture of inclusion and mutual success helps our advisors persevere through challenging environments. Our most successful advisors embody an “abundance mentality,” meaning that they embrace the idea that giving freely of themselves to others has long-term positive impacts for themselves as well as those in their sphere of influence.

Will you provide an overview of your role and areas of focus?

As the chief distribution officer, I am responsible for the growth and success of Northwestern Mutual’s distribution system, consisting of more than 7,000 financial advisors nationwide. Since joining the company 20 years ago as an attorney, I have led the company in many ways, but this role has been the most rewarding.

Alongside my team, we directly address the trends, challenges and opportunities facing the talented individuals who choose to build a career with us as field leaders and advisors.

We support these leaders and advisors through their entire career journey – from the initial days of developing a practice to sophisticated applications targeting niche client segments. No matter where the advisors sit on their journey, we provide the forward-looking approach to the career development necessary to thrive in today’s environment.

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How do Northwestern Mutual’s financial advisors fulfill their mission to help people find their financial security?

Establishing a strong advisor-client relationship is the most critical element underlying our advisors’ ability to succeed in helping clients achieve their goals. The best relationships last for decades and evolve with the client’s goals and dreams. Our advisors stay curious about their clients and focused on their best interests. They suggest the right mix of solutions at the right time, depending on the client’s life stage and unique circumstances.

We have a holistic approach to financial planning, which we call “protect and prosper,” delivered through our proprietary planning tool we call PX. We know that the most solid financial plans account not only for the growth side of the equation, but also for the risk management side. While our roots are in insurance, we are also one of the largest independent broker-dealers in the country. We understand that optimizing a plan with insurance, investments and guaranteed income is much more powerful in helping clients reach their goals and we are well-positioned to deliver this approach given our industryleading offerings. This approach was validated

by EY, which published a report proving that combining whole life insurance, investments and income annuities leads to better outcomes for clients in retirement in terms of probability of success, amount of retirement income and legacy impact.

Our advisors also fulfill their mission by evolving their practices to reflect the preferences, needs, and lifestyles of their clients. In connection with our holistic approach, our advisors are also integrating technology and digital tools to give clients new ways to connect and new ways to see their financial plans in action.

Through lasting relationships, meaningful understanding of client goals and technology to meet today’s client expectations, our advisors are delivering a comprehensive approach on the client’s terms.

What are the key characteristics that make for a successful financial advisor?

The role of a financial advisor requires an entrepreneurial spirit, service orientation, and the discipline to remain focused on a longterm strategy. Advisors must be avid listeners,

calm communicators, empathetic counselors, credible experts and trusted partners. This is a job for people who find meaning and motivation in helping others achieve their aspirations.

Other critical characteristics include resilience and a lifelong love of learning. This industry has evolved at a breakneck pace in recent years and isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Advisors are constantly adapting and acquiring new knowledge and skills.

It’s a demanding but very rewarding career and we take great pride in helping prepare advisors to meet the demands of the role. First, we have a dedicated field leadership model that excels at recruiting, supporting, encouraging and growing incredible advisors. We are investing in professional development for advisors, whether they be new entrants or seasoned practitioners, in several ways. We are doubling down on technology integration by introducing new digital tools and solutions to support advisors and their clients. We are providing resources to help advisors develop the skills needed to build trusting advisor-client relationships. We are actively personalizing advisor instruction by using analytics and applying digital, bite-sized learning concepts to offer creative learning experiences for our advisors. We are encouraging career-advancing designations as a way to enhance their capabilities and bolster their ability to attract clients and talent. Last, but certainly not least, our advisors benefit from our incredible culture, where they will be challenged to grow and supported on a daily basis.

How critical is it for Northwestern Mutual to build a diverse and inclusive group of financial advisors and will you highlight these efforts?

Fostering a diverse and inclusive force of advisors is critical to our continued s u c c e s s a n d g r o w t h . Wi t h w o m e n a n d racially diverse communities growing their share of the country’s wealth, having advisors who understand their preferences and goals is paramount. As part of this imperative, we have done a lot of reflecting and self-examination on where we have been and where we want to be when it comes to the diversity of our advisors and corporate employee base, and we are taking meaningful actions that are yielding results.

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“We have a holistic approach to financial planning, which we call “protect and prosper,” delivered through our proprietary planning tool we call PX. We know that the most solid financial plans account not only for the growth side of the equation, but also for the risk management side.”

This isn’t a new initiative at Northwestern Mutual. We have long been focused on building an inclusive culture and in recent years accelerated that work with dedicated efforts to encourage greater racial and gender diversity. For example, we recently launched a Women’s Field Association, which represents thousands of women across all field roles in our system, to help us ensure that we are advancing work that will enable more women to join, succeed and stay in this incredible career.

Another example is our partnership with HBCU First, a nonprofit organization that works with the 101 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across the country, whose mission is to increase college success and career access for Black youth. Through this partnership, we’ve been able to connect with HBCU students on career opportunities within the financial services industry while providing professional development.

In addition to attracting more diverse talent, we are focused on developing more diverse leaders throughout our field of advisors and organization. Simply put, more diverse leaders are more likely to attract and retain diverse advisors. To better accelerate opportunities for women and people of color, we are looking for professionals across all roles to participate in dedicated programs based on their leadership potential and we are rallying Allies to join us in this important work.

Another effort I’ll highlight is an initiative called Distribution Growth Ventures, which is focused on expanding to underpenetrated markets – essentially places where people need financial advice, but don’t have local options.

Last year, we announced the opening of two new offices, located in New York’s Harlem and Cedarhurst, Long Island. Our Harlem office is led and staffed by professionals from nearby neighborhoods – a group that is eager to identify opportunities for financial education and support for businesses owned by Black, Latinx, and other historically underrepresented groups.

The Cedarhurst office is serving the predominately Orthodox Jewish community of Five Towns Long Island.

These are just a few examples of the types of tangible actions we are taking. The exciting news is that these efforts are bearing fruit. In 2021, nearly 50 percent of Northwestern Mutual recruits were diverse, compared to 28 percent in 98 LEADERS

2011. In 2021, 25 percent of our leaders were diverse, compared to nearly 14 percent in 2011.

While we have evolved and are proud of the work we have accomplished, there is still more to do – and we welcome that with open arms.

Do you feel it is a responsibility for Northwestern Mutual’s financial advisors to be engaged in the communities they serve and how is this commitment a part of Northwestern Mutual’s values?

Supporting our communities is part of our DNA. This career attracts people who want to serve others and that definitely extends to community impact. We embrace the responsibility to be a force for good and a responsible participant in the communities we serve. It goes back to that concept of an abundance mentality.

When we invest without reservation in our communities, we invest in our future success too.

We p r o v i d e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r o u r employees and advisors to give back through exclusive partnerships like Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a foundation dedicated to fighting childhood cancer. Our efforts have resulted in the funding of more than 500,000 hours of cancer research. That’s something our advisors and employees feel very invested in and proud of. In addition to our partnership with Alex’s, our advisors and field leaders serve countless local organizations, and we celebrate this impact every year with our Community Service Award.

We are also incredibly committed to the success of our hometown – Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Northwestern Mutual is headquartered. We have significant volunteerism efforts and rally our employees to contribute to several local causes.

What do you tell young people about the career opportunities that being a financial advisor provides?

Being a financial advisor provides individuals with the opportunity to not only create a meaningful future for themselves, but for others as well.

The personal rewards of helping others navigate challenges and come out ahead can’t be overstated. This is a compelling proposition for many who want a career that is more than just a job.

This career also offers strong earning potential and the opportunity to build something from the ground up. The barriers and cost to entry are low and there is significant support and training available. Our advisors are entrepreneurs who have a unique opportunity

to build and lead a business with the support of Northwestern Mutual’s industry-leading offerings, brand, and resources. We know our value proposition is resonating because we continue growing our pipeline of talent. Since the beginning of 2020, Northwestern Mutual has seen a 20 percent increase in new financial representatives.

Something I am particularly excited about right now is that the points of entry for the advisor career path are expanding. This career path allows you to make a meaningful impact, but you do not necessarily have to do it alone.

There are more opportunities for people to join existing teams in different types of roles that suit their strengths and that offer upward mobility.

Within an industry that is aging, 57 percent of Northwestern Mutual’s advisors are under the age of 40. By empowering a team that includes newer entrants, we are helping bring different types of talent into the industry at a time when demand for advice is growing and much of the advisor workforce is aging. What is most exciting to me right now is that our advisors at all stages see unlimited opportunities to grow and impact their communities.

You joined Northwestern Mutual 20 years ago. What has made Northwestern Mutual so special for you and a place where you have wanted to spend so much of your career?

And what an enjoyable and fulfilling 20 years it has been. Over the course of that time, I have worn many hats, learned a lot about the business, and evolved along with our quickly changing industry landscape. There is never a dull moment.

My passion for this company stems from my commitment to our mission to bring financial security to our clients and my belief that our offering is the best in the industry. The reason I have stayed and grown my career here is simple. We have a noble purpose, we are values-driven and focused on doing the right thing for our clients, and I have the privilege of working in an incredible culture with great people, including our amazing advisors and field leaders. Playing a role in enabling their success is extremely rewarding.

I’m r eally pr oud of the work being done and am encouraged by the future of the company.

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PURPOSE

Responsible Business An Interview with Peter Lacy, Global Sustainability Services Lead and Chief Responsibility Officer, Accenture EDITORS’ NOTE Peter Lacy overHow do you define Accenture’s sees the integration of sustainability purpose? in all client work and ensuring the Our purpose is to deliver on the responsible business agenda across promise of technology and human ingeAccenture services and internal nuity. It’s about embracing change to operations. He is a member of create 360-degree value for our clients, Accenture’s Global Management people and communities. I think that at Committee. Lacy leads sustainthe heart of our purpose is the passion ability services with clients and our people feel to help solve our clients’ ecosystem partners, working across and the world’s biggest challenges.

Accenture’s service offerings to help Today, there are many challenges that clients create value and impact. the world is trying to solve, including Peter Lacy His work spans environmental, rebuilding the global economy in a more social and governance issues as equitable way, dealing with geopothey impact business, clients and ecosys- litical strains and addressing the changes fourth tems, as Accenture builds toward achieving the industrial revolution technologies are bringing.

United Nations Global Compact’s Sustainable On top of that, we have the biggest challenge Development Goals by 2030. He directs market that mankind has ever faced in terms of tackling growth for sustainability services and demand climate change and threats to nature and biodifor responsible business consulting. Lacy previ- versity and making society more sustainable by ously led Accenture Strategy in Europe and adopting circular-economy practices.

Asia Pacific and helped launch the compaAll these challenges require both technology ny’s sustainability practice in 2008. He has and human ingenuity to solve them at the necesled the world’s largest CEO studies on behalf sary speed and scale. So, I feel our purpose is of the United Nations Secretary General and incredibly relevant for the times we live in. co-led a global research program on digital What have been the keys to Accenture’s transfor mation with the World Economic strength and leadership and how do you Forum, where he also sits on the Forum of define the Accenture difference?

Young Global Leaders foundation board. Lacy There are lots of intangibles that drive is the author of two books on the value of the some of these – but our people and our clients circular economy: Waste to Wealth, an interna- can feel it, tangibly. For me there are a few tional best seller, and its follow-up, The Circular things that work together. The first important Economy Handbook. Lacy earned a bachelor’s element is our culture and the purpose we degree from the University of Nottingham and just discussed. Creating value for our clients has been a Business Fellow at the University of is one of our core values and it’s something Oxford since 2010. He has completed executive our people are passionate about. The second programs at Harvard University, Yale University, element is innovation. We have always occuthe University of Cambridge and INSEAD. pied a special place at the crux of technology and human ingenuity, from our founding in COMPANY BRIEF Accenture (accenture.com) driving the digital transformation, all the way is a global professional services company with to today’s leadership in cloud, AI and emerging leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. leadership in the metaverse. The third element Combining unmatched experience and special- has to do with the breadth of what we can do. ized skills across more than 40 industries, it offers Together with our technology partners, we can Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology help clients from strategy to implementation and Operations services – all powered by the to ongoing operations and make sure nothing world’s largest network of Advanced Technology gets lost along the way, and that really sets us and Intelligent Operations centers. Its more than apart. Lastly, it is our long-held belief in shared 670,000 people deliver on the promise of tech- success that drives us forward as a company. nology and human ingenuity every day, serving Accenture has always been very clear about clients in more than 120 countries. Accenture balancing the needs of all stakeholders, both embraces the power of change to create value and in terms of how we run our own organization shared success for its clients, people, shareholders, and in terms of how we advise our clients. We partners, and communities. believe that organizations that strive to serve all 100 LEADERS

stakeholders are more competitive – they serve their clients better, they attract and retain better people, they are more innovative, and they build more trust across society for the long haul.

Will you provide an overview of your role and areas of focus?

As Global Sustainability Services Lead and Chief Responsibility Officer, I’m a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee, our leadership team that reports to our Chair and CEO. There are three areas that I have responsibility for leading: First, the development of all our commercial sustainability services. That can be in terms of the specific services we are offering clients as they work to become more sustainable, so for instance helping them move to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions or helping them set, measure and report Environmental, Social and Governance targets. It can also be in the way that we are building sustainability into every service we offer clients – what we call sustainability by design. So that means if a client comes to us because they want to move to cloud computing, we’ll help them do that in a sustainable way from the outset.

Second, I’m responsible for Accenture’s own responsible practices and behavior – a wide-ranging role given that we now have 674,000 people based in 50 countries. It’s rare – and unique in our industry – for one person to combine these internal and external roles. When Julie Sweet, our Chair and CEO, asked me to take this on we felt it was important to combine the two responsibilities and be our own best credential across all the sustainability areas that we’re helping our clients to address. In fact, when we announced my role, we did it at the same time as making our commitment to be net-zero by 2025.

Third, I manage the relationships that Accenture has with global partners such as the UN Global Compact (UNGC) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) around sustainability topics. We do important work with these partners, including our long-running CEO sustainability survey with the UNGC and research with the WEF on what makes organizations sustainable.

Accenture is engaged in the communities it serves and committed to addressing societal need. Do you see this as a responsibility of leading companies?

Unequivocally yes. You cannot have a healthy business in an unhealthy society. At Accenture, we feel it’s our responsibility to

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“You cannot have a healthy business in an unhealthy society. At Accenture, we feel it’s our responsibility to create good jobs and to invest in our people – in our last financial year we invested nearly $1 billion in learning and development for our people to deliver 31 million hours of training.” create good jobs and to invest in our people – in our last financial year we invested nearly $1 billion in learning and development for our people to deliver 31 million hours of training.

Of course, our responsibilities extend far beyond our own walls, to the communities in which we live and work. The pandemic that we’ve lived through for the past two years has presented new challenges across society as well as leading to widespread grief and loss. To help, we contributed $54 million to COVID-19 relief efforts, and in India we worked with NGOs to help deliver more than five million vaccine doses to members of hard-to-reach groups including the elderly, the LGBT community and migrants. As we look beyond the pandemic and rebuilding a more equitable and just society, our Skills to Succeed initiative has helped nearly six million people worldwide to develop business and entrepreneurial skills to help them find a job or start a business.

Our commitments also extend far beyond philanthropy. We work to encourage inclusion and diversity among our suppliers, we make sure we do business in line with our values and that we adhere to the highest governance standards, and as I mentioned previously, we embed sustainability into everything we do and with everyone we work with to drive business value and sustainable impact.

How does Accenture decide which issues and areas to address in its CSR efforts?

The first thing to say is that Julie Sweet, our Chair and CEO, is very engaged in our responsible-business approach and our corporate citizenship initiatives – when she took the role in 2019, she brought fresh perspectives and huge energy to her entire role, including responsible business. Having a CEO who’s passionate about these issues speeds up decision-making and makes the execution of programs much easier.

Then of course we have leading governance in place – including a global corporate responsibility steering committee – to determine what issues should demand our attention today and what issues may be coming over the horizon tomorrow. From there it’s about matching the areas of greatest need against our capabilities as an organization – where we can make the most difference. So that’s why a lot of our work in the community focuses on things such as technology skills that will help people get better jobs or start businesses.

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Will you highlight Accenture’s sustainability initiatives and how Accenture integrates sustainability in its client work?

We’re committed to sustainability within our own organization. We’ve signed the UNGC’s Business Ambition for 1.5°c Pledge and committed to RE100’s global initiative to use 100 percent renewable electricity by 2023. To meet our commitment of being net-zero by 2025, we’re focusing first on actual reductions in our emissions and then, to address any remaining emissions, we’ll invest in proprietary, naturebased carbon removal projects across the globe that are targeted at directly removing emissions from the atmosphere. Over the next 20 years, this program is expected to physically remove more than 13 million metric tons of carbon.

We’ve worked on sustainability projects with our clients for a long time – I was one of the founders of our practice 14 years ago. We’re proud to work with our partners and clients to develop innovative solutions to their biggest sustainability challenges. For example, we’re helping Duke Energy, one of the U.S.’ biggest utilities companies, to monitor natural gas distribution networks via satellite so the company can rapidly find and repair methane leaks – saving costs and cutting emissions. We’re also working with our ecosystem partners to help a global technology payments company enhance its ability to measure and analyze carbon emissions across its value chain, in support of its Science Based Target to reduce absolute Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2025.

We are also embedding ESG capabilities into all of our services. So, if for example we’re creating software for a client, we’ll write it so that it uses as little energy as possible to run – it’s an evolution of our company-wide offerings and assets to embed sustainability in a way that creates genuine business value and sustainability impact for our clients.

Will you discuss Accenture’s commitment to building a diverse and inclusive workforce?

Accenture has a long-standing commitment to inclusion and diversity that starts at the top with our chair and chief executive officer and board of directors. We expect leaders at all levels to help create and sustain a culture of equality where everyone can advance and thrive. Our areas of focus include gender, ethnicity, LGBTI, religion, persons with disabilities and crosscultural diversity.

Our commitment enables us to attract, develop, inspire and reward top talent. And it creates an environment that encourages innovation, allows our people to perform at their best and underpins a culture in which everyone feels they have an equal opportunity to belong and build a career.

This is something that we hold ourselves accountable for, with business leaders across the organization being evaluated based on meeting inclusiveness and diversity goals.

How critical are metrics to measure the impact of Accenture’s responsibility work?

Metrics are essential to tracking where we are and making sure we’re hitting the targets that we’ve set for ourselves. It’s the old business cliché that what matters gets measured – and managed – which is true. At Accenture we are committed to measuring our success by how well we create 360-degree value for all our stakeholders – clients, people, partners, shareholders and communities – and on our culture of shared success. On Accenture’s year-end earnings call last year, Julie Sweet didn’t start with quarterly revenue or earnings. She started talking about ESG measures – promotions, training, gender parity and renewable energy in our locations. She did that because those things are just as important as the financials, and they all need to be considered together.

With our year-end reporting last year, we actually reported against six of the most important ESG frameworks.

The announcement of the launch of the International Sustainability Standards Board last November at COP26 in Glasgow means that this type of measurement and reporting will become the norm for public companies over the next couple of years, and this will require a revolution in how we think about data, technology and skills. At Accenture we aren’t waiting for regulations, though. We see our focus on sustainability as not only the right thing to do, but also a real source of competitive advantage for us.

It’s always important to remember that the metrics themselves are just a way of keeping track. A focus on sustainability requires a fundamental shift for most organizations – in mindset firstly, but also in terms of strategy and operations – and that’s what really matters. We’ve come a long way, and while we know that there’s still a long way to go, this is an extremely exciting time to be working in sustainability.

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PURPOSE

Community Driven Change An Interview with Ashlee George, Executive Director, Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) EDITORS’ NOTE Ashlee George is the Theron – actor, producer, United Executive Director of the Charlize Nations Messenger of Peace. Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, a is originally from South Africa and U.S.-based foundation committed to feels deeply connected to the country advancing and investing in the and the people of South Africa. In health, education, safety and commu2007, she created CTAOP. The founnity support of young people living in dation’s mission has always been Southern African to create a more focused on investing in the health equitable future for all. In the 10+ and potential of young people. It years that she has led CTAOP, she has began with a focus on HIV prevenoverseen dramatic growth, including tion, since South Africa had, and still increasing the foundation’s grant has, the highest number of people Ashlee George making, communities served and living with HIV in the world, but as youth engaged in CTAOP’s vision of a the foundation grew the scope of our future where all youth are empowered to live healthy work also has broadened. Our mission now is and productive lives. George aims to merge the influ- to advance and invest in the health, education ence of the entertainment industry with strategic and safety of young people living in Southern philanthropy, working at both a global and grass- Africa to create a more equitable future for all. roots level. She has been a part of Charlize Theron’s HIV prevention programs remain very much team for over 15 years, and oversees her philan- a part of our efforts, but we see it as one thropic activities, including her work with UNAIDS piece of the puzzle. We believe that true HIV and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and prevention will require broader community Malaria, as well as engagements through Charlize and systemic change along with the investTheron’s position as a United Nations Messenger of ment in the whole young person.

Peace. George has an undergraduate degree from UCLA in European studies with minors in women’s studies and LGBT studies and received her MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Will you provide an overview of CTAOP’s work and initiatives?

CTAOP partners with community-based organizations (Program Partners) that specifically support the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of youth and/or work to prevent gender-based violence (GBV). By providing funding, strengthening capacity, and bringing awareness to the work of our Program Partners, we help ensure the youth they serve are on a path to reaching their full potential. Thanks largely to our incredible founder, CTAOP has a unique platform and community, and we utilize our resources, experience, and diverse network to strengthen and amplify the work of our Program Partners.

In 2018, CTAOP launched a scholarship program to support and cultivate young changemakers in South Africa. The Youth Leaders Scholarship program provides university scholarships and wraparound support – for example, accommodations, books, travel, mentorship, mental health support – for those young leaders as well.

FOUNDATION BRIEF The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (charlizeafricaoutreach.org) advances and invests in the health, education, safety and community support of young people living in Southern Africa to create a more equitable future for all. CTAOP was created in 2007

by Charlize Theron, Academy Award winning actor and UN Messenger of Peace, with the hope of making a difference in fighting HIV in her home country of South Africa. Although the geographic scope of CTAOP is sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa has remained the primary area of focus with the highest number of people living with HIV in the world. CTAOP is a fund of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. EIN: 95-1644609. EIF is a Charity Navigator 4 Star Charity that meets all 20 BBB Charity Standards and carries the GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency.

Will you highlight the history of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) and how you define its mission?

The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) was founded by Charlize 102 LEADERS

At one of HIVSA’s (CTAOP Program Partner) Choma Cafés, a safe community space for young women and girls, Charlize spends time listening to Choma Champions

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Additionally, we are active on the advocacy front. For example, you may have seen Charlize’s powerful speeches at the International AIDS Conference, or the campaign to prevent domestic violence that CTAOP launched in 2020 in partnership with CARE and EIF – Together for Her. Just last year, CTAOP partnered with the Ford Foundation on a global vaccine equity campaign.

We really try and take the learnings and feedback about needs that we hear from our Program Partners and young people and focus our advocacy on areas we believe will help address them.

To date, CTAOP-supported programs have reached over 3 million youth, a tremendous source of pride for us, but we are equally as proud of the long-standing trusted relationships we have built with our Program Partners that have allowed this level of impact to be possible.

What are the keys to driving lasting, sustainable impact in addressing the challenges facing African youth?

That is the million-dollar question and, in reality, I’m sure there are many different answers that have led organizations to successful change, but I can speak to CTAOP’s approach.

Every community is different, and those closest to the challenges understand them better than anyone. We believe the messenger matters, and we need to be intentional about finding the organizations that are locally led and have the relationships and trust of their own community, and then provide long-term, multiyear funding – and other types of support – that allows for the flexibility to adjust to the evolving and complex landscape. In youth development, just like in many other areas, generating structural and systemic change is a combination of serving individual young people as well as understanding their ecosystem.

“CTAOP will always continue to reflect and evolve based on what we are learning from our incredible Program Partners on the ground and the inspiring youth we are in service of. This is a journey. One that we walk alongside our Partners, young people, and all our committed supporters and peers around the globe. It takes all of us, and as we look back on 15 years – we are filled with so much gratitude for this CTAOP community.”

Charlize Theron, Founder, CTAOP Health, education, and safety are broad goals – reflecting a diverse and interconnected ecosystem. Our Partners address everything from HIV, SRHR, and GBV, to mental health and wellness. They act in schools, create their own safe spaces, and ultimately help to create access to youth-friendly services. They work toward economic opportunity, family strengthening, and valuing and investing in young people as contributing members of society. If that seems

Charlize connects with a young community leader while visiting dlalanathi (CTAOP Program Partner) VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

like a lot, it is – and no one entity can do it alone. That’s why we are always looking for ways to collaborate, strengthen trust in relationships, and look within and across sectors for inspiration and possibility.

You mentioned that CTAOP launched the Youth Leaders Scholarship (YLS) program in 2018. Will you elaborate on this program?

The Youth Leaders Scholarship (YLS) provides young leaders, who have been nominated by CTAOP Program Partners, with funding, tools, and resources to access tertiary studies and achieve long-term success. YLS was created with the understanding that true, lasting change will only come from within communities themselves. CTAOP believes the leaders there are the experts – they have the vision, the passion, and the true connection to and understanding of their community. YLS is an investment in those young leaders, their potential as changemakers, and the future they envision.

We always say, “our role is to help make sure they have the tools, access, and opportunities, but then we just need to get out of their way because they will shape and shake the world.”

The program was inspired by a young community leader who was already taking action. In 2017, Charlize, the CTAOP team and a group of supporters, were visiting one of our Program Partners in the Eastern Cape (one of nine Provinces in South Africa). During a group discussion, a remarkable young woman, Aya, stood up and powerfully declared that she wasn’t going to wait around anymore for change to come to her community. Her words were the driving spark of inspiration. That trip was in the summer of 2017, and we launched our first cohort for the Youth Leaders Scholarship program in 2019. This year we are on target to have our first graduates.

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Charlize celebrating with youth in Edendale, South Africa

How did CTAOP adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the global pandemic?

When the pandemic began, our initial approach was to reach out to all our Program Partners and try to learn. We asked, “What are you hearing? What are you seeing? What do you think you will need? How can we help?” Across the board, our partners worried about food security in their communities as well as gender-based violence. We also knew that the responses of our partners would need to be different based on their individual communities, so we wanted to provide them with as much flexibility as possible in our support. In addition to their existing grants, we issued additional $20,000 unrestricted grants to all partners so they could use those funds for any need their communities were facing. We felt completely confident in this action because we have worked together with these partners for years.

In addition, we worked together with CARE and the Entertainment Industry Foundation to launch a global campaign called Together For Her to deploy funds and support the response against gender-based violence, appropriately deemed the “second pandemic” in South Africa and around the world.

Overall, the additional financial commitment CTAOP and Charlize made to the COVID response was over $1 million.

Our work continues on this front. Just a few months ago, we partnered with the Ford Foundation on a campaign to address COVID-19 vaccine inequity and misinformation. Our Program Partners shared the challenges they were witnessing around vaccine hesitancy and lack of access, and they were actively involved in fighting these inequities, often without any funding. This campaign’s message was critical, but in addition, we wanted to ensure that funding from the campaign was directed to the Program 104 LEADERS

Partners who were working on vaccine access and battling misinformation at the community level because both the Ford Foundation and CTAOP believe that the messenger matters. To that end, we were able to provide an additional $380,000+ to them as part of this effort.

How critical are metrics to measure the impact of CTAOP’s work?

Metrics are critical in anything, but we must ask ourselves who is determining them, and why? CTAOP does not define the metrics of success for our Program Partners, nor should we.

We can help support the creation of their own metrics, but CTAOP works to avoid imposing, even inadvertently, our norms or presume to know what success looks like in their community. We ask questions, listen, and learn alongside our partners. We work to earn and build trust, and by centering our work in the trusted relationships, we also aim to shift from a funder and donor-centric model of philanthropy and grantmaking to a community-centric one. The partners are the experts with lived experience who should have the opportunities to try different solutions, to fail forward without penalty, to not be burdened by funder restrictions and requests. In that vein, they, alongside their communities, define their own metrics.

Don’t get me wrong – we still have an agenda: we serve our Program Partners. We do provide funding, but also try to be thought partners, sounding boards, support mechanisms, and even critical friends, at times. For CTAOP, we need to be held accountable to our partners in the way we support them to be able to do their work. We want to know that we are strengthening our partners’ ability to work within and respond to their communities’ needs, and to create positive change in young people as well as in their ecosystem. That is the metric to which we hold ourselves at CTAOP accountable.

We also acknowledge the limitation of data and metrics alone. For example, we track throughput and progression rates as part of our Scholarship work, but that reveals nothing about important context details such as the mental health challenges of our scholars who converted to online learning in 2020 or the lack of preparedness from universities to support these students online.

Will you discuss Charlize’s passion and commitment for the work of CTAOP and how deeply engaged she is in its efforts?

I have been in the room when global leaders describe Charlize as “the real deal,” and she truly is. Obviously, I am biased, but she is deeply committed to this work, and to a more equitable, just, safe, and kind world generally. CTAOP’s work is in no way a vanity project for her. She and the foundation have been quietly doing this work since 2007, and 15 years later she/we are more committed than ever. She commits her own funding, her name, her network and so much of her time and heart to this work – from fundraising throughout the entire year to doing site visits, to personally holding Zoom sessions with our Scholars just to check in and support them. She gives her all. I think it’s a passion driven partially by her love for her home, but even more so fueled by her humongous heart and infinite empathy.

She is genuinely one of the most compassionate people I have ever met, and it’s an absolute honor to have spent the last 15+ years learning from her and being inspired by her.

Did you always know that you had a passion for this type of work and what makes the work so special for you?

It’s funny because I certainly didn’t know I was going to end up doing this kind of work, but when I look back on my life, I can see the path being cut even when I didn’t realize it was.

For example, my senior project in high school was to teach sex ed classes and write a research paper about HIV prevention. There was no personal reason for choosing this, other than general interest, so it does seem that I’ve had a direction, even though I didn’t know it.

There are lots of reasons this work is so special to me, from the inspirational Program Partners who commit their every breath to making their communities better, to getting to support such a purposeful and influential changemaker like Charlize. But if I had to pick one thing I love the most, at the risk of sounding cheesy, I would pick this: CTAOP hasr been built around a core set of values and has been able to grow while staying true to them. The value of Ubuntu probably stands out the most to me. Ubuntu is the African philosophy that roughly translates to “I am because you are.” It’s the idea that all of us are interconnected in our humanity, and I get to see that, feel that, and support that every day. I see how a shared commitment to young people and making our world better connects the Program Coordinator in Cape Town to our donors in New York City to an AIDS activist in Geneva or the 16-year-old in Tokyo who follows CTAOP on social. We all are pushing for the same dream – and it gives me so much optimism.

There are people all over the world who want to do good, support good, be good.

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Diversity Strengthens Decision-Making An Interview with Devin Glenn, Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Blackstone EDITORS’ NOTE Devin Glenn joined What excited you about the Blackstone from Skadden, Arps, Slate, opportunity to join Blackstone Meagher & Flom LLP where she was the and made you feel it was the Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity right fit? and Inclusion. In this role, she advanced I’m fortunate that my work and increased awareness of the firm’s aligns with my personal values and global diversity, equity and inclusion a deep-seated belief in the princistrategy, executed recruiting, retention, ples of equity and inclusion. At its and client development initiatives, and core, this is mission-driven work – launched an industry-leading diverit is an ongoing effort to connect sity pipeline program for high-potential historically underrepresented first-year law students. Prior to that, she groups to opportunities where they Devin Glenn spent the last decade in various posican thrive and to create systems tions related to diversity and inclusion and processes that produce equiat the law firm, as well as working as an associate in table outcomes for everyone. What drew me its banking and institutional investing division. She to Blackstone was not only the firm’s repureceived a BA from the University of Virginia and a tation for excellence and the opportunity to JD from Columbia Law School. She is a member of leverage our tremendous platform to drive the New York State Bar and the Association of Law progress at scale, but also the recognition Firm Diversity Professionals. among senior leadership that the firm had a tremendous responsibility to do better in FIRM BRIEF Blackstone (blackstone.com) is the this area. world’s largest alternative asset manager. It seeks Will you provide an overview of your to create positive economic impact and long-term role and areas of focus? value for its investors, the companies it invests As the Global Head of Diversity, Equity in, and the communities in which it works. It and Inclusion (DEI) at Blackstone, I impledoes this by using extraordinary people and flex- ment initiatives and policies that help both ible capital to help companies solve problems. Its Blackstone and its portfolio companies $731 billion in assets under management include achieve a more diverse and inclusive workinvestment vehicles focused on private equity, real place. Blackstone’s DEI strategy leverages estate, public debt and equity, infrastructure, life a systematic and people-driven framework sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-invest- based on four key pillars: recruiting, talent ment grade credit, real assets and secondary development, community and inclusion, funds, all on a global basis. and accountability.

How critical is it for Blackstone and its portfolio companies to build a diverse and inclusive workforce?

It’s a crucial part of how we build value for our shareholders. We believe that diverse teams strengthen decision-making. When you invite new voices and different experiences to the table, your vision expands and you can identify new markets and opportunities. Within the firm, half of our primary businesses have a diverse professional as one of their top two leaders, and approximately one-third of our leadership team is diverse. 41 percent of our 2021 global analyst class was composed of women and 49 percent of our 2021 U.S. analyst class was ethnically diverse.

Across our portfolio, we’re implementing a target of one-third diverse representation for control investment boards in the U.S. and Europe. We’re also leveraging the sheer scope of our portfolio – which employs over 500,000 people worldwide – to open up employment opportunities and career mobility for untapped talent via the Career Pathways program.

Acr oss the country, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation’s signature LaunchPad program provides students at majority-diverse or under-resourced universities with the opportunity to learn the entrepreneurial skills critical for success in 21st-century jobs.

How is Blackstone working to reach diverse talent in its recruitment efforts?

Within the firm, we take great pride in and continue to hire from the multiple early-pipeline

“It’s a crucial part of how we build value for our shareholders. We believe that diverse teams strengthen decision-making. When you invite new voices and different experiences to the table, your vision expands and you can identify new markets and opportunities.”

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“At its core, this is mission-driven work – it is an ongoing effort to connect historically underrepresented groups to opportunities where they can thrive and to create systems and processes that produce equitable outcomes for everyone.”

programs we’ve set up, including the Future Women Leaders Program and the Diverse Leaders Program – which introduces first- and second-year college students to finance and the firm through seminars, technical training, networking events and mentorship – and the Future Women Innovators and Future Diverse Innovators programs, which expose students interested in a career in software development to the powerful role of tech in financial strategy.

Additionally, we are widening our recruitment funnel by building relationships between the firm and women’s colleges and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

As of August 2021, we’ve reached more than 530,000, including students at HBCUs. We’re investing in high-value partnerships with organizations like SEO, Scholars of Finance and Black Women in Asset Management so we can tap into this talent. We also continue to prioritize lateral hiring, equipping our HR teams with best practices to identify seasoned professionals from diverse backgrounds and providing networking opportunities for these professionals.

Will you highlight Blackstone’s program, Career Pathways, and how you define its purpose?

Career Pathways, run by my colleague Marcus Felder, aims to leverage the scale of the Blackstone ecosystem to connect untapped talent from select pilot program portfolio companies with opportunities across our portfolio. This

portfolio includes more than 250 companies that employ more than half a million people worldwide, which means we have an outsized opportunity for impact. The goal of the program is to create conditions within these companies that support diverse hiring, retention and advancement and enable talent from underrepresented groups to thrive. We aim to replicate the success of our Veteran’s Hiring Initiative – which placed 100,000 veterans, veteran spouses and caregivers at our portfolio companies – for other underrepresented groups.

How critical are metrics to track the impact of Blackstone’s DEI initiatives?

Metrics inform our processes for talent and recruitment, showing us where we’re getting it right and where we can continue to improve. We’ve seen progress in our analyst classes – the percentage of women in our analyst class globally doubled between 2014 and 2021 and 49 percent of our 2021 U.S. analyst class was racially diverse. We broadened our recruitment pipeline by increasing the number of schools we recruit from nine in previous years to 44 in 2020.

Metrics also help us hold ourselves accountable, enabling us to create systems and processes that foster an inclusive environment that not only attracts but also retains and advances diverse talent. We plan to continue to use metrics to monitor how well we’re advancing towards goals like our one-third board diversity target and increasing satisfaction with DEI programming.

Do you feel that there are strong opportunities for diverse talent to grow and lead in the industry?

Absolutely. We provide a platform for our diverse employees at all levels to excel. Among other things, this platform includes training and development opportunities designed to help employees advance their careers and build and develop diverse teams across a number of areas, including investing skills, leadership and management, delivering feedback and mentoring across lines of difference, communication and technology, as well as other skill sets.

Our platform also includes our four affinity networks. These networks play an invaluable role in building community and inclusion at the firm. I see diverse talent growing and connecting all the time through these networks, which help recruit, engage and retain diverse talent through peer mentoring, networking events, speaker series, and opportunities for visibility, leadership and service. These affinity networks include the Diverse Professionals Network, which allows ethnically diverse professionals to connect globally and advance the dialogue around racial equity and the importance of diversity for our business; OUT Blackstone, which provides a supportive network for LGBTQ+ employees; the Veterans Network, which aims to cultivate a community of veterans and advocates who can add value and enhance Blackstone’s business and culture; and the Women’s Initiative, which drives initiatives across the firm focusing on developing women’s careers.

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“Metrics also help us hold ourselves accountable, enabling us to create systems and processes that foster an inclusive environment that not only attracts but also retains and advances diverse talent. We plan to continue to use metrics to monitor how well we’re advancing towards goals.”

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PURPOSE

One Diriyah An Interview with Gerard “Jerry” J. Inzerillo, Group Chief Executive Officer, Diriyah Gate Development Authority EDITORS’ NOTE Jerry Inzerillo respect to children, education and that were also considered for the award who is a globally celebrated visionary HIV/AIDS. He was honored with a run some of the great hotel companies in the in the hospitality and tourism Knighthood by the Knights of Malta world, and when I received the award my wife industry, with a deep aptitude in Rome, Italy, in 1996. Inzerillo is a said to me, “you have nothing left to prove.” for positioning strategies and founding advisory board member of While that is a nice thing for a wife to say, I still iconic developments. In June 2018, the Clinton AIDS initiative. In recogni- love to play in the big game.

Inzerillo was appointed by His tion of his leadership and empathetic Second, to be in a position to reverse or Royal Highness The Crown Prince outreach to the tourism community correct misconstrued stereotypes, which I Mohammed Bin Salman of the during the COVID-19 pandemic, he believe the Kingdom is subject to, and to use Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be was awarded the prestigious HOTELS hospitality and tourism as an ambassadorial the founding CEO of the newly Magazine “Corporate Hotelier of the element by having people come and visit a created Diriyah Gate Development World Award” as well as the “Tourism for beautiful country, is very powerful. Saudi Arabia Authority, (diriyah.sa), a $50.6 Gerard “Jerry” J. Inzerillo Peace Award” by the World Association had been closed for 90 years, so it is underbillion project aimed at restoring of Non-Governmental Organizations. standable that there may not be a strong awareand reimagining the ancestral home of the origness of the Kingdom, but now people are able to inal Saudi state. In this role, he is charged with What interested you in the opportunity to see for themselves and tourism is playing a vital developing and implementing a master plan to lead Diriyah Gate Development Authority role in telling the real story about the Kingdom. turn 70 square kilometers of development area and made you feel it was the right fit?

Additionally, to be able to manage this into one of the world’s greatest gathering places, There were three components. First, for development in a G20 country that has the encompassing world-class cultural, entertain- someone like me who has been around a resources, along with the vision and commitment ment, retail, hospitality, educational, religious, while, you don’t get a chance to play in the from The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques office and residential assets, with the UNESCO Super Bowl or the World Cup that often, and His Majesty the King and His Royal Highness The World Heritage site of At-Turaif as its center- when you get the opportunity, you want to be Crown Prince, was very compelling to me since point. When complete, the development will add in the game. This is that type of opportunity. I I knew that there was an opportunity to truly 27 billion Saudi riyals to the Kingdom of Saudi recently had the honor of winning an amazing make a lasting impact.

Arabia’s GDP, attract 27 million visitors and award, when for the first time in the history of Will you discuss the vision and mission employ more than 55,000 people. Inzerillo also HOTELS Magazine, I was presented the Corporate for Diriyah Gate Development Authority? serves as Vice Chairman of the Forbes Travel Hotelier of the World award even though I was The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded Guide. He previously served as President and not running a hotel company at the time. I was in a beautiful oasis called Diriyah which was a CEO of IMG Artists, a leader in artist manage- honored to just be nominated with the leaders place that attracted intellectuals and scholars. ment, performing arts and lifestyle events planning, from 2012 to 2014. From 1991 to 2011, Inzerillo was President of Kerzner Entertainment Group, where he raised the profile of its properties in South Africa, the Bahamas, Dubai, Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, the Maldives, as well as conceptualized and positioned the startup of its One&Only and Atlantis brands. He oversaw the launches of The Lost City at Sun City in South Africa, Atlantis in the Bahamas and Atlantis, Dubai. From 1991 to 1996, Inzerillo served as COO of Sun City, the South African resort complex built by Sol Kerzner. While in South Africa, he enjoyed a close personal friendship with President Nelson Mandela and, in 1994, coordinated major portions of his Presidential inauguration in South Africa. In 1987, he was the founding President and CEO of Morgans Hotel Group, later rebranded as Ian Schrager Hotels. While there, he conceptualized and opened Morgans, Royalton and Paramount in New York; the Delano in Miami Beach; and Mondrian in L.A. Inzerillo has long Rendering of Diriyah Gate at King Salman Square been involved with philanthropy, especially with 108 LEADERS

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UNESCO World Heritage Site At-Turaif, Diriyah

It had 30,000 people living in what eventually became the largest mud city in the world and was the home of the first Saudi state. His Majesty the King started the restoration of Diriyah in 1998 and it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. Because of the importance of the location and its history, we created a master plan based on the vision of the King for the future of this jewel from the Saudi past.

Our mission is to transform Diriyah into one of the world’s greatest destinations, a gathering place for the entire world and one which will become a source of great pride for all Saudis.

We are celebrating Saudi’s heritage and culture and it is The Crown Prince’s vision to create one of the world’s great G20 cities, which Riyadh is destined to become, and in the middle of Riyadh – elevated on a rock plateau – will be this ten-by-ten square kilometer, historic city known as Diriyah.

How important is it to maintain the history and heritage that you mentioned and to find the right balance in honoring the past while being relevant for the future?

It is critical to The Crown Prince to find the balance between modernity and new urban living while still maintaining the authenticity and the non-compromising nature of Saudi culture, national identity and heritage. One of the ways that The Crown Prince is endeavoring to achieve this is similar to what Lee Kuan Yew did regarding the modernization of Singapore. Riyadh is destined to be a modern city with the most sophisticated technology, sustainable energy and transportation.

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is important since this innovation will be incorporated into Riyadh as it becomes one of the world’s great G20 cities. However, in the middle of Riyadh will be Diriyah with buildings that look like they did 200 years ago which will help protect the Kingdom’s national identity, authenticity, culture and heritage, and which represent the spirit of the nation.

The Crown Prince’s vision is to think what it will take in 5 to 10 years to put Riyadh on the track to be one of the great cities of the world.

We have to evaluate what it will take to preserve culture and heritage in the middle of that city, which is Diriyah, and then what will come in the future decades, which is NEOM. What are the keys to building a better global understanding of the Kingdom today?

One of the big challenges for the Kingdom is the issue of perception versus reality in terms of how the society operates, and even, simplistically, how the country looks. If you told someone that you were up to your ankles in snow in the Tabuk region of Saudi Arabia, they would question even the notion of snow in Saudi Arabia. If you told someone that there are beautiful mountain ranges as we have in Taif, they would be surprised. The general thinking is that Saudi Arabia is desert and camels, which are the images people know since the Kingdom was not open until recently. This is why His Majesty the King and The Crown Prince opened the Kingdom to tourism in September 2019 and we were thrilled to show the world the true Saudi Arabia. We were forced to shut down due to the pandemic in March 2020, but we are now back open for tourism.

Building a better understanding of Saudi Arabia is a challenge and priority for us. For most countries around the world, Switzerland or Australia, for example, even if you have never

been there, you have a pretty good awareness of what they are like. Saudi Arabia has one of the biggest gaps of all the countries – certainly of all the G20 countries – in perception versus reality. I just had a very successful American businessperson visit Saudi Arabia. At dinner, he told me how much he was enjoying his visit, even though he was initially afraid to come and was not sure about the visit. He was amazed at how friendly the people were and how welcoming the country was as he traveled around the Kingdom.

One of our major tasks is to launch an enormous marketing effort to present the real images of the Kingdom and to highlight the interactions of the people visiting Saudi Arabia for concerts and sports events and tourism in order to build a better understanding and appreciation for Saudi Arabia today.

How critical is it for the Kingdom to invest in and train the hospitality workforce of the future as it increases its tourism efforts?

This is probably the number one item we talk about and is certainly a focus for The Crown Prince. Our terrific Minister of Culture, His Highness Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, and our wonderful Minister of Tourism, His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, are clear that even if you have the money and resources to invest in tourism, as we are doing – we will have 38 hotels in Diriyah designed by the best designers in the world, including Saudi designers – it is critical to have a talented and skilled workforce. This is why we are putting billions of dollars into education and training throughout high school, college and graduate schools in the areas of hospitality and entertainment. We are partnering with some of the leading organizations and universities around the world and are sending our young people to get trained and learn skills that will make them successful in the hospitality industry.

How important is Vision 2030 to the future of the Kingdom?

Vision 2030 is critically important. A vast majority of Saudi people are under the age of 35, and many Saudis are coming home because they are excited about the future of the country.

With a young population that is very positive, very focused, very forward-thinking, and that is united behind a vision for the future, there is a unified feeling among the people. This is so different than in many parts of the world where people are polarized and cannot even have productive conversations if they disagree – everything has become personal. America in many pockets has lost its natural DNA of positivity and optimism and is certainly no longer bound together by a national agenda.

This national agenda is present in Saudi Arabia with Vision 2030, and we will begin opening major assets in 2022 and will continue doing this every year until 2030. This is very important from an aspirational standpoint, since as opposed to mentioning grandiose plans and having the people wait to see if it is actually coming and what impact it will have, in the Kingdom you will be able to see these assets being delivered each year.

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In regard to Diriyah, it is vital that we come out first being located in the center of Riyadh because we are the emblem of Vision 2030.

How did Diriyah Gate Development Authority adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the pandemic?

Credit must be given to The Crown Prince because during COVID he had every reason to back off a little bit. First, it is important to mention that His Majesty the King and The Crown Prince did not spare one penny when it came to the health and wellness of the society. The King went on television and said that COVID is not a Saudi condition, it is a human condition. He said that the Kingdom was going to pay for tests and would make sure those in need had the best treatment and care and the Kingdom has done an exceptional job of addressing COVID. Even as the government made sure to address the needs of the people and spent massive amounts of money to best approach this challenge, they never slowed down the big projects underway and fully funded these projects. We did not lose any momentum, although a difficult issue was regarding talent and the workforce since many people from other countries did not want to leave their homes and families during this unprecedented time.

How important is it in your role to have such strong support and commitment from His Majesty the King and The Crown Prince?

It is critical. One thing that is not well known outside of Saudi Arabia is that the King is the number one historian in the Kingdom.

This is important to mention since at the time when the Saudis hit oil and had vast resources available to them, it was a modest country. It then came into this vast wealth and wanted to catch up to international standards in education, health, technology, industry – helping its own people by providing opportunity for a good quality of life. His Majesty the King has been a leader in finding the balance of celebrating the past while looking forward to

Rendering of Diriyah Square offices

the future, and this is also of great importance to The Crown Prince. They have made my job much easier and have given me everything I need in terms of manpower and resources, and it is my responsibility along with my team to meet their expectations and fulfill their vision.

What do you see as the keys to effective leadership and how do you describe your management style?

For me, leadership is about setting the direction and priorities, and then providing the team with the tools they need to execute. We have many pictures of our team putting one finger in the air, which signifies One Diriyah, which means that every individual counts toward our success. Diriyah is the jewel of the Kingdom, its first state – there is only one Diriyah – one Kingdom, one purpose, unified. Leadership is also about growing the team and talent to be the future leaders of the organization.

Rendering of Diriyah Square branded residential 110 LEADERS

When you look at my career, there are those who might say that I am not a developer, but rather an innkeeper. I have had a diverse career experience with leading brands and involvement in a wide range of projects. Whatever word you use to describe my career, leadership is leadership. When you have a great boss like I do, it is about building a team and executing. The Crown Prince is engaged in all aspects of this project, including approving all renderings and designs, and that engagement is critical to our success.

Travel and tourism is the largest industry in the world. Do you feel that the industry has done an effective job at telling its story and how vital it is to the global economy?

Globally, we had not done a good job in the past, but that is changing. We are going to be hosting the global conference of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) later this year and WTTC has played an important role with its mission to maximize the inclusive and sustainable growth potential of the travel and tourism sector by partnering with governments, destinations, communities, and other stakeholders to drive economic development, create jobs, reduce poverty and enhance security and understanding in our world.

We have seen major growth in the number of countries that have a Minister of Tourism because countries realize the impact that travel and tourism have on creating jobs and increasing economic growth. The industry employs a diverse workforce and provides tremendous career opportunities.

What advice do you offer to young people interested in building a career in the hospitality industry?

I tell young people that tourism is an amazing industry. If you analyze all the global industries, you will not find a less discriminatory industry than tourism. It does not matter what your gender or your nationality is, if you love to serve and enjoy caring for people, it is a wonderful industry.

Every day is different and there are so many facets to explore and pursue.

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VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

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Addressing Long COVID An Interview with Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, Dean of the School of Public Health, Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University School of Public Health EDITORS’ NOTE A practicing physiWhere do you see the country in cian, Ashish Jha is recognized globally the battle against COVID-19? as an expert on pandemic preparedAs a nation, we are in a much ness and response as well as on health better place now than we were at the policy research and practice. He has start of this pandemic. We know much led groundbreaking research around more and have many more tools to Ebola and is now on the front lines of the fight COVID, including new vaccines COVID-19 response, leading national and therapeutics, more testing, and a and international analysis of key issues better understanding of how to stop the and advising state and federal policy spread of this virus. Important progress makers. Dr. Jha was recently appointed has been and continues to be made,

by President Biden as the new White but we are not done with COVID. Ashish K. Jha House COVID Response Coordinator.

More Americans are getting vacciHe joined Brown University School of nated since Omicron arrived – as of Public Health after leading the Harvard Global February 2022, 64 percent of Americans have had Health Institute and teaching at the Harvard T.H. at least two doses, and 75 percent have received Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical at least one dose. At the same time, we need to School. Dr. Jha has published more than two hundred vaccinate a lot more people. Vaccinations are our original research publications in prestigious journals most powerful weapon against the pandemic, such as the New England Journal of Medicine and particularly when people get all three shots, but the BMJ, and is a frequent contributor to a range of the booster roll-out has been slow, with only 27 public media. He has extensively researched how to percent of Americans boosted. improve the quality and reduce the cost of healthThe vaccine is free, but there are parts of care, focusing on the impact of public health policy the country where access is limited, and nationally and around the globe. Dr. Jha was born communities where people cannot take time in Pursaulia, Bihar, India in 1970. He moved to off from work to get their shot or take a day Toronto, Canada in 1979 and then to the United States in 1983. In 1992, Dr. Jha graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University with a BA in economics. He received his MD from Harvard Medical School in 1997 and then trained as a resident in Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He returned to Boston to complete his fellowship in General Medicine from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. In 2004, he completed his Master of Public Health degree at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2013.

off if they get a fever or other side effects. And we’re still waiting on another step of the vaccine roll-out for children aged between 6 months and 5 years. This is a really important group, particularly for vulnerable communities and communities of color. Nearly half of children in this age group are of color, whose communities have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

We also have made important progress in testing and benefited from what we’ve learned about the effectiveness of masks, social distancing and improved ventilation. The Biden administration has made testing easier by mailing free at-home testing kits to American households, and by requiring insurers to cover the cost of rapid test kits. And our government has provided critical support to increase ventilation systems, especially in schools. Mask mandates, now beginning to drop as Omicron infection numbers go down, have proven effective in stopping the spread of this airborne virus and remain available for those at greatest risk.

One of the biggest challenges of this pandemic – one we are still facing – is clearly communicating accurate data and facts with the

“We think that between 10 percent and 30 percent of people who contract COVID report persisting symptoms. Based on numbers of infections

reported by the Centers for Disease Control

INSTITUTION BRIEF Brown University School of Public Health (brown.edu/academics/public-health) is committed to tackling pressing health challenges and improving population health by advancing science and training tomorrow’s leaders. Its nationally renowned research centers have expertise in key aspects of health and the ability to translate cutting-edge research into high-impact policies and care initiatives. The School’s student-centered academic training and culture of collaboration prepare future health leaders to respond to urgent health challenges. Public Health at Brown goes beyond preventing disease to reshaping healthcare and safeguarding vulnerable populations.

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and Prevention (CDC) in October 2021, just over 100 million Americans between the ages 18 to 64 have contracted COVID-19, meaning that, within this group, 10 million to 30 million Americans are struggling with Long COVID.”

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VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

“Research is absolutely critical because we don’t know enough about Long COVID. At the Brown University School of Public Health, our Long COVID Initiative is bringing together researchers, clinicians and policy experts to understand the social and economic impacts of Long COVID by looking at the latest evidence and developing policies to better serve people suffering with Long COVID.” American people. Inconsistent messaging has undermined trust and a barrage of mis- and disinformation has and continues to feed confusion and fear that blocks progress and threatens lives.

While much of the focus has been on dealing with the current crisis, Long COVID is a major concern going forward. Will you provide your views on the potential size and scale of Long COVID? We think that between 10 percent and 30 percent of people who contract COVID report persisting symptoms. Based on numbers of infections reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in October 2021, just over 100 million Americans between the ages 18 to 64 have contracted COVID-19, meaning that, within this group, 10 million to 30 million Americans are struggling with Long COVID. The CDC’s own estimate is that around 31 million working-age Americans – more than one in seven – may have experienced, or be experiencing, persisting symptoms.

It’s not yet clear whether Omicron causes lower rates of Long COVID, but it will certainly lead to more cases. Just because Omicron leads to milder infections on average doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a lower risk of developing Long COVID. We are also still learning about the success of vaccines in preventing Long COVID. For people who get breakthrough infections it is unclear whether vaccination helps prevent Long COVID, or whether vaccination can provide symptomatic relief from Long COVID. But what we do know is that vaccines are very good at preventing infection and, in particular, at protecting people from severe forms of COVID-19 including hospitalization and death.

Severe forms of COVID-19 are more likely to cause Long COVID, so vaccinations are a powerful tool against it.

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What do you see as the keys to effectively addressing Long COVID and driving positive impact for those experiencing this issue?

We have no precise definition of Long COVID. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the CDC have provided separate definitions, and there is significant disagreement in key areas of those definitions, including how long symptoms must persist to meet the definition: is it after four weeks or after three months?

Even the name is debated: is it Long COVID or Post-COVID Syndrome? These inconsistencies make it difficult for people in healthcare to effectively address Long COVID. Research can give us a more detailed understanding, which will help with diagnosing long haulers who can then exercise their rights regarding disability benefits.

In July 2021, the Biden Administration made Long COVID a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but as of today, many long haulers are struggling to access benefits because of misguided requirements. For example, they need to show a positive COVID-19 test to prove they had COVID-19. The issue is that many long haulers who contracted COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic were unable to get tested because there weren’t enough tests at the time. So, without a positive test, they are denied benefits.

Again, a better definition of Long COVID will help us better serve the individuals suffering from this syndrome.

How critical is it to invest in research on Long COVID and is this a focus for the Brown University School of Public Health?

Research is absolutely critical because we don’t know enough about Long COVID. At the Brown University School of Public Health, our Long COVID Initiative is bringing together researchers, clinicians and policy experts to

understand the social and economic impacts of Long COVID by looking at the latest evidence and developing policies to better serve people suffering with L ong COVID. There is an urgent need for accelerated clinical research to provide people with a proper diagnosis, effective support and safe treatments. Without good support from the healthcare system, some with Long COVID turn to alternative, unresearched treatments to cure their symptoms – treatments which can be dangerous. The U.S. healthcare system is already difficult to navigate. Without clear guidance, people with Long COVID and their healthcare providers struggle to make informed decisions. Research will also help us to track and debunk misinformation as part of providing reliable, safe, and accessible treatment for people with Long COVID. Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, so they are also at higher risk of developing Long COVID. But this isn’t always reflected in the data we have, indicating that those from communities of color are presenting at lower rates, possibly because of difficulty in accessing care and getting a diagnosis. One of the things Brown’s Long COVID Initiative will do is give us a better understanding of this gap to ensure that adequate resources are made available to people in these communities.

How important is it for leaders in health and leading health systems to work together and collaborate in addressing the issue of Long COVID? It is very important for leaders in health and health systems to collaborate to address Long COVID, but it is even more important that we focus on facilitating open and honest conversations with all stakeholders to make sure everyone is being heard: patients, patient advocates, researchers, clinicians, payers and others. Long COVID is a new syndrome and this is an opportunity for all to work together and learn together. Sharing information and having discussions with all impacted individuals can help fill in the gaps and lead, inform research and translate into effective policy and treatments.

What do you tell people who are dealing with Long COVID about the need to stay positive and to focus on recovery?

The symptoms that come with Long COVID can be extremely debilitating. It is difficult to imagine what some people are living with every day unless you’ve experienced it yourself. People with Long COVID are managing symptoms that get in the way of every aspect of day-to-day life. For these people, “back to normal” is not an option. We launched Brown University’s Long COVID Initiative because we want to connect with people with Long COVID and share resources to understand the gaps in research and the impact of Long COVID on their social and economic lives, so that we can support their recovery. It’s time for policymakers, employers, and researchers to make Long COVID a real priority to help with recovery and, hopefully, get people back to their healthy baseline.

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PURPOSE

“Turn 2” Healthy Lifestyles An Interview with Sharlee Jeter, President, Turn 2 Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE Sharlee Jeter is deaf into many Turn 2 programs and President of the Turn 2 Foundation, events in New York and Michigan. a nonprofit established by Derek She was pr omoted to Dir ector of Jeter in 1996 to help young people Development in 2004, and in 2007, reach their full potential by fostering she was named Vice President. Born leadership development, academic and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, achievement, healthy lifestyles and Sharlee graduated in 1997 fr om social change. Since she assumed Kalamazoo Central High School and leadership of Tur n 2 in 2010, received a BS degree in mathematics in Sharlee has taken the Foundation 2001 from Spelman College in Atlanta. to new heights, elevating its profile across the country, raising substanFOUNDATION BRIEF Since its launch in Sharlee Jeter tial funds to strengthen its programs, December 1996, the Turn 2 Foundation and changing the lives of hundreds (turn2foundation.org) has created of youth, as demonstrated by its signature Jeter’s and supported programs and activities that motiLeaders initiative. For 15 consecutive years, 100 vate young people to turn away from drugs and percent of high school students have graduated alcohol and “Turn 2” healthy lifestyles. Through from the Jeter’s Leaders program and attended various specialized programs and events, the college. Over the years, hundreds of high school Foundation works with youth in New York City, students have participated in Turn 2’s internship West Michigan and Tampa, empowering them to initiative, which has connected Jeter’s Leaders reach their full potential. Its signature Jeter’s with paid internships at more than 50 world- Leaders initiative is a four-year leadership develclass organizations. In 2017, Turn 2 perma- opment program that fosters academic achievenently endowed its fourth college scholarship, the ment, positive behavior and social change among UNCF/Sharlee Jeter Scholarship, which is awarded high school students. During its 26-year history, annually to a Jeter’s Leaders graduate to attend a Turn 2 has given back more than $35 million, Historically Black College or University (HBCU). funding its signature programs as well as orgaIn 2021, Sharlee was recognized as one of Crain’s nizations that support its mission.

New York Business’ Notable Black Leaders and Executives for her unwavering commitment to Will you highlight the history of the advancing equality and creating positive change. Turn 2 Foundation and how you define In addition to her role at Turn 2, Sharlee is Vice its mission?

President of Strategy and Development for Jeter In 1996, Derek and our father created the Ventures, which encompasses Derek’s full port- Turn 2 Foundation to motivate young people folio of business operations. She also oversees the to turn away from drugs and alcohol and turn children and adult divisions of Jeter Publishing, to healthy lifestyles. More than two decades an imprint of Simon & Schuster launched in later, Turn 2 continues to build on that legacy 2013 that has produced several New York Times by helping countless youth through specialized Bestsellers, including The Contract, its follow-up, programs designed to foster leadership develHit & Miss, and Change Up. Sharlee is co-author opment, academic excellence, positive behavior of a powerful book with Dr. Sampson Davis titled, and social change.

The STUFF: Unlock Your Power to Overcome Will you provide an overview of the Challenges, Soar and Succeed. The STUFF was work of the Foundation and its initiatives? inspired by the authors’ own personal challenges Each of our initiatives work to help young and is intended to empower readers to recog- people overcome challenges, rise above neganize their own strength and potential to succeed. tive influences, lead healthy lifestyles and ultiSharlee began her involvement with the Turn 2 mately achieve their utmost potential. We have Foundation in 1996 as a high school volunteer. various programs that are tailored to meet the At the age of 18, she was named to the Board everchanging needs of young people, including of Directors. In 2002, she joined the Foundation the Jeter’s Leaders, Turn 2 Us, the Derek Jeter full-time as Program Director, developing a Center at Phoenix House, and more. number of successful initiatives, including Our signature initiative is the Jeter’s Leaders a partnership with The St. Joseph’s School for the program – a four-year leadership development Deaf in the Bronx that led to the integration of the program that fosters academic achievement, 114 LEADERS

positive behavior and social change among high school students in New York and West Michigan who serve as ambassadors for Derek and Turn 2 in their communities. The Jeter’s Leaders are inducted as incoming freshmen and remain in the program throughout all four years of high school. This is a highly selective program that transforms these students, who are role models in their communities, into powerful agents of social change.

Our elementary school-based mental health initiative for New York City students, Turn 2 Us, was created in partnership with NewYorkPresbyterian Hospital in 2001. In the classroom, Turn 2 Us offers students mindfulness exercises, anti-bullying education, healthy lifestyle practices that promote mental well-being and academic success, and more. The program also provides staff development workshops for teachers, administrators, and other school staff, and it helps parents and caregivers by increasing awareness in households through tailored workshops.

As a foundation that’s rooted in motivating young people to turn away from drugs and alcohol, Turn 2 also partners with Phoenix House in Florida to provide critical resources and support to teens struggling with substance abuse. Since its founding in 2008, the Derek Jeter Center has helped thousands of youth overcome struggles with addiction. In 2017, Turn 2 and Phoenix House unveiled a newly renovated Derek Jeter Center, which enabled the facility to double its treatment capacity.

Our Foundation also presented a donation of $150,000, surpassing $1 million in contributions from Turn 2 to Phoenix House since the center’s inception.

What has made the Jeter’s Leaders program so effective and how has this signature program of the Foundation evolved?

The Jeter’s Leaders work on assignments and projects aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles, serving their communities, mentoring, achieving academically and furthering their professional development. The program is so impactful because we’re able to provide high school students with enriching opportunities they may not experience elsewhere, like college tours, paid internships, volunteer initiatives, and more. Through our Social Change Projects and Leadership Conferences, these students are also able to dive into communities across the country and work together to create positive change.

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“My father and I began the Turn 2 Foundation during my rookie season with the New York Yankees, and the impact we’ve had on thousands of youth across the country since then has far exceeded my dreams.”

Derek Jeter, Co-Founder, Turn 2 Foundation Our Jeter’s Leaders understand the importance of their education, setting goals for themselves, and serving as role models to those around them. With each class, we witness a remarkable transformation – these students grow personally and academically, graduate high school and go on to pursue their dreams in college. Over the years, we’ve evolved our program to continuously meet the everchanging

needs of young people, including during the pandemic. We knew we needed to transition our programming to address the current challenges these young people were facing and ensure they were fully supported during these scary and uncertain times.

How did the Foundation adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the pandemic?

Derek and Sharlee Jeter on the runway at the Palm Beach Invitational VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

Throughout the pandemic, young people have been juggling continuous transitions between in-person and remote learning, navigating periods of social distancing and isolation, and experiencing ongoing feelings of uncertainty that have been causing a significant strain on their mental wellbeing. Through our programs, we have been providing resources and guidance to help our students remain active, motivated to learn and, ultimately, continue leading healthy lifestyles. We’ve held virtual graduation ceremonies for our senior Jeter’s Leaders, ongoing virtual career panels where Leaders gain valuable professional advice from executives in various industries, online discussions with Jeter’s Leaders alumni, and more.

We’ve also continued to provide our Jeter’s Leaders with opportunities to give back to those around them. In August 2021, we held our Social Change Project, where our New York Jeter’s Leaders volunteered at the Community League of the Heights to help make a difference in the Washington Heights community. On that same day, our Jeter’s Leaders in Kalamazoo, Michigan, volunteered at Bronson Methodist Hospital to beautify the grounds.

Our mental health promotion program – Turn 2 Us – has also been providing various services to promote mental wellness among young people in New York City elementary schools. At the height of the pandemic, Turn 2 Us transitioned its school-based programming to take place virtually and facilitated several workshops focused on self-care techniques and boosting overall well-being in young people, with topics including stress management, the impact of social media and screen time, self-care and more. Additionally, with support from our Jeter’s Leaders program, we modified Turn 2 Us’ in-person mentorship program by providing virtual services to students.

Additionally, our partner Phoenix House continued to serve Hillsborough County in Florida via telehealth services throughout the pandemic. This year, we’re looking forward to awarding the Derek Jeter Hillsborough Education Scholarship, which is one of two annual scholarships we administer to graduates of the Derek Jeter Center at Phoenix House.

The past two years have demonstrated that Turn 2’s mission is more important than ever before. It’s crucial that young people continue

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“Sharlee has truly taken the Foundation to new heights as president, and I’m so proud to work with her to grow Turn 2.”

Derek Jeter

to have access to support and guidance, especially during this critical time in their lives as they plan for their future.

How critical are metrics to measure the impact of the Foundation’s work?

At Turn 2, we are closely monitoring our success rates in order to determine how we can strengthen our various programs and initiatives, and better meet the needs of young people. On an ongoing basis we measure the number of hours that are devoted to community service, the number of young people we are reaching, the funds we are receiving through events and donations, the number of partnerships we secure for our internship program and career webinars, and more. Additionally, several years ago, we invested in a rigorous evaluation system that measures the success of our Jeter’s Leaders program. This is an important tool that informs our approach for this program year after year. One statistic I’m especially proud of is our high school graduation rate. Despite challenges brought on by the pandemic, 100 percent of our Jeter’s Leaders graduated high school and were accepted into college in 2021 – a graduation rate we have held for the past 15 consecutive years.

Will you discuss Derek’s passion and commitment for the work of the Foundation and how deeply engaged he is in its efforts?

During Derek’s rookie season with the New York Yankees in 1996, he knew he wanted to help other young people recognize and accomplish dreams of their own, so he and our father set out to create a foundation that would motivate youth to rise above negative influences, set goals for themselves and reach their full potential. Turn 2 was born that year, and its mission is a reflection of the values our entire family shares. Derek continues to be deeply involved in the Foundation, and it has been really special to work alongside my brother to create positive change. In addition to our current programming, Derek and I are very focused on how we can continue to deepen our impact and build on Turn 2’s legacy to serve more young people well into the future.

Did you always know that you had a passion for this type of work and what makes the work so special for you?

I have been passionate about creating meaningful change from a very young age and was inspired by my parents. When we were growing up, our father, who was a drug 116 LEADERS

and alcohol abuse counselor, and our mother instilled in Derek and me the importance of hard work, education and community service.

These principles guided us both through our professional and personal endeavors and are what laid the groundwork for the Turn 2 Foundation.

Turn 2 started as a small family foundation and grew into something so incredible that has truly changed the lives of hundreds of young people – and I am so proud of the profound impact we’ve been able to have. The youth we serve become passionate about Turn 2’s values, and it’s amazing to watch them light up during our Leadership Conferences and service projects. They know they can make a real difference in their communities and beyond, and that the sky is the limit for their future – seeing these changes in them is what inspires me every day.

What interested you in writing the book, The STUFF: Unlock Your Power to Overcome Challenges, Soar, and Succeed, and what were the key messages you wanted to convey in the book?

While preparing for my future career path and earning my degree at Spelman College, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Despite the difficult battle ahead, I was determined to ensure this wasn’t going to stand in my way of graduating on time and pursuing my dreams.

I traveled back-and-forth between my dorm room and Manhattan to receive treatment and continued with my studies. Through strength, determination, courage and an outstanding support system, I earned my college degree and overcame cancer. The perspectives and lessons I gained during that difficult period of my life have guided me through challenges I’ve faced throughout my career.

The STUFF was inspired by the challenges both Dr. Sampson Davis and I faced in our lives. We came up with the idea to share stories of perseverance, and together, co-authored The STUFF. In addition to our journeys, this book features the powerful stories of everyday individuals who faced misfortune but found ways to thrive. Our hope is that the power of positivity and hard work will empower readers, particularly youth, to recognize their potential and ability to overcome challenges.

As you look at the impact that the Turn 2 Foundation has made in the lives of youth, do you take moments to reflect and appreciate what the Foundation has accomplished or are you always looking at what is next?

It makes me so proud to reflect on the impact we have had over the past 26 years.

Since Turn 2 was created, we’ve implemented impactful Social Change Projects that have helped to improve communities throughout the U.S.; we’ve brought together hundreds of youth leaders from across the country for powerful discussions during our Leadership Conferences about how to overcome issues adolescents are facing; our programs have provided hundreds of high school students with enriching experiences and scholarships that enabled them to pursue their dreams in college; we’ve given back over $35 million to support our programs as well as other organizations that share our mission; and much more.

We’re certainly not slowing down, and I’m inspired every day to continue working alongside our outstanding team to strengthen our programs and deepen our impact in the years to come.

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VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

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PURPOSE

Improving the Health of Communities An Interview with Michael J. Alkire, President and Chief Executive Officer, Premier Inc. EDITORS’ NOTE Michael Alkire, to transform healthcare. With intewho joined Premier Inc. in 2003, grated data and analytics, collabis a seasoned healthcare execuoratives, supply chain solutions tive with nearly 30 years of operaand consulting and other services, tional, technology and business Pr emier enables better car e and development leadership experioutcomes at a lower cost. Premier plays ence. He was named the company’s a critical role in the rapidly evolving Chief Operating Officer in 2013, its healthcare industry, collaborating with President in 2019 and its Chief members to codevelop long-term innoExecutive Officer in 2021. Prior to vations that reinvent and improve the serving as Pr esident and CEO, way care is delivered to patients nationAlkire was President of Premier wide. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Michael J. Alkire Purchasing Partners, which offers Carolina, Premier is passionate about group purchasing, supply chain transforming American healthcare. and resource utilization services to hospitals and health systems. Alkire was named one of the Top How do you define Premier’s purpose?

25 COOs in Healthcare for 2018 and was named Premier’s vision has always been to use the to Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential collaborative power of our alliance to lead the People in Healthcare list in 2021. Before joining transformation of healthcare to a high quality, Premier, he served in a number of leadership more cost-effective system. This has been our roles at Cap Gemini, including North American purpose for more than 20 years, and this purpose responsibilities for supply chain and high-tech is engrained in our culture. This is something that manufacturing. Alkire graduated magna cum we focus on when evaluating how we deploy laude with a BS degree from Indiana State capital, how we think about building our services University and an MBA from Indiana University. out and how we leverage technology as we work to support our members in their journey to drive COMPANY BRIEF Premier Inc. (premierinc.com) higher value healthcare at a lower cost. is a leading healthcare improvement company, While Premier is an industry leader, it uniting an alliance of more than 4,400 U.S. is not necessarily a household name. How hospitals and health systems and approximately do you describe Premier’s business and 225,000 other providers and organizations what do you see as the Premier advantage?

I have always described Premier as a healthcare control tower. We provide supply chain capabilities; for example, we help health systems get access to critical supplies like personal protective equipment (PPE), generic pharmaceuticals and anything you can think of to deliver top quality care. Simultaneously, Premier provides the technologies and analytics that help our members identify opportunities for continuous improvement from both cost and quality vantage points.

On the performance services side, we build out technology and wraparound advisory services and consulting to help healthcare systems as the industry continues to move towards value-based care. Premier provides all of the technologies, capabilities and services to help these health systems provide care to their communities.

How focused are you on telling the Premier story to young people coming out of school and beginning their careers in order to continue to attract and retain talent?

It is imperative that we educate college students and those entering the workforce about careers at Premier and in the healthcare industry overall.

I’m reminded of a conversation I had with a young woman who was going to MIT and was interested in exploring both healthcare

“I have always described Premier as a healthcare control tower. We provide supply chain capabilities; for example, we help health systems get access to critical supplies like personal protective equipment (PPE), generic pharmaceuticals and anything you can think of to deliver top quality care. Simultaneously, Premier provides the technologies and analytics that help our members identify opportunities for continuous improvement from both cost and quality vantage points.”

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“Premier’s vision has always been to use the collaborative power of our alliance to lead the transformation of healthcare to a high quality, more cost-effective system. This has been our purpose for more than 20 years, and this purpose is engrained in our culture.” and technology. When I asked her where she was thinking about doing her internship, she rattled off the obvious technology companies that everyone is familiar with. All of them have made multiple attempts to enter the healthcare space.

After listening to her, I suggested that she might be able to make a greater impact if she went to a healthcare company focused on technology, as opposed to a technology company trying to make inroads in healthcare. While that gave her pause, the follow up about working at a company that has thousands of relationships with health systems and endless potential for new research opportunities was a lightbulb moment for her. She understood the power of going to work for an organization that truly understands healthcare today and can help chart the course for how it will transform in the future.

How challenging is it to find a balance between meeting the quarter-to-quarter expectations for results with the need to make long-term investments for the future?

Finding that balance is not optional. You have to strike that balance between investing for the long term and delivering in a way that meets shareholder needs today. If we don’t build out the platforms that hold the promise to truly transform the way healthcare will be provided in the future, we aren’t doing our

jobs. We tend to believe that by delivering in the short-term and meeting the objectives of our investor base, we are giving the organization license to continue on our path to build out the capabilities and technologies for the future.

What do you see as the responsibility that leading companies have to being engaged in the communities they serve and to being a force for good in society?

Our mission, which is to improve the health of communities, has led to a significant interest in looking at ways we can close the gaps in care so that people – regardless of factors like race, income, location and the like – receive the same, evidence-based high-quality care. With our data and technology capabilities, Premier is uniquely positioned to help address these issues that are impacting our communities so deeply.

Furthermore, with our reach on the supply chain side of our business, we have had a significant focus over the last 15 years in creating more diversity in the way we source products.

As a country, we have been overdependent on China and Southeast Asia for far too long and need to broaden our relationships and find opportunities for more nearshore sourcing of products. We also need to continue to invest in doing more domestically, which will lead to bringing more jobs back to this country, which will foster more vibrancy in our communities.

I am proud of the leadership role we have taken in this area, working with our members to foster domestic production of masks, gowns and gloves and diversifying our pharmaceutical supply chain.

Are you optimistic that the industry will be able to meet the healthcare challenges of the future?

I will answer that question from the inside out. At Premier, we have an incredible group of innovative, hardworking, brilliant people who wake up each day thinking about how best they can help hospitals and other providers transform the way they are providing care. This relates to helping with costs, encouraging new delivery models, working with artificial intelligence and machine learning – all with a keen focus on creating value. That is my view from the inside.

When I look at the hospitals and health systems and other organizations (long-term care facilities, surgical centers, etc.) we work with and speak with their leaders about the opportunities before them, I can’t help but feel excited.

There is so much innovation and so many opportunities to leverage cutting-edge technology to address problems that have plagued us for so long. Yes, there is a lot of work we have to do, but I am confident that our healthcare systems are ready to meet the challenge as they prepare for the future.

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“Our mission, which is to improve the health of communities, has led to a significant interest in looking at ways we can close the gaps in care so that people – regardless of factors like race, income, location and the like – receive the same, evidence-based high-quality care. With our data and technology capabilities, Premier is uniquely positioned to help address these issues that are impacting our communities so deeply.”

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Honoring Oscar An Interview with Melissa Rauch, Co-Founder, Oscar’s Kids EDITORS’ NOTE Melissa Rauch is an actress, writer, producer, and most importantly a mother of two incredible children. As a passionate advocate for women’s issues, her writings on her experience with pregnancy loss, as well as a PSA she wrote and produced on the subject, were both circulated worldwide.

Will you highlight the history of O s c a r ’ s K i d s a n d h o w y o u define its mission?

We established Oscar’s Kids in honor of a magical little boy from Ireland named Oscar Keogh. I was connected with him after his incredible parents reached out to me through Instagram. They shared that, at three-and-a half years old, INSTITUTION BRIEF Oscar’s Kids Oscar was diagnosed with an (oscarskids.org) was created aggressive and terminal form of pediMelissa Rauch in honor of the son of Yavanna atric cancer called DIPG. In an effort and Lar Keogh, Oscar, who was to bring as much joy to their beautiful diagnosed with ter minal brain cancer in son’s life as possible, his parents were contacting January 2018, passing just 19 months later in people from shows he watched. He enjoyed July 2019. Its mission as a charity is guided by the Big Bang Theory which I was on at the time the immense joy with which Oscar lived life, and he sweetly called my character his girlhis endless bravery and the magic he injected friend. Our friendship grew from there. into every day, even the hardest ones. It is also Oscar tragically passed away at just five inspired by the kindness and support bestowed y e a r s o l d a s t h e r e a r e n o k n o w n c u r e s upon the Keogh family by so many charities a n d no successful treatment options for and individuals during that time. One of the DIPG. It’s the same form of cancer that Neil greatest gifts was the beginning of the Keogh’s A r m s t r o n g ’ s son had and died from back friendship with Melissa Rauch and her husband, in the 1970s and very little has progressed for Winston, which brought great happiness to Oscar’s DIPG treatments since that time. Given the life and created a deep bond between the m i r a c u l o u s p o w e r o f s c i e n c e t o c u r e two families, leading them to take a journey n e a r l y a n y t h i n g the medical community together as friends and parents to create an seemingly puts its mind to and its money inter national pediatric cancer charity to behind, I found the reality facing those chilbenefit and support children on both sides dren afflicted with DIPG to be simply unacof the Atlantic. Oscar’s Kids is a fund of the ceptable. I wanted to do something in honor Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a of Oscar and to help this community of 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. EIF is a kids and parents who are literally told by Charity Navigator 4 Star Charity that meets all doctors to “go make some memories” because 20 BBB Charity Standards and carries the there’s nothing else they can currently do. My Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency. husband, Winston, and I joined forces with

Oscar’s parents, our dear friends, Yavanna and Lar, to form Oscar’s Kids. It is now a trans-Atlantic pediatric cancer charity – with a chapter here and one run in Ireland by Oscar’s parents – which is committed toward supporting children and families dealing with pediatric cancer and using scientific research to find a cure and treatments for DIPG. Will you provide an overview of Oscar’s Kids’ work?

This year Oscar’s Kids America is focusing on research for DIPG. We have identified the lab of the brilliant Dr. Michelle Monje at Stanford who is making phenomenal strides in the field and we are working hard to raise as much money as possible to fund her efforts. It is important to us that we spread Oscar’s magic to children, so w e have ef forts underway to partner with the Ronald McDonald House in LA to bring some joy to the families staying there while undergoing treatment. Oscar’s Kids Ireland is doing amazing work to bring joy to children diagnosed with cancer, granting “Magic Moments” (special dream treats and gifts the child requests), as well as “Comfort Kits” to the pediatric cancer wards, which are bags of goodies for kids having treatment. Our goal is to continue Oscar’s legacy of light and love through all of our work.

How important is it to increase childhood cancer research which to date has been massively underfunded?

Only 4 percent of government funding goes to pediatric cancer research, and even less to cancers like DIPG. This is horrific.

We’ve let down our children on this for way too

“We established Oscar’s Kids in honor of a magical little boy from Ireland named Oscar Keogh.”

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“I wanted to do something in honor of Oscar and to help this community of kids and parents who are literally told by doctors to ‘go make some memories’ because there’s nothing else they can currently do.”

long. We need funds to support new treatments.

We need less brutal treatments that are far less taxing on small bodies. We need options. We need hope. No parent should have to hear that there is nothing that can be done for their child.

How has the work of Oscar’s Kids been impacted by the global pandemic?

Oscar’s Kids launched during the pandemic, so it is a charity that has only known pandemic life. Our events have been virtual, so we are excited to see what we can do on the other side of these times.

The process of starting a nonprofit was new to you. How did you approach this process and what has the experience been like for you?

This process was extremely new to me and we went in with zero knowledge of the ins and outs of starting and running a nonprofit. I am so grateful that we were able to surround ourselves with shepherds in this arena. Nicole Sexton, Brian Gott, Jenn Hoerl, Michelle Seuss and the entire team at EIF has been absolutely incredible and we know we are in wonderful hands with them. In addition, we enlisted the expertise of WCPG to help with our fundraising efforts. I believe that all change comes from a passion for something and we’re driven by a passion of wanting to honor Oscar. A passion and a determination to help children have more treatment options available to them. We let that passion fuel us and have been trying our best to learn as we go.

Did you always know that you were attracted to the entertainment industry and that entertainment was where you wanted to spend your career?

Yes, I’ve always loved performing since I was a kid. It was always my happy place. For as long as I could remember, I would put on little shows for my parents and mimic things I saw on TV. I think my parents would have been shocked if I told them I wanted to do anything else.

Melissa Rauch with a photo of Oscar Keogh

You have achieved great success in your car eer. Do you take moments to reflect and appreciate what you have accomplished or are you always looking at the next challenge?

I am forever grateful for every bit of it.

As an actor, I know you are just one audition away from the job of your dreams and there is so much luck of the draw associated with it.

I faced a ton of rejection leading up to getting on Big Bang, so there wasn’t a day I drove onto the studio lot that I wasn’t counting my lucky stars. Each new endeavor is exciting, but I am so thankful for everything. We aren’t guaranteed our next moments in life, so I think it’s important to be appreciative for what we have in the moment.

What would you like the world to know about Oscar Keogh and the impact that he has made on your life?

Oscar’s parents describe him as sunshine and that is a perfect description. A picture of his smile from Yav and Lar would jump off my phone and light up my day. Oscar and the Keogh family are a shining example of the best humanity has to offer. They are the epitome of a family’s endless love. Yavanna Keogh is a brilliant writer, and it was her words on her blog when she first reached out that shot an arrow directly into my heart. In the midst of all they were going through with Oscar’s diagnosis, Yav wrote about the meaning of life in the most extraordinary way that spoke to my soul on such a deep level. It is one of the greatest honors of my life that Oscar and the Keoghs became our extended family and embarked on this partnership with us. I am so grateful Oscar’s magic reached across the ocean to me and I want to do all that I can to spread his magic far and wide. If anyone reading this feels drawn to support our effort, it would mean the world to us if you could visit us at www.oscarskids.org to give what you can.

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“Only 4 percent of government funding goes to pediatric cancer research, and even less to cancers like DIPG. This is horrific.”

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Commitment to Excellence An Interview with Richard A. Rosenbaum, Executive Chairman, Greenberg Traurig EDITORS’ NOTE Richard A. Rosenbaum The result is one unified firm and is the executive chair man of family that collaborates across practices, Greenberg Traurig, a unified internaindustries and time zones to provide the tional law firm of more than 2,400 best depth of expertise, convenience attorneys spanning 42 offices around and value to our clients. the globe and has long been considAs a leading global law firm ered a thought and change leader with a wealth of expertise and in the broader legal profession. He resources, will you elaborate on joined the firm in 1985 as its 90th how you accomplish and encourage lawyer and has since been integrally helping those in need? involved in forming and intensely As lawyers, we have a social and executing the strategies which have moral responsibility to ensure that Richard A. Rosenbaum led to the firm’s spectacular growth everyone has equal access to justice. and unique culture. He closely guards We support our attorneys and staff who the firm’s long-term core values while navigating provide pro bono legal services to many civic and ever-changing times. Rosenbaum is a founder of the charitable organizations as well as to individuals in firm’s renowned and wide-ranging “Commitment need around the world. to Excellence” program, which ensures that its Witnessing the atrocities in Ukraine in real values remain critical to the firm’s daily practice time, we knew we had to act swiftly and definitively. and global brand for many years to come.

We immediately mobilized our global resources to provide pro bono legal services and up to $2 million FIRM BRIEF Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) often to bolster humanitarian aid for displaced refugees. recognized for its focus on philanthropic giving, Our employees are also personally donating. innovation, diversity, and pro bono, reported gross Our Greenberg Traurig Equal Justice Works revenue of over $2 billion for FY 2021. The firm is Fellows help tackle racial, economic and social consistently among the top firms on the Am Law justice issues. We have also committed $5 million 100, Am Law Global 100, NLJ 250, and Law360 (US) over five years to support programs to combat 400. On the debut 2022 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard, systemic racism and to provide impoverished it is a Top 15 firm. Greenberg Traurig (gtlaw.com ) communities and individuals with economic and is Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified Plus and net carbon social rights. neutral with respect to its office energy usage.

Our attorneys fight for causes that resonate with them and with their clients. They champion social Greenberg Traurig has a long-standing culture justice for women seeking freedom from domestic of supporting its employees, clients, and violence and human trafficking, criminal appeals communities. How do you maintain this for the wrongfully incarcerated or over-sentenced, culture? victims of hate crimes, and issues affecting the I am reminded of Bob Dylan’s song “Forever LGBTQ+ community and military veterans.

Young”: “May your hands always be busy, may How have Greenberg Traurig’s culture your feet always be swift, may you have a strong and nimbleness benefited employees and foundation when the winds of change will shift.” clients during these uncertain times?

These intersecting principles – a solid foundation Throughout the pandemic, we were commuand the ability to be nimble – are two cornerstones nicative and transparent with our employees and of our success. stayed true to our decisions that we would not lay Our firm was built on a culture of inclusion, people off or cut everyone’s compensation. We collaboration, innovation, respect, trust and giving remained seamlessly connected to each other and back. As we expand, we select professionals with to our clients, staying highly responsive and continlocal expertise who also share our culture to ensure uously providing excellence of service. that we preserve our core values for the future.

Additionally, in New York we piloted a new We have always been swift to adapt. Our kind of “hybrid” model, designed to offer a better foundational support empowers us to find oppor- work-life experience for our professionals and tunity in change, moving quickly to overcome greater convenience and value for our clients. We any obstacles and harnessing the power of every expanded our locations in the New York metropoladvantage. We never follow the pack – we stay itan area to be close to where our attorneys, staff, ahead of the herd and act boldly. and clients live. Our innovative platform combines 122 LEADERS

the ability to work-near-home with access to a state-of-the-art Manhattan office and the resources of a world class global law firm. We believe that no other law firm covers the New York metropolitan area as comprehensively and boldly as we do.

Whatever challenges arise, we remain ever-nimble and continue to find opportunities in change, redefining what Big Law can be.

Will you elaborate on the firm’s longstanding commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I)?

We are continuously striving to actualize meaningful change, including expansion of our comprehensive, strategic, and proactive DE&I efforts. We have always believed that diverse viewpoints drive innovation and create better ideas for our clients. Equity is more than a core value; it is in our DNA, and it is intentional. In 2021, our accomplishments included achieving Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified Plus, among others.

We also launched several new initiatives within our Social, Racial, and Economic Justice Action Plan.

This includes working with clients to combine our shared values, resources, and efforts to maximize our ability to create a more diverse and fair society. Beyond the more standard collaborations, our Labor & Employment Practice and our DE&I leadership have developed training and programming offerings for clients. These teams create and implement employment compliance programs addressing their DE&I responsibilities.

The firm reached record revenue for FY 2021. How does this success further your legacy?

We surpassed $2 billion in 2021, our eighth year of record-breaking revenue. That was a great achievement, but it is not a pass to rest. Growth is not just about numbers – quality of culture and being keenly aware of the demands and needs of clients are critical. Success is not just about being the smartest or the strongest. You also need to adapt and execute and do it together.

Greenberg Traurig is about endurance – as a business, as a family and as a culture. We believe in our unique business model, and our commitment to excellence has truly paid off. There is a quote that says, “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.” Our endurance and outperformance are a force for good not only for ourselves, but for our employees, our clients, our communities, and the world. I am very optimistic about what new heights we can reach next year and beyond.

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The Power of Collaboration An Interview with Richard A. Edlin, Vice Chair, Greenberg Traurig EDITORS’ NOTE Richard Edlin is Vice Chair of Greenberg Traurig, where he chairs both the Litigation Practice in New York and serves as a member of the firm’s executive committee. First and foremost, he is a trial lawyer with broad experience in both trial and appellate courts including the U.S. Supreme Court and the Delaware Supreme Court. He is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the Commission for the Reimagining of the New York Courts.

spend more time on video conferencing when interacting amongst ourselves, but we were already collaborating across cities and time zones. I’m not talking about lawyers in New York working with colleagues in Boston. I am talking about collaborating with lawyers in London, Berlin, and Seoul – so that was all happening already. We just ended up doing more of it and everyone adapted.

If you would have said at the beginning of the pandemic that we would be able Richard A. Edlin to take a client in and out of bankruptcy without setting foot in the client’s office Did you always want to be a lawyer? or be able to conduct every aspect of major litigaMy earliest career goal was to play in the NFL, tion without ever meeting face to face, everyone but after that it was to be a lawyer and there is no would have said it cannot be done. As it turned out, greater thing in the legal profession than to lead a it can. We had a record year in 2020, and we had trial team in a case that matters. It’s as close to another record year in 2021. raw competition as you can have in the profession.

When you’re working on a deal, it’s competitive and both sides are trying to get the better end of the deal – but both sides want the deal to happen. In litigation, each side is trying to beat each other at every step, so it is hugely competitive and hugely strategic. The day I stop finding all that exciting will be the day to stop doing it, but I’ve never been more excited about trying cases than I am today.

How would you describe the culture at Greenberg Traurig?

That’s probably the most important question that you can ask about a big law firm these days, because a lot of firms look remarkably the same on paper and most firms have some very good lawyers. What we have created at Greenberg Traurig is one of the world’s great legal platforms for lawyers to collaborate, because what we have stripped out of the firm are most of the mechanisms that lead to politics and internal competition; what we have enhanced is a platform that rewards lawyers’ collaboration. Our lawyers are entrepreneurial and understand the business advantages that clients will obtain from our platform and to then expose those clients to the benefits of that very robust collaboration. We are one firm, with one worldwide voice. That lets us not merely service our clients’ legal needs, but we do everything we can to use our platform to enhance and advance our clients’ business needs.

Has the pandemic made that kind of collaboration more challenging?

The things that allowed us to be so successful through the pandemic were all the things we were doing before the pandemic. Perhaps we now

“What we have created at Greenberg Traurig is one of the world’s great legal platforms for lawyers to collaborate, because what we have stripped out of the firm are most of the mechanisms that lead to politics and internal competition; what we have enhanced is a platform that rewards lawyers’ collaboration.”

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How is diversity and inclusion baked into the culture of Greenberg Traurig?

If you go back to when the firm was founded in 1967 in Miami, that city wasn’t the dynamic multiethnic community you see today. It was a sleepy town, and the law firms there were not generally hiring diverse lawyers, including Hispanics and Jews.

The people who started this firm focused on hiring the absolute best lawyers and providing a New York-type of work ethic – work through the evening, on weekends – and they hired hardworking people regardless of ethnic or religious background who could not get jobs at other firms at that time. Ten years earlier, there might not have been the market for that kind of firm, but our founders’ timing was perfect and it all created our foundation of providing opportunity to anyone and to promoting people based on merit. Those values have been burned into this firm ever since. We have many diverse professionals throughout all levels of the firm’s management.

How do you balance your legal work with service?

I tell people that balance is an exercise over time. You are not going to find balance on a daily basis. If you are on trial, you’re not focusing on anything else. If you are on vacation, hopefully you are not working every day. It’s the same thing with community service. I don’t think that as a person or a lawyer, you can have a balanced life without making a strong effort to give back in whatever way that you can to your community.

I’ve long worked with disadvantaged youth at New Jersey SEEDS, and with the Urban Justice Center, whose clients have almost no ability to tap into legal services. I have also been so pleased to be on our Chief Judge’s Commission to Reimagine the Future of the New York Courts, because a major focus of that work is equal access to justice.

Who have been your mentors and what did you learn from them?

I had an exceptional opportunity as a new lawyer to clerk for one of the great federal trial court judges in New York, Lee Gagliardi. He was wonderful to his clerks in terms of teaching and mentoring us – something he took an enormous amount of interest and pride in doing. Then I had a chance to work with Ross Perot when we were representing him; I learned so much about how one of the smartest business leaders of his day thought about running a business.

And of course, I have learned an enormous amount from Richard Rosenbaum, the Executive Chairman of Greenberg Traurig. He’s taught me how important it is to show respect to and be direct with people, especially when things are difficult.

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The Future of Law An Interview with Ejim Peter Achi, Co-Managing Shareholder, New York Office and Co-Chair, New York Corporate Practice, Greenberg Traurig EDITORS’ NOTE Ejim Achi is Co-Managing Shareholder of Gr eenber g Traurig’s New York office and Co-Chair of the New York Corporate Practice. He represents private equity sponsors in connection with buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, restructurings, and other investments spanning a wide range of industries and sectors, with particular emphasis on technology, healthcare, industrials, consumer packaged goods, hospitality, and infrastructure.

representing a different generation of dealmakers and clients. To represent them effectively, you need to employ design thinking. Think about what it’s like to be in their shoes with that particular problem and what solutions would be most suitable. Our clients don’t want us to just tell them what the law is and what they can or cannot do. They want us to also offer viable solutions to help them achieve their objectives. GT empowers people who are ambitious Ejim Peter Achi and hardworking. When you create an environment like that, you’re going to attract great talent.

How is GT using technology to better Did you always want to be a lawyer? serve clients?

No. I am from Nigeria originally, and if The legal industry is not famous for you know anything about Nigerian parents, being an early adopter of technology, but they want their children to be doctors or engineers. For the first two years of undergrad, I was pre-med and planning to become a doctor, but I was also taking liberal arts and social science courses and became increasingly interested in the law. The compromise with my mother was to declare a liberal arts major, but still plan to go to medical school. The turning point came after my sophomore year, when I visited a cousin in London who was a lawyer; I came away confident that pursuing a career in law, and not medicine, was the right path for me. I have also always been interested in strategy, so I earned an MBA and was also fortunate to have had the experience of founding a startup before making my way to Greenberg Traurig about five years ago.

How has your MBA made you a better lawyer?

One of the first things they teach you in business school is expected value analysis, which is basically a framework through which to think about outcomes on a probability adjusted basis. It helps in general with decision-making, whether you are helping a client select a suitable solution from a list of options or analyzing plans or strategies for a business you are running. It’s all about making better decisions. Discovering the associated probabilities of outcomes facilitates good decision-making.

What about GT’s culture appeals to you?

I like that GT encourages you to think about things differently and not be limited by the way things have been done for many decades. We’re

“Our clients don’t

want us to just tell

them what the law is and what they can

or cannot do. They

want us to also offer viable solutions to help them achieve their objectives.”

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accelerated that change because to maintain high productivity while working from home indefinitely, the technology infrastructure needed to improve very quickly, and it did. But pandemic aside, we have always believed that lawyers need to incorporate more technology into their work process.

For example, we encourage our lawyers to make use of tablets for things like note taking to facilitate easier and quicker access to information, subject of course to information security best practices. Introducing technology in specific ways helps people do their best work, which ultimately benefits our clients.

How will technology affect law firms in the next decade?

It’s going to completely transform the practice of law and law firms. While I don’t believe that robots will completely replace lawyers, since the highest value humans bring to the equation – good situational judgment, emotional intelligence, nuanced strategy, etc. – might be more difficult for software to replicate consistently and reliably, there are categories of pattern recognition that machine learning can and will take away from humans. And it probably would be efficient in those cases, to the extent machines can perform those tasks with higher levels of accuracy and at much lower cost. It will become increasingly important over time for law firm leaders to consider which aspects of the business are more vulnerable to technological disruption and consider potential opportunities to introduce technology to boost effectiveness, productivity, and deliver greater value to clients.

How do you achieve work/life balance?

It is very difficult, and I honestly don’t know that I’ve achieved it. In my experience, the people who say they have achieved work/ life balance typically aren’t in service provider industries like corporate law or medicine where you generally do not have complete control over your schedule. The best thing you can do, in my opinion, is to build teams full of capable people who can help each other. If you need to be at your child’s school event or a doctor’s appointment, maybe someone else on your team can step in. There will always be situations where you are required and that’s just part of professional success. But if you can build a team that looks out for each other, then everyone can achieve some semblance of balance.

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Commitment to Community An Interview with Caroline J. Heller, Shareholder, Litigation Practice, New York Office and Chair, Global Pro Bono Program, Greenberg Traurig EDITORS’ NOTE Caroline Heller they’ve felt vulnerable at some point is a shar eholder in the Global in their lives.

Litigation Practice of Greenberg Will you highlight GT’s pro Traurig’s New York office and bono program? chair of the fir m’s Global Pr o We have one attorney in every Bono Program. Together with the U.S. office and some of our internafirm’s 40 pro bono coordinators tional offices who is the pro bono and Greenberg Traurig’s pro bono coordinator for that office and also a manager, she designs and implelawyer in their own full-time practice. ments the firm’s work to provide Greenberg Traurig created these roles pro bono legal services to marginalto help attorneys in each office find ized and underserved communities regional pro bono opportunities. As Caroline J. Heller in the United States and throughout we’ve grown from one office in South the world. She also works nationally Florida more than 50 years ago to a on complex commercial litigation and business worldwide, 2,400-attorney firm, those coordinadisputes. tors are critical to helping all of our attorneys engage in pro bono work. And our attorneys Why did you decide to become a lawyer? can choose to work on matters important to For most of my childhood, I wanted to them and their communities; we don’t direct be a veterinarian because I love caring for them to one or two areas of focus. animals, but when I was about 12, my parents Do the firm’s clients want GT to be went through a very bitter divorce and my involved in pro bono work? father, with whom I had always been close and Yes, of course. It’s an expectation now from loved very much, changed from a kind, loving clients that the firm is involved in pro bono and parent into a person full of rage who seemed community work. Indeed, many of our clients driven to punish my mother regardless of the cost. The cost was my mental health and that of my younger sister, because my father took out a lot of his anger on us. We were scared to be with him, but the court compelled us to visit him against our wishes. I wanted my own lawyer to speak on my behalf, but I never got one. Eventually my mom got sole custody, but because of the experience I decided to become a lawyer to protect children in similar situations.

Over the years, I learned my passion was to protect the most vulnerable among us in the legal system. I still love animals – our family has two cats, a fish, and a hamster – but I have never questioned that I am doing what I was meant to do.

What are the common reasons that people are drawn to pro bono or nonprofit work?

When you talk to people about why they do pro bono work, whether it is a nonprofit attorney, such as one of our Equal Justice Works Fellows, or an attorney or staff member at a law firm, everyone has a story about some trauma they have endured in their life or that somebody they love has endured. That’s an incredibly important motivator, whether people talk about it or they don’t. People who are committed to helping vulnerable populations do it because

“What makes a law firm stand out is

its commitment to diversity and its commitment to

pro bono and its community – in

addition to providing top quality legal

representation.”

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require their in-house attorneys to engage in pro bono work, so we often find ways to collaborate with our clients on pro bono projects. Supporting our communities in tandem with our clients is one of the most rewarding experiences our attorneys can have. When a client is looking for a law firm, there are a number of factors involved in their decision on who to hire. We have to provide the highest quality legal services, but there are a lot of law firms that can do that and do that well. What makes a law firm stand out is its commitment to diversity and its commitment to pro bono and its community – in addition to providing top quality legal representation.

What advice do you give to junior attorneys who want to move into leadership positions at the firm?

First, I tell them they need to have a passion for the area in which they are seeking that role. If an associate asks me how they can get into a leadership role with Greenberg Traurig’s women’s initiative, I want to know if they want to do it because someone told them it was a good career move or it is something they are passionate about. It’s important to be true to yourself because there will be times that the role is challenging and passion is a critical driver to meeting and overcoming those challenges. Second, I tell associates to get to know the law firm and its culture – not just your leadership and the other lawyers, but get to know the staff: the paralegals, the clerks, the individuals in office services. Listen when people are speaking, pay attention to how things work, and treat every person with the same respect.

That’s how you really get to know the firm and develop into a successful leader.

How do you help associates find their purpose?

Helping an associate determine what drives them requires a great mentor. Formal mentoring programs are critical, and Greenberg Traurig has a fantastic one, but associates should also look for mentors in the groups of attorneys they work with every day. Some of the best relationships develop organically when you find someone who truly sees who you are and helps you discover what drives you, sees the areas in which you need to improve, and cares enough to work on your weaknesses and nurture your strengths.

I would not be the lawyer I am today had it not been for these significant relationships, and I am eternally grateful to those mentors.

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PURPOSE

Research, Innovation and Education An Interview with Louis A. Shapiro, President and Chief Executive Officer, HSS EDITORS’ NOTE Lou Shapir o people to achieve an outsized collective assumed his current position in impact on individuals, communities, October 2006. Previously, he served businesses and societies. After nearly as Executive Vice President and Chief 160 years, HSS has become the world’s Operating Officer of Geisinger Health largest academic medical center specialSystem’s Clinical Enterprise. He began ized in musculoskeletal health – the leader his career at Allegheny General in orthopedics and rheumatology – but Hospital in Pittsburgh and then joined we are only beginning to fulfill our McKinsey & Company as a leader purpose. The need and opportunity for within their healthcare practice. impact has never been greater.

Shapiro is a fellow of the American What do you see as HSS’ responCollege of Healthcare Executives, sibility to the communities it serves?

Louis A. Shapiro former Chair of the Greater New We feel a responsibility and opporYork Hospital Association Board of tunity to apply our knowledge to help Governors (2014-2015), and serves on multiple more people move better and live better. The nonprofit boards. conditions we treat affect half of all people every year, and in too many cases those conditions are INSTITUTION BRIEF HSS (hss.edu) is the world’s avoidable or diagnosed or treated less well than leading academic medical center focused on could be. The result is unnecessary pain, avoidmusculoskeletal health. At its core is Hospital for able cost, and lost time at work or play. We are Special Surgery, nationally ranked No. 1 in ortho- meeting this responsibility also in non-obvious pedics (for the twelfth consecutive year) and No. ways, including workforce support for large 4 in rheumatology by U.S. News & World Report employers and making our knowledge accessible (2021-2022), and named a leader in pediatric to other providers. For example, specialists in orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report “Best 145 countries have enrolled to receive continuing Children’s Hospitals” (2021-2022). HSS has a medical education from HSS. main campus in New York City and a growing network of related facilities. In addition to patient care, HSS leads the field in research, innovation and education. Through HSS Global Ventures and the HSS Education Institute, the institution is collaborating with medical centers and other organizations to advance the quality and value of musculoskeletal care and to make world-class HSS care more widely accessible nationally and internationally. HSS is the official hospital for a number of professional sports organizations and teams including the New York Giants, New York Mets, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, UFC, US Rowing, US Biathlon, US Lacrosse, and USA Basketball. HSS is one of only three hospitals in the United States designated as a Medical Center of Excellence by FIFA. How do you define HSS’ purpose and mission?

Our purpose is the cornerstone of HSS and the reason why we exist – to help people get back to what they need and love to do better than any other place in the world. With respect to patient care, our mission is singularly focused on delivering the highest quality care, improving mobility and enhancing quality of life for all. To do this, we must also be at the forefront of research, innovation and education – enabling the most talented 128 LEADERS

How critical is it for HSS to build a diverse and inclusive workforce to mirror the diversity of its patients and communities?

Inclusive diversity is a key success factor in almost any organization, and it requires deliberate commitment and action. The benefits go well beyond mirroring the patients and communities we serve; diverse experiences and perspectives unlock new ideas and enlighten conventional ones. We are making progress but have much still to do. Diversity has been enshrined as a value of HSS, and we have evolved our structure and added expertise to support this. We don’t see it as a separate priority, but rather as central to fulfilling our purpose.

Will you discuss HSS’ commitment to advancing global health and the delivery of humanitarian services?

HSS is dedicated to helping those around us, both in our own community and across the world. We do this through our patient care, education, innovation, and also humanitarian work. One example is the HSS Global Health initiative, which supports the delivery of care for vulnerable populations through volunteer work. Over the years, our reach has included providing orthopedic

The main campus of HSS on Manhattan’s Upper East Side (above and right)

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care in West Africa, training anesthesia providers in India, and bringing medical care to Haiti. In the United States, we provide care and support in many ways beyond our focus on musculoskeletal health. Most recently, we looked disaster in the face with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused us to change in previously unimaginable ways and become a strategic part of New York City’s community response.

Will you highlight HSS’ support of the Foundations of Orthopedics and Complex Spine (FOCOS)?

HSS has promoted the mission of FOCOS since its inception in 1998 and has supported the establishment of the FOCOS Hospital in Accra, Ghana. Together, we promote our collective goals through joint efforts in patient care and academic initiatives. We provide FOCOS Hospital staff with continued learning opportunities, both virtually and in-person, through trainee and personnel exchange where select individuals participate in formal, structured academic observation visits at HSS. This affiliation enables us to uphold our own mission and values, allowing us to provide high quality orthopedic care to those who need it, and improve the quality of life in Ghana and its neighboring communities.

We are honored and privileged to extend our reach to the communities that need our care, which we do through clinical service trips where we invite our physical therapists, nurses, physician assistants and medical staff members to provide care in Ghana. We also provide ongoing knowledge and education sharing through in-person and virtual learning opportunities, and our continued commitment to philanthropy.

How did HSS’ work in advancing anesthesia care in developing nations come about?

We have been working to help advance anesthesia care since 2011 by teaching regional anesthesia techniques in low-income countries (LICs). In 2017, the anesthesia department at HSS created GRACE, Global Regional Anesthesia VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

Curricular Engagement (GRACE), to design and tailor our curriculum to various sites and measure the outcomes of our work. The program saw very positive results in two of our current sites: Komfo Anoke Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana and Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad, India.

“HSS is dedicated to helping those around us, both in our own community and across the world. We do this through our patient care, education, innovation, and also humanitarian work.”

Given the success of our anesthesia program, we expanded the concept to a multidisciplinary program: the HSS Global Musculoskeletal Health Equity Division (GMHED). This program utilizes the same components as GRACE, but includes a broad musculoskeletal framework to include orthopedic surgery, anesthesiology, pain management,

nursing, pharmacy, internal medicine, rheumatology, infectious disease and physical therapy.

We will be rolling out the first GMHED program in April 2022 at KATH. Additionally, in 2021, under the leadership of HSS anesthesiologist Enrique Goytizolo, MD, the Latin America Regional Anesthesia Knowledge Exchange was formally launched. This observation program provides a unique opportunity for trainees from Latin America to gain valuable knowledge and experience through a structured three-week observation program with the department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care & Pain Management at HSS. HSS enhanced its focus on technology during COVID-19. How has technology impacted the way HSS connects with the community?

Members of communities in and around New York City have long benefited from in-person lectures, classes and support programming offered

by HSS. When the incidence of COVID-19 began rising in spring 2020, programs that were typically held onsite became virtual. Depending on the audience, there were various formats used, including Zoom, conference call and on-demand via YouTube or HSS.edu, to reach our patients and community members. Through these platforms, HSS events became more convenient and accessible to more people in more places. Many older adults and other community members did not have experience with virtual platforms and wanted to participate in digital programs. HSS scheduled “office hours” to train anyone needing technical support to learn how to access online programs.

Further, based on feedback from the communities we serve regarding the impact of the pandemic, we pivoted support program content to address issues such as access to care, mental health, staying safe, isolation, loss and grief.

Additionally, the Feel Better from Home platform was created during the height of the pandemic to make HSS expertise, insights and care available to anyone who needs it, whenever they need it. Shared on the HSS website, YouTube and social media, the content addresses lifestyle changes brought on by the pandemic, helping people to stay active and healthy from home.

How proud are you to see the engagement of HSS’ workforce at all levels of the organization for its community outreach?

First and foremost, every day I am proud to work alongside my colleagues. The dedication and commitment exuded daily for our patients, community members and each other is unmatched and unlike any organization I have had the pleasure of being part of. No one goes into healthcare for selfish reasons. It is a selfless field where others come first and HSS is a mirror image of this. All HSS staff, both frontline and non-clinical, understand that our community is a great majority of the patients we treat. Their level of engagement and support to our community is unparalleled and is evident in the world-class care provided. I am proud of how HSS is continuously able to contribute to the community and work toward ensuring that at HSS, people are safe and cared for.

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PURPOSE

Influencing the Impact Economy An Interview with Phyllis Kurlander Costanza, Head of Social Impact, UBS and Chief Executive Officer, UBS Optimus Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE Phyllis Costanza our clients to create genuine, joined UBS in 2011 as CEO of the lasting, measurable improvements UBS Optimus Foundation. In 2018, in the lives of some of the world’s she took on additional responsibility most neglected populations. Our as the Head of UBS Philanthropy and purpose has evolved dramatically. was appointed Head of Social Impact Clients want to see effective projin 2021. Since starting at UBS, she ects produce measurable impact in has r eshaped the Foundation’s addressing some of the world’s strategy and introduced innovahardest-to-crack problems. We are tive financing vehicles including reimagining the power of investing the first Development Impact Bond with philanthropic capital. And, (DIB) in education. Prior to joining because we are so focused on UBS, Costanza was a senior execu- Phyllis Kurlander Costanza enabling clients to create a better tive and board member of the world, philanthropy has become a Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) core differentiator for UBS, and we attract and worked in management consulting and dozens of new clients each year based on the the public sector (New York City Representative strength of our philanthropic advice. for New York State Governor Mario Cuomo).

What are the focus areas for UBS Costanza is a board member of Educate Girls, Optimus Foundation and its main initiatives? the International Center for Research on Women We focus on the causes and symptoms of (ICRW), UBS Optimus Foundation UK, an advi- social inequality and support economic inclusory board member to the Education Outcomes sion. We’re active in healthcare, education, child Fund for Africa and the Middle East, and a protection and the environment in a number member of the Council of Foreign Relations. of innovative ways that includes designing and She is also on the Women’s Leadership Board at implementing cutting-edge programs. We also Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of partner with some of the most innovative social Government and was a co-founding board enterprises to increase children’s test scores, member of the Power of Nutrition from incep- deliver oxygen to COVID victims in hard-totion to 2019. Costanza holds a master’s degree reach places, place orphans with families in public policy from Harvard University’s John instead of institutions, and restore coastal forests F. Kennedy School of Government. to capture carbon and create jobs. There’s FOUNDATION BRIEF The UBS Optimus Foundation (optimus.foundation) is a grantmaking foundation that offers UBS clients a platform to use their wealth to drive positive social and environmental change. The Foundation selects programs that improve children’s health, education and protection, ones that have the potential to be transformative, scalable and sustainable as well as programs tackling environmental and climate issues.

Will you highlight the history and heritage of UBS Optimus Foundation and how you define its purpose?

UBS Optimus Foundation was founded in Switzerland 23 years ago because our clients were looking for advice on charitable giving and assurances of how their donations were used. The purpose at the time was to support our clients by providing our expertise in the philanthropic space. Now, our global operation is focused on empowering 130 LEADERS

a lot going on and those are just a handful of concrete examples among the hundreds of projects we lead or support.

We are also pioneering new developments in collective philanthropy, which means getting donors a seat at the table where experts and community leaders work at a systems level to make sweeping, permanent changes. Traditional philanthropy, where “donors give money to charity,” may have a role to play, but to address the world’s biggest problems, we need collective approaches at a systems level if we’re going to make an impact. For example, through our UBS Collectives platform, we bring together clients – about 60 now – who make long-term, personal commitments to tackling critical issues facing society, to really make a lasting difference. This means rolling up their sleeves and going on-site with the project implementers themselves to lead and shape results. In UBS Collectives, each family commits up to $1 million plus their time. We have a number of new Collectives up and running, giving clients the chance to help lead a transformation. For example, we’ve launched interesting work using nature-based solutions to support biodiversity and mitigate climate change, which means restoring coastal mangrove forests. We also give donors a number of ways to get involved with impactful financing mechanisms to improve the quality of health and education. As part of our child-protection mission, we’re also active in placing orphans

“Our purpose has evolved dramatically. Clients want to see effective projects produce measurable impact in addressing some of the world’s hardestto-crack problems. We are reimagining the power of investing with philanthropic capital.”

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“We focus on the causes and symptoms of social inequality and support economic inclusion.

We’re active in healthcare, education, child protection and the environment in a number of innovative ways that includes designing and implementing cutting-edge programs.”

with families so they can thrive instead of with institutions where their development often stalls. What do these initiatives all have in common? They are highly measurable and effective, they focus on the most disadvantaged members of society, and they give clients the chance to get directly involved in making a difference.

How critical is collaboration as part of UBS Optimus Foundation’s strategy?

Collaboration is essential for philanthropic success – one person can’t solve global problems on their own. We bring clients together through our Collectives program to co-fund and collaborate with community leaders, policymakers, scientists and activists, who are all keen to solve societal issues. They all sit at the same table. They are committed and the energy is enormous. The impact of collective philanthropy is far greater than traditional charity because donors become doers. They bring their passion and expertise to the table. Getting everyone together fully energized – that’s UBS’ contribution. The clients and implementing partners, through their shared values and ability to see their differences as an asset, are the ones who really make it happen.

They drive it. Like all the best collaborations, they create a clear strategy. Everyone knows what they want to do, why they need to do it and what metrics are needed to achieve it.

What was the vison for creating the Global Philanthropist Community?

UBS’ Global Philanthropist Community is just one of many examples of how we support clients to fulfill their ambitions. It’s an exclusive network allowing clients from around the world to engage with like-minded individuals and families to share best practices, as well as learn from and be inspired by our technical experts and global leaders. This platform enables, for instance, a client in Brazil to connect with a client in Singapore who are both interested in supporting the restoration of coastal mangroves. Mangroves are amongst the best nature-based solutions to capture carbon – more than four times more effective than even the rainforest – and these clients can discuss ways to engage on this issue in their respective countries.

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How critical are metrics to measure the impact of UBS Optimus Foundation’s programs?

Metrics are essential for success and are a part of our project design process from the very beginning because it’s important to know whether we are helping our clients drive social impact. Long gone are the days when donors give money and walk away. Our clients are often business owners and leaders, and they want evidence that their time and money have produced impact, but metrics aren’t everything.

We also must ensure we are supporting organizations to build strong and experienced leadership teams and deliver robust models to drive social change with adequate resources.

How valuable is it to have such a deep commitment from UBS’ leadership team and senior management for the work of UBS Optimus Foundation?

It’s critical. Without support from the very top of the organization, it would be difficult to deliver on our goals. UBS has one of the most robust philanthropic offerings of any financial institution. While Philanthropy Advisory is not unique in the industry, UBS takes it many steps further. We offer our clients not only advice, but on-site experiences and a giving platform that is second to none. How many other firms take clients out to the bush of Liberia on a motor bike to understand the best ways to deliver healthcare to some of the most remote and marginalized populations?

How is UBS engaging its employees in its philanthropic efforts and how proud are you to see the commitment from UBS’ workforce at all levels of the organization for this work?

UBS is extremely committed to engaging our employees in volunteering – we believe in supporting the communities in which we live and operate. We know that employees who volunteer through work are more engaged and more likely to stay with the firm. Our Community Impact teams around the globe focus on education and skills development to

create a more inclusive economy. These teams identify and organize skills-based volunteering efforts for our employees, which is an important part of our company’s culture.

What do you see as the role that leading companies have in supporting their communities and to being a force for good in society?

Corporations have an obligation to the communities in which they work, and clients expect companies to play a role. One of our goals is to influence the impact economy. This means moving from an economy that looks only at financial outcomes towards one that influences the whole spectrum of outcomes for all stakeholders. That includes all members of society and even the environment. If we are helping to drive economic output in a way that damages our environment, we are net losers.

To make the transition to an “impact economy,” externalities traditionally left off a company account must be added back in – things like pollution on the negative side, or on-the-job training on the positive side – must be accounted for when looking at a corporation’s overall performance. UBS Optimus Foundation is all about creating those positive impacts. Moving toward an impact economy will help companies become a greater force for good in society.

Another innovative way to be a force for good is to support young companies that are taking on social and environmental issues. We support start-ups with the potential to help solve some of the world’s most pressing problems through our Global Visionaries program, where we help these entrepreneurs with resources and networks to enable their success. There are some impressive examples among the Global Visionaries of companies that could change the world, either planting forests, creating carbon-negative concrete, or building vertical farms in city centers.

What advice do you offer to young people beginning their careers during this unprecedented time?

I have two children, aged 23 and 24, and the advice I give them is to understand how finance works so that you are both informed and empowered. No matter the field you want to enter, there is a financial element. You need to understand how financial machinery works, how to best fund programs, how to assign value, how to manage budgets, and how to harness the financial system to achieve your goals.

Did you always know that you were attracted to this type of work?

I grew up in a very politically active family, campaigning with my mom back in the ’70s for the Equal Rights Amendment. My parents worked in the public sector, and I always had an interest in following in their footsteps.

When I was 25, I worked in New York State Government as the Representative to the Governor for Manhattan – it was an amazing experience. I knew I wanted to continue doing work that had a broad influence. Once I got my master’s degree in Public Policy, I was drawn into international development. That was 25 years ago, and I’ve never looked back.

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PURPOSE

Entrepreneurialism, Stewardship and Service An Interview with Thomas W. Corbett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. EDITORS’ NOTE Thomas Corbett How important is it for Alliant serves as Chair man and Chief to build a diverse and inclusive workExecutive Officer of Alliant Insurance force to bring diverse perspectives Services and sits on the company’s and experiences to the table when board of directors. He joined Alliant making business decisions? in 1977 as a producer and launched We believe that making a strong investits Newport Beach-based Public Entity ment in diversity, equity and inclusion plays Group. Prior to joining Alliant, he a direct role in our success. Having a wide was with Allendale Insurance in Los variety of different backgrounds, perspecAngeles and spent three years as a loss tives, and ideas on our team is a significant prevention engineer at Factory Mutual competitive advantage and also promotes a Engineering Association. Corbett is a healthier and stronger workforce. Alliant’s Thomas W. Corbett graduate of California State University, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiative takes Long Beach, and is involved in various a broad-based approach to this perspective community and charitable organizations. through partnerships with like-minded organizations, Employee Resource Groups, and a proactive COMPANY BRIEF Alliant Insurance Services effort to provide career growth and advancement to (alliant.com) is one of the nation’s leading employees from all walks of life. Our commitment to distributors of diversified insurance products and diversity fuels better business decisions and sets the services. Operating through a national network of stage for long-term growth and sustainability. offices, Alliant offers a comprehensive portfolio of What do you see as the responsibility of services to clients. leading companies to be engaged in the communities they serve and to being a force for good in How do you define Alliant’s purpose? society?

Alliant’s purpose is simple: we help clients protect We recognize that a successful business and their businesses and assets. We stay focused on our a successful community go hand-in-hand. As a clients’ needs, which allows us to continue innovating result, we are deeply committed to investing in better solutions and provide them with stellar service. our local communities and in the health and wellOur roots as an organization reach back more than 96 being of the people who live and work in each of years, and while we have seen significant change and them. This requires a multifaceted approach that growth over this time, our core foundation of entrepre- includes working with a broad array of charitable neurialism, stewardship and service continue to guide organizations and empowering our employees to all of our efforts. We will continue to change and evolve find charities and causes that they wish to support. with the times but will remain steadfastly dedicated to This is an organization-wide approach that uses making a positive and long-lasting impact through our collaboration and stewardship to ensure we make dedicated employees and our deep resources. Alliant the widest positive impact possible both for today has always been synonymous with outstanding service and long into the future. and innovative thinking, and that will never change.

Will you discuss Alliant’s long history and What have been the keys to Alliant’s heritage of community engagement? industry leadership and how critical is culture Giving back to our community has long been to the success of the company? a critical component of our business strategy. The Alliant’s continued leadership is rooted in current need for critical assistance through donaour culture; one of entrepreneurialism, service and tions, volunteerism, and resources has never been strength. We keep our management structure flat so more crucial. Alliant supports a broad array of our employees can play a direct role in our success. programs nationwide that: We provide them with freedom and resources to • Support women and minority-owned drive great results for our clients, and ultimately, businesses Alliant. As a result, we have been highly successful • Encourage healthy lifestyles at attracting and retaining high-performing indi• Assist organizations that facilitate the develviduals from across the industry who are forwardopment of on-the-job skills thinking and fiercely independent. This manifests • Help people with disabilities itself in a collaborative culture where everyone is • Provide vital services for victims of abuse inspired to operate at the highest level no matter • Promote the educational development what their role. It is a true culture of leadership. of children 132 LEADERS

• Ensure the welfare of the elderly and those in need of additional care • Promote access to a wide array of crucial resources that promote the general wellbeing of the community • Combat hunger How does Alliant decide where to focus its philanthropic efforts?

Our employees are a key driver of our philanthropic efforts. We are fortunate to have a diverse and compassionate workforce that is proactively engaged with a range of causes locally, domestically and internationally. We respond by providing them with the tools and resources necessary to organize and give back on a grassroots level within each of our offices across the nation. Alliant supports the efforts of our employees through corporate giving and matching gift programs, and we also encourage our employees to engage with their communities directly, offering paid time away from the office to volunteer.

Has the insurance industry done an effective job of telling its story and promoting the innovation taking place in the industry in order to excite the next generation of leaders?

The story of innovation in the insurance industry is ongoing, and many new and emerging professionals may not be fully aware of just how innovative our industry has become. At Alliant, we are continuously launching new and innovative ways to improve both our products and how we deliver them through technologies that not only improve results, but also enhance the service experience. There is a direct correlation between being technologically savvy and building a successful career in insurance. Additionally, the emergence of remote work has facilitated an environment where employees can enjoy greater flexibility and the ability to achieve an outstanding work/life balance.

What do you tell young people about the type of career the insurance industry offers?

A career in insurance opens up a world of opportunities. The diversity of our industry allows a young professional to pursue a wide range of paths based on their strengths and passions. Whether you are a sales professional, a service professional, a creative or an analytical person, there will always be an opportunity to find a career path that you are passionate about and directly suits your unique skillset. Additionally, the insurance industry has also proven to be highly stable, even in uncertain economic climates. The opportunity to build a long and fulfilling career is readily available in the insurance industry, and we are always looking to add young, career-minded individuals to our team.

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PURPOSE

Sustainable Investing An Interview with Jessica Matthews, Global Head of Sustainable Investing, J.P. Morgan Private Bank EDITORS’ NOTE Jessica Matthews What excited you about the joined J.P. Morgan in 2018 with opportunity to join J.P. Morgan more than a decade of sustainPrivate Bank and made you feel it able and impact investing expewas the right fit? rience. In this role, she leads the After starting my career in tradidevelopment and execution of tional finance, I pivoted into sustainthe Private Bank’s sustainable able investing in 2008. Among the investing offering and focuses on many reasons I have always enjoyed it, expanding the platform of sustainthere’s a community of people who all able investing managers, develbelieve that in order to address some oping thought leadership, and of the world’s most pressing problems, working with clients to integrate private capital and innovation plays an Jessica Matthews their social and environmental important role in providing solutions. goals with their long-term investFor that to become a reality, we need ment objectives. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, to see sustainable and impact investing scale to Matthews was Cambridge Associates’ Global something much bigger, with more investors at Head of Mission-Related Investing (MRI). She the table, so when J.P. Morgan expressed interest previously worked with government clients in expanding its own efforts in this space, I saw in the Financial Services sector at Booz it as the perfect opportunity for me to do just Allen Hamilton, in the Investment Office at that: sustainable investing at the best private the American Red Cross, and in the Global bank in the world, the potential to scale this Consultant Relations Group at BlackRock. She industry by working with some of the biggest began her career with Cambridge Associates and most sophisticated clients in the world, and a s a c o n s u l t i n g a n a l y s t . M a t t h e w s i s a also offering solutions to all of our retail clients frequent speaker and guest lecturer, and is through Chase. It’s a huge impact that we have. actively engaged with various field-building That was almost four years ago and I’m thrilled I organizations in the areas of sustainability made the leap – the firm is extremely focused on and impact investing. She has published sustainability, across every line of business, and industry-leading thought pieces on a variety it’s an honor to play a part in it. of topics, including impact investing benchmarking, the materiality of ESG, fossil fuel divestment, and gender lens investing. She serves on the board for The Resolution Project and the Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility for the University of Virginia Investment Management Company. Matthews graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in government and a minor in economics.

Will you provide an overview of your role and areas of focus?

As the Global Head of Sustainable Investing at J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank, I am responsible for overseeing the development and execution of the Private Bank’s sustainable investing offering. Our clients are increasingly interested in putting their money to work to align with their values, and many also to seek opportunities in a world that is rapidly transforming, leading them to themes and megatrends related to sustainability. While clients’ overall investment interests vary, it is our job to provide the options and the tools to help them integrate their social and environmental goals with their long-term investment objectives. Importantly, we work to demystify the thought that doing this means sacrificing investment returns, so whether a client wants to focus on a specific cause, for example, clean energy or diversity or sustainable agriculture, we will work handin-hand with them to help define their sustainability objectives, identify potential solutions that align with those objectives, and implement those investments into a holistic portfolio.

W i l l y o u h i g h l i g h t J . P. M o r g a n Private Bank’s sustainable investing of fe ri n g and t h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d execution of this offering?

“Our clients are increasingly interested in putting

their money to work to align with their values, and

COMPANY BRIEF J.P. Morgan Private Bank (privatebank.jpmorgan.com) provides customized financial advice to help wealthy clients and their families achieve their goals through an elevated experience. Clients of the Private Bank work with dedicated teams of specialists that bring their investments and financial assets together into one comprehensive strategy, leveraging the global resources of J.P. Morgan across planning, investing, lending, banking, philanthropy, family office management, fiduciary services, special advisory services and more. The Private Bank oversees more than $1.9 trillion in client assets globally.

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many also to seek opportunities in a world that is rapidly transforming, leading them to themes and megatrends related to sustainability.”

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“We have also been on the forefront of helping our clients invest sustainably in the Private Bank, expanding our sustainable investment offerings to over 130 investment strategies today that are globally geared toward sustainable investing, with over $20 billion in total assets under advisement.”

J.P. Morgan Chase was a pioneer in impact investing going back over a decade, helping to seed some of the first impact funds that were launched at a time when not many people knew what sustainable and/or impact investing was.

We have also been on the forefront of helping our clients invest sustainably in the Private Bank, expanding our sustainable investment offerings to over 130 investment strategies today that are globally geared toward sustainable investing, with over $20 billion in total assets under advisement. We continue to develop tools to help clients achieve their sustainable investing goals and new opportunities for our clients to participate in sustainable investing vehicles. For example, in 2020, we launched a new and innovative investment opportunity to Private Bank clients through our Global Impact Fund. The Fund targets three investment themes – inclusive growth, climate solutions, and health and wellness – and provides clients with a diversified portfolio of venture and private equity funds constructed with the intent to advance progress toward specific UN Sustainable Development Goals. After successfully putting capital to work in the first fund, we’ll be launching the second vintage in the second half of this year.

Another exciting development within the past year was the Private Bank’s acquisition of OpenInvest, a leading financial technology company that will enable us to customize and report on sustainability exposures and impacts in clients’ portfolios.

How does J.P. Morgan Private Bank work with clients to integrate their social and environmental goals with their longterm investment objectives?

In our experience, sustainable investing is not a “one size fits all” approach. Each client usually comes with a unique set of goals and objectives on what they are seeking to achieve, and clients are often in very different places along the journey. Before we propose specific funds or investments, we will spend time to educate clients on the sustainable investing field, how VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

the space has evolved over the years and what different approaches are available. It’s important to understand clients’ sustainable investing objectives, such as any screening preferences or guidelines for the desired sustainability characteristics of the portfolio. With a roadmap in place, we then implement the sustainable investment funds and vehicles that will align with their stated objectives, which are available across all asset classes. On an ongoing basis, we update clients on their portfolio’s positioning and performance, and also review its adherence to stated sustainability objectives.

Will you discuss what characteristics you look for when hiring talent to expand J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s sustainable investing team?

When I first started working in sustainable investing over 13 years ago, it was more challenging than it is today to find candidates

who had previous experience in sustainable and/ or impact investing within the asset management business. So what I leaned on instead, and found great success with, was seeking candidates with a passion for creative and critical thinking about financial markets and for sustainability issues – which is not to say that candidates need to prioritize one over the other – it is a finance job, after all, and I truly believe it’s the combination of sound financial acumen combined with a motivation for better sustainability outcomes that leads to success. That characteristic for me is still paramount, however we also have the good fortune as the field has expanded to set the bar a little higher in terms of prior track record, and I have recently hired several senior leaders who bring significant prior sustainable investing experience. Last, but certainly not least, we place a great deal of importance on diversity in hiring, and I’m proud to say I have a dynamic and diverse team at J.P. Morgan.

What are your priorities for J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s sustainable investing offering as you look to the future?

Going forward, the team is focused on continuing to innovate our sustainable investing platform – we’ll be introducing new diversified solutions for clients who want to go “all in” on sustainability, and also a lot more bespoke solutions for clients who take a targeted approach towards particular themes. One of the reasons I love working in this field is that there’s never a dull moment – one minute a client is asking about carbon market offsets, the next about our Donor Advised Fund impact offerings, and then I’m discussing our private investments offering – it keeps us on our toes and we are constantly evolving and adapting with them. And beyond product itself, a key focus is in our partnership with OpenInvest, which will enable us to provide much more sophisticated reporting to clients and advisors, enabling them to be more engaged with and aligned to the sustainability characteristics of their investment portfolios.

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“Going forward, the team is focused on continuing to innovate our sustainable investing platform – we’ll be introducing new diversified solutions for clients who want to go ‘all in’ on sustainability, and also a lot more bespoke solutions for clients who take a targeted approach towards particular themes.”

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PURPOSE

A Relationship Business An Interview with Pamela Liebman, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Corcoran Group EDITORS’ NOTE Pamela Liebman for almost 20 years. More than just a began her career as an agent at tagline, it’s a purpose-driven call to Corcoran. She became a partner in action that colors everything we do.

1990 and was appointed President It is also what empowers Corcoran and Chief Executive Officer in 2000. agents and employees to forge Liebman studied at the University emotional connections with our of Massachusetts, Amherst, and team, clients and our communities. at the European Business School Nothing says more about you then in London. She is recognized as where you live and Corcoran is the a leading real estate expert by top real estate brand that will take the domestic and international media time to understand that. Most firms outlets such as The Wall Street are focused on simply closing a deal, Pamela Liebman Journal, The New York Times, and but we are all about people and Financial Times and, since 2007, their individual needs. Our agents has consistently been recognized as one of the can help you find the home that’s just right most powerful women in New York by Crain’s for you – whether in an urban, suburban or New York Business. resort market. Purpose isn’t ingrained in our culture – it is our culture.

FIRM BRIEF Founded in 1973, Cor coran What have been the keys to Corcoran’s (corcoran.com) is one of the largest residential industry leadership and how do you real estate firms in New York. After expanding describe the Corcoran difference? to other luxury markets and acquiring leading What really sets Corcoran apart is our firms in the Hamptons and South Florida, market expertise, neighborhood fluency and Corcoran now operates 27 offices, employs more our agents’ ability to forge strong relationships than 2,200 agents, and has achieved sales of with their clients. We’ve based our entire busiover $21 billion annually. ness model around prioritizing relationships over transactions and earning and keeping How do you define Corcoran’s purpose clients’ trust through our unwavering commitand how deeply is purpose ingrained in ment to integrity and innovation.

Corcoran’s culture and values?

I’ve always reinforced the importance of Corcoran’s “Live Who You Are” brand bringing value to every conversation which philosophy has been ingrained in our culture is why we were the first New York City

brokerage to release a market report and the first to launch a dedicated business development and training center, Agent Studio. At Corcoran, we prioritize developing our agents’ skills and our ability to bring their businesses to the next level is exactly why we continue to lead the industry.

Will you highlight Corcoran’s focus on building a diverse and inclusive workforce to mirror the diversity of its clients and the communities it serves?

Inclusivity is woven throughout all that we do. Along with Realogy, we strive to cultivate and sustain a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture that represents the shared experiences of our clients, affiliate broker/owners, agents and staff. Not only do we have mandatory unconscious bias training, Corcoran’s Diversity & Inclusion Executive Committee is a group that works to ensure that we’re celebrating important holidays and key milestones throughout the year.

When looking at talent recruiting, we are also committed to attracting a diverse slate of candidates to consider for open roles and we require externally posted positions at the leadership level to be kept open until a diverse slate of candidates have been reviewed. We also work to ensure that our commitment to equal employment opportunity is evident in all employment practices, from promotional decisions to talent reviews.

“I’ve always reinforced the importance of bringing value to every conversation which is why we were the first New York City brokerage to release a market report and the first to launch a dedicated business development and training center, Agent Studio. At Corcoran, we prioritize developing our agents’ skills and our ability to bring their businesses to the next level is exactly why we continue to lead the industry.”

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“Corcoran’s ‘Live Who You Are’ brand philosophy has been ingrained in our culture for almost 20 years. More than just a tagline, it’s a purpose-driven call to action that colors everything we do.”

What do you see as the responsibility of leading companies to be engaged in the communities they serve and to being good corporate citizens?

All companies, regardless of their size, have a responsibility to their communities.

With our philanthropic efforts, we prefer to focus on smaller, local organizations to ensure our dollars have the most significant impact on the ground. It’s also important to use our existing resources to help when we can. For example, when the horrific condo collapse happened in Surfside last year, Corcoran was able to offer our branch office in the neighborhood as a station for first responders.

Simply due to our proximity to the disaster, we were able to jump in immediately and provide aid where we could. Understanding your neighborhood and being active in your community is the first step in being a good corporate citizen.

Corcoran has a long history of leading in corporate social responsibility through Corcoran Cares. What was the vision for creating Corcoran Cares and how do you define its mission?

Corcoran Cares was developed as a way for our agents and employees to be able to directly support our local communities in the areas that matter most. All of the charities and organizations that we work with come to us via personal recommendation

from our team and they are vetted by the Corcoran Cares Executive Committee to ensure they align with our overarching goals. Ultimately, Corcoran Cares’ mission is to positively impact the communities where we live and work and I’m proud of our success so far.

How did Corcoran Cares adapt its work to support the needs of the community caused by the pandemic?

The pandemic really prompted everyone to think outside of the box and one of the projects that I am proudest of rolled out last year in New York City. An agent in our Park Slope office sparked the idea of a tech drive, citing the many local children who did not have the necessary access or equipment to attend their classes virtually. Due to her ongoing involvement within New York City public schools, she worked with Corcoran Cares to proactively build the necessary relationships to execute the project, kicking off this initiative which, thanks to our agents and employees, ultimately raised thousands of dollars and procured an extraordinary amount of new and used tech equipment for local families.

And while this is a very big example, since early 2020 we focused our support around several charities throughout the five boroughs that were focused around taking care of those in need – from food pantries to shelters to mental health services.

How proud are you to see the engagement and commitment of Corcoran’s team in supporting Corcoran Cares’ efforts?

Seeing our employees and agents embrace Corcoran Cares’ efforts has been incredibly rewarding. Since its inception, we have raised over $4 million for worthy charities in New York City, on the East End of Long Island, and across South Florida. Our agents and staff are always acting in service of our communities and that commitment speaks volumes about who we are and what we stand for. I am continuously in awe of the passion our team has to help others in need.

What do you tell young people about the type of career the real estate industry offers?

Real estate is a wonderful career but you have to be willing to work hard. I always tell people that, ultimately, this is a relationship business – to be successful you need to be empathetic and you need to have personality.

In addition to understanding the product and the market, I always reinforce the importance of connecting with your clients.

Things are also constantly changing in this industry, from market shifts to harnessing new technology, so you need to be able to adapt quickly. I’ve been in real estate for over thirty years – it was my first job out of college and I was incredibly fortunate to find my passion early.

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“Seeing our employees and agents embrace Corcoran Cares’ efforts has been incredibly rewarding. Since its inception, we have raised over $4 million for worthy charities in New York City, on the East End of Long Island, and across South Florida. Our agents and staff are always acting in service of our communities and that commitment speaks volumes about who we are and what we stand for. I am continuously in awe of the passion our team has to help others in need.”

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PURPOSE

Financial Security An Interview with Jonathan D. Niemeyer, Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, Western & Southern Financial Group EDITORS’ NOTE Jonathan Niemeyer How do you define Western & joined Wester n & Souther n i n Southern Financial Group’s purpose?

2 0 0 1 , b e c a m e Vi c e P r e s i d e n t Our ultimate purpose is to and Associate General Counsel in help our customers with their finan2004, was promoted to Senior Vice cial needs. Since our founding in President and General Counsel in C i n c i n n a t i a s T h e We s t e r n a n d 2010, and was promoted to Senior Southern Life Insurance Company in Vice President, Chief Administrative 1888, as a modest door-to-door busiOfficer and General Counsel in 2016. ness during America’s industrial age, He leads Western & Southern’s Law we have endured and thrived because Department, including Compliance we have never lost sight of our and Government Relations, purpose – to provide financial security Jonathan D. Niemeyer and the Insurance Operations, to our customers. We aim to provide Finance, Actuarial, Controller, Risk our customers and clients with finanManagement, Tax and Treasury functions. cial solutions that help create peace of mind Niemeyer was previously with Squire, Sanders backed by our top-notch financial strength and & Dempsey LLP, and Graydon Head & Ritchey capital.

LLP, in Cincinnati, where he concentrated on We are a human institution serving corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, private human needs, committed to helping our equity and securities. He began his legal career customers live the life they want to live with at LG&E Energy Corp. in Louisville, Kentucky, secure financial futures. We do that by taking in 1993. He served on the editorial board of the our responsibility to our customers and our Kentucky Law Journal and is a member of the communities very seriously.

Cincinnati and Kentucky Bar Associations. He is the immediate past president of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel (ALIC), where he continues as a member. Niemeyer is a member of the Cincinnati Art Museum board and the board of directors of Bethesda, Inc., a major funder of healthcare transformation and co-sponsor of TriHealth, the leading integrated health delivery system in Southwest Ohio. He is also a member of the United Way’s Tocqueville Society. He previously served on various boards and committees at the Salvation Army of Greater Cincinnati, Montgomery Community Church, Doug Pelfrey’s Kicks for Kids and David Pollack’s Empower Foundation in Cincinnati. Niemeyer earned a BA in political science, with distinction, from the University of Kentucky, and graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law, Order of the Coif, with distinction. Niemeyer is licensed to practice law in Kentucky and Ohio.

In addition to our commitment to our customers, we pride ourselves on being a good corporate citizen, and that means taking an active role in improving our community through generous commitment of both our treasure and our talent. Our aim is to make Cincinnati the best place to live, work and celebrate life.

What have been the keys to the strength and leadership of Western & Southern Financial Group and how do you define the Western & Southern difference?

I think what makes Western & Southern different is our unique culture. It’s a culture that stresses excellence and accountability in all we do. We are a company of hard-working, bright business professionals driven to serve the best interests of our customers, our associates and our communities with a sense of urgency and purpose.

We focus on providing solutions that serve the financial needs of our customers. When customers realize they can take advantage of the multiple financial solutions we offer, and

“We are a human institution serving

human needs, committed to helping our customers live the life they want to live

with secure financial futures. We do that by taking our responsibility to our customers

COMPANY BRIEF Western & Southern Financial Group (westernsouthern.com) is a Cincinnatibased diversified family of financial services companies with assets, owned and managed, of nearly $112 billion. Western & Southern is one of the strongest life insurance groups in the world with $13 billion in capital. Over the last 30 years, it has grown from a $5 billion regional life insurance company into a highly-respected national financial services enterprise.

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and our communities very seriously.”

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“We focus on providing solutions that serve the financial needs of our customers. When customers realize they can take advantage of the multiple financial solutions we offer, and they can choose how they do business with us, they appreciate it. Our various companies complement each other to serve our clients’ different needs.”

they can choose how they do business with us, they appreciate it. Our various companies complement each other to serve our clients’ different needs.

We work hard to be the very best we can be in each of our businesses. We are an incredibly diverse company for our size, offering life and annuities through every distribution channel available to meet our customers where they are, whether it be through our own agents, third parties and/or digitally. Our asset management businesses – Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Touchstone Investments and Eagle Realty Group – are a real differentiator for us versus other life insurers.

Will you provide an overview of your role and areas of focus?

I am the Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel of Western & Southern Financial Group. I joined Western & Southern as a staff lawyer in 2001 after working for two large law firms concentrating in mergers and acquisitions. I was appointed general counsel in 2010 and worked to consolidate our disparate compliance functions under one roof. With our complex financial services offerings, our law and compliance departments have to be world-class. We have a great team and great leaders who are among the best in our industry.

In 2016, I was named Chief Administrative Officer in addition to my law and compliance responsibilities as general counsel, and I am now responsible for the Finance, Actuarial, Controller, Risk Management, Tax, Operations and Treasury functions. I consider law and compliance to be my “day job” and spend every waking hour trying to learn more about my other areas of responsibility in order to get VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

better every single day. I report to John Barrett, Western & Southern’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. Outside work, I am involved with several nonprofit organizations in Cincinnati, including the Cincinnati Art Museum, Bethesda, Inc. and TriHealth.

H o w c r i t i c a l i s i t f o r We s t e r n & Southern Financial Group to build a diverse and inclusive workforce?

Our unique culture helps us create value for our customers, associates and the communities we serve. We hire and develop associates who are driven to excel, make sensible decisions, and possess an uncompromising work ethic.

Equally important is a common commitment to treating all associates with dignity and respect, an insistence on keeping our egos in check, and a recognition that to build something bigger than ourselves, we must collaborate effectively.

Many of our greatest ideas come from a rich and diverse mix of minds, backgrounds and experiences, and we are committed to maintaining a work environment that provides equal opportunities to all of our associates. We know that talented people want to work together and win together, and we believe that by living our culture, we will all succeed together.

What do you see as Western & Southern Financial Group’s responsibility to the communities it serves?

We take very seriously our responsibility to the communities we serve. We believe that as our business grows, our community must grow too, and that we have a responsibility and important role in making that happen. This makes us different from many companies. The dimension, complexity and variability of the challenges facing any metropolitan area simply demand that businesses get and stay involved.

We are particularly interested in supporting and fostering the growth and quality of life in the Cincinnati area given our 134-year history here and the fact that the vast majority of our associates work in downtown Cincinnati. We and our associates are deeply invested both financially and with our time in order to make Cincinnati one of the best cities to live, work and celebrate life.

We also believe that if we are going to attract and keep the best possible people, we need a community with a combination of wonderful places to go, things to do, interesting things to see, great restaurants, a vibrant downtown, and great educational and arts institutions, as well as top-rated medical facilities. Cincinnati is already such a place, but we continue to work hard to help Cincinnati continue to thrive.

We want to attract Fortune 500 companies to relocate to Cincinnati, but we also want to get local young people to come back here after college or after a job outside of Cincinnati and make it their home.

Through community sponsorships, funding for medical research and financial support of numerous local organizations, we focus our efforts on economic development, human services, healthcare, education and the arts, all of which impact the quality of life for the citizens of the communities where we live and work.

What do you tell young people about the type of career the insurance industry offers?

We believe that our company gives young people an opportunity for a career, not just a job. It also gives them a “mission” to help people with their financial needs. What better way to feel good about your job when you go home after a day at work than to think about how you helped people with their financial future? Maybe it is about helping a family rest assured, knowing they will be taken care of if the unimaginable were to happen. Maybe it is the comfort that comes with knowing one’s retirement income is guaranteed. We are in the business of offering peace of mind to our clients, and that is an attractive proposition to many young people.

Yo u j o i n e d We s t e r n & S o u t h e r n Financial Group in 2001. What has made the experience so special for you and did you imagine in the early days that this would be a place that you would spend over twenty years of your career?

I found a rewarding career in an industry that offers meaningful work at a company with unmatched financial strength and an unbeatable corporate culture. Our industry is unlike others, but I believe our company is even more unique. We have an extensive choice of insurance, investment and retirement solutions to help people achieve peace of mind with their financial security. We can help people with a guaranteed income for life. We can provide their loved ones a death benefit to make sure they are whole. Most people worry about their financial security, and our job is to get in front of them and let them know that we have solutions to help them.

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V I E W O U R G A L L E R Y O N L I N E | W W W . F I N D L AY G A L L E R I E S . C O M Copyright © 2022, Findlay Galleries, All rights reserved.

Arduis Brave Difficulty T HFortis R Fortis E E Arduis C E N ||TBrave U R I in E I N A R T inSDifficulty

PTOLEMY MANN WOVEN TEXTILE WORKS

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ABSTRACT PAINTINGS

Ptolemy Mann practices a unique approach to hand-dyed and woven artworks that have become the basis for a modern-day Bauhaus philosophy of art-making underpinned by intelligent color theory. Her time-consuming and unique approach has evolved over a twenty-five-year period. Exquisite dynamics of color move across a fine surface, creating a painterly sweep.

The term ‘Chromatic Minimalism’ has been applied to her work, which Abstract Expressionism and architecture heavily influence.

Mann makes large-scale, emotional works that express a deep sense of craftsmanship and precision through an abstract narrative.

She has completed many site-specific art installations and has exhibited worldwide. She regularly lectures throughout the UK and abroad, writes for the magazine Selvedge, curates, and has received three grants from the Arts Council of England. Findlay Galleries is pleased to represent Ptolemy Mann exclusively throughout the USA. “I have often felt that the act of dyeing thread is deeply related to the act of painting. When I’m in the dye lab, it involves an almost spontaneous gestural movement; working quickly to saturate the white thread with colour and, much like watercolour painting, once the colour is on the thread, it is permanent. The aim is to capture the same immediacy and energy generated in the dye lab as intuitive, colour-saturated paintings, while exploring the relationship between transparency and opacity” – Ptolemy Mann, 2022

1 6 5 W O R T H AV E N U E PA L M B E A C H , F L O R I D A 3 3 4 8 0 • ( 5 6 1 ) 6 5 5 2 0 9 0

Albedo hand-dyed and woven thread 86 5/8 x 189 in.

3 2 E A S T 5 7 T H S T R E E T, 2 N D F L O O R NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10022 • (212) 421 5390

PURPOSE

Creating Social Change An Interview with Natalie Tran, Executive Director, CAA Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE Natalie Tran serves a Foundation. Since then, we have been as the Executive Director of the CAA at the heart of our company, investing Foundation at leading entertainin our communities, serving our clients, ment and sports agency Creative and harnessing popular culture to create Artists Agency (CAA). Based in Los social change. Our company ethos is: “If Angeles, Tran consults clients, execwe take good care of each other, good utives and corporations on their things happen.” The CAA Foundation is philanthropic and pro-social initiathat in action. tives. She manages the CAA Global How broad is the CAA Foundation’s Fellows program, dedicated to develfocus and what are the key areas it oping future generations of Agents/ supports?

Executives and industry leaders. She As a Foundation we invest our Natalie Tran is a founding member of FORWARD, efforts in the following: a women’s committee dedicated to • Public Education: we lead and engaging, inspiring, and developing women at provide support for initiatives that reimagine a the agency, and helping to empower and connect more resilient and equitable public education women across the industry. Most recently, Tran system. led the formation of the Civic Alliance, a non• Civic engagement: we work to strengthen our partisan group of leading companies working democracy by inspiring civic engagement and together to build a future where everyone can increasing voter turnout through strategic partparticipate in shaping the country. In 2018, Tran nerships and coalition building. co-founded I am a voter., a nonpartisan aware• Climate: we harness our network of ness campaign that aims to create a cultural culture-makers to achieve maximum public shift around voting and civic engagement. Tran awareness, provide opportunity for action and also serves on the Board of the ACLU of Southern inspire a global network of climate activists.

California and the Entertainment Industry • Crisis: we provide immediate support Foundation (EIF). She is a native of Los Angeles and amplify critical needs of organizations and is a graduate of the University of Redlands working in communities impacted by crisis. with a degree in business management, creative We look to utilize our convening power to writing, and art history. bring attention and solutions to these issues by mobilizing timely initiatives and partnerships.

FOUNDATION BRIEF The CAA Foundation We also see a unique ability to be able to shift (caa.com/foundation) harnesses the power and culture through narrative change. Our work in reach of the entertainment industry to create posi- leading the Full Story Initiative is designed to tive social change by forging strategic partner- generate more authentic and equitable storyships, encouraging volunteerism, granting telling in television and film. financial contributions, stimulating public We are so fortunate to represent clients that awareness and providing in-kind donations. are passionate about many causes; our work in Since launching in 1995, the CAA Foundation has become a leader in the entertainment community on education, the environment, and health and social issues. Employee involvement is at the heart of the Foundation’s mission. Over the years, CAA employees have volunteered in schools, helped communities rebuild following natural disasters, served on nonprofit boards, and donated generously to service organizations around the world.

service to them takes us across a wide range of critical issues. We work with our clients to create a social good strategy uniquely tailored to them.

CAA Foundation created the “Civic Alliance” program in partnership with Democracy Works. What is the vision for Civic Alliance and what has made the program effective at building such a strong, nonpartisan business coalition?

The Civic Alliance is America’s premier nonpartisan coalition of businesses united by our commitment to our democracy, which we believe depends upon active participation in safe, accessible, and trusted elections. We are currently 1,250 company members strong and we are so proud of what we have been able to achieve together. Since launch in January 2020, we have been very intentional that this coalition is about building community – a community of do-gooders at some of the most recognizable and influential companies – who can use their platform to empower Americans to use their voice and vote. I am so inspired by the commitment of our members.

The 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer recently reported that business is the most trusted institution in our society today – ahead of nonprofit organizations, government and media. Of respondents in the U.S., 74 percent said that they trust their employer the most, making the relationship companies have with their employees unique and powerful. Many companies want to take action, they just might not be sure how. That’s why we want to make sure that our members have the resources, tools and platforms to create a dynamic culture of corporate civic engagement.

“We also see a unique ability to be able to

shift culture through narrative change. Our work in leading the Full Story Initiative is

Will you highlight the history of the CAA Foundation and how you define its purpose?

Founded in 1995, CAA was the first Hollywood agency to have a philanthropic arm and establish 142 LEADERS

designed to generate more authentic and

equitable storytelling in television and film.”

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“Our company ethos is: ‘If we take good care of each other, good things happen.’

The CAA Foundation is that in action.”

One of those tools I’m most excited about is the Corporate Civic Playbook we just published, which is a first-of-its-kind resource that provides companies with concrete examples of how to create a civic action plan. Our hope is that we can help companies level up and inspire new companies to join our efforts. You can check out our Playbook and much more at civicalliance.com. This is exciting work that has a ripple effect all throughout our country.

Voting rights is a major issue facing the country. How is the CAA Foundation addressing this issue and will you discuss the creation of “I am a voter.” to help increase voter registration in every state?

In 2018, I co-founded “I am a voter.” with CAA as the Founding Partner in this public facing campaign that aims to create a cultural shift around voting and civic engagement. Our mission is to make voter identity mainstream, aspirational and an integral component of how anyone identifies themselves. We want to inspire and excite this generation by engaging the brands and talent they love. We’ve been so fortunate to work with partners such as Urban Outfitters, the NBA, H&M, Bumble, Shopbop, Freeform, AMC Theaters and Ciara, the cast of Friends and Bridesmaids, Lizzo, Becky G and so many more. Each partner engages with us in unique and exciting ways such as making unique merchandise (Stuart Weitzman made their iconic 50/50 boot with the word VOTE spelled out in the back calf) to inspire their fans to vote. The Golden State Warriors launched a VOTER’S WIN campaign to compete with other NBA teams on who could register the most fans. I can’t wait to see what creative ideas our partners come up with this year.

How critical are metrics to track the impact of the CAA Foundation’s programs?

It’s very important and it’s an area we are constantly trying to improve in. Our initiatives are so unique that each require a different set of metrics. One of my favorite things about the CAA Foundation is that we are often learning and building at the same time as we are activating and facilitating. This means we are very fluid, and we realize that sometimes the goal post needs to move further down the line, or we need to incorporate a different metric in real time.

We are lucky in that we are not tied to traditional funder metrics since some of the work we set out to do, such as changing and shifting culture, doesn’t happen overnight.

We are committed to this work for the long run.

How do you engage CAA’s employees in the work of the CAA Foundation and how proud are you to see the involvement and commitment from CAA’s workforce for the Foundation’s efforts?

Our work is 100 percent not possible without the support of our colleagues. Their commitment to a more optimistic tomorrow is what drives our culture and actions. This commitment has enabled us to build out a robust employee engagement program which ranges from volunteer opportunities to Board service.

The CAA Task Force is led by our amazing assistants and staff across the globe who lead many of our community volunteer opportunities. We have partner schools, reading and mentor programs and a wide range of service days. We are also excited about our partnership

“One of those tools I’m most excited about is the Corporate Civic Playbook we just published, which is a first-of-its-kind resource that provides companies with concrete examples of how to create a civic action plan.”

with Boardsource, as we hope to increase nonprofit Board opportunities for our Agents and Executives. We are intentional about tailoring these opportunities to our employee base who we know have many commitments but want to make a difference and have unique access.

Do you feel it is the responsibility of leading businesses today to be engaged in the communities they serve and to be a force for good in society?

Absolutely. We know that Gen Z expects companies to demonstrate their commitment to their values and they also want to know that their work is contributing to the overall betterment of our society. I feel that it is no longer an option for companies to be quiet about their values.

The Civic Alliance just released new data in our Corporate Civic Playbook that shows publicly traded companies that were active in civic engagement in the 2020 elections significantly outperformed the market. The Civic Alliance’s analysis found these companies were more profitable and grew faster than the overall S&P 500. So yes, not only is engaging in the community the right thing to do, but it’s also undeniably good for business.

However, I do feel that by now most companies are engaging in this work, but the question is how far are they willing to go? How much of their networks and platforms do they want to use and what message are they putting out there? How much influence do they really want to have?

There is so much opportunity for business to have a lasting impact and there’s never been a more critical time for companies to become a force for good.

The CAA Foundation has made a major impact in addressing many societal needs. How important is it for you and your team to take moments to reflect and celebrate the wins?

Each year, we publish our annual Impact Report which gives us and our company the ability to reflect on all the good we have been able to achieve together. I am always in awe and am so inspired by the incredible work of the team. We are a small but mighty and ambitious team, and we move at such a rapid pace that truthfully, this question is a good reminder that we need to celebrate our incredible wins more often.

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PURPOSE

Advancing Medicine An Interview with Steven J. Corwin, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, NewYork-Presbyterian EDITORS’ NOTE Dr. Steven Corwin the highest quality of accessible care has served as CEO since 2011 and to people around the region. Our President & CEO since 2015. Dr. purpose is engrained in nurturing Corwin joined the management and growing our workforce to be the team of NewYork-Presbyterian/ home of world-class medical experts, Columbia University Irving Medical investing in vital research and cuttingCenter in 1986 and served in various edge clinical innovation and priorimanagement capacities. Fr om tizing heath justice for all.

2005 to 2011, he was Executive How do you define the Vice President and Chief Operating NewYork-Presbyterian difference Officer. A cardiologist and internist, and what sets the organization he received his undergraduate and apart in the industry?

Dr. Steven J. Corwin medical degrees from Northwestern We are fortunate to be the only University, graduating summa cum academic medical center in the laude and with Alpha Omega Alpha honors. nation affiliated with two world-class medical He completed training in inter nal medi- schools, Columbia University Vagelos College cine and cardiology at what is now NewYork- of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Presbyterian/Columbia and in 1986 was named Medicine. Collectively, we have cared for those to the faculty at what is now Columbia University in need for hundreds of years – often under Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. the most challenging circumstances – while simultaneously advancing medicine to ensure INSTITUTION BRIEF Located in New York City, we continue to help patients live amazing NewYork-Presbyterian (nyp.org) is affiliated with two of the nation’s leading medical colleges, Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

NewYork-Presbyterian provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory, and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, education, research, and community service at ten hospital campuses: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Pr esbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, NewYorkPresbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, NewYorkPresbyterian Westchester Division, NewYorkPr esbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian H u d s o n Va l l e y H o s p i t a l a n d N e w Yo r k Presbyterian Queens.

“We are dedicated to addressing the

root cause of health

inequities in order to

develop solutions that set a new standard

How do you define NewYork-Presbyterian’s purpose and how is purpose engrained in NewYork-Presbyterian’s culture and values?

At NewYork-Presbyterian, we are committed to caring for every single patient who walks through our doors. Serving communities across all five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Hudson Valley shapes our culture, values and moral obligation to provide 144 LEADERS

of patient care for all races and ethnicities.”

lives. Our partnership means we can offer our patients access to the most advanced, innovative treatments and expand access to the latest clinical trials while also caring for patients with everyday health concerns in their own communities and via telehealth.

We constantly use data, technology and innovation to deliver a more modern, seamless and empathetic patient experience tailored to our patients. We are dedicated to addressing the root cause of health inequities in order to develop solutions that set a new standard of patient care for all races and ethnicities.

NewYork-Presbyterian has been on the front lines of the global pandemic. What are some of the lessons learned from the pandemic and how critical is it for health systems to continue to transform and adapt to effectively address future challenges and crises?

The pandemic has forced every institution, including our own, to look from the inside out on how we can better prepare for future crises.

We’ve established taskforces that continue to connect regularly, and we have changed our business model from just-in-time to just-in-case, which means adding reserves and flexibility, and changing how we train and deploy staff. We have also learned that the system as a whole is more resilient than a single hospital and we need to leverage that interconnectivity to effectively plan and prepare for any future-facing challenges.

What needs to be done to address the issue of long haul COVID and what role can health systems play in addressing this challenge?

There is evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to longer-term neurological or psychological symptoms despite initially being considered a respiratory virus. As systems and clinicians, we must arm our teams with the resources needed to help patients with long COVID navigate their recovery, and also acknowledge that the need to care for them will extend long beyond the pandemic.

NewYork-Presbyterian opened a clinic in January 2021 to provide services and support for people coping with long COVID. The clinic evaluates patients, including full workups with blood work, echocardiograms, EKGs and other screenings. It also connects them with specialists like cardiologists, psychiatrists and neurologists to treat specific symptoms and collaborate on patient care.

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What do you see as the responsibility that leading health systems have to the communities they serve?

We have a profound obligation and responsibility to take care of the communities we serve and deliver quality patient experiences and outcomes. To do this, care must be made accessible. A person’s ability to access the health services they need – when, where and how they need them – has a significant impact on every aspect of their life. As the future of healthcare evolves and as the needs of patients and their communities evolve, we must continue to deliver the latest advances in care to patients and transform how healthcare

is delivered, making it more convenient, accessible and equitable whether patients are seeking care for common conditions or complex ones.

At NewYork-Presbyterian, we also invest in community and population health efforts that provide a wide range of community health programs for all ages and have one of the best ambulatory care networks in the region, providing clinical services to families across all five boroughs.

Will you discuss NewYork-Presbyterian’s efforts to reduce and erase disparities by linking its neighbors with the world’s best healthcare services and supporting them to reduce social disparities of health?

NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (top); NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center (bottom) VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

The last two years we saw social, economic and health crises converge, resulting in an unfathomable impact on the lives of too many people. The pandemic has exposed longstanding health inequities and, as a system, we recognize the urgent need to continue addressing disparities due to race, socioeconomic differences, access to care and other complex factors that impact the well-being of the communities we serve.

Building on years of work committed to this issue, we launched the Dalio Center for Health Justice in 2020 to acknowledge and address the systemic inequalities that create conditions for poor health by understanding and addressing the structural factors that determine health outcomes. Through key areas of action, the Center has been successful in creating a robust equity database, addressing social determinants of health while working to expand access to care and enrich education.

We have work to do and it’s going to take time. I’m proud of the work our teams do every day to stay connected to the needs of our patient population through relationships with community-based organizations, chambers of commerce, faith-based organizations, community groups, residents and more.

Will you discuss NewYork-Presbyterian’s efforts to build a diverse and inclusive workforce?

NewYork-Presbyterian is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Today, we provide personalized, world-class care to patients at a wide range of physical locations across the Greater New York area including 10 hospitals, more than 200 primary and specialty care clinics and medical practices, and through our comprehensive suite of telehealth services. This means that we reach and treat communities of all races, ethnicities, ages and genders, and it is imperative that our staff represent our patient population to be able to give them the best possible care. Our team is committed to setting clear hiring targets, maintaining a diverse pipeline of candidates, standardizing all job application processes and, importantly, reskilling and upskilling our current workforce so they can pursue other opportunities across the system.

What do you tell young people about the type of career that medicine offers?

The pandemic continues to elevate the medical profession, healthcare workers, and all essential workers to a level where the general public understands just how vital a role they play in our lives. A career in medicine, regardless of the circumstances of the last two years, is not easy, but it is extremely rewarding and humbling. Medical professionals are constantly curious, committed to their craft and always looking for novel solutions to reducing morbidity and mortality rates, and improving t h e p a t i e n t e x p e r i e n c e . A t N e w Yo r k Presbyterian, we’re fortunate to have some of the brightest minds in our field building their careers with us and I look forward to seeing how they contribute to the evolution of medicine into the 21st century.

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PURPOSE

Transformation An Interview with Dr. Nido R. Qubein, President, High Point University EDITORS’ NOTE Dr. Nido Qubein How do you define High Point and families remark on the most. We have a became the seventh president of High University’s purpose? culture that must be experienced to be underPoint University in January 2005.

High Point University’s purpose stood. HPU is a positive place. We don’t harp Since that time, enrollment has is to prepare students to thrive in the on what’s wrong with the world. Instead, we quadrupled, campus has expanded world as it is going to be. That’s why focus on the positives. We focus on the opporfrom 90 to 520 acres, and academic we focus on developing life skills and tunities our nation provides, and we encourage schools have grown from three to 11. fostering the values of God, family and our students to transform their lives and transHe came to the United States as a teencountry. In a word, our purpose is trans- form the world. I came to this country as an ager with limited knowledge of English formation. When you equip students immigrant at the age of 17. I’m not shy about and only $50 before going on to build with a growth mindset and ensure that reminding our students that there are millions business partnerships in banking, decision-making is based on values, of people around the world that want to come real estate, publishing and retail busithat’s when students transform into to America. You don’t see people wanting Dr. Nido R. Qubein nesses. Prior to his role as HPU presileaders. I remain as passionate about to leave. Sometimes it takes an immigrant to dent, Dr. Qubein rose to prominence our work today as I have ever been. remind Americans about the blessings that exist as an internationally known author and consulHow is High Point University preparing in this nation. It’s not a perfect nation – there is tant who has given more than 7,500 presentations the next generation of leaders with the life no such thing. But oh my, how I appreciate the worldwide. He serves on the corporate boards of skills and entrepreneurial spirit needed for opportunity to encourage our students to take several Fortune 500 companies including Truist, success? calculated risks, work hard, give back, and go the sixth largest bank in the nation, La-Z-Boy and You can’t just lecture young people and out and make our world better. nThrive Healthcare. Dr. Qubein is also executive hope they lear n something. High Point Do you feel that entrepreneurship can chairman of the Great Harvest Bread Company. University has created a distinctive, intentional be taught or is the entrepreneurial spirit Among numerous honors and recognitions he has environment that inspires students to want to something a person is born with? received, Qubein is an inductee of the Horatio Alger succeed. Throughout our campus you see our I believe you can encourage people to Association for Distinguished Americans, along call to action: Choose to be extraordinary. take on an entrepreneurial, growth mindset. with Oprah Winfrey and Colin Powell.

And more than merely seeing this declara- However, that doesn’t mean everyone needs tive statement, you can feel it. It’s what students to be an entrepreneur. Philanthropies, schools, UNIVERSITY BRIEF Founded in 1924, High Point University (highpoint.edu) is a 98-year-old liberal arts institution located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina. “America’s Best Colleges” 2022 Edition, published by U.S. News & World Report, ranks HPU #1 among all regional colleges in the South (the tenth consecutive year at #1). It also ranked HPU for the seventh consecutive year as the #1 Most Innovative Regional College in the South for innovation in curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology and facilities. HPU was named, for the eleventh consecutive year, to the national “Colleges of Distinction” list. HPU also earned Fields of Study distinctions for the Phillips School of Business and the Stout School of Education. High Point University has been named one of the nation’s top institutions for undergraduate education by The Princeton Review. HPU is recognized in “The Best 387 Colleges: 2022 Edition” for its academic programming, as well as positive survey responses and feedback from students, parents, and higher education leaders across the country. In addition to including HPU in “The Best 387 Colleges,” the new Princeton Review rankings recognized HPU in the Best Southeastern Colleges “2022 Best Colleges: Region by Region” list, as a Great School for Business/Finance Majors and a Great School High Point University students at Qubein Arena for Communication Majors, and for Great Dorms.

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Students at High Point University hail from all 50 states and more than 30 countries

churches all need entrepreneurial leaders.

Having an entrepreneurial mindset is not about building a widget and selling it. Having an entrepreneurial mindset is about building value and rendering value for your client, customer, congregation, student – you get the idea.

At High Point University, we attract entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial leaders to coach and inspire our students. The co-founder of Apple Computer, Steve Wozniak, is our Innovator in Residence. Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph is our Entrepreneur in Residence.

Domino’s Pizza President and COO Russell Weiner is our Corporate Executive in Residence.

Cynt Marshall, the Dallas Mavericks President, is our Sports Executive In Residence. And John Maxwell, renowned leadership expert, is our Executive Coach in Residence. In addition to our stellar faculty, we bring real-world practitioners to campus to teach our students. It creates a powerful learning environment that ultimately demonstrates to students that they, too, can achieve extraordinary results in their lives.

Will you discuss High Point University’s commitment to supporting its students, faculty and community during this unprecedented time?

HPU is focused on rendering value. When the pandemic hit, we had a new challenge to overcome. Our students and parents made it abundantly clear that they wanted classes to be held in person – a testament to our faculty mentors and inspiring learning environment filled with state-of-the-art classroom technology and labs, as well as fun student centers where students hang out, eat and study. So we developed a Health and Safety Task Force and quickly implemented plans that balanced both the in-person learning that students deserve along with the health and safety of our entire campus community.

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We didn’t whine about the conditions; we merely went to work. We secured hundreds of hotel rooms in preparation for quarantine and isolation protocols. We resourced faculty in order for them to safely teach in person. We leveraged technology so that we could assist students that were temporarily placed in quarantine. We did what we needed to do to best serve our students. We remained open the entire 2020-2021 academic year and have remained open ever since – including our largest enrollment ever in the Fall of 2021. We are blessed and grateful for the hard work and commitment that our faculty and staff displayed. Our students and parents took note.

Now, what I’m most proud of is the modeling of behavior that the HPU community displayed. When I think about all the shutdowns, chaos, arguments, confusion, etc. that has taken place in our nation and world as a result of the pandemic, and I compare that to what our students observed with regards to how HPU handled it – WOW! That is how you develop life skills. Our students lived and learned through our actions. They saw that HPU didn’t panic, acted responsibly and stayed focused on our mission. Those are lessons they will carry throughout their lives.

What do you see as High Point University’s responsibility to the community it serves and to supporting the needs of the community?

When I accepted this position as president in 2005, the first action I took was to declare to the city of High Point that HPU was High Point’s University. I held a press conference and luncheon and told community leaders that HPU would not survive if the city didn’t support it, and I reminded the city leadership that HPU had the potential to lift the community up for a better tomorrow.

Now, some 15 years later, HPU has been a blessing for the city, and I’m grateful that HPU has played a critical role in revitalizing many aspects of High Point, North Carolina. We’ve led the downtown transformation by raising the funds to purchase a professional baseball team and securing naming rights for the new stadium, all of which has served as a catalyst for continued development in downtown High Point just blocks away from HPU. High Point University also attracts more than 100,000 visitors a year from across the United States and from dozens of nations and generates $765 million in annual economic impact.

So, yes, it is important that HPU serves as a leader in our community. There’s a scripture we have displayed in the grand lobby of the Hayworth Fine Arts Center. It’s Luke 12:48 – To whom much is given, much is required. That perfectly defines our values regarding HPU’s leadership and participation in the city of High Point.

What are the keys to effective leadership and how do you describe your management style?

A leader must define a clear vision, develop a solid strategy, execute consistently and interpret value. These are the fundamentals of effective leadership. It’s what I strive to focus on in all my work.

My management style is summed up very simply: Inspect what you expect. I’m in university Facebook groups to see what our families are thinking. I want to add value for them, so I don’t wait for my team to tell me. I walk campus and inspect our facilities for cleanliness, order, and yes, even to assess the energy our campus creates to help propel our students forward. I asked our team to put an outdoor ice rink on campus during the pandemic. I wanted something safe and fun. That would have never happened if I stayed at my desk all day simply making calls and managing e-mails.

I meet with faculty and staff frequently to learn more about their areas of focus and to ensure the university is appropriately allocating resources. A leader can’t allocate resources effectively without a vertical and diagonal understanding of each business unit.

Ultimately, I make myself available to students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni and the community. I answer my e-mails – it’s not delegated. If I’m going to make decisions about the future of the institution, then I have to believe I’ve assessed the risks and understand the potential benefits of those decisions.

What advice do you offer to young people beginning their careers during this uncertain time?

Be brave. Don’t be afraid to try something, to take a calculated risk and join an organization and commit to contributing value. Today’s culture isn’t good at delayed gratification. We are sold the idea we can have it all and we can have it now. It’s not reality. There is no substitute for hard work, pushing through adversity, staying positive, committing to lifelong learning and expressing your gratitude for those that help you along the way. These are the timeless life skills that create sustainable leadership.

The good news is that these traits, skills and behaviors are available to everyone.

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PURPOSE

Training the Next Generation of Skilled Tradespeople An Interview with Shannon Gerber, Executive Director, The Home Depot Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE As executive director We have invested more than $400 million of The Home Depot Foundation, in veteran causes to date which has Shannon Gerber leads The Home helped us and our national nonprofit Depot’s philanthropic strategy, volunpartners build, renovate and enhance teer efforts and employee assistance more than 50,000 veteran homes and program. She joined The Home Depot facilities, and provide critical assistance to in 2002 and, prior to joining The veterans and their families. We are deeply Home Depot Foundation, she spent 13 committed to serving veterans and have years with The Home Depot in corpopledged to invest half of a billion dollars rate communications. Most recently, in veteran causes by 2025. she served as the senior director of Our disaster relief program supports events management, where she led communities impacted by natural disasShannon Gerber large-scale events for the company, as ters with immediate relief and long-term well as The Home Depot Foundation’s rebuilding. In 2021, the Foundation fundraising events. In this role, Gerber’s team led committed more than $7 million to disaster response the fundraising strategy and helped raise millions of in areas impacted by fires, hurricanes and tornadoes. dollars to further the Foundation’s work. Previously, Most recently, the Foundation has pledged she worked with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company to being part of the solution to bridging the in positions of increasing responsibility in events skilled labor gap by investing $50 million in management. Gerber has served on the advisory training the next generation of skilled tradesboard of Make-A-Wish Georgia and is an active people through the Path to Pro program. The volunteer through Team Depot, Atlanta Community program offers free industry-recognized training Food Bank, Safehouse Outreach, Atlanta Furniture opportunities for young adults, high school Bank and other organizations. She earned a BS in students, separating military service members business management from University of Phoenix. and underserved communities.

How do you define The Home Depot FOUNDATION BRIEF The Home Depot Foundation Foundation’s purpose? (https://corporate.homedepot.com/foundation) The Home Depot Foundation works to works to improve the homes and lives of U.S. improve the homes and lives of U.S. veterans, veterans, train skilled tradespeople to fill the train skilled tradespeople to fill the labor gap labor gap, and support communities impacted and support communities impacted by natural by natural disasters. Since 2011, the Foundation disasters. We form strategic partnerships with has invested more than $400 million in veteran leaders in these respective arenas to ensure that causes and improved more than 50,000 veteran we’re directly connecting to the communities homes and facilities. The Foundation has that need support, and give grants that help pledged to invest half of a billion dollars in elevate their work, creating a lasting impact. We veteran causes by 2025 and $50 million in do that through our nonprofit partners and our training the next generation of skilled trades- associate volunteer force, Team Depot. people through the Path to Pro program.

You mentioned The Home Depot Foundation’s Path to Pro trades training Will you highlight the history of The program which launched under your leadHome Depot Foundation (THDF) and how ership. How did that come to life? the Foundation has evolved?

The Foundation has been monitoring For the past decade, the Foundation has the skilled labor gap for years and has been worked to serve U.S. military veterans and help working with our nonprofit partners to develop rebuild communities when disasters strike. In scalable solutions to this growing gap. In 2018, 2018, The Home Depot Foundation expanded The Home Depot Foundation announced a $50 its mission and launched its trades training million commitment to train the next generaprogram, Path to Pro. tion of skilled tradespeople to support the The Home Depot Foundation is proud to growing demand. At the time, the Bureau of serve those who have served and focuses on ending Labor Statistics found that there were 158,000 veteran homelessness, improving veteran housing unfilled construction sector jobs in the U.S. That through critical home repairs, and building acces- number was expected to increase significantly sible smart homes for combat-wounded veterans. as tradespeople retire over the next decade. The 148 LEADERS

ratio of construction job openings to hirings, as measured by the Department of Labor, was also at its highest level since 2007. The skilled trades industry is still facing a growing labor shortage today, with 83 percent of contractors still having trouble finding skilled workers according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Construction Index.

Additionally, there are currently more than 300,000 skilled labor job openings.

The program’s official name, Path to Pro, was introduced in December 2020 to continue addressing this growing need, along with addressing the barriers to pursuing education.

With this expansion, we aimed to continue to not only generate interest in the skilled trades through awareness campaigns, but connect skilled tradespeople with jobs and careers. We work closely with our partners who are leaders in the space, including Home Builders Institute (HBI) and Construction Ready (formerly Construction Education Foundation of Georgia), which has helped our trades training program grow to having programs in more than 30 states, introduce more than 15,000 people to the skilled trades, and certify more than 5,000 participants in its first few years.

The Path to Pro program serves military veterans

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The Foundation is known for its philanthropic efforts in support of veterans.

Why does a program like this make sense for separating military members and what has been the impact to date?

Over a decade of work in the veteran space gave us a first-hand look into the challenges that separating service members face when transitioning into civilian life. Many service members already possess the skills needed to succeed in the skilled trades as a result of their military training, so connecting members with certification and in-turn career opportunities just made sense.

In 2018, The Home Depot Foundation and Home Builders Institute launched its joint, 12-week trades training program for separating military members on one U.S. military base.

Today, the program provides industry-recognized PACT and OSHA 10 certifications on 10 U.S. military bases across the nation. Last year, more than 1,000 military veterans were trained through this program.

“Shop class” was beginning to feel like a memory of the ’80s, but the Foundation is working hard to bring it back to high school students. Why is training the next generation of skilled tradespeople so important to your organization and what does that part of your program look like?

Data shows that there is a generation of skilled tradespeople retiring from the industry, which widens an already large gap in the workforce. This gives us an opportunity to connect with young people who may be exploring options for their education after high school that doesn’t include the traditional four-year college or university. Our programs offer hands-on experiences to students to help them learn what skilled trades field is the best fit for them, and even gives them the opportunity to train under industry professionals who can help lead them to meaningful careers. The Foundation works with the Construction Ready and Home Builders Institute to provide skilled training courses at the K-12 level in schools across the country.

Recently, The Home Depot Foundation expanded its Path to Pro program to more than 250 schools in over 30 states. In 2021, the Foundation’s programs began serving more than 30 Title 1 schools, where over 40 percent of the students live in low-income communities.

In an effort to help remove financial weight that prevents young people from pursuing an education, the Foundation launched the Path to Pro scholarship program in May 2021, where it granted $250,000 in financial assistance to high school seniors and graduates entering or currently enrolled in building construction trade programs. In 2021, The Home Depot was the Southeast sponsor of SkillsUSA’s National Signing Day, and the Foundation granted $30,000 in scholarships to support six students pursuing a career in the building and construction trades.

There are so many talented young people out there that are looking for a way to hone in on their skills – they just need an outlet to do it.

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Path to Pro academy

As Path to Pro evolves, your intentionality around diversifying the trades industry has become a driving factor. How did this become an additional focus for the Foundation?

The conversation surrounding the widening gap in the skilled workforce led us to look into the variables that were contributing to this shortage, and what demographics needed support as we worked to bridge this gap. We found an overwhelming amount of data that shed light on the diversity and opportunity gaps within the skilled workforce. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2020 shows that skilled labor industries are dominated by white males, while Black people and women are disproportionately underrepresented. For example, Black tradespeople represent only six percent of the construction, architecture, and engineering workforces. In 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported data showing only 11 percent of construction workers and 27 percent of architecture and engineering professionals are women. Furthermore, the National Association of Home Builders’ 2019 Builder Member Census shared that just 9 percent of their members are women and less than 0.5 percent are Black.

It became clear that the Foundation, and the skilled workforce, could not effectively bridge the labor gap without addressing the diversity and opportunity gaps in these industries. We’ve formed partnerships with organizations that have a direct line to these communities, like Girls Scouts of the USA and 100 Black Men of America, to help introduce underserved and underrepresented communities to the skilled trades.

Most recently, the Foundation launched the community-based Path to Pro academy program, which offers training and certification for diverse adult populations and underserved communities. This pr ogram brings together students of differing ages, genders, races and backgrounds. Path to Pro academies in Denver and Orlando have successfully trained more than 400 students, and a Sacramento academy program is scheduled to open in 2022.

This spring, the Foundation and Girl Scouts of the USA are joining forces to host the first-ever joint construction workshops for Cadette, Senior and Ambassador level Girl Scouts (8th – 12th grades).

This program will engage troops throughout Atlanta, Denver and Houston, providing handson experience with carpentry and other building construction trades. These skilled trades workshops will be led by female industry professionals and will offer career guidance and additional education touchpoints for young women seeking trades training opportunities.

Last year, HBI and THDF partnered with 100 Black Men of America to launch a pilot trades training program serving under-resourced communities across Atlanta, Philadelphia and the Bay Area in California. The program offers skill building workshops, work experience, internship opportunities and industry-recognized PACT certifications. The programs are set to prepare Black youth and other minorities for meaningful careers and will be facilitated through 100 Black Men of America’s existing after-school programs.

Additionally, last summer, The Home Depot Foundation activated a novel partnership with its hometown nonprofit partner, Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE). RICE is driven by community impact and devoted to empowering Black entrepreneurs and small business owners. The Foundation will provide construction support for an outdoor creativity space at the RICE facility called, “The Yard.”

How valuable is it to work with industry-leading nonprofit partners to help you tackle this work?

Our partners are instrumental to the work that we do across all of the Foundation’s pillars, from veteran homelessness to disaster response to trades training. We realize that we can’t tackle all this work alone. Partnering with industry leaders like Home Builders Institute (HBI) and Construction Ready has helped us connect with people that are looking to break into the skilled trades industry and working closely with them has helped us improve our work year after year.

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PURPOSE

A Trusted Advisor An Interview with David Lipson, President, Savills North America EDITORS’ NOTE David Lipson You assumed your current role assumed his current role in March in March 2021 during the pandemic.

2021. His responsibilities include What was it like to take on this role oversight of Savills’ consultancy at such an uncertain time? practices, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, I was honored to take on this and Southwest brokerage regions, role but must admit that I could have platform development, strategic had better timing – running a real expansion of industrial and capital estate company during a pandemic is markets teams, as well as mergers challenging. In North America, we and acquisitions and strategic have about 900 people who are part business development pursuits. He of a 39,000-person company that has co-managed the Mid-Atlantic region almost no debt and is very cash posiDavid Lipson for almost 15 years and served on tive, which is unique in our industry. the fir m’s board and executive When things shut down in March 2020, committee since 2004 and 2014, respectively. our company had the financial strength to keep Formerly one of the most successful brokerage our workforce fully intact and we have actually professionals in the Washington, DC region, added people during the pandemic. We grew our Lipson and his team completed real estate trans- headcount almost 10 percent in North America actions totaling more than 92 million square from March 2020 to the end of last year. feet. He currently serves as chairman of the board for the British Schools and Universities Foundation. He is a member of the Board of Benefactors at Christ Church, Oxford University and the Parents Committee at Dartmouth College. Lipson earned a BA magna cum laude in economics from Harvard College and a BA in politics, philosophy and economics from Christ Church, Oxford University.

FIRM BRIEF Established in 1855, Savills (savills.us) is one of the leading real estate advisors in the world. Savills helps organizations find the right real estate solutions that ensure employee success. With services in tenant representation, workforce and incentives strategy, workplace strategy and occupant experience, project management, and capital markets, Savills has elevated the potential of workplaces around the corner, and around the world, for more than 165 years and counting.

What have been the keys to Savills’ strength and leadership in the industry?

People think of real estate as a transaction business, but Savills is an advisory business.

Our success is based on the long-term relationships we have built with our clients. Our business is about being a trusted advisor and the transactions happen along the way.

We also have long and close relationships internally. Savills has grown significantly over the years, but still has a family feel and culture.

People here know that they are valued and play a role in the success of the business.

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“People think of real estate as a transaction business, but Savills is an advisory business.

Our success is based on the long-term relationships we have built with our clients.”

Our clients needed us to be there for them during this unprecedented time and our people were there to help mitigate exposure, minimize real estate expenses where they could, and join our clients for this challenging journey. It was unchartered territory, but that is what we do best.

Savills has dealt with many unforeseen events over the years and our strength is figuring out how to help our clients during these challenging times.

What are your views on the future of work and the use of office space going forward?

The transformation in the way that companies look at using office space did not start with

the pandemic – it began in the wake of the financial crisis. In 2009, companies were forced to cut their office space significantly to save money, and they realized that while cutting this space, they still performed well. They realized they simply had too much real estate. As the economy grew and businesses strengthened, reduced footprints allowed employers to focus on increased quality and amenities to upgrade the employee experience.

The pandemic definitely accelerated this trend, but I think in the chase for talent and the need to attract and retain the best people, companies know that employees want and companies need collaboration and peer interaction. People are coming back to cities and while there is clearly more flexibility around where and how employees are able to do their work, being a part of a team and living a company culture works best in an office environment.

How important is it that Savills builds a diverse and inclusive workforce to mirror the diversity of its clients and the communities it serves?

We work hard at this and know that in order to attract the best talent, you need to look at the entire workforce as the talent pool. We should never limit ourselves to anything less just because a portion of it is not easily seen. The easiest person to hire is not necessarily the best person to hire.

Savills is a company built on human capital – all of our value walks out the door at the end of the day, and for us not to take advantage of all of the human capital that is available just makes no sense.

We are doing everything we can to reach diverse talent and to reach out to different schools and organizations to explain our business to people and to tell our story. We need to educate, even at the high school level, about what this business is and the opportunities it offers.

What do you see as Savills’ responsibility to being engaged in the communities it serves?

It starts on an individual level and we encourage our people to get involved in their communities. It is our role to support them in those efforts, whether that is financially or with flexibility. This is a ground up effort and we have a lot of this happening across the country.

As an organization, we need to think creatively and band together with other successful companies of our size to make the most impact.

We need to find a way to have successful, midsized companies come together to make a difference in our communities.

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VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE. EXCEPTIONAL CARE.

www.montefioreslc.org/careers

PURPOSE

Ending Cancer as We Know It An Interview with Sung Poblete, PhD, RN, Chief Executive Officer, Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) EDITORS’ NOTE Prior to joining Will you highlight the history of SU2C in 2011, Sung Poblete held Stand Up To Cancer and how you senior level positions with a focus on define its mission? patient outcomes, disease manageStand Up To Cancer® (SU2C) ment and health services research at a was established in 2008 to accelerate subsidiary of Fresenius Medical Care groundbreaking research that gets and Oxford Health Plans Foundation, new therapies to patients quickly and among others. In all of her professional saves lives now. Our co-founders, activities, Poblete has brought innovawho are all leaders in the entertaintion and groundbreaking initiatives ment industry, set out to galvanize to new and evolving nonprofit and the entertainment community to raise corporate healthcare environments. awareness and funding for cancer Sung Poblete Poblete has received grants from the research. They were able to secure Centers for Disease Control and MLB as our founding donor and then Prevention, National Institutes of Health, National went on to officially launch SU2C in an incredScience Foundation and private foundations. She ibly innovative way with our inaugural telealso served as a Centers for Disease Control and vised fundraising special. The special was Prevention – UC Health Systems Public Scholar unprecedented at that time because we were from 1999 to 2000. She currently serves on the able to secure all three major networks (ABC, Executive Board of the Osteosarcoma Institute and CBS, and NBC) to donate an hour of airtime. is on the Board of Directors of Stand Up To Cancer – It really helped to launch SU2C in a big way.

Canada, the Preparedness and Treatment Equity Since then, SU2C has produced six subsequent Coalition, Apricity Health, and Proteus Ocean “roadblock” telecasts, which share SU2C’s work Group. She is also on the Medical Advisory Board and mission with millions of viewers across the of Medically Home Group and Nok Nok’s Advisory U.S. and Canada.

Board. Additionally, Poblete is one of New York SU2C saw an urgent need to fund cancer Consolidated’s Founding Partners, an organiza- treatments with the potential to move quickly tion dedicated to increasing equity through art and from laboratory to bedside. To accelerate that publishing. Poblete earned her BS, MS and PhD in process, we took a unique approach to research nursing from Rutgers, The State University of New by mandating collaboration within the cancer Jersey, where she also began her teaching career community. Since then, we have been able to over 25 years ago. She continues to serve Rutgers bring together more than 2,000 of the best and as a visiting associate professor at the School of brightest researchers from 210 different instituNursing. In 2016, Poblete was inducted into Rutgers tions to compete against cancer instead of Hall of Distinguished Alumni. against each other. This has led to nine FDA approvals for cancer treatments supported by INSTITUTION BRIEF Stand Up To Cancer® SU2C-funded research. (standuptocancer.org) was created to accelerate The efforts we have made and will continue groundbreaking research that will get new thera- to make towards our mission of ending cancer pies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C brings as we know it are not possible without fundtogether the best and the brightest in the cancer raising support. We are incredibly grateful to community, facilitating collaboration to help new our corporate, philanthropic and organizational therapies move from the laboratory to the patient, to donors, as well as all of the individual donors help more people diagnosed with cancer become long- who believe in our cause. With this support, term survivors. By galvanizing the entertainment SU2C has raised over $746 million since 2008 to community, SU2C creates awareness and educates further our mission and get life-saving therapies the public on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treat- to those who need them most. ment and raises funds to support these efforts. The Will you provide an overview of the SU2C movement began in 2008, mandating collabo- work of Stand Up To Cancer and its key ration among the cancer community, with its revolu- initiatives? tionary “Dream Team” concept, uniting top researchers We are committed to ensuring that cancer from different institutions to work together on prom- research and prevention is equitable, prioriising new approaches and compete against cancer tized, and well-funded so that we don’t have to instead of against each other. see more people die from this terrible disease.

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SU2C-funded researchers work relentlessly to quickly develop and offer the newest, most effective and most promising cancer treatments to patients through our unique funding models.

In addition to our core Dream Team research projects, Stand Up To Cancer’s various grant types aim to find, accelerate, tailor or prevent cancer in new and innovative ways.

Education and awareness are also key in the work we do. Increasing the public’s knowledge of cancer prevention, clinical trials and cancer research in every community is critical to improving cancer health equity. Thanks to our connection to the entertainment industry, we have been fortunate to receive a constellation of donated assets that help to drive our efforts to make cancer research a first-tier issue.

Our education and awareness efforts span our biennial telecasts, our public service announcements and digital campaigns, targeted strategic communications and advocacy and community collaborations.

Stand Up To Cancer is a leader in cancer research. Will you discuss Stand Up To Cancer’s unique research models and how they are designed to initiate collaboration, accelerate the pace of cancer research, and clear the way for high-impact breakthroughs?

SU2C has a rigorous, peer-reviewed funding model that originated with our initial Dream Teams and was rooted in changing the culture and pace of cancer research through collaboration between cancer researchers from multiple institutions and disciplines. We recognize that innovation comes from a multidisciplinary team with each investigator contributing to a portion of the solution.

Other Stand Up To Cancer research models include SU2C Convergence, which brings together biological, physical, and computer sciences to better understand cancer biology in order to more quickly tailor treatments for individual cancer patients; SU2C Catalyst, which brings together industry and academic scientists to rapidly accelerate clinical trials of new treatments and combination therapies; and SU2C Cancer Interception, which aims to find and treat cancer at the earliest possible point, perhaps even before a cancer cell has fully formed. These milestone-driven projects are competitively selected and overseen by leaders in cancer research and proactively managed by SU2C.

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“SU2C saw an urgent need to fund cancer treatments with the potential to move quickly from laboratory to bedside. To accelerate that process, we took a unique approach to research by mandating collaboration within the cancer community. Since then, we have been able to bring together more than 2,000 of the best and brightest researchers from 210 different institutions to compete against cancer instead of against each other.”

In these ways, we are tackling cancer from multiple directions; I believe this is something that continues to make Stand Up To Cancer a unique organization.

What was the vision for creating Stand Up To Cancer’s Health Equity Initiative?

SU2C began formalizing its Health Equity Initiative in 2017 with the initial goal of increasing diverse participation in the clinical trials we fund. We formally announced this initiative in 2020. Our outstanding Health Equity Committee, which is comprised of experts with deep knowledge of health equity in the context of cancer research and precision medicine, guides our health equity efforts. As a part of this initiative, all SU2C-supported research grant proposals must address recruitment and retention of racially and ethnically diverse patients in cancer clinical trials. We’ve continued to grow this initiative to also include collaborations with the cancer advocacy community; targeted public service campaigns focused on improving awareness about cancer screening, prevention and clinical trials; and funding research that focuses on reducing cancer disparities and improving cancer outcomes and screening rates in medically underserved communities.

Over the last two years, we have funded three new research teams dedicated to addressing cancer inequities in multiple cancer types. Our SU2C Health Equity Breakthrough Team is addressing the low participation of medically underserved communities in cancer clinical trials in the New York City area. The team will focus on breast, prostate and liver cancers, which disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority groups. The SU2C Colorectal Cancer Health Equity Dream Team is taking an innovative and comprehensive approach to improve colorectal cancer screening in medically underserved communities in three SU2C Zones: Greater Boston, Los Angeles VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

and Great Plains Tribal Communities in South Dakota. The SU2C Lung Cancer Health Equity Research Team will focus on reducing lung cancer disparities in Black Americans in Virginia and the Carolinas, and that’s just the beginning of the health equity-focused research we will be funding in the years to come.

How did Stand Up To Cancer adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the global pandemic?

Like many organizations, we had to pivot when the pandemic began. For example, we were in the planning stages of our 2020 telecast and had to postpone and redesign the event, which instead aired in 2021. We developed plans to ensure that all our researchers could continue their critical work through flexible deadlines and tailored support.

Due to many medical procedures being postponed across the globe, we made it a priority to educate and increase awareness about the importance of staying current with routine preventative medical care such as cancer screenings. SU2C also served as a resource to cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers by developing a COVID-19 resource page and launching a series of videos highlighting important COVID-19-related information for the cancer community. We also worked with one of our SU2C-funded scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital to ensure cancer patients were included in a COVID-19 symptom tracker mobile phone application.

Despite the challenges faced, there were many highlights that showed the spirit and resilience of our researchers to adjust to a new normal while keeping our mission at the forefront. One of those highlights was the announcement of two FDA approvals supported

by SU2C-funded research. As we continue to navigate the changing pandemic landscape, leveraging the research community’s sense of

urgency instigated by the pandemic will be crucial in the continuing fight against cancer.

These unprecedented times have shown us that we can come together and collaborate to develop amazing treatments and I know we can address cancer with the same urgency.

How valuable is it in your role to have such an engaged group of founders and advisors?

Our co-founders are incredibly passionate about our mission, and I am tremendously thankful for their continued support and involvement. We are also fortunate to have a very engaged Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Committee. As a CEO, it is extremely valuable to have that level of support and diversity of thought to ensure that we are always challenging ourselves to innovate and break down barriers in our efforts to achieve our mission.

You have made it your life’s work to fight cancer. Where did your passion for this work develop and what makes the work so special to you?

My passion for this work started with my career in nursing. At around 10 years old, I was inspired to pursue the nursing field when my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. I visited her in the hospital every day during her treatment and was in awe of the incredible healthcare providers delivering unbelievable care with such compassion. Witnessing that made me want to be a part of the field; I wanted to be in service of others. After completing my bachelors and master’s degrees, I was invited to join the teaching faculty at Rutgers University College of Nursing, which was a huge honor. This was a springboard for me in so many ways because it gave me opportunities to work in a world that prioritized connectivity.

Early in my career, I lost so many people I loved and admired to cancer. I was shocked to learn the statistics, and eventually I got to the point where I wanted to do something to stem the tide of cancer, instead of watching from the sidelines. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. and the leading cause in Canada. More than 1.9 million people in the U.S. are anticipated to be diagnosed with cancer in 2022. That’s why we absolutely must make cancer research a top-tier priority.

Looking back, I’d say that my professional paths as a nurse, an educator, a researcher and now an advocate and CEO were ones that the women in my family and the women I saw on the hospital wards helped me pursue and become passionate about – both because it was modeled for me in general and by their specific examples.

When you are addressing the issue of cancer that requires a long-term focus and commitment, how important is it for you and your team to take moments to reflect and celebrate the wins along the way?

Celebrating our wins and successes is so important in the work we do. Whether it’s an FDA approval supported by our research, an inspiring story from a patient who has benefitted from our work, or an awareness campaign that brings an impactful message to the public, it motivates all of us to continue to work towards making every cancer patient a long-term survivor.

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PURPOSE

Creating a Better World Through Business An Interview with Sara Appleyard Adams, Senior Director, Communications and Marketing, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose® (CECP), by Doug Conant, Founder & CEO, ConantLeadership, Chairman of CECP, Former President, Nabisco, and Former CEO, Campbell Soup Company EDITORS’ NOTE As CECP’s Senior Director, Communications and Marketing, Sara Adams provides counsel to leading global corporations on their social strategies – how they effectively engage with stakeholders such as community, employees and customers. Prior to CECP, Adams was Vice President at Widmeyer Communications, a communications firm where she spent time in both their Washington, DC and New York, NY offices. For more than 10 years, she provided communications counsel on a wide variety of domestic policy issues to the nation’s leading foundations, nonprofits and corporations, as well as federal agencies. She brought to Widmeyer a background in federal policy through her work at the U.S. Department of Education and the Education and Workforce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Working in politics on both sides of the Atlantic, Adams logged experience with the Clinton-Gore Campaign in Florida and New Hampshire, and the Greater London Labor Party in England.

Adams was a founding Executive Committee member of the Board of Directors of the Newtown Memorial Fund, is active with the Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk, is a member of the Ad Council’s Advisory Committee on Public Issues, and a board member of SoundWaters. She has a BA in political science from the University of New Hampshire and an MA in public administration from The George Washington University.

Douglas R. Conant is an internationally renowned business leader, New York Times best-selling author, keynote speaker, and social media influencer with over 40 years of leadership experience at world-class global companies.

For the past 20 years of his leadership journey, he has honed his leadership craft at the most senior levels – first as President of the Nabisco Foods Company, then as CEO of Campbell Soup Company, and finally as Chairman of Avon Products. In 2011, he founded ConantLeadership (conantleadership.com), a mission-driven community of leaders and learners who are championing leadership that works in the 21st century. Conant serves as Chairman of CECP. FIRM BRIEF Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) is a CEO-led coalition that believes that a company’s social strategy – how it engages with key stakeholders including employees, communities, investors, and customers – determines company success.

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Conant: What corporate purpose trends are most important to keep in mind this year?

Sara Appleyard Adams

Doug Conant

Paul Newman and other business leaders to create a better world through business, CECP (cecp.co) has grown to a movement of more than 200 of the world’s largest companies that represent $11.2 trillion in revenues, $23 billion in societal investment, 14 million employees, and $21 trillion in assets under management.

CECP helps companies transform their social strategy by providing customized connections and networking, counsel and support, benchmarking and trends, and awareness building and recognition.

Adams: 2021 was a tipping point for global challenges – from new COVID-19 variants to racial reckoning to climate change and more. It’s increasingly important for companies to speak out about and share their longterm strategy on these issues, because how a company is addressing these global megatrends and societal issues matters to key stakeholders, not just shareholders. A recent 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer study found nearly 60 percent of consumers buy brands based on their values and beliefs; almost 6 in 10 employees choose a workplace based on shared values and expect their CEO to take a stand on societal issues; and 64 percent of investors look to back businesses aligned with their values.

Employees and customers are seeking to associate with companies that share their value systems, and the pandemic has only strengthened these affinities. Hard questions are being asked of all of us, but especially of CEOs. The public is relying on them for their agility and perseverance.

“2021 was a tipping point for global challenges – from new COVID-19 variants to racial reckoning to climate change and more. It’s increasingly important for companies to speak out about and share their long-term strategy on these issues, because how a company is addressing these global megatrends and societal issues matters to key stakeholders, not just shareholders.”

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“Larry Fink wrote in his annual letter this year that successful companies, ‘share a clear sense of purpose, consistent values, and, crucially, they recognize the importance of engaging with and delivering for their key stakeholders.’

Stakeholder capitalism is still capitalism.”

Therefore, as CECP guides CEOs and companies on their purpose journeys, we are focused on a few core areas, our Centers of Excellence: community/societal investment, employee engagement, environmental social governance (ESG)/sustainable business, diversity equity and inclusion (DE&I), and telling the story.

Here are the headlines for 2022 in these areas: • Employee Engagement is Number One • DE&I Moves from Commitment to Action • Community Investment Balances Strategic Giving with Reactive and Local Response • Sustainable Business is Now Business • Narratives Matter: Tell Your Corporate Purpose Story Conant: I have an affinity for good leadership. How does CECP define effective corporate purpose leadership?

Adams: CECP recently hosted a CEO-only roundtable with Paul Polman, co-author of Net Positive and former chief executive of Unilever.

He mentioned a certain type of leadership at net positive companies – or companies that are doing more good for society than they are taking away. Namely, it requires incredibly courageous CEOs doing the right thing for the long-term benefit of all stakeholders. What is overwhelmingly clear is that people also expect CEOs to speak up, with 63 percent of employees believing their CEO needs to speak up on issues that support a safe, inclusive and well-run society. Effective leadership also means providing employees with dignity, equity and respect. Employees are demanding these essentials.

According to CECP’s recently released Frontline Worker Wellbeing in a Time of Crisis report, done with support from the Ford Foundation, caring for your employees means more than just wage hikes. Stability of pay, paid time off, safety and flexibility, plus a sense of purpose and dignity are also vital. The VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

report shares that a third of respondents to a CECP Pulse Survey cited dissatisfaction with aspects of frontline jobs (e.g., pay, benefits, or shift schedules) as the primary drivers of the recent labor shortage. COVID-19 has exacerbated U.S. workforce issues, but they have been there all along and effective leadership is needed to help resolve them.

I also note as you advised during a CECP CEO Roundtable, Doug, companies cannot win in the marketplace in an enduring way unless they first win in the workplace, and winning in the workplace requires great intentionality on how leaders manage intangible and valuable assets like employees. After the Great Resignation and pandemic, employees will expect a more meaningful value proposition from leaders.

Conant: Why are corporations and companies increasingly choosing to lead this way, “with purpose”?

Adams: The Edelman Trust Barometer found that companies are the most trusted institution – over the government, the media and NGOs – but they are also increasingly pressured to do more because it’s good for their businesses over the long term. Customers want to see and hear what companies stand for, as they increasingly look to do business with companies that share their values. Businesses creating value for a full range of stakeholders will deliver long-term success.

Larry Fink wrote in his annual letter this year that successful companies, “share a clear sense of purpose, consistent values, and, crucially, they recognize the importance of engaging with and delivering for their key stakeholders.” Stakeholder capitalism is still capitalism. It’s a dynamic relationship between the company, employees, customers, suppliers, manufacturers and communities impacted to produce long-term profitability and prosperity for all shareholders. This includes a long-term strategy.

Being transparent about a company’s net zero plans in that long-term strategy is important, but that isn’t the only disclosure that investors are asking companies to provide.

Businesses also need to demonstrate how they will deliver their responsibility to shareholders, including through sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices and policies. For example, CECP in collaboration with the CECP Global Exchange recently released its Global Impact at Scale report. It found three quarters (75 percent) of surveyed companies predicted full integration of ESG across every department within five years, and 74 percent of companies consider the investors’ perspective when reporting on social aspects of ESG data in their disclosures.

Conant: You have now been with CECP for 10 years. How has its mission and purpose evolved over the past decade?

Adams: Reflecting on 10 years working at CECP means being a part of its evolution over time – from the name changing from the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy to Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, and our ever-expanding services. In 2012, when I joined CECP, we supported companies through counsel to leaders in corporate responsibility and philanthropy with data, strategy, events, and benchmarking – such as Giving in Numbers™.

We asked CEOs and corporate leaders to show up once a year to their respective events – the Board of Boards and CECP Summit. The staff count was eight.

Now we are nearly 30 professionals who are helping more people across business units at our affiliate companies in numerous new ways, each day. Through our Insights process, companies can send an e-mail and efficiently receive the answers they need. We now have dozens of roundtables a year – up from just a few – plus multiple newsletters, annual reports and research reports, along with 18 Global Exchange partners all over the world, and five Centers of Excellence clearly catalogue how we can help our companies.

One of my favorite parts of the job is talking to our companies. I am inspired by them. There are too many innovative practices to count, but to name a few – Colgate’s open-source recyclable toothpaste tube; GSK’s antibacterial mouthwash being used as a disinfectant on umbilical cords in developing countries; and the work Campbell Soup Company is doing to erase childhood hunger in Camden.

Thank you for this opportunity to reflect on the field, CECP, and my career, Doug. You have been an inspiration to us all and a mentor to me personally. I also want to thank our founder Paul Newman for pushing us to do more, my amazing CECP colleagues who provide thought provoking counsel to our companies each day, and our companies for taking the responsibility seriously that comes with being the most trusted institution and always innovating to solve societal challenges.

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PURPOSE

Digital Darwinism An Interview with Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist, Salesforce EDITORS’ NOTE Brian Solis is a In my work with customers, world-renowned digital anthrowe explore how the pandemic has pologist and futurist who serves as changed market trajectories, why, Global Innovation Evangelist at where they’re going, and create Salesforce. Solis is also an eightinnovative strategies that rebuild time best-selling author and interand rethink services, operations and national keynote speaker. Forbes value creation. I’m a big believer in has called him “one of the more unifying and enhancing customer cr eative and brilliant business experiences. Technology helps us minds of our time,” ZDNet said that create an intelligent, human-centered Solis is “one of the 21st century busi360-degree approach to customer ness world’s leading thinkers” and insights, engagement and relationBrian Solis The Conference Board claimed ship-building. I help executives see that Solis is “the futurist we all possibilities through the lens of the need now.” Over the past 20 years, he studied evolving customer (and employee) and inspire the impact of Digital Darwinism on businesses, them to make short- and long-term investments markets and society. In his work, he explores in new value creation and growth, moving the creative innovation, digital transforma- away from traditional cost-center and iterative tion, experience design, Web3, and technology’s methodologies. effects on human behavior. Solis has published I also continue to share my ideas and over 60 research papers and also actively shares experiences in media, on stage and in realhis work in industry-leading publications world and online communities shaping the including Forbes, ZDNet, CIO, Fast Company, future to inspire others to help bring about and Adweek. change everywhere.

Every day, I’m inspired by my colleagues, COMPANY BRIEF Salesforce (salesforce.com), our customers, and the impact we have not the global CRM leader, empowers companies just in business, but in the world. We live by of every size and industry to digitally trans- our core values of trust, customer success, form and create a 360-degree view of their innovation, equality and sustainability. And customers. every day, I continue to learn how to make businesses, markets and the world, a better You serve as Global Innovation Evangelist place. at Salesforce. Will you discuss this role You have spent over 25 years studying and how you focus your efforts? and influencing the effects of emerging The caliber of my team at Salesforce is technology on business and society. Will truly extraordinary. My colleagues comprise you discuss this work and how your efforts of fellows and world-leading analysts, best- have evolved? selling authors, renowned thinkers, and true For those who don’t know me, since the industry influencers. It is because of them mid-1990s, I’ve been an entrepreneur, thinker, that I was excited to shift from my business author and advisor. I initially focused on enterpractice as a principal analyst studying digital prise and startup innovation, moving to Silicon disruption and as an advisor to C-Suite exec- Valley in 1996. Over the years, I’ve shared my utives to join this incredible company and interpretation of the “Silicon Valley Way” to help team. organizations transform and innovate in every At Salesforce, I bring a background of industry all around the world. digital anthropology, innovation, and creativity In Silicon Valley though, it’s very easy to to my work in two primary areas: partnering get caught up in the hype cycles of tech. I’ve with customers and market-facing thought worked through the enterprise hardware evoluleadership. As the world’s #1 CRM platform, I tion, Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and the cloud, mobile, have a unique opportunity to help businesses and social media revolution, and now during reimagine the future through a human-centered the rise of Web3 fueled by crypto, NFTs, blocklens, to rethink every facet of business, chain and the metaverse. But rather than focus including marketing, service, commerce and on the tech and all the hype, I take a step back workforce engagement. to explore possibilities through human potential.

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This gave me a unique perspective to plan potential scenarios and stories to make sense of technology and how the relationship between people and technology could unlock new value. Then, we can play out potential, meaningful scenarios to help innovators develop to their full potential while also helping legacy organizations adapt to trends and overcome disruption.

I call this digital Darwinism. With every major wave of technology innovation, people change, and as they do, markets shift. Digital Darwinism is the evolution of markets influenced by the effects of technology on the behaviors that ultimately shape those markets.

Understanding digital before it becomes disruptive produces signals and patterns that can contribute to productive scenario planning. This helps any organization evolve and even thrive, or not. In other words, adapt or die.

Digital Darwinism has been part of my work since the ’90s. With every technology disruption, behaviors changed and reshaped markets and their trajectory. For instance, Web 1.0 introduced the consumerization of the internet. Prodigy helped everyday consumers log on in the 1980s. The Netscape browser debuted in 1994. E-commerce began its disruption of traditional retail with the launch of Amazon in the same year. The entire music industry underwent a digital transformation as consumer music purchasing changed with the introduction of Apple’s iTunes in 2003. The smartphone revolution changed everything when Steve Jobs showed the world the iPhone in 2007 hastened by the following creation of the App Store. Taxis everywhere felt their doors closing when Uber changed passenger behaviors in 2010.

The music industry transformed again in 2016 as consumers were now able to subscribe to their favorite artists and songs with Spotify.

The list goes on and on.

The point is that every disruption, in the longer-term, affects not only the industry where they first appeared, but also, they influence behaviors, preferences, expectations and aspirations across other industries over time.

Sensemaking in the present helps us understand trends to visualize potential futures and even participate in shaping them.

In all forms of my work, from research to media and books to speaking to advisory

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“The paradox of innovation doesn’t inhibit the desire for growth and profitability.

You must pursue both iteration and innovation to thrive against digital Darwinism and Darwinism in general. To do this requires a new paradigm that can allow for discovery, experimentation and even failure. This is the entrepreneur’s way.” and strategy, I’ve always aimed to translate disruptive trends into innovation strategies that create new value, beyond the iterative acts of responding to market changes. To do so, I’ve approached trends through a human-centered lens. It’s why early in my career, I embraced the practice of digital anthropology, sociology and ethnography, a novel discipline then, to observe and understand technology’s impact on business customer and consumer behaviors, norms and values. This helped me better understand the “why” of change, to translate trends into human and relatable stories. Doing so gives technology and business transformation and innovation purpose and meaning that all stakeholders could rally behind.

To simply respond to change as it’s happening can be as limiting as not responding at all. Evolution and revolutions are constant.

Digital anthropology, sociology, ethnography, analytics, imagination and creativity help futures thinking uncover new possibilities, creating an evolving map to alternate futures by altering courses in the present.

Will you discuss the concept of “Lifescaling” and how it helps overcome the unforeseen consequences of living a digital life to break away from diversions and focus on what’s important?

I’ve written eight books and over 60 research reports focused on key aspects of business and technology innovation and transformation. But Lifescale: How to live a more creative, productive, and happy life, is my first non-business book.

Lifescale was unplanned. It was written to help those personally affected by their own digital disruption because of the unforeseen negative effects of social networks, online gaming and real-time notifications. Research is finally catching up, exposing the dark side of digital and how certain devices and apps foster addiction and affect mental health, overall health and wellness, self-image, productivity, focus, memory, happiness and so much more.

Most users don’t realize that some popular algorithms are based on persuasive design techniques that are meant to change their behaviors in ways that benefit the app. Attention is a precious commodity and as a currency, the more consumers spend it in apps like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, et al., the more networks sell advertising against it.

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I unwittingly found myself impacted by my personal use of digital. Over the years, it became increasingly difficult to focus and to dive into deep work. My creativity waned. I found myself unconsciously responding to every distraction. This led to me being less present in any given moment, which not only attacked the caliber and quality of work, but also eroded relationships. The constant use of digital replaced critical time for self-reflection with a constant need to consume and share content and seek validation and meaning through a superficial feedback loop.

After years of performance and emotional degradation, I realized that something wasn’t just off, it was noticeably destructive. I had to do something, but I hadn’t yet formed the connection between digital and the chaos shaping the state of my life. I just knew that I had to understand what was happening behind the scenes and then identify how to fix it. Googling solutions only led to temporary solutions. And I wasn’t about to abandon my phone. Ironically, some of the most addictive and dangerous apps are also instrumental in how I connect with communities to help them thrive.

After two years of researching the problem and potential solutions, the framework for Lifescale was developed. In fact, the book is the outcome of the journey I went on along with several dear friends, to take control of our relationship with personal technology and not let technology control us.

Here’s the reality. Distractions and algorithms can be pervasive in work and personal tech. And, it’s not always negative. But what I didn’t want to do is simply introduce new behaviors or habits by limiting or eliminating tech from our lives. Instead, it was about intention, control, and establishing a collaborative relationship with tech – making it work for us.

I knew I wasn’t alone. That’s when I aimed to turn the framework into a methodology that anyone struggling with similar challenges could use to change their life for the better.

The name, Lifescale, is a verb, meaning to scale your life in an intentional direction. It’s to take your life’s purpose and apply it to the tools you use in life, how you spend your time, and with whom you surround yourself. The book is written as an inspirational and intuitive experience, a journey ultimately directed by your aspirations and goals, to take you stepby-step on your new path – starting today and continuing every day.

I still read the book and practice Lifescaling because the temptation to be distracted, to be pulled in several directions and to multi-task, are constant. The good news is that the more you learn, the more you try new things. The more you experience life, the more possibilities you uncover for scaling your life in productive, positive, and successful directions.

What are the keys for leading companies to keep an entrepreneurial and innovative culture as they grow and scale?

Before we jump into this, let’s clarify the meaning of innovation. I believe that every leader desires growth and renewal within their organization. Where most excel is in the renewal or improvement of existing endeavors.

Investing in new capacities, talent and technologies to do this is often confused with innovation though. In reality, it is more reflective of iteration vs. innovation. And innovation starts with perspective, not profitability or technology.

Simply put, iteration is making new investments in improving existing assets. Innovation is making new investments in new assets that create new value.

Iteration is improving existing things rather than doing new things that create new value.

And disruption happens when doing new things gains enough momentum to make the old things obsolete.

Successful businesses need a balance of innovation and iteration to become their own disruptors. Otherwise, when others get this formula right, disruption happens to them.

The first step is to accept that innovation is not a switch. It’s not an automatic process that we can switch on and off. Innovation isn’t something that inherently lives within most organizations. In fact, organizations are designed to be bad at innovation. Great organizations create operational efficiency to execute well and drive incremental profit and wins. To innovate is to go against the very nature and structure of what makes an organization work.

Quite honestly, innovation isn’t something that we readily embrace in our personal lives either because it’s about change. Change is difficult. That not only induces fear, skepticism and defeatism, it demonstrates the paradox of innovation.

For something new to succeed, it must operate beyond the guardrails of the organization itself. It’s a shift from delivery to discovery.

This means the sanction of new behaviors,

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“Digital transformation is just that, it’s about using digital to change how organizations operate, create, and evolve, to reimagine business models for a digital world. Digitization buys time. Ultimately however, digital Darwinism defines what it takes to evolve, thrive or fall behind.” measures and support, allowing for ideation and execution to operate away from the core of what makes the company successful today. Said another way, you have to stray from conventions and the comfort zones that protect you to venture into unknown territory with unknown outcomes.

The paradox of innovation doesn’t inhibit the desire for growth and profitability.

You must pursue both iteration and innovation to thrive against digital Darwinism and Darwinism in general. To do this requires a new paradigm that can allow for discovery, experimentation and even failure. This is the entrepreneur’s way. Here, failure doesn’t equate to a lack of success. Failure becomes the path to success. It’s testing to learn and learning to grow.

The artist Walter Anderson once said, “It is only when we take chances, when our lives improve. The initial and the most difficult risk that we need to take is to become honest.” To be honest is to be humble, to approach change with a beginner’s mind. Many executives in their day-to-day capacity aren’t representative of their customers or employees. They are not innovators in practice. They report to others who measure performance against renewal and incremental profit. This is why innovation is almost always viewed as a cost center. As a result, companies develop mindsets that safeguard existing perspectives, processes, and norms. By default, they proactively discourage innovation. Because of this, leadership and corporate cultures become rigid, safe and iterative.

What is the cost of not investing in new ventures?

No one achieves greatness because they are convinced there is nothing left to learn or no new ideas to discover. My friends at Gapingvoid Culture Design Group put it this way. Some of the most successful CEOs such as Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, among others, all have one thing in common.

They each lent their success to well-articulated, inclusive cultures that not only delivered outstanding employee engagement, but more importantly, sustained operational excellence.

Culture is essential to innovation.

Innovation is instrumental as a partner to incremental renewal and profitability by complementing the business through the generation of net new revenue. Innovation is directly tied 158 LEADERS

to culture. Nothing new can happen if everything remains the same. Innovation starts with new leadership and innovative leadership creates an innovative corporate culture. And culture shapes not only work, but the values, norms, behaviors and aspirations of the organization. It is a business and human operating system.

Leadership must empower the means for innovation to be successful, from inception to execution. Leaders must foster inclusivity and diversity to create new and different ideas.

People must be incentivized and rewarded for championing new possibilities, for failing and succeeding. And, they must operate with autonomy to navigate the art of the possible without the confines of biases, politics, egos, skeptics and detractors or irrelevant measures of progress.

Innovation sits at the intersection of discovery, opportunity and execution. Disrupt the company, not the business model. Augment the business model by creating new value.

Culture doesn’t eat strategy for breakfast. Culture is the strategy. A well-defined, articulated and inclusive culture values understanding people over simply measuring performance. As my friends at Gapingvoid and I emphasize: 1. Understand what matters to employees 2. Create a shared vision of the new future 3. Articulate and socialize new beliefs inside and outside the company 4. Enroll and empower employees to bring that vision to life 5. Give employees the tools they need to be successful every day 6. Incentivize new behaviors and longterm viability 7. Reward performance and outcomes, including learned insights from failures The term Digital Transformation is constantly used today by executives and companies across all industries. What does this term mean to you?

Digital transformation is akin to the relationship between iteration and innovation.

Before the pandemic, digital transformation meant many things to different executives. Now in this new world, digital transformation has become synonymous, perhaps unintentionally, with digitization, i.e., iteration.

I once defined digital transformation as the evolving pursuit of innovative and agile

business and operational models – fueled by evolving technologies, agile processes, analytics and talent – to create new value and experiences for customers, employees and stakeholders.

With every organization now accelerating digital investments due to the pandemic, companies are more often pursuing digitization versus digital transformation. I’m not sure they understand that they are doing this.

But without complementing digitization with digital transformation, companies are missing opportunities that are embedded in every wave of disruption.

The difference is that digitization is applying new technologies to scale, automate, and augment legacy processes. Digital transformation is just that, it’s about using digital to change how organizations operate, create, and evolve, to reimagine business models for a digital world. Digitization buys time. Ultimately however, digital Darwinism defines what it takes to evolve, thrive or fall behind.

Leaders must both iterate and innovate.

Leaders must dedicate resources to explore how to create new value in a digital economy.

Otherwise, Jeanne Ross, principal research scientist at MIT Sloan School of Management, warned, “The alternative is to try to succeed in a digital economy with a pre-digital value proposition.”

What advice do you offer to young people beginning their careers during this unprecedented time?

In any time of disruption, it’s easy to play it safe. I believe, however, this is a very special time to be alive. This is a very special time to take control of one’s destiny. The world experienced a great resignation, not because people didn’t want to work, but because people did not feel valued or find value in their work.

Take this time to explore you. Take this time to understand what drives you. Envision a future that makes you happy and work backwards to your work. Then spend your time learning and acquiring the skills you need. Surround yourself with people who help you on your path and revisit this path often.

You’re faced with a rare CTRL-ALT-DEL moment. While many are seeking a new or next normal, take this time to imagine a new future beyond any normal.

The future can happen to you or because of you. You get to choose.

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World’s Best Suites

Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris True to its extraordinary city, Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris (dorchestercollection.com/en/paris/hotel-plaza-athenee) is no ordinary hotel. Located on the prestigious avenue Montaigne, the tree-lined boulevard of French fashion, the hotel proudly offers guests the very best of Paris. With 208 rooms, the Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris and its Haute Couture Eiffel Suite offers a unique view of the Eiffel tour.

Vast volumes, precious fabrics, colors in rupture or in monochrome and magnificent heights under ceiling will all be found in the Haute Couture Eiffel Suite. Decorated by Marie-Jose Pommereau, this typically Haussmann-style apartment shelters a 130-square-meter suite with a very couture spirit. First, the eye discovers a spacious living room where shimmering pink colors

Photos of Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris’ Haute Couture Eiffel Suite

enhance the subtle tones of pearl gray and silver gray: the curtains, all dressed in silk, play the contrast of colors; the lampshades, the Lesage cushions and the pink shepherdesses are echoed to highlight the stylish furniture – the coffee table with a silver-leafed glass and the wide dark gray velvet sofas, designed on measure, which are facing each other. A sublime silver frame reveals the majestic Iron Lady in a living painting, evolving according to the hours and the seasons. Gradually, you turn your gaze upwards to a chandelier decorated with a few black tassels and, further on, to a vast desk behind two wide sliding doors. A large bay window illuminates the room. In addition, there is for studious sessions an office fully equipped, and also a grand piano and a table.

Finally, you will enter the bedroom, always coordinated, which in turn reveals a white marble bathroom dressed in grey mosaic, and a spacious dressing room.

Guests will experience the height of style and elegant luxury when visiting Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris. Fresh, iconic, inspiring, original and utterly magnificent, at Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris a unique and delightful experience awaits.

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Collaborate to Innovate An Interview with Jay Mukhey, Global Director of ESG, Purpose & Impact, Finastra EDITORS’ NOTE Jay Mukhey is the around what we call “collaborate to Senior Director of Environmental, innovate” and a desire to orchesSocial & Gover nance (ESG) at trate ecosystems which drive positive Finastra, a leading FinTech with change. Essentially, this means we more than 8,600 customers globwant to create new paths to economic ally. His appointment to lead the growth, prosperity and opportunity global ESG, Purpose & Impact that currently do not exist, and walk program followed his co-founding those paths together with all of our role in creating the Corporate Social stakeholders.

Responsibility (CSR) proposal and How is being purpose-driven a strategy prior to the inception of part of Finastra’s culture?

Finastra in 2017. Before these roles, Purpose has always been part Jay Mukhey he managed marketing globally for of our culture at Finastra. We operate Finastra Services after leading with a mantra of “doing well by doing product marketing for the investment manage- good,” something championed by our CEO, ment business of Misys. Mukhey has worked for and we made significant investments into what several other FinTech firms in customer-centric was originally our corporate social responsipositions and at the European Commission in bility (CSR) agenda and what we now call ESG, Brussels, where his professional environmental Purpose & Impact. and social responsibility journey began. Earlier However, a purpose-driven culture is much in his career, he carried out a number of roles more than having a strong vision and making a in investment banking with Citigroup, Deutsche financial investment. It is about taking the time Bank and JPMorgan Chase. Mukhey has a to explain the environmental and social value passion for sustainable value creation and is that the assigned business task, strategy or partan avid traveler. He holds a degree in Business nership will enable to all of your stakeholders.

Economics with Spanish from the Cardiff This ensures that the person or team responBusiness School at the University of Wales. sible for these business requirements is motivated by more than just the financial reward of COMPANY BRIEF Finastra (finastra.com) completing the task, executing the strategy or is building an open platform that accelerates enabling the partnership; it becomes about the collaboration and innovation in finan- value they are creating in the world as a result cial services, creating better experiences for of working with Finastra. This could extend to a people, businesses and communities. Supported software engineer writing code that will enable by the broadest and deepest portfolio of financial services software, Finastra delivers this vitally important technology to financial institutions of all sizes across the globe, including 90 of the world’s top 100 banks. Its open architecture approach brings together a number of partners and innovators. With a global footprint, Finastra has $1.9 billion in revenues and 9,000+ employees.

women in Bangladesh to open their first bank account, as we have done with IFIC Bank, or a marketing manager creating a campaign to help banks boost financial inclusion through our technology.

Will you provide an overview of your role and areas of focus?

I have several focus areas and responsibilities under my team’s remit. The first is to ensure Finastra is an environmentally and socially responsible business and that we adhere to our principles of governance to remain a leader in value creation within the financial services sector. The second is to help create a purposeled culture where our stakeholders, and particularly our employees, understand the value they create in the world through their work. Lastly, that we allocate our resources such as staff time and expertise, business revenues and our platform and technology as efficiently as possible across our ecosystem to create impact in the world and, more specifically, progress measured against the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

What are the main focus areas for Finastra’s ESG work?

Under the ‘E’ of ESG (environment), we look at three focus areas: • To be a carbon neutral business by 2030, by reducing and offsetting our emissions.

• To introduce sustainable business practices that create value and require fewer resources to run.

“Essentially, this means we want to create new paths

How do you define Finastra’s mission and values?

Finastra believes that the future of finance is open. As a leading FinTech company, our mission is to unlock the potential of people, businesses and communities. We aim to achieve this through the provision of accessible and affordable financial services and solutions via our customers, partners and broader ecosystem to help people everywhere to achieve their ambitions. The values we embody center 160 LEADERS

to economic growth, prosperity and opportunity that currently do not exist, and walk those paths together with all of our stakeholders.”

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• To help reduce the carbon footprint of the financial services sector through the allocation of green finance via our customers, the digitalization of financial services via our software and the move to more carbon-efficient technology platforms, such as FusionFabric.cloud (Finastra’s open platform) or third-party cloud platforms to host our software.

On the ‘S’ (social) side, we look at it through both the lens of prosperity and people: • Prosperity: Our financial inclusion agenda aims to deliver financial literacy, financial services for the unbanked and underbanked and affordable lending for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as we know that these businesses enable the most job creation and therefore are our fastest route out of poverty in the developing world.

• People: We work towards outcomes that enable a fairer and more just society as it pertains to financial services with a particular focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. We invest in various social mobility youth programs in collaboration with global charities and we also think about how FinTech innovation can help communities to become more successful, resilient and adaptable to change.

On the ‘G’ (governance) side, we define our principles of governance and our overall ESG performance: • Principles of governance: The ESG team partners with our Chief Risk Officer’s organization to define our ESG charter, policies and risk factors. Together we oversee our ESG Executive Committee, which is co-chaired by our CEO and Chief People & Places Officer, and ensures that our leadership team are directly involved in defining and achieving our ESG vision and objectives.

• ESG performance: Finastra has defined a number of ESG key performance indicators (KPIs) that our risk team helps us to track. We have established baseline data, a target year to achieve our ESG goals (such as our carbon neutral and gender parity goals by 2030) and defined both the strategy and interim milestones to track the progress against and ultimately achieve our ESG objectives.

Will you highlight Finastra’s ESG initiatives and the impact of these efforts?

Since the start of our investment in our CSR/ESG strategy in 2017 at the inception of Finastra (when Misys and D+H combined), our employees have raised over $800,000 for charities they support globally, which Finastra has added to via our corporate matching program. In addition, we have allocated over $5.26 million in philanthropic grants to charities whose missions align to our ESG objectives.

That said, what we are most proud of is the work our teams have done in their communities.

We have provided more than 35,000 volunteer hours to support our ESG programs such as the Hour of Code, where Finastra employees teach schoolchildren the basics of coding.

Over 18,000 children have visited our offices to receive this education. We also provide coaching, mentoring and internships to young people represented by social mobility charities.

Some of our proudest ESG work comes when we leverage our experience and expertise to solve issues that affect millions of people. By way of example, we developed free Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) software that enabled CDFIs and MDIs to receive government funding for COVID-19 through the CARES Act, helping millions of the most vulnerable Americans to receive income support and provide for their families through the pandemic. We also donated the $2.2 million we generated in loan fees from the PPP software to food banks in these underserved communities through Feeding America.

How critical are metrics to measure the impact of Finastra’s ESG programs?

They are vital. From an ethical point of view, every company has a responsibility to measure the impact they are making through performance metrics under their ESG program for a variety of reasons: • Firstly, to ensure an accurate measure of impact to avoid “greenwashing” or “social washing” when reporting ESG performance.

• Secondly, to understand the value they are creating in order to verify whether the strategy they employed enabled them to achieve their impact goal.

“Some of our proudest ESG work comes when we leverage our experience and expertise to solve issues that affect millions of people.”

• Lastly, you can only quantify the positive or negative impact of refinements to a sustainability strategy and demonstrate verified progress if you are measuring it against the baseline impact.

Ethics aside, it is good business practice to measure the impact and consequences of most business activities. At Finastra, our leadership team has instilled an approach around “if you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it” so when we launched our ESG strategy, measuring the impact was a non-negotiable for my team in order to prove value to the business and ensure further investment into the strategy.

How do you engage Finastra’s workforce in its ESG efforts?

Every Finastra employee has three days available to them where they can volunteer for causes they are passionate about in support of our ESG program. This could include volunteering to teach a coding class in our offices, planting trees with colleagues, or coaching an entrepreneur as they start a new business – just a few examples.

Colleagues also have the opportunity to apply to become an ESG Site Leader or Champion at any of our office locations. These employees are ambassadors for Finastra ESG, manage local nonprofit partnerships, recruit volunteers and execute our ESG programs in their regions.

Finally, our Collaborative ESG program helps our customer-facing employees to work with customers and partners that share our mantra of doing well by doing good. We have a number of examples where we have worked together towards achieving our respective ESG objectives in line with SDG 17 (partnership for the goals).

What are your priorities for Finastra’s ESG work as you look to the future?

The priority has to be the planet and helping the transition to a net-zero global economy by 2050, as we recently heard at COP26. While we are very aware of the impact we can make in the prosperity and people pillars of our ESG strategy, particularly through our financial inclusion initiatives, it will be futile to achieve these goals for social equity if the planet is uninhabitable by humans due to the rising climate.

We see green and sustainable finance as huge opportunities for Finastra and our customers to create environmental impact and value at scale. We are currently working on solutions to enable banks to efficiently allocate green finance to both sustainable businesses directly and corporates investing in more sustainable supply chains, as well as individuals who are making greener choices. Money, and the allocation of it, will have a huge role to play in our ability to move towards a net-zero future and the financial services industry will need to be supported with the right technology to ensure this is done ethically, responsibly and diligently. I was delighted to see that the theme for this year’s Earth Day is “Invest In Our Planet” and I hope that we all find a way to participate, particularly the financial services industry.

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Effective Leadership An Interview with Robert B. Catell, Chairman, Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at Stony Brook University and Chairman, National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium EDITORS’ NOTE Robert Catell the employees, the customers and the was formerly the Chairman community. The vision must be clear and Chief Executive Officer of in the expression of its mission and KeySpan Corporation and KeySpan the plans to execute upon it, and an Energy Delivery, the for mer effective leader’s actions must always Brooklyn Union Gas. His career be consistent with the vision. with Brooklyn Union Gas started An effective leader must inspire in 1958. Following National and motivate the employees to “do Grid’s acquisition of KeySpan the right thing.” Unfortunately, today, Corporation, Catell became there aren’t enough examples of good Chair man of National Grid U.S. leadership to inspire young people as and Deputy Chairman of National role models of behavior.

Robert B. Catell Grid plc. He currently serves as Do you feel it is a responsiChairman of the Advanced Energy bility for business leaders and Research and Technology Center, National leading companies to be engaged in the Offshore Wind Research and Development communities they serve and to be a force for Consortium, and Cristo Rey Brooklyn High good in society?

School. Catell received both his bachelor’s and Involvement in the community is essential master’s degrees in mechanical engineering for business leaders and for leading companies from the City College of New York and is a regis- if they truly wish to serve as a force for good tered Professional Engineer. in society. This involvement can take many forms, but it must be visible and tangible to be INSTITUTION BRIEFS Advanced Ener gy effective. Companies and their leaders have a Research and Technology Center (aertc.org) is responsibility to support the community by located in the Research & Development Park at Stony Brook University and is a true partnership of academic institutions, research institutions, energy providers and industrial corporations.

The Center’s mission is innovative energy research, education and technology deployment with a focus on efficiency, conservation, renewable energy and nanotechnology applications for new and novel sources of energy.

National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (nationaloffshorewind.org) is a nationally focused, not-for-profit organization that seeks to produce innovations that directly respond to the technical and supply chain barriers faced by offshore wind project developers in the U.S., build strong networks connecting technology innovators, investors, and industry, and increase U.S. content and job opportunities.

engaging in activities which are essential to the health and well-being of the constituents they serve. This applies to support of not-forprofit organizations in the fields of education, health and medicine, which are the backbone of society and require the involvement of leaders in the business community to ensure their sustainability and success.

While financial support is critical, it is also important for the leaders in the business community to contribute their time and expertise to those organizations that support the people in the community. They should also encourage and provide the support of their employees to engage in community activities.

How critical is it for business leaders to bring managerial expertise and skills to support the work of nonprofits?

An essential role of a business leader is to provide the vision and managerial expertise for the business organization it leads. These managerial skills are equally important in the support of philanthropic causes and nonprofits which may not have the financial resources to

“In today’s very complex and interconnected

world, the key to effective leadership has to be multi-faceted and focus on more than just the

bottom line. An effective leader must start with

expressing a vision which takes into consideration

What do you see as the keys to effective leadership and is leadership today about more than just focusing on the bottom line?

In today’s very complex and interconnected world, the key to effective leadership has to be multi-faceted and focus on more than just the bottom line. An effective leader must start with expressing a vision which takes into consideration all of the stakeholders, which includes 162 LEADERS

all of the stakeholders, which includes the employees, the customers and the community.”

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Students of Cristo Rey High School in Brooklyn, New York

employ on their own. Many philanthropic organizations and nonprofits have missions which are essential to support and develop for those in need, but they lack the managerial skills and financial resources necessary to guide a successful organization.

In addition to providing financial support through fundraising, providing managerial skills are essential to the long-term financial sustainability of the nonprofit organization. The same skills which make a business leader successful are required to make a not-for-profit organization a viable entity.

How critical is it to provide quality education opportunities for the next generation of leaders?

My long career in the energy utility space provided a great platform for my current role in the development of alternative energy. That role is to provide a practical lens which will allow for clean alternative energy to become a major force in the energy landscape of the future, while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and reducing the impact of climate change.

My ability to be successful in this role was built on a foundation of an excellent education at the elementary school and high school level and on through college. I would not have been able to achieve a measure of success in business without the benefit of a good education, provided by a first-class engineering program at the City College of New York, which was tuition-free when I attended.

For that reason, I believe that in order to provide the opportunity for success for young people growing up today, it is essential to provide them with a good education, particularly the young people from underserved communities.

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What attracted you to focus much of your philanthropic work in the field of education and will you highlight your involvement with Cristo Rey High School?

I have focused most of my philanthropic support in the field of education at the high school level, providing students from underserved communities the opportunity to go on to college.

I currently chair the Cristo Rey High School in

Brooklyn, a Catholic high school which provides a quality college preparatory education to underserved youth in Brooklyn and Queens, availing almost 100 percent of its graduates to a four-year college education. In addition to a great high school education, the Cristo Rey model provides the students with a meaningful work experience through its Corporate Work Study program. This program, while providing financial support to the school to support tuitions, provides the students with a work experience which is invaluable to their future success in the business world.

So, while providing these young people with the values of a Catholic education, Cristo Rey provides the pathway to a four-year college education and positions them to be our leaders of the future.

With all of your experience and leadership in the energy and utility business, what do you tell young people today about the types of careers the industry offers?

I am a great believer in the future of the energy industry and the utility business as a career opportunity. While the energy industry will be different from the past in providing our future energy supplies through clean renewable energy, it will provide job opportunities that can be very rewarding.

The design, installation, and maintenance of our future energy production and delivery system will require technical skills provided through a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education as a foundation. There will also be a need for the financial, accounting, computer and information technology skills to ensure these resources are available at a reasonable cost to the consumer.

I would certainly recommend a young person consider a career in the energy and utility business and hope they will find it as rewarding as I did and that it puts them in a position to provide leadership and give back to the community in the future.

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“In addition to a great high school education, the Cristo Rey model provides the students with a meaningful work experience through its Corporate Work Study program. This program, while providing financial support to the school to support tuitions, provides the students with a work experience which is invaluable to their future success in the business world.”

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Building and Creating An Interview with Steven Fisher, Founder and President, Fisher Capital Investments and Partner, Fisher Brothers and Ben Lindeman, Partner and Chief Financial Officer, Fisher Capital Investments EDITORS’ NOTE As a fourth-generation member of the Fisher family – one of New York’s legendary owner/builders – Steven Fisher has devoted his more than 40 years as a partner at Fisher Brothers to construction and development. He served as Chairman and CEO of Fisher Brothers subsidiary Plaza Construction Corporation until its April 2014 sale. Under his decades-long leadership, Fisher transformed Plaza Construction into one of the city’s and South Florida’s largest and most respected construction firms, growing it from an in-house division with revenues of $40 million to a company with annual revenues of approximately $1.5 billion. Among his other pursuits, he is a Trustee of the Intrepid Museum Foundation, a Trustee member of the New York State Trooper Foundation, a Board Member of the Police Athletic League, a member of the Founder’s Circle of the New York City Police Museum, and a member of the Board of Managers for UrbanAmerica’s Urban II partnership with Fisher Brothers.

Ben Lindeman assumed his current role at Fisher Capital Investments after having worked in portfolio management with Morgan Stanley.

FIRM BRIEFS Fisher Capital Investments (fishercapitalinvestments.com) is a private investment fir m based in New York City and founded in 2014 by Steven and Kyle Fisher. FCI invests in and advises companies across a range of industry sectors with a focus on high-growth companies. Sectors in which the firm has invested and has expertise include media and entertainment, food and beverage, health and wellness, and technology. Investments ar e typically made in

Steven Fisher

Ben Lindeman

early stage and mid-market companies that can demonstrate the potential to deliver superior returns to shareholders. Since its recent inception, FCI has invested in, strat e g i cally r epositioned, and pr ovided operational support to a number of companies and brands that are now well-placed to become industry leaders.

Fisher Br others (fisherbr others.com) was founded in 1915 by Martin Fisher, who was joined by brothers Larry and Zachary Fisher. Over the next several decades, Fisher Br others built r esidential pr operties in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Riverdale, Mount Ver non, and then in Manhattan.

Fisher Brothers began putting up commercial buildings in the mid-’50s. Since then, Fisher Brothers has emerged as a highly diversified financial investment force. Assets currently under management exceed $6 billion, with a substantial portion strategically invested in a broad spectrum of financial markets and ventures, including opportunistic overnight investments in treasuries and repos, as well as building refinancing and construction loans.

Fisher Brothers has been a leader in the real estate industry for over a century. What have been the keys to Fisher Brothers’ strength and growth over the years?

Fisher: We have been able to adapt and evolve with the constantly changing world.

Since 1915, Fisher Brothers has embraced the core values of conservative entrepreneurship, long-term vision, integrity and philanthropy to advance the firm’s enduring achievements. When I started here in 1979, there were seven partners. Today, there are three senior partners – my brother Kenny, my cousin Winston, and myself.

We are proud to be carrying on a family business that has enjoyed nearly a century of uninterrupted growth. As the Fishers who came before us, each successive generation is committed to passing on a legacy even more luminous and promising than the one that was placed in our trust. Now we are on the fifth generation of Fishers, including my daughter Jamie Rose Fisher, who is actively involved in day-to-day operations at FB and my son Kyle Fisher who is actively involved in dayto-day operations at FCI. Your family has been a leader in philanthropy for decades. Will you discuss the commitment of the Fisher family in supporting the military and veterans?

Fisher: Philanthropy has always been and will always be a large part of the Fisher family. We support the military and veterans through Fisher House Foundation, which builds comfort homes where military and veteran families can stay free of charge while a loved one is in the hospital.

Beyond that we have the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund which has provided close to $75 million in support for the families of military personnel lost in service to our nation, and for severely wounded military personnel and veterans. These

“When I started here in 1979, there were seven partners. Today, there are three senior partners – my brother Kenny, my cousin Winston, and myself. We are proud to be carrying on a family business that has enjoyed nearly a century of uninterrupted growth.”

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“My son, Kyle, and I created Fisher Capital Investments with the intention to compliment the family business by investing in uncorrelated assets. We wanted to continue the proud legacy of the Fisher family of giving back – but this time through entrepreneurs and founders that are changing the world with their ideas.”

Steven Fisher efforts are funded entirely with donations from the public, and hundreds of thousands of individuals have contributed, with 100 percent of the contributions raised going towards these programs while all administrative expenses are underwritten by us. We’ve also recently launched a new project to assist wounded warriors who suffer from Traumatic Brain injury, which is being spearheaded by my father, Arnold. This fund constructed the National Intrepid Center of Excellence to support research, diagnosis, and treatment of TBI and CTE. Another effort that is near and dear to my heart on behalf of my son is the Michael Tyler Fisher Center of Education – this is a state-of-the-art 18,000 square-foot facility serving students, teachers, and administrators. The Center provides a resource for after-school leadership programs, educational tours, and enrichment programs, and features “Pathways to Success: The Power of One,” an inspiring speakers program directed at high school students who may be struggling with difficult life choices. On top of that, I’ve also forever been a supporter of the NYPAL and New York State Police Association.

What has made the family dynamic for Fisher Brothers work so well?

Fisher: As a family, we’ve been able to complement each other well throughout each generation. Each partner focuses on their individual strength to support the collective. In this current generation, my passion is building, Kenny’s passion is philanthropy, Winston’s passion is creating. We put those together to build and create for the next generation while giving back to the communities that have supported us along the way.

What was your vision for creating Fisher Capital Investments and how do you define its mission?

Fisher: My son, Kyle, and I created Fisher Capital Investments with the intention to compliment the family business by investing in uncorrelated assets. We wanted to continue the proud legacy of the Fisher family of giving back – but this time through entrepreneurs and founders that are changing the world with their ideas. We brought on a partner and longtime family confidant Ben Lindeman to help drive this mission as investing has always been second nature to him.

What are the key characteristics that FCI looks for when evaluating a potential investment opportunity?

Lindeman: At FCI, we have always focused on founders with a vision of disrupting and changing the world for the better. We like the idea of “giving back” through our investments to stay true to the Fisher family value of philanthropy. We invest in everything from consumer/ retail, clean energy, technology, you name it.

We also like to find opportunities where we can strategically utilize the family’s real estate portfolio to enhance the investments.

Will you highlight some of FCI’s portfolio companies?

Lindeman: Some of FCI’s favorite investments have been: Ilia Beauty, which is a clean cosmetic company that gives back 1 percent of their best-selling product’s sales to environmental causes – starting with reforestation. They’ve started an initiative to plant one million trees by the end of 2023.

Energy Vault, which is a clean energy company focused on solving one of the largest global problems facing the planet today – how to store renewable energy in both an economical and sustainable way to end the world’s reliance on fossil fuels.

Uncle Nearest, a whiskey brand honoring the legacy of the formerly enslaved man Nearest Green who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey that has now launched the “Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative” to increase diversity in the American whiskey industry.

NAADAM Cashmere, a sustainable cashmere company committed to transparency, ethical practices, cultural preservation, and environmental sustainability. They set up a nonprofit to give back to the herders’ community where they source their materials and protect the planet through anti-desertification programs, local nonprofit work, and supplier partnerships committed to ethical and environmental standards.

You mentioned NAADAM, a leader in high-quality, sustainable knitwear. Will you elaborate on this investment?

Lindeman: The story behind NAADAM was definitely the biggest draw for us to invest. Matt Scanlan’s (the founder) vision for the future and all the good he wanted to do with the company is what made us want to commit at a higher level. His mission for NAADAM fit the Fisher mission of giving back. Matt is a visionary in the sustainable fashion space and we couldn’t be happier to be involved.

What are your priorities for FCI as you look to the future?

Lindeman: As we look to the future of FCI, we will continue to focus on investing in ideas that will change the world. We are also exploring launching a traditional fund in the near future so we can invite others to participate in our growth and become more active in the investments we make.

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“At FCI, we have always focused on founders with a vision of disrupting and changing the world for the better. We like the idea of ‘giving back’ through our investments to stay true to the Fisher family value of philanthropy.”

Ben Lindeman VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

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Making Sustainability Accessible An Interview with Matt Scanlan, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, NAADAM EDITORS’ NOTE Matt Scanlan is the CEO and Co-Founder of NAADAM, a lifestyle, fashion brand that utilizes sustainable sourcing practices to produce luxury cashmer e. He is the Co-Founder of Naadam Bogd Fund, a Mongolia based NGO focused on supporting nomadic herding communities throughout Mongolia. Scanlan is a General Partner at Magic Hour Ventures, a seed stage venture fund focused on sustainable consumer investments.

all of our cashmere, to one where we do not focus on our differences, but rather we focus on our similarities.

This led to the vision to make product that would be accessible, and to do that you have to be affordable to more people so that they can actually buy it and wear it. This is what we built NAADAM to do.

The best brands are not motivated by what product they make or how they make the product – they are Matt Scanlan motivated by why they exist. The best brands understand the “why” and that is at the foundation of NAADAM. COMPANY BRIEF NAADAM (naadam.co) How are you able to offer a high-quality was founded in 2013 by Matthew Scanlan and product at a price point that is accessible Diederik Rijsemus. The college friends traveled and affordable to many people? to remote parts of the Mongolian Gobi Desert, It is about making the right choices and became friends with the local herders and saw doing the right thing. When we built the first-hand how traditional cashmere traders NAADAM supply chain, we realized that there and brokers drive up prices and take the profits.

By cutting out these middlemen, they realized they could pay their herder friends more while selling premium-quality clothes for less.

What was the vision for founding NAADAM and how do you define its mission?

NAADAM was built to make sustainability accessible. Our thesis behind sustainability – which is in effect doing the right thing and creating equitable relationships and building a stakeholder driven supply chain – was to make the process accessible to more people. When you make a sustainable choice in regard to a product, inaccessible could be due to price or product make-up which undermines the idea that doing the right thing should be available to everyone. If everyone is not able to partake, regardless of socio-economic circumstances, in the effort to change how human beings need to relate to our environment, then we are in trouble.

That was an emotion to a concept that I felt very deeply and witnessed through the trips we had taken to Mongolia roughly eight years ago.

We arrived as young men in the middle of the Gobi Desert and were totally disoriented by the fact that none of the things that created status for ourselves or even identity existed in these remote regions, and that so much that made their culture valuable was their closeness and relationship to their environment. It was not until my perception changed after a number of trips to the Gobi Desert, where we now source 166 LEADERS

were inequitable circumstances that forced prices up throughout the supply chain. We felt that if we could undo or intermediate certain aspects of the supply chain that were taking advantage of people we wanted to help, we could reduce the cost of the product. The way to think about NAADAM’s supply chain at the simplest form is to imagine you have a string and one side is the customer and the other side is the herder. This is the place where the process starts which is with the herder and the place where it ends which is with the customer.

If you pull out the middle of the string, the two sides all of a sudden become a lot closer. In the process of making those two sides closer, the consumer begins to understand the story of where the product came from which increases the value while at the same time bringing down the cost by eliminating the inefficiency in the supply chain that was causing inequality and forcing prices up for the customer.

Models in NAADAM cashmere products

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NAADAM Co-Founders Matthew Scanlan and Diederik Rijsemus in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert with the type of goats that are the sole source of NAADAM cashmere

NAADAM is able through these transparent – and I would argue unparalleled – supply chain practices to go out to these remote areas of Mongolia and source hundreds of tons of cashmere and say to the herder that we are going to buy everything from them so they do not have to sell to anyone else. These other people are, for example, buying it for $2 and selling it for $10 – we say that we are going to pay $4, so we double what they have been getting paid – and instead of selling it, we will own it. We are going to build a fully vertical supply chain to realize the cost savings and benefit the herder, and then pass those savings all the way back to the customer.

It was not until we released the product, a $75 cashmere sweater, which is our trademark item, that the value proposition became clear VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

to us. We are offering a better-quality sweater than what was in the market, at a fraction of the cost of what was out there – and the reason that it is better quality and lower cost is because of our process. This is how you make the concept of helping people more accessible to more people.

How important is it to build brand awareness for NAADAM? Brand awareness produces growth and value. NAADAM is doing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, but at the end of the day we are selling a commodity. We do not want to brand our products or put logos on them because this will just make them less accessible which goes against our mission and values. We benefit by creating brand awareness and marketing that is driven by word-of-mouth – people take pride

in the ownership of our product and want to tell other people about it. As we look to expand NAADAM outside of our core product offering, we look at expanding into variable product solutions that have the same intrinsic principles – the same ability to purchase a product and to buy to again and to share it.

Brand awareness is also important because it provides a bigger platform to tell our story. If I go back to what I said earlier, I had an experience, and that experience was hinged on the concept that instead of focusing on the things that make people different, I wanted to focus on the things that make us the same. If everyone lived like that, we would all be in a happier and better place.

Where do you see growth opportunities for NAADAM? NAADAM is a pretty-widely distributed brand today, for example in Nordstrom and Saks, and we currently have seven stores which we will increase to fifteen this year. We are a domestic brand and have a big online business here in the United States. I think about having a global presence because I think that our value system will resonate and have a large impact with a global audience. We are actively pursuing international expansion in places like Europe and Asia.

Did you always know you had an entrepreneurial spirit and desire to build your own company?

In retrospect, I think I did have it, but did not recognize it. I was a kid that got thrown out of more boarding schools than I graduated from and did not graduate from college – I was not a bad kid, but always had the desire to do things my way and knew that I would figure things out. I think I was predisposed to wanting to do something my own way. I believe that the entrepreneurial journey takes resilience. It is a roller coaster ride for a long period of time and it is not always about who makes the best product, but rather about who can stick it out the longest and be resilient. This allows you to be in the right place at the right time, and for me, I think I want it more than most people. I am going to do whatever it takes to fulfill my mission and to share my message.

How important has it been to have such strong and committed investors?

Investor relationships have been very beneficial to NAADAM. We have trust from our investors and they believe in my instincts and ability to execute. I am fortunate to have investors who have allowed me to take the risks that I needed to take in order for the business to be successful.

Are you able to enjoy the process and appreciate what NAADAM has become?

The truth is that I am not good at doing this since I am always thinking about what is next and where we are going. I know in my mind what we need to do, so when we achieve it I have already conceptualized what it will be like since there is no option for me except to make it happen. There will come a time for me to reflect, but there is too much to do and too many opportunities ahead to look back – we are focused on NAADAM’s future.

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Improving Patient Care An Interview with Daniel J. Maughan, MSN, MBA, FNP-C, President and Chief Executive Officer, Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall

Exterior of the MSLC campus in Newburgh, New York

EDITORS’ NOTE Daniel Maughan Will you provide an overview of brings over 25 years of clinical and Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall leadership experience to Montefiore and what have been the keys St. Luke’s Cor nwall (MSLC). As to the hospital’s strength and immediate past President and Chief leadership?

Operating Officer for MSLC, he Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall was instrumental in MSLC’s trans(MSLC) is a 242-bed, not-for-profit, for mation from reactive mediacute care hospital, one of 10 cine to proactive healthcare hospitals in the Montefiore Health management of the populations System. We are proud to be recogMSLC serves. These transfor manized by Healthgrades as a Top 5 tions include leading the efforts Percent Hospital in the nation for Daniel J. Maughan that brought MSLC’s COVID-19 Clinical Care, by the American Vaccination Pr ogram to fruiNurses Credentialing Center as a tion, vaccinating more than 20,000 Orange Magnet® designated organization, and by County Residents in the first months since the “Great Place to Work®” global organizainception. Maughan also spearheaded MSLC’s tion as a certified “Great Place to Work®”. first ever Certification and Designation as Our services are nestled in the beautiful a Level III Trauma Center and led MSLC’s Mid-Hudson Valley, with our Acute Care response to the Opioid Epidemic, ensuring Hospital in Newburgh, New York, and our the community has access to Medication Ambulatory Center in Cornwall, New York.

Assisted Treatment. He was responsible for As an economic engine and one of the securing more than $20 million in grant region’s largest employers, we provide care funding from NYSDOH which was neces- to more than 250,000 patients annually. Our sary to facilitate expansion on both the strengths are the more than 1,200 dedicated Newburgh and Cornwall campuses as part team members, along with our 400-plus of the multi-phased, Statewide Healthcare community medical staff members, who Facility Transfor mation Program, and is embody the essence of MSLC. leading the third round of funding in 2022.

The key to successful leadership at MSLC Maughan has served in many clinical, oper- is the recognition and acknowledgement that ational, and leadership roles throughout our team and medical staff are most precious. his career. He is either a member or board Together, we are laser focused on providing m e m b e r o f H o s p i t a l A s s o c i a t i o n o f N e w exceptional service, ensuring a positive York State (HANYS), Northern Metropolitan patient and family experience at every visit, Hospital Association (NorMet), Greater New and providing high-quality, safe care that is York Hospital Association (GNYHA), Orange unmatched. We were recently recognized for County Partnership, Hudson Valley Economic the third consecutive year among America’s Development Corporation (HVEDC), Orange Top 250 Best Hospitals, placing MSLC in the County Boar d of Health, Orange County top 5 percent of hospitals in the nation for Chamber of Commerce, among others. clinical care, according to Healthgrades, and further acknowledged by Fortune as a Best INSTITUTION BRIEF Montefiore St. Luke’s Workplaces in Healthcare and Biopharma, Cor nwall (montefior eslc.org) is a not-for- one of only 21 hospitals in the nation recogprofit community hospital with campuses in nized. This past year’s recognition was even Newbur gh and Cor nwall, New York. The more special as we learned that Fortune also hospital is dedicated to serving the healthcare recognized us as an overall Best Workplaces needs of the Hudson Valley and has achieved in New York. However, recognizing that our excellence in the delivery of compassionate teams are our most valuable, one of our and comprehensive healthcare services. MSLC greatest accomplishments is being certified is a member to the Montefiore Health System as a Great Place to Work® organization for which has allowed for the strengthening of the five consecutive years. There is nothing better delivery of healthcare locally and enhancing than this type of recognition as the results access to exceptional specialty care for Hudson are determined through direct survey of our Valley residents. frontline teams.

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You were recently appointed CEO of Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall. What are your priorities for MSLC as you assume the role and look to the future?

Maintaining our incredible culture, growth, improving efficiencies everywhere, enhancing our technology, and ensuring the well-being of our workforce as we navigate our new normal given the realities of COVID. How did Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall adapt the way it works to address the pandemic and how proud are you to see the way MSLC’s team has led and showed resilience during this difficult time?

Adapting is something healthcare is good at. I also believe that resiliency is something most people who work in healthcare, especially hospitals, innately have. Our team displayed this throughout the peaks and valleys of the pandemic, however we should not be fooled to think that any of this is without long-term effects to the well-being of our people. As a hospital that has an 18-bed ICU, which overnight needed to increase capacity to more than 40 ICU beds a day with the staff to match, adapting was all we could do. Roles changed, spaces changed, everything changed. Regardless of the changes, each member accepted the challenges by thinking and responding differently, doing so through innovation and determination. Honestly, “proud” seems too small a word to describe the emotions I have for how our teams tirelessly cared for thousands of COVID patients. They showed up each day despite knowing what this virus was capable of, especially as they witnessed its devastating effects, all the while wondering if they were to become its next victim or if they were going to infect their loved ones. There isn’t a known word that could properly describe how I feel about the resiliency of the MSLC team. As such, ensuring their well-being was a huge focus during the last two years. Having access to 24/7 telephonic and onsite mental health professionals was and continues to be key for those who struggled and even those who didn’t know they were struggling. Selfcare typically comes second to many in the helping professions. We hope that we provided our teams with the tools to ensure they were putting themselves first and commit to ensuring well into the future.

The global realities presented by the pandemic inarguably highlighted tremendous opportunities in all sectors. There were many

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lessons learned and more we continue to discover. That said, an adaptation that all of us had to improve immediately was telemedicine.

I believe telemedicine is probably one of the greatest examples of both a strength and opportunity. Its strength was pressure tested under the extreme condition of a pandemic, and for both the patient and provider, it provided a bidirectional lifeline; our patients needed us, and we needed them. However, some of the challenges/opportunities identified while implementing telemedicine can be easily remedied through enhanced assessment capabilities and equipment, as well as ensuring payer parity against an office visit.

Will you highlight Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall’s efforts to provide the highest quality patient care in a cost-effective manner?

Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall applies the Quadruple Aim framework at our core.

Improving Population Health, Enhancing the Patient Experience, Improving Provider Satisfaction, and Reducing the Cost of Care are the tenets of this model which we firmly believe when adopted will improve patient care. Under our Health Systems Delivery System Reform program, MSLC implemented multiple programs to achieve the Quadruple Aim framework. Three examples of these programs at MSLC are the Medicaid Accelerated Exchange (MAX) Series program, Community Agency Care Manager co-location within our Emergency Department (ED), and utilization of a county-wide Mobile Mental Health program.

Taking the lead as the community hospital, removing the barriers of our four-walls, and by partnering with our County Officials and Community Agency leaders, these programs were successfully implemented, improved quality and lowered costs – an added benefit was no additional expenses to the hospital or the agencies.

These models continue to provide connection to community-based resources through a reduction in avoidable hospital utilization.

Specifically, the Mobile Mental Health Model at MSLC prevented 56 percent of patients presenting to the ED with a mental/behavioral health need from unnecessary transports to Psychiatric Facilities, allowing us to keep care local. Additionally, this program had a cost savings of just over $500,000.

Will you discuss MSLC’s efforts and response to addressing the Opioid Epidemic?

O r a n g e C o u n t y , N e w Yo r k , w a s a national “Hot Spot” of Opioid Addiction, with Newburgh, New York, a glaring opportunity. Issues with accessing treatment, Narcan training programs, peer support, and Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) were all identified as culprits in our abilities to prevent overdose deaths. The lack of timely intervention related to the constraints of community agencies’ hours of operations added to an inability for on-demand care for those in crisis.

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program that would lead to ensuring people with the disease of addiction had access to care. That care would need to include access, first responders being appropriately trained in managing an addicted person and how to use Narcan, implementation of community Narcan Training programs with free kits, education on MAT, and pathways for accessing MAT. MSLC was very engaged in the county’s “Changing the Orange County Addiction Treatment Ecosystem Program.” Specifically, I, as the then Chief Operating Officer for MSLC, served as Co-Chair of the MAT sub-committee alongside the Orange County Commissioner of Mental Health. As a non-mental health and substance abuse acute care hospital, we recognized that we had to play a role as a hub for our local population. Thr ough collaboration, MSLC was the first Emergency Department in our area to provide MAT, and we developed policies and procedures for its implementation in our inpatient settings and shared our program with all hospitals in our region. This resulted in our ability to connect our patients in crisis with real time community resources that directly link a patient to immediate access to addiction recovery programs.

We also piloted an online app (PeerRX) that immediately connects peer resources for patients in addiction crisis – peer support staff immediately come to the bedside when activated. Peers provide a lived experience that is unmatched and, as such, their presence and support to a person in crisis often results in the acceptance of treatment.

Ultimately, the work of community partnerships reduced our overdoses and deaths county-wide.

How critical is it for Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall to build a diverse and inclusive workforce that mirrors the diversity of the patients and communities it serves?

MSLC’s workforce matches the extensive diversity of our surrounding communities.

Building a diverse workforce is critical as it gives a voice to ensuring an inclusive workforce. In 2017, MSLC developed the Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (JDEI) committee that is solely dedicated to celebrating our differences and embracing the backgrounds of our workforce, ultimately aiding us in how we build community, care for our patients, and take care of one another. We are fortunate to have recruited and retained the most diverse and inclusive workforce in MSLC’s history throughout the last five years. However, we will not be able to retain a diverse and inclusive workforce without constantly observing, identifying, and evaluating our hospital and local communities for injustices. Once identified and evaluated, we must then implement a change that creates inclusivity. Our most recent project of the JDEI committee is to evaluate the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Health Equity Index (HEI) Project Program and apply for recognition. We are fortunate to be a part of the Montefiore Health System, a recognized leader by the HRC, and a system that has achieved the highest tier of recognition from the HRC as

a LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader. We look forward to entering the HRC’s HEI program at its foundational tier soon.

You have spent your career in the healthcare industry. What has made the industry so special for you?

In 1977, at the age of seven, I immigrated to the United States with my family from Ireland. I am one of ten children, but unfortunately only one of seven living children when we immigrated to the U.S. We experienced poverty and its associated sequalae for a great portion of our lives. Shockingly, its prevalence is at staggering levels around the globe, including Ireland and the U.S. At the age of 15, I entered my high school’s Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training program. The program was the length of the school year and afforded me a free education that forever changed my life, as most high schools with a Career and Technical Education Program (CTE) often do.

Once completed, I dropped out of high school and had to wait until that August to turn 16 and was then able to take my certification test; thankfully, I passed. From that point on, every day I went to work I would observe the roles of others and tried to figure out what I would do next. It was clear to me at the age of 16 that I wanted to be a nurse. As a Registered Nurse, I have had the opportunity to serve in a variety of nursing specialties and roles that have shaped my understanding of the human condition. This is especially true as it relates to identifying and helping to provide tools that prevent the pain and suffering associated with poverty and its sequala. Each time I changed my specialty or role, it allowed me to open myself up to experiences and possibilities that I didn’t know I wanted to be part of or wanted to achieve. Over time, I recognized that opening myself to all experiences and possibilities were essential to reaching any goals I had, have, or am waiting to experience.

Why is healthcare so special to me?

Everything about helping others is special, and as my career in healthcare has progressed, I am profoundly aware that I was drawn to helping others. In my early days, it was likely an unhealthy choice to match the chaos of my life and to meet both my need for feeling good about helping others and making myself feel good. Today, healthcare is special to me because I know the work that I do impacts the lives of those who continue to struggle in the way that I once did.

What advice do you offer young people interested in building a career in the healthcare industry?

The best advice I can give is to allow yourself to be open to whatever comes your way.

Volunteer in all types of healthcare settings and experience what you can to help drive your direction. Do the work, enjoy the work and when it is no longer enjoyable, find something else to do. Enter with compassion, never lose your integrity, and always take care of yourself first. Putting yourself first and having good selfcare practices provides you the opportunity to better care for others.

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Powered by People An Interview with Juan Bueno, Principal and U.S. President, Avison Young EDITORS’ NOTE As Principal that is invested in their success. The and U.S. President, Juan Bueno firm’s integrated talent realizes the full leads all business within the U.S., potential of real estate by using global working directly with the fir m’s intelligence platforms that provide CEO, Principals and executive team clients with insight and advantage. to realize the firm’s strategy across more than 50 offices in 20 states What excited you about the and the District of Columbia, with opportunity to join Avison Young a regional workforce comprised of and made you feel it was the right approximately 2,000 professionals. fit?

He is a member of the Board of The people-first culture of the Directors and serves on Avison company and its consultative approach Juan Bueno Young’s Executive Committee. Prior to delivering customized client soluto joining Avison Young, he served tions immediately appealed to me. I as Vice President of Sales at The Home Depot, find commercial real estate to be a dynamic where he was responsible for approximately $6 industry with an interactive people component billion in wholesale business and more than that is exciting. Avison Young just takes that 2,100 associates across multiple business service to the next level with its diversity of experilines. He has an extensive background in oper- ence, viewpoints and collaborative atmosphere. ational and project management and has held During the extensive interview process, I spoke executive positions with top-tier global manage- to a lot of people throughout the company and ment consulting firms, including McKinsey & the experience was like meeting with family.

Company where, as a Partner, he led strategic It’s a large global company with a small town growth and performance improvement projects feel and that’s refreshing. Additionally, the fact across an array of industries around the world. that we are privately held and principal-led Bueno is active in his community and currently allows us to play the long-term game and make serves on the boards of both the Latin American investments in people, processes and tools that Association and Big Brothers Big Sisters in many of our more “short-term minded” peers Atlanta where he is based. Bueno earned a BS wouldn’t undertake. degree in business administration with a major Will you highlight your role and in finance from the Universidad de los Andes, management style?

Bogotá, Colombia and an MBA from the Kellogg I work closely with Avison Young’s CEO, School of Management, Northwestern University. Mark Rose, the executive team, and principals on planning and execution strategies across the COMPANY BRIEF Avison Young (avisonyoung.com) firm’s 50-plus U.S. offices. My primary role is to creates real economic, social and environ- get a deep understanding of our customers evermental value as a global real estate advisor, changing needs and collaborate with functional powered by people. As a private company, its partners to provide customized client solutions. clients collaborate with an empowered partner I’ve spent the last five months on an educational

listening tour getting to know clients, geographies and our leaders in our markets.

As a highly collaborative leader, I welcome open, honest dialogue. I want to hear all feedback to ensure that we have an inclusive culture with clear expectations, clear communications and clear accountability.

How do you define Avison Young’s purpose?

Avison Young’s purpose is to be a global real estate advisor that leverages data and insights to help clients achieve their goals.

People are at the heart of everything we do and it is important for us that we work closely with our clients to create healthy, productive workplaces, and that those workplaces are beneficial to the economy, the environment and the community.

What do you see as the keys to Avison Young’s strength in the industry and what is the Avison Young difference?

Our greatest strengths are our people and our culture. We have top talent with diverse experiences where different perspectives and ideas are welcomed. This is a huge asset for us because building and strengthening relationships is so important in the commercial real estate industry.

Our consultative, full-service approach is a major differentiator for us. Avison Young’s service offerings go beyond the transaction and brokerage services. We take our clients through the entire real estate life cycle and provide endto-end solutions that are more human-centric, innovative and sustainable.

I think that it’s important to reiterate that as a privately held partnership, Avison Young is able to provide incentives to play the long-term game and make long-term decisions.

“Our greatest strengths are our people and our culture. We have top talent with diverse experiences where different perspectives and ideas are welcomed.”

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“Avison Young’s purpose is to be a global real estate advisor that leverages data and insights to help clients achieve their goals. People are at the heart of everything we do and it is important for us that we work closely with our clients to create healthy, productive workplaces, and that those workplaces are beneficial to the economy, the environment and the community.”

Will you discuss Avison Young’s investment in technology and data analytics to support its clients’ needs?

Technology and data are great investments, but our greatest investment is in our people. We believe that to best serve our clients, we must complement top talent with top tools – tools that arm our people with the data and analytics that are grounded in innovation, enablement, consolidation and security to provide efficiency and real economic value for our clients.

Last year we launched The Vitality Index to help clients navigate their return-to-work needs.

It’s a database that measures near-real-time foot traffic by city and by industry using anonymous cell phone data gathered by our geospatial intelligence partner, Orbital Insights. This is powered by the interactive dashboard, AVANT by Avison Young. With The Vitality Index, we have been able to bring clarity to our clients during the times of uncertainty that began in the spring of 2020.

We are always looking for innovative tools to provide efficient, data-driven decisions for our clients. We recently made an addition to Avison Young’s tech stack to increase efficiency and productivity by establishing a partnership with UiPath which is aimed at deploying automation software to increase the power of predictive analytics and real estate data. The UiPath partnership arms our brokers and client-facing professionals with faster, more valuable insights on properties to better inform our clients.

I also want to point out a very important component of our strategy to Avison Young’s tech and data investments – security. We know that our clients are entrusting us with sensitive information and we need to consistently build our technologies to be as secure as possible on our client’s behalf.

How do you make sure that technology does not take away from the human touch and personal relationship that Avison Young is known for?

I am a people person and this is a peoplefirst company. It is deeply embedded in our culture. Relationships with our colleagues, our partners and our clients are critical to our success and people are at the heart of what we do. Technology is a tool that can enhance our data capabilities and streamline our operations and our offerings, but it will never replace the human factor. In short, we will always need smart and impact-oriented professionals to leverage data and generate insights for our clients. We understand that and it is why we place such a big premium on hiring the best professionals in each market.

How critical is it for Avison Young to build a diverse and inclusive workforce in order to bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the table when addressing client needs?

It’s absolutely critical and a top priority for Avison Young, and for me personally, to build a diverse and inclusive workforce. As we listen to our clients, we understand that our teams need to be reflective of the communities we serve. You have a broader perspective to offer clients when you are fueled by people with a wide range of backgrounds, thoughts, genders and experiences.

Avison Young is deeply committed to workforce diversity and we are actively evolving our D&I strategy to continue to improve our policies and accountability, and to making sustainable change both within our organization and throughout our industry. A concrete example that I’m proud of is that Avison Young was one

of the first commercial real estate firms to sign CREW Network’s Pledge for Action, an effort to increase workforce diversity in commercial real estate.

What do you see as Avison Young’s responsibility to the communities it serves and to being a force for good in society?

We believe in the positive impact that commercial real estate can have in people’s lives. Avison Young takes that responsibility very seriously because people are at the heart of what we do. We are accountable to our clients and to our communities to be mindful of the value we can bring in social, environmental and economic ways across the real estate landscape.

As a company that is powered by people, we take pride in helping our local community organizations by using our time and resources to make a difference. Avison Young’s Annual Day of Giving is a company-wide annual event when thousands of employees go out into their respective communities and volunteer where we live and work. I had an amazing experience with my colleagues in Atlanta, working on a park beautification and revitalization project.

What advice do you offer to young people beginning their careers during this unprecedented time? l would say to find an organization that has a strong culture, where people are valued and collaboration is encouraged. Do not get too engulfed with social media and lose human connectivity because establishing and fostering relationships with individuals is the key to success in just about every form of business. I would also add, take time for yourself and make it a priority from early on to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

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“We believe that to best serve our clients, we must complement top talent with top tools – tools that arm our people with the data and analytics that are grounded in innovation, enablement, consolidation and security to provide efficiency and real economic value for our clients.”

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Supporting the Frontline Healthcare Workforce An Interview with Deborah Marcus, Executive, CAA Foundation and #FirstRespondersFirst EDITORS’ NOTE Deborah Marcus Will you highlight the efforts is an executive in the CAA of #FirstRespondersFirst’s since its Foundation, the philanthropic arm launch? of leading entertainment and sports Since launch, we have raised agency Creative Artists Agency over $10.5 million, launched two (CAA), which represents many of websites (First-Responders-First.org the most successful and innovative and AllInForHealthcare.org), partprofessionals working in media and nered with 50+ organizations on sports. Marcus joined the agency in various initiatives, and amplified the 2019 to lead its education and youth importance of clinician well-being to development efforts and currently combat clinician suicide and burnout. also leads many of the foundation’s We have also helped to create the Deborah Marcus public health initiatives including impact campaign for the documen#FirstRespondersFirst in partnertary film The First Wave, and most ship with Thrive Global and the Harvard T.H. recently brought together Hollywood creators Chan School of Public Health. Prior to joining and writers to share stories and solutions from CAA, Marcus served for nearly a decade as the doctors and nurses to be woven into network Executive Director of Communities in Schools of television medical shows.

Los Angeles (CISLA), the nationally recognized Our efforts can be broken down into 3 nonprofit leader in high school drop-out preven- phases: tion. In 2014, Marcus was appointed by Los Phase 1: Fund and provide PPE, accomAngeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to the Commission modations, childcare and food to support the of Community and Family Services on which she frontline healthcare workforce. serves as Vice Chairperson.

Phase 2: Fund and distribute self-care resources and support for healthcare workers’ ORGANIZATION BRIEF #FirstRespondersFirst mental health and well-being. is an initiative created to provide first responder Phase 3: (a) Provide amplification for healthcare workers with physical and psycho- legislative change in partnership with the logical resources they so desperately need as Dr. Lor na Br een Her oes’ Foundation t o they serve on the front lines of the COVID-19 support the Dr. Lorna Breen Healthcare pandemic. Conceived by Harvard T.H. Chan Provider Protection Act. (b) Launch the ALL School of Public Health, America’s oldest IN campaign to support clinician well-being professional training program in public health, within healthcare systems.

Thrive Global, the behavior change technology company founded by Arianna Huffington, and the CAA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), #FirstRespondersFirst provides support for this workforce, ranging from minimum-wage hourly workers in homecare settings to social workers, nurses, physicians, and beyond.

What are the key initiatives for #FirstRespondersFirst as you look to the future?

Looking ahead, we will promote the 2022 Healthcare Rescue Workforce Package, which was created in partnership with leading healthcare experts from our coalition and the National Academy of Medicine, who identified the top 5 actions leaders should take to support the healthcare workforce.

We will also deploy over $1 million through our ALL IN Fund to provide financial resources to healthcare organizations to implement healthcare workforce well-being solutions and/or further scale promising practices.

And of course, being in the entertainment industry, will use the power of storytelling in all of its forms to push for policy change.

What are the keys to driving impact for #FirstRespondersFirst and how critical are metrics to measure the impact of #FRF’s efforts?

For us, the immediate need to care for frontline healthcare workers drives our continued efforts. Our impact has been significant. Since launch, FRF has: • Deployed over $1.1 million to mental health providers and/or organizations to provide mental health services to the most vulnerable on the front lines.

• Provided almost 600 first responders with over 7,900 nights of hotel accommodations in 79 cities and towns across the country through Marriott and IHG Hotels & Resorts, in addition

“We will also deploy over $1 million through

our ALL IN Fund to provide financial resources

What was the vision for creating #FirstRespondersFirst and how do you define its mission?

At the onset of the pandemic, our partners at Thrive Global and the Harvard Chan School of Public Health were asking the question: Who is going to care for the caregivers? Our mission at #FRF takes a whole-human approach to supporting the frontline healthcare workforce, who continue to put their lives on the line to care for us.

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to healthcare organizations to implement healthcare workforce well-being solutions and/or further scale promising practices.”

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“Since launch, we have raised over $10.5 million, launched two websites (First-Responders-First.org and AllInForHealthcare.org), partnered with 50+ organizations on various initiatives, and amplified the importance of clinician well-being to combat clinician suicide and burnout.” to providing funding to build 20 housing units for first responders in the Navajo Nation.

• Provided over 55,000 meals to first responders through World Central Kitchen and Newark Working Kitchens.

• Provided over 7,200 days of childcare to almost 300 children in eight locations through Bright Horizons.

• Deployed more than $2 million to purchase PPE, including N95 masks, gowns and other essential medical items.

• Launched the ALL IN: Well-Being First for Healthcare campaign and fund to advance a state where the well-being of the healthcare workforce is prioritized, in partnership with the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation and leading healthcare organizations.

Will you discuss #FirstRespondersFirst’s focus on creating partnerships and will you highlight some of the partners that #FirstRespondersFirst is working with as part of this effort?

We could never have done this work on our own. The impact we achieved, even in our first year alone, is remarkable. The founding partners is where the story begins: Harvard brings scientific breakthroughs from the academy into people’s everyday lives; Thrive Global is the leading behavior change technology company helping individuals, corporations and communities improve their well-being and performance through its platform and services; and CAA and its philanthropic arm, CAA Foundation,

harnesses the power and reach of the entertainment industry to create positive social change.

The story continues as we form a number of strategic partnerships across sectors. We worked with those who could deliver services to the field, like AmeriCares and Direct Relief. We also partnered with experts in mental health like NAMI and the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, the latter of which led the way to the first-of-its-kind legislation to support clinician well-being. Participant Media also partnered with us to support the creation of an impact campaign that aligned with our work. In addition, we formed partnerships with leading healthcare organizations who historically worked in silos but who understand the power of working together on this critically urgent issue.

What is the purpose for ALL IN: WellBeing First for Healthcare, and how does this new interactive online community of practice work?

The healthcare workforce is experiencing unprecedented rates of burnout, trauma, and isolation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic – the most severe global mass trauma event since World War II. We are just beginning to understand the full impact of these traumatic events, but it is no exaggeration to say frontline workers are on the brink of a secondary health crisis – one that could last for generations.

Time and again, our healthcare professionals have stepped up to take care of us. It’s time that we take care of them.

“The healthcare workforce is experiencing unprecedented rates of burnout, trauma, and isolation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic – the most severe global mass trauma event since World War II.”

The ALL IN Campaign is calling on healthcare leaders to affirm their commitment to workforce well-being by signing a commitment to prioritize well-being strategies, resources, and policies in the workplace. This commitment requires healthcare leaders to acknowledge their role in investing in and cultivating a healthy environment for their workforce, clearly define goals to improve the well-being of workers, and share tools with peers to achieve goals – actions that will shift the onus from the individual to the system itself.

Leaders and practitioners are invited to join us in building a community of practice where we can share promising practices, add to the conversation, contribute to the evidence base, and move the needle where it matters the most in prioritizing the well-being of the healthcare workforce. Together, we will identify and create a future ecosystem where healthcare workers feel valued and can sustain purpose and meaning in their work in order to return to their original mission: help people.

When addressing a challenge that requires a long-term focus and commitment, how do you measure success?

We are measuring success in several ways: • Impact – Have the resources that we’re putting out into the community been engaged with and are therefore leading to more positive outcomes? When they haven’t been engaged with, we have asked: What are the barriers to accessing needed resources? This is informing the current phase of our work (phase 3), addressing system level changes.

• Awareness – Two years ago and prior to the pandemic, the topic of clinician wellbeing was not being discussed outside of the academies and healthcare institutions. It is now making headlines in leading consumer newspapers.

• Narrative Change and Culture Shift – This is the current phase of our work and addresses: Are the stories and solutions that we are pushing seen regularly on TV and in film?

Do hospitals begin to invest differently in the well-being of their workforce? Do state licensing boards change their business practices? Is the stigma that currently exists in healthcare around accessing mental health services reduced?

Another important area we are focused on is the fear of clinicians losing their jobs for accessing mental health services and we are constantly trying to improve this area.

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Creativity and Art An Interview with Daniel Lamarre, Executive Vice-Chairman of the Board, Cirque du Soleil EDITORS’ NOTE Daniel Lamarre is parks and special events. Going beyond a French Canadian whose talent for its various creations, Cirque du Soleil leading creative companies became Entertainment Group aims to make a evident during his two decades positive impact on people, communities at Cirque du Soleil. As President and the planet with its most important and Chief Executive Officer, and tools: creativity and art. now Executive Vice-Chairman of the Board, he guided the organizaWill you highlight the history and tion through a period of astounding heritage of Cirque du Soleil and growth and then brought it back how Cirque du Soleil has evolved? to life during the massive upheaval Cirque was founded in 1984 by of the COVID-19 pandemic. When Guy Laliberté and a ragtag group of Daniel Lamarre Lamarre joined in 2001 as president street performers in Québec who of new ventures, Cirque du Soleil had wanted to change the world – and 2,000 employees and seven shows in performance. they did, by inventing a new kind of circus.

Five years later, he became Chief Executive and Their first big break came when the government the company grew to 5,000 employees and 44 funded a 13-week tour to celebrate the 450th shows around the world (including recent subsid- anniversary of French explorer Jacques Cartier’s iary acquisitions). At its peak, Cirque du Soleil voyage to Canada. Since then, Cirque du Soleil had annual sales of $1 billion, profit margins of has evolved into a completely original art form 20 (EBITDA), and 15 million people attending with elements of circus, drama, comedy, dance, its shows per year, more than all 39 Broadway performance art, live musical concerts and highshows combined. Before coming to Cirque du tech stagecraft, accessible in any language or Soleil, Lamarre was President and CEO of the TVA culture. And it became a big business, growing Group, Inc., Canada’s largest television network. to $1 billion in revenue, pre-pandemic.

Previously, he was senior partner at National Public Relations, Inc. His first major job came in 1981, at the age of 28, when he founded and directed the Montreal office of the world’s largest PR firm, Burson-Marsteller. In 2012, he cofounded the C2 Montreal conference, a one-of-a-kind gathering of the world’s creative and business elite. Lamarre has been honored with doctorates from the Faculty of Law at McGill University; the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières; and the Faculty of Arts at his alma mater, the University of Ottawa. Concerned about education and health and welfare issues, he supports a variety of charities. Lamarre has been involved with Cirque du Monde, a worldwide social circus program that targets at-risk youth; the One Drop Foundation that Cirque founder, Guy Laliberté, created to provide healthy drinking water to underprivileged nations; and the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation, for which he serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

COMPANY BRIEF Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group (cdsentertainmentgroup.com) is a world leader in live entertainment. On top of producing world-renowned circus arts shows, the Canadian organization brings its creative approach to a large variety of entertainment forms such as multimedia productions, immersive experiences, theme 176 LEADERS

What have been the keys to Cirque du Soleil’s ability to stay current and relevant?

When people ask me what keeps me up at night, I say, “Imagining someone else at the top of our industry.” To keep our leadership position, we never forget our founders’ total commitment to creativity. We hire directors who will push the boundaries of what is possible and cast performers who are the best in the world and fearless in trying new approaches. We are always on the lookout for fresh ideas in areas like music, fashion, architecture, theater, film and computer games and constantly hunting for innovations in technology and science that are ready for practical application. When you see something spectacular at a Cirque show that you have never seen before, it’s because of that spirit of restless searching.

How do you define Cirque du Soleil’s purpose and mission?

Our mission statement says it well: “Invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and evoke the emotions” of people around the world. But our commitment goes beyond the performance.

Cast members perform during the grand reopening of “KÀ by Cirque du Soleil” at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on November 24, 2021 in Las Vegas

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We aim to positively impact peoples’ lives, communities and the planet with what we know and do best: creativity and art.

Will you discuss the conviction that the arts and business, together, can contribute to making a better world and how this concept is at the foundation of Cirque du Soleil?

The astonishing feats on our stages remind the world that anything is possible, and the success of our company as a business shows how to successfully fuse the creative and the practical, the dreaming and the bill paying. That’s a big theme of my book, Balancing Acts. Also, we have a set of rules called The Four Criteria that we use to choose our next projects and partners.

One is, “Are Our Partners Socially Engaged?” If the answer is no, we introduce them to causes like Cirque du Monde or One Drop which are nonprofit organizations we support.

How did Cirque du Soleil adapt its business to address the challenges caused by the pandemic and how is Cirque du Soleil positioned for future success?

In March of 2020, we had to shut down our 44 shows around the world in the span of 48 hours. Revenue dropped to zero, forcing us to go through a painful period of bankruptcy protection and laying off 95 percent of our employees. Then, all over sudden, I began fielding calls from important investors attracted by the strength of our brand and the high value of our intellectual property. Within a few months, we were acquired by our creditors who refinanced our debt and invested an additional $375 million. That set us up to make a dramatic relaunch of our Las Vegas shows last summer. Today, we continue to gradually reopen our productions, have begun developing new shows, and see great capacity to grow across the globe.

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Cast members perform during the grand reopening of “The Beatles LOVE By Cirque du Soleil” at The Mirage Hotel & Casino on August 26, 2021 in Las Vegas

How proud are you to see the resilience of Cirque du Soleil’s workforce during this challenging and unprecedented time?

After the relaunch of our Las Vegas water show, “O,” I gave a socially distanced toast to the cast and crew and choked up as I tried to explain just how grateful I was. It was incredible that the clear majority of our artists continued to train during the pandemic, stayed in shape and ultimately came back to perform. They never gave up. Same with crew members and other employees who believe in our mission so deeply that they returned to get our shows back up. I will never forget their resiliency and courage.

You mentioned your book, Balancing Acts: Unleashing the Power of Creativity in Your Life and Work. What interested you in writing the book and what are the key messages you wanted to convey in the book?

When I joined the circus in 2001, I was a conventional businessman. Over the next two decades, my experience at Cirque so completely transformed my approach to business and life that I wanted to share what I had learned. My message is that creativity is not just for the chosen few, it’s for everybody and it’s essential to thrive in today’s hyper-connected global economy. Whether you are an entrepreneur, an executive or a professional, if you are not prioritizing creativity – in the dictionary definition of “making or bringing into existence something new” – you are wasting your time. No company deserves to exist unless it is constantly discovering new ways to make its customers’ lives better. Without creativity, there is no business.

What do you see as the keys to effective leadership and how do you describe your management style?

Running a global live entertainment company means being in a constant state of alert, ready for anything. When times are tough,

I become what I would call a “cool fighter.” I say “cool” because I rarely lose my temper.

The more pressure there is, the more focused I get. And “fighter” because I never give up. I am not an aggressive person, but I am tenacious.

I never lose track of the final goal, whether it’s the marathon negotiations for music rights for “The Beatles LOVE” show or bringing our company back from the pandemic. I know I’m not a particularly charismatic leader. My actions are more compelling than my words. In times of crisis, there is no time for grandstanding or self-pity. Effective action is what matters.

With all of the success that Cirque du Soleil has achieved, do you take moments to reflect and celebrate what Cirque has accomplished?

When I arrived, the consensus within the company was that we had saturated the market with our seven shows. That makes me chuckle now. Creativity was so deeply embedded into our DNA that our artists couldn’t help but dream big, launching new shows, one after another, with audacious concepts – the moving stage of “KÀ” from acclaimed director Robert LePage; “The Beatles LOVE;” “Toruk – The First Flight,” based on James Cameron’s Avatar, and much more. Over the next two decades, we grew more than sixfold to 44 shows (including acquisitions), with annual revenues doubling from $500 million to $1 billion.

Today, more than 365 million spectators have seen our productions around the world.

When I recently transitioned from CEO to Executive Vice-Chairman of the Board, I did take some time to look back at Cirque’s accomplishments with pride and gratitude to our artists who made it all possible. As I remain involved, offering support to new CEO Stéphane Lefebvre and his team, our goal remains the same: To remain the biggest and greatest live entertainment company in the world.

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PURPOSE

Heal the Villages An Interview with Donato J. Tramuto, Chairman and Founder, Health eVillages EDITORS’ NOTE Donato Tramuto is is a basic human right for all people, the former CEO of Tivity Health and he launched Health eVillages in 2011. is widely recognized for his commitTramuto is a member of the Brown ment to social change and transforUniversity Healthcar e Leadership mational leadership in healthcare Board, as well as the boards of directors innovation that led The New York of the Boston University School of Public Times to deem him “a global health Health, the Livongo Health Foundation, activist.” Tramuto is also the founder Sharecare, Inc., GoCheck Kids, as well and chair of the TramutoPorter as a member of the Gryphon Investment Foundation which advances young Executive Advisory Board. A proponent people’s rights to education and of lifelong learning, Tramuto holds healthcar e access and combats honorary doctorates from the University Donato J. Tramuto human rights violations. Since the of Massachusetts at Lowell, Thomas launch of the foundation, over 100 Jefferson University, Lasell College and young adults have received a TramutoPorter Saint Joseph’s College of Maine where he was Foundation Scholarship to pursue their dream recently named Honorary Scholar-in-Residence. of a college education and many organiza- Tramuto is the author of Life’s Bulldozer tions have received financial and partnership Moments: How Adversity Leads to Success in support helping them deliver on their promise to Life and Business and The Double Bottom Line: make the world a more equitable place. His three- How Compassionate Leaders Captivate Hearts decade commitment to social change and inno- and Deliver Results. vation has earned numerous awards, including the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope COMPANY BRIEF Health eVillages (health Award and the RFK Embracing the Legacy evillages.org) collaborates to advance healthAward. Tramuto currently serves as a member care access and improve the quality of care by of the board of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights providing state-of-the-art mobile health techand is chairman of its Leadership Council where nology including medical reference and clinical his foundation has committed to funding a three- decision support tools, as well as other commuyear, $1 million grant to address workplace nity-focused resources, to medical and public bullying, leading a national initiative to address health professionals in the most challenging clinworkplace dignity and inclusion in the U.S. and ical environments around the world. Its partEurope. Tramuto is a passionate champion of ners include Tramuto Foundation, Cherish cutting-edge approaches to healthcare access, Health, Promerica Health, Sharecare, Skyscape, drug safety, and addressing the social determi- and others. nants of health (SDOH), defined by the World Health Organization as the conditions in which How do you define Health eVillages’ people are born, grow, live, work and age. Under purpose? his tenure as CEO of Tivity Health and following Health eVillages was launched because of his execution of a successful turnaround, he my having come across an article in 2010 stating transformed the business model to center around that in our lifetime, 1 billion people will go to partnering progressively, profitably and collab- their graves prematurely because they do not oratively with consumers, payers, healthcare have access to a healthcare worker. 6 million practitioners and employers in cutting-edge are children who will die each year because they approaches to SDOH conditions including nutri- do not have access to clean water or medication. tion, fitness and social connection that improve This is simply unacceptable and recognizing health outcomes and reduce medical costs. that this problem cannot be resolved quickly Before joining Tivity Health, Tramuto’s record by training more healthcare professionals, of bringing together social commitment with Health eVillages was launched to address this healthcare innovation included his founding of problem of healthcare access by providing state Physicians Interactive Holdings (Aptus Health of the art medical content and decision tools sold to WebMD in 2019), a global provider of via mobile devices. Health eVillages – when insight-driven digital engagement solutions you examine the Health eVillages name more for healthcare professionals and consumers. closely – it actually reads as follows – Heal the Reflecting a conviction that universal healthcare Villages, and that is precisely our mission: to 178 LEADERS

help heal the villages whether it be healthcare access, violation of human rights, addressing food insecurity or loneliness – whatever the challenge may be we are there to support the organization to address these challenges.

Will you highlight Health eVillages’ work and global efforts?

Over the last 11 years we have addressed maternal, infant, and pediatric maternity in some of the remote areas across the globe. In Lwala, a small village in East Africa, we have helped to reduced infant mortality from 100 infant deaths per 1000 births to less than 20 deaths.

We have championed the building of a maternity ward so that no pregnant woman will ever have to deliver her baby on a dirt floor – rather and because of Health eVillages, they are afforded the same opportunity to deliver their child in a clean and well-staffed facility.

We have addressed loneliness by being one of the first organizations to call attention to this new chronic condition of the 21st century and encouraging everyone to take the time to listen to the stories of others. Health eVillages has partnered with organizations to provide mobile devices and education to seniors to help them navigate through the social media process to ensure they can get connected to others and to be engaged.

How did Health eVillages adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the global pandemic and how proud are you to see the resilience of your team during this unprecedented time?

Long befor e the pandemic, Health eVillages was addressing the social determinants of health recognizing the fact that where you live – where you eat – your financial makeup, has more of a determination on your health outcome than your genetic code. When one looks at the last 24 months and examines the impact of the pandemic there is no question that COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on the vulnerable population of people who live alone, who have financial challenges, etc. Health eVillages in the last 24 months launched the “Inspired Chat” calls bringing together people who were lonely, isolated and did not have a mouthpiece to share their feelings. In these calls, we addressed every week issues and challenges, and simply shared words of inspiration that would otherwise have been lost without having this forum. We launched during the 2020 Holiday season an outreach

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program to support more than 150 families with food and gifts who would have otherwise not have enjoyed a much-needed festive holiday.

What do you see as the responsibility that leading companies have to being engaged in the communities they serve and to being a force for good in society?

There are many reasons why this makes sense, not least of which is the reality that the recent term the “Great Resignation” is more related to individuals feeling a sense of belonging than what I believe some are categorizing as employees wanting more pay. As outlined in my new book, The Double Bottom Line: How Compassionate Leaders Captivate Hearts and Deliver Results, the many leaders we interviewed were keenly aware of the benefits that come from active community involvement.

Such engagement impacts the bottom line, yet more importantly it incorporates a “soul” – a sense of purpose in the company triggering significant brand loyalty. Today’s challenges are no longer successfully handled by one quintessential leader – rather they are best handled by groups of people from all demographics and generational bandwidth. As a CEO of private and public companies, I never saw my involvement in community activities as simply a focus of increasing shareholder value, although we did see increase return; rather my involvement was associated with the belief that I, as well as my company, had a responsibility to give back to the communities we served. That responsibility also includes creating a “purpose” for each employee who will spend on average 30-50 percent of their time at work.

You mentioned your book, The Double Bottom Line. What interested you in writing the book and what are the key messages you wanted to convey in the book?

After publishing my first book and traveling thr oughout the United States and in Europe promoting it, I uncovered a real thirst for more compassion and kindness in our world. Additionally, when that book was released in 2016, there appeared in the years after a significant decline of our ability to listen, to respect and to understand the varied viewpoints from others. If you were a staunch supporter of the opposing view of a certain issue, you were immediately dismissed.

This became even more apparent in the corporate world and even in my dealings with my own Board of Directors specific to when a challenge surfaced, they would not take the time to understand the thought process behind how executives may have used their compassionate antenna to navigate to a solution and rather they would dismiss that approach as weak and arrive at their own conclusion leaving out important data points which in many instances did not yield the right outcome.

Hence, the idea of writing this book came to surface a few weeks after I left my role as CEO of Tivity Health. The notion of interviewing 40+ leaders – a control group – who had adopted a more compassionate leadership approach and had the results to support such an approach made perfect sense to me VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

as a data point that would help both current and future leaders to better understand that compassionate leadership is not weak leadership, and the many examples highlighted in the book support the opposite. Compassionate leaders are tough, yet compassionate, in how they make decisions. To avoid the trap of relying on insights from high-profiled leaders, we also conducted a global survey of over 1500 individuals to examine their perspective on compassionate leadership against the cohort of 40+ leaders. The findings are astonishing in that there is an enormous gap between what the control group sees as happening in the organization versus the survey group. For example, in our research of all workers, 86 percent said that a compassionate workplace encourages cooperation/collaboration which in turns leads to greater productivity, yet 68 percent of the survey group felt that the workplace was more competitive than cooperative.

This is a very important finding, and we believe the research conducted provides other important findings and identified some actionable insights for leaders.

What do you see as the keys to effective leadership and how critical is compassion as a part of leadership today?

Empathy Isn’t Enough: Empathy has been a major buzzword in the leadership discussion, but we believe empathy can be insufficient, even a negative, if it is not coupled with action. The gap in perception between leaders and those they lead shows that in many cases, leaders believe they are compassionate when they are probably stopping short of that – they may feel and express empathy, but without the action, it isn’t enough. It can even backfire if a leader expresses empathy for an employee’s challenges but does nothing. We believe that empathy + action is core to the definition of compassionate leadership.

The Compassionate Leadership Gap: A “Leadership Gap” exists in many organizations between what leaders think they are expressing and what their workers perceive or observe.

We see compassionate leadership as a broad concept encompassing many key areas and dimensions. Once a leader identifies this gap in their own organization, there are myriad of opportunities to increase the potential within their workforce, to strengthen their teams, to increase productivity and innovation, and to drive better results.

The 3 C’s of Compassionate Leadership: We saw in our survey that there were three dimensions that workers perceived as the most important when it comes to compassionate leadership – communication, commitment and collaboration. This is compelling as we see communication and commitment as the two elements that combine to form trust.

When employees receive clear, regular and honest communication from their leaders, and the action of the leader aligns with what they say, and when employees see that leaders are committed to their welfare and development, it builds trust and a sense of safety. These are keys to stronger teams and a healthy culture.

We also see that when employees see a leader actively working on their behalf, they are more motivated to work hard for that leader.

Compassionate leadership is the new model of leadership – it is empathy in action.

Do you feel that compassionate leadership can be taught?

Yes, and this was confirmed in our interviews with the 40+ leaders – no one was born with the compassionate gene and rather each one of them had unique experiences that created this sense of understanding around how to be compassionate. That said, there will always be a few who just for whatever reason will not pick up on how to incorporate the compassionate formula in their leadership mantra.

You have been engaged in philanthropy for many years. Do the skills that made you successful in business translate to your work in philanthropy or do you approach this work differently?

We are not segmented creatures and rather dynamic and what business has taught me is the importance of constantly recreating yourself.

Additionally, I have also learned that leadership is not about doing one great thing – it is about doing a lot of little things that ultimately help you to implement a transactional and transformational strategy within your organization. These two skills are not easily grasped by everyone and once you have them and you are implementing them in your business, they can be used effectively in your personal life and in the not-for-profit world where I have utilized them to launch two successful not-for-profit organizations.

What advice do you offer to young people beginning their careers during this challenging and uncertain time?

Unlike when I started my career where it was taboo to speak up and to add your point of view to a leader who may have been 20 or 30+ years your senior, today the gen Z and millennials have an equal place at the table and they must voice their insights, thoughts, and have the confidence to push forward their point of view.

Second, there is no longer this notion that we go to work simply to get a paycheck – one must quickly assess whether the value system of a company aligns with your own value system. If, for example, you live one hour from the office and your employer is unwilling to be flexible allowing you to work a few days at home, then find a compassionate leader and company who is willing to support you. Third, develop enduring relationships early on in your career, not just at your level but throughout the organization. No one owns anyone in the company so do not be afraid to approach executives who are leading the company. Lastly, there is nothing wrong with taking “gaps” and if the pandemic has taught us anything, it has been a wakeup call that the life we live is temporal and the best approach we can take is to enjoy each and every day, even if that means five years into your career you want to take a break and spend a year doing something else. I truly wish I would have realized this important lesson 30 years ago.

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Improving the Future of Youth in Foster Care An Interview with Jennifer Perry, Executive Director, Children’s Action Network and Co-Founder, FosterMore EDITORS’ NOTE Jennifer Perry C OA L I T I O N B R I E F F o s t e r M o r e has been Executive Director of the (fostermore.org) is an unparalleled Children’s Action Network (CAN) coalition of media and entertainment since its inception. By marshalling companies, foundations, nonprofits, the immense communications power businesses and philanthropic of the entertainment community, or ganizations working to cr eate CAN inspires the public to take action greater understanding, empathy, and on behalf of children. CAN is now action to improve the future of youth in involved in a national campaign foster care. Its approach encompasses devoted to raising awar eness entertainment and media engagement, about the 117,000 children in the providing a one-stop web presence and country waiting for adoptive homes foster care hub, and sponsoring a Jennifer Perry and improving outcomes for the national education scholarship for more than 400,000 children in youth in foster care. FosterMore is a foster care. Perry is a co-founder of FosterMore, fund of the Entertainment Industry Foundation a coalition of media and entertainment (EIF), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. EIF is c o m p a n i e s , n o n p r o f i t s , b u s i n e s s e s a n d a Charity Navigator 4 Star Charity that meets all philanthropic organizations working to create 20 BBB Charity Standards and carries the Candid greater understanding, empathy and action Platinum Seal of Transparency. to improve the future of youth in foster care.

FosterMore shines a light on the accomplishments and potential of foster youth, while securing support for their academic success and creating a pipeline of potential foster parents. Prior to her tenure at CAN, Perry was Director of Public Affairs for Act III Communications and served on the Washington, DC staffs of Senator Alan Cranston and Congressman Mickey Leland.

She is a recipient of the Nancy Daly Advocacy Award from the Lewis Hine Awards for Service to Children and Youth, Raise A Child Honors and the Evan B. Donaldson Spotlight Award. Under her stewardship, CAN has received an Adoption Excellence Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a Television Academy Honors for A Home for the Holidays, CAN’s annual special promoting foster care adoption, and been recognized as a CCAI Angels in Adoption. Perry is on the Board of Governors for the California Community Colleges as well as the board of the Foundation for California Community Colleges and serves on the board of the Children’s Law Center. She has served as a board member of the North American Council on Adoptable Children, an Advisor to National Center for Childr en in Poverty, the Major League Baseball Player’s Trust for Children and on the Los Angeles Commission on Children Youth and their Families. She also served on the board of the Mar Vista Family Center and Para Los Niños and was appointed to the Los Angeles City Child Care Commission and the Commission on the Status of Women. Perry is a graduate of Yale University.

What was the vision for creating FosterMore and how do you define its mission?

We created FosterMore to shift the narrative around foster care and elevate the organizations and individuals involved in the child welfare system. FosterMore is a unique coalition of media and entertainment companies, foundations, nonprofits, businesses and philanthropic organizations working to create greater understanding, empathy and action to improve the future of youth in foster care.

This comes to life through strategic entertainment and media engagement designed to unleash the assets of the entertainment and creative communities to improve the image of foster families and increase the desire to become a resource parent. Some examples of this work include:

“We created FosterMore to shift the narrative

around foster care and elevate the organizations

and individuals involved in the child welfare system.

FosterMore is a unique coalition of media and

entertainment companies, foundations, nonprofits,

businesses and philanthropic organizations working to create greater understanding, empathy and action to improve the future of youth in foster care.”

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“Our work is informed by extensive research and we have developed a comprehensive understanding of the messaging challenges facing child welfare. The organization employs this knowledge while leveraging the assets of its partners and supportive organizations to reach hundreds of millions of Americans.”

• Influencing film and television content through direct work with writers, producers and show-runners.

• An award winning national PSA campaign, Donate Your Small Talk, that secured more than $22 million in donated airtime in 2021 alone.

• A transformative social media advertising campaign that has been used successfully by communities across the country to recruit foster parents.

• In order to encourage the public to take action we created a One-Stop Foster Care Hub to serve as a conduit for anyone looking to get involved with foster care, bringing together businesses and nonprofit child and family service organizations in collaboration. The website offers a clear “ladder of engagement,” which allows site visitors to take action as they see fit.

• FosterMore’s Foster Care Friendly Workplace certification enables businesses to take action by offering employees paid leave to support their community service as foster parents.

• National Education Scholarship for youth in foster care – FosterMore believes in the promise of all children and funds raised benefit our nonprofit partners with scholarships for youth in foster care. The scholarship fund, which has secured over $5 million, is a way for companies and individuals to be involved in realizing the amazing potential of youth in foster care.

Will you pr ovide an overview of FosterMore’s holistic approach to its work?

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platform for the public to engage. Our work is informed by extensive research and we have developed a comprehensive understanding of the messaging challenges facing child welfare.

The organization employs this knowledge while leveraging the assets of its partners and supportive organizations to reach hundreds of millions of Americans.

What are the keys to creating greater understanding, empathy, and action to improve the future of youth in foster care?

The key is to change public perceptions of youth in foster care so that the public sees youth as strong and resilient and sees a role in improving outcomes for youth. FosterMore encourages all of us to play a part in ensuring that youth in foster care receive the support and guidance they need to succeed in life.

From Donate Your Small Talk to making your business a Foster Care Friendly Workplace, we offer a ladder of engagement which allows everyone to take action to create a greater understanding about and improve outcomes for young people in foster care.

FosterMore also works to educate leaders in senior positions at media companies about the challenges and need to focus attention on improving the outcomes for youth in foster care. We also aim to create an increase of understanding and empathy by promoting more accurate portrayals of foster care and foster youth in TV and film.

How did FosterMore adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the pandemic?

Relying on our role as a “gathering place” for the foster care community, we created and shared timely COVID-19 content as a resource for the foster care community. We were also fortunate to be the recipient of a grant to aid organizations in their work to assist youth in foster care during the pandemic. The grant was an opportunity for FosterMore to draw on the expertise and work of our coalition and support them in their work. Many organizations pivoted to address the pressing needs for these youth who have no safety net and this support was critical. The grants supported everything from basic needs to household essentials and WiFi access.

How critical are metrics to measure the impact of FosterMore’s efforts?

We track our progress in three areas: our DYST PSA, our digital recruitment campaign, and our social media. Our Donate Your Small Talk PSA campaign uses the most updated usage data to provide detailed audience and viewership information which includes total airings, audience reach, markets, stations, ad values and key demographics. This information is crucial as it allows us to measure our reach and engagement nationwide. Our digital foster parent recruitment campaign uses data from previous campaigns to optimize processes and best practices to improve the quality and costs of leads in subsequent campaigns. We track our engagement rates across our social media platforms which allows us to pinpoint the messaging that most resonates with our audience.

Did you always know that you were attracted to this type of work and to the nonprofit arena?

Yes, I have always been drawn to nonprofit work. Early on I volunteered at a Head Start, then a hospital and ran the Yale Charities Drive when I was in college. Working on Capitol Hill was a natural next step as it enabled me to understand how public policy is formed. After leaving the Hill, I was also very fortunate to have worked for Norman Lear. Norman’s profound commitment to the public good that permeated everything he did was inspiring.

My work with FosterMore builds on my past experience in the public sector, entertainment and nonprofit arena. I feel incredibly fortunate to work every day to tell people what I know: that youth in foster care are resilient, rife with potential and need all of us to succeed.

When you are addressing an issue that requires a long-term focus and commitment, how important is it for you and your team to take moments to celebrate the small wins along the way?

The FosterMore team is engaged in a constant process of measuring and planning and innovating.

We have bi-weekly meetings to discuss what works and ideate new initiatives. The process is guided by our advisors from the entertainment, child welfare and philanthropic fields.

Our quarterly meetings with our coalition members are an important moment to share what we have accomplished and be inspired by the work of our coalition members.

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Creating Positive Change for Women in Music An Interview with Michelle Arkuski, Executive Director, She Is The Music EDITORS’ NOTE Michelle Arkuski O R GA N I Z AT I O N B R I E F S h e I s is Executive Director for She Is The The Music (sheisthemusic.org) is a Music (SITM), a global nonprofit nonprofit organization increasing that is increasing the number of the number of women working in women working in music – songmusic – songwriters, engineers, writers, engineers, pr oducers, producers, artists and industry artists and industry professionals. professionals. It is an independent, She oversees the entirety of SITM’s global network that operates as a strategy, growth, global initiaunifying organization for women tives, community development from across the industry, creating and chapter/committee operastr ength and impact on a global tions. Over the past year, she has scale. As an umbrella nonprofit, it Michelle Arkuski led SITM in making historic strides: also provides resources and support executing a groundbreaking allfor women-focused initiatives that women writing camp in Asia with UMP are working to create meaningful change – China – SITM’s first non-U.S. writing camp; both through its own programs, as well as with launching its first U.K. camp to mentor women external efforts around the world. She Is The producers, “Next Up Producer”, with Fred and Music is a fund of the Entertainment Industry Kamille; launching its first virtual mentorship Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt program called “Connect Together”; launching organization. EIF is a Charity Navigator 4 SITM’s first-ever scholarship program in part- Star Charity that meets all 20 BBB Charity nership with Blackbird Academy Studios for Standards and carries the Candid Platinum women studying live/studio sound; launching Seal of Transparency.

She Is The Producer, a tutorial series focused on women in engineering/producing; helping What was the vision for creating She Is spearhead SITM’s first virtual songwriting camp The Music and how do you define its ever – during quarantine – with Shakira, Flo mission?

Milli, Normani; and countless other major After Dr. Stacy Smith released the USC efforts. Arkuski began her career in philan- Annenberg Inclusion Initiative study on the thropy working at Stand Up To Cancer with the gender disparity of women in music, Alicia Digital Marketing team where she worked on Keys, Jody Gerson, Sam Kirby Yoh, and Ann campaigns with high-profile celebrities such Mincieli decided it was time to create change as Bradley Cooper, Chris Evans, and Katie in the music industry. They founded She Is Couric, creating social copy and media for The Music with the vision of creating inclumajor events and TV integrations. She later sivity, opportunity and equality for women went on to support Communications and in music. She Is The Music’s mission is to Fund Development at Entertainment Industry increase the number of women in music – Foundation where she worked with celebrity-led songwriters, producers/engineers, artists, foundations including the Charlize Theron Africa industry professionals – and to develop the Outreach Project, Panic At The Disco’s Highest next generation of women in music.

Hopes Foundation, Jennifer Hudson’s Julian D. Will you provide an overview of She King Gift Foundation, and more. Co-founded in Is The Music’s programs?

2018, SITM is comprised of three key pillars: allShe Is The Music focuses on three key women songwriting camps, the largest global data- pillars to create impact. These three pillars base of women working in music, and mentorship include the largest global database of women programs to foster rising generations of women. The in music (both creatives and executives), global nonprofit’s Board of Directors includes super- mentorship programs, and our global allstar Alicia Keys, Universal Music Publishing Group female songwriting camps that connect Chairman and CEO Jody Gerson, Grammy Award- female engineers, writers, and producers winning producer and engineer Ann Mincieli, allowing them to collaborate in the studio.

Co-Head of UTA Music Samantha Kirby Yoh, We’re getting ready to launch our third founder of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative annual virtual mentorship program, Connect Dr. Stacy Smith, and Lionfish Entertainment TogetHER, which pairs industry profescofounder and CEO Rebeca Leon. sionals with women in our community for a 182 LEADERS

10 week, one on one program that covers 11 different categories of the music industry. We also have other programs including a virtual production tutorial series called She Is The Producer and She Is U, a college ambassador program in our chapter cities – Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Chicago, Miami, and Atlanta.

What are the keys to driving impact in the effort to increase the number of women working in music?

Education and hiring are key components of driving impact in the effort to increase the number of women working in music. You can’t be what you can’t see. There are still women who aren’t aware of all the different opportunities and possibilities in the industry that are available to them. Our mentorship programs, panels, workshops, and tutorials are really geared to equipping women with the knowledge to pursue and succeed in these different facets of the business. Our database is also a great resource for companies and women to find other like-minded women to hire and engage with. We always hear the famous line, “but I don’t know any female producers and engineers.” Our database and our She Is The Music community really puts that excuse to rest.

How is She Is The Music focused on providing mentorship to the next generation of women leaders in music?

I briefly touched on this earlier, but mentorship is itself one of our three key pillars to create lasting impact. Our mentorship committee has developed an array of programming that is free and available to anyone of interest. In addition to our virtual mentorship program, Connect TogetHER, we have partnered with Blackbird Academy Studios to provide full-ride scholarships to four women for Live Sound and Studio Engineering over a six-month period in Nashville. We have a YouTube series called Music Business Basics that breaks down the fundamentals of different parts of the industry with leaders in those key areas.

We also have our College Ambassadors that have full access to SITM resources on their campuses to encourage more awareness about the inequity in music and to drive inter nal panels, speaking engagements and events with other women interested in music.

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“After Dr. Stacy Smith released the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative study on the gender disparity of women in music, Alicia Keys, Jody Gerson, Sam Kirby Yoh, and Ann Mincieli decided it was time to create change in the music industry. They founded She Is The Music with the vision of creating inclusivity, opportunity and equality for women in music.”

How did She Is The Music adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the global pandemic?

The pandemic really allowed us to expand our reach outside of in-person events and it’s actually the reason why our virtual mentors h i p p r o g r a m , C o n n e c t To g e t H E R , w a s born. One of the hardest things about this time was the lack of opportunity. Internships didn’t exist at all, or they existed in very few numbers. The job market obviously wasn’t ideal. We looked at all of these students and recent graduates and thought, “What opportunities are they getting right now?”

The pandemic really allowed us to connect people from all over the world. We had artists like Syd, Big Freedia and Mickey Guyton

paired with mentees from Guatemala, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Australia. We also did our first virtual songwriting camp, in partnership with RCA Records and Unknown Music Publishing, in 12 different time zones over a span of four days. We received text messages from writers saying, “Never would we have had the chance to work together if we didn’t do something virtually.” It was pretty incredible.

How critical are metrics to measure the impact of She Is The Music’s initiatives?

We began to measure the percentage of women songwriters working on songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Year End Charts, and we have seen slight progress for women.

From 2017 to 2019, the percentage increased from 11.6 percent to 14.4 percent. While not significant, this is a sign that there may be greater opportunities for women songwriters of popular music. The percentage fell to 12.9 percent in 2020 which indicates that these gains are difficult to sustain. We did, however, see growth for women songwriting nominees at the Grammy Awards.

In 2017, women comprised 14.3 percent of nominees whereas in 2021 it was 44.8 percent. Additional research is still needed to understand whether women songwriters have made progress in specific genres, or in working with both major and independent publishers, but we’re also seeing more women in leading executive positions which is another positive sign.

How do you define success for She Is The Music’s work?

At the very minimum, She Is The Music is already succeeding by creating awareness about the gender gap in music. More specifically, we’re able to point to more and more women who have gone through our programs, found their first job in music through She Is The Music initiatives, landed their first song placement, or produced in a studio full of other women for the first time. Those are the successes that define us. We are so proud of the work we’re doing to create positive change for women in music.

Did you always know that you were attracted to the nonprofit arena and what excited you about the opportunity to lead She Is The Music?

I have always been passionate about philanthropy, but it wasn’t until my first job as a Digital Marketing Assistant at Stand Up To Cancer that I realized it was a career path I loved and could actually pursue. I was particularly excited about leading She Is The Music because at its inception and earliest days, I saw the support and enthusia sm of so many women with important and demanding full-time jobs in music who were donating their time and effort to creating change in the industry. To be honest, I think that is still one of the most powerful and separating factors of She Is The Music and other women’s organizations – our community and breadth of women in the industry is unstoppable.

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Shaping Change An Interview with Leah Harris, Program Manager, The Theatre Leadership Project EDITORS’ NOTE Leah Harris is a What was the vision for creating theater practitioner with years The Theatre Leadership Project of experience in education, and how do you define its community engagement, artistic mission? producing and program manageThe vision for TTLP is baked into ment. She received her bachelor’s our mission. We envision a thriving, in Theater Arts, with a focus on equitable and reflective body of leaddir ecting and education, fr om ership working across our commerSt. Edwards University in Austin, cial industry. Within that vision, we Texas. Shortly upon receiving her acknowledge that the opportunity to bachelor’s degree, she returned to be viewed as a leader in this space Dallas and joined the Education & hasn’t always been afforded to nonLeah Harris Engagement team at Tony Award white people. As Black, Indigenous Winning Dallas Theater Center and People of Color continue to (DTC) and began to focus her work on commu- trend towards becoming the global majority, nity engagement and partnerships, while grad- it is imperative that our leadership reflects that ually laying the groundwork for Public Works change. We know that white, homogenous Dallas, a participatory, community engaged leadership does not yield fair opportunities for program for all citizens of Dallas. Harris served Black and Brown individuals in our field, nor as the Public Works Dallas Manager until 2019, is it sustainable for the continued growth and when she transitioned into the role of Director of innovation that is so desperately needed right Community Engagement at Milwaukee Repertory now as we emerge from this pandemic. It is Theater. She has presented at numerous univer- essential to move beyond embracing the notion sities in Texas on racial equity in the arts and of change to creating the space to shape change. community engagement practices. Currently, TTLP’s mission is to create lasting change in the Harris is the Program Manager for The Theatre American Theatre by installing BIPOC leadLeadership Project, which specifically aims to ership in the industry. I’m so inspired by our transform the commercial producing space on mission and our focus on changing how we Broadway by supporting Black leadership in key view and create pathways to leadership within management roles. Harris is also a 2020/2021 the commercial theater industry. For me, our Arts & Culture Leaders of Color Fellow with mission can be defined by our ability to Americans for the Arts. successfully support, mentor and authentically engage with the next generation of BIPOC ORGANIZATION BRIEF Focused on producing, leaders. I feel fortunate that we’re able to envigeneral management, company management sion this work through thoughtful partnerships, and stage management, The Theatre Leadership Project (theatreleadershipproject.org) seeks to transform and strengthen American theatre by investing in mentorships, training, job placement, and long-term support for Black creatives in key leadership positions. TTLP will provide a compensation package, including healthcare and a moving stipend, and will have funds available for additional bespoke needs that address barriers to participation for chosen candidates.

Through intentional partnerships with mainly Black-led organizations, TTLP is committed to helping bring about the change that is needed in the field. The Theatre Leadership Project is a fund of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. EIF is a Charity Navigator 4 Star Charity that meets all 20 BBB Charity Standards and carries the Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency.

dedicated supporters and founding members who are committed to using their influence for long-term change.

How is TTLP working to create lasting change in the American Theatre by installing BIPOC leadership in the industry?

The “how” behind TTLP is twofold. We administer multiyear fellowships that offer enhanced financial resources and critical networking opportunities across the field.

Additionally, we look to financially support the work of smaller, BIPOC led initiatives that are mission aligned. Within that, we aim to make networking and intentional relationship building integral to our fellows’ experience. When assessing the needs for the success of this program, we looked at what is already being offered and what opportunities we had to offer something different.

The biggest takeaways in our research were that multiyear support and sustained funding are integral in retaining leaders in our field.

Part of our philosophy in establishing TTLP was to ensure that there was built in financial sustainability for all fellows; therefore, a $50,000 salary, full health benefits and additional bespoke funds for individual needs are all a part of our offering.

Presently, TTLP has supported Black Theatre Coalition’s work of six new, emerging Black General Management fellows working across some of the leading Broadway GM offices.

Most of those fellows relocated to New York, with direct financial support from TTLP. We’re supporting a new Black Creative Producer,

“Part of our philosophy in establishing TTLP was to

ensure that there was built in financial sustainability for all fellows; therefore, a $50,000 salary, full

health benefits and additional bespoke funds for individual needs are all a part of our offering.”

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“It is essential to move beyond embracing the notion of change to creating the space to shape change. TTLP’s mission is to create lasting change in the American Theatre by installing BIPOC leadership in the industry.”

through our partnership with Columbia’s Prince Fellowship, and more specifically, we are enhancing their experience – which is typically one year – by offering two additional years of sustained funding and lasting connections in the industry. This Creative Producer will be the first out of three we’ll be supporting.

Our Company Management offering is linked to our participation as an approved program with New York State as a qualifying diversity and arts job training program for the state’s $100 million New York City Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit, a two-year program designed to accelerate the return of entertainment and tourism industries devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, we are still dreaming and designing our Stage Management offering to ensure we’re funding programs that serve the needs of BIPOC stage managers.

How did TTLP adapt the way it works to address the challenges caused by the global pandemic?

TTLP was founded shortly after the summer of 2020, so in a lot of ways, the industry wide pause caused by the pandemic allowed the TTLP founders the necessary time to really assess the needs, raise the funds and secure partnerships for the program. We feel fortunate that by the time Broadway re-opened in September of 2021, we had fellows in place at six different leading Broadway General Management offices and one at Columbia University through our Creative Producer program. What an exciting and informative time to enter the industry.

How critical are metrics to measure the impact of TTLC’s efforts?

That’s a good question. I do believe that metrics are important in telling our story, but we have to investigate that even more. Outside of saying that TTLP has contributed X number of BIPOC leaders on Broadway, we have to look at the depth of their experience and how we’ve eradicated systems that have kept Black folks out in the first place. The homogenous body of leadership that has been allowed to govern Broadway is not reflective of America in 2022. Therefore, in a lot of ways, our directive is clear – get more diverse bodies in those positions. However, in order to make lasting change in the American Theatre, TTLP is committed to ensuring that our fellowships offer financial stability, networking opportunities and time to learn, fail, challenge and question the ways in which we work. TTLP was never meant to be a crash course in theatrical leadership/management. The reason why our fellowships are multiyear is because we believe in depth over breadth in our support of fellows. By focusing our resources on a smaller number of individuals over a longer period of time, we can have a deeper impact on their professional development. So yes, we want to ensure job placement for our fellows, but we also want to ensure we are developing leaders who are whole, valued and ready to sustain a career in the industry.

Did you always know that you were attracted to nonprofit work and what excited you about the opportunity to join The Theatre Leadership Project?

“We want to ensure job placement for our fellows, but we also want to ensure we are developing leaders who are whole, valued and ready to sustain a career in the industry.”

I didn’t. Going into my undergraduate career, I thought I was going to be a High School Theatre Director because I wanted to direct plays and big musicals. After graduating, I started working as a teaching artist at Dallas Theater Center and since then, I’ve been working full time in nonprofit regional theater-making across education, community programming and artistic producing departments. I’ve met some of the best artists and collaborators over the past seven years of working across nonprofits – it really does become about the people you meet and the connections you make.

The opportunity to join TTLP excited me because of its newness and the opportunity to co-create something from the ground up, particularly at a time when Broadway was trying to recover from the pandemic and make good on the promise for a more equitable and just field.

Additionally, I was eager to investigate how this nonprofit model lives within a for-profit commercial world. So much of what happens in the commercial sector impacts the regions and vice versa, so I feel fortunate to have the experience of working in both under my belt.

How do you define success for TLLP? For me, success for TTLP will look like a few different things. I also think I’m constantly evolving my definition of success. First, speaking more long term, in a few years, seeing fellows who have gone through our programs starting to become leaders in their own right and beginning to take root on Broadway will be a marker of TTLP’s success. Within that, I’m excited to see how our fellows build community with one another and how they support each other. Secondly, I am eager to see how other organizations and adjacent programs start to adapt to fill the needs of emerging leadership.

I believe that our methodology of multiyear, sustained support for pathways to leadership can absolutely serve as inspiration for a model for other disciplines in arts and culture spaces to sustainably grow a more reflective body of leadership. Lastly, I believe we have to envision the world we aspire to live in, and eventually our ultimate success will mean that programs like TTLP won’t have to exist and be so necessary.

So much of this work is aiming to correct the exclusionary systems, practices and policies that have kept marginalized groups out of decisionmaking power. Therefore, an industry that no longer relies on those systems and promotes true equity will feel successful.

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A Community of Cause Entrepreneurs An Interview with Tiffany Wojtkiewicz, President and Co-Founder, ONEHOPE Wine EDITORS’ NOTE Tiffany Wojtkiewicz’s WINERY BRIEF ONEHOPE Will you discuss ONEHOPE’s business leadership has been instrumental (onehopewine.com) is a winery on a model and how giving back is at the foundain establishing and growing mission to share wine and give hope. tion of the business?

ONEHOPE Wine into one of the ONEHOPE has quickly become one of I believe that ONEHOPE is more than just most notable wine brands in the the most recognizable cause brands wine. It is a platform to sip together and share country. Wojtkiewicz started as the due to the success of their cornerstone ideas on how to make the world a better place.

EVP of Sales shortly after the brand’s product, ONEHOPE Wine. To date, You can give 10 percent back to a cause of choice launch in 2007. She was responsible ONEHOPE has donated more than $8 through joining our wine club, hosting a tasting, for managing wholesale and distrimillion to nonprofits around the world or becoming a Cause Entrepreneur. Our commubution partnerships and then tranand inspired a community of entrepre- nity of Cause Entrepreneurs is truly the heart of sitioned to Chief Revenue Officer neurs to make an impact while earning our brand. They are passionate wine-lovers who in 2014. She was responsible for all an income. Through the company’s host virtual and in-person wine tasting events to Tiffany Wojtkiewicz revenue channels and integrating wine fundraisers, ONEHOPE is democ- raise money for local causes. Today, we have and aligning the sales, marketing, ratizing the Napa Valley wine tasting over 10,000 Cause Entrepreneurs throughout the and customer support departments. Her involve- experience and empowering consumers to support country who are giving back and it is incredible ment resulted in annual growth of more than the causes that matter most to them through wine. to see this community grow every day.

50 percent per year and helped the brand Will you highlight ONEHOPE’s investmove from $0 in sales to over $10 million How do you define ONEHOPE’s purpose ment in having a world-class winery in the a year in sales with the production of over 1 and mission? heart of Napa? million bottles of wine per year. In 2017, she At ONEHOPE, our mission is to share wine We recently opened our winery in the stepped into her current role as President, over- and give hope. We have always been a brand that heart of Napa Valley. It is the physical maniseeing the entire executive team, and has been gives back every day and since we were founded in festation of our vision. It’s a place where we responsible for finance, operations, sales and 2007, we’ve proudly been able to do that. To date, invite people to gather, find inspiration, and marketing. Under her leadership, ONEHOPE has we’ve donated more than $8 million to nonprofits join us on our mission to share great wine and grown their sales by growing their community all over the world with our award-winning wine and give hope to many. It is designed by acclaimed of Cause Entrepreneurs, independent reps that have also donated to over 30,000 local nonprofits. Napa Valley architect, Howard Backen, and our share wine and give hope in their local areas.

This program allows individuals to market the brand through virtual and in-home wine tasting events. ONEHOPE facilitates all sales transactions and shipping with customers through proprietary software built by their in-house engineering team. Today, Wojtkiewicz has helped build this community of 10,000+ people throughout the U.S., helping to grow ONEHOPE’s direct-to-consumer revenue growth by over 100 percent YOY while also growing the community by more than 350 percent in 2020. In addition to helping to turn ONEHOPE into one of the top 250 wineries by volume (of over 10,000 in the U.S.), Wojtkiewicz has empowered thousands of women to find purpose and fulfillment through giving back and entrepreneurship. Under Wojtkiewicz’s leadership, ONEHOPE has donated over $8 million to nonprofits worldwide while helping raise awareness for 30,000+ nonprofits. These accomplishments and many others have culminated in Wojtkiewicz being recognized as an expert by media outlets such as Entrepreneur, Forbes, and a finalist in Wine Enthusiast’s 40 Under 40 list.

She’s been a speaker at numerous conferences and events and sits on ONEHOPE’s Board of Directors.

Wojtkiewicz graduated from the Eller College of ONEHOPE Winery exterior Management at the University of Arizona.

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“I believe that ONEHOPE is more than just wine.

It is a platform to sip together and share ideas on how to make the world a better place.”

ONEHOPE Estate and Reserve Wine

vineyard on the property allows us to make delicious, organic wines crafted by our winemaker, Mari Wells Coyle.

Will you provide a few examples of ONEHOPE’s impact and how you help support worthy causes?

As we’ve grown, our impact has grown.

We’ve also evolved our giving model since we

ONEHOPE Winery tasting room

ONEHOPE Winery interior VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

started in 2007. Today, in addition to empowering our customers to give back to a cause that is important to them, we also give back to causes that focus on education, health, water, and hunger through the ONEHOPE Foundation. In 2021, we donated to many nonprofits including charity: water, Equal Justice Initiative, and Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

We’ve helped build a school in Guatemala, planted a forest in Indonesia, and we’ve provided over 3 million meals to children in need throughout the U.S. ONEHOPE is building a Community of Cause Entrepreneurs. Will you discuss this effort and how ONEHOPE supports this community?

Our community of Cause Entrepreneurs continues to grow year after year. This program allows individuals to market the brand through virtual and in-home wine tasting events, but more importantly, it has empowered thousands of women (and some men) to find purpose and fulfillment through giving back and entrepreneurship. We connect with our community both virtually and in person and they inspire us to continue growing our company.

How did ONEHOPE adapt its business to address the challenges caused by the pandemic?

When the world went into lockdown, we already had our direct shipping process in place, so that was key to being able to continue reaching our customers. In addition, our Cause Entrepreneurs were able to take their in-person tastings online and do them virtually. Because of this, our community of Cause Entrepreneurs and our ability to give back grew exponentially.

We adapted quickly and were able to make it one of our most successful years to date.

As a leading woman in the wine industry, what do you tell young women about the opportunities that exist to grow and lead in the industry?

After I graduated college, I joined the Gallo Management Program, which was an incredible introduction to the wine industry that got me to where I am today. I believe there are more opportunities for women in the wine industry than ever before and our Cause Entrepreneur program is a great place to start. We offer the opportunity to learn about wine, connect with customers and provide the tools to set you up on an incredible journey in wine.

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Celebrating the Lunar New Year of the Tiger with China General Chamber of Commerce – USA Prominent American and Chinese Business Leaders Celebrate “Resilience and Appreciation” in 2022

On Tuesday, February 2 2 , 2 0 2 2 , China General Chamber of Commerce-USA ( CGCC) and CGCC Foundation, the largest and most impactful nonprofit, non governmental, non partisan organization representing Chinese investment in the United States, hosted the 2 0 2 2 Lunar N ew Year of the Tiger Gala at Cipriani 4 2 ns Street in Manhattan and virtually.

The CGCC Gala marked the first time in almost two years that 3 0 0 of the uppermost business leaders, government officials, and representatives from the two countries were able to safely gather in person to celebrate the Lunar N ew Year and honor the achievements and contributions to business collaborations between the U.S. and China.

Celebrating the Resilience of the U.S. China busi ness communities and showing “Appreciation” to impactful companies and leaders, the annual celebration gathered old and new friends for an enjoyable evening full of delicious food and drink and an engaging event program whose speakers’ moving remarks provided further hope for the future of the bilateral relationship.

Special Appreciation Ning Yuan & Chen Xu CGCC recognized Ning Yuan, Vice Chair of CGCC and Chairman & President of China Construction America, and Chen Xu, Chairman of CGCC, and President & CEO of Bank of China U.S.A., for their unconditional support, guidance, and encouragement throughout the years.

About CGCC

About CGCC Foundation

Founded in , China General Chamber of Commerce USA ( CGCC ) has been recognized as the largest and most impactful non profit organization representing Chinese enterprises in the U.S. As an independent, non partisan, non governmental chamber of commerce, CGCC provides a broad range of programs, services, and resources to over a thousand multinational members across the U.S., with a mission to create value, generate economic growth, and enhance cooperation between the U.S. and Chinese business communities.

Established in , CGCC Foundation is a (c)( ) tax exempt organization. The mission of CGCC Foundation is to deepen mutual understanding and cooperation between the United States and China through research, public charity, and engagement in economic, cultural, and social exchanges.

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contact cgccusa.org

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WeChat Offical Account CGCCUSA VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

CGCC 2022 Gala Honorees Business leaders and companies who have demonstrated dedication and exceptional resilience in strengthening the U.S.- China economic relationship

The Principle Award : Ray Dalio Ray Dalio, Founder, Co Chairman and Co Chief Investment Officer of Bridgewater Associates was honored with The Principle Award, for exemplifying the principles of cooperation and collaboration, and for breaking new ground in his company’s investments and strengthening business ties between the U.S. and China.

For more than years, Mr. Dalio has been visiting and studying China’s markets through management and consulting projects. His timely perspectives on China have made incred ible contributions towards improving knowledge and understanding amongst Americans and Chinese people. I hope that you will join me in speaking up to help mutual understandings and improve relationships between our two countries. Thank you very much for this very great honor and I’m so grateful for the relationship and for all of you being here in support of that, said Mr. Dalio.

Outstanding Economic Development Partner of the Year Award: Delaware Prosperity Partnership The Delaware Prosperity Partnership was awarded the Outstanding Economic Development Partner of the Year Award for their efforts and dedication to sustainable growth and commit ment to long term U.S. China economic cooperation. Thank you to CGCC for the great honor of recognizing our state and its leadership as an economic development partner of the year. Delaware is a special place, a place that is blessed with geographic, competitive costs, and a long standing spirit of pro business cooperation and partnership, said Kurt Foreman, President & CEO of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership.

As a nonprofit economic development organization, DPP has been leading Delaware’s economic development efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses since its creation in .

With its public private business development model, fully engaged teams and leadership, and extensive global marketing strategy, DPP works above and beyond to support its local busi nesses and cross border trade and investments to the Delaware region.

Outstanding Achievement Award – Energy & Infrastructure: Surge Energy America Surge Energy America was recognized with the Outstanding Achievement Award Energy & Infrastructure for their unyielding spirit and profound achievements in the energy industry.

Linhua Guan, CEO of Surge Energy America, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

I want to thank the CGCC for this recognition and all their support. We are proud of what we do for the U.S. economy, said Mr. Guan.

As a leading production company focused on the acquisition and development of onshore oil and gas properties in the United States, Surge Energy America demonstrates flexibility and resilience in reacting to complex challenges and capitalizing on unique opportunities.

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Hope and Optimism for the Economic Relationship China General Chamber of Commerce-USA 2022 Gala Program Highlights

Opening Remarks

Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York

The CGCC 20 Gala opened with remarks from Chen Xu, Chairman of CGCC and President & CEO of Bank of China U.S.A, who welcomed all CGCC guests and friends to the event, “Two years ago, no one would have imagined the level of disruption to businesses across the globe. During that time, CGCC still made important gains through Resilience and Optimism.”

During her keynote address, Governor of N ew York, K athy Hochul, ex pressed her appreciation for CGCC and CGCC Foundation’s great work towards supporting local communities during the pandemic as well as building bridges between the U.S. and China. We will be defined by not what we went through, but how we come through the other side. And that’s why working closely with this incredible organization, CGCC, and Chairman Xu and so many others who have lent your talents and resources to build this city into the magnificent place that it is, I want you to know that your investments, your faith, your belief in a better future are well placed.”

Mr. Xu went on to ex press his gratitude and appreciation towards CGCC’s members and partners for their support to the community and their willingness to step up during these most challenging years.

Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City, spoke up for the AAPI communi ties in N ew York City and called for understanding and growth. “CGCC went through a horrific period when the main factor of COVID was shamefully attached to the Chinese people. W e are so much better as a city. Our potent secret weapon against COVID might be vaccines, but our weapon against hate is our diversity.”

Steven Fulop, Mayor of Jersey City During a special appreciation presentation, Steven Fulop, Mayor of Jersey City, expr essed his gratitude for the cooperation and partnership of Chinese companies at the local level. At the local level we have part nerships that are really, really special. W e are thankful for the hundreds of millions of dollars that the Chinese private entities have invested in Jersey City.”

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Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Chubb

Ambassador Gang Qin

Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Chubb, highlighted the importance of CGCC and its function as a platform to connect the two business communities in his special remarks. “Two-way trade and investment create interdependency which in turn add balance and act as a stabilizer for our countries.”

Attending the event virtually, Gang Qin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the United States of America, congratulated the Gala honorees and emphasized that “the [U.S.China] business community should continue to serve as a bridge and a bond between our two countries, to cultivate the objective and rational view of both sides and tell the story of cooperation.”

Fireside Chat with Ray Dalio During the event, David Schner, President and Executive Editor of LEADERS Magazine, sat down with Ray Dalio, Founder, Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Bridgewater Associates, for a special fireside chat where they discussed Mr. Dalio’s long history of friendship with China, his philanthropic work, and his new book, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order.

Talking about the inspiration behind his new book, Mr. Dalio explained that “Many of the things that surprised me in my lifetime were things that just didn’t happen in my lifetime, but happened many times before. There are three big things that are happening in our lifetimes that I needed to study, those are the amount of creation of debt and the printing of money that has financial consequences through the system, the second is the amount of internal conflict between the left and the right as a result of very large wealth gaps, and the third is the rising of a great power to compete with the existing great power of the United States, and the existing world order. In order to study those, I needed to see the cycles – what makes empires and dynasties rise and fall.”

John Carney, Governor of Delaware John Carney, Governor of Delaware and Co-chair of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, joined the Gala virtually to offer his words of congratulations to the Delaware Prosperity Partnership on winning the Outstanding Economic Development Partner of the Year Award. “As co-chair of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership board of directors, I’m proud of our statewide efforts to create sustainable growth in industries like fintech, advanced manufacturing, food production, healthcare, and science and technology.”

Closing Remarks The program concluded with closing remarks from Steven Xu Tan, ViceChair of CGCC and President of China Telecom Americas. “Cultural exchange, communication and collaboration are the vaccines that prevent the scourge of suspicion, hostility, and conflicts. We are the antibodies, fighting for a trusting and compassionate world at a time when calls for isolation seemed epidemic.”

Special Thanks:

Bank of China U.S.A., Ernst & Young LLP, Las Vegas Sands, Bridgewater Associates & Dalio Philanthropies, Shineharmony Holdings, Inc., China Construction America, China Telecom (Americas) Corporation, JP Morgan, SL Green, China Mobile International (USA) Inc., State Grid US Representative Office, Citigroup, Inc., The Moinian Group, JN Fibers, Inc, The Starr Foundation, Vornado Realty L.P, Chubb Group, ICBC, LEADERS Magazine, China Investment Corp New York Representative Office, Gemdale USA Corporation, CICC US Securities, Inc., China Unicom Americas, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, China Merchants Bank New York Branch, Loop Capital, China Construction Bank New York Branch, SCG America, Delta, Moody’s Corporation, Vanke (USA) Holding , Morgan Stanley, Greenland USA, Tiffany, Boeing, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC, Hongdou New York Inc., Delaware Prosperity Partnership, Eccom Network (USA), Inc., Viasat, COSCO SHIPPING (North America) Inc., Agricultural Bank of China New York Branch, Bank of Communications New York Branch, SWOOP, Angela Chen, China Disabled Persons’ Federation

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Generating Economic Opportunities An Interview with Jennifer Wakefield, APR, President and Chief Executive Officer, Greater Richmond Partnership EDITORS’ NOTE Jennifer Wakefield PA R T N E R S H I P B R I E F G r e a t e r is the President and Chief Executive Richmond Partnership, Inc. (grpva.com) is Officer for the Greater Richmond the lead regional economic develPartnership (GRP). She assumed opment organization for the City her current role in February 2021 of Richmond and the counties of after serving as Interim President Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico in and CEO twice, Chief Operating Virginia. GRP impacts the Richmond Officer and Senior Vice President of Region by recruiting companies from Marketing for the organization. Prior all over the globe which provide employto joining GRP, Wakefield served as ment opportunities and taxable capital the Vice President of Marketing and investment for the local community.

Communications for the Orlando GRP offers no-cost site location assisJennifer Wakefield Economic Development Commission tance and other services to domestic (now the Orlando Economic and foreign companies planning new Partnership) for 11 years. In addition to her expe- or expanded facilities. It is a single point of rience in economic development, she has experi- contact to the network of private sector and ence in the transportation, utility and financial state and local government professionals that services industries. She holds the Accreditation in support a company’s facility location decision.

Public Relations (APR) designation, signifying a GRP has three main priorities – lead generation, high level of professional experience, competence marketing, and research. GRP is organized as and ethical standards. She is a former adjunct a public/private, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corpocommunications professor at the University of ration funded jointly by the four local governCentral Florida. Wakefield is a member of the ments and approximately 100 area businesses.

International Economic Development Council (IEDC) where she serves as the chair of the Will you highlight the history and heriMarketing Committee, on the IEDC Economic tage of GRP? Development Research Practitioners (EDRP) Greater Richmond Partnership started in council and has served as a regular speaker at 1994 as the lead regional economic developIEDC marketing courses and conferences. She is ment organization for the City of Richmond and a member of the American Marketing Association surrounding counties of Chesterfield, Hanover (AMA) and the Public Relations Society of America and Henrico in Virginia, but its origin serving our (PRSA). In the Richmond Region, she is on the local partners started more than 40 years ago.

Management Roundtable, the Richmond Federal Today we are a public/private 501(c)(3) Reserve Industry Roundtable, University of nonprofit that assists companies in choosing Richmond Robins School Executive Advisory Greater Richmond for their next location. A few Council, the City of Richmond Economic Vitality of our recent announcements include CoStar Advisory Committee, the I-64 Innovation Corridor Group’s “little HQ2” which includes a $453 Research Council, the Japan-Virginia Society, million investment and 2,000 new jobs, as well and is part of the VCU Advanced Pharmaceutical as a state-of-the-art Amazon facility which will Manufacturing Cluster Development Program. utilize robotics and employ 1,000 people.

Wakefield has been named among Top 50 Economic Developers by Consultant Connect, Top 40 Under 40 Economic Development Professionals

by Development Counsellors International and International Economic Development Council, and Top 40 Under 40 professionals in Orlando by the Orlando Business Journal. She has won numerous local, regional, national and international awards for her work. She is a 2005 graduate of Leadership Orlando and a 2018 graduate of Lead Virginia.

Wakefield has a master’s degree in communications from the University of Central Florida and a bachelor’s degree in public relations and advertising from the University of West Florida.

How do you define GRP’s mission and purpose?

GRP attracts new companies to the region by providing in-depth market data, marketing the region globally and generating quality economic opportunities. Our mission is to aggressively generate economic opportunities that create quality jobs for residents in the region and increase the tax base for needed community services. Our vision is that Greater Richmond will be the top midsized region in the U.S. for companies to invest.

What are the main services that GRP provides?

We offer a multitude of services for companies or consultants looking to expand or relocate to the Richmond region. Our team of experts can assist with confidential project management assistance, site selection assistance, providing key connections to organizations in the region, in-depth market data, resources for incentives, workforce recruitment and training.

How important has it been to have such an engaged and committed board of directors for GRP? It’s critical for any economic development organization to have a committed and engaged board. I’m fortunate that we have a strong coalition of both public and private sector leaders that have been committed to our success since 1994.

How do you define success for GRP’s efforts?

Winning more jobs and investment for the region, enhancing awareness of Greater Richmond as a top mid-sized region for business, and moving up lists and rankings will define our success.

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“Our vision is that Greater Richmond

will be the top mid-sized region in the U.S. for companies to invest.”

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Virginia’s Bank An Interview with John Asbury, President and Chief Executive Officer, Atlantic Union Bankshares EDITORS’ NOTE John Asbury full-service bank. We also maintain describes himself as an accidental operations in Maryland and North banker as a result of a college Carolina, and our specialty equipment summer job that he stumbled upon at finance division is based in Atlanta.

United Virginia Bank (later Crestar, What have been the keys to the now SunTrust) in his hometown. strength and leadership of Atlantic Upon graduation, he was hired into Union Bank? the commercial training program at At Atlantic Union Bank, our Wachovia Bank & Trust in Winstonculture and core values – Caring, Salem, North Carolina. He initially Courageous and Committed – coupled served as a commer cial cr edit with a clear strategic vision, have been officer, then a commercial relationcritical to our overall strength and John Asbury ship manager, and fr om ther e success. Many of our leaders have moved through increasing levels of come from larger institutions and tell management in a wide variety of roles and loca- us they were attracted to the company because tions across the country. Asbury’s 30-year career of our culture, ongoing growth, relentless has come full circle and allowed him to take part commitment to our customers and communities, in recreating something that has not existed in and the opportunity to make a personal differnearly 20 years – a Virginia-based regional ence in the organization. They recognize we are bank, much like the place where he began his large enough and capable enough to provide career. Asbury contributes to his community an attractive alternative to other national and and industry through various nonprofit board regional banks, while still maintaining responmemberships such as the Virginia Chamber of siveness, a personal approach and accountCommerce, Chamber RVA, Virginia Foundation ability. Some have described us as a regional for Independent Colleges, Virginia Bankers bank with the heart of a community bank, and Association, and various industry organiza- I think that is true. tions. He was educated in Virginia, earning a BS in business at Virginia Tech and an MBA at The College of William & Mary.

“As banking

C O M PA N Y B R I E F H e a d q u a r t e r e d i n Richmond, Virginia, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (atlanticunionbank.com) is the holding company for Atlantic Union Bank.

Atlantic Union Bank has 130 branches and approximately 150 ATMs located throughout Virginia, and in portions of Maryland and North Carolina. Certain non-bank financial services affiliates of Atlantic Union Bank include: Atlantic Union Equipment Finance, Inc., which provides equipment financing; Dixon, Hubard, Feinour & Brown, Inc., which provides investment advisory services; Atlantic Union Financial Consultants, LLC, which provides brokerage services; and Union Insurance Group, LLC, which offers various lines of insurance products.

Will you highlight Atlantic Union Bank’s business?

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professionals, we are in an especially unique position to educate our communities on financial literacy and provide sound advice.”

How important is it for Atlantic Union Bank to build a diverse and inclusive workforce?

Building a diverse and inclusive workforce is an essential component of who we are. We want our company to reflect the communities we serve, and we make a real effort to hire

teammates with diverse and unique perspectives.

Our goal is to create one team that values everyone’s ideas and contributions. By embracing our differences and treating everyone with respect, we are better able to enrich the lives of the people and communities we serve.

Diversity, equity and inclusion are woven into every aspect of how we run our business, from our community involvement and charitable giving to our teammate hiring and retention strategies and daily interactions. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, which I created and chair, ensures we deliver on our promise. I am proud to say that this council is a diverse group of teammates with employees from all levels of the organization. They ensure all voices are heard.

What do you see as Atlantic Union Bank’s responsibility to the communities it serves?

A bank is only as strong as the communities it serves. As stewards of our depositors’ funds and operating with the privilege of FDIC insurance, it is our duty to ensure communities and customers can realize their economic potential. We achieve this by being good stewards of their funds and knowledgeable and caring advisors who also provide fair credit access where needed. As banking professionals, we are in an especially unique position to educate our communities on financial literacy and provide sound advice. Lastly, as I often mention, when you live in the communities you serve, and we most certainly do, you must answer to your communities and be accountable.

What advice do you offer to young people interested in a career in banking?

Banking is a great career path that I highly recommend. A banking career provides the opportunity to “do well while doing good” and make a positive impact on the lives of your customers and the communities you serve.

While most of us think of our branch networks and commercial bankers as “the bank,” we are also a business with extensive supporting operations. The banking industry welcomes diverse talent. It has a wide range of careers not just in customer facing roles, but also in numerous other disciplines such as technology, cybersecurity, digital, operations, finance, accounting, HR, marketing and more. It is not uncommon to see people move among various functions throughout their careers as I have done. The sky is the limit.

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Continual Innovation An Interview with Elena Edwards, Chief Executive Officer, North America, Allianz Partners EDITORS’ NOTE Elena Edwards innovate to better meet the needs of joined the Allianz Partners team in our customers and partners. Prior to 2019 as General Manager for the moving into my current position as U.S. business, providing executive CEO, I led a reorganization of our leadership on strategy, prioritization business teams that resulted in tremenand execution for the U.S. business dous improvements in how fast we unit. Having served in prior leadmoved to develop new processes and ership positions in various GE busiproducts. That agile way of working nesses, she has an understanding was enthusiastically embraced by our of the importance of creating and associates who were eager to tackle maintaining ideal operating the challenges that would continue to conditions with a strong focus on move the company forward and mainElena Edwards customer service. This background tain our leadership in the travel insurand expertise helped her lead straance industry. I’m really proud to be tegic change in business operations and processes part of an organization that embraces change at Genworth Financial. Edwards believes in and has rapid innovation in its DNA. giving back to communities and has volunteered Will you provide an overview of Allianz on several nonprofit boards. She is currently Partners’ business? an active member on the Science Museum of Allianz Partners is the global leader in travel Virginia Foundation Board. Edwards holds a BS insurance and travel assistance, with offices in in mechanical engineering from Union College 41 countries and operations in 75 countries. and an ME in mechanical engineering from We’re a business unit of Allianz SE, one of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. world’s largest financial services companies, so we’re part of a very large organization with COMPANY BRIEF Allianz Partners (allianz- global reach, tremendous stability and a heripartners.com) is a world leader in B2B2C insur- tage that goes back to 1890. In Richmond, we ance and assistance, offering global solutions manage the company’s U.S. travel insurance that span international health and life, travel and assistance business and offer our products insurance, automotive and assistance. Customer and services through a diverse group of travel driven, its innovative experts are redefining suppliers, including airlines, online travel ageninsurance services by delivering future-ready, cies, travel agents, cruise lines, hotel compahigh-tech/high-touch products and solutions nies, and tour operators, as well as directly to that go beyond traditional insurance. Its prod- consumers. We also provide ticket insurance ucts are embedded seamlessly into partners’ and assistance services through the country’s businesses or sold directly to customers, and leading event ticketing platforms and entertainare available through four commercial brands: ment companies. If you book a trip or buy a Allianz Assistance, Allianz Automotive, Allianz ticket to a concert, there’s a very good chance Travel and Allianz Care. Present in 75 coun- that you’ll be offered our products and services. tries, the company’s 21,500 employees speak 70 We also manage card member benefits for languages, handle over 65 million cases each credit card providers and have been a leader in year, and are motivated to go the extra mile to providing tuition insurance to college students. help and protect customers around the world.

It’s a lot to manage, but we’re lucky to have 800 amazing associates who are dedicated to the What excited you about the opportunity success of our partners and customers. to join Allianz Partners and made you feel How did Allianz Partners adapt the way it was the right fit? it works to address the challenges caused The insurance business has a reputation for by the pandemic? being a staid, old-school type of industry where Like a lot of companies in the travel industry, innovation doesn’t come easily. When I was the pandemic hit us hard. In March 2020, while offered the opportunity to join Allianz Partners, we were sending our associates to work from I quickly realized that the environment here is home, we were also working quickly to put into exactly the opposite. Maybe it’s because we’re place temporary COVID-related accommodain the travel industry, which is fast paced and a tions that would help our customers who were lot of fun, but the culture here is to continually traveling or planning trips and help our partners 194 LEADERS

give consumers the confidence to book future travel. Since then, we’ve made many of these accommodations permanent and have included additional coverage and benefits to our products to address the evolving market needs caused by the pandemic. Our efforts seemed to have paid off as we saw our customers return in 2021 in numbers that rivaled and even surpassed 2019.

Internally, we have now adopted a hybrid work model which offers associates the ability to collaborate in person while also enjoying the flexibility of several days a week working from home.

What are your priorities for Allianz Partners as you look to the future?

Our immediate goals are to successfully navigate the challenges of the pandemic and what some are calling the “new normal.” It’s difficult to predict when all of this will end, but we’re squarely focused on serving our partners and customers and helping our valued associates meet the challenges they’ve faced during this unprecedented situation. With every challenge comes opportunities and we’ve noticed that in an uncertain world, the peace of mind that we offer to our customers has become increasingly valuable. We are also focused on continuing to innovate in a space where insurtech companies are now getting a lot of attention. We’re in an enviable position where we have proven our success in the industry, are partnered with many of the large travel providers and are laser focused on continual innovation.

We call this the Allianz Advantage. It’s our way of saying that we have the resources, the experience and the drive to continually innovate to make our products and services even more valuable to our partners and customers.

You serve on the board of the Greater Richmond Partnership. What has made GRP so effective and important?

It’s both exciting and gratifying to serve on the board of an organization that plays such an important role in making our region a wonderful place to live, work and play. The GRP has been tremendously successful in convincing some of our country’s top organizations to locate key facilities in the region. This not only helps expand the area’s tax base which pays for the important services that our associates enjoy, but it adds to the diversity of industries and people and helps make the region a vibrant and attractive location for the many organizations that will follow. I’m proud to play a small part in the many successes that can be attributed to the GRP’s outstanding work.

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RICHMOND

Creating a Safe Space An Interview with Michael Sparks, Chief Executive Officer, The Underground Kitchen EDITORS’ NOTE Michael Sparks is What was your vision for creating a fashion designer turned culinary The Underground Kitchen? entrepreneur who created a pop-up The vision for UGK was to create supper club that offers its members a safe space free from discrimination unique fine dining experiences, and abuse for people of color, women, set in unexpected, secret locations those with disabilities and members of within their city. A 35-year veteran the LGBTQ community. This allows fashion designer, Sparks made the chefs to express their art through food segue into the food industry when with authenticity while at the same he moved to Richmond from New time honoring their culture. Our chefs York in 2009, as the culinary scene are shown appreciation for talent was just beginning to flourish. As an rather than oftentimes finding themMichael Sparks avid home cook and food enthusiast, selves supporting white male chefs he relished the discovery of the city’s doing most of the work without recogepicurean gems and wanted to share them with nition. Our chefs are not just offering amazing others, but found it difficult to forge friendships food, but providing an experience. with other professionals who were constantly on the go. Eventually, Sparks connected with several of his neighbors and together they formed The Underground Kitchen (UGK), which brings people together through a shared experience of fine dining, community and a sense of occasion.

INSTITUTION BRIEF The Underground Kitchen (theundergroundkitchen.org) is experiential dining that has been called the “most exclusive dining ticket in town.” Its luxurious, intimate, themed events feature four- to seven-course menus created by some of the top emerging chefs in the country. Typically, the locations of its events remain “underground” until 48 hours prior to the event to heighten excitement and intrigue. UGK gives its chefs carte blanche to go beyond their culinary comfort zones to create unforgettable menus that leave a lasting impression. Bringing chefs, farmers, and niche purveyors closer to guests is customary at UGK events. UGK strives to educate consumers about where their food comes from, the history and influences that make its chefs unique, and the care and expertise that is exercised in presenting their dining experience. UGK is dedicated to promoting a diverse group of chefs, most often seeking out those who are typically underrepresented in the culinary world. It strives to educate chefs not just about preparation and presentation, but also about the business of running a kitchen, partnering with local vendors, farmers, wineries, and constantly evaluating their standards to keep them to the highest level. In addition, UGK is committed to educating its guests about where their food comes from, about how pairings are created, how menus are developed, the details of gourmet techniques, and about the unique backgrounds, talents, and offerings of its chefs, vendors, sponsors, and farmers.

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“The vision for UGK was to create a safe space free from discrimination and abuse for people of color, women, those with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ community.”

How has The Underground Kitchen evolved since its founding?

It all began in my backyard, moving from New York City to Richmond in 2009, when we knew no one. As a home cook, I thought a great way to engage with others in our community would be throwing New York Style dinner parties. As these parties grew, all the profits went to organizations that provide relief to local areas with food insecurities. Within the first six years we provided a culinary experience to 32 cities along the East Coast which has now grown to 42 cities, with a concentration in a four-hour radius of Richmond. We put on four to five events each month, 54 events per year

which include being invited to the James Beard House with five diverse chefs to cook during a collaboration of diversity. At Fort Monroe, we curated a beautiful event honoring the history of this site and those that passed through its walls both at the beginning of slavery and at the end of slavery. We have many corporate events and a TV offer on hold as we wait for COVID to subside. Beyond the exclusive dinner experience through The Underground Kitchen Community, we have provided hearty soups rich in flavor and fresh baked bread, beautifully and thoughtfully prepared by our chefs, to over 170,000 families in need and first responders over the course of this pandemic.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities for growth for The Underground Kitchen?

In allowing a diverse selection of chefs an audience to spread awareness, start owning their heritage, and reclaiming and presenting it in new ways, we want to empower them to move toward the lifestyle of owning their own brands and creating a platform to share their story through food and culture combined with the ability to sell directly to the public.

What do you see as the strengths that Richmond offers from a business standpoint?

Richmond is a secondary city that is growing and forgiving, and that allows one to make mistakes, figure them out and try it over again. Richmond is on the cusp of a new beginning, being the old confederate capital and recognizing the past for what was by removing the reminders of oppression and division. This has inspired people in the city and a lot of our young and vibrant residents are the first in their families to break barriers in society, bringing a fresh perspective grounded in our communities. At UGK we are in the middle of it all, with an executive staff collectively bringing over 120 years of experiences. We joined forces to change the face of the food and hospitality industry and Richmond is at the heart of it all.

Did you always know you had an entrepreneurial spirit and desire to build your own business?

I have been preparing for 40 years for where I am now. I never looked at myself as an entrepreneur, and I see myself as more of a trailblazer. My focus is seeing the potential of others, celebrating their gifts and getting them the recognition they deserve, rather than self-promotion.

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A Community for Women Leaders An Interview with Shannon Siriano Greenwood, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Rebelle Community EDITORS’ NOTE As the CEO of Rebelle Community, Shannon Siriano Greenwood’s work supports working women in creating meaningful connections that will support them both pr ofessionally and personally. Rebelle brings together women who ar e craving deep connection in formats including panel conversations, influencer interviews, hands-on workshops, and meetups with mentors. It offers a boutique conference experience Shannon Siriano Greenwood (Rebelle Con), an online membership community (Rebelle Community), and a was really going on. In Richmond, Virginia, where year-long program for professional women to we are headquartered, there are women leading connect (SWELL by Rebelle). The goal is for every in technology, entrepreneurship, consumer prodwoman to have a Wolf Pack, as defined by Abby ucts, food and so many other industries, but there Wambach, “a crew of brave and honest women were not many places for them to gather outside to support you.” of their own industry events. Our mission is to support women leaders in defining and creating ORGANIZATION BRIEF Rebelle Community their own version of success. We do that by (readytorebelle.com) brings together women providing opportunities for shared experience leaders from a variety of industries to support with a diverse group of professionals. one another through peer mentorship. Inside Will you provide an overview of the its programs, members have access to online services that Rebelle Community offers? and offline content, including an annual conferWhat started as a single event has grown ence hosted in Richmond, Virginia. Rebelle into so much more. The primary way we supports leaders in developing a new level of support women leaders is through our peer confidence, honing their leadership style, mentoring program, SWELL by Rebelle. We finding clarity, and creating action to improve match members with a small cohort of their both their professional and personal fulfillment. peers and facilitate monthly group sessions.

In addition, we publish a quarterly magazine, What was your vision for creating Rebelle Rebelle Magazine. What we are primarily known Community and how do you define its for is our annual boutique conference, Rebelle mission?

Con, a two-day immersive event that brings My vision for creating Rebelle Community was together leaders from a variety of industries to have a safe space for women to share what to share their lessons learned.

“Women represent 45 percent of the

S&P 500 workforce, but only 21 percent of senior leadership positions. In

other words, it is lonely at the top.”

“Our mission is to support women leaders in defining and creating their own version of success.

We do that by providing opportunities for shared experience with a diverse group of professionals.”

What do you see as the importance of building a community and network for women to grow and thrive in business?

Women represent 45 percent of the S&P 500 workforce, but only 21 percent of senior leadership positions. In other words, it is lonely at the top. By providing an opportunity for women leaders to connect and share with one another, our goal is to create more fulfillment for those leaders while paving the way for the next generation to make bigger strides towards equity in the business world.

Do you feel that there are strong opportunities for women to lead in business and what more can be done to build opportunities?

We still have a long way to go to break down the barriers that are in place when it comes to women’s leadership, but I am optimistic about progress in light of pandemic inspired setbacks.

What we saw in 2020 was women leaving the workforce at much higher rates than men and studies have shown they have yet to come back at the same pace. The burden of unpaid labor, as well as caring for children and family members, is still a major barrier for women aspiring to higher levels of leadership. Flexible work environments could be a great advantage for companies seeking to diversify their leadership, thus creating more opportunities for women to lead.

How do you measure success for Rebelle Community’s work?

Like any company, we look at traditional metrics of business success, year-over-year sales revenue growth and profitability. In regard to measuring our impact, we are still defining what that looks like. For now, positive feedback from our members and companies that send their leaders through our program is what we endeavor to achieve.

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Redefining the Luxury Rental Space An Interview with Jorge Munoz, Co-Founder, StayOne EDITORS’ NOTE Jor ge Munoz started his career in investment banking. He and StayOne Co-Founder, Tom Bennett, previously worked together as Managing Directors for Barclays Asia. Prior to that, they worked for Deutsche Bank and Citigroup in London.

StayOne is the game changer at the forefront of redefining the luxury rental space. We are committed to our mission of ensuring total confidence and sense of security for both owner and renter through creating a vetted community of like-minded travelers. Our homeowners know who is staying in their home, while C O M PA N Y B R I E F S t a y O n e our guests feel confident that each (stayone.com) brings together a likehome has undertaken a rigorous selecminded community of owners and tion and vetting process, giving an Jorge Munoz renters of the finest 1 percent of extra layer of comfort to both sides and vacation homes – a curation of oneenhancing the experience significantly. of-a-kind homes, most of which are unavailable Will you pr ovide an overview of elsewher e. All potential r enters ar e vetted StayOne’s business and how you describe so that owners can welcome guests with confi- the StayOne difference? dence. All the homeowners are known personStayOne brings together a like-minded ally, and their homes pass a 300-point quality community of owners and renters of the check to ensur e that they meet the highest finest 1 percent of vacation homes. We offer quality stand a r d s . F o l l o w i n g a s t r a t e g i c a curated collection of one-of-a-kind homes; investment from Mandarin Oriental in 2020, whether it is an architectural masterpiece in the StayOne community enjoys exclusive benefits Palm Springs or a 10-bedroom villa on a private with partner Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. beach in the Greek islands, we pride ourselves StayOne’s concierge team is dedicated to on having unique properties globally which arranging unique experiences and unforget- meet a range of personal tastes and preferences. table memories. Members benefit from this inside access and also enjoy preferential rates, exclusive rewards and personal, local recommendations. The company was founded in December 2017 by two friends, Thomas Bennett and Jorge Munoz, who wanted to connect with like-minded, trusted guests to rent their own homes while also seeking special homes to rent for their holidays.

The company has grown quickly and now offers 3,500+ properties, all fully vetted, in more than 70 countries. StayOne uses technology to connect friends, mutual connections and like-minded owners and travelers, enabling them all to rent luxury homes to and from each other.

What was the vision for creating StayOne and how do you define its mission?

Both Tom (Bennett, Co-Founder) and I had vacation homes that sat empty for many years throughout our careers in investment banking.

We had many friends and colleagues with beautiful homes in the same situation. Either these owners did not feel comfortable renting to strangers on mass market platforms – there are no shortages of disappointing rental experiences from both owner and renter – or they did not want to pay exorbitant fees to luxury agents to still have strangers in their house.

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We individually handpick every home in our portfolio; each home has to pass our 300-quality checklist to ensure it meets our high standards.

Likewise, we carefully verify every new renter to give house-proud owners peace of mind.

It is this highly vetted community that sets us apart in the luxury rental space. The result is a great vacation for the traveler and a great arrangement for the property-owner. Everybody wins. Following the strategic investment from Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in 2020, we continue to collaborate on curated luxurious initiatives. Having a new strategic partner and shareholder in the world-renowned Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has undoubtedly accelerated our global expansion and continued momentum of growth.

How did StayOne adapt its business to address the challenges caused by the pandemic?

The disruption to international travel meant that we faced greater uncertainty and risk in demand due to limited travel across borders.

Throughout this time, we have adapted to the needs and trends of our community which led to significant increase in inventory in key

A few of StayOne’s luxury rentals throughout the world (above and following page)

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regions, both in Europe and North America.

One of the clear trends with strong momentum throughout the pandemic was staycations and we pride ourselves on having identified this trend early on through creating localized one-of-a-kind experiences for our members.

In collaboration with our partner Mandarin Oriental, we have designed exclusive packages, combining the finest travel and hospitality to bring this great partnership to life. We recently launched an exclusive ‘Stay and Sail’ experience with Mandarin Oriental in Miami, giving guests the opportunity to combine a stay at the hotel with a bespoke private yacht charter; guests enjoy unparalleled treatment with luxury transfers and award-winning gastronomy whilst at sea – truly showcasing the best Miami has to offer.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities for growth for StayOne? We are agile to changing traveler preferences. With this in mind, we continue to identify key destinations to expand inventory based on demand among our fast-growing community. We expect to grow our number of homes in the U.S. by 2,000 percent and our community by 1,000 percent over the next 12-24 months.

We’re at the forefront of innovation through identifying new and unique experiences to engage with our community. Together, with our partner Mandarin Oriental, we are in constant discussions to develop new and unique initiatives which do not already exist in the market.

This is of paramount importance and a key priority within our overarching business model and strategy moving forward.

We are channeling greater investment and resources into advancing and developing our technology and furthering the member experience to drive member acquisition.

We’re launching a new cutting-edge website in the next month to elevate and enhance the experience on our platform. The new and VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

improved version will be extremely tailored and personalized to each individual based on their travel preferences.

How do you define the target market for StayOne? We are focused on the discerning traveler who cares for a curated portfolio of unique homes to avoid spending hours of time scrolling to find their ideal vacation property – StayOne has already done that for them. Our community is made up of like-minded global travelers, all of whom have a passion for discovering new travel experiences. As well as being well-travelled, our guests are looking for unique escapes with exceptional service and amenities. Now more than ever, there is greater interest in private villas given that they offer total seclusion and security.

How critical has it been to build the StayOne team and will you highlight the talent and expertise of your workforce?

Our expert travel team is second to none.

Not only are they passionate about the travel industry, they have incredible expert knowledge across all our destinations. The team is growing rapidly in line with business growth; we pride ourselves on attracting the best talent out there and nurturing that talent, encouraging everyone to be involved in as many areas of the business as possible.

What do you see as the keys to effective leadership?

Effective leadership is empowering everyone in the company to have a voice, opinions, ability to innovate, and make changes to what is not working. We have a flat management structure with no hierarchies; everyone’s thoughts, ideas, concerns, etc. are all extremely valuable and discussed. We also pride ourselves on developing our talent, not only in their respective areas of expertise, but also broadening their skillset, offering greater flexibility for our team to move into new roles within the company.

Did you always know you had the entrepreneurial spirit and desire to build your own business?

Every entrepreneur will almost certainly tell you that becoming an entrepreneur is one of the most difficult professional challenges anyone can face in their lifetime. Not only do you need to rethink every single idea or concept you had of running a business, but you also need to move up the learning curve very quickly across all aspects of the business. It is one thing to “have an idea,” or to say, “this is how I would do something,” but it is very different to go and do it. The change in mentality required when going from a corporate job to being an entrepreneur is without a doubt one of the biggest adjustments, professionally speaking, and you need to have not only the will to do it, but the mindset to follow through with it.

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HOSPITALITY

Personal Style An Interview with Julian Tucker, General Manager, Andaz West Hollywood EDITORS’ NOTE Julian Tucker is a Will you provide an overview of 25-year Hyatt career veteran with Andaz West Hollywood and how extensive experience in the hospithe property is positioned in the tality world. He started off his market?

Hyatt career at the Hyatt Regency Andaz sits within Hyatt’s Milwaukee in the security departlifestyle division and competes ment and was promoted to Director directly with the luxury boutique of Security before becoming market in WeHo and Hollywood as Executive Housekeeper. Tucker well as brands like W and Sofitel. then took the role of Front Office We are heavily dependent on the Manager at the Hyatt Regency entertainment, fashion and producChicago followed by serving in tion markets, and Australia and the Julian Tucker several department head roles at U.K. are big feeder markets for us for the Hyatt Regency Long Beach and leisure travel. Andaz means personal Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa style in Hindu and the goal is to seek out in California. He then served as the Director of guests who are curious about the local culture Rooms at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center and bringing those cultures inside for a unique before spending six years in the Caribbean as experience like none other.

Director of Rooms at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad How did Andaz West Hollywood adapt and Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort Spa and Casino. its business to address the challenges caused Prior to joining Andaz West Hollywood, he was by the pandemic? the Director of Rooms at the Hyatt Regency We have all had to reposition ourselves Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Bonita Springs, to adjust and adapt to the changing needs of Florida. Tucker’s community outreach affilia- our guests while, at the same time, continue tions include working with the West Hollywood to provide the experience that our guests are Chamber of Commerce on a task force to bring accustomed to. The balance can be challenging more Black business opportunities to the area.

PROPERTY BRIEF Andaz West Hollywood (hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/california/andaz-westhollywood) is Los Angeles’ iconic rock 'n' roll hotel located on the famous Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, where musical history, celebrity and style come together. Formerly known as the Riot House, the property – then called Continental Hyatt House and later the Hyatt on Sunset – served as the home of some of rock 'n' roll’s most memorable tales by being the choice hotel for rock legends including Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Duran Duran, The Doors, and more. Rebranded as an Andaz – Hyatt’s lifestyle collection – in 2009, the stylish hotel is more alluring and artful than ever, featuring 240 guest rooms, including 21 suites, and spectacular views of the Hollywood Hills on one side and the Sunset Strip and Downtown Los Angeles on the other. Andaz West Hollywood also offers professional party, meeting and event planning, as well as weekly rooftop music and entertainment. Inspired event venues including the highest rooftop pool in Los Angeles, acclaimed Riot House restaurant, and glamorous cocktail parties known as salon events, further make this chic West Hollywood hotel a must-visit destination.

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but the key has been really taking the time to test the limits of what is possible and reimagining everything from touchless check-in to mobile key options and understanding the guest’s preference as it relates to servicing guestrooms.

How proud are you to see the resilience of the Andaz West Hollywood team during this challenging and unprecedented time?

I could not ask for a better group of colleagues to work alongside, from being closed for three months and then reopening and operating with minimal staff under very restrictive circumstances, the team stood strong and came together to ensure the guests that we had in-house felt cared for and safe.

I feel blessed to be able to lead such a great team.

W i l l y o u h i g h l i g h t A n d a z We s t Hollywood’s accommodations and suite offering?

Our room product is a homage to our rich rock 'n' roll history with a retro yet contemporary appeal. The designer’s goal is to ensure you know that you were in the famed “Riot Hyatt” but at the same time ensure all the comforts that a lifestyle hotel brings.

Public areas of Andaz West Hollywood reflect the property’s rock 'n' roll heritage

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Andaz’s goal is to play on the senses wherever and whenever possible. Inspiring, immersing and creating an unscripted experience are all part of what we try to accomplish with every inch of the hotel. We have a total of 240 rooms, 21 of which are suites including our Penthouse, Presidential and newly added Panorama Suite, each with their own unique flair and design that screams West Hollywood, art and music.

Andaz West Hollywood has a strong dining/food and beverage product. What are the keys to being successful in food and beverage for a hotel, especially when located in a market such as West Hollywood that has a strong local restaurant offering?

You have spent over 25 years with Hyatt. What has made Hyatt special for you and a place where you have wanted to spend your career?

As I mentioned, I grew up in this business. My first position was a third shift Security Officer when I was 19 years old and, to be honest, I was not sure about a career in hospitality until I was about three years into it. I discovered that this was what I wanted to do with my career and was fortunate enough to work with some great leaders who really invested in my development. As a Black kid from the inner-city of Milwaukee, I never thought I would have the chance to see so many different places. Hyatt gave me that opportunity, from working in the Caribbean at places like Aruba and Trinidad & Tobago, to going to Shanghai, China to learn from some of our top leadership at Hyatt’s Foundation for the Future Leadership program which is designed for up-and-coming future GM’s. I am very grateful to work for such a forwardthinking company that values diversity, equity and inclusion.

The dining experience has always been a big part of our hotel. Being able to play around with our rich rock 'n' roll heritage and creating some unique items is extremely fun. Our strategy has been to use that to our advantage, understanding there are a lot of dining options in WeHo. We have really tried to carve out our place and offer a very whimsical beverage program with unique craft cocktails that play on the hotel’s history and vibe. Our menu items reflect a cool, funky hangout spot where you can look out onto the Sunset Strip and enjoy locally sourced food and drinks that reflect the WeHo swagger.

What advice do you offer to young people interested in building a career in the hospitality industry?

Having grown up in this industry, I have had the opportunity to see it from a lot of different angles. I would say the biggest thing you can do is learn as many different positions as you can. The more you get to know each area, the better leader you will become. I credit my success to getting involved in trying to grasp as much knowledge as I could. Finding a mentor who can invest in your growth and development will also give you some insight into other areas of the industry.

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Andaz West Hollywood guest room (top); rock 'n' roll mural (center) and rooftop pool (above)

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An Authentic Sense of Place An Interview with Kristi Cotten-Morris, General Manager, Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta EDITORS’ NOTE Kristi Cotten-Morris of a modern Buckhead as a premier has over 26 years of experience in the fashion, business and entertainment destihospitality industry, 24 of which have nation. The hotel is full of vibrant colors, been with Hyatt hotels. Since beginstyle and patterns, celebrating Buckhead’s ning her Hyatt career as a front desk clay, pottery, and sculpture lore to offer agent at Hyatt Regency Hilton Head guests a uniquely local experience.

Island in 1997, Cotten-Morris has led Located along the edge of Lenox Square Hyatt properties through rebrands, and close to Path400, Shops Around renovations and openings, taking Lenox and Phipps Plaza, you will enjoy pride in leading with care in an having a bounty of plentiful dining and inclusive environment that encourentertainment options to explore. Guests ages team members to be their best. will check into luxury rooms and suites, Kristi Cotten-Morris Highlights of her experience thus far wine and dine atop a rooftop lounge, find include leading a $73 million renosocial and event spaces, and enjoy the vation at Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport, hottest culinary experience around town. which transformed every aspect of the property.

As a modern, lifestyle-forward hotel developCotten-Morris also served on Hyatt’s opening ment, our position is to be a preferred choice for task force for several years, playing a key role in the b’leisure guest. Whether traveling for business, opening Hyatt Regency Boston, Hyatt Regency pleasure or a little bit of both, the Hyatt Centric Century Plaza and Hyatt Regency Jacksonville. Buckhead Atlanta will serve as a hub in the heart Most recently, she worked in Philadelphia as the of Atlanta’s fashion capitol, Buckhead. We’re general manager of The Bellevue Hotel, serving providing unique experiences by tying in local as a business leader, strategic advisor and project culture for our guests while in-house, and serving manager while balancing relationships between as a launch pad to exploration of Atlanta hot spots ownership, colleagues, customers and guests. only true locals know. Our goal is to offer our guest the experience of feeling like a local.

PROPERTY BRIEF Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta (hyattcentricbuckheadatlanta.com) is designed to reflect the historical pottery heritage of Georgia while taking inspiration from the evolution of Buckhead as a fashion destination. The 218-key hotel serves as a launchpad for guests to explore Buckhead, and immerses guests and locals in a playful interpretation of the local culture, from the residential-inspired lounge area in the lobby with a curated art selection to the over 3,700 square feet of meeting and pre-function space reflecting the pottery design concept. There are two signature food and beverage experiences operated by James Beard Award-winning chef Hugh Acheson: Mount Royal, a Montreal-style steakhouse that spotlights the work of the finest local farmers and artisans in the Southeast, and Spaceman, the 15th-floor indooroutdoor rooftop lounge that features expertly crafted cocktails and a simple menu of shareable bites.

Will you provide an overview of Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta and how the property is positioned in the market?

Representing the storied history of Buckhead, Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta is an upscale, stylish boutique hotel that embodies the district’s unique legacy. The hotel’s design is inspired by Georgia’s ancient pottery heritage coupled with the evolution 202 LEADERS

Will you highlight Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta’s accommodations and suite offering?

We offer 218 rooms, including seven suites. The guestroom experience offers an inspirational mix of Georgia’s ancient pottery and bountiful clay heritage layered in with Buckhead’s 21st-century evolution as a premier fashion destination. With clean lines, pops of vibrant color and modern art-like furnishings, our guestrooms feature 10-foot ceilings and oversized windows for amazing skyline and nature landscape views of Atlanta.

What are the keys to being successful in food and beverage for a hotel, especially when located in a market such as Buckhead that has a strong local restaurant offering?

As a lifestyle hotel brand, we are afforded the ability to create meaningful and unique experiences that embody not only the brand’s overarching culture, but local culture as well. We are extremely excited to work with a celebrity chef who aligns well with our brand and local culture.

Chef Hugh Acheson is known for his cultural diversity in food, incorporating French cooking techniques. He understands the importance of local harvests to offer a truly authentic experience.

Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta lobby

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Spaceman Bar on the 15th floor of Hyatt Centric Buckhead Altanta features amazing views of Buckhead and the surrounding area

Will you discuss Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta’s meeting and event capabilities?

Our boutique hotel offers 3,702 square feet of event space located on the second floor for impressive team meetings, social gatherings, weddings and more. Spaceman, our rooftop bar and lounge, is a truly one-of-a-kind experience showcasing 360-degree views of all Atlanta. This venue, complete with two outdoor terraces, is available for buy-outs, corporate and social events.

Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta is a perfect venue option for groups also looking to do a complete take-over of our hotel and space. Each of our event spaces offers wet bars, lounge seating, new technology and all the flexibility you need to host a memorable event in one of the most celebrated neighborhoods in Atlanta.

What was the vision behind Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta’s focus on art at the property?

Our wonderful design team, Sawyer & Company, in conjunction with The Johnson Studio at COOPER CARRY in the food and beverage space, studied the local history, heritage and landscape of Buckhead’s location and looked to the unique stories and historic details that have given the area its identity through the years. The hotel’s design ideation was guided by the neighborhood’s identity as a fashion capital as well as the state of Georgia’s historic clay craftsmanship. The natural clay resources can be seen throughout the space, from the glazing and color of the front desk to the lobby light installation inspired by the shapes of pottery and a wall installation by American artist John Johnson.

We have unique art installations throughout the property, each of which call back to the history and legacy of our location.

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houses both low-rise and high-rise structures, as well as both urban landscapes and greenspace.

The hope is that guests will be surprised by the playful use of color and design to capture the essence of the neighborhood.

How has the role of the general manager evolved and what are the keys to being successful in the role?

The role of the GM is ever evolving. As Hyatt continues to strive in achieving oteur purpose of care, the GM role has evolved to be more of a leader and mentor to colleagues. The role goes beyond traditional guest services and owner

relations. The role is to lead and act with care and empathy, ensuring we support all that touch our hotel and our brand.

Do you feel that there are strong opportunities for women to grow and lead in the industry?

Absolutely. Over the past several years, Hyatt has shared our Change Starts Here commitment, bringing a focus to diversity, equity and inclusion on all fronts. This also includes a commitment to doubling the representation of women at the GM level globally, as well as doubling the representation of women at the VP+ level outside of the U.S. You have been with Hyatt Hotels for 24 years. What has made Hyatt so special for you and a place where you have wanted to spend so much of your career?

I could come up with many reasons to share, but the most meaningful to me is that the culture of the company has never wavered throughout the years. Let me take you back – I had just driven from New York City to South Carolina by myself in a little two-door car to join Hyatt. I had a tiny apartment, no furniture and didn’t know a soul.

On my second shift, I experienced a dental emergency. The following day, I was in the dental office and had to call someone to pick me up after the procedure. I called the main line of the hotel and asked to speak with the manager on duty. Through muffled words, I tried to explain who I was and asked for help. He not only picked me up, but paid for my prescription and got me home safely. I woke up hours later on the floor in my living room to find my prescription and a note. “Welcome to the Hyatt family.” It was in that moment that I just felt like I belonged – like I was home.

Over the years, I’ve continued to feel cared for and felt as though I was getting back just as much as I was giving to the company.

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Floor-to-ceiling windows provide natural light and expansive views for a Studio King Suite

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Creating inspiration since 1927.

150 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019 212.581.7100 www.RussianTeaRoomNYC.com

EDITORS’ CHOICE

Acqualina Resort & Residences on the Beach A seaside haven set on nearly five acres between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Acqualina Resort & Residences on the Beach (acqualina resort.com) is South Florida’s true luxury escape.

Reminiscent of a Mediterranean villa with its leisure-focused lifestyle and grand design, Acqualina is Florida’s only hotel of its kind to be built completely open to the ocean, free of barriers between the 51-story tower and its 400 feet of glistening Atlantic shoreline.

Ke-uH restaurant

Acqualina Front Lawn (top); Costa Grill (above)

At Acqualina, a Sunny Isles Beach Resort, guests find a collection of amenities that make the resort a true destination, including several options for on-site food and beverage service, in addition to in-room dining. The resort features Il Mulino New York, New York City’s acclaimed

Italian restaurant; Ke-uH, which brings Japanese fusion cuisine to Acqualina; and Costa Grill, the ultimate outdoor dining locale.

Guests of Acqualina may also indulge in the award-winning Acqualina Spa. The skilled team of therapists creates tailored treatments to completely customize each guest’s experience.

Guests can unwind in the his-and-hers relaxation lounges featuring Himalayan salt walls and enjoy the crystal steam rooms, arctic ice fountains, experience showers, and Finnish dry heat saunas. Spa guests may also enjoy the oceanfront co-ed pool terrace, heated jet pool, and Roman waterfall spa.

Living area of a Grand Deluxe Three-Bedroom Oceanfront Suite

The Recreation Pool

Relaxation Room at Acqualina Spa VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2

and relaxation; and the Recreation Pool, which is the epicenter for the resort’s aqua fitness classes and games.

Acqualina’s 54 guest rooms and 44 suites offer a heightened level of modern elegance beginning at nearly 750-square-feet and going up to three-bedroom suites which span more than 2,300-square-feet of indoor/outdoor space.

Guests enjoy expansive bathrooms outfitted with imported marble flooring, double sinks, a bathtub and separate glass-enclosed shower, and ESPA-branded bath products, along with sitting areas, large HD televisions, fully stocked bars with gourmet food snacks and private terraces. An iPad is available in all guestrooms and suites and guests are also encour-

Acqualina’s three additional swimming pools ensure guests find their personal outdoor sanctuary: the Beach Club Pool, outfitted with crimson-toned lounge chairs and private cabanas, is ideal for guests of all ages; the adult-only Tranquility Pool offers a perfect setting for uninterrupted sunbathing

aged to download the Acqualina App to their own devices. Select guest rooms and suites feature a full gourmet kitchen with a sub-zero built-in refrigerator/freezer, designer granite countertops, Italian limited-edition cabinets, microwave, dishwasher, stainless-steel sink and garbage disposal.

Acqualina Resort & Residences is located at the center of Miami’s glamour, beauty and excitement. Its prime location provides immediate access to the city’s most desirable destinations, including the natural beauty of Sunny Isles’ sun-drenched Atlantic shores, e n d l e s s nightlife and dining options in South Beach, and glamorous shopping at luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci at the nearby Bal Harbour Shops and Aventura Mall.

A family-owned and operated property, Acqualina is a recipient of the coveted Forbes Travel Guide Awards for both the hotel and spa and the AAA Five Diamond Award.

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