LEADERS Magazine April, May, June 2020 Volume 43, Number 2

April, May, June 2020

Volume 43, Number 2

PURPOSE

PATRICK RYAN 34

AGENTS OF CHANGE 36

BROAD

SCHMIDT

SHAH

DARE TO DREAM’S MILES S. NADAL 40

JOB CREATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH 48

ARSHT

GREENBERG

KAN

PURE’S BUCHMUELLER 54

LEADERS IN EDUCATION 120

KASICH

MILSTEIN

DOWLING

WORLD’S BEST SUITES 130

“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”

- The Honorable Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States 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 Eli Broad, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation - 8 Wendy Schmidt, The Schmidt Family Foundation - 10 Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, The Rockefeller Foundation - 16 Adrienne Arsht - 20 Maurice R. Greenberg, Starr Insurance Companies - 24

Printing: Calev Print Media – Solisco Printing – Printed in Canada

Photo Credits: Cover, 8 Broad - ©Nancy Pastor; 8 - ©Jaimie Pham/Courtesy The Broad; 9 - ©Ben Gibbs Photography/Courtesy The Broad Center; Cover, 10 - ©Spencer Brown Photo; 11 - ©The 11th Hour Project; 12 Masthead - ©Schmidt Ocean Institute/Thom Hoffman; 13 - ©Schmidt Futures/Adam Schultz; Cover, 16 - ©Samuel Stuart Hollenshead; Cover, 24 - ©2017 William Taufic Photography; 29 China Institute - ©2019 Patrick McMullan; 36 both - ©Nick Garcia; 37 Wynwood Garage - ©2018 Moris Moreno; 37 Masthead - Wynwood Kitchen & Car ©Andrew Meade; Joey’s © 2008 Simon Hare Photography; 48 author - ©U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Plaque, 49 - Ian Wagreich /©U.S. Chamber of Commerce; 52 author - ©2015 Alejandro C Lopez NY-P - ©4eyesphoto; 53 Hofstra - ©Hofstra University; 57 - ©2019 Adam J Clark Photography; 60 - ©8 Salamander Productions - Simon Luethi; 61 - ©A. Templeton Photo; 64 - ©2018 Jacom Stephens Photography; 68 - ©2014 Nasdaq OMX; 73 - ©George Brooks; 76 - ©Paul Broadrick Photography; 84 - ©Igor Litvinov; 86 author - ©NYSE; 86 Masthead - product - ©2009 Mathew Borkoski Photography; 94 - ©2014 Pamela Einarsen; 112 Xfinity - ©HHP/ Harold Hinson; 113 owners - ©2014 ActionSportsInc.com; 122 ribbon cutting, 123 lab - ©Brown University; 124-125 - ©Duke University; 126 - ©2016 Ben Hider; 128 author - ©Chris Crisman; 128, 129 campus - ©Villanova University; 133 - ©2018 Troy Campbell

Yue-Sai Kan - 28 John Kasich, Kasich Company - 30 Howard P. Milstein, Howard & Abby Milstein Foundation - 50 Michael J. Dowling, Northwell Health - 80

2 LEADERS

LEADERS (ISSN 0163-3635 ) is published quarterly by Leaders Magazine, LLC, a Sandow brand, with offices at 101 Park Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10178, and 3651 NW 8th Avenue, Boca Raton, FL 33431; 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 2019. 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.

ADDRESS SUBSCRIPTION REQUESTS AND CORRESPONDENCE TO: Leaders, 101 Park Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10178.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

New York Private Bank & Trust A Tradition of Trust Since 1850 New York City circa 1850

UNIQUE PRIVATE BANKING New York Private Bank & Trust offers fully integrated investment advisory, investment management, wealth planning, trust, lending and private capital finance services for individuals, families and institutions. NYPB&T Private Bank also offers the uniquely rewarding opportunity to co-invest alongside the Milstein family.

Under the guidance of Howard P. Milstein, leader of the third generation of the prominent Milstein family, NYPB&T businesses include: NYPB&T PRIVATE BANK: acts as a Fiduciary (not a stock broker) including wealth

management;

NEW YORK PRIVATE TRUST: offers a broad range of fiduciary offerings, including trust

services, estate administration and private label trust services;

NEW YORK PRIVATE FINANCE: preserving and extending the economic power of private

investors and entrepreneurs by providing next venture financing and client advisory and services, structured financing transactions, and longer term financing;

EMIGRANT FINE ART FINANCE: liquidity secured by fine art or antiques, advisory,

appraisal and other services;

GALATIOTO SPORTS PARTNERS: advisory, lending, capital raising and other services to

clients in the professional sports industry. The leading factor in the purchase and sale of professional sports teams; and THE ISAAC MILSTEIN GROUP: a strategic advisory firm specializing in corporate

governance, risk management and compliance for the global financial sector.

New York City circa 1840

6 EAST 43RD STREET

. NEW YORK, NY 10017 . PHONE: 212 850 4085 . WWW.NYPBT.COM

Delivering Risk Solutions Beyond Your Policy For more than a century, CNA has provided insurance solutions that allow our customers to better manage their risks and grow profitably. From small businesses to multinational firms, we offer customized coverages, market-leading Risk Control solutions and best-in-class Claim services that meet your unique needs.

Learn more at cna.com.

“CNA” is a registered trademark of CNA Financial Corporation. Certain CNA Financial Corporation subsidiaries use the “CNA” trademark in connection with insurance underwriting and claims activities. Copyright © 2020 CNA. All rights reserved. 0673-PR

Purpose Contents EDITORS’ NOTE Please note that many of the interviews in this e d i tion wer e conducted befor e the onset of the Cor onavirus pandemic. LEADERS sends our best wishes and thoughts during these challenging times.

Improving the Human Mind, Body and Spirit Eli Broad, Founder, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation

8

Growing Starr Maurice R. Greenberg, Starr Insurance Companies

24

Integrity, Respect and Accountability Miles S. Nadal, Founder and Executive Chairman, Peerage Capital Group

Business and Philanthropy Yue-Sai Kan

Venture Philanthropy: Taking Risks, Betting on People Wendy Schmidt, President, The Schmidt Family Foundation

40 28

10

Defining Leadership John Kasich, Founder, Kasich Company

16

32

Culture and Values Patrick G. Ryan, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Specialty Group

34

Transformative Philanthropy Adrienne Arsht

46

30

Building Relationships David H. Komansky Promoting the Well-Being of Humanity Throughout the World Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President, The Rockefeller Foundation

A Noble Profession Dino E. Robusto, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CNA Financial Corporation

Job Creation and Economic Growth Suzanne Clark, President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

48

Focused Philanthropy, Demonstrated Results Howard P. Milstein, Howard & Abby Milstein Foundation

Agents of Change Jessica Goldman Srebnick, Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Properties

50 Making a Difference Peter S. Kalikow, President, HJ Kalikow & Co. LLC

20 VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

36

52

LEADERS 5

Building PURE Ross Buchmueller, President and Chief Executive Officer, PURE Group of Insurance Companies

54

Client Relationships Stephen B. Siegel, Chairman, Global Brokerage, CBRE

70

A Public Health Crisis Chethan Sathya, M.D. M.Sc., Pediatric Thoracic and General Surgeon, Associate Trauma Director, Cohen Children’s Medical Center, and Director, Center for Gun Violence Prevention, Northwell Health

84

Starting with the Why Gary Burnison, Chief Executive Officer, Korn Ferry

56

Accelerating Digital Transformation Matt Carter, Chief Executive Officer, Aryaka

57

Alliant’s Evolution Thomas W. Corbett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.

Fisch Tales Bob Fisch, Author of Fisch Tales: The Making of a Millennial Baby Boomer and President, RNF Group

72

Relationship-Driven James E. Cline, President and Chief Executive Officer, Trex Company, Inc.

PMI’s Transformation Huub Savelkouls, Chief Sustainability Officer, Philip Morris International

73

A History of Purpose John Ellington, Director, Finance and Grants Administration, The Home Depot Foundation

58

86

The Human Side of the Company Alan S. Elkin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Active International

An International Foundation Hilary Pennington, Executive Vice President for Program, Ford Foundation

88

60

74 Providing a Boost Craig Boundy, Chief Executive Officer, Experian North America

61

An Impact that Matters Stephani Long, Chief Talent Officer, Deloitte LLP

62

Doing Well by Doing Good Simon Paris, Chief Executive Officer, Finastra

76

One Network Lori Malcolm, Chief Culture and Operations Officer, United Way Worldwide

The Guest Experience Keith M. Douglas, Managing Director – Global Attractions, Legends

78

Entrepreneurial Leadership Joel Peterson, Founding Partner and Chairman, Peterson Partners

Gun Violence Prevention Michael J. Dowling, President and Chief Executive Officer, Northwell Health

90

64

80

Data Analytics Scott G. Stephenson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Verisk Analytics

A Community-Based Model Thomas McGinn, M.D., Deputy Physician-in-Chief and Senior Vice President, Ambulatory Services, Northwell Health

Catalysts for Systemic Change Jonathan T.M. Reckford, Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity International

68

6 LEADERS

83

92

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Authenticity, Clarity, Empathy Loreen Babcock, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Montefiore Medical Center

94

Purpose-Powered Money Movement Joy Miller, Head of Corporate Affairs, Western Union

108

Developing Open, Well-Educated Minds Christina H. Paxson, President, Brown University

120

Investing in People Vincent E. Price, Ph.D., President, Duke University A Global Bank with a Local Heart Peter J. Reisman, Managing Director and Chief Communications Officer, Bank of China U.S.A.

96

A Collaborative Culture Adam Singer, Executive Managing Director, Suburban Washington, D.C., Savills

110

A Values-Based Institution Dr. Nido R. Qubein, President, High Point University

124

Rooted. Restless.

The Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, Ph.D., President, Villanova University

126

Mission-Driven Stephen Shaya, M.D., Executive Servant Leader, J&B Medical

98

122

Steiner’s Story Brandon Steiner, Steiner Sports, The Steiner Agency, and CollectibleXchange

111

A Commitment to Quality Steven Fisher and Anthony O’Donnell, Managing Partners, Titanium Construction Services, Inc.

Never Stand Still Wilhelm Schmid, Chief Executive Officer, A. Lange & Söhne A Racing Family Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Co-Owner and General Manager, JR Motorsports

112

100

A Strong Sense of Community Anne Benedict, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Diana Solash, Vice President, Global Head of Inclusion, Talent and Community, Infor

Making the World a Better Place Will Sutton, President and Director, The BB&T Leadership Institute, and Executive Vice President, BB&T Corporation

114

128

102

Omni Berkshire Place

Real Estate and Lifestyle Julie Faupel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, REALM

130

A Community Effort Vicki and Fred Modell, Jeffrey Modell Foundation

Acqualina Resort & Residences on the Beach

Brand Building Amy Scissons, Chief Marketing Officer, Mercer International

Growing Il Mulino New York Brian Galligan, President, Il Mulino USA

116

131

104

Giving Back Mark E. Watson III and AnaPaula Watson

106

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

117

132

LEADERS 7

Purpose Improving the Human Mind, Body and Spirit An Interview with Eli Broad, Founder, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE After working What are the key areas that The for two years as an accountant, Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation Eli Broad founded a homesupports and how do you decide building company with Donald where to focus your efforts?

Kaufman. In 1971, the Kaufman Our Foundation works to advance and Br oad Home Corporation the public good in education, science acquir ed a small life insurand the arts. We invest in the people, proance company for $52.1 million grams and institutions that are improving that Broad eventually transthe human mind, body and spirit. for med into a r etir ement savWe have created groundbreaking ings empire. With the merger of independent institutions in each of our SunAmerica into AIG in 1999, three investment areas, including The Eli Broad Broad stepped down as CEO Broad Center, which develops leadand turned his full-time atteners to help transform America’s urban tion to philanthropy. Broad is the founding public schools, the Broad Institute, a global Chairman and Life Trustee of The Museum leader in genomics, and The Broad, a museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and a life in downtown Los Angeles devoted to showcastrustee of the Los Angeles County Museum ing contemporary art with the broadest possible of Art, the California Institute of Technology, audience. and The Museum of Moder n Art in New Will you discuss the flagship programs York. He is also a Fellow of the American for the Foundation in education, science Academy of Arts & Sciences and, in 1994, and the arts and the impact these programs was named Chevalier in the National Order have made? of the Legion of Honour by the Republic of In the 50 years since we established our France. In 2004, he became a Regent of the Foundation, we have given over $5 billion dolSmithsonian Institution by appointment of lars, with the biggest gifts committed in the past the U.S. Congress and the President, serving two decades since I left the world of commerce. until 2009. In 2007, he was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. In 2013, Broad and his wife Edythe were awarded the Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership.

Broad attended Michigan State University, graduating with a degree in accounting and becoming the youngest CPA in the state’s history. He authored a book titled, The Art of Being Unreasonable: Lessons in Unconventional Thinking. The Br oads opened a new contemporary art museum in downtown Los Angeles in September 2015, The Broad, which has free general admission and was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

ORGANIZATION BRIEF The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation (broadfoundation.org) was established by entrepreneur and philanthropist Eli Broad and his wife Edythe to advance entrepreneurship for the public good in education, science, and the arts. The Foundation invests in improving K-12 public schools, advancing major scientific and medical research to improve human health, and fostering public appreciation of contemporary art by increasing access for audiences worldwide.

8 LEADERS

While our giving has evolved over the course of five decades, we have always focused on education, science and the arts.

As a child of Lithuanian immigrants with few resources and an undiagnosed learning disability now known as dyslexia, the public schools I attended in Detroit were nonetheless able to give me opportunities to learn, grow and thrive. Our work in public K-12 education has always been driven by a deep and unwavering belief that every child should have the same opportunity that I had to learn, overcome challenges and pursue my dreams.

For over two decades we have supported public education systems nationwide with that end in mind. We have given grants to support school district leadership and best practices, high-quality public charter schools, and parent and community engagement. Since we began this work, we have invested roughly $660 million to initiatives that support both district and charter schools.

In December of 2019, we reaffirmed our commitment to public education with an announcement of a $100 million gift to Yale University to establish The Broad Center (TBC) at Yale School of Management (SOM) which, combined with Yale’s support, will enable TBC at Yale SOM to exist in perpetuity.

The Broad museum VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

The Broad Center

We have learned through our 20 years of investing in public education that schools alone can’t solve the inequities, indignities, and challenges facing students from underserved communities. Having The Broad Center housed at Yale SOM means all of its programs can be enhanced with input from Yale University’s leading thinkers in management, public health, law, child development, policy, criminal justice and economic development.

In regard to our focus on science, in 2001 we visited the Whitehead/MIT Center for Genome Research where Eric Lander and his colleagues were finishing the Human Genome Project and we were struck by the enthusiasm of the young scientists from MIT and Harvard who were so energized by their research that they were working on a weekend. At that point in time, the international Human Genome Project, co-led by Eric, was nearly complete. Now that scientists had unraveled the human genetic code, it was time to embark on the seemingly endless job of making sense of it in order to answer questions about health and disease.

We saw the opportunity in tackling this “next step” in using genomics to find treatments and cures for disease, and thus began a now 15-year long conversation about how to take the findings from the Human Genome Project and translate the research into meaningful biomedical progress against disease. By 2004, I had successfully convened Harvard and MIT’s leadership to partner on this endeavor, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard opened its doors as a novel and experimental approach to biomedical research. Thanks to the unrestricted funds we invested in the Broad Institute, it was able to bring together multi-disciplinary faculty and students from leading academic institutions and research hospitals across Boston, pair them with stellar professional scientists, and provide them with world-class technology and the resources necessary to generate novel discoveries.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Critical to this collaboration was the joint commitment made between the Broad Institute, Harvard, MIT, and the Harvard hospitals to making their findings, biological tools, and the vast amounts of research data they generated freely available to the global scientific community for the public good.

Fifteen years later, the Broad Institute has catalyzed biomedical research around the world. Not only has the Broad Institute’s model of open, collaborative science and data sharing become a new standard across the field, but it has driven major findings and progress in biomedicine, including the development of CRISPR, the first ever biological insight into schizophrenia, and the curation, creation, and sharing of global datasets.

Kendall Square has now become the global center of gravity for biomedical research, driven in large part by the scientific and software communities the Broad Institute collaborates with.

Today, nearly every major pharmaceutical company has a presence here, as does Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM. More data per capita flows through these few city blocks than anywhere else on Earth.

Our focus on art is a major passion for us. When we arrived in Los Angeles in 1963, we were surprised that it was a city without a vibrant center. Over the last 40 years, I have either led or been personally involved in the establishment of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Broad Art Center at UCLA, The Broad Stage, the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA, the Grand Avenue Project including Grand Park, and our proudest achievement yet, The Broad museum on Grand Avenue.

The Broad was designed by Liz Diller (Diller Scofidio + Renfro), and is home to over 2,000 works of art from our collections, which I’m proud to say is one of the world’s leading

collections of postwar and contemporary art. It is also the headquarters for The Broad Art Foundation’s worldwide lending library, which has been loaning collection works to museums around the world since 1984. Importantly, the museum offers free general admission while presenting an active program of rotating temporary exhibitions. Each year The Broad welcomes over 900,000 visitors, with a younger and more diverse audience than a typical museum, from around the world.

We are proud that our museum sits in the middle of, and greatly contributes to, a hub of cultural activity on the vibrant Grand Avenue.

Los Angeles is now one of the great Western cultural capitals of the world, along with New York, London, and Paris.

What are the keys to effective philanthropy and what is the Foundation’s approach to its work?

When it comes to grantmaking, we always ask the following three questions: Will this happen without us? Will it make a difference in 20 or more years? Is the leadership in place to make it happen? When we examine the answers to these questions and we find the answers align with our mission, we have the confidence we need to make bold investments for the public good.

How critical are metrics in order to track the impact of the Foundation’s efforts?

At the outset of any grantmaking effort, we work to ensure that the grant is going to have measurable and lasting impact, so metrics are built into the reporting process from our grantees. We conduct regular assessments to take stock of our investments to ensure that our support has led to a demonstrable impact.

Do you take moments to celebrate the impact of the Foundation’s work and the many lives it has affected?

We are very focused on how we can leverage the resources we have to improve lives, so in a world of such poverty, lack of educational opportunity and inequality, it’s hard to ever feel like we have done enough. I’m a naturally impatient and insatiable person; taking time to celebrate when I am acutely aware of how much there is to do isn’t something that comes naturally to me.

Do the skills that made you successful in the business world translate to being successful in philanthropic work?

Yes. As a CEO I relied on smart, creative, hardworking people in leadership, governance and support roles. I needed to be able to acknowledge when something isn’t working and steer the team in a new direction. We developed a culture where people are empowered to ask “why not?” and equipped with the tools to answer that question. Each of these is also true for philanthropy.

How do you apply your entrepreneurial background and skills in your philanthropic work?

Nothing is more exciting to me than taking a risk on a new idea. It’s what I did when I founded KB Home and SunAmerica, and it’s what we do in our philanthropy.

•

LEADERS 9

Purpose Venture Philanthropy: Taking Risks, Betting on People An Interview with Wendy Schmidt, President, The Schmidt Family Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE Wendy Schmidt is exceptional people and helps them do a philanthropist and investor who more for others together. In the Fall of has spent more than a dozen years 2019, the Schmidts announced a $1 creating innovative non-profit orgabillion philanthropic commitment to nizations to solve pressing global identify and support talent across disenvironmental and human rights ciplines and around the world to serve issues. Recognizing the human others and work to solve the world’s dependence on sustaining and promost pressing problems. tecting the planet and its people, she has built organizations that work ORGANIZATION BRIEF Established to educate and advance an underin 2006 by Wendy and Eric Schmidt, standing of the critical interconnecThe Schmidt Family Foundation Wendy Schmidt tivity between the land and the sea. (tsffoundation.org) works to advance Through a combination of grants the wiser use of energy and natural and investments, her philanthropic work sup- resources and to support efforts worldwide that ports research and science, community organi- empower communities to build resilient systems zations, promising leaders, and the development for food, water, and human resources. Through of innovative technologies. a combination of grants and investments, the As pr esident of The Schmidt Family Foundation promotes an intelligent relationship Foundation, a non-profit she started in 2006 between human activity and the planet’s natuwith her husband, Eric, she leads the team that ral resources. works to address the global crisis of climate change through grants and impact investments When you and your husband, Eric, started in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, The Schmidt Family Foundation in 2006, human rights and marine technology. The was this something that you always knew grant-making arm of the Foundation, The 11th you had a passion for and what was your Hour Project, focuses on supporting local orga- vision for the Foundation? nizations and solutions that protect human When Eric and I got married as graduate rights and build resilient food and energy sys- students in 1980, we never saw what was ahead tems. In 2015, she started Schmidt Marine of us, much less that we would have the opporTechnology Partners, another program of The tunity to shape some significant philanthropic Schmidt Family Foundation, that supports the work. development of promising technologies that solve In 2004, when Google went public, I had complex ocean health issues and have strong been running an interior design business for 16 commercialization potential. years, following several years working in highWendy and Eric also co-founded the tech communications. I’d joined the board of Schmidt Ocean Institute in 2009 to advance the National Resources Defense Council and was oceanographic research through the develop- on a steep learning curve about environmental ment of innovative technologies, open sharing issues. With sudden wealth came an enormous of information and broad communication sense of responsibility to do something meanabout ocean health. The institute operates ingful, and as Eric was occupied as CEO and Falkor – the only year-round, seagoing phil- later chairman at Google, the task to embark anthropic research vessel in the world – and a on our philanthropic journey fell to me.

4500m remotely operated underwater robotic The following year in 2005, Vice President vehicle, SuBastian. Both are made available to Al Gore was traveling around the country giving the international science community at no cost. a slide show presentation about “global warmSchmidt has extended her oceans-focused work ing,” and my colleague, Amy Rao, heard the talk to the sporting world through 11th Hour Racing. at UC Berkeley early that summer. In September, She co-founded the organization in 2010 to we met for lunch in Palo Alto and began diswork with the sailing community and maritime cussing how to bring this talk to Silicon Valley – industry to advance solutions and practices that a place of innovation, where people look for protect and restore the health of the oceans. answers and are motivated to solve problems.

In 2017, Wendy and Eric founded Schmidt As we considered how to get the minds of Futures, a philanthropic initiative that finds Silicon Valley working on the issues around 10 LEADERS

climate, little did we know how critical those early conversations would become.

Working with Stanford University, we organized a presentation of Al Gore’s talk in early December at Memorial Auditorium, filled to capacity with 2,000 people, along with a discreet film crew, who were busy filming An Inconvenient Truth. Immediately following the screening, we hosted a dinner for 350 people that included notable Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and engineers, along with local political and business leaders, scientists, and representatives from environmental groups, to have a conversation together about the global challenge Gore had identified. What’s our response, Silicon Valley?

Our Foundation began with this focus on educating important audiences about humaninduced climate change but within the first year or two, it was pretty clear to us that addressing climate change means addressing the things that are directly contributing to it. That means looking at the system that has led to this predicament, as a whole, and finding points of intervention.

Our energy program has focused on advancing renewable energy and increasing access to it for everyone. We can’t really move away from fossil fuels without including everyone. Beyond transitioning the world’s energy systems, we can’t beat climate change if we don’t look at the world’s food system. We have to look at the way we grow and distribute food and its impact on our soil, our air, our health, on the health of animals, even on the health of the ocean. And then, finally, human rights are deeply woven into these problems when you start to look at them holistically.

This is the center of The Schmidt Family Foundation’s work. We’re focused on identifying and reversing the dangerous systemic changes to the world’s land and ocean from human industrial activity that have happened in just the last 100 years or so. We think we can help move the dial towards better outcomes.

Is your support of projects such as the 11th Hour Project, the Schmidt Ocean Institute and Schmidt Marine Technology Partners interrelated?

Absolutely. Our programs tie together and work together. The different entities focus deeply on different aspects of the general issue I’ve described. You can think of the entities that we have created, including Schmidt Futures, VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

as a distributed network. We’ve grown up in Silicon Valley and watched how technology has changed the way we do everything over the past 40 years. The computer that sent men to the moon when I was a child was probably the size of the building that you’re sitting in and, today, you have that much computing power in your cell phone.

The transformation has been enormous, and so much of it has depended on the development of powerful networked systems. We think of our individual projects working together synergistically, sharing information, relationships, and tools across the network.

We find this is a stronger way to operate and to pursue our mission than to operate as a single enormous entity with all sorts of departments in it.

You created Schmidt Futures in 2017.

What was your vision for this initiative?

Schmidt Futures is a big bet on people and the development of talent in the world. We call Schmidt Futures a facility for public benefit, rather than a conventional charity, and it’s trying to do things in new and creative ways that are rarely done in philanthropy. There is a lot of investment, obviously, in science and research, but Schmidt Futures also focuses on people and talent and being able to give people the tools they need to be successful with an eye toward public service.

We have a couple of programs that have just gotten started. The Rise program is focused on 15- to 17-year-olds around the world.

Imagine giving people of that age who are recognized as talent within their own communities the tools to advance their gifts in the world with an eye towards sharing them for public service and creating a generation of people and successive generations of people who share those values. We think that this could make a huge contribution to global leadership.

The Schmidt Science Fellows program is in its third year now. This is a fellowship for post-doc students to help them look outside the discipline they studied and pair them with a different discipline so they can bring their insights into new areas of science to try to open up the paths of research. This goal is true for so much of what we do in science, from the ocean science at Schmidt Marine Technology Partners and the Schmidt Ocean Institute to the work of the Schmidt Science Fellows. Think of it, again, as building a powerful network of skilled people across disciplines.

The exciting thing about our work to support science is that the more you discover, the more you realize how much you don’t know. That signals to us that we could be on the threshold of a whole new age of scientific discovery if we’re willing to create those opportunities.

What is your approach to philanthropy and while many look at it from a dollar standpoint, for you is it about more than providing money?

Absolutely, yes. For us, I say philanthropy is really just velocity – it’s putting energy into something that wouldn’t happen otherwise. It sends a signal. Philanthropic investment in outcomes has a unique risk perspective, unlike business and government, which tend to follow the investment trail once it’s established. We’re out in front, and we really should be the risk-takers: that’s our job. We try to open doors so others can come through. We focus on the individuals in an organization, since any organization is only as good as the people in it. Much of what we’re doing is very hands on, it’s very grassroots, and we’re very personally involved.

We have an impact investment group that’s perhaps among the most exciting things we do because you can see the results of these investments within a fairly short period of time. Most of the problems we address as philanthropists are very long-term, and we’re unlikely to see resolutions in our lifetime. Still, we’re trying to move the dial and shift behavior, or beliefs, or the way problems are thought about and dealt with. This is a lifelong enterprise and you’ll never get much feedback.

I tell people it’s going to be 10 years before you know whether you’ve had any impact at all, so this work requires a great deal of patience and focus.

Wendy Schmidt tours a village in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where her family foundation has supported park officials in protecting one of the world’s largest national parks and communities living in and around the park from illegal fossil fuel extraction.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

LEADERS 11

Eric and Wendy Schmidt view a livestream of an underwater robotic vehicle, SuBastian, in the control room of Falkor, their research vessel that is made available to the international science community at no cost. Falkor is the research platform for Schmidt Ocean Institute, a nonprofit organization that advances innovative ocean science.

On the investment side, we’ve supported proposals that have elevated the market presence of otherwise subsistence farmers growing rice, coffee and cocoa. Other organizations have worked in new ways to combat illegal fishing and plastic pollution and to safeguard sustainable fisheries as they find new markets around the world. Others have found new ways to advance habitat health and developed new tools for ocean research. One of the successful technologies recently developed is Saildrone, with its autonomous wind- and solar-powered ocean drones that have a slew of commercial and science applications and can monitor climate and sea conditions in real-time. When you see things like that come into fruition after a cycle of investments and then be opened up to the broader investment community, you feel like you’ve really led something important.

That’s a great role philanthropy can play.

I recommend that the business community find out where the impact investors are putting their money because those could be the big moves for them as well.

How critical is a strong public/private partnership in order to effectively address the major challenges facing the world?

It’s very important that there be strong public/private partnership. I’ve been a partner with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in Great Britain for a number of years and we’ve been 12 LEADERS

working to support the development of a new, circular industrial economy – replacing a wasteful linear economy where materials are manufactured and thrown away – focusing on reimagining replacements for plastic packaging.

Corporate partners are important here because we aren’t the people in labs who can create packaging that won’t end up in our waterways and ocean environments, although we can and do seed the innovation cycle, as well as the phases of early investment. But to scale these solutions, you need partners, even those who may have been involved in causing some of the problems, focusing on the solutions.

You need everybody involved, including government and regulatory bodies. The policy side of this is enormously important, but governments don’t tend to be risk-takers. Governments tend to follow instead of lead, so we can’t wait for government to lead.

If you can make a good future case for business about these market transformations, businesses naturally get interested, and there’s a growing recognition that waste is expensive in a resource-constrained world. You can’t really have a solution that doesn’t have a good economic basis, so we have to think of it very much that way.

I have a rule I work by, which is that it doesn’t take everybody to have a revolution.

People have studied this question in many different ways. It turns out that, in any kind of

change you want to make in any society, it takes 10 percent of the population to be deeply committed, and they will then change everybody else. What Eric and I are working toward is to get that 10 percent convinced and moving together in a direction of positive change. That turns out to be the secret if you do it right.

Do the skills that made you and Eric successful in the business world translate into doing effective philanthropy or was there a learning curve when you started this work?

There is always a learning curve. I’ve been working in philanthropy since 2006. Eric is a little newer to it but it’s now becoming more of a full-time focus for him as well. There are always things that you can bring from whatever you’ve done in business, but philanthropy is the kind of work that doesn’t give you an answer about what you’re doing for a very long time.

All you can do is go out and be innovative and try things. The things that pertain to Eric’s work in technology involve iterating, trying, inventing, failing fast, learning from your mistakes, persistence and flexibility and all those play a huge role in the way we approach philanthropic work. It’s a natural language for us.

Eric is an engineer and a technologist; I’m an intuitive and artistic person, and all perspectives have a place in this work. You really need, at the bottom of it all, a commitment and a recognition that you have a responsibility and you VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

can share that mission with others. It’s great to have that drive on your own, but you’re really propelled forward when you’re surrounded by people who believe in it too. It’s very important to build strong organizations with deeply committed people who share a vision and approach.

Is it important to remain focused on the key areas where you feel that you can make the most impact and is it sometimes hard to say no to certain causes when there is so much need in the world today?

That’s the challenge when you are trying to use wealth to solve problems. It can be absolutely overwhelming and why it’s quite helpful to understand the lens through which you’re looking at your work. You can’t solve all the problems in the world. You won’t cover every philanthropic opportunity, you simply can’t.

You need to understand where your focus is and the scope of the network you can build. It’s remarkable to me that over the past 10 years, the network of people that we’ve built are working on things slightly different from each other, but they’re all related. There’s a great deal of crossover; you can feel that synergy and you feel you’re all moving in a particular direction.

For example, our 11th Hour Project team working on regenerative agriculture practices is connected with our 11th Hour Racing team that uses the sport of sailing to educate people about the health of our ocean. These two organizations work together, connecting what happens on land with what happens in the ocean.

A current focus is on a pilot project in Rhode Island demonstrating how composting is a landbased activity that supports ocean health.

We’ve combined a lot of disciplines and interests where people might not have talked to each other before. I grew up in a world where a lot of information was in silos, certainly in academic circles. Today, the opportunity is to crosspollinate. If everything is indeed interconnected, then we all need to be talking to each other across all disciplines. We all face the same essential issues

as humans. We have to examine where humans fit into this network of living systems and make it work for the planet as a whole.

How hard is it to be patient when you are dealing with such large, complex issues?

We have to look at what we’re doing against the scope of human history, so we’re talking about the blink of an eye. Patience is essential to the work because you would feel like you weren’t getting anywhere if you weren’t patient. Eric and I have a saying we share which is, “You need three things: you need patience, you need information and you need alternatives.” If you think about what you’re doing with those options in front of you all the time, you can sometimes just breathe, neutrally buoyant, and then move forward when the opportunity arises. You should understand what the long-term goal is and be very flexible about how you’re going to get there.

We’re always learning, and the paradigms we might have set for ourselves a decade ago may need to be revisited. What is the right move right now? What are the tools right now? I always say that many times in philanthropy, when you give the investment and make that commitment is often as important as how big it is.

I recently received a letter from one of our grantees, Paul Farmer at Partners in Health, in Haiti. He wrote to us on the tenth anniversary of the horrible earthquake that devastated that country and killed 300,000 people. He wrote from University Hospital in Mirebalais, which is now the world’s largest solar-powered hospital providing healthcare to more than 1 million patients each year. Back in 2011, The 11th Hour Project responded within days to Paul’s distress post-earthquake, providing desperately needed funding to install the hospital’s solar panels so it could remain functional in a country where the infrastructure had been destroyed. Good things happened because we could make a decision quickly, knowing who was asking and why.

Timing and relationships matter.

Wendy Schmidt addresses the 2019 class of Schmidt Science Fellows, a program of Schmidt Futures in partnership with the Rhodes Trust.

The year-long postdoctoral research fellowship follows the participants’ completion of their Ph.D. in the natural sciences, computing, engineering or mathematics and places them with global scientific leaders and internationally renowned labs in a scientific discipline different than their core area of study.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Another good example is in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Virunga National Park. Virunga was the subject of an Academy Award-nominated documentary that told the story of one of Africa’s largest national parks and the struggle to keep an oil and gas company from exploring for oil inside the park where the mountain gorillas are under threat from poachers. We got involved with Virunga not only to protect this unique ecosystem, but also to look at the park as a useful economic opportunity for that country. Working with Emmanuel de Merode, the park’s storied director, we considered how an iconic park in a war-torn country could create an economy that didn’t involve poaching and didn’t involve depleting the resources of the area.

We helped to fund the development of two micro hydro-powered dams in the park that over the past six years have delivered clean, renewable energy to a million people in villages around the park. People, primarily women, who previously had to spend their daylight hours searching for firewood now have electricity from a clean, renewable resource.

Electricity means streetlights that increase security. It means people have power for cooking and reading at night. It means hairdressers, restaurants and other small businesses, and even a soap factory. A new economy evolves when people have access to power which is why we believe that access to clean renewable energy is a human right in the 21st century. Without it, you’re not even on the same playing field.

Electric power, along with a series of micro loans to businesses in these areas, has generated all kinds of alternative job opportunities, where young men don’t feel their only choice is to join a local militia. The DRC is still a turbulent country with many threats but if, through philanthropy, it’s possible to create economic opportunity for people and they know that there’s somebody who’s got their back, they have a chance.

When you’re dealing with these longterm issues, how important is it to take moments to celebrate the wins and to appreciate what the Foundation has been able to accomplish?

Little victories add up over time and every win counts, but to be honest, we don’t spend much time celebrating. Each year, we bring together a large group of The 11th Hour Project’s grantees from each of our programs to a two-day gathering in San Francisco. It’s a chance to share examples of the work and give people an opportunity to meet and talk to one another. Sometimes they find ways to work together across the programs. It’s great for people to hear what others are doing, what their successes and challenges are.

Our team comes back every year feeling a little bit surprised and humbled by the impact of what we are doing every day.

You can never really see the whole picture, but when you get people together and you see year over year what did make a difference, it encourages you and focuses our programs on what’s working. It’s an opportunity for the cross-pollination we deeply believe in to happen. All in all, we find problems are often more the same than they are different.

•

LEADERS 13

E N G I N E E R I N G T H E ST RATE G I E S TO G RO W YO UR B USI NESS

Purpose Promoting the Well-Being of Humanity Throughout the World An Interview with Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President, The Rockefeller Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE Dr. Rajiv Shah INSTITUTION BRIEF The Rockefeller brings over twenty years of expeFoundation (rockefellerfoundation.org) rience in business, gover nis a global institution with an unparment, and philanthropy to The alleled track record of success carRockefeller Foundation. In 2009, rying out its founding mission to he was appointed to serve as USAID promote the well-being of humanity Administrator by President Obama around the world. Over its century long and unanimously confirmed by history, The Rockefeller Foundation the U.S. Senate. Dr. Shah was has embraced scientific frontiers to charged with reshaping the $20 lift up vulnerable children and famibillion agency’s operations to prolies. Today, The Rockefeller Foundation vide greater assistance to pressing seeks to apply science, technology, and Rajiv J. Shah development challenges around innovation to this task and end prethe globe. In this role he also led ventable child and maternal mortalthe U.S. response to the Haiti earthquake and ity, transform food systems to reduce the global the West African Ebola crisis, and served on the burden of disease, end energy poverty for milNational Security Council. By elevating inno- lions in Africa and Asia, and enable meaningvation and public-private partnerships, and ful economic mobility in the United States and shifting how dollars were spent to deliver stron- around the world. ger results, Dr. Shah secured bipartisan support that enabled USAID to dramatically acceler- Will you provide an overview of The ate its work to end extreme poverty, including Rockefeller Foundations’ storied history? the passage of significant Presidential prioriThis institution has an extraordinary histies – Feed the Future and Power Africa and tory that is 106 years old. It was created the Global Food Security Act, which is the sec- by John D. Rockefeller before there was an ond largest global development legislation after income tax, and therefore, an income tax PEPFAR. When Dr. Shah left USAID in 2015, deduction from which to benefit. It was also he continued to follow his passion for creat- before the federal government had a signifiing opportunities for communities to thrive cant role in supporting the living standards in the developing world by founding Latitude and welfare of vulnerable American families Capital, a private equity firm focused on power across the country, and certainly before we and infrastructur e projects in Africa and took on those responsibilities around the Asia. He was also appointed a Distinguished world. It was founded in a very simple idea Fellow in Residence at Georgetown University. that we could bring the frontiers of data sciEarlier in his career, Dr. Shah served as Chief ence, evidence-based policymaking, and Scientist and Undersecretary for Research, innovation to the task of lifting up everybody.

Education and Economics at the United States Now, 106 years and two Nobel Prizes later, Department of Agriculture. He also served in we have helped create the field of medicine a number of leadership roles at the Bill & and public health at home and around the Melinda Gates Foundation, where he helped world, invented agricultural technologies that launch the Alliance for a Green Revolution sparked a Green Revolution that moved a bilin Africa (a joint venture by the Gates and lion people off the brink of hunger and starvaRockefeller foundations) and the International tion, built much of the scientific infrastructure Financing Facility for Immunization (cred- of many parts of Europe and the United States, ited with raising more than $5 billion for protected scholars during World War II through childhood immunizations worldwide) and our Refugee Scholars program, which included where he supported the creation of the Global Madeleine Albright’s father, who was brought Development Program. Dr. Shah is a grad- here and installed as a professor at the University uate of the University of Michigan at Ann of Denver as a result of the Rockefeller grant, Arbor, the University of Pennsylvania School and trained tens of thousands of people, includof Medicine, and the Wharton School of ing Albert Einstein and others, as fellows of this Business, and has been awarded honorary institution. degrees from Tuskegee University, American It is an extraordinary legacy, and one University, and Colby College. that I think is a profound example of what 16 LEADERS

intentional focus and professional civic leadership can accomplish if appropriately resourced and focused on delivering results for people who are vulnerable.

What were your key priorities when you assumed leadership of the Foundation?

These institutions are amazing, but can also sometimes feel like it’s difficult to make the change you need to make to live up to the moment we live in. I was appointed into this role shortly after the last election, which was a couple of years after I had played a role as a member of the Obama administration in shaping two global agreements, one on ending poverty around the world and one on addressing climate change between the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Accord. It just felt like we had to change the way we work to rise up to a moment where public leadership was going to walk away from the biggest challenges we face as a planet – poverty, inequality, and climate – and so we did change. We re-embraced our roots, refocused on data science and innovation, created programs in four areas – health, food, power and jobs.

Will you discuss the Foundation’s efforts relating to power and energy?

We have for years been working on bringing the science and technology around off-grid solar mini-grids to communities where people don’t have power electricity. There are roughly two billion people on the planet who don’t have regular access to reliable electricity, and it’s very hard to read at night, to be safe in your community when it’s dark, to get a job, to start a small business and hire people, to use power tools to make carpentry products, without electricity and power.

Much of the world, especially the poorer parts of the world, rely on diesel backup generation, which is dirty and very expensive.

It is an extraordinary constraint to unlocking human potential and inclusive growth. We built solutions and partnerships that we believe can help hundreds of millions of people move out of energy poverty. In November, I launched the largest public/private partnership this institution’s ever been a part of, which is a billion dollar joint venture with a company called Tata Sons in India that will reach 25 million people by building 10,000 of these rural solar minigrids, powering hundreds of thousands of small businesses and creating jobs and growth for those communities.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

“Obviously we are still confronting the COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions. It is times like these when philanthropy can and must step up to meet the moment for our grantees and partners, and for the communities we together seek to serve. The Rockefeller Foundation is working to do this in the near-term in China, Italy, and for low-wage workers in America hurt by this crisis, but our longer-term response is also guided by our DNA: in this case, investing in a data platform that will enable tracking of pandemic disease cases worldwide in real time. While serving in the Obama administration I helped lead our efforts in West Africa during the Ebola epidemic, and I know how critical real-time data is to stop the spread of disease. Coronavirus does not respect national boundaries, and we hope to do more to help countries mount a coordinated and aggressive response, because protecting people in other parts of the world protects us all.”

You have been deeply engaged on the issue of climate change. How concerned are you about America’s current position in addressing climate change?

I’m deeply concerned, because at the end of the day, without American participation and leadership in a global agreement, it’s next to impossible to keep China and India on a green growth path and to collectivize the challenge of reducing emissions with the urgency and specificity required to save the planet. In our case, we’re very focused on helping two billion people go from one or two dollars a day to $10, $20, $30 a day of income. We know as that transition happens, and if we provide a renewable energy-based growth path for that population, we will be very much displacing a huge amount of coal and fossil fuel based development.

We think that’s an alternative vision of what’s possible compared to, say, 150 gigawatts of coal power that China is currently exporting into many of these countries through concessional finance and subsidies, and other commercial and public sector investments. We think the world needs a better path if we’re going to both end poverty and address climate change. We have to do it together, and we have to do it with real focus and commitment to succeeding.

Will you highlight the Foundation’s work around health?

Health is an extraordinarily important area for us. We helped fund something called the Flexner Report 100 years ago that introduced the world to a simple idea that medicine should be science-based, and ultimately supported medical schools across the Eastern Seaboard at the time. Today, we’re on the cusp of achieving something truly extraordinary. It used to be the case that if you were poor, at home or anywhere around the world, one of the most dangerous moments in your life was giving birth and one of the most dangerous realities for your children was that many of them would not survive to age five and thrive beyond that.

There are still about six million kids under the age of five who die of simple diseases. We have built a partnership with the world’s largest health institutions and dozens of countries around the world to end preventable maternal and child death. We are doing it by bringing predictive analytics, data science, and new software tools and putting them in the hands of community health workers around the world.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

These community health workers are often relatively low-skilled health outreach workers that will go into a village and knock on doors and find out if a woman is pregnant, and if she is, they will help her get access to a medical provider, or if a child is deeply malnourished, will help that child get access to appropriate nutrition so they have the immune strength to protect themselves from simple diseases.

There are more than five million community health workers around the world today and if we can turn them into hyper-empowered, hyper-effective outreach personnel that are using data to identify which woman is likely to be a high-risk pregnancy, reaching her with really targeted and specific interventions, making sure she gives birth in a facility where there is a doctor or a midwife, and then tracking the nutrition and growth path, and whether her child is on the growth curve for the first few months after childbirth, we can end preventable child and maternal death writ large.

We have set a goal for ourselves to save six million women and children’s lives in 10 countries in 10 years, and we are working aggressively with partners to do that. We’ve launched

a $100 million Precision Public Health initiative to achieve that outcome.

Do you see the issues that The Rockefeller Foundation is addressing as interrelated?

They’re deeply interrelated, and at the end of the day, the interrelationship is all about using data science and innovation to empower women to be successful. Sometimes that means empowering them to be successful as mothers through childbirth and in the early part of a child’s youth. Sometimes it means empowering them to be in a community where they get a job or start a business. I met a woman in rural Bihar, the poorest state in India, who is the beneficiary of one of our solar mini grids. She had a sewing machine, and she switched from a manual one to an electric one. Then she had a second and a third and started hiring people.

Before you know it, she has a small seamstress shop and is creating jobs, is training young girls, is turning the lights on, and is creating that cycle of growth and opportunity.

I’ve spent my career working in global development and in some deeply fragile and poor and difficult places around the world. The

Raj Shah touring a Tara Urja mini-grid in Bihar LEADERS 17

one constant truth is that if you help women succeed, make them more productive, protect them from violence and sexual abuse, give them the tools to grow more food and process that food more effectively, they will invest their time and their money that they earn from all those activities in raising up their communities and their families. The crosscutting piece is that we believe in investing in women, if we give them the science and technology required to succeed.

And we think that’s the path to ending poverty.

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

If you can’t measure something it’s hard to manage to it, and that’s true in business and in philanthropy. That doesn’t mean everything we do is measurable. We helped make a small early grant that allowed the former mayor of New Orleans to take down statues that were deeply offensive to African-American communities in New Orleans. We don’t really measure the impact of that action. That was a more modest values-based commitment to do something.

When it related to our biggest initiatives, we insist on investing in areas where we can see what the results are and where we can measure those results, we can track our progress, and we can make course corrections to improve our impact. Whether it’s reaching 25 million people and moving them out of poverty through electricity access in India, or saving six million women and children’s lives in 10 countries in India, Africa and Asia, or our major program in Africa that reaches 15 million farmers and improves their access to seeds and fertilizers and markets so that they can both grow more food and have higher incomes, we need to measure our efforts. We need to know that we are delivering results as expected and how we make changes to optimize performance.

How critical has it been to build your team and to attract top talent to the Foundation?

We have brought in extraordinary talent. Frankly, I think the last American election caused a lot of people to ask themselves, what are they doing as citizens to make our world more just, to make our world more collaborative, to make our world more compassionate?

We have built a team that we’re extraordinarily proud of. Of the 12 senior members of our leadership team, 10 are new over the last few years, and we are now an exceptionally diverse team.

18 LEADERS

Raj Shah visiting digitally enabled community health workers in Jaipur (above); A flour mill powered by mini-grid electricity (below)

As an organization, we are over 50 percent in terms of diversity and that diversity is a strength for us. We’re a global institution.

Even our work in the United States is focused on helping America’s working families who are often living in poverty and even if they’re not officially in poverty, they’re not able to make ends meet and be hopeful about their kids future and they are disproportionately African American or Hispanic American.

Having a diverse team that has a diversity of experiences and represents different communities in this country and around the world has been a big part of our success. I’m so excited about our team. The person who leads our health program was a senior executive at Merck and is a well-respected scientist who has built massive programs around the world to save women’s lives at the point of childbirth and is a hero of mine. The gentleman who currently leads our domestic portfolio was a former civil society leader in Baltimore and has worked with cities around the country to help expand opportunity and protect communities from being displaced, even as growth and development happens around them.

The person who leads our food team has got two degrees from MIT and a PhD from Cornell. He is a true leader in every capacity and has a vision for addressing long-term chronic disease like diabetes and cardiovascular disease by changing diets and is working with food systems at home and around the world to do that. The person that leads our power team is a Indian gentleman who is an extraordinary leader who spent nine years building that power program that we described and shepherding it along and brings a lot of respect and talent.

Our chief operating officer ran Microsoft’s servers business which would, standing alone, have been at the time the fourth largest

software company in the world, and he was President Obama’s chief information officer and has a deep personal commitment to service and these issues. Our chief investment officer is a Chinese-born immigrant and is on the forefront of mission-oriented endowment management and investing, and is such a courageous leader willing to take risks to do things that ensure that our actions speak our values, even as we protect our financial capacity to be a strong and present grantmaking institution.

We have a tough, diverse, committed, focused team. I would say we have the single best team in American philanthropy, maybe globally. It is an incredible group of talented leaders.

Did you know early on that you had a passion for this type of work?

I grew up in suburban Detroit. My dad worked at Ford for 30-plus years. My mom was a Montessori schoolteacher. All I ever wanted to do was be an auto designer and maybe someday have an auto company. Somewhere along the way, I became a doctor and health economist, got inspired by politics, worked for Al Gore during the 2000 presidential campaign, and then met Bill and Melinda Gates when they were early on in starting their foundation. They invited me to be a part of that experience, and I helped them set up largely immunization programs around the world that have since saved millions of lives.

I just saw the power of this work. I don’t even think of it as philanthropy. Once you get the best people and the most capable people, the smartest minds in the room, cut across left, right, cut across private, public, you can solve pretty much any problem out there if you stay focused and persistent. The Rockefeller Foundation is an institution that has proven that many times and I hope to have a chance to prove it many more times.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Global Banking with a Local Heart Bank of China is invested in helping local communities thrive.

Since establishing operations in America, Bank of China USA has supported the needs of both our local and global clients through tailored solutions in banking and trade services, while striving to be a responsible corporate citizen by giving back to the communities in which we live and work.

Whether supporting education, pursuing green development or improving communities, we are investing in the long-term to generate a positive societal and environmental impact. Over the past few years, we have contributed over $2 billion in community reinvestment to reverse urban blight and support local charities.

New York Branch*

Queens Branch*

Chicago Branch

Los Angeles

1045 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10018 212-935-3101

42-35 Main Street Flushing, NY 11355 212-925-2355

111 South Wacker Drive Suite 4800 Chicago, IL 60606 312-506-8688

444 South Flower Street 39th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071 213-688-8700

*New York Branches are members FDIC. Chicago branch and Los Angeles branch provide corporate banking services only.

Purpose Transformative Philanthropy An Interview with Adrienne Arsht EDITORS’ NOTE Adrienne Arsht 2017, she was bestowed the Carnegie is a business leader and impact Hall Medal of Excellence recognizing philanthropist. She has taken a her visionary and exceptional conleading r ole pr omoting artistributions to cultural and nonprofit tic, business and civic growth in institutions nationally. She is the only the three cities she calls home: woman to have ever received this disWashington, D.C., Miami and New tinction. Additionally, Arsht was York. Her $30 million contribution awarded the distinguished Order to Miami’s Performing Arts Center of San Carlos of Colombia, which in 2008 secured its financial footwas given to her by the direction of ing. In her honor, the Center was Colombia’s President Juan Manuel renamed the Adrienne Arsht Santos. In 2013, she was presented Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of with the prestigious diplomatic honor, Miami-Dade County. In 2012, her Orden de Isabel la Católica (Order of contribution of $10 million to Lincoln Center the Cross of Isabella the Catholic) from The was recognized with the dedication of the King of Spain. A 1966 graduate of Villanova Adrienne Arsht Stage in Alice Tully Hall. In Law School, Arsht began her Delaware law Washington, D.C. in 2016, Arsht spearheaded career with Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnel. In the creation of the Adrienne Arsht Center for 1969, she moved to New York City and joined Resilience at The Atlantic Council, which the legal department of Trans World Airlines has just been renamed the Adrienne Arsht- (TWA). She then became the first woman in Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center the company’s property, cargo and governwith the $30 million Rockefeller Foundation ment relations departments. Arsht moved to gift that she matched. She also founded the Washington, D.C. in 1979 where she initially Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the worked with a law firm, then started her own Atlantic Council in 2013 to focus on the role title company. In 1996, she moved to Miami to of South America in the transatlantic commu- run her family-owned bank, TotalBank. From nity. She is a Trustee of the John F. Kennedy 1996 to 2007, Arsht served as Chairman of Center for the Performing Arts where she estab- the Board. Under her leadership, TotalBank lished the Adrienne Arsht Theater Fund. Arsht grew from four to fourteen locations with over is a Vice Chairman of Lincoln Center for the $1.4 billion in assets. In 2007, she sold the Performing Arts, and Executive Vice Chairman bank to Banco Popular Español. In 2008, she of the Atlantic Council. She is on the Trustees became the first, and still is, the only woman Council of The National Gallery of Art and a to join the Five Million Dollar Roundtable of Board Member of the Blair House Restoration United Way of Miami-Dade. Arsht’s other Fund. She is a member of the Council on notable gifts include to Goucher College, creForeign Relations and is former President of ating the Roxana Cannon Arsht Center for the Vice President’s Residence Foundation. Ethics and Leadership, in honor of her late At the request of the then Secretary of State mother, a Goucher graduate, The University Hilary Clinton, Arsht created the campaign of Miami Arsht Ethics Programs, and a lab at Patrons of Diplomacy to establish an endow- Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University ment for the preservation of fur niture and of Miami. In Delaware, Arsht funded the creworks of art for the State Department. She is ation of a Best Buddies chapter to specifiTrustee Emerita of the University of Miami cally serve Hispanics and African Americans and an honorary board member of Amigos with mental disabilities. The Chronicle of for Kids. In 2019, Arsht was inducted as an Philanthropy ranked Arsht number 39 on its honorary member of the Beta Gamma Sigma 2008 America’s biggest donors list. She is the society by the business school at Georgetown daughter of the Honorable Roxana Cannon University. She received an honorary degree Arsht, the first female judge in the State of from her alma mater, Mount Holyoke College. Delaware, and Samuel Arsht, a prominent Recently, Arsht was awarded The Order of Rio Wilmington attorney. Upon graduation from Branco from the Brazilian government for her Villanova Law School, Arsht was the 11th outstanding dedication to U.S.-Brazil rela- woman admitted to the Delaware bar – her tions and her vision toward Latin America. In mother having been the 5th.

20 LEADERS

How did you get started in philanthropy?

When I was a child, we had an annual family meeting where we always made endof-the-year gifts. My mother, father, sister and I would sit down and decide where we wanted the money to go. We each, theoretically, had one vote per person, but my father really ended up exercising three-anda-half of them, but there was no controversy. In our family, we learned early on that philanthropy was the basis of the reason for you to exist, which is to care for others at all times.

My family made transformative gifts to hospitals and senior education at the University of Delaware through the Academy of Lifelong Learning. That was one of the first concepts of education for older people at a university. It’s very prominent as a building and as an institution. Philanthropy really defines who we are as human beings. That was where it started.

Are the skills required to run a successful philanthropic enterprise similar to those that are necessary to run a successful business?

I don’t know how you correlate them.

I’m sometimes asked how I do things. If I see it and I think it needs to be done, I just go for it. I have personal cards that have a Kurt Vonnegut quote on them that says, “Jump and develop your wings on the way down,” because if I ever thought of all the reasons something wouldn’t work, I’d never do anything. I’ve never focused on business principles in my philanthropic work. I’m a lawyer, but I went to law school because I thought it would teach me the best way to think – concise and logical. I never wanted to practice law, but I wanted to focus on how one thinks. This was in the mid ’60s when women certainly weren’t studying law. I felt that being a lawyer would give me enough credibility so that when I walked into a room, at least I had credentials that were comparable to others.

With so much societal need today, how do you focus your philanthropic giving?

As with my parents, I start where I can make an impact in an area that nobody else is interested in.

In 2007, the Performing Arts Center in Miami was about to go bankrupt and nobody believed in it. I knew that Miami was a great VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

My interest in artists goes way back and the phrase “the show must go on” defines artists. They are resilient and every artist has their own unique story of how they have had to be resilient.

city, but to be a really great city you must have a performing arts center, so I made the $30 million gift that saved the Center and the City.

Will you discuss your commitment to Miami?

I went to Miami in 1996 and often returned to Washington very enthusiastic about Miami and found that everybody seemed surprised by that. I would say, “Miami is the future today, get used to it.” I felt that then and, of course, it is that today, on a slew of levels.

I’ve always cared about the Hispanic population and the import0ance of Latin America.

When I sold my bank in 2007 and moved back to Washington, D.C., I tried to get some think tanks to care about Latin America. I contacted one and the head of it wouldn’t even see me. He just said, “Oh, go talk to somebody about doing something in the arts.” I went to another one and the head of it said, “Oh,

do something on women’s issues.” It was finally the Atlantic Council and Fred Kempe who took it on. It was an important area that they felt was underserved.

I believed in Miami as a city and I just knew it had to have a performing arts center.

I don’t always know what something I support will become. I just know it must be.

It is amazing to see all of the events that are held there now such as the NFL Honors night and the first Democratic Debate taking over the entire Opera House and Concert Hall for two nights. The Opera House is second in size only to the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Would I have ever imagined that?

No, but the Center provides the city with the opportunity to host these types of events and so much more.

There is a Secret Service agent who is assigned to one of the ambassadors in Washington who comes to my house frequently.

Adrienne Arsht in front of the Adrienne Arsht Stage in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

The agent introduced himself and said he had been based in Miami and that his family was still there. I gave him my box at the Center for his family to use. It gives me crazy joy to be able to do this as it does when I meet somebody who has taken their children to events there. I also hear of artists who perform there talking about the stage and the audience and how they enjoy performing there and that it is a place that mattered to them. This is why I made my gift.

Will you discuss your involvement with Lincoln Center?

When I first came back up to New York after I sold my bank in Miami, I was asked to join the board of the Metropolitan Opera, which is the largest opera company in the world. As such, for me, it provided an excellent learning experience and considerable musical pleasure.

Then Katherine Farley, Chair of Lincoln Center, asked me to join that board. I made a $10 million gift to Lincoln Center and the stage in Alice Tully Hall was named in my honor. It was especially meaningful to have the stage named in Alice Tully Hall as it shows women and men what women can do.

You mentioned your work with the Atlantic Council, which is a big focus for you. Will you highlight this relationship and how your focus on resilience developed?

Resilience is something that I have thought about most of my life. On a personal level, resilience is evolution and survival. My interest in artists goes way back and the phrase “the show must go on” is what artists live by. They are resilient and every artist has their own unique story of how they have had to be resilient.

While performing, Baryshnikov injured his foot but as the saying goes, “the show must go on” and he continued dancing until the curtain dropped. Artists still perform when they are sick. If a prop that is supposed to be there for them isn’t there, they improvise. They go on no matter what.

I had a younger sister who was brilliant.

She was a foreign service officer and spoke many languages. She was in the Soviet Union in 1969 at the beginning of the Cold War when she was just in her twenties. She was taken away by the KGB and accused of being a spy. They let her out and when she got back to the United States, she became emotionally depressed and had a breakdown. Eventually, she committed suicide. I’ve always thought about whether we LEADERS 21

were different and if I would have had a stronger will to survive. I don’t know, but we were two people raised in pretty much the same environment so this really made me wonder where resilience comes from.

Then, while I was living in Miami, I had the chance to spend time with the people at the U.S. Southern Command who were talking about military and specifically the Special Forces, Seals, Rangers, and all the special ops and what it takes to be them. This was before bin Laden and before everybody began to know

what a Seal was. If you get through the early training for these forces, are you, by definition, resilient?

Brain injuries are another example of resilience. The brain of resilient people is actually physically different. The same with immune systems. There are some immune systems that are more resilient. Why does somebody die from a disease and somebody else survives?

The Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. has a dinosaur display that was just redone. While dinosaurs were wiped

Adrienne Arsht at the Atlantic Council standing between the two banners of the Centers that bear her name 22 LEADERS

out by a meteor, they weren’t resilient, if you will. Some animals and species are becoming extinct while others evolve. Why are some resilient enough to survive and evolve?

We all talk climate change and while I don’t know whose fault it is, I just want us to focus on how we can slow it, then fix it and stop it. Today, drought affects crops like coffee beans and grapes. Some of the most extensive migration out of Africa comes because of this. It’s not because of wars, but of the economics of crops no longer being able to be grown.

Another example is the vineyards. Wines from Australia must adapt or they will be wiped out because of the droughts brought on by climate change. The vineyards in France are disappearing because of the weather.

I’m organizing what will be an annual Forum on Global Resilience hosted by The Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center. We are going to have a Last Call Café, which will highlight wines that won’t survive and champagne that will now have to come from England.

Working with Walter Reed Hospital on PTSD and brain injury, we look at soldiers who come back and why some of them recover and others don’t.

We have another big focus on cultural resilience and how we preserve our culture.

Bombs and missiles may have taken out some of the legendary places in the Middle East, but you still have people in refugee camps who can maintain that culture. Whether it’s Venezuela, where a third of the population has left, or Syria, where even more have left, the culture, the songs and dance and other cultural elements, can still be passed along.

They are resilient because they are carried forward.

You make quick decisions with your philanthropic investments. Will you discuss your approach to giving?

I gently say about myself, which others would probably agree with, that “she doesn’t play well with others.” I jump and move quickly.

It was the same with my parents. There was no structure and no staff. They just decided and wrote checks. On my death, I’m giving away all of my money. I’m not a billionaire but, on my death, everything will go into the Adrienne Arsht Foundation. Until then, I’ll just be writing checks.

There are reasons to have large organizations that distribute things. It just doesn’t fit for me. I don’t have a family office. I’m totally solo from a family standpoint. My parents left money to the Arsht-Cannon Fund, which was set up as a Delaware Community Foundation. This was done so that there was a framework from which to administer it as a foundation. Actually, when I die, somebody will decide whether they need to do the same thing. There are documents that need to be prepared and rules tha t have to be followed. That’s the value of these community foundations. They take care of the paperwork.

Are you focused on increasing the involvement of more women in philanthropy?

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Exterior shot of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida

Women know the importance of philanthropy. People tell me, “I don’t have your kind of money.” My response is that it isn’t about the amount. It’s the giving that you do, whether it’s writing a check or donating your time or treasure. There are many things you can do. You should understand that philanthropy is giving where there is a need in any way.

Is my name on things to try to set an example for other women to follow? Yes. When I’m asked to contribute to something or join something, or even be honored by something, I want to know who else is involved. You’re known by the company you keep. Letterhead from charities often include a listing of the board members. I look at that to see if they’re like-minded people, or people whose judgment I respect. If I’m willing to put my name on something, it has to mirror what I stand for. I wish other women would do that. I am focused on more women putting their names on rooms and buildings.

Putting your name on something tells people what matters to you.

How did you become engaged in the Kennedy Center?

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

It is a performing arts center. When I came to Washington, D.C. in 1979, I led an organization for funding new theater at the Kennedy Center. I chaired this organization called Kennedy Center Productions, Inc. I love the arts and the Kennedy Center, The Washington Opera, The National Symphony. I made the decision that I could only do one thing in each city. With my focus on performing art centers, I knew I could probably be the most valuable focusing on that.

Are you able to be in the moment and enjoy the process?

I’m excited when I’m doing something such as a dinner party at my house, but I’m not in the moment because I want to make sure that something wonderful comes of it. Do I have an exhilaration when it’s over because that has happened? Absolutely.

The joy of watching something succeed or people being happy is a great joy. My posse that is with me all the time, often tells me to take a moment. There is a phrase I use that says, “a pessimist has no engine and an optimist has no brake.” I don’t see failure as an option, which

comes back to “jump and develop your wings on the way down.”

Where did your resilience come from?

I believe that you are either resilient or you aren’t. Athletes are wonderful to study, but at any level, when you talk to your kids about sports, it’s always going that extra mile and not giving up. It’s about not quitting. Much of that is genetic, but it can be reinforced.

I say that my mother must have been the child that Joan of Arc and Don Quixote would have had. My mother stood for things. She would die for a cause. She was out there for what mattered like Don Quixote tilting at windmills because he believed that he could make a better world.

You have accomplished so much in your life and continue to take on more things. Will you ever slow down?

I don’t think I have a brake. I don’t understand that I’m going fast, nor do I understand why I’d stop. I recently turned 78. I would say I’m never in neutral and that my next challenge is just waiting for me.

•

LEADERS 23

Purpose Growing Starr An Interview with Maurice R. Greenberg, Starr Insurance Companies EDITORS’ NOTE Maurice R. AIG, I was working for Starr. We kept Greenberg is Chairman of Starr Starr out of AIG and it was more perInsurance Companies, a global sonal to Starr, to me, and a number of insurance and investment orgaothers. I’m glad we did based on what nization. Starr was founded by happened.

Cornelius Vander Starr in 1919 in We took it out of mothballs and Shanghai, China. Greenberg began after I left AIG. We’ve come a formed American International long way. We have great people. We’re Group, Inc. (AIG) as a Starr subbringing people in who have no expesidiary, and served as that comparience in the insurance business but ny’s Chair man and CEO until have a great background and a great March 2005. Under his nearly 40 personality to grow and lead. I’m very Maurice R. Greenberg years of leadership, AIG grew from pleased with where we are. I’m gratean initial market value of $300 milful for the support we’ve gotten from lion to $180 billion, becoming the largest insur- our clients and business relationships and that ance company in the world. Greenberg is also continues to grow worldwide. the Chairman of The Starr Foundation, a philWe’ve just opened another office in anthropic organization initially funded by Europe, and we’ll be adding to that, not only Cornelius Vander Starr’s estate. The Foundation in Western Europe but in Eastern Europe as has made more than $3.5 billion in grants to well. We operate globally, including all many academic, medical, cultural and pub- through Latin America, which is experienclic policy organizations around the world. ing many challenges right now. We’re all over Greenberg received his pre-law certificate from Asia, of course. That’s our history. We’re doing the University of Miami and an LL.B. from New quite well in China. We played an important York Law School.

COMPANY BRIEF Starr Insurance Companies (starrcompanies.com) is a global, privatelyheld insurance and investments organization.

Through its operating insurance companies, Starr Insurance Companies provides commercial property and casualty, 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-related services including claims handling and settlement, reinsurance, risk assessment, loss control and worldwide travel assistance service.

role in opening that market and we were the first ones there.

I spent 40 years going to China every year, and they recognize that we’ve been helpful to them. Is China open completely? The insurance industry is, and the banking industry as well. We had a hand in that.

Is the Starr story well-understood today?

No. Some do understand it, but many do not and we work at this all the time. You can have ads that say one thing, but people don’t read the ads. If they do, it doesn’t stick with them. We need to continue to tell the story since we have a great story to tell.

Throughout your career you have been involved in China/U.S. relations. You were recently in Washington for the signing of the phase one trade agreement. Are you optimistic that a mutually beneficial trade agreement will be reached?

I think that President Trump quickly understood that not only with China, but many other countries that we trade with, we have an uneven

We’re living in an era right now that will go on for at least another decade of new opportunities based on new technology that didn’t exist before. Not everybody will benefit equally from that, but we expect to benefit in the top tier.

Will you provide an overview of Starr and how the company has evolved?

Starr is a property casualty company, commercial insurance principally. We also write A&H insurance out of commercial insurance.

We’ve come a long way since we started Starr up again. The company has a wonderful history.

Starr started in China and when we organized 24 LEADERS

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

You want to be among the leaders in the world in terms of new products as well as with products that have been around for some time but that we can now deliver in a more efficient way. We work at this all the time.

balance. Our tariffs, in many instances, would not recover what the other side is getting. The President has been trying to even out the relationship in many countries. When somebody’s had an advantage for many years, they’re obviously reluctant to give it up, so it has not been easy, but it is happening.

Are you focused on growing Starr’s size or is it more about the quality of the clients Starr works with?

The two go hand in hand. If you’re doing your job right, you’ll benefit and grow. If you don’t, you won’t.

How critical is investing in technology for Starr?

You can’t ignore the technological changes that are going on. We’re living in an era right now that will go on for at least another decade of new opportunities based on new technology that didn’t exist before. Not everybody will benefit equally from that, but we expect to benefit in the top tier.

How critical is it to adapt and evolve with the changes taking place around the world?

You want to be among the leaders in the world in terms of new products as well as with products that have been around for some time but that we can now deliver in a more efficient way. We work at this all the time. Are you always satisfied? No. There’s more we can do, and we’re going to keep trying to do that.

Will you highlight the work of The Starr Foundation?

We have had an important impact, for example, in the healthcare area in New York. We’ve built new hospitals. We now have hospitals in Brooklyn, in downtown New York, uptown New York, and even north of New York today. These are great institutions with great leaders that we were very instrumental in creating.

When Starr died, his foundation was worth $15 million. We built it to $6 billion. We are now able to do many things. For example, we have many programs to help veterans, and I feel good about that. I’ve had that experience of serving in the military and know what can happen to you. We owe those who were unfortunate and wounded a hell of a lot.

How important is it for schools and universities to teach young people about China/U.S. relations so that future leaders understand China and its history?

This needs to happen and it’s a two-way street. I’m on the advisory board of Tsinghua VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

University in China. There are quite a number of American students at the school who graduated from Yale or other top schools who wanted to spend a year or two at Tsinghua to better understand China. This seems to be happening more and more. Of course, many Chinese students also study in universities in the U.S. There are several universities in China and I’m on the board of three of them. This takes time, but it’s helping build relationships.

Your military service is obviously close to your heart. When you look at your leadership style, was much of that developed from your military experience?

No question about it. I was in the military when I was very young. I enlisted when I was 17. I lied about my age and I ended up serving in two wars. It had a major impact on my leadership skills.

What do you tell young people about how to build a career in the insurance industry?

They have to understand the business and this doesn’t happen overnight. We train them, but there is more than basic training that they

need. They have to have specific skills in whatever area they’re in. If they’re in underwriting or they’re in production, each takes different skills. A great many of them make it, but some don’t. Within a year or two, they will know whether this is an industry in which they will grow or not.

Is it important to be entrepreneurial in the industry?

Absolutely. You have to understand the other guy you’re trying to insure and what his business is. You have to be open-minded to understand many different businesses, what makes them successful and what their risks are.

As someone who is known as a leading entrepreneur, do you feel that entrepreneurship can be taught or do you have to have it in you?

You have to have a lot of it in you, but you can teach the areas to be cautious about and make sure that those are understood. If you want to help the other guy, you have to understand his business.

•

When Starr died, his foundation was worth $15 million. We built it to $6 billion. We are now able to do many things. For example, we have many programs to help veterans, and I feel good about that.

LEADERS 25

GOLDEN GLOBE® NOMINEE

ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE

Ana de Armas

Demian Bichir

Montefiore

DIRECTED BY

J O H N H I L LC OAT

PRESENTS

WRITTEN BY

KELLEY SANE

A F I L M T H AT D O E S N ’ T J U S T A I M T O G R A B Y O U R H E A R T, B U T K E E P I T. B A S E D O N A T R U E PAT I E N T STO RY F R O M M O N T E F I O R E .

NOW STREAMING ON

Purpose Business and Philanthropy An Interview with Yue-Sai Kan EDITORS’ NOTE Chinese-American Will you provide an overview of Yue-Sai Kan (yuesaikan.com) is an your philanthr opic work and Emmy-winning television producer, your main areas of focus? best-selling author, entrepreneur I’ve been involved in charities and humanitarian. Her Looking East all my life. Living in the United States, television series was the first nationgiving is a way of life. Through the ally syndicated program to introyears, I’ve been involved with many duce Asian cultures to American different kinds of charities in both audiences. Following her success in China and the U.S., mainly focusing on the United States, China’s national children, educanetwork, China Central Television, tion and women invited her to produce and host One empowerment.

Yue-Sai Kan World, giving millions of Chinese I set up many their first look of the outside world. In scholarship pro1992, she successfully transformed herself from a grams in both countries.

TV personality to an entrepreneur by creating the For example, the Jin Yu Yue-Sai Cosmetics brand, which is recognized by Xi Scholarship at Peking over 90 percent of the Chinese population today. University to reward the She has written nine best-selling books, spread- female champion of the ing the knowledge of beauty, etiquette, health and national college entrance success among Chinese readers. Her humanitar- examination from different ian efforts have primarily been focused on edu- provinces and regions in cation and children. She has built schools and China; the Yuxi Scholarship libraries in her hometown of Guangxi and in at Beijing Film Academy and other underprivileged regions throughout China. Shanghai Theater Academy; She awarded scholarships to students in a num- and scholarships at Hunter ber of colleges in China as well as Hunter College College and the Fashion Institute of Technology, and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New among others.

York. Since 2018, she has served as the Co-Chair As the first ever Chinese-American of China Institute in America. She also sits on Ambassador of UNESCO’s Say YES for Children the boards of the Ellis Island Honors Society, campaign, I helped launch a global commitCommittee of 100, and Prince Albert of Monaco’s ment to children with many world class celebriPhilanthropy Roundtable. Yue-Sai Kan is the first ties, calling for healthy, peaceful and beautiful and only living American featured on a Chinese living environments for children. postage stamp.

In 2011, I set up my own foundation, the Yue-Sai Kan China Beauty Charity Fund, because I realized that we can harness the power of beauty to accomplish so many good things. As the first order of business, the Foundation hosted the China Fashion Gala in New York, a platform to recognize remarkable talents and emerging Chinese designers who would carry Chinese aesthetics and inspirations to the world.

The talents and designers may be known or Jin Yu Xi Scholarship recipients at Peking University 28 LEADERS

unknown to the West, but are definitely worth our efforts to highlight them. So far, we have showcased the works of couturier Guo Pei, designer Grace Chen, and photographer Chen Man, just to name a few. On April 29th, our China Fashion Gala 2020 will introduce designer Xiong Ying. Her Dun Huang-inspired collection is breathtakingly beautiful and will blow your mind.

China Fashion Gala 2019

The China Fashion Gala is also a fundraiser. Last year, we were able to raise nearly $850,000 to benefit the China Beauty Charity Fund Scholarship at the Fashion Institute of Technology, an executive education program in sustainable fashion, as well as China Institute’s Fashion Design Competition Award.

I have been the National Director of Miss Universe China since 2011. Starting in 2013, we combined the Miss Universe China final with a charity gala dinner. Over the years, we raised millions of dollars by selling tables and holding raffles and auctions. These funds were all donated to the Operation Smile and Smiling Train projects. The donations were used to fund repair surgeries and comprehensive treatments for children suffering from cleft lip and palate.

They give these unfortunate children the chance to change their fates and give them a reason to smile.

I’ve also served as co-chair of China Institute together with Chinese-American architect Chien Chung Pei since 2018. Founded in 1926 by Chinese reformers Hu Shi, K.P. Wen, and American scholars John Dewey and Paul Monroe, China Institute is the oldest bicultural, nonprofit organization in America to focus exclusively on China. It’s New York City’s VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

preeminent center for insight and access to China through education, art, business and culture. My goal is to bring in more trustees and secure funds for a historic capital campaign to build out China Institute so it has a much bigger and modern space in line with its mission. It will be the only such home for Chinese culture in the United States.

What are the keys to being effective in philanthropy?

I’m a strong believer that charity is not about how much money you give away, but how effective your donation can be. Choose wisely whom or what organization to support. Do your research. In China, I work with the Soong Qing Ling Foundation because I know they have a strong infrastructure and tons of experience in helping women and children. When I do hands-on charity work, I really try to understand what the problem is and listen to the professionals and insiders, and then figure out how I can leverage my resources and my capabilities to help the best way I can.

Do the same skills that are needed to be successful in business translate to being successful in philanthropy?

Absolutely. Communication skills, networking skills, organization skills, and leadership skills are some of the most important and transferable skills that you need in order to succeed in both business and philanthropy.

Ef fective communication can make so much difference. I always like to invite donors and supporters to my house so that I can have a face-to-face conversation with them. I share my mission, vision, and values with them and also learn the stories behind them so that people will feel valued and inspired to support the causes.

Having an extensive network of friends is of utmost importance when it comes to developing business and doing charity in both China and the United States. Cold calling is really hard.

Your network will help you succeed.

A strong leader can build a strong team and motivate and guide them to success. To be successful in philanthropy is actually more challenging

China Insitute’s Blue Cloud Gala 2019

because you are oftentimes equipped with minimal staff and volunteers. You need to bring out the best in every single team member. That’s what a great leader is about.

Is there a major focus and commitment to philanthropy in China?

Poverty alleviation has always been a focus in China and will remain so. My friend Robert Kuhn did a brilliant documentary on this subject. Voices from the Frontline: China’s War on Poverty documents some real-life cases of poor people being lifted out of poverty via micro-business, education and relocation. The grassroots campaign is mounted in the poorest counties, townships and villages in China. It is truly amazing.

The United States is the richest country in the world, but it does not do much about

2016 Miss Universe China Smile Train Charity Gala VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

poverty. Just drive around downtown Los Angeles. The homeless tents extend for miles.

The more you know about how China took more than 800 million people out of poverty, the more you will appreciate how extensive the program is. By the end of 2020, the goal is to have no more poverty in China. The alleviation program is truly grassroots. To give you two examples, last year I was with the publicity chief of Lijiang, Yunnan Province.

He said he was going to take a week off to go to work with the poor family he was assigned to help to bring the members out of poverty. I was really surprised. A leader is given the specific responsibility to help. Another German friend who is in charge of government relations of his company told me he was really busy because he has to find a poor village to help fight poverty.

Do you take moments to reflect and appreciate the impact that your philanthropic work has had on so many lives?

I hardly have the time to do so, but every now and then, in a really sweet and heartwarming way, I’m reminded how my small contribution can completely change a person’s life. A couple years ago when I had surgery in the Hospital for Special Surgery, a nurse came to my room and told me that when she heard that I was in her hospital, she decided that she must see me and say thank you in person. She was one of my scholarship recipients in the English Language Program of Hunter College. The scholarship was set up to help new Chinese immigrants. She said my scholarship was a game changer for her and that mastering the English language opened so many doors for her in America. She was able to choose a career she’s passionate about and support her family all because of me.

•

Yue-Sai with 2017 scholarship winners at the Fashion Institute of Technology LEADERS 29

Purpose Defining Leadership An Interview with John Kasich, Founder, Kasich Company EDITORS’ NOTE Before foundsystem and continue to be engaged in ing Kasich Company, John Kasich addressing healthcare. I am also startserved two terms as the Governor ing to spend a significant amount of of Ohio. He served as a member of time working in the technology sector.

Congress from central Ohio for 18 Is there an effective underyears and, as the Chair man of standing in the country around the the House Budget Committee, he issue of poverty? led the effort to balance the fedNo, I don’t think there is. I think eral budget for the first time since people need to put themselves in 1969 and helped enact historic welsomebody else’s shoes, because somefare reform. After leaving Congress times poverty is cultural. It’s not that in 2000, Kasich worked as a manway because people don’t want to John Kasich aging director in the Investment change their situation or condition. In Banking Division of Lehman many respects, they don’t know how, Brothers, where he helped companies secure and then poverty can become embedded in a the resources they needed to succeed and create culture that, in many respects, doesn’t give peojobs. He was also a commentator for FOX News, ple the opportunity to climb out of it. a Presidential Fellow at his alma mater, The Do I think people want to climb out of it?

Ohio State University, and a candidate for the They absolutely do. Sometimes they just don’t Republican nomination in the 2000 and 2016 understand how to do it, and I’m an optimist Presidential campaigns. Kasich is the author about the ability to help people find a better life. of four New York Times best-sellers: Courage is Contagious; Stand for Something: The Battle for America’s Soul; and Every Other Monday, which was published in 2010 and focuses on the importance of faith in making both everyday choices and life-changing decisions. His most recent books are Two Paths: America Divided or United and It’s Up to Us – Ten Little Ways We Can Bring About Big Change. Today, he also serves as a senior commentator for CNN.

One of the things about the World War Zero coalition that I’m helping with to fight climate change is what we are trying to do is not have specific solutions at this point, but to be able to get people to sit down and recognize the challenges that we have and begin to grow solutions from the middle out, rather than from the outside in. In other words, this is going to come from a consensus of reasonable people who say, yes there are reasonable things that we can do.

What are the keys to addressing the challenges in healthcare?

We need to deal with the huge administrative costs. That is low-hanging fruit, since with technology we can figure out better systems to be more efficient and this will start stripping out costs.

I also believe we need to head in the direction of quality and transparency. This means paying the providers to keep us healthy rather than being paid on the other end, which is to

I also believe we need to head in the direction of quality and transparency. This means

COMPANY BRIEF The Kasich Company, (kasichcompanyllc.com), co-founded by John Kasich and Beth Hansen, connects and convenes their unique international network of leaders to effectively address its clients’ pain points and opportunities. Kasich Company offers its clients the expertise of public-sector leaders with private-sector capabilities who work to develop results-oriented, common-sense and unifying approaches to solving problems at the federal, state and local level.

What have been your main areas of focus since you left public office in January 2019?

I’m involved in many different things. I’m a senior commentator for CNN and I’m also speaking to universities, businesses and organizations across the country. I’m actively working on efforts to alleviate poverty and signed on to fight climate change with John Kerry and Arnold Schwarzenegger. In addition, I’m interested in helping to improve the mental health 30 LEADERS

paying the providers to keep us healthy

rather than being paid on the other end.

Will you discuss your work around climate change?

We are seeing a number of companies in the private sector focusing on the principles of ESG – environmental, social, governance. I’ve had conversations with a number of CEOs whose companies are beginning to put their shoulder to the wheel on this issue. They are not waiting for the government to tell them what to do.

When it comes to government, the problem is an inability to form a consensus, not just on this issue, but on the issue of debt and how to reform our healthcare system to make it more affordable, and many other issues. They are just all stuck.

take care of us when we are sick. There needs to be a situation where people are willing to take some risks, providers are willing to take risks, insurance companies are willing to take risks, to say that we can keep people healthier than what is anticipated or expected. We did some of that in Ohio and it was effective.

What can be done to bring civility back to the country?

Most people ar en’t on the political extremes, they are actually pretty much in the center. Human beings don’t usually favor revolution unless the situation becomes intolerable.

They really favor evolution, not revolution.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

One of the things about the World War Zero coalition that I’m helping with to fight climate change is what we are trying to do is not have specific solutions at this point, but to be able to get people to sit down and recognize the challenges that we have and begin to grow solutions from the middle out, rather than from the outside in.

I don’t think most people want to be fighting with one another. In fact, it’s human nature to want to huddle together. I believe the natural feeling is one of wanting to be together.

There have been family members that fight with each other about politics, and we’re the ones that just have to put a stop to it. You can have your opinion. I don’t want to fight with

Do you feel that leadership can be taught?

I think maybe to a degree. I think leadership is the ability to walk a very lonely road. It’s the ability to have enough confidence in yourself and in what you think and in your opinions when there aren’t many people that can see it or necessarily agree with you.

I’m a Republican, but my mind is in a post-party age. I think that while we can have an allegiance to a political party, it should not be the dominant force in anybody’s life. We are Americans before we are Republicans or Democrats.

anybody. It’s not worth it. I can have my opinion, which I’m willing to express, but I’m not going to be yelling at somebody about their differing opinion. It’s not worth my energy or my effort.

What I’m most concerned about with politicians is that they seem increasingly to be concerned about pursuing power. Unfortunately, that doesn’t have much to do with getting things done these days. It has to do with accumulating power, period.

Although my career has primarily been in the public sector, I’ve had a lot of opportunity in my lifetime to observe businesses, and I have concluded that there are many businesses that want to be involved in change, but they are stuck in the status quo. It’s a lot easier that way. Organizations that are capable of change, of risk-taking, particularly of being able to push more decision-making down beneath the C-Suite, are businesses that do extremely well. Our system of capitalism is the best there is, but sometimes it’s ponderously slow, and companies that can’t change won’t do well.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

I think it’s important for leaders to have people around them who will tell them the truth about their ideas. One of the reasons why I think I was successful as a governor is that I had people around me who were willing to tell me the truth. I don’t mind hearing negative stuff. You need to have people around you who tell you if you’re on the wrong track, because when you do lead, and if your mission is noble and correct, you will start alone, but in the end, you will have a lot of people following you.

That’s not easy, because you can get criticized and you get belittled. Those things have never bothered me, to be honest with you. I don’t know that I was born with it, but I was raised by a mother who was pretty fearless, and she would just speak her mind and I observed that as a young boy. I don’t know if that sort of outlook is something you are born with, if it’s something you inherit, or something that you’ve observed.

I think leadership to some degree is instinctive. You’re kind of made that way. The people who follow leaders are in many respects as important as the leaders themselves, because followers have to be leaders in their own right.

Do you still consider yourself a Republican when you look at the state of the party today?

I’m a Republican, but my mind is in a post-party age. I think that while we can have an allegiance to a political party, it should not be the dominant force in anybody’s life. We are Americans before we are Republicans or Democrats. I mean that sincerely. An example is my work with former Secretary of State John Kerry on the World War Zero coalition, a nonpartisan movement we’re part of with people from all walks of life who are committed to addressing the climate crisis. We clearly are not going to agree on everything, but it doesn’t matter since we’re both committed to the issue of fighting climate change.

I’m concerned about the direction of the country when it comes to the issues of poverty and affordability of healthcare and pharmaceuticals and job training. I don’t really care who’s going to come up with the solutions. These are issues that are critical to the future of our country.

What is going to be needed to drive real change?

With the federal government so dysfunctional, it’s up to all of us as individual citizens to begin to take on many of these challenges for ourselves within our communities. Instead of waiting for Washington to work, we can bring about positive change where we live, to make things work better, in whatever ways we can.

That’s the basis of my most recent book, It’s Up to Us – Ten Little Ways We Can Bring About Big Change.

Everything ultimately comes from the bottom up, my friend. There are very few leaders that lead from the top down. Most of the changes in America, whether it’s women’s suffrage, whether it’s civil rights, or whether it was ending the Vietnam War, were all things that were driven from the bottom up.

What interested you in serving in public office?

I was never in politics for power. I was in it for change. I was in it because I thought we could do something good. I look back on 600,000 people in Ohio getting healthcare because we expanded Medicaid. That wasn’t about pursuing power. That was about helping people who weren’t being helped.

I feel very fortunate that I have been able to be engaged in these issues. I find great meaning in them.

•

LEADERS 31

Purpose Building Relationships An Interview with David H. Komansky EDITORS’ NOTE David H. Komansky That’s an interesting point. Metrics is Chairman Emeritus of Merrill Lynch obviously in business, particularly the & Co., Inc. He previously served as one I was in, are very important because Chairman from April 1997 until April you can be killing yourself and not 2003 and as Chief Executive Officer knowing it if you don’t have the inforfrom December 1996 until December mation. In philanthropy, I found out 2002. Prior to being named Chief about the importance of metrics from Executive Officer and Chairman of the school of hard knocks at least as I’m the Board, he served as President personally concerned. Before my New and Chief Operating Officer. In his York Hospital involvement, I gave much 35 years at Merrill Lynch, Komansky smaller sums of money, but money that held a succession of management was important to me at the time, to colDavid H. Komansky positions in the company’s major busilective type causes where you didn’t ness areas. He is active in many civic know exactly where the money was and charitable activities and serves on the board going. It was going into the pot, but you were relyof trustees of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. ing on other people to distribute the money and Komansky attended the University of Miami and use it well. I would come to find out afterwards completed the Advanced Management Program at that in some cases the money never did what it Harvard Business School. was intended to do.

This led me to the philosophy that I would Where did your interest and passion for phi- focus my involvement on projects where I could lanthropy develop? see what was being done. If I donated money to I come from very modest means. My father send ten kids to college and eight of them graduworked in the post office and my mother was a ated, that was what I wanted. I wanted to donate bookkeeper. We lived in the Bronx. While they and support causes where I could see the results. were never in a position to give money to causes, they gave their time to everything they could. My mother was the head of the PTA, the head of the Boy Scouts, and the head of many other organizations. She was selfless with her time. My mother and father in their own ways devoted time and leadership to their causes.

The first year I was on Wall Street someone invited me to a fundraising dinner downtown which was new for a kid from the Bronx. There were guys donating half a million or a million dollars and this was around 1970. I was amazed at the way they were pledging all this money.

Over the next couple years, unfortunately, we had a lot of illness in our family. My in-laws, my parents and my child all had needs. They were all treated at New York Hospital. My career gave me Has the NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky the wherewithal to do the things that innately had Children’s Hospital achieved what you had developed in me about emulating what I saw other hoped? people had been doing and I wanted to repay It has been more successful than I ever New York Hospital for all that they had done for dreamt it would be. When we started this project, my family. That is really how this came about per- the hospital’s pediatric service wasn’t even ranked sonally. It was the influence of the environment in the country. I think last year we were ranked that I lived and worked in and the personal experi- sixth in the country. I got involved with this effort ences I was going through. when the CEO of the hospital at the time, Herb You were results-oriented and metric- Pardes, and his partners came to me with an idea. driven in your business career. Do you He knew that I was looking for a cause within the approach your philanthropic work the hospital, but it had to be something that related to same way? me and pediatrics clearly did because they had 32 LEADERS

cared for my daughter. I can’t take credit for having the idea, but it has worked out great and I am proud of what we built.

What were the keys to your successful business career?

First of all, during my career I wasn’t looking ahead from the point of view of the next job or the next promotion. My basic philosophy in my career was that whatever job I had at that time, I wanted to do that better than anyone else ever did and ever could. That’s how intent I was on every position that I had. At the same time, I was a student of the political hierarchy of Merrill Lynch and I knew what made Merrill Lynch and other corporations tick from the political side. I did not allow myself to be fooled by being naive.

What advice do you offer to young people beginning their careers?

My mantra to all of these kids and even adults, since I get a lot of people coming to talk to me about their second careers, is that the necessary ingredient for real success is that people will do business with you if they know you, if they trust you, and maybe most importantly, if they like you. Think of all the people you have a relationship with. There’s not

too many of them you don’t like. You wouldn’t do anything for anybody you don’t trust. Somebody who just talks to you on the phone and doesn’t ever sit down with you or visit with you, they’re at a disadvantage. Think of those three things.

That is what I tell young people. If you can take those three traits, I believe personally I could disintermediate any relationship built on technology with an individual. If some firm is going to deal with you through the machine and you’ve never tasted their blood or seen the color of their eyes, I’ll take the business away from them. I’ll take the relationship away from them.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

IT ALL BEGINS WITH A VISION Unique moments deserve celebrations beyond extraordinary.

ASPIRE at One World Observatory 117 West Street, Floor 102 New York, NY 10007 ASPIREnewyork.com | 212.602.4090 events@ASPIREnewyork.com @ASPIREnewyork

Purpose Culture and Values An Interview with Patrick G. Ryan, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Specialty Group

Patrick G. Ryan

EDITORS’ NOTE A widely-respected entrepreneur and global insurance leader, Patrick G. Ryan founded Ryan Specialty Group (RSG) in 2010. Prior to launching RSG, he founded Aon Corporation and served as its Chairman and CEO for 41 years. At Ryan’s retirement, Aon had more than 500 offices in 120 countries, generating revenues in excess of $7 billion. Ryan has received a number of accolades throughout his career. In 1987, he received the Horatio Alger Award. In 2008, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, was elected to the International Insurance Society Hall of Fame and received the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year™ Lifetime Achievement Award. He was named by Brigham Young University International Executive of the Year for Corporate Integrity. Distinctively, Ryan was inducted into a second industry hall of fame in 2019, the Automotive Hall of Fame, for the impact his first company, Ryan Insurance Group, had on the automotive industry.

Other career tributes include Insurance Leader of the Year, College of Insurance, and the Insurance Federation of New York’s Free Enterprise Award. Ryan has been a member of 34 LEADERS

Northwestern University’s Board of Trustees for 42 years, 14 years of which he served as Chairman.

In 2009, Northwestern awarded him a Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Also that year, Ryan was inducted into the Northwestern Athletic Hall of Fame. Four years later, he received the Northwestern Alumni Association Medal of Honor. Ryan also served as Chairman of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Committee.

COMPANY BRIEF R yan Specialty Gr oup (ryansg.com) is an international specialty insurance organization that provides innovative solutions for brokers, agents and insurance carriers.

The RSG family includes a wholesale brokerage operation, RT Specialty (RT), and a collection of managing general underwriting companies within RSG Underwriting Managers (RSGUM).

As an entrepreneur that has built leading companies, how critical is culture to the success of a company?

I think that culture differentiates companies. I believe that culture always trumps strategy in that cultures are not easy to build and you don’t adjust the culture. You either create it

or change it. It takes time to change a culture.

It’s easier to create a culture from scratch than it is to change one. Strategies can be changed. In fact, we all change our strategy through modifications and adjustments as external factors change, but culture is fundamental.

I’ve always believed that culture is critical.

The first company that I founded specialized in automobile dealers, and we set up a culture that was the foundational strength of the company.

That company is now owned by Assurant and is 56 years old and still going strong. I was asked to speak to their group on the 50th anniversary, and Assurant’s senior management was there. They came up to me afterwards and thanked me for having established that culture, because they said that the culture was still there and thriving as the foundation of the success of that company.

Part of the culture that we have adopted in Ryan Insurance Group and now in Ryan Specialty Group is entrepreneurship. That then leads to innovation. When you thrive on creativity, you attract different kinds of people with the motivation to be entrepreneurs. Being entrepreneurial often doesn’t come from a single person, but from a group of people who are entrepreneurial.

They work together to create and build, and they retain the entrepreneurial spirit of building.

The current phenomenon of entrepreneurs flipping companies and becoming serial entrepreneurs never appealed to me. I feel the real definition of being an entrepreneur doesn’t just involve creating, but creating, then building and sharing. If all you do is create the idea and then turn it over to somebody else, that’s not the fulfilling entrepreneurial role that I believe is the most satisfying.

In each one of my ventures, teamwork has been a critical part of the culture, and we have a very team-oriented culture at Ryan Specialty.

We’ve always prided ourselves on giving people opportunity. The culture itself allows and encourages people to self-optimize. We’ve always believed in having a diverse workforce.

These are values that people around the world can embrace, and we globalized those values across borders very nicely and easily.

Do you feel that entrepreneurship can be taught or is it something that you have to be born with?

I think many entrepreneurs are born with it. I believe I was. I remember when I was about seven years old telling my mother that I wanted to start my own business, and I wanted to make VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Part of the culture that we have adopted in Ryan Insurance Group and now in Ryan Specialty Group is entrepreneurship. That then leads to innovation. When you thrive on creativity, you attract different kinds of people with the motivation to be entrepreneurs.

$50,000 a year. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I created a business when I was in college at Northwestern that was quite successful and that’s why I went into the insurance business. I didn’t have any capital, but I saw that sweat capital and sweat equity would allow you to be an entrepreneur because of the fragmentation within the insurance industry.

However, I also feel that you can help people find their entrepreneurial persona, and I’ve seen a lot of people become entrepreneurs well after they were established in their career. Several friends of mine worked at IBM in the ’50s through the ’70s. They gained technical expertise at IBM and then started businesses when ideas came to them from their IBM experience and they saw an opening in the market.

I tell people who are starting out to go into a company they find interesting and like. They need to keep their eyes and ears open, and see what people are doing. They will then discover things that they agree with and things they disagree with. From that, they can come up with ideas on how to improve what they’re doing with the knowledge they’ve gained in that industry, and they can then go out and become an entrepreneur. Today, there’s so much capital available for entrepreneurs that it’s really about finding the niche product and having a better idea.

Do you ever think about slowing down?

I have the ability to slow down, I just don’t want to and I’ll tell you why. People ask, “Why don’t you retire?” I say “Okay. What would you have me do?” They mention community work and going on boards and doing philanthropy. I say, “Well, I do all of that now, and I have time for my business and I have time to build a company that is impacting many people.”

I’ve never been good at just being occupied. My physical health, my mental health, and my emotional health are enhanced by my being in business. I honestly believe that the challenges that we face every day and evaluating problems and meeting opportunities keeps your mind alert and keeps you viable. I’m a competitive person, and just stepping out of competition would be really tough on me. I like to win.

I like to create. I like to build.

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

That is a great question, and it’s the first time I’ve been asked that. They’re quite similar, because you want to be impactful both in VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

business and in philanthropy. I didn’t sign Warren Buffett’s and Bill Gates’ very good plan called The Giving Pledge to give half my estate to charity, because we’re going to do more than that. Half is not enough for us, and I don’t want it to wait until after I pass. I want to see the impact.

In philanthropy, you need to understand where you can make an impact and a difference in things that interest you. It shouldn’t be about waiting to do it through your will. In our case, the gratification is seeing the impact, and then just like a strategy in business, you run audibles and tweak it.

We look at philanthropy as work, and we really hit the multiplier effect in education.

Every time you help a disadvantaged child get an education… there’s a huge multiplier effect from all the people that are impacted. We take that principle of our business and apply it to our philanthropy.

We went from a really heavy focus on urban education for underserved minorities which we still support, but we saw educational opportunities in other areas like culture. We now have The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera which trains young singers. At the Art Institute of Chicago, we have The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Learning Center.

We also do a lot in tying education into scientific development. We fund research with the multiplier effect of involving scientists from different universities and different hospitals collaborating and bringing in the data that they’ve developed and their particular base of expertise. This collaboration with people from other disciplines allows us to get the multiplier effect of their ideas, their past, their work and their data.

We look at philanthropy as work, and we really hit the multiplier effect in education. Every time you help a disadvantaged child get an education, whether in grammar school, secondary school, college or university, there’s a huge multiplier effect from all the people that are impacted. We take that principle of our business and apply it to our philanthropy.

Do you take moments to reflect and appreciate what you’ve been able to build and accomplish during your career or are you always thinking about what’s next?

I do reflect because it gives you the adrenaline and the lift to keep expanding. I had a meeting with one of our superstars recently.

This guy is achieving things that I’ve never seen achieved in the industry. He’s 42 years old, and it’s a thrill to hear him discuss how he’s benefited from the culture, how he’s benefited from the experiences, and how committed he is to help us build this enterprise. He has been able to build his part of the business with the multiplier effect by bringing in kids right out of college and making them productive very quickly. This is a marvelous thing to watch, and innovation is at the very heart of what he does and how he differentiates himself and his team.

I got all fired up talking to him, and then he told me how important my leadership was and the values of our culture. It’s so gratifying to see somebody who is living all of that and sharing it with so many others, and you really do see the value of what we have achieved and its sustainability and potential to expand.

•

LEADERS 35

Purpose Agents of Change An Interview with Jessica Goldman Srebnick, Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Properties received numerous accolades, including an award as a Woman of Style and Substance from the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis in January 2009 and the Florida International University Center for Leadership named Goldman Srebnick one of 50 Prominent Women who lead businesses in Florida.

COMPANY BRIEF For more than fifty years, Goldman Properties (goldmanproperties.com) has been r econstructing and transfor ming declining historic districts such as SoHo in New York City, Center City in Philadelphia, South Beach in Miami, and most recently Miami’s Wynwood, into thriving global destinations. Goldman Properties’ portfolio of assets has been the recipient of multiple awards including the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award, Developer of the Year from American Institute of Architects, the Louise DuPont Crown in Shield Award, the highest honor awarded from the National Trust for historic preservation, Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Lifetime Achievement award, ULI’s Global Excellence Awards for Wynwood Walls in 2016 and was named a finalist for ULI Vision Awards for the Wynwood Garage in 2019.

Will you discuss the history and heritage of Goldman Properties?

My dad started Goldman Properties in 1968.

He had one employee, and he and my mother pooled all the money that they had received as wedding gifts and bought their first property on the Upper East Side of New York City. They then spent the next few decades going into underserved, underdeveloped, underappreciated neighborhoods and started to revitalize and breathe new life into communities that a lot of people would look at as hopeless and crimeridden and dilapidated.

My father was a visionary because he would see things that others couldn’t or wouldn’t. He would close his eyes, paint a picture in his mind of what a neighborhood or community would look like, and then he would spend the next 10 to 20 years bringing that painting to life. It’s appropriate that we have morphed into a very artistic type of a company, and we’ve developed a real deep passion for the arts and the infusion of arts into communities as an agent of change.

We like to think of ourselves as agents of change, and we just happen to use real estate and business and big ideas to do that, whether

Jessica Goldman Srebnick in front of a painting of her father, Tony Goldman, founder of Goldman Properties

EDITORS’ NOTE Jessica Goldman Srebnick served as a managing partner of Goldman Properties and the Chief Operating Officer of its hospitality division before being named CEO of the company in September 2012. She had joined the company, founded by her father, Tony Goldman, in 1997. Earlier, she spent five years as the associate fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue. Today, she continues to play a key role in perpetuating Tony Goldman’s vision for acclaimed street art museum Wynwood Walls and produced a book on the project. She also co-produced the docuseries Here Comes the Neighborhood on the transition of the Wynwood Arts District, and executive produced One Day on Earth in collaboration with her father. Goldman Srebnick is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and co-chaired its Global Leadership Conference in Miami in 2009, for which she received the Key to the City of Miami-Dade County. She participates in the YPO/Harvard Business School President’s seminar and has been a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School. Goldman Sr ebnick has 36 LEADERS

Michael Vasquez painting at Wynwood Walls VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

it’s hospitality where we had our first restaurant called Greenstreet Café which was in New York City in what was a former garbage truck garage. We had another restaurant called SoHo Kitchen and Bar where we served 110 wines by the glass. That was back in the ’80s, when no one had ever heard of doing that. It was coming up with ideas and allowing ourselves to push the envelope as far as service and concepts and an infusion of creativity.

SoHo was really our first big neighborhood back in the 1970s. Then we came to Miami Beach in the 1980s, the Art Deco district of Miami Beach, and my dad fell madly in love when he turned a corner on Fifth and Ocean and saw all the Art Deco architecture concentrated in one neighborhood. He started buying a property a month for 18 months with no bank financing and money borrowed from aunts and uncles and cousins and friends.

Then we went to Philadelphia and bought real estate in Center City Philadelphia, where it was check-cashing stores and porn shops, and now it’s one of the most vibrant communities in Philadelphia.

Wynwood was a neighborhood that my brother, Joey Goldman, had found for our family.

He recognized the possibilities having been raised

Wynwood Kitchen & Bar

in a family that was no stranger to trying to find opportunity and looking beneath what was there.

At the time, my dad had just undergone a double lung transplant, and I think he recognized that time was very precious, and he would say that those four years, the last four years of his life, were probably his most productive. We infused everything we had learned over the many, many years of neighborhood revitalization into Wynwood and we believed that this neighborhood would become a center for the creative class. That was the idea and that was the goal.

We opened Wynwood Walls. We opened restaurants. We have a restaurant called Joey’s and a restaurant called Wynwood Kitchen and Bar. We started to curate tendencies of other like-minded people that were not afraid of being pioneering since it was a neighborhood that forced you to be pioneering because there was nothing here.

Almost four years ago, I started another company called Goldman Global Arts because as the lead curator for Wynwood Walls, I recognized how impactful and empowering that project is VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

around the world and a lot of people were asking to have us become involved in their projects.

Our first client was Steve Ross. I will forever be grateful to Mr. Ross because he looked at what we were doing in Wynwood and said, “I want this in my new stadium.” I started a whole new company with him as my first, fabulous client, and it has morphed into clients such as the NFL. I just curated the face of the Super Bowl ticket and a whole infusion of art into the Super Wynwood Garage Bowl which is one of the biggest games on the We did a project with the company planet.

Public art is really important to my fam- Wilson, which makes footballs and basketily and to me personally. Artists have this balls and baseballs. This was an art intebeautiful way of being social agents of gration into Wilson footballs and while change and utilizing their talents to bring this may not be changing a neighborhood, beauty and to bring hope, and a lot of it is changing a product. It is looking at what we learned with something that might be considered ordiWynwood Walls was nary and approaching it in a different way. that, in many cases, That’s what I love to do, because I believe this was a person’s that any simple form can be turned into first experience getting something creative. It can be a canvas for close up to artwork creativity.

Goldman Global Arts is a very holistic because galleries and museums can tend to approach to arts because we have art gallerbe intimidating. This ies, so we sell the work of the artists that we was art in a very non- work with and represent. We curate and prointimidating matter, and duce work for other clients, utilizing a stable today we get over 3 of artists that we have worked with and some million visitors a year that we haven’t worked with. I’m on a constant journey to find great artists. into Wynwood Walls.

We also have a growing retail compoOther cities are coming to us, want- nent where we collaborate with artists on ing to understand how products, whether they are baseball hats or we’ve done what we’ve T-shirts or coloring books or water bottles. done and how they can Those are things that I never imagined I’d be do it in their cities. I speak quite often on utiliz- doing but there’s a desire, and people want ing art to change perception and to create con- creativity in their life, whether it’s in their versation and to create hope, and about utilizing work environment, their play environment or real estate as a canvas. We are a very creative their home environment.

We are trying to put as much art into the company. I think my dad would be incredibly happy and proud at how our company has led world as possible. by example.

Wa s t h e n e w company that y o u created a natural extension of the real estate business or do you see it is a separate company?

That’s a great question. They are two separate companies, but in one sense, it is the artistic arm of Goldman Properties, although there are also a lot of other things that Goldman Global The inside dining area of Joey's restaurant Arts does.

•

LEADERS 37

At the core of our business model is a relentless pursuit of reciprocal trade solutions to help our clients Achieve More.

That’s our Corporate Trade model: Customized solutions that transform corporate assets into working capital; retail gift cards into immediate currency, and potential balance sheet losses into lucrative spending power.

36 years of unwavering commitment and performance for our clients’ businesses Independent, Objective, Conflict-Free Employee Owned (ESOP) 15 Global Offices

Achieve More℠ ASK US HOW 800. 448. 7233 achievemore@activeinternational.com activeinternational.com

Purpose Integrity, Respect and Accountability An Interview with Miles S. Nadal, Founder and Executive Chairman, Peerage Capital Group by giving back. After starting a photography business while in junior high school, he eventually grew it into Action Photographics which included a team of professional photographers, as well as a commercial photography business. That was ultimately transformed into MultiDisciplinary Communications and then MDC Partners Inc., which became one of the largest marketing and communications companies in the world. Nadal has been nominated for Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, and was the recipient of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award™.

Among his awards are the Harold Lederman Award for Philanthropic Leadership, Jewish National Fund Negev Honoree, Toronto Chapter of the American Marketing Association Marketing Hall of Legends, Executive of the Year by MEDIA Magazine, and Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation honoree. Nadal was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy degree from Tel Aviv University, and was recognized for contributions to Harlem RBI, an initiative for youth playing, growing, and learning. He is a member of the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University where he endowed a home for technological innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as serving on the International Board of Governance of The Peres Institute.

FIRM BRIEF Peerage Capital (peeragecapital.com) is a leading North American business services and private investment firm. It is focused on partnering with exceptional management teams to form long-ter m investments across several strategic business services platforms including real estate services, real estate ownership, selfstorage, land assembly, asset management and wealth advisory services. Its growing network of partner companies currently employs 2,000 people across Canada and the United States approaching $6 billion in total assets under management.

Miles and Kelly Nadal visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

Positioned on the western slope of Mount Herzl, the memorial consists of a complex containing the Holocaust History Museum, memorial sites such as the Children’s Memorial and the Hall of Remembrance, the Museum of Holocaust Art, sculptures, outdoor commemorative sites such as the Valley of the Communities, a synagogue, a research institute with archives, a library, a publishing house, and an educational centre, the International School/Institute for Holocaust Studies. Miles generously donated to Yad Vashem to commemorate the victims, honour the perseverance of the survivors, and to never forget the vulnerability of others. The generous contribution of the family is etched on the Miles S. Nadal and Family Wall.

EDITORS’ NOTE Miles Spencer Nadal (milesnadal.com) is an international entrepreneur and philanthropist. He passionately believes in championing people to pursue their dreams without limit, having founded the Dare to Dream initiative to support ambitious entrepreneurs and those in need. The principal motivating factor behind Nadal’s business success is his desire to make a difference in the world 40 LEADERS

Miles Nadal in front of the Miles S. Nadal and Family Wall at Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”

- Forest E. Witcraft (Miles Nadal’s favorite quote) Equally dear to my heart are the grassroots causes that Peerage employees support in our own backyard, from Meals on Wheels to a local Food Bank. I can’t be everywhere we give, but our employees are directly involved at the board level, collaborating with in-house communications teams to build profile and stocking shelves every Friday at the Food Bank.

They also deliver over 30 hot meals a week to people in need.

How does Peerage Capital’s business mandate extend to its philanthropic work?

Our business and philanthropic mandates converge around core values.

The values that are central to the way we do business with all our partners are clear: integrity, respect, and accountability. Those extend seamlessly to our commitment to contribute to the community. After all, the community supports us every bit as much as we support the community.

To be clear, our definition of community is a very broad one. Yes, we focus a great deal on Toronto, where we have a head office, but I am also active in Israel and the U.S.

Miles Nadal Heart Centre, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto In April 2018, Miles Nadal gave a landmark gift to Mount Sinai Hospital’s specialized cardiology program. The Miles Nadal Heart Centre is a destination cardiology center in the GTA with clinical and research programs dedicated to distinct patient populations, such as women with heart disease who are pregnant or wishing to become pregnant; advanced-stage heart failure patients with support devices or awaiting heart transplantation; and patients with sleep apnea and breathlessness. Additionally, the Centre houses Canada’s only research-dedicated cardiac catheterization lab. The lab has been at the international forefront of elucidating why and how heart disease has such a different pathophysiology in women than in men and how historic treatment protocols need to be adapted to female patients.

Miles S. Nadal delivers a speech at the opening celebration of the Miles Nadal Heart Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, February 2018.

Will you discuss Peerage Capital’s corporate culture and its focus and commitment to “giving back”?

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned as an entrepreneur is the critical importance of purpose beyond balance sheets or deals. Connecting with the community around you and building a corporate culture that reflects that priority has been the single greatest source of personal satisfaction to me.

I’ve been fortunate enough to fund a community center that serves Toronto’s very diverse population, a heart center that does groundbreaking work on neo-natal and post-natal cardiac care for mothers and infants, and a Boys and Girls Club that provides hundreds of youngsters from a low-income area with a range of after-school programs.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Peerage Capital has a broad range of long-term philanthropic initiatives. Will you highlight these initiatives and the key areas of focus for the company’s philanthropic efforts?

We get a lot of requests for funding from a great many causes, and we do judge each one on its own merits. There are also special situations where we’ve responded with donations in a time of crisis or need.

That said, if everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. That’s why we focus on healthcare, child welfare, education and community.

Will you discuss Peerage Capital’s philanthropic programs focused on community?

I have made a keystone gift to the Jewish Community Centre in Toronto to update and expand the facility as an inclusive community hub for an urban area of exceptional diversity. It is now named the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre and has two Peerage representatives on the Foundation Board.

LEADERS 41

Internationally, I’m a contributor to the effort to revitalize the Ayalon Canada Park, one of Israel’s largest parks and a popular recreation site for families and an education center that focuses on ecology and Jewish history. There is also a donation to Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, to construct the Miles S. Nadal and Family Wall.

You commit a great deal of time and resources to supporting initiatives relating to healthcare. What has made healthcare a major focus for your philanthropic work and will you discuss your efforts in this area?

I’ve been involved for three decades as a director, fundraiser and donor for Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto which culminated in a major donation to create the Miles Nadal Family Heart Centre (MNHC) in 2015. The MNHC is widely recognized as a center of excellence for pre- and post-natal maternal cardiac care, as well as leading-edge research. This is a place where child welfare and education are integrated into the cause.

A long-time supporter of the hospital’s emergency care department, I was the founder of Leadership Sinai, a group of young business leaders who have raised more than $20 million to advance care and research. That continues in the hands of Peerage representatives on the Board where they are involved in a number of fundraising initiatives.

The Miles & Kelly Nadal Youth Centre, Toronto In April 2011, the Miles and Kelly Nadal Youth Centre was established to provide a dedicated after-school facility for at-risk children in Regent Park and Downtown East, Toronto. Miles’ ongoing commitment to this club at the heart of a vulnerable community enables it to continue to operate the creative and innovative programs that address and meet the changing needs of the community it serves.

You created the Miles S. Nadal Management Centre for York University’s Schulich School of Business. Will you discuss your efforts around education and your focus on helping to foster the next generation of Canadian business leaders?

I’m passionate about encouraging entrepreneurs and sharing the lessons that I, and many of my generation, learned the hard way.

That commitment to supporting the next generation of Canadian business leaders led to a substantial donation to establish the Miles S. Nadal Management Centre for York University’s Schulich School of Business. It provides world-class facilities for executive business students off campus in the financial district.

The same focus on education and the fast-paced digital media sector led to the creation of The Koenigsberg and Nadal Interactive Media Centre at the University of Miami.

Internationally, I provided funding for a molecular genetics research laboratory at The Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. After serving as a member of the Board of Governors at Tel Aviv University, I was inspired to make a donation that founded the Miles S. Nadal Institute for Technological Entrepreneurship at Tel Aviv University.

Miles Nadal with philanthropist Bill Gates.

On the international front, I donated a fleet of “ambucycles” to United Hatzalah which allows for more rapid emergency response in Jerusalem. In the past, I was recognized at the Damon Runyon Annual Breakfast in honor for support of the innovative cancer research center in New York City, which raised $1.3 million for cancer research.

Another area of focus for your philanthropic work is child welfare. How are you addressing this issue and will you provide an overview of the Miles and Kelly Nadal Boys and Girls Club in Toronto’s Regent Park?

I grew up in a family of modest means, but my parents were very involved, very present, and very supportive. That’s not always the case these days and, as we all know, kids face all kinds of new challenges and issues.

That’s why the Miles and Kelly Nadal Boys and Girls Club is especially dear to my heart. It’s a safe place where kids can go to participate in programs focused on sports, academic mentoring, life skills and social skills. They are exposed to positive role models. They are supported in pursing education and articulating their dreams. They also get fed healthy snacks and sometimes more, as needed.

Again, Peerage remains actively involved with the Foundation Board and with ongoing support for emerging programs including one that uses sports as a springboard for mental health solutions.

42 LEADERS

Former Major League Baseball player Mark Teixeira and Miles Nadal at the Miles & Kelly Nadal Youth Centre, a chapter of the Toronto Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Miles Nadal at the dedication of the Miles Nadal Family Square outside of the United Hatzalah.

Recognizing a need to expedite emergency services to those in need, United Hatzalah established the “Ambucycle Unit”. The use of Ambucycles for first response has proven to be a critical link in the emergency chain of survival, allowing rescue personnel immediate access to the scene or home of a patient. The success of Ambucycle is proven in the numbers, with response time averaging 90 seconds as drivers can avoid traffic, road closures and parking limitations. An Ambucycle receives 40 calls a month and on average saves 120 lives a year. Miles Nadal donated 10 Ambucycles to the growing United Hatzalah fleet, saving on average of 1,120 lives a year.

It’s critical that this priority is clearly flagged and respected by the most senior ranks of the company. Executives and managers understand that they have to allow some leeway for the philanthropic work our employees care about. It may not always be convenient to have someone out on a Meals on Wheels run or at a foundation or board meeting, but those obligations must stand.

Is it critical to be a purpose-driven company today in order to attract and retain top talent?

To my mind, the very definition of “top talent” includes the willingness to give back and to engage in social causes and enterprises. I think the culture that is rooted in such values builds an internal spirit that creates long-term teams with a strong bond. This is proved by the great number of people at Peerage who have worked with me for decades and they are a very tight group.

Do the skills required to be successful in business translate to being effective in philanthropy?

To be really successful in business, you need to have emotional intelligence and social imagination. You need to be able to listen and to look beyond your own agenda. You need to connect with people, to walk a mile in their shoes, to respect where they are coming from. This is especially true in client-centric businesses, which has always been my area of focus.

Those are the same principles that make you an effective philanthropist. That, and counting your blessings every single day.

What have been the keys to building strong employee engagement for Peerage Capital’s philanthropic work?

It all starts at the beginning with the people that we hire at Peerage.

From the outset, we are looking for people who share our core values as an organization. That makes it a very organic, natural process.

The next step is to connect them with people and causes that resonate with them. We help them explore their philanthropic interests and because Peerage is involved in so many areas as a company, there’s always something that sparks their desire for engagement.

Miles Nadal, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and the Founder of United Hatzalah, Eli Beer.

Miles and Kelly Nadal at the dedication of the Miles S. Nadal Home For Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This institute celebrates innovation amongst the students at Tel Aviv University by encouraging and facilitating student innovators as they take their inventions from the university lab to the marketplace. In 2012, determined to help ensure that more lab breakthroughs make their way into the real world and improve quality of life, The Miles S. Nadal Institute for Technological Entrepreneurship at Tel Aviv University was established.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

How critical are metrics in order to track the impact of your philanthropic investments?

Metrics are important for any undertaking: what gets measured, gets done. That’s especially true in the philanthropic area because success generates success. If others see the progress that’s being made, the difference that your support is making, they are far more likely to join in and add their dollars and support.

That said, metrics aren’t everything. Approaching a cause with an open mind and an open heart is also important to its success.

When you are addressing long-term issues that require longterm solutions, do you need to look at success incrementally and is it hard to be patient in this effort?

Actually, you have to have a different measuring stick like you do with your children. You need to be patient when you are feeding and supporting worthy causes. You can’t hold them to the same standards as a business enterprise. They have a fraction of the financial resources, a fraction of the human resources and they have an overwhelming plethora of needs. You need to try to get involved with organizations that want to adapt the level of sophistication that you’re bringing and who recognize the value of the contribution of human talent and financial resources that you bring. You want to help keep them on the road to perpetual selfoptimization and self-improvement.

LEADERS 43

Some of the issues are sort of basic. With feeding hungry children, for instance, if we’re feeding more children every year, we feel a sense of accomplishment. If there are more women with high-risk pregnancies being dealt with at the cardiac center and we are saving lives and enabling women to safely give birth, we feel a great sense of accomplishment.

If we are sending more kids to summer camp, if we’re delivering more Meals on Wheels, if we are giving more presents to kids at Christmas who are going hungry and we’re providing food and gifts for them, we feel great satisfaction. Some of the most enjoyable activities are helping individuals in need and not just organizations. This sometimes involves one-off kinds of initiatives and we’re doing more of those because the satisfaction is extraordinary.

The direct gratification from helping people on a one-on-one basis is remarkable and I give credit to Deirdre McMurdy and to Trevor Maunder and to Lisa Conrad and some of the other people in the Peerage family at what I call the support center who have really been driving this down to the grass-roots level. Writing a check for those who have the means is not that complicated. Rolling up our sleeves, getting involved, donating the human capital requires a sacrifice that our people make from their day-to-day lives where they already have huge responsibilities. While it puts more responsibility on their plates, they seem to fill that void and still deliver excellence in their jobs. This is because of the emotional reward and gratification that they are, in some modest way, making the world a better place.

Do you take moments to appreciate the impact that has been made with your philanthropy and your leadership in this regard?

To be truthful, I get far more from supporting good causes and good people than I could ever give. I’m proud of what Peerage and our team have done and will do. I am so deeply grateful that I am at a place in life where I am able to give back.

In 2004, Miles Nadal provided a keystone gift of $2.5 million that enabled the building of a brand new centre for the community at Toronto’s Bloor Street Jewish Community Centre. Thanks to his support, it now boasts a 3,800 member state-of-the-art fitness centre, a 285-seat theatre, four schools, three choirs, and a wide range of arts and cultural activities, along with Jewish life programming, and a robust Active 55+ program. This substantial donation to the community earned Miles Nadal the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Toronto Chapter.

For every one of our corporate partners at the parent company and for every one of our partners in the network of our businesses, there’s no question that one of the most attractive features about being part of the Peerage Capital family is the commitment that we have to make the world a better place and the role and responsibility and involvement that all of our employees and partners feel to make that happen.

As our business has prospered, we have stepped up and made sure that our commitment of time, talent, and treasure to charity has kept pace or exceeded that. I think that has really been a great asset to our success and one that everyone is very proud of. This has been a philosophical differentiator for us that we have had for at least 30 odd years and we have put in place a mechanism by which it will go on for the next 30 years.

When I am no longer involved, the commitment that my family has to our businesses and to our partnership and to the Peerage family is such that we will continue to donate for hopefully a couple more generations and then some.

•

Miles Nadal receives an Honorary Doctorate from Tel Aviv University.

I think leadership is based upon setting an example. One of the differentiating characteristics that I’ve always felt about my own leadership is showing that doing good ends up enabling organizations to do well. I also learned very early in my life that it’s a privilege to give back. In fact, it almost feels like a selfish act because giving is so rewarding, both emotionally and functionally. The credibility that we as an organization have experienced increases because we are more generous and we punch above our weight in the area of generosity. We’re always giving way more time, way more talent, and way more treasure than most organizations of our size and that’s always been a philosophy of ours. It has worked out well for the organization.

I’ve always believed the adage, “A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”

44 LEADERS

On November 8, 2018 the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre hosted Peerage Capital Founder and philanthropist Miles S. Nadal for a candid Q&A with the MNJCC staff. Miles was thrilled to be able to visit a place that is so meaningful to him and that has been a central focus of his philanthropic efforts.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

for innovation It’s time for a new way to write, deploy and consume financial software. At Finastra we’ve done just that, by developing a platform that’s open, secure and agile. It lets you integrate new technology seamlessly – bringing new products to market more quickly and with a better customer experience.

As we say, it’s innovation with unlimited potential.

Join us at finastra.com

Purpose A Noble Profession An Interview with Dino E. Robusto, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CNA Financial Corporation EDITORS’ NOTE With a career What interested you in leading spanning more than 30 years, Dino CNA and made you feel it was the Robusto is a recognized indusright fit? try leader. Before CNA, he held var2016 marked my 30th year in the ious positions at Chubb, serving industry and I consider myself very as President of Commercial and fortunate that I work in an industry Specialty Lines, and President of that I love and respect. Throughout Personal Lines and Claims. He has my career, I made some very delibalso held several underwriting and erate lateral career moves so I could field roles of ever-increasing magexperience most of the different roles nitude where he honed his trade that exist within an insurance comexpertise. Additionally, he had pany. I chose those varied career Dino E. Robusto responsibility and oversight for sevmoves so that if and when I ever eral functional areas, including became a CEO, I would be better able human resources, information technology, to relate to those across all the diverse functions communications, corporate development, exter- and would be able to bring a uniquely qualified nal affairs and innovation. Robusto serves on the level of experience to the job.

Board of Directors of Junior Achievement USA; the When the CEO role opened up at CNA, I Board of Trustees for The Institutes; and the Board was familiar with the company since I had comof Overseers for the Maurice R. Greenberg School peted against it for several years. CNA’s focus of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial on its chosen target markets, products and serSciences at St. John’s University. Robusto for- vices, as well as its very strong branch network, merly served on the Boards of Directors of Applied had similarities to my prior experiences and Systems and RAND Corporation’s Institute for Civil laid the groundwork for future opportunities.

Justice, and on the Board of Advisors of Catalyst Additionally, CNA had an appealing ownership Inc. He earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce, structure as a public company backed by a longfinance and economics from McGill University term commitment from a major shareholder. in Montreal, and is a graduate of The Wharton That commitment resonated with me and with Business School Executive Management Program. my passion for the industry and drive to evolve the organization. I knew we could achieve an COMPANY BRIEF CNA (cna.com) provides a even higher level of performance over time. broad range of standard and specialized property How do you define the CNA difference? and casualty insurance products and services for CNA is one of the largest commercial propbusinesses and professionals in the U.S., Canada and erty and casualty insurance companies with 81 Europe, backed by more than 120 years of experience. offices across the globe.

Our differentiation has three dimensions: coverage, business size, and industry specialization.

CNA offers a broad suite of coverages, whether property full ground-up, shared and layered, primary and excess commercial liability coverages, ocean and inland marine, management and professional liability coverages, as well as surety and warranty.

We have solutions for small businesses, as well as middle-market and large sized businesses. Obviously, they are different, but we specialize our coverages towards very specific industry segments such as construction, manufacturing, technology, healthcare, professional services, real estate, and financial institutions.

We have some of the industry’s oldest and most successful affinity programs, which are uniquely tailored to professionals such as architects and engineers, accountants and lawyers.

How critical is innovation for CNA? We look at purpose-driven innovation. The reason we use that phraseology is that innovation has to create value for our agents and brokers, insureds, and employees, whether that innovation is in products and services, business processes, or technology. Many people think of innovation as happening exclusively through technology, but it’s much broader than that. We are trying to inculcate innovative thinking in the tasks that people are executing every day.

For CNA, innovation is not a side project.

It’s not a discrete initiative. It is paramount in everything we do, and that’s why we call it purpose-driven innovation. One should never

This industry is a noble profession because it provides an underlying stability to the global economy and commerce, and it mitigates a vast array of risks that companies face.

46 LEADERS

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

We look at purpose-driven innovation. The reason we use that phraseology is that innovation has to create value for our agents and brokers, insureds, and employees, whether that innovation is in products and services, business processes, or technology.

underestimate the power of rethinking process versus technology. However, technology and analytics are having an enormous impact right now on the insurance industry.

Do you worry that the focus on technology is going to take away from the relationship side of the business?

This is fundamentally a relationship business, and we work very hard at relationships.

We have a big branch footprint to facilitate local relationships and our entire executive leadership team has spent the past three years working on being accessible to the distribution network all the time. Technology and analytics, or analytical technologies as I like to call the fusion of the two, enhances relationships because it dramatically improves our ability to be more accessible to our distribution partners and clients.

It’s like that proverbial conversation around whether people that use all these mobile devices to communicate are losing their relationshipbuilding skills, but I don’t feel that way. On the contrary, it opens them up to a world of interactions with others that would not have otherwise been possible.

The analytical technologies we are focused on are AI and machine learning, as well as cloud computing. I don’t believe that the fundamental business of insurance is changing, but effectively adopted into the insurance value chain, the game-changing benefits are unquestionable because you can dramatically accelerate the speed at which you can identify competitive insights and optimize your business processes and customer interaction.

How will this innovation and technology change the workforce of the future?

Innovation and analytical technologies enhance the level and quality of work our people are doing. With every new technology tool or operational innovation from the fax machine, shortly after I started in the industry, to computers, mobile devices and process automation, the workforce adapted and leveraged the tools to shed certain tasks and replaced them with higher level functions. But, it requires consistently investing in the continuous training and education of our people in the evolutionary process of adopting these new tools and processes to ensure that we marry their institutional industry knowledge with leading technological capabilities.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

The next generation of individuals this industry is eager to attract are interested in that kind of investment, and they are eminently proficient in adopting these evernewer capabilities. I do not view these new developments in any sort of dire or negative way. Rather you simply have to invest in the evolution of how people utilize and interface with these new analytical technologies, and I think it’s one of the reasons some people are becoming very interested in our industry.

How critical is it for CNA to build a diverse and inclusive workforce?

It is not only the right thing to do, it’s clearly a business imperative. It allows you greater access to more talent and, therefore, more success in the industry because it is all about talent. At the end of the day, you win and lose this game on the talent that you have.

D&I is critical to ensure access to a very wide breadth of talent.

We have found that when you’re working with people with different backgrounds and lifestyles and in turn bring different experiences, you are going to create a team environment that is increasingly innovative and capable of making smarter decisions. It also 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.

We spend a considerable amount of time and resources on inclusive leadership, which requires that the management team fully understands all the traits and behaviors and demonstrates them daily. We empower six employee resource groups so they can better engage with our employees, and we are continuing to create an environment that allows everyone to do their best work.

Will you discuss CNA’s commitment to corporate responsibility and community engagement?

This is really important. There are several aspects of corporate social responsibility. One is that we have a big focus on community involvement through broad support of employee volunteerism and I am immensely proud of the work that our employees do.

We have programs that address environmental sustainability, reducing waste, and promoting resource efficiency. We also invest in STEM education, which helps ensure future generations have job security.

This industry is a noble profession because it provides an underlying stability to the global economy and commerce, and it mitigates a vast array of risks that companies face. When disasters happen, we help companies, individuals and communities rebuild. Those seeking purpose and social benefits find this aspect, in addition to everything else we provide as a career, to be quite unique to our industry because it really does impact the lives of so many people.

How do you define effective leadership?

I like to say to my leadership team that leadership is blisteringly liberating. It is so because as a leader, your value and your output is measured by the entire collective group’s aggregate output. I am focused on this because as the world becomes increasingly complex and transforms at a dramatic pace, the skill and expertise of the collective group is needed to navigate effectively.

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 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. Now, as I also say, it can strip you of certain liberties, and within this theme, I have to restrict the urge to do it myself which can at times seem appealing because you think it’s just easier or faster to do so, but you weaken the collective power of the whole.

This dichotomy of leadership is intriguing to me as I help CNA navigate and leverage the big changes impacting business today.

Do you take moments to reflect and celebrate the wins or are you always looking to the future?

I am somewhere in the middle. I tend to just make it all a journey, and so the process and the journey itself is what you have to find value and personal satisfaction in.

It is less about discrete objectives and more about how you get there. The process itself is what gets me going and what I stay focused on. This is an exciting industry and it has provided an exciting career. I thoroughly love what I do.

•

LEADERS 47

Purpose Job Creation and Economic Growth An Interview with Suzanne Clark, President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce EDITORS’ NOTE Suzanne Clark As a tribute to them, we placed in leads a wide range of policy and the lobby of our headquarters a 12-footoperational initiatives at the U.S. high bronze plaque that honors the Chamber of Commerce. Prior to revision and contributions of the small joining the U.S. Chamber in 2014, business leaders who literally built where she had previously served this organization from the ground up. as chief operating officer, Clark This plaque inspires me every day. We acquir ed and led a pr ominent have sat at that same table of job crefinancial information boutique, ation and economic growth for more Potomac Research Group, before than 100 years. selling the firm to a larger macroWhile that focus remains conresearch organization where she is sistent, our tactics on how to achieve Suzanne Clark a non-executive partner. In 2007, this has evolved. What that means in Clark was named pr esident of any one period of time changes. The the National Journal Group, a premier pro- things you have to transform are the strategies, vider of information, news and analysis for tactics, mechanisms and listening posts, while Washington’s political and policy communities. also staying really focused on that true north of Clark sits on the boards of two public compa- why and how you were founded as a federanies, AGCO, a Fortune 500 global leader in the tion for the business community. That helps design, manufacture and distribution of agri- not to change the things in your past that you cultural equipment, and TransUnion, a provider shouldn’t, and it helps you hold tight to a legacy of global risk and credit information. She is also that gives you meaning, purpose and guardrails. a member of the board of So Others Might Eat, How is the Chamber addressing the serving the poor and homeless in the nation’s issues of job creation and economic growth capital, and St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School. today?

She is the former president of the International I think the most important thing is that Women’s Forum (Washington Chapter), a global every senior person here is required to get group of leading women in business, law, government, technology and the arts. Clark was named one of Washingtonian magazine’s “40 Under 40: Young Washingtonians to Watch,” and later, one of the magazine’s “100 Most Powerful Women in Washington.” Clark earned a B.A., magna cum laude, and an M.B.A. from Georgetown University.

outside of the Beltway pretty often to talk to people running businesses. Whether that’s a person with a few employees or a Fortune 10 executive, you really find that the CEO point of view has a lot in common. When I travel the country and even globally, I ask what is it that keeps you from creating the next job? What is it that keeps you from furthering the economy?

What could we do to help you?

The number one thing we hear about is talent. Pick your industry, pick your geography, pick your size, it’s either we need more skilled immigration or it’s we need different skilled workers than we have. Those conversations make it clear that the education system isn’t producing exactly what we need and we lack workers. That combination of factors has created a situation where we have more jobs than we have people. To grow businesses and provide opportunities in a community, CEOs are worried about where that next really great, qualified employee is going to come from.

When you are dealing with these types of long-ter m challenges and complex issues, what is the approach the Chamber is taking to drive results?

ORGANIZATION BRIEF The world’s largest business advocacy federation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (uschamber.com) represents the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.

Will you highlight the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s history and how the Chamber has evolved?

In 1912, hundreds of local chambers from across the country came together at the behest of President Taft to create a national voice for business in Washington.

The concept was to determine what it would look like to have a national organization that cared about job creation and economic growth the way small business leaders do at the local level.

48 LEADERS

A 12-foot-high bronze plaque at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters honoring those small business leaders who built the organization VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

The number one thing we hear about is talent. Pick your industry, pick your geography, pick your size, it’s either we need more skilled immigration or it’s we need different skilled workers than we have. Those conversations make it clear that the education system isn’t producing exactly what we need and we lack workers. about that cr eation.

Sure, I see some problems, but I believe we can fix them.

Ther e’s another camp that says people a r e s e l f i s h a n d grounded in their selfinterest. Businesses are grounded in their selfinterest. They’re only out to make a buck and what we really need is a huge government apparatus and control to fix the problems that exist in society today.

You don’t work at the Chamber of Commerce unless you Suzanne Clark teaching at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Master Class believe in the former.

It is multi-pronged. That’s where the fed- We believe human spirit, human ingenuity, and eration at our root is so valuable because I think innovation ends up tackling problems. We’re the most helpful thing we do is get into specific not in the camp that says government is going communities and help them solve this at a local to be the most innovative and have the best level. and biggest solutions.

We are running talent pipeline academies Will you discuss the Chamber’s leadin 30 states and Canada. We help train local ership and strength around research, data leaders to run a supply chain type effort where and metrics? you get the employers in a community together I think one of the examples that I would to say this is the type of person we need and give you is when tax reform was beginning. could hire. You then turn to the educational We were lucky in that we have a woman outlets whether that’s a community college or a named Caroline Harris here on the team who technical school or a high school or a college had for years been working with companies and say this is what you have to produce to large and small across industries and across make sure that people coming from your school geographies about the potential impacts of will end up employed. different types of tax reform. So when there That has to happen on a grassroots com- was a moment in time that tax reform could munity level because they’re so different. That happen, having that level of expertise and said, those talent pipeline academies have been deeply researched positions about potential very successful because they’re based in the impacts, pros and cons, of different types of federation and in specific communities. movements was extraordinarily helpful to the There are broader issues of how we’re Hill. Here’s where having deep expertise in financing education today. What does that look research matters. like? The U.S. Chamber Foundation is launching We’re also conducting research and geta yearlong project called Talent Finance to look ting real stories and telling stories in a way that at innovation. We believe at our core in innova- helps bring people along. We produce things like tion and ingenuity, but the fact is that right now the MetLife index about the health of small busithe country is divided into two camps. nesses and what their views are of the economy.

One camp says I’m really hopeful about We do a great Commercial Construction Index the future. I’m really excited about technology with USG that surveys people all across the and innovation. I believe in the human spirit country about their pipeline as a way to try to and human ingenu ity and humans’ ability predict where commercial construction is going. to solve problems and do things. I’m excited These indices have been deeply helpful, both VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

for specific industries or segments, as well as for press coverage and telling stories and bringing advocates along. They’re all really important to our work.

We have policy expertise, conduct research, and host events. We do about 2,000 events a year and that could be a head of state who is in town or convening local chamber fly-ins to meet their members of Congress and their staff. This idea of convening and having people in one place, face-to-face, having dialogue and sharing experiences on the issues that are confronting communities across the country, is probably our biggest strength.

Will you highlight the Chamber’s efforts around diversity and inclusion?

It’s crucial for a whole bunch of reasons.

For one thing, if we want to represent all of business then we have to be able to tap into the thoughts and points of view of all types of businesses and all types of geographies.

Second, if we want to have the best talent in the country, this talent doesn’t all look the same or sound the same or have the same education, so diversity of thought is really important.

When we go to hire, we go to our own networks first, whether that’s our alma mater or people we know. So it’s been an important challenge for us to broaden our network to figure out where we can get the next generation of thought leaders and engage them in our work.

We have had a majority female management committee for a long time. We have had a really global workforce for a long time.

International is our biggest division and we sometimes sit at staff meetings and as our people are introduced about which languages they speak, I’m like, “Oh my God, I would never get a job here.”

We’re working now on increasing the number of African American employees that we have. We are doing that, in part, through a partnership with Howard University. We just added Howard’s president to our board. We’re also doing it by saying you should hire the best person for the job, but not until you see it diversely.

Another piece has been millennials and 50 percent of our workforce at the Chamber is millennials. Thinking about how the next generation of entrepreneurs is going to start businesses starts right here at home.

•

LEADERS 49

Purpose Focused Philanthropy, Demonstrated Results An Interview with Howard P. Milstein, Howard & Abby Milstein Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE Howard Milstein hands-on in everything I do. We take a is the third generation to lead venture philanthropy approach, where the Milstein family business and we provide not just funding, but also philanthropic activities. An the experience and insight of the prientrepreneurial builder of innovate sector to public and philanthropic vative, lar ge-scale companies, initiatives. We then invest in the right Milstein’s ability to marshal busipeople and the right institutions to ness, government, philanthropic, make our vision a reality. and family r esour ces drives a One example is the work we have br eadth of initiatives. Milstein done with the Abby and Howard P. is Chair man and CEO of New Milstein Program in Chemical Biology York Private Bank & Trust, chairs and Translational Medicine at Weill Howard P. Milstein and operates the Milstein famiCornell Medicine. Our efforts funded ly’s r eal estate companies, and the launch and operation of the instiis also owner and publisher of GOLF maga- tution’s first Chemical Biology Core Facility. We zine, among other sports-related ventures. In supported seed grants in multiple laboratories the philanthropic arena, Milstein is a Trustee and sustained an innovative line of discovery at Cornell University, an Overseer of Weill in the lab of its director, Dr. Carl Nathan. With C o r n e l l M e d i c a l C o l l e g e a n d s e r v e s o n Milstein Program support, the Nathan lab disthe Dean’s Advisory Board of Harvard Law covered the first drug-like molecules that kill School. He is Chairman of the American Skin Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacteAssociation, the Howard and Georgeanna Jones rium that causes tuberculosis, the world’s single Foundation for Reproductive Medicine, and the leading cause of death from an infectious disMilstein Medical Asian American Partnership ease. Protecting and expanding our portfolio of Foundation. Milstein also serves on the boards medicines that cure infections depends on a of the National September 11th Memorial, better understanding of the mechanisms by the National Committee for U.S. – China Relations, which bacteria develop antimicrobial resistance the Nicklaus Children’s Healthcare Foundation (AMR). AMR has emerged as one of the world’s and PGA REACH. Milstein was named the 2008 top health threats, as acknowledged by the UN Entrepreneur of the Year by Cornell University, General Assembly when it made AMR in genand also served from 2011-2014 as Chairman eral the central focus of its annual meeting in of the New York State Thruway Authority, where September 2016. AMR of tuberculosis in parhe successfully led the design and procurement ticular was the central focus of its September process for a new Tappan Zee Bridge, the largest 2018 meeting. The molecules discovered by Dr. infrastructure project in the nation.

Nathan kill Mtb by inhibiting an Mtb enzyme complex called the proteasome. The practical ORGANIZATION BRIEF The Howard and impacts of this discovery will be felt worldwide, Abby Milstein Foundation (howardandabbymil- but especially in Africa, where TB has such a steinfoundation.org) participates actively in the devastating effect on both life expectancy and organizations it supports, with hands-on leader- the economy. ship and long-term financial support.

In 2011, you established the Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership With the many challenges and needs facing (MMAAP) Foundation after meeting with society, will you describe your result-ori- the Chinese Ministry of Health. What was ented approach to philanthropy? the founding vision and how does the In all of our philanthropy, we look for Foundation facilitate interactions between opportunities to have the broadest impact on your philanthropic interests in the U.S. and research, institutions and people. This often leading Chinese efforts in clinical care and means identifying needs and gaps in public medical research? funding where our efforts can generate sysThis is another area where bringing together temic results across a range of communities. the world’s best institutions and researchers We look for initiatives with a “multiplier effect,” can have global impact. The Milstein Medical where the practical impacts of our philanthropic Asian American Partnership (MMAAP) seeks resources build exponentially. I’m also very to advance medical research in the U.S. and 50 LEADERS

China and to improve world health by fostering a bilateral relationship between the two countries. We do this by facilitating interactions between medical philanthropic interests in the U.S. and leading Chinese efforts in clinical care and medical research. Each year, our foundation awards fellowships and research projects in four medical fields, with a particular emphasis on senior health, dermatology, stem cell research and regenerative medicine, and translational medicine. Since its founding, MMAAP Foundation has awarded more than 60 Fellowships and Project Awards to support the work of exceptional scientists and investigators from over 30 prestigious Chinese medical institutions, as well as world-class American universities, such as Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Columbia. Of these awards, 12 fellowships and seven research projects support the work of Chinese physicians and scientists in improving senior health. With the support of MMAAP Foundation, 115 scientific articles have been published in leading English or Chinese professional journals, of which more than 50 focus on aging. Staying steadfastly focused on our mission, we are having great impact on medical research in the two most important economies in the world.

You served for many years as Chairman of the New York Blood Center. Will you highlight your work at this organization, and particularly the impact of the New York Blood Center’s Howard P. Milstein National Cord Blood Center?

As Chairman of the New York Blood Center (NYBC), I led a period of historic growth and advancement for the organization and its mission. In response to the enormous potential to be found in umbilical cord blood, we launched NYBC’s Howard P. Milstein National Cord Blood Center in 1992. This highly successful program created the first and largest public cord blood bank in the world, which is now being used to treat nearly 80 diseases.

NYBC has now banked more than 70,000 cord blood units and provided over 5,300 cord blood units for transplantation to patients suffering from lethal diseases worldwide. The Milstein Center also developed HEMACORD®.

Approved by the FDA in November 2011, HEMACORD® is the first FDA-licensed stem cell therapy using hematopoietic progenitor cells cord (HPC-C). HEMACORD® uses cord blood stem cells to treat certain disorders of VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

We take a venture philanthropy approach, where we provide not just funding, but also the experience and insight of the private sector to public and philanthropic initiatives.

Howard Milstein (center) and his wife Abby Milstein join Dr. Carl Nathan (third from right) at an event sponsored by the Abby and Howard P. Milstein Program in Chemical Biology and Translational Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.

the hematopoietic, or blood forming, system.

HEMACORDÂŽ was awarded the Prix Galien Award in October 2014.

With the many challenges and needs facing society, do you feel that real impact and results are going to be driven by the private sector and business or will it need to be a public/private partnership?

We’ve demonstrated the importance of public/private partnership in both civic and philanthropic endeavors. For example, from 2011 through 2014, I served as Chairman of the New York State Thruway Authority, and in that VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

capacity led the procurement process for the design and construction of a new Tappan Zee Bridge which was the largest public infrastructure project in New York State history. Working with Governor Cuomo, our efforts resulted in a savings to taxpayers of more than $1.5 billion. The possibility of a new span across the Hudson had been studied and debated for more than 25 years without any meaningful result.

The various studies alone cost taxpayers close to $90 million, with 430 different meetings and the development of 150 concepts, even as the current bridge continued to deteriorate and

maintenance costs continued to rise. We were able to complete the procurement in just 11 months at nearly 40 percent below the original estimates. We accomplished this by applying the design-build procurement, as well as financing, construction and management techniques that are common in private sector real estate, finance and entrepreneurship. What was missing from the process for more than two decades was the application of these private sector principles and experience to the work of the very talented government professionals who were responsible for turning study into reality.

•

LEADERS 51

Purpose Making a Difference An Interview with Peter S. Kalikow, President, HJ Kalikow & Co. LLC EDITORS’ NOTE Peter Kalikow is the of its executive committee. Kalikow is former Chairman of the Metropolitan a member of the board of trustees of Transportation Authority (MTA), Hofstra University and was awarded former Commissioner of the Port an honorary Doctorate of Law Authority of New York & New Jersey, degree in 1986. He received Hofstra’s past owner and publisher of the New Alumni of the Year Award in 1988.

York Post, and current Chairman An active student of the American of the Grand Central Partnership.

Presidency, Kalikow endowed the Kalikow began his career in real Peter S. Kalikow Chair in Presidential estate in 1967 and became President Studies and cr eated the Peter S. of HJ Kalikow & Co. in 1973.

Kalikow Center for the Study of the Following his father’s death in 1982, American Presidency. In 2015, he Peter S. Kalikow he assumed responsibility for the endowed the Peter S. Kalikow School Kalikow holdings and is the third of Gover nment, Public Policy & generation to preside over the family’s 92-year- International Affairs at Hofstra University. old real estate company. Kalikow is an active Kalikow is a founding board member of the participant in every major real estate associa- Museum of Jewish Heritage and was presented tion and serves as a Governor of the Real Estate with the Peace Medal, Israel’s highest civilBoard of New York. In recognition of his leader- ian award, for his many years in aiding the ship, he has received the Harry Helmsley Award, nation’s development, including his efforts the Award for Excellence by the Building Owners related to Israel Bonds. He is a founding board and Managers Association of Greater New York member of the National WWII Museum in New for the development of 101 Park Avenue, and Orleans. In November 2008, Kalikow was honthe Golden Circle Award. Kalikow is involved in ored with the Commendatore in the Order of many philanthropic causes. He is a Vice Chair Merit of the Italian Republic, one of the highest of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and a member honors bestowed by the Government of Italy.

Peter Kalikow speaks at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital where he serves as a longtime Trustee and a Vice Chair of the Hospital 52 LEADERS

COMPANY BRIEF For more than 100 years, HJ Kalikow & Co. (hjkalikow.com) has been one of New York City’s leading real estate firms. Under Peter Kalikow’s leadership, the company has developed millions of square feet of commercial office space as well as constructed many prominent residential apartment houses in Manhattan.

Will you discuss your start in real estate?

I had the advantage of watching and learning from my grandfather, Joe Kalikow, who together with my dad and his two brothers, built thousands of apartment units in Brooklyn and Queens. It was in no way a formal tutorial, but I was able to learn the fundamentals of real estate development by watching their buildings go from the ground up. The most important thing I learned was showing up at job sites each and every day. It sounds simple, but showing up accomplished two things.

First, it showed the men working in the various trades that you were committed to finishing the job on time and on budget. Next, it gave me a better sense of what a difference a good relationship between a developer and trades means to a successful job.

I took these lessons and applied them to my first apartment building in Great Neck. It was a great success. Then, I turned my focus on Manhattan, and incorporated my knowledge of consumer preferences into development success.

During that time, the 1970s, I had a good sense of what people my age wanted. Their priority wasn’t so much the size of the apartment, but rather safety and security, so I provided reasonably-sized apartment units and 24-hour doorman security. The first apartment was a 24-story apartment building that rented in five weeks. Between 1970 and 1980, I built 10 apartment houses and they were all tremendous successes.

What has made 101 Park Avenue remain relevant and such a sought-after building?

First, its architecture really is timeless and has won a number of awards. The way the building sits on the lot allows for a great amount of light, air and views for the tenants within. Next, my company has always invested a great deal of money to constantly upgrade all of the building systems to ensure the utmost in efficiency for our tenants. In addition, the staff at 101 Park Avenue is first class all the way. Tenants rave about the professionalism and courtesy of the starters at the elevator banks. The engineers work VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, which Peter Kalikow established at Hofstra University

tirelessly to maintain the building systems in t o p - notch working order. Also, Club 101 and the parking garage are two tremendous building amenities.

The fact is that over 60 percent of the tenants at 101 Park Avenue are original to the building. That statement alone says it all.

Did you know when you built 101 Park Avenue that this part of New York City would become what it is today?

My grandmother came to the United States when she was very young. Whenever my grandfather would start to build a building, he would take her to the site and the first question she asked was, “Where’s the subway?” As wealthy as she was, she always took the subway.

That has always been a guiding principle of my approach to building. I knew the importance of Grand Central Terminal as a major regional transit hub and how the Grand Central business district would attract prospective tenants.

You serve as a Vice Chair of NewYorkPresbyterian and have been a part of that institution for many years. What makes NewYork-Presbyterian so special for you?

My father had two strokes and that is where he was treated. My mother had some issues and they took care of her. My children were born there. They treated my family so well. I knew that once I had the means, there was nothing better than getting involved with a hospital.

That is what I did, helping them with the Starr Building, then becoming a board member, then chairman of real estate, then executive committee member, and now a vice chair. NewYorkPresbyterian is consistently ranked as one of the highest in the nation over a wide number of specialties, but it is the focus on the patient first and foremost that makes it the tremendous success that it is. Our Chair, Jerry Speyer, the Board of Trustees, its President and CEO, Steve VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Corwin, and the entire staff are totally committed to providing the best healthcare in a patientcentric manner.

I tell people that whatever I have given NewYork-Presbyterian in terms of time and money, I have gotten back ten times in terms of satisfaction. It is a terrific institution with wonderful and caring people.

Will you discuss your involvement and support of Hofstra University?

I was lucky to be accepted to Hofstra and lucky to graduate. They gave me an education and I learned a lot, even though I was a terrible student back then. I was a student there in 1964 when the presidential debates started coming to colleges and I imagined back then what it would be like to have a presidential debate at Hofstra.

Decades later, I am so proud to have contributed to the growth and success of the school. I was able to endow a School of Government, P u b l i c P o l i c y a n d I n t e r n a t i o n a l Affairs for students who want to pursue careers in government or other areas that focus on public policy. Hofstra’s reputation in this area has enabled it to host three presidential debates. Most schools would be thrilled to host one.

For over seven years, you were the Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, one of the most important state agencies that is responsible for transporting millions of people daily in this region. What do you think about what is happening today with the MTA? Those wer e a very exciti n g seven years l and I think we did a lot of good things during those years. It’s a v e r y h a r d job, but very fulfilling as well.

Looking back, I think o n e of the most significant things we did during my tenure was to begin to deal with those unsustainable labor costs that are being discussed today. Labor costs consume 60 percent of the operational expenses at the MTA and a good deal of that are costs related to healthcar e a n d p e n s i o n s . We began to tackle these costs, but clearly more needs to be done. At the end of the day, New York State taxpayers and the system’s fare payers deserve no less.

H o w d i d y o u r int erest in Ferraris develop?

I went to a car show when I w a s y o u n g a n d I saw this Ferrari. It was like nothing I had seen before. I was mesmerized by it. I went home by subway because w e l i v e d i n Q u e e n s back then and, at dinner, I told my father that he had to come to the car show and see this car. He told me he was too busy but my mother – God bless her, I miss her still – said, “Harold, spend three hours with your son.” We went and I got to sit in this amazing car.

My father says to the guy, “How much is this car?” He said, “$13,000.” He lied. It was actually $15,000. My father responds, “$13,000?

It should be $3,000 because I have a Cadillac which is $6,000 and it has four seats. This car only has two seats.”

It took me a long time to get my first Ferrari but, thanks to my parents, I managed to work it out. I have to say, whenever I approach a Ferrari, I still get the rush I got when I saw that first one at the car show. I’m going to Italy soon to spec out my next Ferrari and I have to tell you, the passion never gets old.

Many of your people have been with you for decades. How important has it been to retain talent?

Very important. A person came back to see me about three or four years ago and said, “I’ve been walking down the hallway for 20 years and I notice all the same faces are here.” My people have known me a long time. I’m 76 years old. I was the youngest person here when I started this company and now I am the oldest. People are what makes a business. Great people make great buildings.

D o y o u t h i n k a b o u t y o u r legacy and will it be more about your business success or your philanthropic work?

I tell you, I really hope it will be about both.

I continue to thoroughly enjoy business – it keeps me focused and engaged. It is the business that has given me the good fortune to give back to the philanthropic endeavors.

•

101 Park Avenue LEADERS 53

Purpose Building PURE An Interview with Ross Buchmueller, President and Chief Executive Officer, PURE Group of Insurance Companies EDITORS’ NOTE Ross Buchmueller’s career spans more than 30 years and has been focused on the specialized pr operty and casualty insurance needs of high-net worth individuals and families. After spending more than a decade at Chubb Group, Ross founded AIG’s Private Client Group and served as its President for more than six years.

Buchmueller earned his B.A. degree in economics from Trinity College.

Eventually, I made the decision that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life at AIG and decided to go out on my own. I was fortunate that there were private equity folks that wanted to sponsor my efforts. I started with a few specific ideas. First was that there are a lot of advantages to a green field company and starting from scratch. You don’t have to worry about legacy decisions relating to technology or risk that could interRoss Buchmueller fere with your plans.

C O M PA N Y B R I E F P r i v i l e g e Second was a sense that our Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE), a part expertise was a big advantage. I felt that I, of the PURE Group of Insurance Companies and the folks that I brought with me, deeply (pureinsurance.com), is a policyholder-owned understood this business better than others insurer dedicated to creating an exceptional expe- and that would be an advantage. A clean start rience for responsible high net worth individuals with experts would create strong value. and families. In 2020, the holding company for the Over time, we saw the power of PURE Group of Insurance Companies, Privilege mutuality b e c a u s e the insurance indusUnderwriters Inc. (PUI), became a member of the try did not have a natural alignment of Tokio Marine Group. PURE provides customizable interests. What policy holders wanted and coverage for high-value homes, automobiles, jew- what investors wanted weren’t always in elry, art, personal liability, watercraft, flood, fraud sync so we created that alignment through and cyber fraud to more than 90,000 high net worth what became PURE. families throughout the U.S. Inspired by some of the finest policyholder-owned companies, PURE emphasizes alignment of interests and transparency.

PURE’s low cost of capital, careful member selection and proactive risk management all contribute to highly competitive rates and a Financial Strength Rating of “A” (Excellent) from A.M. Best.

Will you discuss your career in the insurance industry and what led to the creation of PURE? I was recruited to be an underwriter at Chubb out of college. I didn’t really understand what the job was about, but it was in New York City which was an attractive location for me. I quickly realized that I was not only pretty good at it, but I also liked it. I liked the notion that insurance is this really decentralized industry and that the individual decisions of an underwriter or an adjuster can impact the business profoundly.

I progressed relatively quickly and went overseas to start some operations for Chubb in Europe. I then received a fortuitous call from AIG saying that Hank Greenberg wanted to get into this business. When you work for Hank, you get a Ph.D. in insurance in every aspect of the business.

54 LEADERS

How do you define the PURE culture?

We started thinking about culture and the types of people we wanted to work with right away. We wanted to create an environment where people felt safe and challenged at the same time. Today, we’re still working to develop our culture.

Culture can be an abstract concept, but it is critical in defining the environment of our workplace. We have to define what it stands for and what the guideposts and principles are that our people need to know to guide their behavior. It has to be consistent with the overarching purpose that guides why we’re here.

Culture also helps define the people who will thrive here. Once the culture is clearly defined, sustaining it is easier. If it’s not welldefined, sustaining it is difficult as you grow.

Our culture is very different than AIG’s was when I was there, but the similarities are that we both have smart, curious, ambitious people and we want to do good work. I was at AIG during 9/11 when commercial aviation was stopped, which means commerce stopped.

Hank always said that the purpose of the company was to increase the velocity of the global

Culture also helps define the people who will thrive here. Once the culture is clearly defined, sustaining it is easier.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

We started thinking about culture and the types of people we wanted to work with right away. We wanted to create an environment where people felt safe and challenged at the same time. Today, we’re still working to develop our culture.

economy. If planes can’t fly, then we were not living our purpose. He worked all week to raise $850 million to put a backstop to allow planes to fly. This was watching purpose in action. Our culture at PURE is different, but the strength of that culture really influenced me in how I wanted to define our culture.

With all of the focus on technology, how critical is it for PURE that the client relationship and human touch does not get lost?

This is a really good point. When we look back at what we do well, it is the humanity that matters. The things that we do that bring out the humanity are always the things that build a brand and make us feel like we’re connecting. I think in many respects what’s interesting is that we are finding more ways to connect as humans.

I’ll give you an example. For years we would push out information. For example, tips to prevent a loss. This past summer, after we had a series of very tragic car accidents involving young drivers or family members of PURE members, we started sending out information about the things you should think about to make sure your kids are safe and about technology you could use to prevent distracted driving.

Just before we hit send, we stopped and asked what our members might think, so we told them that if you would like to talk about how you approach this issue, let us know. Hundreds of people came back and wanted to have a conversation about parenting. We never would have thought it was our place as an insurance company to try to create a community where we can all talk about how we parent our teenagers, but that is what resulted.

How important is it for PURE to be creating a community for its members?

I think it’s huge and our model backs this up. At the end of the year, we allocate profits back to the membership, so it is tangible. I also think that when people share a belief, they’re going to behave differently. They’re going to take that extra step to prevent loss. When we have greater trust, we can settle claims with less friction. If you can build this sense of trust, it’s pretty magical. One of the key things we measure every quarter is what proportion of our membership answers “yes” to the question, “Do I feel like a member rather than a policyholder?”

We’re trying to do more and more to engage, so right after we did the focus on parenting, there were earthquakes in Southern California, more located in the desert and not causing a lot of VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

damage, but we found that there were a lot of people in California who did not have a seismic shut-off valve. We were going to send a bunch of tips but, once again, we stopped and asked our members what tips they had for everybody else.

Every Californian had a story and I think that we can bring out more humanity and create greater connection when we engage with our members and build that community.

How critical is it for PURE to build a diverse and inclusive workforce?

We have 850 employees, and about 300 of them joined us out of college. We are not worried about trying to narrowly pick some specialist out of another insurance company. We’re getting smart, curious people and we have a pool that mirrors the population. That is a big advantage.

What we have found is the challenge is to then make sure that the senior ranks are reflective of the population. We set a goal a couple of years ago of having equal composition and contributions from men and women in senior management. I think it’s less about the sourcing and where you find the talent, and more about sponsorship and mentorship and advocacy and making sure that, to the

extent that there’s any unconscious bias, we are fighting hard and making sure that we’re advocating for people. We want to be seen as an organization where people from all backgrounds and all races and genders feel safe and inspired to work.

Do you feel that the insurance industry is well-understood by those entering the workforce and what do you tell them about the opportunities in the industry?

We go onto the college campuses of the most prestigious universities and colleges in this country and we assemble 50 to 60 kids each year who I am sure every investment bank would love to get their hands on. I think one thing that excites them is the sense of purpose and what we tend to emphasize is that you will be doing important, purposeful work.

You are solving real, important problems.

If you are figuring out how to provide insurance in California, you are keeping that real estate market going because that economy would crumble if insurance did not allow that to happen. Clearly, when you are settling a claim, you are doing purposeful work when people need help the most.

•

When we look back at what we do well, it is the humanity that matters. The things that we do that bring out the humanity are always the things that build a brand and make us feel like we’re connecting.

LEADERS 55

Purpose Starting with the Why An Interview with Gary Burnison, Chief Executive Officer, Korn Ferry EDITORS’ NOTE Gary Burnison is For example, if I said in nine also a member of the firm’s board months you’re going to have a heart of directors. Burnison previously attack, I guarantee you this afternoon served as Chief Operating Officer you would do something differently. and Chief Financial Officer for You would probably change your diet, Korn Ferry from 2003 to 2007. you would probably start walking, and Earlier, Burnison was Principal you would definitely go see a bunch and Chief Financial Officer of of doctors. You would take action.

Guidance Solutions from 1999 to Any one of us would take action. I 2001. He also served as an executhink you’ve got to have that same tive of ficer and a member of view when it comes to your career. the board of directors of Jefferies In other words, think about if in nine Gary Burnison and Company, where he worked months you were going to get laid off, fr om 1995 to 1999, and was a what would you do today?

Partner at KPMG Peat Marwick from 1984 to I guarantee that you would take action.

1995. Burnison holds a bachelor’s in business Unfortunately, what generally happens is that administration from the University of Southern nine months goes by and the company gets California. acquired or your boss gets fired or you are just miserable. We’ve all been there. The first thing FIRM BRIEF Korn Ferry (kornferry.com) is a we do is update the resume, which is the worst global organizational consulting firm. The firm possible thing you can do. We are all reactive works with clients to design their organizational structures, roles and responsibilities. It helps clients hire the right people and advise them on how to reward, develop and motivate their workforce. The firm helps professionals navigate and advance their careers.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Korn Ferry has 9,000 employees and more than 100 offices worldwide.

How critical is it for leading companies to be purpose-driven?

You’ve got to start with the why. I think that’s the most important thing in business.

CEOs focus on the who and the how and the where, but for me it is about the why.

Purpose is extremely important. Why are you in business? It’s that simple and every employee needs to know that.

What was your purpose for the new book, Advance: The Ultimate How-To Guide for Your Career?

This is our sixth book and it is geared towards people’s careers. Whether you’re out of college or you’re later in your career, the fundamental premise is to take control.

I’ve been amazed, being a CEO for so long and seeing all sorts of different people from those that are right out of college to those in the Fortune 100 boardroom, about the cluelessness that comes when people think about their own careers, and what I mean by that is they don’t think about it.

56 LEADERS

when it comes to our careers. The point of the last two books, Loose the Resume, Land the Job, and then the new one, Advance, is to take control of your career.

Korn Ferry developed a new business offering called Korn Ferry Advance. Will you provide an overview of this offering?

Korn Ferry is a nearly $2 billion organizational consulting firm. Our business historically has been all business to business, but as we see a megatrend in the world around career nomads, our view is that you’ve got millions of professionals around the world that have nobody to turn to when it comes to their development. We want to be the world’s gymnasium for career fitness. That’s the vision for Korn Ferry Advance (kornferryadvance.com). People come to us to take different assessments we have to work on blind spots and to get coaching. We provide interviewing tools and interviewing apps if you’re going in for an interview so you will be prepared for it. We help with the resume. It is all around career fitness for the world’s professionals.

Korn Ferry has continued to evolve and transform its business to stay relevant and current. Is the firm well-understood today?

I’m proud of our company. The reality is that change takes time. We’ve been in business for 50 years. It’s only been in the last decade where the company has really changed significantly. I would expect there to be a lag between how people perceive us and who we actually are.

What do you enjoy most about the business?

It’s the people. Despite of all the technological advancements and our continued attempts to disintermediate the human race, there’s still a simple truth, and that simple truth is that people make businesses successful. It wasn’t rockets that took us to the moon. It was dreamers. It was engineers.

It was scientists. Human beings made it happen.

It is human beings that make businesses great. Korn Ferry’s business is all about enabling organizations and individuals to exceed their potential, and the truth is that nobody knows their potential unless they’re given opportunity.

We are building a company that helps organizations create opportunity for their people and for their organizations.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Purpose Accelerating Digital Transformation An Interview with Matt Carter, Chief Executive Officer, Aryaka EDITORS’ NOTE Matt Carter is technology platform that is truly disa cloud and technology industry rupting existing technologies and veteran, leading Aryaka’s longmaking those obsolete. term market strategy and day-toThe excitement was the opporday operations, while guiding the tunity to help Aryaka to continue to company’s vision for an increaspioneer and move forward with this ingly connected world. Prior to disruptive technology that’s helping this role, he served as President enterprises who are going through and CEO of Inteliquent Inc., the natural transition into a clouda publicly-traded pr ovider of based world. cloud-based networking services How is Aryaka differentiated for global enterprises, which was in the industry?

Matt Carter successfully acquired by GCTR, Most technology companies a Chicago based PE firm. Carter spend a lot of time talking about the previously held a series of executive positions product. As a marketer, I like to come at it from with Sprint Corporation including serving as a point of view of understanding customers’ President of the Sprint Enterprise Solutions needs and how we can fulfill them. This is business that provided a diversified portfolio a very different disposition that requires going of communication platforms to companies in in and talking to the CIO or the CPO about over 165 countries globally. He also served the business needs that they have. You have to as President of Boost Mobile, a leading pro- have the emotional intelligence to work with vider of no contract wireless services. Carter these people who are sitting in these jobs and earned his master’s degree in general man- trying to help their companies navigate this agement from the Harvard Business School uncharted path around digital transformation. and his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern Part of our approach is to look at needs University. from the point of view of the CIO or the CPO qualitatively and understand that most COMPANY BRIEF Aryaka, (aryaka.com) of them have to work with a number of difthe Cloud-First WAN company, brings agil- ferent vendors to help with digital transfority and simplicity to consuming the WAN- mation and connectivity. What makes us as-a-service. An optimized global network different and better is that with Aryaka you and innovative technology stack delivers an can work with a single vendor who can help industry-leading managed SD-WAN service you provide connectivity anywhere around and sets the standard for application perfor- the world to help accelerate digital transformance. Aryaka’s SmartServices offers con- mation. That is a solid value proposition that nectivity, application acceleration, security, solves a true pain point. It reduces complexcloud networking and insights, leveraging ity for the CIO or CPO and it has resonated global orchestration and provisioning. The with them that we are different, better, and company’s customers include hundreds of special vis-a-vis others in the marketplace. global enterprises including several in the Is Aryaka’s main focus on lar ge, Fortune 100. global enterprises?

Our sweet spot tends to be the mid-market What excited you about the opportunity global enterprise within certain sectors. We do to lead Aryaka? extraordinarily well with manufacturing firms, It was simply that Aryaka competes in technology companies, banks and financial sera category that is disrupting existing legacy vices companies, and retail. These enterprises networks. That means that while enterprises have operations in multiple locations around today can procure private networks from the the world and they need to have world-class incumbent service providers, Aryaka has pio- connectivity to allow their enterprises to interneered a new network architecture that was act with their critical cloud-based applications. purposely built for cloud-based applications. We can provide the underpinning network for The market for this is growing exponentially cloud-based applications that can be accessed as enterprises go through digital transforma- anywhere around the world. We handle that tion. It was exciting to work with this new from end-to-end.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

We p r o v i d e t h e c o n n e c t i v i t y t h a t enhances the end-user experience around those applications. If you’re using applications such as Microsoft 365 or Salesforce, you want all the people in your company to have the same experience whether they’re in the Hinterland’s of Africa, in the mountains of China or someplace in North Carolina. They all need to be able to communicate and have access to your data and we provide that underpinning cloud-based network that allows those applications to be accessible for their end-users.

How critical has it been for Aryaka to build a diverse and inclusive workforce?

Thirty-four percent of my direct reports are women. Around 85 percent of the senior leadership team are either people of color or women. Our board also has more than 50 percent people of color, so we have a very diverse organization throughout Aryaka.

This is important because it brings in different points of views. We’re very different than most Silicon Valley companies in that we have women in key roles, and we have an active African American CEO. I think this has actually helped us to become a better company.

It’s also a great recruiting tool for us because the talent pool of great women and people of color that is out there are looking to be part of an environment that is inclusive and where they feel they can bring their authentic self to the company. This has been a winner for us in terms of our ability to be able to attract world-class talent into the organization.

How important is it for leading companies today to be purpose-driven?

It’s critical. We are a global company, so we look at ourselves as a global citizen. As part of our corporate responsibility program, we have recently partnered with ChildFund, a global organization helping children around the world who live in distressed conditions to get access to technology to enable them to improve their lives. Many of our employees are engaged and focused around this initiative. I find that our employees want to be here because they feel like we’re about more than just revenues and profits. We have a bigger purpose. People want to work at purposeful, mission-driven, value-driven organizations that want to do good in the world.

•

LEADERS 57

Purpose Alliant’s Evolution An Interview with Thomas W. Corbett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. EDITORS’ NOTE Thomas Corbett Will you highlight the history of serves as Chair man and Chief Alliant and how the business has Executive Officer of Alliant Insurance evolved?

Services and sits on the company’s The company’s history dates back board of directors. He joined Alliant 95 years but was not always called in 1977 as a producer and launched Alliant. The company I started with in its Newport Beach-based Public Entity 1977 was called Robert F. Driver. We Group. Prior to joining Alliant, he went through a process of acquiring was with Allendale Insurance in Los the company in 1998 and merging it Angeles and spent three years as a loss with a group called Alliant Resources prevention engineer at Factory Mutual Group in 2001. I took control as chairEngineering Association. Corbett is a man and CEO of that group in 2005 Thomas W. Corbett graduate of California State University, and it started as a very small comLong Beach, and is involved in various pany based in San Diego. We now community and charitable organizations. have more than 100 offices, over 4,000 employees, and well over a billion dollars in revenue.

COMPANY BRIEF With a history dating back to You don’t grow like that by accident. We’ve always 1925, Alliant Insurance Services (alliant.com) is believed that in order to grab market share, and one of the nation’s leading distributors of diver- we’re all about organic growth, we had to do sified insurance products and services. Operating something better than the guy down the street. through a national network of offices, Alliant offers We have been organized in specialty groups for a comprehensive portfolio of services to clients. years and have a culture of entrepreneurialism

I think our clients understand that we’re delivering better solutions to them from a risk standpoint.

We do this through our culture, products and solutions, and I think that our clients see the benefit of Alliant and our clear differentiation.

58 LEADERS

which allows people to execute on their own business plans and their own visions.

We have a culture where people are sharing in the ownership and the rewards of our growth. This all adds up to a very attractive place to work.

How do you define what makes Alliant different from its competitors?

I think our clients understand that we’re delivering better solutions to them from a risk standpoint. We do this through our culture, products and solutions, and I think that our clients see the benefit of Alliant and our clear differentiation.

What is the sweet spot for Alliant when it comes to your client focus?

The sweet spot for Alliant would be large to mid-market risk on a commercial basis, a lot of which would be connected to the areas of specialty. We have a huge operation in construction, and our sweet spot would be a mid-market to larger construction client where we can deliver a better product and better expertise. We’re not trying to be all things to all people.

Part of our organization is geographicallybased where we’re trying to sell product through geographic locations, but the specialty side of the business is primarily nationwide and based on the verticals and the expertise of the teams that are in place to address that class of business.

How is technology impacting Alliant’s business?

We have done a lot of work in regard to technology in recent years and put a lot of money behind it since it’s very important. We have invested heavily in making sure that we maintain a high-level of access to technology with a lot of technological support to provide information to our clients based on what they like to see that perhaps they haven’t seen in the past.

We’re also very sensitive to security, and that’s a big part of our consciousness with technology. We want to make sure that our clients’ privacy and information is well-protected. We put the security of our clients at the forefront of our efforts.

Will you discuss your efforts to build a diverse and inclusive workforce at Alliant?

This is critical for our business and we need diversity and inclusion to continue to lead.

We’ve been working at it for years. We formally launched our diversity and inclusion program in 2017 headed by our HR director. We have established several employee resource groups VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

We’ve always believed that in order to grab market share, and we’re all about organic growth, we had to do something better than the guy down the street. We have been organized in specialty groups for years and have a culture of entrepreneurialism which allows people to execute on their own business plans and their own visions. and we have brought conscious bias and race identity training to more than 300 of our leaders. We recently hosted the 100th stop on the CEO Actions National Check Your Blind Spots unconscious bias bus tour.

Leading companies today are focused on being purpose-driven. How critical is purpose to Alliant and will you highlight Alliant’s focus on supporting the communities it serves?

We are only as good as the communities we work in, and our reputation is hugely important as far as our ability to successfully grow the company and do business.

We strongly support our employees involvement in giving and we set up matching programs from a corporate giving standpoint. We encourage our employees to take volunteer time off for engaging in charity events and to support charitable work through mentoring time. We have two company-wide initiatives. In 2019, these were Cancer Awareness and World Food Day. We have a number of regional initiatives as well. We think it’s extremely important to give back. We understand our employees are here to pursue their professional life, but there’s also a lot of personal care and involvement, and fulfilling their personal activities are very important too.

What makes the insurance industry so special for you?

It has always been about problem-solving, helping with the challenges that people face from a risk standpoint, and helping solve a financial need that can be confusing. It is about simplifying the process and trying to be part of the solution in an area that, frankly, can be full of landmines. It has been very rewarding for me to be able to provide that kind of help and direction.

Beyond that, being in the fortunate position to lead and help our young people develop their careers along the same lines, and providing the kind of environment and financial rewards and professional recognition that are so important to people, has been extremely rewarding. Part of the reason people come to work is so they can pay their bills and build long-term financial security. It is also important to provide recognition when they are doing a good job and to support their career growth. It has been particularly rewarding for me to be involved with an organization that fosters that growth and opportunity for our employees.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Has the insurance industry done an effective job of telling its story and highlighting its purpose to the next generation coming into the workforce?

That’s a really good question. The insurance industry doesn’t have the sexy image that high-tech businesses do. I think there’s a lot for us to overcome there. When you give young people the opportunity to actually learn what we do and see how insurance really works, there is an excitement level that develops. I know I felt that when I got involved a long, long time ago.

Insurance can look like a pretty boring business from the outside, but from the inside it is very exciting. Getting that message across is not always easy, so we do campus activities and talk to young people about the challenges of the future and how the insurance industry is addressing those challenges.

Are you able to take moments to celebrate the wins and appreciate what Alliant has become?

Absolutely. We have a culture at Alliant for winning. It is all about recognition, winning, and doing a great job for your client. I have always taken time to celebrate that. For me, it’s easier now. I have a fantastic team of people that I rely on to carry out the vision and direction of the organization.

I get to sit back more now and enjoy watching the people that I have helped mentor and grow in the company execute on their jobs.

I’m happy to stand with them and celebrate their winning. It’s been a very rewarding career for me. I’m not done. I’ve been in this business a long time, but I’m still having a lot of fun. I enjoy the people I work with. I enjoy the organization, and I am going to keep doing this as long as I can.

•

We are only as good as the communities we work in, and our reputation is hugely important as far as our ability to successfully grow the company and do business. We strongly support our employees involvement in giving and we set up matching programs from a corporate giving standpoint.

LEADERS 59

Purpose An International Foundation An Interview with Hilary Pennington, Executive Vice President for Program, Ford Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE Hilary That was the period right after Pennington also oversees Ford World War II and he made a number Foundation’s BUILD program, and of really important choices at that time. the Office of Strategy and Learning.

The first was to have an international Before assuming her current role, focus on reducing poverty, promotshe served as the Foundation’s ing democratic values, and expanding Vice Pr esident for Education, peace and human achievement. The Creativity, and Free Expression. second was to make it an independent A national expert on postsecondfoundation and to set it up from the ary education and intergenerabeginning to remain independent of tional change, Pennington joined the Ford Motor Company. the Foundation in 2013. Early in Henry II moved the Foundation Hilary Pennington her career, she founded Jobs for from Detroit to New York City. He the Future, which she led for over had a real vision for a legacy institutwenty years. She also led the Generations tion that would exist over time to work on the Initiative, a project funded by national foun- kinds of hard problems evident post World War dations to develop effective responses to the II, so that is part of our origin story. dramatic demographic shifts occurring in the How do you define your role and what are United States. Between 2006 and 2012, she your main areas of focus at the Foundation? served as Director of Education, Postsecondary My biggest job is to make sure that we Success, and Special Initiatives at the Bill and have integrity in our programming, and that Melinda Gates Foundation, where she guided we punch above our weight as an institution, grant programs across the country and world- which means that we do high-quality grantmakwide. Pennington serves on the boards of Bard ing and are an excellent partner to our grantees.

College, the Center for Effective Philanthropy, In the few years that I’ve been in this role, we and the European Foundation Centre, and is have restructured the program leadership at the a member of the Trinity Church Vestry. She is foundation. For many years, we had a matrix a graduate of the Yale School of Management structure where the program vice presidents, of and Yale College, and holds a graduate degree which there were originally three and I was one in social anthropology from Oxford University of them, were responsible for a region of the and a master’s degree in theological studies world and also for a set of programs. from the Episcopal Divinity School. In 2000, We have restructured so we now have she was a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School one vice president for our international work of Government. and another vice president for the U.S. work.

This is the first time in a generation that Ford ORGANIZATION BRIEF Ford Foundation has had a structure like this. One of the rea(fordfoundation.org) is the third largest philan- sons that I wanted to do this was that we had thropy in the United States with over $13 billion made a set of decisions to embark on some in assets and $600 million in annual giving. bold international programming that would pull The foundation operates worldwide with offices across all ten of our regional offices and get them in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. working together against some very big global Across eight decades, the foundation’s mis- challenges. It made sense to have one guiding sion has been to reduce poverty and injustice, leader for the international work. It also made strengthen democratic values, promote inter- sense to do this for our work in the U.S. at such national cooperation, and advance human a challenging time, As an institution, we need achievement. to be thinking about the country as a whole and not just through the lens of the individual proWhat is the history of the Ford Foundation? gram areas that we happen to have. The two We were established in 1936 by Edsel program vice presidents report to me as execuFord, who was the son of Henry, the founder tive vice president, as do a couple of cross-cutof Ford Motor Company. Henry II assumed the ting functions in the foundation. leadership of the Foundation in the mid-1940s Structurally, the role of those cross-cutting and that’s when we truly became an interna- teams, like our Office of Strategy and Learning, is tional foundation. to make sure that we are one foundation, doing 60 LEADERS

things in similar ways, and the international/ U.S. structure helps us make a greater impact.

Will you highlight the BUILD initiative and the major commitment Ford Foundation has put behind this effort?

This is one of the things that I am most passionate about, having run a nonprofit organization for 20 years. The idea behind this is that our most important partner organizations need multiyear support in order to continuously adapt and be first movers in the very tumultuous times that we live in. They need to be able to plan for the long term in terms of hiring staff and developing programs. We have made a $1 billion commitment to make five-year general operating support grants to our key partners. We have made around 300 such grants so far, and we hope to be able to influence other funders to do more funding like this. We see this as one of the most important things we are doing.

How critical are metrics to track impact when you are focusing on long-term challenges and making long-term investments?

It’s absolutely necessary to have metrics.

They have to be the right kinds of metrics, but we can’t do what we do without having some indicators and some sense of the outcomes that our grantees are trying to accomplish.

For each of our strategies, we have a tenyear set of goals and we have quantitative outcomes we expect for each of those strategies and those goals. We track mid-course indicators that help us know if we are on track or off track.

Obviously, we do not have enough resources to create changes in the big systems we work on, such as criminal justice and climate change, on our own so we also track the degree to which our funds leverage other funds.

How critical has it been for Ford Foundation to have such an engaged and committed board?

It’s hugely important for us. The work we do is complex and the board is the keeper of the strategic vision and the values of this institution in the deepest and most important ways. The board contributes at every level from what they think about our mission-related investment commitments, to the BUILD commitment, to a particular program area, to what do we do about challenges that are happening in China and India, to renovating the Ford building. Ours is a very complex institution and our board provides essential and informed guidance to us.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Purpose Providing a Boost An Interview with Craig Boundy, Chief Executive Officer, Experian North America EDITORS’ NOTE Craig Boundy a huge burden on all of us. It may be joined Experian in November 2011 our software and our data and our as Managing Director of Experian information working in the healthcare U.K. and Ireland. Prior to joining system to help hospitals and patients Experian, he was CEO of Logica in make sure that people have access to the U.K., having joined Logica in the best financial plans. Everything in 2008 as CEO Global Operations. our company is designed to help indiEarlier, he was at Cable & Wireless, viduals and businesses use data and wher e he was Chief Operating information to get better outcomes.

Officer of its business in Europe, How broad is Experian’s tarthe U.S. and Asia, and also served get market? as Sales Director and then COO Experian’s target market is everyCraig Boundy at Energis. Boundy attended body. A perfect example is one of our Lancaster University in the U.K., products, Experian Boost, because it graduating in management studies and helps to bring it to life. Experian Boost is a comGerman. pletely free product offering that lets you go onto our website, connect your bank accounts COMPANY BRIEF Experian (experian.com) is or digital banking credentials, and add informaa leading global information services company. tion to your credit file that should be on your During life’s big moments, from buying a home credit file in order to immediately increase your or a car to sending a child to college to growing credit score. That’s applicable to anybody in the a business by connecting with new customers, U.S. I did it myself and received more than a Experian empowers consumers and its clients 20-point increase in my credit score. to manage their data with confidence. It helps individuals to take financial control and access financial services, businesses to make smarter decisions and thrive, lenders to lend more responsibly, and organizations to prevent identity fraud and crime. Experian has over 17,000 people operating across 44 countries.

…more than two

Will you provide an overview of Experian North America’s business and how you define the Experian difference?

Experian’s U.S. headquarters is based in Costa Mesa, California, and I have the pleasure of serving as the CEO of Experian’s business in North America, which is the largest part of the Experian group. We have roughly 6,500 employees in our North America business. We work with data and information to help businesses, consumers, and government departments make smarter decisions with the information available to them in order to get better outcomes. This could be as simple as helping a bank decide what credit limit to give somebody on their credit card. It might be helping somebody who can’t get a credit card or a car loan improve their credit score so they can get access to a financial product that makes a difference to their lives. We provide information to help companies authenticate that somebody is who they say they are in order to prevent fraud and remove criminal activity from society that places VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

million consumers have connected to Experian Boost and boosted their scores.

It took me less than two minutes to do and now that information is added onto my credit file. We actually have a website that keeps a live track of people boosting their scores in real time throughout the U.S., and this helps secure a lower interest rate or access to a new product that they’ve never had before. This is a product that everybody in the U.S. should use.

How are you building awareness for the Experian Boost offering?

Let me start with a couple of stats that might be helpful. We launched the product less than a year ago and, in that time, more than two million consumers have connected to Experian Boost and boosted their scores. This is a great start, but there are still hundreds of millions more people that should be using it.

How do we get the awareness up? We advertise on TV. We advertise digitally. We work with charitable organizations to help particular populations that could really benefit from Experian Boost, particularly community groups that will see new opportunity from improving their credit scores.

How critical is it for Experian to build a diverse and inclusive workforce and will you highlight your efforts in this area?

Diversity of background, diversity of experience, and diversity of thought brings new ideas to an organization which brings innovation. Our culture of inclusion and diversity underpins our business success which underpins what our brand stands for.

We always hire on merit and hire the best people we can get. Part of being the best means that they bring diversity of thinking and diversity of background to Experian. It is absolutely necessary to create different kinds of outreach in our hiring in order to broaden the pool of candidates and we are doing this at Experian.

Wherever we can find and access the best talent pools, we’re going to try and go there and find the best people and try and persuade them to come and join Experian.

Experian is a technology company.

How critical is it for the company to not lose the personal side of the business and the human touch?

It is absolutely pivotal. At our core, we’re a technology-enabled company. That’s absolutely true. We employ some of the smartest people you ever want to meet and they all understand technology. They all understand science. They all understand mathematics because they need to understand data. They need to understand information. However, this means nothing if you can’t turn it into products that people want to use and that people want to buy. The strength of the design that goes into the quality of our products and how they look and feel is all about the human factor and this is actually part of technology nowadays.

•

LEADERS 61

Purpose An Impact that Matters An Interview with Stephani Long, Chief Talent Officer, Deloitte LLP EDITORS’ NOTE Stephani Long is We are uniquely talented individuals Deloitte’s chief talent officer and coming together to deliver our best and oversees the talent experience that make a positive impact every day. And engages more than 100,000 Deloitte that’s why there’s no other organization U.S. professionals. She is a member like Deloitte. of the U.S. Executive Committee, U.S. How critical is it that the chief Management Committee, Deloitte talent officer has a seat at the table Foundation Board and Board when it comes to business strategy?

Director of Deloitte Support Services It is critical. In my chief talent India Private Limited. Previously, officer role, I am front and center in Long served as national managthe strategy conversations we have ing director of Talent and Partner across our businesses. The future of Stephani Long Matters for Deloitte Consulting LLP, work is a broad topic and is driving where she brought innovative prochange around the work that we do, cesses and new technologies to Deloitte’s profes- how we do it, and the value we provide to our sionals. She also led Deloitte’s U.S. Public Sector clients. This, in turn, impacts every aspect of practice, which serves state and local govern- our workforce and our workplace. A few years ments as well as higher education clients and ago, I don’t think many professional services built long-term relationships over multi-year organizations really saw that tight coupling and initiatives. Long earned a B.A. in government the impact that it would have on our businesses, from Augustana College and a M.P.A. from The but our talent strategy has always been integral University of Texas at Austin. to the future of work.

How is technology impacting Deloitte’s FIRM BRIEF Deloitte (deloitte.com) provides workforce and will it change the number industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and of people that the firm needs in the future? advisory services to many of the world’s most Technology will impact how we do the work admired brands, including nearly 90 percent of and perhaps where we do the work. There are the Fortune 500® and more than 5,000 private many different expectations from the workforce and middle market companies. Deloitte’s people concerning the types of work that we are now work across the industry sectors that drive and going to be doing. Career paths are starting to look shape today’s marketplace delivering measur- different than they did in years past when there was able and lasting results that help reinforce pub- a more traditional path to leadership. The introduclic trust in capital markets, inspire clients to see tion of cognitive technologies, whether it’s artificial challenges as opportunities to transform and intelligence, big data, or another on a long list of thrive, and help lead the way toward a stron- developing technologies, is already affecting the ger economy and a healthy society. Deloitte is part of the largest global professional services network serving clients in the markets that are most important to them. Now celebrating 175 years of service, Deloitte’s network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories and employs 312,000 people worldwide.

How do you define the Deloitte difference?

In the more than 25 years I’ve been at Deloitte, a lot has changed about the business world—but Deloitte’s values have remained constant. We’ve grown to more than 100,000 people now, and we all live and work by the same set of values: to serve with integrity and foster inclusion. Every person at Deloitte knows that we are fully committed to their growth and development. Each day we empower our people to make an impact that matters to them and reach their highest potential.

62 LEADERS

way we re-skill and up-skill our people. This is all also changing how we recruit and where we recruit. That said, we’re planning on significant growth in our workforce for the next several years.

How important is it that Deloitte’s workforce mirrors the diversity of its clients?

Diversity is a top priority for our U.S. CEO, Joe Ucuzoglu, and for me – and really, all of the leaders across Deloitte. We’ve been committed to recruiting, developing and advancing a diverse workforce, and Deloitte has had a focus on inclusion for decades. It is who we are.

When we talk about our culture, it includes a recognition that having a diverse and inclusive workforce is critical to our ability to serve our clients. It’s not just diversity that you can see, it’s far more multidimensional. We recognize that each one of us brings more to the table than what meets the eye and each one of us plays a role in driving our inclusive culture. A diverse workforce and inclusive culture helps us bring fresh perspectives, new ideas and the best solutions to every interaction whether that’s with our clients, colleagues or community. This will continue to remain top of mind for us.

We’re also training our workforce to be inclusive leaders. We’re taking actionable steps to understand leadership traits, bias, and cultural intelligence. We’re looking to take courageous positions around some of these topics since it’s not a simple journey with a definitive ending spot. It’s an ongoing priority for us. We want to give our people the support that they need so each person can bring who they are to work every day and feel respected and valued.

The future of work is a broad topic and is driving so much change around the work that we do, how we do it, and the value we provide to our clients. This, in turn, impacts every aspect of our workforce and our workplace.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Our strength and our brand is focused on making an impact that matters. Each day, we work hard to empower our people to make an impact that’s meaningful to them whether that’s with clients, colleagues, communities, or society more broadly.

As a leading woman executive in the industry, do you feel that there are strong opportunities for women to lead in the profession and what more can be done to provide these opportunities?

While a lot of change has occurred over the past decades, we still have more to do. I believe the opportunities exist for everyone at Deloitte and we have both formal and informal programs to foster this. We’ve done a lot to change the landscape within our firm around gender and to ensure everyone has the same opportunities at each of their career stages.

It is also critical that everyone have equal access to sponsors and mentors. For me, it was important to find trusted sponsorship from both

several different things we do with them and we think that’s critical for a number of reasons. Many of these people come back to the firm and they bring back new knowledge and skills as well as a fresh perspective and valuable experiences that they can share with us.

They’re also great connections for us out in the communities.

We also have a referral program and our alumni often bring us both new staff and more experienced industry veterans. We love them to refer people to us. We have a perks program for our alumni, and we hold about 85 events each year across many different businesses, industries and geographies where our clients can also stay connected with our alumni. We

…we’re realizing from a social purpose perspective that bringing more clarity to the role of business in social change is important and we are working with many other big businesses to do that.

women and men. As I was coming up through the firm, that was a big differentiator for me.

We also need to empower women to drive their career journeys and take advantage of the tools and resources that exist. There is so much within Deloitte to help every individual with their career path and we need to better enable women to use those tools and opportunities.

I feel good about the progress that has been made and look forward to doing more as we move ahead.

Will you highlight Deloitte’s focus on building strong alumni relationships and keeping alumni engaged with the firm?

We have a terrific alumni program and great lifelong relationships with our alumni.

We call them our “colleagues for life” here at Deloitte. We have a network of about 250,000 alumni that we stay in communication with and connect with on a regular basis. We have VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

have a LinkedIn group that’s very active. We use this group to collect feedback on their perceptions of how we’re doing, what our brand reputation is, and ways that we can improve.

We have found alumni to be a really important resource for us.

How critical is corporate responsibility and community engagement to the culture of Deloitte?

It’s top-of-mind in many dimensions as it relates to the people who we are trying to recruit, our current population of professionals, and our clients as well. We strongly believe that our people are and future hires will be looking for an employer that wants to help them develop and grow, but that is also purpose-driven.

We’re committed to driving positive societal change and that takes many forms.

We work with certain organizations to help them bring some of their creative ideas to

scale. We also rally our workforce for what we call Impact Day each June where 110,000 of us serve hundreds of communities nationwide in a variety of different community service aspects. We try to harness the power of our people to serve that greater good. Historically, our people wanted to decide on the causes on their own. We still do this, but we’re realizing from a social purpose perspective that bringing more clarity to the role of business in social change is important and we are working with many other big businesses to do that.

This has been really exciting for us.

I think the next generation of leaders is very committed to social change across the globe and that comes to life for us every day.

Through an initiative called Deloitte’s global WorldClass ambition, our professionals are using their skills and expertise to help people develop job skills, improve educational outcomes, and create opportunities to succeed in this new economy. Through WorldClass, our ambition is to impact 50 million futures by 2030 by improving education for people.

We also have Deloitte Academy that helps train students post-high school to prepare them for college. We have mentoring programs. I personally have spent time repainting school gyms and helping students with their college applications. This type of service is embedded into our culture and I think that we’re going to see that continue to grow as an important element in our firm’s purpose and culture.

What do you tell those who are starting their careers in the industry about what they should be doing to build a sustainable career?

First, be curious, agile and a lifelong learner. The pace of change is so fast right now and a mindset of continuous learning is a major advantage. Second, find a mentor or mentors early in your career journey. Even if you don’t think you need to be thinking about the longterm nature of your career in your first few years, use those mentors to help you find the right opportunities to continue to grow or to help you course correct if you get off track. Mentorship and sponsorship is so important in all aspects of your career and during your entire career journey. Finally, and perhaps most important, find an organization where you feel included and where you feel like you can authentically show up at work and bring your entire self to the experience. Find an organization that is looking out for you and your well-being.

•

LEADERS 63

Purpose

Entrepreneurial Leadership An Interview with Joel Peterson, Founding Partner and Chairman, Peterson Partners EDITORS’ NOTE Joel Peterson has doing venture deals and, ultimately, I a long history of successful growth got back into real estate. I was in the capital investments in a variety of gig economy before there was one. I industries. He currently teaches did a lot of different things. I’ve served Entrepreneurial Management at as a chairman several times, a lead Stanford’s Graduate School of director many times, and have been Business, is the Chairman of the on 35 or so boards.

Board of Overseers at the Hoover What interested you in writInstitution at Stanford as well as the ing your book, Entrepreneurial Chairman of the Board at JetBlue Leadership, and what did you want Airways, and serves as a Director the book to convey? of Franklin Covey. He served forI’ve observed all kinds of differJoel Peterson merly as Chief Executive Officer of ent leaders – presiders, managers, Trammell Crow Company. Peterson administrators, entrepreneurs – and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. I’ve realized there’s this other form that is the He is the author of Entrepreneurial Leadership: entrepreneurial leader, who like the five-tool The Art of Launching New Ventures, Inspiring baseball player can do all of these things. These Others, and Running Stuff. are the leaders who end up creating durable enterprises.

FIRM BRIEF For more than 15 years, and I tried to boil down the foundational eleacr oss 200 companies, Peterson Partners ments of becoming an entrepreneurial leader. (petersonpartners.com) has partnered with To use a construction term, if you could drill exceptional entrepreneurs to help them build these piers all the way to bedrock, what would great businesses. they look like? What would those piers be? I decided to organize around this image of drillWill you highlight how your career has ing piers to get to bedrock and then erecting a evolved? superstructure that allows you to build a duraI came out of Harvard Business School and ble building. saw a notecard on the bulletin board that said, What are the key components to entre“Need somebody to go to the French Riviera to preneurial leadership? develop real estate.” I thought that this opportuI define four things you have to do. The nity would be too good to pass up. This was for first one is that you have to build trust. Trust is Trammell Crow and I met with them at the Ritz- the fundamental currency of business and of a Carlton in Boston. They interviewed me and I life well-lived, and it’s very hard to get things interviewed them–and they invited me down to done if trust levels are low. Things take a lot of their offices in Dallas. I went home and told my wife about the interview, and she said, “You’re going to go work for this company, aren’t you?”

Eight months later we were in France for a couple of years, and one thing led to another.

I ended up being the treasurer of the company during a workout. When the CFO left, I became the CFO. I did that for about ten years, in which role I was essentially the chief operating officer as well. Ultimately I became the managing partner. Things didn’t end well at Trammell Crow and we ended up in litigation. They were doing something that I didn’t think was right and I couldn’t go along with it, so I was fired and sued.

I was hired by Stanford to teach a real estate course for a year, and that has turned into a 28-year career there. At the same time, I started buying companies and one day somebody said, “you’re in the private equity business.” I started

time. They’re expensive. They’re not durable, and they’re not happy places. Trust to me is the currency you have to start with.

The second thing is that you have to know what your mission is. What are you trying to achieve? When I talk about Peterson Partners, I say that we help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. That sounds like a simple thing to say, but fundamentally it requires us to decide if our customer is the entrepreneur or our limited partners. We opted for the entrepreneur. We figure our limited partners will do just fine if we help our entrepreneurs succeed. There are many instances where you have to decide which peak are we going to climb, because there’s a whole range of mountain peaks you could climb. It is about having clarity around whichever peak it is that you’re going after.

The third thing is assembling a great team, and that means specing jobs. It means sourcing candidates. It means interviewing. It means doing due diligence. It means onboarding. It means assigning. It means giving feedback. It means promoting or demoting and, ultimately, it means removing some of them. You’ve got to keep the best team on the field, and that’s probably the most critical thing the entrepreneurial leader does.

Finally, the last pier that you have to do is execute. I have a bunch of maps for execution, the most common things that every entrepreneurial leader gets good at. I talk about selling, negotiating, running meetings, doing turnarounds. What are the rules? What are the recipes that make you more successful in each

Entrepreneurial leaders typically are

people who can create durable change.

64 LEADERS

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

I’ve observed all kinds of different leaders – presiders, managers, administrators, entrepreneurs – and I’ve realized there’s this other form that is the entrepreneurial leader, who like the five-tool baseball player can do all of these things. These are the leaders who end up creating durable enterprises.

of those? When I got done with that, I felt that this is something that leaders, whether they are typically politicians or administrators or another kind, ought to understand. This comprehensive entrepreneurial leadership model would help any of them.

Is entrepreneurship something that can be taught?

I think some of it can be. I know leadership can be taught. There are principles, and people can practice them and can get better and better at them. Entrepreneurship is a particular kind of leadership. It doesn’t necessarily make you an entrepreneurial leader. There are many entrepreneurs who innovate, light fires, walk away from them and the fire goes out. They are not necessarily entrepreneurial leaders.

Entrepreneurial leaders typically are people who can create durable change. Entrepreneurs just change things in the moment. The ones who really create durable change typically are able to do these other things, and often that means they have to bring in other people with skill sets they don’t have.

What are the key components that you are trying to teach to your classes at Stanford?

In the entrepreneurial course, I try to teach them more than anything else about how to handle difficult situations, which usually involves difficult conversations. How do you initiate them? How do you carry through on them?

It may sound like that’s a silly way to go about it, but it’s amazing. When you thin-slice through any of these companies, you find that they have the same issues, and it usually falls apart at the human level. Most things break down when it comes to human beings dealing effectively with each other.

In the leadership course I teach, we have a parade of leaders from Alan Mulally to Arianna Huffington to Carly Fiorina to Steve Ballmer who come in and just talk for 90 minutes. Not give a talk, but give a five-minute introduction and then let the students grill them for the next 85 minutes. Then we have the students meet in small groups and talk about what they learned.

Would you work for this person? Would you like them to work for you? What are their leadership skills? The students then try to develop patterns and see what these people have in common and what is unique. They begin to develop a map, and I challenge them to write their own plan for developing their future.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

LEADERS 65

"We are the most respected framing company for good reasons" - Eli Wilner

Eli Wilner & Co. created the 12 ft x 21ft replica frame (above) for Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze's 1851 painting Washington Crossing the Delaware, which dominates the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing.

For over 40 years I have been creating frames for the world’s finest art collections.

I understand that one of the most important commodities you have is your time and the last thing you want to do is waste it.

That is why the level of service and skill that would be extraordinary for most is standard at Eli Wilner. I understand that you want your art framed beautifully, created with extraordinary skill, delivered on time and installed professionally. The first time!

The number of times that I have been called in to repair others’ work is shocking. Who has the time to do things twice?

When asked what separates us from other firms I offer the following: • I personally oversee each frame choice as it relates to scale, period correctness and aesthetics.

• We are obsessed with providing perfection for each framing project.

• We employ the finest carvers, gilders and finishers in the world.

• We include a Lifetime Quality Guarantee.

• We have been the framers for the Metropolitan Museum, the Smithsonian, the White House, Sotheby's and Christie's since 1983.

• We are the recommended frame restorers by Chubb and AXA art insurance companies.

• We offer incredible white glove service that is flawless and unmatched by any profession.

• We respect your desire for confidentiality and go to great lengths to insure your privacy. Historically we have used pseudonyms for our clients.

• There are no extra charges: Included are preliminary drawings, mockups, travel time, fitting, a photographic record of the work process, crating and shipping.

• We provide a guaranteed delivery date (often impossible for anyone else to meet) or the entire project is free.

I look forward to speaking with you about your next project.

I promise not to waste your time!

1525 York Avenue, New York, NY 10028 212-744-6521 | www.eliwilner.com | info@eliwilner.com Antique Frames, Antique Frame Restoration, Antique Frame Replication

Purpose Data Analytics An Interview with Scott G. Stephenson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Verisk Analytics EDITORS’ NOTE Scott Stephenson was this one really big data set sitting in brings more than 30 years of executhe middle of the industry which was tive experience and a successful record everybody’s premium and loss informaof strategic leadership and innovation tion. The industry felt that it would be to Verisk Analytics. He was appointed useful to draw some meaning out of the Chairman of the Board in 2016, data set that emerged from everybody’s CEO in 2013, and President in 2011. data being in one place in terms of being Starting in 2008, he served as Chief able to see trends that any one company Operating Officer for five years. Before would have trouble spotting on its own. joining Verisk, Stephenson was a The company also got started with senior partner with Boston Consulting analyzing that big data set to try to explain Group. He also served as an advisor the dynamics of profit and loss in the Scott G. Stephenson to Silver Lake Partners, a technologyinsurance industry. Since that time, we’ve oriented private equity firm. In 2019, always known the value of a unique Forbes recognized Stephenson as one of America’s data set and the value of being deeply connected Most Innovative Leaders and, in 2018, as one of to customers because that’s how we were born. the top 25 Most Innovative Leaders worldwide. What we’ve tried to do since then are three things Stephenson holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering in chronological order – the earliest was to become from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from more analytic. We had all this great data, but could Harvard Business School. we become more capable with respect to our ability to get even deeper meaning out of a data set?

COMPANY BRIEF Verisk Analytics (verisk.com) is The second thing was can we take this gena leading data analytics provider serving custom- eral business model we’ve got and spread it out ers around the world in insurance, energy and spe- geographically and to other industries? We have cialized markets, and financial services. For nearly done both of those. It used to be the case back 50 years, it has been helping customers make better say 15 to 20 years ago, we were 100 percent in the decisions in many fields, including underwriting United States and we only served the P&C industry. and rating, claims, catastrophe and weather risk, Now we’re about 23 percent outside the United natural resources, global risk analytics, environ- States and we serve three vertical markets, insurmental health and safety, and commercial bank- ance, energy, and banking. ing and finance.

The third thing we had to do was become more software intense, which we’ve done over the Will you discuss Verisk’s history and how the past few years. company has evolved?

Our customers don’t just want insightful conVerisk started on the premise that there is tent, they want digitized systems for making it easy value in cooperation. The company was founded for them to ingest what it is that we provide them, in 1971 and the founding idea was that there were and software does that. things each insurance company had to do to be How do you define Verisk’s target market? compliant with regulation. All of the players in the Verisk operates at the largest and smallest ends industry at that moment in time came to the realiza- of the marketplaces that we serve. There has been tion that if they cooperated they could meet their a rise of a very long list of what you could consider regulatory requirements and do so in a more effi- new insurance companies, called insuretechs. They cient way. That was how our company was born. are trying to use modern digital methods to sell One of the by-products of that origin was that in and manage insurance in new and different ways. order to be compliant with regulation, each of the Those are some of our most enthusiastic customers, insurance companies had to forward a fair amount but we also do a lot of work with the household of granular data to the regulators. This was true brand insurance companies. then and it’s true now.

How challenging is it to differentiate in This has to be done in each state for every the industry? line of insurance that you write. It is burdensome The set of companies that would say that they and so what they said was, one agent sitting in help customers with data analytics is a fairly long list, the middle can help pull the data together from all but nobody does it the way that we do it, meaning of the players making that process more efficient. putting together these data sets that come from our One of the other by-products of that was now there customers, something that almost never happens.

68 LEADERS

We talk about four distinctives. The first one is unique data assets that come from our customers. The second is the depth of our knowledge about their industry. The third is that we try to go very fast and we believe in the value of being the first mover. The fourth is that we work to deeply integrate what we do into their digital workflows, which is why we write a lot more software today than we have historically.

How important is brand awareness for Verisk?

Brand awareness matters but we’re more focused on what Verisk stands for broadly than simply the amount of name recognition we have in the industries we serve. We think of our brand as a platform for bettering the lives of our employees, our customers and society.

We want Verisk to be associated with impact whether that’s by leading the global economy’s shift from hydrocarbons to diversified energy sources, standing for responsible innovation in emerging technology, or by leveraging our data to empower our customers and make the world more resilient.

Our aim is for Verisk to play a leading role in tackling long-term societal problems, while dayto-day focusing on our customer relationships. In order for our customers to trust us to understand, support and solve their complex global challenges, they must have an intangible belief in our organization that surpasses the products and services we offer.

How is Verisk building a diverse and inclusive workforce?

There has to be intentionality, and the way that I would mark that is that a lot of the people who we hire come from technical backgrounds. If you look at the first stop in the talent pipeline – the colleges and the universities in the technical fields – they are not diverse. We can’t simply accept that.

We have to amplify the talent that is there at the entry level if we intend to be diverse at the senior levels of our company.

Do you take moments to reflect and celebrate the impact and success that Verisk has achieved?

I feel like we get a chance to celebrate all the time. One of the greatest pleasures of my job is spending time with our customers. Each year, I visit probably 35 to 40 CEOs of our customers and it is such a pleasure. At the same time, we are always looking ahead, but the focus on the future does not rob today of satisfaction and happiness.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Own it.

For 95 years, Alliant has been home to some of the most dynamic and entrepreneurial producers in the business hailing from across the nation and serving in a broad range of industries.

Alliant is the premier place to propel your career to new heights, and the reasons are simple. We give you the resources to succeed. We surround you with outstanding people. Then we get out of your way.

At Alliant, we take ownership seriously and even oer our producers an opportunity to own equity in the company.

Why? Because we believe you should own your success.

Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.

1301 Dove Street, Suite 200

Newport Beach, CA 92660

CA License No. 0C36861

Purpose Client Relationships An Interview with Stephen B. Siegel, Chairman, Global Brokerage, CBRE EDITORS’ NOTE Prior to the merger but we still had missing parts to the with CBRE, Stephen Siegel was business. When CBRE bought us in Chairman and CEO of Insignia/ESG. 2003, it completed the puzzle. What He initially rose to prominence in they didn’t have in certain cities, the industry at Cushman & we had. What they did have was an Wa k e f i e l d , w h e r e h e be cam e agenda and the capital to fulfill it, Pr esident and CEO at age 37. which was to create an enormously Renowned in the industry not successful platform with every type only for the amount of deals he has of service and technology available closed, but for his philanthropic to make our firm the best in the busiactivity, Siegel at one point in his ness. Every aspect of this company career sat on more than 16 nonis delivering services at the highest Stephen B. Siegel profit boards. In 2015, he was celequality and in the broadest spectrum brated, along with fellow honorees all over the world.

Queen Latifah and Danny Meyer, for his conCBRE is known for its work with large, tributions to the Young Women’s Leadership multinational clients. How critical has it Network’s CollegeBound Initiative, a program been for CBRE to build relationships with that creates opportunities for low-income stu- entrepreneurial companies and the growth dents to attend college and serves nearly 13,000 companies of the future? students each academic year. He is regularly It’s critical. I always tell the story of my early among the Commercial Observer’s Power 100, days in the business. I was given an assignment a yearly ranking of the most powerful people that nobody else wanted for a law firm that was in New York commercial real estate and has looking for a 1,000 square foot space. I serviced been named by Crain’s as one of the 100 Most the firm and a year or so later, they called and Influential Business Leaders in New York City. needed 2,200 feet. I serviced that and then it In 2005, Siegel was featured in the Urban Land Institute’s book, Leadership Legacies: Lessons Learned from Ten Real Estate Legends and, in 2011, he was featured in the best-selling Commercial Real Estate Brokers Who Dominate: Eight Traits of Top Producers. Siegel has also been honored with Commercial Property News’ Lifetime Achievement Award.

FIRM BRIEF CBRE Group, Inc. (cbre.com) is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm based on 2019 revenue and has more than 100,000 employees (excluding affiliates). CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services.

went up to 4,000 feet. One day they called and I assumed they may need 6,000 or 7,000 feet, but instead they asked me to come to their office right away. My contact at the client was just named head of the real estate department for a major law firm and they needed 400,000 square feet and they gave us the assignment. This is an example of how focusing on entrepreneurial companies and growth businesses has the potential for a significant transaction at some point. This is a very big focus for CBRE. How do you define the CBRE difference?

Bigger is not better. Better is better.

People always say that CBRE is gigantic. I say yes, but it still boils down to that person sitting across the table from the potential client, having that client comfortable in your ability, your commitment to staying focused on that transaction, and to use the platform that you have behind you to deliver. That is what makes CBRE different. It boils down to that one-on-one personal contact.

How critical is it that technology does not take away from the personal relationship and the human touch?

At CBRE, we build relationships with people and this is how we develop business. Real estate is a relationship business.

What have been the keys to CBRE’s success?

I’ve probably had three careers. I spent a lot of years at Cushman & Wakefield and then joined ESG. The objective was to build a full service, complete platform company. We worked our way through the acquisition of ESG by Insignia and in less than six years, we acquired 44 companies. We grew globally, 70 LEADERS

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

People always say that CBRE is gigantic. I say yes, but it still boils down to that person sitting across the table from the potential client, having that client comfortable in your ability, your commitment to staying focused on that transaction, and to use the platform that you have behind you to deliver. That is what makes CBRE different.

It already has. I’m not a proponent of email canvassing. Personal canvassing in this market has been made very difficult after 9/11 since you can’t really access buildings. It used to be that you could walk in, get on an elevator, and go floor by floor knocking on doors. At CBRE, we build relationships with people and this is how we develop business. Real estate is a relationship business.

Is office space and brick-and-mortar going to be as relevant as you look to the future?

I think that there is actually an evolution back to the office being relevant. It is now more about an open-space plan and building a space for collaboration. People need to come to work to interact with other professionals in the office since this creates business opportunities that you would not have otherwise. I just did a mentoring session for a women’s network. I was surprised to find how many of them work from home, and I told each one of them that they’ve got to get into an office. They’ve got to meet people.

Are you surprised to see the development that has taken place in certain parts of New York City?

I’ve been saying for years and years that there’s one city: New York City. There’s no Downtown. There’s no Uptown. There’s no West Side. There’s no East Side. New York City was divided into the Financial District, Midtown, and especially Downtown, which had some barriers to entry and was often used as a pricing option in terms of tenants’ search for space. I admit that with all my experience and expertise, I would never have projected the success of Hudson Yards. I was fortunate to be involved with one of the first deals with L’Oreal, but what’s happened there is mind-boggling.

I am so pleased to see how the World Trade Center has taken off and is such a success. When you look at the buildings there, Seven and Four are full, Three is filling up rapidly, and Two will probably get built now.

The diversity of tenants is amazing with finance, law, media, fashion, technology and many others. There is no longer Downtown.

It’s Manhattan.

How critical is it for CBRE to build a diverse and inclusive workforce?

It is critical to have that diversity when we go to pitch a client and it is very important to CBRE as a company. It’s very important for any company that wants to make an impact in this world to have diversity in a substantial way and complete equality in terms of compensation.

I think CBRE does that effectively.

It is critical to have that diversity when we go to pitch a client and it is very important to CBRE as a company. It’s very important for any company that wants to make an impact in this world to have diversity in a substantial way and complete equality in terms of compensation. I think CBRE does that effectively. CBRE is gender-neutral in terms of who does what work.

You have a long history of being engaged in philanthropy and support many causes.

What makes this so important to you?

I think it goes back to my mom and dad.

My mom was a school crossing guard, and my father was a commercial painter and, before that, did a variety of labor-related jobs. They didn’t make much money on a combined basis and we lived in a five-story walk-up in the Bronx.

They were constantly sharing what little they had with others. My mother watched a mentally challenged young man three or four days a week and treated him like he was another son.

If they had two bucks, they were glad to give one of them away to try to help somebody in need. My wife says that I have no ability to say no. I remember a dinner I was being honored at for a charity I was very involved in. Every year I would say that this is the last one, but that would have been a lie because, quite frankly, any time that I can put someone in a seat and the money that is paid goes to a good cause, I’m going to do it. The day I can’t fill that room is when I’ll stop.

I just took over the chairmanship of an organization called Gift of Life, the organization that found my wife’s bone marrow donor. She’s a recovering leukemia patient and received a transplant in 2013. We became immediately involved in the organization which was motivated by my wife. Gift of Life’s goal is to cure blood cancer through an international public bone marrow and stem cell registry, facilitating transplants for children and adults suffering from many life-threatening diseases like leukemia and lymphoma.

What makes the real estate industry so special for you?

I’ve been in the business since I was 17 years old. I haven’t been in any other business.

I graduated school young, and I happened to get a job in the mail room of a residential real estate company. That led to an opportunity at Cushman & Wakefield. It has been an amazing career. I have been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time with the right people.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

LEADERS 71

Purpose

Fisch Tales An Interview with Bob Fisch, Author of Fisch Tales: The Making of a Millennial Baby Boomer and President, RNF Group EDITORS’ NOTE Bob Fisch is a e-commerce only accounts for 10 perretail visionary, mastermind innocent of business. I think that you have vator, disrupter, mentor to millento have an e-commerce component, nials and mentee. As founder and but it is in combination with brick and former CEO of rue21, Bob Fisch mortar. took the company from Chapter 11 What was the key to rue21’s to be worth more than a billion dolsuccess? lars while amassing the largest store I’m never afraid to take a stand count in America for a specialty or take a risk. I would take a risk even apparel chain, with more than 1,200 if it potentially meant I may not keep locations coast to coast. He’s curmy job. With rue21, I took over a busirently on the Board of Directors of ness that should have gone away, but Bob Fisch the publicly-traded company Ollie’s because of my experience at Casual Bargain Outlet. Previously, Fisch Corner and places like that, I saw that served as a member of the Board of Directors of the value business could be a big opportunity. the Children’s Place Retail Stores and served as I learned that the further you go from metPresident of Casual Corner Group. Now, Fisch ropolitan areas, the less rent you pay, and you is President of RNF Group, a consulting com- could do a lot of business in those markets with pany focused on the assessment and evalua- more profit. I found some of the biggest voltion of retail and other business enterprises, as umes were in markets where 20,000 to 40,000 well as providing mentoring services to existing people were living. management of these companies, a position he has held since January 2017.

How did your career in retailing evolve?

I’ve been in three different phases of retailing. I started off in department stores with Abraham & Straus, which not everybody knows, and actually it’s a good thing I don’t need a job since I’ve had very good jobs with companies that are no longer in existence. Abraham & Straus was the best at that time; it was like being with the Boston Celtics when Red Auerbach was the coach or the Los Angeles Lakers when Pat Riley was the coach.

I then went into specialty retail when I was the President of Casual Corner Group, and then went into private equity when I reformatted a company called Pennsylvania Fashions and changed it to rue21 working with my equity partners, Apax Partners, to make that business happen.

Is brick and mortar still relevant in retail today?

Brick and mortar stores are here to stay.

The brick and mortar business accounts for between 85 and 90 percent of all businesses.

It will diminish a little, but it’s not going away. What’s new is that retail is now a marriage of brick and mortar with technology. I think that’s really important. There are certain businesses that will completely rely on e-commerce, while for others like rue21, 72 LEADERS

When I took over rue21, it was a diseased business and I reformatted it. I hired seven or eight key people that were working in big companies who either had a desire to move up a level or weren’t happy in their job.

I took the company into bankruptcy in 2002 and while we were in bankruptcy, we were still paying bonuses. We were renegotiating terms and getting discounts from people and within a little over a year we came out of it.

From the time we went into bankruptcy, for 11 straight years and 45 straight quarters, we never missed an estimate as a high-growth company.

I had a vision to go after this value business and become a leader in it. We started building it and during the recession of 2008, when stores and companies were closing, we opened 100-plus stores a year. In 2009, I took the company public and in 2013, I took it private. We sold the business for over $1 billion and built it to 1,200-plus stores which became the largest specialty apparel retailer in store count in America.

It is all about leadership and being not afraid to take a risk, which is harder today.

You have to hire the right people. When it comes down to it, it’s people, leadership, weaponized listening and mentoring talent.

What interested you in writing your new book, Fisch Tales: The Making of a Millennial Baby Boomer, and who is the book trying to reach?

The target audience for the book is millennial entrepreneurs and ageless baby boomers. I make a difference by giving back and helping people go further than they ever thought they could. I’m a real believer that millennials help make a difference in the business world. In my book, Fisch Tales: The Making of a Millennial Baby Boomer, there are “School of Fisch Lessons” that are actual practices, not theories, people can learn from for their success.

What do you tell young people about pursuing a career in retail today?

That is a great question. It depends where you go. You need to feel the pulse of retail today to know what the future may look like. It is critical to find mentors. People say I was lucky to have mentors. I wasn’t lucky, I searched people out and found them. You need to really push to listen to experienced, successful people about how to get ahead because the best is yet to come.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Purpose PMI’s Transformation An Interview with Huub Savelkouls, Chief Sustainability Officer, Philip Morris International (PMI) EDITORS’ NOTE Huub Savelkouls Will you highlight PMI’s joined PMI in 1994 and held transformation journey? various roles in the Fiscal and PMI has long been looking at Economic Affairs department. how we can make a product that is Fr om 2007-2014, he was Vice not as harmful as smoking cigarettes.

President of Fiscal Affairs and More than twenty years ago we had Inter national Trade. Over the our first attempt with a product that past five years, he has been closely didn’t succeed commercially. When involved in shaping PMI’s business our heated tobacco product came transformation as Vice President around as a prototype around 2012, of Strategic Policy Initiatives I think a lot of people in the comand Vice President of Value Chain pany, including myself, saw that this Huub Savelkouls Transformation & Sustainability. time we had something in our hands Prior to PMI, he was senior scient h a t s h o w e d g r e a t p r o m i s e . We tist at NATO’s Undersea Research Centre and knew the science was robust and we knew a scientist with TNO Defence, Security and that the conversion rate was very high, meanSafety. He holds a Master’s degree in busi- ing that this product was very acceptable to ness econometrics from the Vrije Universiteit smokers as an alternative. I think everybody Amsterdam. realized that this time, this product had the potential to completely transform the comCOMPANY BRIEF Philip Morris International pany and ultimately make cigarettes obsolete. (pmi.com) is leading a transformation in the In 2016, our CEO, André Calantzopoulos, tobacco industry to deliver a smoke-free future publicly announced that we were going for and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke- a smoke-free future and we were going to free products for adult smokers who would replace cigarettes as fast as possible. This otherwise continue to smoke. With more than decision also meant a lot for sustainability.

73,000 employees across the globe, PMI is While we had been doing a lot of good things selling products made in their 38 worldwide in the past in sustainability, they were isolated production facilities to over 150 million con- things on specific topics focused on issues sumers in more than 180 markets around the such as mitigating climate change. However, world. we didn’t talk about it very much because the company felt that unless you first tackle Will you provide an overview of your the harmful effects of your product, it doesn’t r o l e l e a d i n g P M I ’ s s u s t a i n a b i l i t y really make sense to talk about all the other ef forts? things you are doing.

For any business, sustainability is about When the company’s purpose changed, understanding societal expectations and shifting focus to delivering a smoke-free meeting them. That means that if you are in future, that was the right moment to disthe role of chief sustainability officer, you cuss all the other things that we were doing have both an external and internal role. For around sustainability. the external part, you need to meet with Does PMI’s sustainability ef forts stakeholders to explain what the company align with PMI’s business strategy? is doing, which is a big part in our case as I don’t distinguish between business we are transforming the business in quite strategy and sustainability strategy. I think a massive way. Then, based on that, inter- they are the same thing because sustainnally, I need to work with my team and the ability as a business is about understanding business functions to address the material what society expects of you as a company topics. and how you can address that. I think only I was only appointed to this role last companies that do that successfully will suryear. One of the things we’ve been doing is vive and will be successful long-term. If you establishing more comprehensive strategies, look at all the sustainability topics that we so taking a thorough approach, looking at address, these are all business topics. For what the most material topics are and listen- me, sustainability strategy and corporate ing to stakeholders. strategy are the same thing.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

How is PMI engaging its employees on its transformation and on its sustainability efforts?

I think if you look purely to PMI’s transformation, we made a very important decision early on to keep the company as one and transform as a single company to become smoke-free. Whether you work today on our heated tobacco product or whether you work on cigarettes, sooner or later we will all work on the new products. I think that gave a sense of purpose to what the company is working to achieve. I think this was an extremely positive thing because the message from our CEO at that time was that everybody needs to get prepared. Even if you are working in a country where smoke-free products are not for sale today, you need to start thinking about when this will happen in the future.

When you talk about sustainability, I don’t need to do a lot of internal marketing because everybody is very enthusiastic about it. If you look at the interviews when people join the company, one of the questions that they ask is whether you as a company focus on sustainability. I think there is a big demand and a big passion for the topic.

Is PMI hiring people with different skill sets to help drive its transformation?

The transformation of the product leads to a transformation of the company which means hiring people with new competencies. For instance, in the field of research and development, as a cigarette company, there was not much work that we needed to do.

Today, with smoke-free products, it’s a very important part of our company. We have hired people with a pharma background and with a life sciences background who bring new competencies and new ideas to the business.

What are the keys to changing the perception of the industry?

I think it’s about being transparent and disclosing the science. We need to go out and talk to people who may not necessarily like us or who don’t know us very well and explain what we’re trying to do and listen to their feedback. If people want to criticize a company, they can always find something.

We are not perfect. We are a large company operating globally with more than 73,000 employees so things are not always going to be perfect. I think it’s important to listen to feedback and always try to improve.

•

LEADERS 73

Purpose A History of Purpose An Interview with John Ellington, Director, Finance and Grants Administration, The Home Depot Foundation EDITORS’ NOTE John Ellington is responsible for establishing and managing the collaborative strategies to implement The Home Depot Foundation’s focus of working to improve the homes and lives of U.S. Team Depot, The Home Depot’s associate volunteer force, donates time and labor to service projects across the country military veterans and their families.

Ellington joined The Home Depot in corporate foundations. Historically, How important is it to have metrics to 2005 in the Assurance and Advisory we’ve had a specific mission as phi- track the impact of the Foundation’s efforts?

Management Program, a two-year lanthropists to support veteran housMetrics are important. When it comes to program designed to develop the ing needs. We began with a focus on philanthropy, there are specific outcomes that future leaders of the company. impacting veteran homelessness and you establish with your nonprofit partners, John Ellington Since that time, he has held roles expanded to providing adaptive smart whether it’s how many critical home repairs we of increasing responsibility across homes for combat-wounded soldiers are attempting to accomplish, what the home the company’s corporate finance landscape in and critical home repairs for low-income and repairs look like, who we are impacting, or the functional areas of financial planning and senior veterans. Our men and women return- what the demographics are of the people we analysis, store operations, merchandising ser- ing home with catastrophic injuries need homes are impacting. Each of these helps steer the outvices and online merchandising. Prior to join- that can support their new lives, so we began comes for the nonprofit organizations. ing The Home Depot, Ellington spent four years investing in nonprofits that could answer that What differentiates us a bit from corporate at Ernst & Young in a variety of roles in its need as well as partners to help veterans who foundations and maybe makes us a bit more Atlanta office. A native of the Acadiana region are struggling financially or on a fixed income like a private foundation is our level of engageof southern Louisiana, Ellington graduated maintain their home in an affordable way. ment and our expectations of the nonprofit partmagna cum laude with a B.S. in accounting and We have also recently invested in helping ners we support. There are many whom, when minor in economics from Oglethorpe University to reinvigorate the skilled trades. We are start- disaster hits, write a check to Organization X in Atlanta. He proudly serves the Foundation in ing this effort with veterans who are separating and consider that to constitute their philanhonor of his late father, a veteran of the Vietnam from the military and coming back into civilian thropy. That’s not what we do. Our approach is War. life and training them in the trade skills neces- to be great business partners with our nonprofit sary to have a new career in this desperately organizations by understanding their missions FOUNDATION BRIEF The Home Depot Foundation needed space. We also started working with and how they can impact the social issues that (corporate.homedepot.com/foundation), a regis- high schools to reintroduce skilled trades back we are interested in impacting, then help them tered 501(c)(3) public charity, works to improve into the curriculum and further develop the do just that with whatever resources we can housing issues facing U.S. veterans, train skilled pipeline for the construction trades. provide. tradespeople to fill the labor gap, and support How closely is the work of the How critical has it been to the communities impacted by natural disasters. Foundation integrated into Home Depot? Foundation’s success to have such a deep Since 2011, the Foundation has invested more It is very closely integrated. We look at engagement and commitment from Home than $335 million in veteran causes and our philanthropy through multiple lenses. One Depot’s senior leadership team for these improved more than 47,000 veteran homes and is clearly investing in nonprofit organizations efforts? facilities. through the Foundation, however we are also It’s the single most important element of helping to mobilize our volunteers across the what we do and there’s not even a close second.

Will you provide an overview of The Home country.

C-Suite engagement is what drives this whole Depot Foundation and its main areas of Issues around veteran housing and afford- thing. It’s what makes it all work, because deep focus? able housing are close to our business. More down, everyone wants to be out volunteering, The Home Depot Foundation was formally than 10 percent of our associates are veterans and giving back makes them feel much more incorporated in 2002, but throughout the history so that message really resonates. fulfilled, but allowing this to happen needs to of the company our key advantage has been the We also focus on disaster relief. We’ve be embedded in the culture. It can’t just be lip corporate values that our founders instilled in always been there to help respond to disasters service. the company more than 40 years ago. We have in our communities through volunteerism as When you see your leaders doing those same been doing philanthropic work as an organiza- well as through investing real dollars through activities and volunteering right alongside you, it tion since the inception of the business. Over our Foundation in nonprofits that make an communicates this is important and we need to the past six or seven years, we’ve dramatically impact in the disaster recovery space. This also show up for it. We have had generations of leadincreased the size of the Foundation and the clearly resonates with our people. ers in this business who valued volunteerism. impact it has on our communities.

Our volunteer force is called Team Depot When the C-Suite buys into what philanWhen you look at what we’re doing and it is really engaged across the business in thropy looks like from a giving standpoint, it on a national basis, it is different from many multiple aspects. is empowering.

•

74 LEADERS

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

120 HUNTINGTON AVE, BOSTON, MA // 617 424 7000

Purpose Doing Well by Doing Good An Interview with Simon Paris, Chief Executive Officer, Finastra EDITORS’ NOTE Simon Paris is responsible for Finastra’s strategic direction and growth. His leadership steers the company as it realizes its open platfor m vision, encouraging industry-wide collaboration to spark innovation and transform the next generation of financial services. Paris chairs the World Trade Board and is passionate about how technology and open trade can drive financial incluSimon Paris sion and improve people’s lives. A Fintech thought leader, he speaks regularly at large-scale events including the Europe annual World Trade Symposium, Paris FinTech Forum and The Milken Asia Summit. He is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion and has also been named in Bank Innovation’s Innovators to Watch list for 2018. Paris joined Finastra (formerly Misys) as President in 2015, was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer in 2017 and became Chief Executive Officer in June 2018. He brings more than 20 years of sales, management and global leadership expertise to the company, having previously held the role of President, Industry Cloud, at SAP. Prior to that, he was a senior consultant with McKinsey & Company. Paris holds an M.B.A. from the INSEAD Business School in France and a bachelor’s degree in business and European languages from the European Business School.

When you think about your journey and your career, you never wake up in the morning saying, “I want to be a leader.” You wake up in the morning saying, “I want to be part of something that matters.” That is what excited me about Finastra. I’m a great believer that financial services is able to do well by doing good.

When I left SAP, which had already done a lot to help society in terms of managing the world’s business information better, I wanted, for personal reasons, to remain in and the company that I joined was the

We spent a lot of time and invested heavily

COMPANY BRIEF Formed in 2017 by the combination of Misys and D+H, Finastra (finastra.com) is building an open platform that accelerates collaboration and innovation in financial services, creating better experiences for people, businesses and communities. Supported 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 and the broadest set of financial software solutions available on the market, Finastra has $1.9 billion in revenues, 10,000+ employees and more than 8,500 customers.

What excited you about the opportunity to join Finastra and made you feel it was the right fit?

76 LEADERS

in defining the culture, values and behaviors that we wanted to see in our company.

largest industry vertical software company in the region. It is now one of the largest pureplay financial services software providers in the world. I believe all of us are intrinsically driven by purpose, and this was an opportunity to move into a leadership role as president that would allow us to do well by doing good.

Since that moment, my career has evolved, and I moved from the president role to deputy CEO, and then to CEO about one-and-a-half years ago.

With the formation of Finastra coming out of the integration of two other organizations, how important has it been to focus on culture and how do you define the Finastra culture?

I would answer that in two ways. One is to your direct question which is on culture, and the other is to what are those companies that you’re combining trying to be, and what are they not going to do? Part of what we had to do bringing these companies together was to decide what we were not going to be doing, and that led us to divest some of the businesses that just didn’t fit in with what we were trying to be. Regarding culture, Peter Drucker said that culture eats strategy for breakfast, and we believe him to be right. We saw that the two firms, Misys and D+H, had a very similar set of cultural values. In fact, when you put a thousand people in a room which we did at our global sales kick off last year, you couldn’t actually tell who was from D+H and who was from Misys, and that was very encouraging for us.

We spent a lot of time and invested heavily in defining the culture, values and behaviors that we wanted to see in our company.

When we got to the topic of values, we said that there are values we expect employees to bring with them. They’re not values inculcated by us, they’re values that came to you from your parents, or your society, your church, or your experience, such as integrity. Integrity is not a value we teach you, we expect you to have it when you come to us. We expect you to be customercentric. We expect you to ignite innovation. We expect you to foster collaboration. There is a certain set of values which we universally and uniformly agreed were going to be part of the company going forward.

But there are other aspects of culture beyond values, and this relates to behaviors. We talk about behaviors in terms of being VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

I believe all of us are intrinsically driven by purpose, and this was an opportunity to move into a leadership role as president that would allow us to do well by doing good.

transparent and non-hierarchical, flat and easily approachable, and open. In fact, open became the single biggest word that we would use. We use it for open banking, open ecosystems, open APIs, open frameworks, open minds, open culture.

Once we clarified the behaviors, we asked what we needed to do. We changed our dress code, we changed our real estate, we moved to open plan offices, we reignited the brand into something which matches that notion of open and modern, accessible and approachable. These things together give us a unified culture, so you can go to Finastra anywhere in the world and it looks and feels the same.

I think on this cultural journey we’ve done a relatively good job.

How challenging is differentiation in the industry and how do you define the Finastra advantage?

That’s a great question. We primarily focus on mission-critical back-office applications. Any time you talk about back-office process, it’s almost by definition that there is no differentiation. It’s a commoditized business process. We do that at a global scale, so we manage 67 percent of the world’s syndicated loans, 8 percent of the world’s foreign exchange, and 6 percent of the world’s trade finance. Our message regarding differentiation is that no matter how large you are, you have the economy of scale of one. We do this for 8,500 institutions around the world, so it’s not about differentiation, it’s about industrialization. It’s about the scale of being able to take a non-differentiated business process and run that at enterprise grade quality at industrial scale.

We compete in a different way. We compete, and win, because we do these core, mission-critical, non-differentiated, back-office processes very well, but we also invite innovation on top of those applications through our FusionFabric.cloud platform.

You mentioned innovation. How critical is innovation to Finastra’s future success and where is the innovation taking place?

It is mission critical. Innovation is the lifeblood of a technology company, so a culture that embraces innovation and encourages fast failure is vital. At Finastra, failure is something to be celebrated. We even have what we call ‘Failure Fridays’ where we encourage people to be open about where things haven’t worked.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Somebody will say, “Hey, this is what I did, and I failed, and this is how I failed, and this is how you can avoid replicating that.” We celebrate failures and we celebrate successes, and you need to be very comfortable with that. It’s a fast-moving culture.

Innovation is everywhere, it’s not just in technology. It’s in business process, it’s in client engagement, it’s in routes to market, it’s in partnership models. We have very broad views about how we think about innovation. It is the most critical element to the longevity of a technology company.

Will you discuss Finastra’s focus on building a diverse and inclusive workforce?

I think that the discussion around purpose, why you exist, and why the world could be better because you exist, is not just at the forefront, it’s at the heart and center of what matters most to a successful company.

When we think about the workforce and workforce planning, this is the first time in human history that we have four generations in play. The expectations of somebody who’s not even a millennial – they were born this century, not last century, the 18-year-olds who are now in the workforce - are really different from somebody in their late 60s, three to four generations apart. Four generations in the workforce is its own phenomenon.

In regard to diversity, every time that we say the word we also use the word “inclusion.” We have done very well in areas of diversity including ethnic diversity, geography diversity, age diversity, and we’re doing pretty well in gender diversity. We need to do much better in special needs diversity. The reason why we use the term inclusion so heavily is because we need to make sure that we are providing a safe environment for all. We need to make sure that the introverts are being consulted and the extroverts are being tempered.

We do a lot of work on unconscious bias and understanding different personality types.

Diversity and inclusion is a very big focus for us.

How important is it for leading companies today to be purpose-driven?

I can’t emphasize the importance enough.

I think that the discussion around purpose, why you exist, and why the world could be better because you exist, is not just at the forefront, it’s at the heart and center of what matters most to a successful company. It is about multiple stakeholders aligning around that purpose. In the old days, we used to talk about the triple balance sheet – profit, people and planet. The business world then migrated into corporate social responsibility and this notion of doing something and paying it forward. Next was a focus on the environment, society and governance (ESG). All of these have been facets of corporate purpose.

Finastra places purpose at the forefront of our business. We believe that we can bring hundreds of millions of people into financial services. We can play our part in showing the provenance of goods or services. We can take a role in helping businesses in avoiding fraud and sanctions busting, in improving global liquidity, in removing unnecessary cash in society and digitizing money. All of these things are about doing well by doing good.

•

LEADERS 77

Purpose The Guest Experience An Interview with Keith M. Douglas, Managing Director – Global Attractions, Legends

Keith Douglas in front of One World Trade Center

EDITORS’ NOTE Keith Douglas became the Managing Director of One World Observatory in 2017. Before joining One World Observatory, Douglas was the President and Managing Director at KD&CO after having served for 10 years as the Managing Director of Rockefeller Center and Top of the Rock Observation Deck for Tishman Speyer. He also spent over a decade as a senior executive responsible for overseeing sales, marketing and general managerial roles for several leading hotel franchises including W Hotels, Omni Hotels and Doubletree. Douglas is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University, where he received his B.S. in hospitality management.

under those pillars that include capital and fundraising and global sales, naming rights, sponsorship, tourism and special event sales, as well as premium ticket sales.

On the hospitality side, we focus on marketing and content, operations, and food and beverage for attractions. We also have technology solutions and merchandising opportunities all under the hospitality umbrella.

On the global planning side, it is about the analytics in the market. We have an entire division that is dedicated to doing market research and analysis for projects as they’re being ideated. We do project development, project management, data analytics and also sponsorship valuation. Those comprise the holistic approach of that 360-degree advantage for Legends.

When it comes to our history, the Legends brand was created many years ago when the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys were thinking about and creating their new stadiums. Those teams knew that they wanted to do hospitality in a very different way based on the demographics of their fans. They talked to all the big players and the interesting thing is that they clearly wanted to offer something extraordinarily different. The Yankees and the Cowboys

believed that they should hire, and they did, some of the best and brightest in the hospitality industry and the food and beverage world.

Those individuals worked with the architects and the designers in the design of the stadiums with the idea that those hospitality solutions would be delivered in a very different way.

That was the background behind Legends’ creation. We’ve grown into a 360-degree platform based on the successes at the Yankees and Cowboys stadiums.

Is brand awareness a focus for Legends or is it more about the branding of the venues?

While Legends provides solutions for its clients, it is really about the partner as opposed to Legends. We consider ourselves a white label brand. One World Observatory is a great example because we are in the World Trade Center and One World Observatory is run by Legends.

However, people come here because it is One World Observatory. It is the same situation with the New York Yankees; while we run the hospitality concessions, people are clearly more interested in the Yankees brand even though Legends is producing a quality F&B product for them. The same concept applies at The Star in Dallas, or State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

ORGANIZATION BRIEFS One World Observatory (oneworldobservatory.com), located at the top of One World Trade Center, is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and offers unparalleled panoramic views of New York and three floors of immersive, interactive experiences.

Legends (legends.net) considers its intellectual property to be its people and their expertise. Collectively, its leadership team has over 300 years of experience in sales and sponsorship, analytics and valuation, hospitality and operations. Legends’ divisions include Global Planning, Global Sales, Hospitality, Global Attractions, Global Merchandise, Legends International, and Technology and Innovation.

Will you highlight the history of Legends and how Legends has evolved?

At Legends, we consider ourselves a holistic agency. We provide solutions to our clients and our partners in the areas of global planning, global sales and hospitality. Legends’ advantage is providing 360-degree solutions that focus in those three areas, but it covers a broad range 78 LEADERS

ONE Dine restaurant at One World Observatory VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

The observation deck at One World Observatory

At any of the locations where we’re operating, the location and the iconography of the stadium or the building is really the focus, and the role of Legends is to support the delivery of a great guest experience.

Will you provide an overview of One World Observatory and what have been the keys to its continued growth?

One World Observatory is one of the largest observation decks in the world with 125,000 square feet over five different levels, including the entry location on the ground level. The combination of having not only the observatory, but also a truly robust restaurant, illy Caffè, and a special event program, is very important in bringing visitors here. The delivery of a great guest experience is the other thing that is a point of differentiation for us. We welcome visitors from around the world and 50 percent of our visitors are international. We have a clear focus on making those guests feel welcome and comfortable, regardless of where they’re visiting from around the world. This is one of the reasons our guest numbers continue to grow.

H o w d o y o u d e f i n e O n e Wo r l d Observatory’s purpose?

The Observatory offers a way for One World Trade Center to be accessible to the general public in a way that most commercial buildings are not. It also has the luxury of being on the top three floors of the building itself and VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

offers an amazing 360-degree experience. One World Observatory allows the general public and visitors to New York to experience the World Trade Center and the downtown area in a way that otherwise wouldn’t be available which is important since the World Trade Center has an emotional connectivity to people around the world for a variety of different reasons.

How critical has it been to continue to innovate and create new programming in order to keep One World Observatory current and relevant?

We are constantly innovating and thinking about the next thing. Guests are interested and focused on the experiential components. We look at all the touch points for the consumer when they’re with us, from the arrival on the entry level through to the Global Welcome Center. We look at the content in all the communications, whether it’s related to the history of downtown New York, telling the story of the World Trade Center Campus and the evolution of what’s happening here downtown or how the World Trade Center is interwoven into the fabric of downtown.

We also talk about the architecture and the significance of the construction of the building.

We’re always trying to provide the next level for the guests to enjoy and also to ensure the consumers take a little something away. Our visitors want to know about the history of the neighborhood, they want to know about the campus, where the

building is located, and they really want to know about some of the specifics, whether it be the architecture or the design of the building itself.

We try to satisfy all of those points in the visitor experience here as we continue to evolve.

Running an observatory is a very visual experience and I truly think it’s about all the senses, so we have created a very subtle, signature scent for One World Observatory that the guests will experience. When a guest visits the Observatory, it is about the sight, about the sound with this wonderful background chatter of people talking in different languages while you’re here, and about the food which provides the taste component.

How important is it for you to make sure that you are spending time at the Observatory interacting with guests?

My number one priority, regardless of what’s happening, is always the associates and our team at One World Observatory, because they truly are the face of our operation here. That connectivity with our associates is so important. The second priority for me is with our partners, our customers and the guests that are coming through. When you have 14,000 visitors to welcome on a busy day, you can’t personally welcome each and every one of them, but I do make an effort to be in the operation at least once a day for a walkthrough to say hello and see how things are going for both our guests and our associates.

•

LEADERS 79

Purpose Gun Violence Prevention An Interview with Michael J. Dowling, President and Chief Executive Officer, Northwell Health EDITORS’ NOTE Prior to assuming Board of the Smurfit School of Business his current post in 2002, Michael at University College, Dublin, Ireland.

Dowling was the health system’s He also serves as a board member of Executive Vice President and Chief the Long Island Association. He is past Operating Officer. Before joining chair and a current board member Northwell Health in 1995, he was of the National Center for Healthcare a Senior Vice President at Empire Leadership (NCHL), the Greater New Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Dowling York Hospital Association (GNYHA), also served in New York State govthe Healthcare Association of New ernment for 12 years, including York State (HANYS) and the League seven years as State Director of of Voluntary Hospitals of New York.

Health, Education, and Human Dowling was an instructor at the Michael J. Dowling Services and Deputy Secretary to Center for Continuing Professional the governor and the final two Education at the Harvard School years as Commissioner of the New York State of Public Health. He earned his undergraduDepartment of Social Services. Earlier, Dowling ate degree from University College Cork (UCC), was a Professor of Social Policy and Assistant Ireland, and his master’s degree from Fordham Dean at the Fordham University Graduate University. He also has honorary doctorates from School of Social Services and Director of the Queen’s University Belfast, University College Fordham campus in Westchester County. He has Dublin, Hofstra University, Dowling College and been honored with many awards and recogni- Fordham University. tions over the years, including being selected as the 2017 Grand Marshal of the New York City I N S T I T U T I O N B R I E F N o r t h w e l l H e a l t h St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the 2012 B’nai B’rith (northwell.edu) delivers world-class clinical care National Healthcare Award, the Ellis Island throughout the New York metropolitan area, Medal of Honor, the 2011 Gail L. Warden pioneering research at the Feinstein Institutes for Leadership Excellence Award from the National Medical Research, and a visionary approach to Center for Healthcare Leadership, the 2011 CEO medical education, highlighted by the Zucker Information Technology Award from Modern School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and Healthcare magazine and the Healthcare Hofstra Northwell School of Graduate Nursing Information and Management Systems Society, and Physician Assistant Studies. Northwell the National Human Relations Award from the Health is the largest integrated healthcare sysAmerican Jewish Committee, the Distinguished tem in New York State with a total workforce of Public Service Award from the State University more than 72,000 employees – the state’s largof New York’s Nelson A. Rockefeller College of est private employer. With 23 hospitals, nearly Public Affairs and Policy, an Outstanding 800 outpatient facilities, including 220 primary Public Service Award from the Mental Health care practices, 52 urgent care centers, home Association of New York State, an Outstanding care, rehabilitation and end-of-life care services, Public Service Award from the Mental Health Northwell is one of the nation’s largest health Association of Nassau County, the Alfred E. Smith systems with $13.5 billion in annual revenue.

Award from the American Society for Public Administration, and the Gold Medal from the Northwell Health is a purpose-driven American Irish Historical Society. For 12 con- institution focused on more than just the secutive years, Modern Healthcare has ranked bottom line. What makes this so imporDowling on its annual list of the “100 Most tant and do you see being purpose-driven Powerful People in Healthcare.” He was also as a responsibility for leading institutions ranked #44 among large company CEOs in the today?

US and was the nation’s top-ranking healthcare/ I absolutely do. Healthcare organizations hospital CEO on Glassdoor’s “Top CEOs in 2019” are typically the largest players in the comlist. Dowling is past Chair of the Healthcare munity, so they have a responsibility and an Institute and the current chair of the Institute obligation to serve as an asset and resource for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). He is a mem- for local residents. Healthcare providers need ber of the Institute of Medicine of the National to use their leverage and position to support Academies of Sciences and the North American the greater good.

80 LEADERS

This involves many different things, and it’s especially important when you’re a not-forprofit institution, although I do argue that it is equally the function of pure for-profit proprietary organizations. The question is, are there areas you can influence? How can you drive change?

When you look at the broader community, you can do things yourself, or you can be the catalyst by which others do them. You can be the influencer and the inspiration to get others to do things they might not otherwise want to do or may not have the inspiration to do. I think that’s the function of a large organization.

You’re not sitting there in isolation from the community; you’re part of it. That’s how I look at it from everywhere in our organization. Since we’re a bigger player in New York and we’re a big influencer nationally, we have an opportunity and an obligation to use that influence.

Do the areas Northwell Health supports need to be health-related?

The reality is that almost everything you look at is related to health, including providing jobs. Having someone in a family with a good job promotes health. Having adequate housing promotes health. Clean water supports health.

Education supports health and on and on. It’s hard to think about what is not connected to health.

A lot of healthcare providers today are basically places that provide care to people when they’re sick. That’s a core function, of course, and we have to be very good at it. That’s what we essentially get paid for, but it’s only a small component of overall health. The challenge is to decide what other areas relevant to health that you want to focus on. We are involved in many different areas.

We focus more on some that I think are of greater importance than others. You can’t take on everything, because then you end up accomplishing very little. You have to prioritize. As an organization, we take on some initiatives in a big way and others in a smaller way.

I never just walk away from anything that comes our way. I try to get involved in as much as I possibly can without overstretching the organization so that our core business gets deflated or hurt by it.

You have placed a major focus on gun violence prevention. Will you discuss why you feel that this is an issue where Northwell Health should be so engaged?

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

We have hundreds of thousands of people injured every month all over the country as a result of interaction with guns. I can’t understand why so few healthcare organizations are standing up and saying that gun violence is a health issue. To me, it’s certainly a public health issue.

To put this in context, we get very concerned about infectious diseases like the coronavirus. Rightfully so, and the entire healthcare community took immediate action to make sure that we’re prepared to deal with it.

The recent vaping issue is another example of a public health crisis that healthcare organizations and government agencies all over the country have tried to address.

I agree with the steps that were taken on all of those issues, but context is important. If 500 people become ill or die from an infectious disease or other public health issue, everybody says, “Oh my God, we’ve got a crisis.” If you look at the mass shootings over the past couple of years, hundreds of people have been injured and killed, many of them children.

If you then look at gun violence in general, nearly 40,000 people are killed by firearms every year, more than half of them suicides, and many of them tied to domestic violence. We have hundreds of thousands of people injured every month all over the country as a result of interaction with guns.

I can’t understand why so few healthcare organizations are standing up and saying that gun violence is a health issue. To me, it’s certainly a public health issue. When people get shot or injured, they show up in our emergency rooms and in our trauma centers and, yet, there has been nearly complete silence from healthcare organizations, with a few exceptions.

I decided that this is a major issue to which we should raise our voices. I took an ad in the national edition of The New York Times. It was basically a call to action saying that it’s time for healthcare leaders to stand up and declare gun violence to be a public health issue. Part of my argument was that if you look upon it as a public health issue, you may get more traction in trying to prevent it without dealing with the issue of the Second Amendment.

Some people are afraid to get involved because of concerns that gun violence prevention infringes on Second Amendment rights, so I have made it very clear that I support the Second Amendment. I argue that we should be advocating for more gun safety and universal background checks, but focus on it from a health perspective.

We held a conference in the city where we invited about 100 healthcare organizations and medical societies to participate. We talked about all aspects of the gun violence issue from a health VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

point of view. It was a call out to other organizations to stand up and talk about this, and not to be afraid of the Second Amendment issues. After all, eighty percent of gun owners in the country believe that there should be a focus on gun safety.

Does it also need to be looked at as a workplace safety issue?

It’s definitely a workplace safety issue. We spend a lot of time working with law enforcement on this issue.

We also spend a lot of time with the schools on gun violence education and active-shooter training. We do a lot of education around how to get people to understand that if you do have a gun, you have an obligation to promote safety and protect your families. This is gaining an amazing amount of traction.

We have gotten overwhelming support from our employees who have sent me countless e-mails basically saying, “Thank you. I’m glad somebody’s talking about this.” As I said before, this cuts across all people regardless of whether you’re a gun owner and whether you believe in the Second Amendment.

We can’t let a narrowly focused constituency like the NRA define our agenda on gun violence. It’s a disaster and it’s a massive crisis.

If healthcare organizations shouldn’t be talking about this, then who should?

How important is it to focus on mental health?

Is there a mental health component to this? Yes, but we have to be very careful not to jump to conclusions as some people have, that gun violence can be attributed solely to mental illness. Only about five or six percent of people who have committed mass shootings have been diagnosed with a mental illness. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have personality problems or anger issues, but there’s a big difference between being angry about something and being mentally ill. We certainly need to put more resources into mental health and provide better access to services, but we can’t make the mistake of believing that all gun violence stems from mental illness. That is not the case at all.

Is there a greater opportunity to drive real change around gun violence prevention if it is the healthcare organizations that are leading the discussion since they are on the front lines in dealing with the consequences of gun violence?

I think that there is, and the evidence has been proving this since we got involved. We

have overwhelming support from people who say that the fact that we are talking about this as a public health issue is getting more people interested and engaged. It broadens the agenda.

It broadens the constituency that might want to get involved since it stays away from political controversies around the Second Amendment.

People are dying and getting injured, kids are being murdered. There can be no denial that this is a public health issue.

Another issue is a dearth of research. For 24 years, there was a prohibition against using federal money for gun violence-related research as a result of a Congressional amendment called the Dickey Amendment. I put a challenge out that said I would pledge $1 million to help mobilize healthcare providers to combat this public health crisis. I also challenged other large health systems in the New York area and beyond to match our investment toward gun violence research, education and awareness efforts. It takes a little bit of time for these things to happen since these are not short-term projects. Thankfully, it seems as if change is coming. A congressional spending bill approved in December with bipartisan support features a $25 million allotment for gun violence-related research, to be split between the CDC (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the National Institutes of Health. While the money is far from sufficient given the magnitude of the crisis, ending the 24-year drought of federal funding is a welcome first step in the right direction. It proves that reasoned debate can lead to a real change of heart, and that some issues may yet transcend the purview of petty politics.

How important is it to develop a strong public/private partnership in addressing this issue?

It’s very important. The government is quite open, especially in New York. New York has been at the forefront of some of the activities around this. Of course, government support varies depending on what part of the country you’re in. Government is an important component here, but it also requires schools, teachers, nurses, local police, other general influencers and the general public.

What can be done to build a greater awareness around this effort?

After I put the ad in The New York Times, CNN called and asked to interview me in studio about this issue. My message was that this is not LEADERS 81

A congressional spending bill approved in December with bipartisan support features a $25 million allotment for gun violence-related research, to be split between the CDC (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the National Institutes of Health.

overly complicated. If we can figure out how to go to the moon, we can figure out how to have safe gun ownership. Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart and other companies have stood up and changed the firearms and ammunition they sell and how they sell them.

We need to continue to advocate for commonsense gun legislation. We shouldn’t expect that we’re going to make a dramatic improvement in a few months or even in a year. After all, we started the debate on mandating car seatbelts and then airbags for more than a decade before it became law. Today, you wouldn’t buy a car without them.

We went through a similar process with smoking. It took decades to get people to realize that smoking was a detriment to their health, but we have made a lot of progress.

Strengthening gun safety will also be a long journey that will take time.

What are your priorities to move this cause forward?

It requires a combination of things. We need increased communication about gun violence as a health problem. Furthermore, we need to educate people to be prepared for dealing with active-shooter situations should they occur, and how to best work with law enforcement. Preparing schools and teachers should be a top priority. Prevention and screening need to be elevated, especially universal background checks. We need to learn more about anticipating risks and the signs that somebody might be a risk to themselves or others. When people retrospectively look at some of the big mass shootings, they often see obvious signs that nobody noticed.

There is also a high need for political advocacy and for research. It’s a combination of all of these things, and we have a new Center for Gun Violence Prevention within Northwell that will help shape the role that we and other health systems can play in advancing safety, education, prevention and research focusing on these areas. Within the communities we serve, we have people driving progress on this issue, including our corporate security officers who routinely conduct educational programs that have been unbelievably well-attended.

How will you measure the success of this effort?

You can start by looking at the extent to which the schools use the types of educational programs that we provide and the resulting 82 LEADERS

receptivity. We are inundated with people wanting our team to provide these education programs.

The extent to which people are talking about this as a health issue is another metric that is moving in the right direction. I’ve been contacted by people all over the country representing small, medium and large organizations that have been out there working on this issue in a kind of quasi-silence. Now that they see

We have a new Center for Gun Violence Prevention within Northwell that will help shape the role that we and other health systems can play in advancing safety, education, prevention and research focusing on these areas.

that it is becoming more public, they’re opening up and want us to create a national group that can help build collaboration. A network is now being created for all of these disparate groups that have been working in isolation. That is also a metric of progress.

How special is it for you to lead an organization that has a culture based on making a difference?

That is the kind of organization that we are. When we bring people in, we want to bring those kinds of people who are able to have a broader perspective. It’s heartwarming and a pleasure to be in an organization that looks upon the world with a broad lens. I always tell staff that we have to look at everything that goes on, but we can look at it from the seats, or we can look at it from the balcony. If you stand up and look at the world from the balcony, you’ll see a lot of different things that you don’t see if you’re too close up. It’s like looking at a photograph. If you stick it close to your eyes, you only see what’s right in front of you. Stand back and you can get a much better perspective on what’s going on.

We’re an organization that tries to stand back, takes a look at what’s going on in the community, and sees that all of it is in one way or another related to health. We are then able to evaluate where we can have an impact or positive influence, and what kind of a catalyst we can be in making the different pieces move.

To me, that is what innovation and creativity is all about. It’s a type of entrepreneurship relating to how we take care of patients in the hospital and ambulatory sites every day.

What is your call to action for other leaders in healthcare to become engaged in this effort?

If they are concerned about the health and wellness of their communities, they have to acknowledge that gun violence is having a major detrimental effect. They need to stand up, speak out and play a role in being advocates for change in the broader community. In the end, they will help prevent senseless bloodshed in their communities and their organizations will see fewer gun-related victims. They will become greater assets for their communities by doing the right thing. Working collaboratively, the 18 million men and women who are part of the nation’s healthcare workforce can be an incredibly powerful voice that can make a difference on seemingly intractable issues.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Purpose A Community-Based Model An Interview with Thomas McGinn, M.D., Deputy Physician-in-Chief and Senior Vice President, Ambulatory Services, Northwell Health E D I TO R S ’ N OT E D r. T h o m a s organization that’s really coordinated McGinn oversees all physician and integrated in neighborhoods with network operations for Northwell small community hospitals, mediumHealth’s growing medical group, sized hospitals and a vast network Northwell Health Physician of ambulatory centers. It’s a much Partners. He works closely with and broader community-based model. coordinates Northwell’s clinical serWill you provide an overview vice lines, Premium IPA, Clinical of your main areas of focus?

Joint Ventures, Large Physician I’m a general internist and a priGroup Medical Operations and mary care doctor by training and my Ambulatory Facility Response. area of interest has always been intePreviously, he was senior vice presgrated, high-quality, evidenced-based Thomas McGinn ident and executive director of care for every community that I serve. medicine for the health system, Most of my early work was with responsible for managing the activities of the underserved communities in the Bronx. I was Department of Medicine. Dr. McGinn, who also also in Harlem for 10 years when I was at serves as chair of medicine at Zucker School of Mount Sinai, looking at ways to increase Medicine, joined Northwell after serving as chief access to high-quality primary and evidenceof the Division of General Internal Medicine at based care.

Mount Sinai Medical Center. In addition, he Today, I overlook a vast network of 4,000 served as vice president of alliance development physicians and all of the clinical service lines. I at Mount Sinai, helping to develop relationships am focused on how we create seamless integraand partnerships with other institutions and tion across this complex health system. Many large medical practices throughout the metro- patients need to move from their primary care politan area. Dr. McGinn is a diplomate of the physician to sub-specialists and should feel American Board of Internal Medicine and a fel- that this is all coordinated and connected. If low of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. they have a minor health problem, they may He has published extensively in the areas of evi- be fine getting treated at an urgent care facility, dence-based medicine (EBM), medical educa- but if they have a serious illness or injury, they tion and clinical research. Dr. McGinn earned may need care in a hospital. Regardless of where his medical degree from SUNY Downstate they are treated, all these pieces need to be conCollege of Medicine in Brooklyn and completed nected. We want patients to feel that they have his residency in internal medicine at the Albert a unified team watching over them and that Einstein College of Medicine/Bronx Municipal they’re getting the best evidence-based care.

Hospital Center. He also received a Master of There are networks of integrated health Public Health degree from Columbia University. systems now across the entire United States. All of these systems are a patchwork of hospitals How do you define the Northwell Health and other entities that have joined together over difference? the past decade or so with different cultures There are many pieces that go into it. While and different ways of doing things. our health system has been in existence since At Northwell, we are creating very high the early 1990s, we’re relatively new compared standards in clinical care and integration and we to some of the more established hospitals and are moving all of these components so that they health systems in Manhattan, and this makes work seamlessly together. My focus is on taking us more innovative and focused. We’ve always all of these pieces and making them function had the vision of being an integrated network together. from A to Z and we don’t have this long history Northwell Health is a purpose-driven of a big academic center to distract us from that organization. Its CEO, Michael Dowling, focus. has taken a lead in focusing on gun vioOur focus is on being an integrated health lence prevention and has asked other system that delivers high-quality, well-integrated healthcare leaders and health systems to care at all our facilities. It’s a different philoso- get engaged and help address this critiphy. We have a more creative, innovative way of cal issue. What has made this issue a focus thinking about healthcare. Northwell is a flatter for Northwell Health?

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Michael and I are very close and we are very passionate about this. I worked in Chicago for three years before medical school and did a lot of work in gang violence and was devastated to see it up close and personal.

This initiative is such a great example of how Michael leads. He leads through inspiration and when he takes on challenges, he sets down a target and then pulls us all toward that target. He put down this target on reducing gun violence and I was so happy to see him do it. It speaks to who we are, how we think and what we’re doing.

When Michael asked me to champion this effort, we recognized that the nation’s health system is now a group of systems with large platforms touching thousands of communities. We want to create the playbook for reducing gun violence by addressing it as a public health epidemic, not as a way to take guns away from people. When we create that playbook, we can then share it with others as a guide for dealing with issues such as preparedness for active shooters and how to work with schools in our communities so we can talk to kids about gun safety as well as parents about the importance of locking up their guns. It will also provide guidance for empowering our mental health providers across tremendously large, diverse communities to tap into issues around depression, suicide and gun availability.

We have a huge platform. If we can figure out how to do this in a smart way that’s not politically explosive, share those best practices with other big health systems across the United States, and reduce gun violence by just 2 percent, that’s a huge number of people you’re touching.

Have you been happy with the engagement from Northwell Health’s workforce in this effort?

We are the biggest private employer in New York State and the positive response from our workforce has been heartwarming.

Everyone is asking how they can help, from our security officers who carry weapons, to our nurses and trauma surgeons who see the victims in the ER, to our psychiatrists who are helping some of the victims of violence and the anxiety that surrounds the aftermath of those shootings. Northwell Health is truly making a difference.

•

LEADERS 83

Purpose A Public Health Crisis An Interview with Chethan Sathya, M.D. M.Sc., Pediatric Thoracic and General Surgeon, Associate Trauma Director, Cohen Children’s Medical Center, and Director, Center for Gun Violence Prevention, Northwell Health EDITORS’ NOTE Dr. Chethan entity within Northwell Health. The Sathya has served in his current role program was the first level-one pediatsince October 2019. Additionally, he ric trauma center in New York City and has worked as a freelance medical Long Island, and as a result, it is the journalist for more than six years. largest and busiest pediatric trauma He received his B.Sc from McGill center within the state. I think that University in Montreal, Canada, alone is a testament to the resources and went on to complete his that Northwell has put into this proMedical Doctorate (M.D.) and a gram, and the same can be said for residency in General Surgery at the the adult trauma programs across the University of Toronto. He completed health system as well. fellowship training in Pediatric Northwell has made injury care Chethan Sathya Surgery at Northwestern Medicine’s for both adults and children a priorAnn and Robert H. Lurie Children’s ity as evidenced by the numerous Hospital of Chicago. He also holds a Master’s centers of excellence related to trauma and in Clinical Epidemiology from the University injury prevention that they have invested in, of Toronto, in addition to completing a fellow- many of which combat issues beyond just ship in Journalism at the Munk School of Global injuries such as substance abuse, human Affairs. trafficking, suicide, and sexual abuse. There’s also the Northwell Trauma Institute which Will you provide an overview of your helps coordinate and build trauma programs role and main areas of focus at Northwell across the entire health system. It’s the centerHealth? piece that brings much of our trauma efforts My specialty is pediatric surgery, hence I together. focus on treating infants, children, and adolesHow important is it for you to be a part cents with life-threatening medical conditions of an organization that takes on big issues and injuries. A big part of the work that I do is like gun violence prevention? in my role as associate trauma director at the I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that Children’s Hospital here. Sadly, many of the Northwell Health has taken this on under traumatic injuries we treat are from firearms, Michael Dowling’s visionary leadership. This which is one of the reasons that Northwell is the first time that a prominent healthcare Health’s focus on gun violence prevention is an industry leader has really taken a stance on issue so dear to my heart. this issue and it’s already starting to make I did my trauma surgery training in Chicago waves. There are many physicians and mediand I think that was a real wake-up call for me. cal professionals who have taken a stance I was astonished at how many children were on this issue, but it can be very difficult to being killed or disabled from gunshots. Pulling mobilize a health system or hospitals from the bullets out of babies did not feel normal to me bottom up. By having a health system leader on any level and something had to change. who is taking on this tremendously imporThat experience has been a quintessen- tant issue, it has the potential to make real tial element of what has driven me to do what change across the health system and beyond.

I do. I’m very passionate about the trauma Mr. Dowling’s passion toward gun violence program at Northwell Health because whether prevention has empowered us on the front it’s gun violence or other means of violence lines to engage in this debate and elevate the prevention, we’re uniquely positioned to importance of gun safety. address these issues as a public health crisis What is the mission for the Center for within the community and to lead the charge Gun Violence Prevention? in implementing real ground-level preventaOur mission is to treat gun violence as a tive strategies. public health crisis. We want to focus on a few W i l l y o u d i s c u s s t h e e m p h a s i s key areas that we can tackle as a healthcare Northwell Health has put on the Children’s system to enhance gun safety within our comHospital Trauma Center? munity and to serve as an example nationThe trauma program here at the Children’s ally for what a health system can do to Hospital is a very important element and special prevent gun violence. Some of the areas we 84 LEADERS

will focus on include education, screening, community engagement, advocacy and research. With respect to education, we will educate physicians, residents, medical students and all healthcare providers about gun safety counseling and screening. We’re also looking to educate our patients and their families on issues such as safe gun storage and firearm injury prevention strategies. We hope to integrate questions related to firearms within our electronic health system which will not only enhance our screening efforts, but also allow us to perform firearm-related research which is sorely lacking nationally. By taking this approach and viewing gun violence as a public health issue, we can research it accordingly and identify some of the root causes. When it comes to advocacy, we’re fortunate to have Mr. Dowling’s leadership as his voice will continue to mobilize other health industry leaders nationally and gives us all a unique platform to make real change.

How important is it to engage other industry leaders in order to drive change and make a real difference on this issue?

Reaching out to other industry leaders is critical in order to make a meaningful impact on gun violence prevention. As I mentioned earlier, there is only so much mobilization that we can do from the front lines, but having a healthcare leader like Mr. Dowling take a stance and speak so passionately about gun violence inspires other health systems and industry leaders to rise to the challenge. We have already had a number of other industry leaders step up to the challenge and that will only continue to grow with time.

I truly believe this is a one-of-kind opportunity to mobilize the whole healthcare industry and private sector in a way that has not been done before.

Our goal is to build a blueprint for how health systems across the nation can r educe gun violence and pr omote gun safety. Currently that doesn’t exist. If we can develop a successful gun violence prevention strategy internally, it will serve as an example for other health systems and industries to follow suit. We want to lead the charge on this and show others that meaningful change is possible and that lives can be saved. If we can engage other health systems one by one across the country to adopt something similar to what we develop, we are one step closer to reducing gun violence.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

high value homeowners automobile watercraft j e w e l r y, a r t & c o l l e c t i o n s personal excess liability flood fraud & cyber

Love your insurance.

Imagine an insurance company that’s owned by members and driven by a purpose of doing what’s right for them. One that makes its members smarter about risk, helps them reduce their chances of experiencing a claim, and makes them more resilient so that if a claim does happen, they can recover faster and with greater ease. That’s PURE. And it’s why our members love their insurance.

IF YOUR HOME IS INSURED FOR $1M OR MORE: contact a PURE-appointed

independent broker, call 888.814.7873 or visit pureinsurance.com to learn more.

Purpose Relationship-Driven An Interview with James E. Cline, President and Chief Executive Officer, Trex Company, Inc.

James Cline at the New York Stock Exchange

What has been the key to Trex’s growth?

It’s the relationship with the consumer, as well as the retailers. We have a two-step model and about 25 to 30 percent of the business goes direct through major retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe’s, and the other 70 to 75 percent goes to distributors, then to professional lumber yards for sale to builders and consumers. It is the relationships with both them as well as the consumer that are critical. We also have a group of independent professionals that installs the product. We call them Trexpros and those relationships drive a lot of the business that is professionally installed, as opposed to individually installed. Our business is more relationshipdriven than it has ever been.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities for Trex’s future growth?

Over the next ten years, it will primarily be organic growth. We have a huge opportunity to convert about 80 percent of the market which is currently wood. A large percentage of that market is convertible. I think the number is roughly 60 percent that we believe we can convert over time.

How do you define the Trex culture?

I think the engagement of the employees is what’s critical beyond anything else, and once

our employees stay with us past one year, they’re essentially with us for their career. We have a great relationship because we empower the employees and they are tremendously engaged.

The introduction of our major products would not be possible without the engagement of people from those at the top through those on the factory floor. They make it successful and identify ways to help streamline the processes even if it isn’t their job because it is important to them that the company be successful.

What is the Trex advantage?

The Trex advantage comes from our ability to understand what’s important to our customers and then fulfilling those needs. Our customers need to have people buy deck boards from them. We supply them a way to expand their business, whether it be through installers where we pass leads to them who then buy from retail establishments, or by introducing a new product category such as our enhanced outdoor fire and water collection which opens up a new market for them that they didn’t participate in before. We also excel at making it easy for them.

Purchasing a deck can sometimes be daunting and we have put systems in place inside the company such as a call center to make it easier

EDITORS’ NOTE James Cline served as the Chief Financial Officer of Trex from March 2008 to August 2015 and as its Senior Vice President and CFO from August 2013 to August 2015. Prior to Trex, Cline served as President of Harsco GasServ, a subsidiary of Harsco Corporation. He served in various capacities with Huffy Corporation from June 1976 to February 1994, including as the Director of Finance of its True Temper Hardware subsidiary, a manufacturer of lawn care and construction products with nine manufacturing locations in the United States, Canada and Ireland.

He has been a Director of Trex since August 2015. Cline received his undergraduate degree in accounting from Bowling Green State University.

COMPANY BRIEF Since the late 1980s, Trex (trex.com) has invented, defined and perfected the composite deck category, becoming the world’s largest manufacturer of wood-alternative decking products. Formed in 1996 through the buyout of a division of Mobil Corporation, the company went public in 1999. Today, it offers the industry’s widest array of high-performance composite products which are available in more than 40 countries around the world.

86 LEADERS

Three samples of the use of Trex products in outdoor designs (above and opposite page) VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

to get help when they’re going down that decision path. We can help them with issues such as how to find a contractor, what they should be considering with different materials, where they can purchase the materials, and how they get a sample. They can find all of this online, but if they would rather pick up the phone or go to a retailer where we have that information, we try to make it as easy as possible in what can often be a stressful event of doing a major home improvement project.

Is price a differentiator for Trex?

It is when you have, for example, a woodbuyer in North America who would normally buy pressure-treated lumber. Even if we were two times the cost of pressure-treated, we would still be a value because of the advantages of wood-alternative decking. In Europe, we’re really competing against maybe 50 to 60 domestic manufacturers and a plethora of Chinese manufacturers. There, it’s about quality first, as well as the brand. Price is important, but the quality and the brand is carrying the products through.

Will you discuss the strength and expertise of Trex’s management team?

We have been fortunate with our management team. One of the things I’ve done since I took this job back in 2015 was to involve all of the vice presidents in analyst meetings which hadn’t been done in the past. Each of the vice presidents gets exposure, and that’s important because we have a number of analysts following us and we have time constraints, so we’re able to spread access through our vice presidents. We’re able to divide and conquer.

The fortunate thing for us is that we don’t need to worry about what one person is going to say. Everybody is speaking about what we talked about in the last earnings call. They can give a different take because of their different backgrounds, one might be from marketing and another from sales, but the same consistent story exists.

How critical has it been for Trex to build a diverse and inclusive workforce?

We’re selling a construction product and you would think that our salesforce would be mainly male. Do we really want VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

women out in the field selling that product?

The answer is yes, and we have found that they are really good at it. We have a very good female-to-male ratio in all of our salesrelated positions. Part of that was achieved by opening the door with a program we have with the major retailers to make sure their shelves are stocked right and that they are training their people. This process was dominated by females. We found that they were successful and they were able to move into the normal trade-side of the business. We increased our numbers quite dramatically as positions opened and we were able to move them through the organization.

Our board is now about 25-percent female.

Getting that perspective is important for a number of reasons. One of the most important reasons relates to who makes a decision on decking. At the end of the day, it’s the woman.

Getting different perspectives adds value and helps us all look at things differently. That broad perspective is important for any business.

How important has it been for Trex to be engaged in the communities it serves?

I think the company sets the tone, but at the end of the day I think you find that the employees drive the relationship with the community. Trex is not the largest manufacturer or largest employer in the Winchester, Virginia area. However, we are the largest donor to the United Way and it’s not just the company donating - it’s all the employees. They contribute because they want to give back to the community. They know people who have needed help, and they’ve seen what the United Way can do to help those in need.

We’ve just undertaken another cause called Yellow Ribbon. It provides support for wounded veterans and their families to help them with expenses as they go through the recovery process. This helps keep the family unit together as they go through this difficult time. Right now this is mainly a corporate contribution but, over time, our employees will also be contributors to this. We see this as an important opportunity to help the community and help those people returning from war with very devastating injuries.

How would you characterize your leadership style?

I have been very hands-on during my career. I’ve done a number of turnarounds, and those don’t happen with a ready, aim, shoot mentality. It’s usually shoot, or ready, shoot.

I’ve done well in this environment, but I like to think that when I became CEO, my goal was to develop the next team of managers who have the opportunity to step into my role.

I think the company works best when I don’t have to make every decision. When our leaders come together as a team and work through any issues, questions, or problems we are encountering, they are going to come up with a much better answer than one individual saying we’re going to do it this way.

That collaborative approach has been very successful and I think it’s one of the reasons we’ve done so well.

•

LEADERS 87

Purpose The Human Side of the Company An Interview with Alan S. Elkin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Active International EDITORS’ NOTE Alan Elkin cocapabilities of a global corporation, founded Active Inter national Active continues to redefine what’s posin 1984. Elkin began his career sible and turn possibilities into positive at Kaiser Br oadcasting which, business outcomes. Active drives perunder his direction as Senior Vice formance through industry expertise, President of Sales, later became its Corporate Trade Model and portfoField Communications and then a lio of companies with a core compesubsidiary of Katz Media Group. tency in media, to create and deliver He has received the Entrepreneur value for leading brands throughout Of The Year™ Award by Ernst & their business lifecycles. With a global Young and the British American team comprised of business innovators, Business Inc. Award in recogniindustry leaders, media mavens and Alan S. Elkin tion of Active’s global accomplishfinance experts, Active is dedicated to ments. Additionally, he received delivering new levels of financial flexithe 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award at the bility and custom solutions. An employee-owned Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame annual company, Active’s client success comes first, as gala. Elkin believes that community involve- well as the betterment of its people and the comment is as important as business leadership and munities in which they live. through the company’s Active Cares program, contributions have been made to over 600 char- How important is it for leading companies ities since 1997. today to be purpose-driven?

It is very important to have a purpose. I’ve COMPANY BRIEF Nearly four decades ago, been speaking about purpose for more than 15 Active International (activeinternational.com) years, and that leading corporations such as disrupted the marketplace by developing an Active have to be about more than just the botinnovative, market leading, client-centric tom line. We need to be able to look at the approach to corporate trade. The development communities that we serve and have a purpose of best-in-class solutions has led Active to evolve of driving good and that is what we do. into a commercial innovation company. Active’s Will you discuss Active’s purpose? purpose is to transform data into insights, stratWe wish to be a good corporate citizen. It egy into action, and vision into value. With is interesting because we didn’t know way back the entrepreneurial spirit of a startup, and the when we created Active Cares that we were

talking about a purpose, but then we started to see the good that it does, and then we saw how engaged our people were, and we realized that this wasn’t just a corporate effort, it was a company effort, and by company I mean people, not brick and mortar. We learned through Active Cares that we did have a purpose, and that purpose has always been to try and save lives. This is what happened with our involvement with the Active International Cardiovascular Institute.

It was an opportunity to save a number of lives that could not get to a hospital in time. We built the Institute with the best and newest equipment and it has saved lives which is our purpose – saving lives and making life better for people who are less fortunate.

How critical is it to have metrics to track the impact of Active’s philanthropic work?

Metrics are important, but you need to also look at the human side. No matter how many metrics we look at, there’s a human side to this work as well. The human side is that we want to be able to take care of our people, we want our people to work in an environment that is conducive for them to come back every day, and we want to provide our people with a culture that values purpose. What is the purpose of Active beyond the metrics? That’s the question I ask and my people answer that by their contribution of their time. While not everybody sees it the way I see it, the majority of our people do.

We learned through Active Cares that we did have a purpose, and that purpose has always been to try and save lives. This is what happened with our involvement with the Active International Cardiovascular Institute. It was an opportunity to save a number of lives that could not get to a hospital in time.

88 LEADERS

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

I’ve been speaking about purpose for more than 15 years, and that leading corporations such as Active have to be about more than just the bottom line. We need to be able to look at the communities that we serve and have a purpose of driving good and that is what we do.

An example is a sad story that happened to one of our employees. I got a phone call from an employee advising me that her son was missing. He was hiking in the mountains in Rockland County and never came home. She asked me if I would put together an e-mail and have our people meet at a particular place to search for him. I said, “Of course I will” and we all agreed that we would put a search together with the police as well as with Active’s people.

I put an e-mail out and I figured I would get 25 people or so. When I got to the site at 8 o’clock in the morning, I couldn’t find a parking space. There were over 150 Active employees there. As the morning went on, there were another 50 and then another 50. Our people went to the office and then they came for the search. Others went straight to the search and then they went to the office later on. That is the nature of the human side of the company.

I was so proud of our people. The sad part of the story is that four Active people found him.

He had fallen off the cliff and died.

We all went to the church and there was not enough room in the church. There were people outside the church that couldn’t get in and they were Active’s people. Now, what did the company do? The company engaged the people, told them that they don’t need to go to the office, that this is more important than today’s work. That’s the human side of the company.

Active is a company that continues to evolve. How do you describe the Active of today?

Active keeps on reinventing itself because the market is changing dramatically because of technology. I restructured the company in 2019 to be able to evolve with technology focusing on media and eliminating the other businesses that were non-media related businesses. We needed to better understand the marketplace to be able to pivot to the new marketplace. We are doing that with streaming media, which is part digital and part legacy media which you get through a Wi-Fi connection, an IP address, and you bypass your cable box. That technology is growing tremendously and you’re going to have two models out there, a model that has advertising and a model that doesn’t have advertising. It is a changing marketplace. I keep telling the company that the only predictable thing that we can count on is change and that we need to embrace that change. Active has to be agile and to be able to pivot.

Do you feel that entrepreneurship can be taught?

People have risk tolerance. I have a greater risk tolerance than other people which is critical to being an entrepreneur. That risk tolerance is the basis of a question that I ask people.

Are you prepared to bet the ranch on that idea?

Most people say no.

When you’re in pain and you’re walking through the desert, you have blisters on your feet and you have no more water left, can you go the extra mile? Some people can, and their risk and pain tolerance is greater than other,s and some can’t. That doesn’t make them bad people.

What that could make them is entrepreneurs in a corporate environment, but they’re never going to build a business from scratch. It’s about how much sacrifice are you prepared to take.

Do you take moments to reflect and appreciate what Active has become or are you always looking ahead?

I am always looking to the future, but great leaders need to be able to live in three dimensions. The first is the past. That past is your history. That past has all the mistakes you’ve made and all you’ve learned, and all the things you did well, and all the things that you did not do well. This is how you gain experience.

Second is the present. The present is where you apply all that failure that you experienced, and all the good things you learned, and merge them together in order to execute.

Then you need to live in the future, because the future is there the very next day.

You have to apply all those things to get to the very next day and if you do that, life is simple.

Tomorrow, no matter what, I want to be better than yesterday, because yesterday was the past and today is the future. That’s how I see it and I have fun with it.

•

The human side is that we want to be able to take care of our people, we want our people to work in an environment that is conducive for them to come back every day, and we want to provide our people with a culture that values purpose.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

LEADERS 89

Purpose One Network An Interview with Lori Malcolm, Chief Culture and Operations Officer, United Way Worldwide EDITORS’ NOTE Lori Malcolm’s bringing together and mobilizing the focus is to continue building a caring power of communities to solve high-performing culture throughproblems that people cannot solve all out the United Way network, which by themselves. That mission remains includes nearly 1,800 United Ways the same. in more than 40 countries. Before What has changed over time is joining United Way Worldwide, that communities are no longer sepashe led Recruitment Marketing rate from each other. In a global world and Diversity Recruiting at Walt where people move from place to Disney World; IT Recruitment and place, the realization becomes that we Organizational Effectiveness at may have a need to make a difference Walmart; and served as the SVP of and an impact not only in the comLori Malcolm Human Resources and Talent at munity in which we currently live, but the franchised concept, Checkers also in other communities around the and Rally’s Restaurants. Her approach builds world. As United Way moves forward, its goal is upon a strong engineering background, includ- to create an environment where we operate as ing 10 years developing and selling technology one network and people can make changes and solutions with IBM. She has served on numer- have an impact all around the world. ous nonprofit boards and industry associations How do you focus your efforts and are focused on her passion to help others live better, the roles of Chief Culture and Operations healthier lives. Malcolm earned a B.S. in opera- Officer interrelated? tions research and industrial engineering from They are very interrelated; and as we Cornell University. think about the transformation I just mentioned with United Way moving from hyper-local to O R G A N I Z A T I O N B R I E F U n i t e d Wa y ’ s one where we work as an integrated network, (unitedway.org) mission is to improve lives by that requires a significant shift in how people mobilizing the caring power of communi- work together, set goals together and create ties around the world to advance the common capabilities together. good. It seeks to serve as the problem-solver, the hand-raiser and the game-changer while fighting for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. It creates positive and permanent change by forging unlikely partnerships, finding new solutions to old problems, and mobilizing the best resources to solve the most challenging issues that communities face.

Will you highlight the history and heritage of United Way Worldwide and how United Way has evolved?

In 1887, a Denver woman, a priest, two ministers and a rabbi got together and recognized that they needed to work together to find new ways to make Denver a better place. They had a common desire to come together and create solutions for the Denver community, which led to the inception of United Way. At its core, it has remained the same ever since, while United Way has also evolved as the needs of communities have changed. At that time, it was very hyper-local. We have now moved to the point where we have 1,800 local United Ways doing that very same thing, 90 LEADERS

I came to United Way Worldwide three and a half years ago, which was about a year and a half into this new strategy where we’re focusing on operating as one network. Our CEO, Brian Gallagher, realized that the transformation was not moving as quickly as it needed to. The piece that was holding us up was our culture which needed to evolve from that hyper-local mindset to one of global growth. He brought me in as Culture Officer to help change that culture.

The way any organization builds a culture and sustains it is through key systems.

Elements like how we operate, where we invest, what we measure, how we reward our people, and how we engage and train our leaders are some of the operating systems that drive culture. Our CEO has really seen a benefit in having a Chief Operating Officer who sees the importance of putting the two pieces together.

Is it challenging to maintain culture with United Way’s growth and global footprint?

When I started here, the first thing I did was a culture audit to identify what elements of the various cultures across our organization were consistent. Our mission of improving

Lori Malcolm convened a cross-functional group of United Way staff members to discuss the aspects of a positive workplace VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

United Way Worldwide’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement of Principle We take the broadest possible view of diversity. We value the visible and invisible qualities that make you who you are. We welcome that every person brings a unique perspective and experience to advance our mission and progress our fight for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in every community. We believe that each United Way community member, donor, volunteer, advocate, and employee must have equal access to solving community problems. We strive to include diversity, equity, and inclusion practices at the center of our daily work. We commit to using these practices for our business and our communities. lives and mobilizing the caring power of community is the same mission of every local United Way. At our core, we all saw our strength to be convening people, so those aspects of the culture were the same.

One key element of the transformation is that our donors now expect that their experience with United Way should be consistent no matter what city they happen to be in. If I’m a Tocqueville Society donor, which is one of our highest-level donors, and I live in Minneapolis and then I retire to Florida, in the past, our organization in Florida wouldn’t have known who I am. We’re moving toward an environment where we’ll share data and have one record for each donor so we’ll be able to provide an experience that is similar across all parts of United Way for that donor for their lifetime.

This changes the mindset of the culture because moving from a local perspective, where this is my donor and I keep all that data, to one network with a consistent experience for our donors, leads to a far more unified, global culture.

It was easy to have a common culture when we were very local, but now we’re trying to introduce the need to share into the culture.

This unified, sharing mentality will also require the ability to come to a common set of decisions and for each of our units to operate in a similar way. We have to shift from hyper-local to an understanding that we’re all part of a single network.

How critical is it for United Way to build a diverse and inclusive culture?

Diversity, equity and inclusion are very important. We know that the work around diversity, equity and inclusion is unique to every United Way community around the world. However, we have, together with our local United Ways, created a statement around diversity, equity and inclusion and what it means for us. It outlines our broader commitment to building sustainable, inclusive and resilient organizations and communities.

We take the broadest possible view of diversity. We value the visible and invisible qualities that make you who you are and we welcome every person bringing their own unique perspective and experiences to bear in advancing our mission and our fight for health, education and financial stability for every person in every community.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

We have created a statement that we all believe in and it is woven into everything that we do. We have also developed a blueprint for the modern United Way which outlines the way that we’re talking with locals about what United Way looks like in this modern, digital world.

That blueprint includes two cultural pieces that we put front and center. One is to have a growth mindset, and the second is to integrate and model diversity, equity, and inclusion in everything you do. We think it’s so important that we wanted to make

certain that it was clearly spelled out in this blueprint of the modern United Way. Additionally, it prioritizes making certain that we create donor experiences that are excellent.

As we move to this modern United Way, it’s important for everybody to know that something like the Salesforce Philanthropy Cloud is just a channel and a way that we can reach our donors, but the whole goal is about doing more in practice. It’s allowing us, at the local level, to really focus in on making impact in our communities.

•

Lori Malcolm leading a United Way staff engagement activity.

LEADERS 91

Purpose Catalysts for Systemic Change An Interview with Jonathan T.M. Reckford, Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity International EDITORS’ NOTE Jonathan T.M. place to call home. As our organizaReckfor d assumed his curr ent tion continues to grow in size and role in 2005. His path to Habitat scope of work, I am excited that was neither immediate nor direct Habitat has emerged as a leader on with stops at Goldman, Sachs & the issue of housing affordability.

Co.; the 1988 Olympic Games in This gives us greater opportunity to Seoul, South Korea; Marriott; The raise our voice, along with our hamWa l t D i s n e y C o . ; M u s i c l a n d ; mers, to build homes, communities Best Buy; and Christ Presbyterian and hope.

Church in Edina, Minnesota. He What have been the keys to is the author of Our Better Angels: Habitat for Humanity’s impact?

Seven Simple Virtues That Will In 2011, we developed our curJonathan T.M. Reckford Change Your Life and the World, rent strategic plan, which provided which provides practical inspiraa new way of thinking about our tion to bridge the divisiveness of the day. He is mission and how we approach it. Habitat for a noted speaker and sought-after contributor Humanity has been building homes, commuto home affordability conversations through- nities and hope through direct engagement out the U.S. and around the world. Reckford for four decades. As powerful as that has serves on the boards of the Federal Reserve been, hundreds of millions of people still Bank of Atlanta, is the chair of Leadership 18 live in inadequate housing, and millions of and is a member of the Freddie Mac Housing others have no home at all.

Advisory Council. He is also a member of the This plan challenges us to become more Council on Foreign Relations and the Urban effective catalysts for systemic change, change Steering Committee for the World Economic that will help exponentially more families Forum. He holds an MBA from Stanford and than any one organization ever could serve a Bachelor of Arts in political science from alone. To meaningfully impact the housing the University of North Carolina at Chapel deficit at scale, the plan calls for operating Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar. In within three interconnected spheres of influ1986, Reckford was awarded a Henry Luce ence: community, sector and society. These Fellowship. “houses” sit on Habitat’s strong foundation of mission-driven, purposeful work. As our ORGANIZATION BRIEF Habitat for Humanity organization strives to deepen its impact, (habitat.org) partners with people all over this strategy has been invaluable in Habitat’s the world to help them build or improve a success. place they can call home. Habitat homeownHow does Habitat for Humanity ers help build their own homes alongside vol- homeownership work? unteers and pay an affordable mortgage.

A popular myth about Habitat is that we Habitat has helped more than 7 million peo- give houses away, but that is not the case. ple build strength, stability and independence First, future Habitat homeowners must demthrough shelter. Habitat homeowners achieve onstrate a need for safe, affordable housing. the strength, stability and independence they Second, once selected, future homeowners need to build a better life for themselves and must partner with us throughout the process. for their families.

This partnership includes putting in a certain number of “sweat equity” hours, meanWill you highlight the history and heri- ing that they help build their home and tage of Habitat for Humanity and how the the homes of their neighbors, and complete organization has evolved? financial literacy and homeowner education From humble beginnings in a Christian courses. Finally, families must demonstrate farming community in South Georgia to oper- an ability to pay an affordable m o r t g a g e . ating in all 50 states in the U.S. and in more The payments ar e cycled back into the than 70 countries around the world, Habitat community to help build additional Habitat for Humanity has always sought to put God’s homes. love into action. Our heritage is deeply rooted Will you discuss Habitat for Humanity’s in the belief that everyone deserves a decent focus on advocacy?

92 LEADERS

Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, President and Mrs. Carter, and Jonathan Reckford at a Habitat building site

Globally, our advocacy approach is aimed at supporting the development and implementation of policy solutions that will meaningfully increase the housing supply, establish communities of opportunity, optimize land use, and make credit more accessible to underserved populations. We are actively pursuing these measures through our U.S. advocacy campaign, Cost of Home, by mobilizing local Habitat organizations, partners, volunteers and community members across the country to push lawmakers at every level to create policies that will make the cost of a home something we all can afford.

What interested you in writing your book, Our Better Angels: Seven Simple Virtues That Will Change Your Life and the World, and what are the key messages of the book?

I was inspired by an essay that former President Jimmy Carter wrote in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017. In that essay, President Carter compared the disaster response to the world he once knew, when you counted on your neighbors and they counted on you. He wrote, “When the waters rise, so do our better angels.”

In the book, I share inspiring and uplifting stories of the everyday heroes I’ve met working with Habitat for Humanity who embody seven virtues: kindness, community, empowerment, joy, respect, generosity and service. I hope this book will help readers find their own better angels and then go out to make their world a brighter place.

Yo u b e c a m e C E O o f H a b i t a t f o r Humanity in 2005. What has made the experience so special for you?

Habitat has given me the opportunity to exercise my faith daily. Last year, we served more than 7 million people, enlisting the support of more than 1.4 million volunteers. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has helped more than 29 million people improve their housing conditions. I draw on President and Mrs. Carter as an inspiration. Though they are often credited with founding Habitat for Humanity, they are in fact Habitat’s most famous volunteers. They are the embodiment of servant leadership. President Carter often says that working with Habitat is the best way he’s found to put his faith into action, and I wholeheartedly agree.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Merchants Since 1934

Celebrating our 86th Anniversary!

Free Shipping in New York on orders over $200.00.

Over 6,000 Wines, Spirits and Accessories to choose from.

505 Park Avenue at 59th Street, New York, NY 10022 • 212-838-7500

Fast and easy ordering online! Visit us at www.Sherry-Lehmann.com to view our complete listing or to request a copy of our latest catalog.

Purpose Authenticity, Clarity, Empathy An Interview with Loreen Babcock, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Montefiore Medical Center EDITORS’ NOTE Loreen Babcock founded two marketing agencies before joining Montefiore, Idevoita in 2012, and LLKFB/Unit7 in 1996.

She sold LLKFB/Unit7 to Omnicom in 2000 and served as its Chairman and CEO of LLKFB/Unit7 fr om 2003 through 2012. Prior to founding LLKFB/Unit7, Babcock held senior leadership roles for advertising agencies including Ogilvy, Saatchi & Saatchi and Lowe.

How do you define the Montefiore difference and how do you convey that dif fer ence thr ough your branding?

At Montefiore-Einstein, there are three key areas we focus on. The first would be authenticity. The second would be clarity, and the third would be empathy.

Regarding authenticity, our mission is to heal, to teach, to discover, and to enhance the health of the people in the Loreen Babcock communities we serve. On clarity, our INSTITUTION BRIEF Montefiore goal is to tell the Montefiore-Einstein Medicine (montefiore.org) is a leading academic story through the eyes of our patients, to share the medical organization comprised of Montefiore fullness of their experience. We also focus on the Health System and Albert Einstein College of person, not the condition that brought them to us.

Medicine. Together they are pioneering patient- This broadens and deepens the connection and centered research and providing exceptional engagement we have with our audience. We help personalized care with over six million patient our audience and get to know them as people interactions a year in communities across the first, not just patients. They have lives that have Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. been interrupted and our goal is to help them Montefiore Health System is comprised of move past what brought them to us and to regain 15 member hospitals, including the Children’s their full life.

Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation On empathy, we build our marketing on Hospital, White Plains Hospital and more than the concerns of the people in the communities 200 outpatient ambulatory care sites that provide we serve. It is the fundamental element of the coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and compassion that starts with Montefiore-Einstein’s their families. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, leadership and threads through the millions of home to nearly 1,000 students in its M.D., Ph.D., decisions made every day to keep us true to our and combined M.D./Ph.D. programs, is one of the mission. By listening closely to our communination’s preeminent centers for research, medical ties, we learn about the health concerns people education and clinical investigation. have and the help they’re looking for. It is our

honor to serve them, and we work extremely hard to make sure that we are addressing and mitigating those concerns.

Will you discuss Montefiore’s approach to branding?

We are always seeking to elevate the recognition of Montefiore-Einstein as a premier academic medical center. To do this, it’s imperative that we continue to ask ourselves, what sets us apart from other healthcare institutions in the region? We look for ways to tell our unique story that are built on bona fide claims and highlight the remarkable work we do in every community we serve. Patients and their families are the heroes in our narratives and this creates relatability for people from all walks of life.

We like to tell stories of triumph over adversity. A few examples of this would be Nicole and Christian, who had twins born cranially conjoined, their brains intertwined.

We surgically separated them, and they beat the odds. Eric’s pitching arm was going to bench him and he’s back in the game. Jack had a tumor eating away at the bone in his leg and he’s now playing hockey for New York University. Elena’s heart was failing her with little time to live, and she’s now living a full life and able to take care of an extended family all of whom rely on her. Our message provides the ability for people to relate to the people we heal and highlights that Montefiore-Einstein is a destination that could do the same for them.

Regarding authenticity, our mission is to heal, to teach, to discover, and to enhance the health of the people in the communities we serve. On clarity, our goal is to tell the Montefiore-Einstein story through the eyes of our patients, to share the fullness of their experience.

94 LEADERS

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

At Montefiore-Einstein, there are three key areas we focus on.

The first would be authenticity. The second would be clarity, and the third would be empathy.

How do you engage Montefiore’s workforce in these branding campaigns?

We engage several people in the stories that we tell and their authenticity comes through every time. There is a tremendous amount of pride when we’re promoting our people’s work. Our institution is full of humble people who do extraordinary things every single day. It is always a pleasure for me to witness the pride they feel when they see their work promoted to the market. I’m honored to be able to tell the stories of how MontefioreEinstein staff are improving and even saving lives.

Are Montefiore’s campaigns consistent in all markets or are they tailored to the individual locations?

We listen to the various communities and what the needs are in those communities. We will tailor the message to specific concerns we learn are on people’s minds in those specific geographies.

For example, if we’re entering a geography with new specialty services, we will tailor our message based on what we know about the needs for specialty care.

In addition to this, we often tell the stories of people overcoming odds and those stories resonate in any community, whether it’s Westchester or the Bronx.

We really work hard on defining what our key messages are and how those messages resonate with people.

What ar e the key platfor ms that Montefiore is using to tell its story?

That’s a great question. We bring in a lot of data and the media works together. We utilize TV, radio, print, OOH, social and display in addition to community activation initiatives. Our experience is that an integrated approach with a wide variety of media works well together. It is important to reach our audience and to connect and engage with audiences to ensure they feel heard.

How critical are metrics to track the impact of Montefiore’s branding efforts?

Metrics can be challenging, but when we combine the performance data we receive from media which includes click rates, website traffic and timing, as well as geo/demo insights, we’re able to gather a significant amount of information that helps inform our strategic approach.

The goal is to learn the most we can so that we support and enhance our audience by designing efforts around them. We combine this data with qualitative research that helps us with the overarching insight for marketing and campaign efforts. That becomes very powerful for us to make sure that we are meeting the demands of the people who need to hear about our state-ofthe-art services as well as assure we are optimizing our marketing investments.

It’s an important combination because data without insight is simply not as strong in helping to make informed marketing decisions.

How critical has it been to have such deep engagement from the C-Suite and management team in Montefiore’s branding efforts?

IThat is another great question. I actually address this in a talk that I give. It is critically important that the leader have a clear vision of how to promote the excellence of this institution and our leader, Dr. Philip O. Ozuah, President and CEO of Montefiore Medicine, sets the bar for this. He has an incredible vision and wants to be able to tell our stories in a way that will resonate with people and be distinctive, with real impact on people’s lives.

Are you able to take moments to celebrate the impact of Montefiore’s campaigns or are you always thinking about what’s next?

We celebrate the work, but more importantly how the patient’s authenticity, and how their lives come through in the stories that we tell. I would say that we rejoice in what we’ve done for these patients and love how we’re able to bring that to life through our marketing efforts.

Are you still amazed at the impact this institution makes each day?

It never gets old. I am amazed on a daily basis. With every conversation I have with our scientists, our clinicians, our nurses and other healthcare professionals, it is extraordinary to see what we are doing for people. Between the research, the clinical care, our early adoption of technology, and how we’re advancing treatments, I am so fortunate to be a part of an institution like Montefiore-Einstein.

•

On empathy, we build our marketing on the concerns of the people in the communities we serve. It is the fundamental element of the compassion that starts with Montefiore-Einstein’s leadership and threads through the millions of decisions made every day to keep us true to our mission.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

LEADERS 95

Purpose A Global Bank with a Local Heart An Interview with Peter J. Reisman, Managing Director and Chief Communications Officer, Bank of China U.S.A. EDITORS’ NOTE Peter Reisman How critical is corporate social responhas almost 30 years of experience sibility to Bank of China U.S.A. and dealing with Chinese private and Bank of China Group? government entities. He is fluent Bank of China (BOC) has worked in Hebrew, Chinese language and hard to play a socially responsible role in culture, experienced in sourcing, China for decades, and as a result develnegotiating, structuring, docoped “BOC Philanthropy,” a platform umenting and closing of equity primarily targeted towards poverty alleand debt investments as well as viation. The bank takes that role seriously joint venture transactions. He has and instills that spirit in all of its branches advised extensively on cross-boraround the world, ensuring that each der investments, as well as bilatparticipates in corporate social responsiPeter J. Reisman eral trade negotiations between bility (CSR) programs through contributhe United States and China and tions of time, donations, sponsorships or Israel. Reisman joined the Bank of China U.S.A. expertise, whether in banking, medicine, educain 2017 and leads a group focusing on gov- tion, healthcare or science. ernment and public relations, new business At BOC U.S.A., we follow the lead on CSR set development, marketing, and social impact by Bank of China Group in Beijing. Accordingly, investing. Earlier, he worked in the Securities each Bank of China branch commits itself to givGroup at Cravath, Swaine, & Moore LLP in ing back to the communities in which it operates New York and in Hong Kong. Following this, by playing an active role in local charitable and he spent six years working for the Israeli gov- philanthropic efforts. ernment in both a legal and advisory capacThe “local” aspect of our brand – global reach, ity focusing on issues relating to China and local expertise – speaks to our focus on U.S. comother countries in the Asia-Pacific region. munities as much as it does U.S. businesses. As a Reisman is a member of the China General Chamber of Commerce-U.S.A. and serves as Co-Chair of its Gover nment and Public Relations Committee He is also a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the advisory board for AJC’s Asia-Pacific Institute. Reisman was the first American to graduate with a Masters in Law from Peking University Law School. He later went on to obtain a Juris Doctor degree and LL.M. from Columbia Law School.

COMPANY BRIEF As China’s most globalized and integrated bank, Bank of China (boc.cn/en) has a well-established global 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. (bankofchina.com/us/en) has branches in New York City, Queens, Chicago and Los Angeles.

96 LEADERS

foreign bank who has been operating in the U.S. for decades, we continue to learn from our U.S. peers, clients and general corporates on how to improve and strengthen our CSR program to best support U.S. communities across America. BOC U.S.A. is committed to backing local charities and participating in community reinvestment efforts to reverse urban blight. In addition, our staff are ready and willing volunteers in their communities, supporting multiple causes with their time and expertise. Through these efforts, we’ve ensured that CSR is very much on brand at BOC U.S.A. Will you highlight the areas of focus for Bank of China U.S.A.’s corporate responsibility efforts?

Striving to be a responsible corporate citizen has never been more important to BOC U.S.A. To this end, we carry out diversified practices in public welfare and are dedicated to achieving social wellbeing and sustainable development in the local communities in which we operate.

As we have deepened our relationships among U.S. communities and businesses, our CSR efforts have broadened beyond China-related initiatives. Last year, we formed a working group tasked

BOC U.S.A. Big Brothers Big Sisters Workplace Mentoring Program VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

BOC U.S.A. employees and their families participating in the annual Big Brothers Big Sisters “Walk for the Kids”.

with addressing the financial, service and credit needs of the communities around us. The working group has acted as the catalyst in our efforts to expand the foundation of BOC U.S.A. Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) programs, which bring people together to create sustainable solutions for our communities. Through one of several CRA programs, BOC U.S.A. provides financial support for 80/20 low- and middle-income housing projects across the New York metropolitan area. Since 2012, BOC U.S.A.’s branches in New York have provided loans, investments and other services under the CRA program that have totaled almost $2 billion.

In addition, we contribute to local and national philanthropic organizations and scholarships, including the China General Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, Robin Hood, Jump$tart Foundation, World of Money, Breaking Ground, Cents Ability Foundation, New York Governor’s Annual Toy Drive and Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City. We’ve also helped sponsor a Newark Liberty Science Museum program for underprivileged kids. We encourage our employees to sit on the boards of these organizations, volunteering their services and making significant contributions through ideas, education and more structured participation. On this front, BOC U.S.A. employees sit on the boards at Cents Ability and Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City.

How has BOC U.S.A.’s CSR strategy changed over the years?

In the past, BOC U.S.A.’s CSR efforts focused primarily on organizations that were China- or Chineserelated. As we’ve deepened our relationships among U.S. communities and with U.S. businesses, we’ve broadened our CSR focus considerably. To that end, we’ve shifted to supporting the neediest communities around us, focusing on areas of poverty alleviation, education and financial literacy.

However, we still acknowledge the importance of using the bank’s position and heritage to support organizations and events that help bridge the cultural gap between the U.S. and China. For VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

example, BOC Group gave $250,000 to sponsor Mirroring China’s Past: Emperors and Their Bronzes, an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago that showcased Chinese bronzes of the second and first millennia B.C. BOC U.S.A. also supported relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina.

We also work with the China General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) Foundation to support its mission of increasing communication, understanding and cooperation between our two great nations. BOC U.S.A. employees have participated in some of their outreach and charitable efforts, as well as helped support their businessrelated and cultural exchanges. CSR at BOC U.S.A. really encompasses both efforts, helping to build a more harmonious bridge between the U.S. and China, and support for communities in need across New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

How important is it to have a strong commitment from Bank of China leadership in order to drive success in BOC U.S.A.’s CSR efforts?

BOC Group does a great job of setting a clear tone on CSR. Leadership in Beijing reviews progress on the Bank’s overall CSR efforts annually in a report that it circulates publicly on its website.

However, despite its overarching directives, BOC Group also grants latitude to each domestic and overseas branch to find its own approach and innovate to fit its community’s specific needs. For CSR programs that require a significant investment, our head office in Beijing is often willing to provide additional financial support, especially to programs that focus on cross-border cooperation and crosscultural programs that will enhance knowledge and expertise as the U.S. and China grow closer together.

BOC U.S.A.’s executive management team encourages employees in its New York, Chicago and Los Angeles branches to develop and participate in programs that support low-income families and communities. They also support and participate in various new CSR initiatives that have broadened our support across local communities in the U.S.

What are the keys to driving employee engagement in BOC U.S.A.’s CSR efforts?

Embracing both top-down and bottom-up engagement is significant. Our approach can’t just be a one-sided affair. As I mentioned, CSR is important across Bank of China. Management sets the parameters for employee engagement such as through Volunteer Together, but only as a starting point.

As an example, BOC’s New York branch supported the annual “NYC Walk for the Kids,” a program hosted by Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC that provides one-on-one adult mentoring support for primary- and middle-school students from low-income families. New York branch employees walked five kilometers in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, to raise funds for mentoring programs that helped more than 5,000 children. Before the event, we sent out an e-mail to the entire bank to encourage participation and a lot of employees came out with their families.

My office reviews all CSR-related material, which we then send along to the executive management committee for approval.

On the other hand, it’s sometimes our employees who drive engagement and participation in CSR or CRA-related causes and events.

Each year the foundation of the City University of New York’s Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) holds a gala to fund scholarships. BOC employees brought the event to our attention, made the case for us to push it up the chain of command, and encouraged broader participation.

How do the areas that BOC U.S.A. supports in CSR align with its business?

As I expressed earlier, CSR is deeply ingrained in the philosophy here in the U.S. and as socially and environmentally conscious business practices spread across the U.S. business landscape, it’s getting easier to align our CSR mandates with those of our clients.

At BOC U.S.A., we believe in acting responsibly and with integrity. As a global bank with a local heart, our CSR engagement focuses on investing in long-term projects and initiatives that generate a positive societal or environmental impact. We understand that listening to our stakeholders undergirds a successful CSR strategy. We’re in constant dialog with shareholders, employees, communities, partners and customers as an ongoing matter of course to identify the most pressing environmental, social and governance issues and ensure that they inform our decision-making and accountability. It’s not that difficult to align CSR with our business because CSR is good business.

What metrics does Bank of China U.S.A. use to track the impact of its CSR programs?

We k e e p t r a c k o f o u r C o m m u n i t y Reinvestment Act efforts. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) monitors and evaluates CRA compliance among certain banks, conducting examinations every three years and publishing the results.

In our most recent CRA exam, we received a Satisfactory rating. Over the course of the last 20 years, all of our exams have netted us either “Outstanding” or “Satisfactory” ratings which is something we work hard to maintain.

•

LEADERS 97

Purpose Mission-Driven An Interview with Stephen Shaya, M.D., Executive Servant Leader, J&B Medical EDITORS’ NOTE Since 2004, Dr. b u s i n e s s enterprises and has cusStephen Shaya has been the tomers in 48 states and 28 countries.

Executive Servant Leader at J&B The company has brought many new Medical, a global healthcare soluideas and solutions forward to the tions company. His r ole overdelivery of care and continues to strive sees all strategy, innovation and to improve patient access and quality. growth for the company. He has received many recognitions includWill you discuss the history of J&B ing the 2015 Global Distinguished Medical and how the business has Healthcare Award from the Center evolved? of Economic and Leadership Our history and heritage starts Development, and a United States with my grandmother. My grandStephen Shaya Congressional Commendation. In mother was a midwife in Iraq in 2017, Dr. Shaya was named the a small rocky Christian enclave. She American Diabetes “Father of the Year.” Dr. had 10 children. While the tenth child was in Shaya spoke at the Vatican in 2018 on how utero, my grandfather passed away. My grandleveraging technology could help extend care mother raised all 10 children and, as a midglobally. He currently sits on a number of boards wife, delivered thousands of babies during that including as the Chairman of the American time since they didn’t have hospitals nearby.

Diabetes Association in Michigan, Henry Ford She delivered many, many people who are in Hospital (West Bloomfield) Board, Citizen’s Rx, my community today. She came from a modand Velatura. In addition, he is the Managing est background, but she was rich in family and Partner of FKS Akkad Capital, a global family rich in spirit which is what mattered. Part of her office which deploys growth capital around the DNA was a calling for service. world. Dr. Shaya graduated from Birmingham My grandmother came to the United States Brother Rice High School summa cum laude with my mother in 1966. My mother and father and was awarded a Merit Scholarship to attend met here and it was a typical immigrant story.

Wayne State University. He attended Wayne My father trained to get a medical degree at the State University Medical School and gradu- University of Michigan and was working several ated in 1996. Dr. Shaya subsequently finished jobs during that time. We had an amazing childtraining in Family Practice at North Oakland hood and my parents always believed, even Medical Center. when they had nothing, that it was important to give back.

C O M PA N Y B R I E F J & B M e d i c a l ( j a n d b When my father got his medical degree in medical.com) is a privately-held global health- pathology, he opened up a small boutique medcare consortium based in Wixom, Michigan. ical lab which he kept for more than 10 years.

Founded in 1996, J&B has sixteen different When the medical lab sold, he was retired for

about five weeks. My mother basically told him that he needed to go find a job so he started a medical supply company in 1996 since he could not get back into the lab business because of a non-compete. At that point, I was finishing up medical school. I came to the company a couple months after he started and I spent three years with him. We grew J&B to what it is today which is a global healthcare company.

Everything was based on the premise that we were a platform of purpose and possibilities. We truly believed that providing access to affordable healthcare was a right and we were going to find as many ways as we could to achieve as many efficiencies as possible to make that happen. That is the pretense of J&B Medical.

Is the J&B Medical brand well-understood and is building brand awareness a focus for you?

I like to describe our thought process to date as being all steak, no sizzle. When people come to J&B from around the world, they are amazed at all the different innovative, creative, game-changing things that we are doing on a daily basis. They’re absolutely astounded.

I think in this new age, it is becoming increasingly important to tell our story. Our DNA is that we’re a very mission-driven, purposeful company. A company based on purpose and possibilities and passion.

When people come to visit us, they feel it. They embrace it. I think it is very important to go out there and tell our story and just be who we are, which is authentic people and it’s very real and genuine. It’s a phenomenal story. J&B truly epitomizes what makes our country so great.

I like to describe our thought process to date as being all steak, no sizzle. When people come to J&B from around the world, they are amazed at all the different innovative, creative, game-changing things that we are doing on a daily basis.

98 LEADERS

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Everything was based on the premise that we were a platform of purpose and possibilities. We truly believed that providing access to affordable healthcare was a right and we were going to find as many ways as we could to achieve as many efficiencies as possible to make that happen. That is the pretense of J&B Medical.

As J&B Medical has grown in size and scale, has it been important to maintain the family culture?

My mom and dad are still very involved in the business and I think that’s important to set the mission, the values, the vision, and the strategic direction for J&B. J&B is a family business. The fact that my parents have stayed engaged and have kept our Midwest approach is very important. Everything that we’ve done at J&B has been about how we plant t h e s e s e e d s a n d c r e ate these opportunities that are going to blossom not just over quarters and months, but over years.

We take a very long ball approach and that has paid off in a variety of ways. One of the advantages we have is that my parents, despite people knocking on our door regularly to invest and/or acquire J&B, have never taken outside monies in our company. I think that has been a very important decision that my parents have made to preserve the values and the vision of J&B. There are a lot of legends in the cemetery, but there are very few legacies. My parents view J&B as their legacy and there’s so many people that we go out and help provide access to care that haven’t had it

J&B Medical’s headquarters in Wixom, Michigan

around the globe. When you help people reach their health potential, they can reach their human potential and we passionately believe that.

J&B is a company that has been built around purpose. Do you feel that it is a responsibility of leading companies today to be focused on more than just the bottom line?

The people that we’re hiring want to know what we’re about and what we stand for. People want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. I think customers are more engaged in wanting to know what you’re about and what your corporate sustainability programs are.

One of our best programs has been a program that we’ve run in Atlanta, Georgia, with a group called Bobby Dodd Institute. Bobby Dodd has service-disabled veterans with disabilities and other people with disabilities that they hire and provide employment to. We have today over 100 employees at that facility in Atlanta. I was just there a couple weeks ago. One of our employees has visual impairments and her guide dog is Hook. He’s definitely a rockstar for our company.

I am so proud every time I go down there and see what we’re doing. It’s about the health of the patients, it’s about the health of the employees and it’s about the health of the community. I think we need to redefine and reimagine how we see health and I think you need all three pillars if you really want to make a difference.

It is important that we’re engaged with the community. It’s important that people see that we’re trying to make a difference. People want to be part of something and today it’s unfortunate that our world is very divided religiously, culturally, and politically. I think people are looking to be part of something that’s positive, part of something that can make a difference.

We rise by lifting others and we’re all in this together and we can’t leave anyone behind.

•

When you help people reach their health potential, they can reach their human potential and we passionately believe that.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

LEADERS 99

Purpose A Commitment to Quality An Interview with Steven Fisher and Anthony O’Donnell, Managing Partners, Titanium Construction Services, Inc. EDITORS’ NOTE As a fourth-generation member of the Fisher family, one of New York’s legendary owner/ builders, Steven Fisher has devoted his 40 years as a partner at Fisher Brothers to construction and development. He is Founder and President of Fisher Capital Investments and Partner of Fisher Brothers. He served as Chairman and CEO of Fisher Brothers subsidiary Plaza Construction Corporation until its April 2014 sale. Under his decades-long leadership, Fisher founded and transformed Plaza Construction into one of the city’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 more than $1 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 Urban America’s Urban II partnership with Fisher Brothers.

Anthony O’Donnell is responsible for providing an ever-evolving strategic direction; aligning business and operations initiatives with company goals; overseeing the management of projects and contract negotiations.

COMPANY BRIEF The mission of Titanium Construction Services (titaniumcs.com) is to serve as a leader in the industry, make a difference in the community and above all provide its clients with outstanding service through a collective commitment to core values. It has built a solid reputation based on its commitment to quality and passion for client satisfaction. The company expresses intense pride in its outstanding team of professionals who uphold the company’s integrity and maintain its track record of successful projects. More than 80 percent of the company’s work comes from repeat clients, proving the great value the company places on the relationships its people cultivate with developers and owners. Titanium maintains a primary directive of bringing safety as well as professionalism to every job site. The company has become a local leader in the industry by attracting and retaining highly-trained staff, remaining at the forefront of industry technologies, and by expanding its services to meet the needs of its clients from the ground up. As a fully insured, licensed and completely bondable construction management corporation, Titanium approaches each project with relentless accountability from the bid phase to completion.

100 LEADERS

Steven Fisher

Anthony O’Donnell

Steven, with your long history as a leader in the construction industry, what excited you about becoming involved wth Titanium?

Fisher: After selling my company Plaza Construction to China Construction America (CCA), my five-year non-compete had ended. I realized how much I missed building, and even before my non-compete was up, many construction companies, developers and subcontractors were asking me when I was coming back into the business. I was approached by a few contracting companies to take an ownership position in them, but having known Anthony for more than 12 years and seeing the quality of work that he and the Titanium staff executes, I was attracted to the family culture which is how I treat all the ventures that I get involved with. I felt that my coming onboard was the missing piece of the puzzle to take Titanium to the next level.

Will you pr ovide an overview of Titanium Construction?

O’Donnell: Founded in 1999, Titanium Construction Services has built a solid reputation on its commitment to quality and a passion for client satisfaction. While our growth has been substantial over the past decade, our founder and senior project managers still play a handson role managing the company’s various projects. At Titanium Construction Services, we are most proud of our outstanding team of professionals that uphold our company’s integrity and maintain our successful track record with each and every new project we undertake.

As Titanium grows, in this ever-changing industry, so does the height and square footage of our highly desirable and notable residences.

Our strength is also evident in our financials.

We are able to post payment and performance bonds equivalent or greater to the contract price of our projects.

With the recent addition of Steven Fisher as a director and partner of Titanium, this will bring great opportunity to the company based on his long history as an industry leader and builder.

How do you define what makes Titanium different in the industry?

Fisher: Titanium’s experience, integrity, teamwork, innovation, and unremitting enthusiasm not only provides solutions to project hindrances, but allows the company to foresee the obstacles before they impact the schedule and budget. Titanium’s efficiently right-sized in-house talent pool ranges from financial surety regulation and compliance to project risk management.

These robust and diverse contributions are beneficial to clients not only during the construction phase, but pre-construction as well.

Will you discuss Titanium’s focus on safety?

O’Donnell: Titanium prides itself in providing high-quality contracting services for our clients while providing outstanding employment opportunities in a safe work environment. Our safety initiative has become part of Titanium’s close knit, family-oriented culture. Our employees and staff look out for one another as well as our clients. Our prime directive is to leave with the same well-being as when we arrived.

Under the tutelage of our risk engineers from Crum and Foster, Vela and The Hartford, we have developed a Safety Council which meets quarterly to discuss how our construction superintendents can identify safety concerns before they manifest themselves into incidents and/or injuries.

Will you highlight the strength of Titanium’s workforce?

O’Donnell: We are committed to comprehending and embracing the latest technologies in construction methods and management to create and deliver innovative and sophisticated properties. Our team is comprised not only with construction veterans, but engineers and licensed architects familiar with the latest in construction protocols providing valuable cost control and detailing guidance to our clients.

Our discerning clients value knowledge as much as the high-quality result in which that knowledge produces. With an average of six to eight projects under construction presently or at any one time, hundreds and hundreds of open-shop construction professionals assist us in delivering the utmost of client satisfaction on time and within budget.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Station House in Washington, D.C.

The lobby of 25 Broad Street

86

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

NYU Law School

30 Morningside Drive

MTA Fulton

The Sorting House at 318 West 52nd Street LEADERS 101

Purpose A Strong Sense of Community An Interview with Anne Benedict, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Diana Solash, Vice President, Global Head of Inclusion, Talent and Community, Infor EDITORS’ NOTE Anne Benedict runs Infor’s global human resources. She came to Infor from IPG Mediabrands, the media assets division of Interpublic Group, one of the big four global media agency conglomerates. At IPG Mediabrands, she was responsible for the HR needs of the company’s mor e than 8,500 employees in over 130 countries, including talent management, training, leadership/management development, organizational development, employee engagement, succession planning, and executive coaching. Benedict earned a B.S. degree in psychology and management magna cum laude from McGill University and a MASc in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Waterloo.

Diana Solash works with the entire Infor organization to ensure the diversity each person brings to the company is fully valued. She leads efforts to equip employees with skills and resources to work and lead inclusively by embedding I&D into the processes that impact the careers and sense of belonging of all Inforians, and by finding opportunities for the company to engage in external partnerships. Before joining Infor, Solash spent more than 20 years at EY, where she most recently was Director, Global Diversity & Inclusiveness. There, she led several critical initiatives such as the development of EY’s global I&D strategy and U.S. & Canada ethnic minority strategy. She has been involved with several community organizations, including Ascend and CED’s Women’s Economic Empowerment subcommittee. Solash graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in economics and psychology.

COMPANY BRIEF Infor (infor.com) is a global leader in business cloud software products for companies in industry specific markets. Infor builds complete industry suites in the cloud and efficiently deploys technology that puts the user experience first, leverages data science, and integrates easily into existing systems. Over 68,000 organizations in 170 countries worldwide rely on Infor’s more than 17,000 employees to help overcome market disruptions and achieve business-wide digital transformation.

Anne Benedict

Diana Solash

to the community was part of the DNA of this organization. It was almost never an explicit mission that people talked about. It was just something that our people inherently were doing.

We’ve always had a really strong sense of community which has become one of our core values that we rally around. It has been a part of our DNA as long as this company has existed and long before CSR was even an acronym.

People at Infor have always been “doing good” for the communities in which they live.

We are just taking it to another level today by being more conscious, targeted and thoughtful about where we want to focus those efforts, but

it’s really always been part of our legacy and our history. I think you can see that through the involvement of the people we have around the world who are our community engagement ambassadors who have taken it upon themselves with no extrinsic reward to help us advance this part of our culture.

Solash: I’ve been here for a year and a half.

One of the first things that I was asked to do was to help put intention and formality around our volunteer efforts that were already happening on the ground. We called our various locations to ask who wanted to step forward and be part of a global work group to define our strategy. The reaction was incredible.

We had people from Hyderabad, Colombo, Manila, Paris, Munich, Barneveld, New York City and St. Paul sharing what they were doing on the ground and their views on how we could tie these activities together into a cohesive global strategy to amplify our collective efforts.

It’s really important that we respect the desire our people have to be engaged in causes that are most meaningful in their local communities. We’ve developed a global strategy that provides overarching focus areas and guidelines and provides flexibility for our local offices to keep a local flair.

We’ve always had a really strong sense of community which has become one of our core values that we rally around. It has been a part of our DNA as long as this company has existed and long before CSR was even an acronym.

-Anne Benedict

Will you highlight Infor’s focus and commitment to social impact and corporate citizenship?

Benedict: When I joined Infor about three years ago, I felt that a sense of duty to give back 102 LEADERS

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

To foster this inclusion and diversity, a key element of our community engagement strategy is equitable access to education and to STEM education, in particular.

-Diana Solash

How does Infor decide on the areas to support?

Benedict: We recognize that there are people who are involved in their local communities with local organizations addressing their specific local needs. We feel like we need to be there as a company and foster the employees’ passion around this. The events we support run the gamut from helping build a school to doing a coat drive in a cold city like New York or doing a Christmas gift drive in Minnesota. Those types of events maintain that local flavor and we encourage those kinds of events. We look at these as local community partnerships.

Then, we have activities that are more globally connected causes that we are trying to push forward as a company. These tend to be around education and specifically STEM education. We’re working with a couple of organizations which we view as “signature STEM partnerships” on a global level and then we’re getting our local offices engaged to advance those causes together as a company globally.

STEM education supports our interest as a company in building a sustainable workforce for the future of the tech industry and for companies like us. We try to find a balance between local causes and our global commitment.

How critical is it to engage Infor’s employees in these efforts?

Solash: We absolutely engage our colleagues in the local offices to ask, “What should our focus areas be?” This includes developing future talent for STEM, helping people in need and helping communities through disasters.

Our group of 40 or so community engagement ambassadors are very vocal about how we can better engage our colleagues around the world so we put together a community engagement website for our employees. This provides a way for us to list the volunteer opportunities that are available by region and by city. Many of our folks are either virtual employees or they travel a lot. Someone who lives in California can VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

visit the site and find activities whether they are going to be traveling to St. Paul or Hyderabad or Colombo.

Another area our direction committee raised was the issue of time off for volunteers.

Many of the volunteer activities happen during the workday or during work hours so they were eager to have a formal time off policy for volunteerism. We actually instituted this time off policy this fiscal year based on the feedback of our people. We have received really good feedback from folks saying how much they appreciate that we listened to what they need to be able to engage in the community and people are using their eight hours per year in large numbers.

How important is it to have such a deep engagement and commitment from Infor’s CEO and management team in supporting this type of work?

Benedict: This is really near and dear to Kevin Samuelson’s (CEO of Infor) heart. If it wasn’t, I don’t think the effort would feel as authentic to our employees as it does. He is really engaged with this whole program and has very specific views about how we want to talk about it internally and externally. It’s all about the organization’s mission and us being able to help them with their mission versus making this all about us. Kevin has a very selfless kind of approach to our strategy towards all of this.

We recently opened a new office in Hyderabad and we also built a school there about a three-hour drive from our office. A group of eight of our executives, including Kevin, spent a day of service there together and shared it with the organization. Kevin’s support for this program is very authentic and he’s demonstrating this by rolling up his sleeves and getting involved personally.

How critical is it for leading companies to be purpose-driven in order to attract top talent?

Benedict: From an employment perspective, you not only have to be able to talk about why you exist and what your purpose is as a

company, but you have to live it too. This is what we try to do and it is super important in attracting the younger generations to our workforce. They all want to feel like they’re working for a company that’s making a difference in the world.

The other reason for doing these programs, and one of the criteria for the types of events that we do, is to bring teams together in a context that’s outside of the office. Spending a day together in service to the community really helps to bridge the silos of different functions and brings our people closer together and helps to get them to know each other personally and build friendships. All of this creates a more engaged culture for people working here.

How important is it that Infor’s workforce mirrors the diversity of its clients and will you discuss the emphasis Infor has placed around inclusion and diversity?

Solash: We definitely focus on inclusion and diversity and we put inclusion first. By inclusion we mean creating an environment where every one of our colleagues feels safe, trusted and valued for our unique perspectives, identities and backgrounds. Then we talk about diversity being all differences, including the ones that we typically think of such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and veteran status, and other less visible differences such as the country you are from or the languages that you speak. Research shows that when organizations have all those kinds of differences in the workforce, and when they actually value and include those differences, they are more likely to be able to solve customers’ problems which are increasingly complex, increasingly global in nature and require people to see things from different angles.

To foster this inclusion and diversity, a key element of our community engagement strategy is equitable access to education and to STEM education, in particular. We know that there are groups that are underrepresented in those fields in many places, whether that’s women across the globe or Black, Latinx and Native American Indians who are underrepresented in the U.S. We partner with organizations like the Posse Foundation and FIRST robotics. These are organizations that open the eyes of individuals who may not have family members or friends who are in the tech space.

As senior women executives, what do you tell young women about a career in tech and the opportunities for women in the industry?

Benedict: My advice to young girls is that the world is your oyster. You can do anything you want to do. Don’t fall for the stereotypes. You’ve got the talent. We need to lift each other up as women and I think eventually there will be parity and we should all aspire to that. The obstacles are only as real as you allow them to be. Step forward and take your place in a meeting room or an organization. Raise your hand, be vocal, and act as if there’s no bias and maybe someday there won’t be any.

Solash: I tell them to take risks and to find your she heroes, which I call “sheroes.” This gives you a crew of people to go through your experience with so you can say, “Hey, here’s what I’m struggling with. Here’s what my successes are.” It helps to have people to talk to, listen to, and share strategies for success.

•

LEADERS 103

Purpose Real Estate and Lifestyle An Interview with Julie Faupel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, REALM EDITORS’ NOTE Prior to the launch I started my career in hospitality of REALM, Julie Faupel co-founded and I think that a spirit of service and Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates hospitality should permeate every which is a market leader and the industry. I’ve also always been drawn 2011 and 2014 recipient of the covto luxury and it was important to me eted Christie’s International Real that when people came to a luxury Estate Global Affiliate of the Year hotel, as service professionals we recaward. Earlier, she had 12 years of ognized that their stay represented management and consulting expesomething of value to them. For some, rience for luxury hotels and small it may have been about the culminabusinesses. Faupel has served on the tion of a year of hard work and taking Jackson Hole Community Foundation their family on a vacation. It may have Julie Faupel Board for the past eight years. She is been a busy business traveler who is the former Jackson Hole Chamber of spending time away from his family Commerce Board Chair, has served on the and wants that efficiency and service so that Christie’s International Real Estate Global Advisory he doesn’t have to bother with the nonsense Board and is a member of the Young Presidents that life can sometimes bring in. I always took Organization, Global One Chapter. Faupel and her great pride in making sure that the guest’s needs husband are avid supporters of entrepreneurship were respected when I was providing service or as trustees of the Silicon Couloir and independent when I was coaching a team to provide service. investors in a number of start-up ventures. They are dedicated community contributors through numerous organizations including Co-Challengers of Old Bill’s Fun Run, Rungius Members of the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and Sponsors for the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts.

COMPANY BRIEF REALM (realm-global.com) is a patented proprietary platform designed to revolutionize luxury real estate by connecting real estate professionals and their discerning clientele to properties that fit their clients’ interests and lifestyle, removing much of the guesswork to create a custom, bespoke experience. REALM membership is by invitation only and the services offered feature a proprietary technology platform that enriches client data and improves the overall real estate experience for agents and their clients. Using the platform’s database, agents develop profiles for buyers, sellers, and properties. REALM then connects agents with other agents in REALM whose properties pair with the passions of their clients based on an extensive range of metrics. Brokers can use the information sourced by REALM to provide those clients with the highest levels of tailored, white-glove service. REALM fosters valuable relationships between real estate professionals and strengthens existing relationships between agents and their clients through collaborative, lifestyleinspired experiences and the power of data.

My husband was in real estate and I joined him in his successful career and my focus on luxury service continued. He enjoys the development aspect, and I knew that bringing that spirit of service and those soft skills and thoughtfulness to the table was a way that I could add value and influence.

I set my sites on the industry and how we could replicate the service that somebody receives whether they were in Paris or in London or in Shanghai. I found it very curious that we have this very sophisticated client base in the real estate business and yet it’s totally siloed so no one could ever replicate a service experience from one market to another. This causes you to put clients through this painful reeducation every time they go to work with a different agent in a new market. As an industry, I believe we can do better.

I found it very curious that we have this very sophisticated client base in the real estate business and yet it’s totally siloed so no one could ever replicate a service experience from one market to another.

What attracted you to the real estate industry and how did your experience lead to the creation of REALM? 104 LEADERS

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

REALM elevates the level of service that we’re able to provide because we’re making more educated recommendations. It will allow a network of the top performing real estate professionals in each market to provide a much more curated experience for their clients because of this technology.

I started to think about the business and ways that we could do it differently. This led to questioning and challenging not just myself, but some of my peers and other business owners to figure out how to serve our clients better and build stronger relationships among peers. How do we stay relevant in a business that’s changing, in an economy that’s changing? How do we do it in a way that’s new and innovative, and also easy to use?

REALM is essentially a relationship matching service for real estate. It takes an agent’s client database and encrypts it so the information remains proprietary to that agent. REALM then builds out the profiles of the individual clients based on what it can find from third party sources. Using data that is already public gained from sources like Wealth X and Audience Acuity, REALM aggregates information from magazine subscriptions, spending habits and published articles to create a robust client profile.

As real estate professionals, we know a lot about our clients, but very little of that actually translates into our CRM. REALM helps to educate us more in what our clients like, what they don’t like, what their affinities, habits and lifestyle passions are. It then creates tags based on those affinities.

The properties are also being fed in from the brokerage level and REALM does exactly the same thing from the property description. It reads the property descriptions and creates the corresponding tags for the properties that the clients have. The property and the client tags are then compared through an algorithm and it scores their intent to purchase based on all of those lifestyle affinities.

At the end of the day, people don’t necessarily buy houses based on the way we’re marketing them today. We’ve created a highly commoditized business because we’re all essentially doing the same thing. There’s nothing that differentiates us. REALM elevates the level of service that we’re able to provide because we’re making more educated recommendations. It will allow a network of the top performing real estate professionals in each market to provide a much more curated experience for their clients because of this technology.

How does REALM vet the agents and are you focused on a specific type of agent?

We are. It’s interesting because we’ve had a lot of questions about whether we are going to set a threshold based on how much production VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

someone does in a year. We don’t want to discourage agents that are the up and comers. It needs to include the aspirational agents who are working hard too. We’ve put together a great group of Founding Partners and they’re the ones that are vetting each agent that comes in.

Agents will be able to say, “I was selected to be a member of REALM by a committee of my peers.” It will be a badge of honor.

How has the industry reacted to REALM? Since I sell real estate for a living, I have been fortunate to actually gauge the reaction of clients when I’ve pitched REALM. Sitting in a prospective seller’s living room and presenting REALM to them has helped me refine how I explain it to other agents. Other agents who are operating at the top of the profession have embraced it and have become ambassadors of REALM as well. I’m really fortunate because I got to be part of bringing REALM to fruition and it’s been informed by thousands of conversations and by real estate professionals from all over the world.

Through the entire process, I have done a lot of listening and have then taken all of that feedback to develop something that will entice the high-performance agents who will be members. We realize that there are some people who are probably not going to be early adopters and that’s okay. However, this is something that is going to change the way we do things in the industry.

Is the focus for REALM global?

It’s global and the opportunities are amazing. We haven’t even started marketing and we’ve already heard from people from Brazil, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London and other areas. It’s incredible because it really is something that is resonating with the marketplace worldwide.

It’s all about lifestyle and it incorporates things from cultural and philanthropic opportunities to health and wellness. It all plays into what drives a real estate transaction and this mindset exists all over the world.

Did you know that you had the entrepreneurial spirit to build your own business?

I think I’ve always been entrepreneurial.

One of the things that helped to make me successful in hospitality was the fact that I treated people’s assets as if they were mine. It has always been about managing things through inspiration while being smart about how we spend our money and our resources.

When the opportunity came to start a business of my own, I felt like I was ready.

Today, we have 115 agents that work at our real estate company which are really 115 small businesses that work under our umbrella. We know that it is a massive compliment that they’re entrusting us with their brand and with stewardship of what they’re creating. These are people who are in business for themselves and we have to respect that entrepreneurial spirit in all of them too. They’re not building their brand in service to us. We really need to be in service to them.

Are you able to take moments to appreciate what you are creating and how REALM is disrupting the industry?

Times like this when I am being interviewed by you are surreal moments where I am able to reflect and look at what we’ve accomplished. You start with what you think is a silly dream and then suddenly you’re wondering how we got so far down the road.

There is so much enjoyment every single day. I get to work with my husband and some of the most remarkable people in the world, and that’s amazing. In addition to the finest real estate industry professionals, we’ve managed to put together the most remarkable board of thought leaders from outside of real estate.

Having their skills and experiences guide REALM is truly what has made the product what it is. I feel so fortunate to have access to resources at this level.

How important has it been for you to support and give back to the community of Jackson Hole?

It’s critical. Jackson Hole, Wyoming is the most philanthropic community in the nation per capita and that has become part of the DNA of the community. There is no real estate company in our marketplace that does more for the community than we do. We’ve instituted a matching program where we support the agents and match a certain portion of their philanthropic efforts.

We’re fostering an environment where our agents recognize that they can make a difference, and they know that this company will help them with that.

On an enterprise level, real estate doesn’t do a great job of this. If, through REALM, we can help the industry to understand that this is something that we can all be doing, that would be exciting.

•

LEADERS 105

Purpose Giving Back An Interview with Mark E. Watson III and AnaPaula Watson EDITORS’ NOTE Mark Watson most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Ar go Gr oup. He first invested in Argo’s predecessor company, Argonaut Group, in 1998. He joined the board of directors in 1999 and served as CEO from 2000 through 2019. Prior to joining Argonaut, he was one of two founding partners of Aquila Capital Partners, a Texasbased venture capital firm focused on technology and life sciences companies. Before founding Aquila, Watson was executive vice president and member of the board of directors of Titan Holding Inc., a NYSE-listed property and casualty insurance group, from 1992 until its acquisition in 1997 by USF&G Corporation. From 1989 to 1991, he was an associate attorney with Kroll & Tract, a New York law firm focusing on international financial services clientele. Watson graduated with a B.B.A. from Southern Methodist University and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. He is the husband of AnaPaula Watson and father of three, as well as a rancher, avid climber and yachtsman.

Where did your passion for giving back come from and how has it evolved?

AnaPaula: It came from my mother and from my husband as well. My family is from Mexico and when we were very young, my mother would always give back to the community that we were living in. She instilled that deeply in my brother and me. When I met Mark, I found that he had been brought up the same way and so we have worked together to pass that on to our own children.

Having now created a foundation, we are involving our own children and want them to see what we are passionate about so hopefully they will continue this tradition.

Children have always been, and will continue to be, our main focus. But as time has evolved, we realized that there were pieces missing in how we were giving back to nonprofits. It was wonderful that we were able to give towards buildings or playgrounds or books, but there was something missing. We felt that if we could get to the root of why children are in need to begin with and what the causes were in their environment and find a way to bring joy and opportunity back into their life, then they 106 LEADERS

Mark and AnaPaula Watson with their three children

would be able to move beyond their traumatic experiences. We wanted to support them going to school, but also to go beyond and provide more substantial help.

My own children have trouble getting in to see a counselor. It would be nice if we could give back to our communities by making the opportunity to get a deeper level of help available and helping these communities understand the signs of depression, sadness, and mental illness because many families don’t know them.

How important is it for you to give your time and expertise in addition to money?

AnaPaula: There was a time when all I did was rais e money.

I would go out there like a machine, and I would come back with commitments. I felt hollow though because I felt like I was in the background even though the monetary part was helping these nonprofits. I’m not an expert, in any sense, when it comes to what we’re trying to accomplish, but I want to be a part of the decision making about what we can do to help, aside from writing a check or a grant.

I’ve been listening a lot to my children because I think that, in our age, we tend to get busy with things that happen in life. Speaking with them and hearing what they have to say helps me know we’re on the right track.

Will the focus of your philanthropy be in your hometown or will it be broader?

AnaPaula: It will be broader. San Antonio will always be home for us. Our roots are there.

But we are looking at other initial grants as the foundation launches, including organizations in New York doing incredible work around some of the most vulnerable children and families.

Is it important to partner with other organizations to make the biggest impact?

I’m not an expert, in any sense, when it comes to what we’re trying to accomplish, but I want to be a part of the decision making about what we can do to help, aside from writing a check or a grant.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

We felt that if we could get to the root of why children are in need to begin with and what the causes were in their environment and find a way to bring joy and opportunity back into their life, then they would be able to move beyond their traumatic experiences. We wanted to support them going to school, but also to go beyond and provide more substantial help.

AnaPaula: Yes. I want to surround myself with the expertise that will help guide me down the right path. With my past philanthropic efforts, I even ended up taking a break because I felt that I was being taken in different directions and not really having that impact, so I welcome the help from partners.

How important is it to focus holistically when dealing with children’s issues?

AnaPaula: It’s great if we can bring wonderful opportunities for children. However, it’s critical to get to the core of issues like what happens when they go home, what their environment is like, how they interact with their parents, how they interact with their friends at school and if they are being bullied. Bullying is something I am very passionate about because I have a child who was bullied for over two years and I think it really continues to affect her.

She’s very strong. I wish I knew then exactly how this really impacts a child’s development and continues to affect them as they become an adult. When we were raised, if we were bullied we were told to get over it, toughen up, stand tall and move on, and that doesn’t really work.

What structure do you envision the foundation taking?

Mark: We will start in one place, and then let it grow out from there. We live in and engage in a number of communities around the U.S. and in Bermuda as well. In the beginning, we want to get a few things started in San Antonio and New York. There is no shortage of issues to address in those areas. We were talking about a holistic approach a minute ago, and that’s certainly part of it. There is a charity in San Antonio that we support which provides disadvantaged children who don’t have a hot meal at home at night with food to take home. From a holistic perspective, it’s hard to do your homework and get a good night’s sleep when you go to bed hungry so you are already starting the next day behind the curve.

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. There are already a lot of organizations that do things to try to hit the root cause that AnaPaula focused on earlier. We hope to strike a balance between trying to support those and making sure that we’re doing all that we can to help those children and create a more personal connection.

AnaPaula: The Healy-Murphy Center, which provides impactful services to youthin-crisis, is a great example. I mention this because it is that one single act of kindness VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

that we gave them that resulted in an outpouring of these handwritten letters from young ladies at the center. Every Christmas, which can be a difficult time for those facing challenging circumstances, we make a donation to the HealyMurphy Center to give each young person a gift card so they can buy something for their family.

Mark: Some will use the gift cards for themselves, which is wonderful. But most will use them to give their parent or sibling a gift for Christmas. That’s meaningful to us, because this is about more than gift cards: it’s about lifting the spirits of young people, and their loved ones, during the holiday season.

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

Mark: There are more similarities than differences because, at the end of the day, you’re trying to achieve a goal and you have to organize people and resources to get it done, which is what running a business is all about. Running a philanthropy is not terribly different because you’re still establishing a mission, setting goals and assembling the resources to achieve them.

The larger the philanthropy, the more it becomes like a business, which is both good and bad. At that stage, operational excellence matters more than it does when it’s small. You can also get away from the personal connection as I mentioned earlier.

For us, it may be better to focus on the few rather than the many. Although we may not

be able to have a personal connection in every instance, we still want to feel close enough to know the progress toward the outcomes that we’re trying to achieve for children.

AnaPaula: One of the things Mark and I want to be involved in is art therapy for children. This is an area where you obviously need to spend a significant amount of time making sure that those programs are actually working. There is a lot of data that shows that exposing disadvantaged kids to art moves the needle for them as does music.

Again, all this starts with putting food on the table, but there are other things that it takes to develop a child as well. There’s a reason why there is the expression, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

This is clearly a passion for both of you.

How special is it to be doing this together?

AnaPaula: We have been married 21 years and this is very rewarding since not only are Mark and I passionate about this, but our children are becoming increasingly passionate about it as well. We can sit around the table and all share thoughts on where we’re going with this. That is wonderful for us. We know that we’re lucky to be close and to be able to talk to our children and have them be open with us.

Mark: AnaPaula and I were both raised in an environment of giving back. I‘ve spent the last 30 years mainly in the business world but have found some time to focus on giving back, both personally and professionally. I would now like to dedicate a lot more of my time to giving back and to doing it together with my family.

•

Although we may not be able to have a personal connection in every instance, we still want to feel close enough to know the progress toward the outcomes that we’re trying to achieve for children.

LEADERS 107

Purpose Purpose-Powered Money Movement An Interview with Joy Miller, Head of Corporate Affairs, Western Union EDITORS’ NOTE Joy Miller has Today, the scale and impact of spent more than a decade working global remittances is massive, totaling at the intersection of business and more than three times total foreign social impact. As Head of Corporate direct investment. There are countries Affairs for Western Union, she stewaround the world where remittances ards the company’s environmental, provide 10 to 20 percent of GDP. Our social and governance (ESG) initiafocus on sending money across the tives, including its sustainability stratworld so that people can pay for things egy and reporting. She also oversees like education and healthcare provides measur ement and gover nance strong motivation to our workforce. around Western Union’s reputation, That said, our purpose is shiftplays an integral role in CEO advoing somewhat because we’ve evolved Joy Miller cacy and corporate positions on key to become much more than a remitsocietal topics and drives crosstance company. We’re no longer just functional collaboration on these issues across focused on people sending money around the the company. Miller joined Western Union in world as a consumer-to-consumer business, and 2012 as part of the Social Ventures team which we are opening up our platform, offering it to focused on driving shared value by leveraging corporations and other entities, so that they can Western Union’s unique global digital and retail send money globally. For example, Amazon is assets for business and social impact. Prior to a fairly recent partner of ours. With that partnerjoining Western Union, she worked in India at ship, people in a number of middle-income and the ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth, the developing markets can use Western Union to corporate foundation of India’s largest private pay for Amazon purchases in local currency, bank. She began her career at the Brookings taking advantage of the benefits that come with Institution focused on issues around forced dis- access to this huge supply of goods. This really placement and spent several years interviewing opens economies to the benefits of e-commerce. refugees across West and Central Africa as part of the US Refugee Resettlement Program. Miller received an M.Sc. from Oxford University and a B.A. from Amherst College.

C O M PA N Y B R I E F W e s t e r n U n i o n (wester nunion.com) is a global leader in crossborder, cross-currency money movement and payments. Its omnichannel platform connects the digital and physical worlds, making it possible for consumers and businesses to send and receive money and make payments globally with speed, ease and reliability. Western Union moves money for better, connecting family, friends and businesses to enable financial inclusion and support economic growth.

How critical is purpose to Western Union’s culture?

Purpose is woven into the fabric of Western Union. We are one of the few financial institutions that has a truly global network. We have the largest digital remittance business in the world, but what differentiates us is the ability to transact digitally or in cash to move money which helps connect customers even in remote parts of the world to the global economy.

108 LEADERS

Engaging our employees

in our purpose and in our broader environmental, social and governance strategy remains a priority for 2020.

We are still very focused on enabling our customers to participate in the global economy, yet our purpose is evolving as our business model evolves.

How important has it been to engage Western Union’s employees on the evolution of its purpose?

Western Union operates in more than 200 countries and territories globally and we have offices in dozens of countries around the world, so our employees are very close to our customers, and therefore our purpose. I think that understanding our customers through the people who are closest to them is key. Engaging our employees in our purpose and in our broader environmental, social and governance strategy remains a priority for 2020.

Will you discuss Western Union’s emphasis around environmental, social and governance (ESG)?

Our inaugural ESG report was published last summer. Based on inquiries from investors and other stakeholders, we realized that although we were managing our ESG issues, we really weren’t telling that story effectively and we weren’t disclosing a great deal of data in these areas. The report was part of an effort to get this information out to our stakeholders. Our next report will be published in May 2020, and like the previous report, it looks back at the previous year, providing a snapshot of how Western Union manages key ESG issues such as diversity and inclusion, how we work to stop fraud and prevent illicit activity, and our support for migrant communities. Something that’s new for 2020 is a strategy process that’s designed to help us look forward to articulate our targets on these issues.

How critical has it been to have such a deep engagement from Western Union’s board and the C-Suite in its ESG efforts?

It’s very important. Anyone who speaks with our CEO on these issues can sense his passion for them right away. There are some key issues such as migration where he has truly taken a strong advocacy role. He is supportive of all the work that we’re doing on ESG issues, and has specific issues that he is especially engaged with in a forward-leaning way.

When it comes to our board, we recently amended the charter of what was formerly known as the governance and public policy committee of our board. It is now called the governance, ESG and public policy committee, and they officially have oversight of our ESG issues. This board committee understands the importance of ESG to our business and we’ve received broad support around the board’s increased engagement on these issues.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Creating inspiration since 1927.

150 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019 212.581.7100 www.RussianTeaRoomNYC.com

Purpose A Collaborative Culture An Interview with Adam Singer, Executive Managing Director, Suburban Washington, D.C., Savills EDITORS’ NOTE Adam Singer is one We also have a clear vision of what of Savills’ longest-tenured professionwe are trying to accomplish, which is creals providing real estate advisory serating value for and supporting the misvices for a multitude of companies in sion of our clients through their real estate.

Washington, D.C., northern Virginia Whether we are negotiating a single transand across the United States. Since he action or managing a worldwide real estate joined the firm, then Studley, Inc., in portfolio, we remain committed to acting in 1983, he has accumulated an impresthe best interest of those we serve. sive list of clients consisting of large assoHow do you define the Savills ciations and foundations, as well as culture? companies in the professional services Our culture is entrepreneurial and and government-related indusgrounded in connection and collaboration.

Adam Singer tries. Singer has been the recipient of We are at a size and scale in the United numerous industry honors including States and Canada where we can maintain the Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Association that familiarity with each other. Our nimble approach of America (CREBA) Realtor Associate of the Year gives us the ability to assemble the best possible adviAward, Top Commercial Leasing Broker Award sory team to solve each client’s specific real estate and Public Service Award. In 2005, the organiza- challenge anywhere in the world. I’ve worked on a tion also honored him with the prestigious Brendan few national accounts over the years with colleagues McCarthy Memorial Award in recognition of his from offices across North America, and I have known community leadership and philanthropic efforts. everyone on my team and their particular set of skills Singer has served on the Juvenile Diabetes Research before the projects start.

Foundation’s (JDRF) National Board of Chancellors for over 35 years and is a past chairman of its Washington D.C. chapter. He is the founder of the organization’s annual Real Estate Games fundraiser, an Olympics-style event that has raised over $10 million from within the industry since its inception in 1990. Singer was recently announced as the recipient of Savills’ top honor, the Studley Person of the Year Award, recognizing an employee with an established history of distinguished philanthropic or charitable service and leadership.

Savills has been a philanthropic trailblazer…

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 165 years and counting.

What have been the keys to Savills’ success?

An important pillar of success at Savills is focused on working together as one large partnership. We are a team of several hundred people. We hire great talent, embrace smart ideas, and our familiarity fosters the sharing of best practices.

110 LEADERS

Will you highlight Savills’ commitment to being a purpose-driven firm?

Savills has been a philanthropic trailblazer setting the tone for charitable giving and community involvement within the commercial real estate community for many years. Our firm is wholly dedicated to the leadership, service and support of national and local organizations and special initiatives that improve the world around us. With a history of expertise in tenant representation, advocacy and action are at the core of who we are and what we do. One example is the JDRF Real Estate Games that I started 30 years ago in D.C.

What has made Savills a place where you have wanted to spend your career?

It has been my pleasure to be here for 37 years. Looking back, I can say that I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. Our platform is tenant representation, meaning that we only represent the user side of the formula and not landlords in our leasing. It is a customer-service based approach.

I’ve found success in this area and trained other people to do well.

At the same time, when I got into this business, I decided I was going to leverage this industry to cure diabetes with Savills’ support.

As the founding partner firm of the JDRF Real Estate Games, my Savills partners in New York, Chicago and Nashville have taken leadership roles in building this great industry event in their cities. I believe we have changed the voice and tone of philanthropy in those cities. Efforts include planning logistics, enlisting colleagues and peers as competitors or event facilitators, and recruiting donors. I was particularly proud to be the D.C. JDRF Gala honoree in November 2019. My wife Suzanne introduced me and we raised $2.2 million for research. I am honored that my partners and my industry has embraced my mission to cure diabetes.

Will you discuss the progress that has been made in the fight to cure diabetes?

At the November JDRF Gala, I talked about what it was like to be diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 18 during my college physical, and what it’s like to take 70,000 shots of insulin in my life. I also talked about the changes I’ve seen and how lucky I feel to have been a part of the decisions that led to changes that make life easier for people with Type 1 diabetes, and how lucky I have been to share hope and vision of a future without diabetes with hundreds of people that I have met.

In the past six months, I’ve been saying in my speeches that we don’t talk about cures when we talk about this disease. We talk about what is next and we talk about hope. We talk about eliminating fear and pain. With the advent of technology to make living with diabetes easier, I believe that we’re at the beginning of the end of diabetes. When I was diagnosed in 1978, my life expectancy was 57 years old, and I’m turning a healthy 60 years young this May. There has been incredible progress since 1978, and I will continue to commit my time and energy to this cause. I am on a 59-year lucky streak. That is pretty great.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Purpose Steiner’s Story An Interview with Brandon Steiner, Steiner Sports, The Steiner Agency, and CollectibleXchange EDITORS’ NOTE Brandon Steiner platform with a diverse product selecis a regular on ESPN Radio 1050 tion that caters to a global audience. on Sunday mornings, along with This enables customers, top-tier collechis co-hosting duties on the YES tors, store owners, celebrities, profesNetwork. He has published the sional athletes and teams to sell their books, The Business Playbook: collectibles directly to consumers.

Leadership Lessons from the World of Sports and You Gotta Have Balls.

Will you discuss the history of He has guest lectured at Harvard Steiner Sports and how the busiBusiness School, the Kellogg School ness has evolved? of Management, Columbia, and I love what I built, which was a Yale. In 2004, Steiner announced business focused on getting fans closer Brandon Steiner the launch of Yankees-Steiner to the game and fulfilling the dreams Collectibles to provide fans with you would have as a kid, whether it access to Yankees memorabilia and experiences be meeting a player and getting something at Yankee Stadium. He has since cultivated autographed or getting a keepsake used in the team partnerships with the Dallas Cowboys, the game. This was always a dream of mine as a kid Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, the University that I never thought could come true, so being of Notre Dame, The University of Alabama, and able to do that and then do it for so many was Syracuse University. He sits on the boards of amazing.

Syracuse University Athletics, David Falk Sports Management, Family Services of Westchester, and The Yogi Berra Museum. He earned an undergraduate degree in accounting at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management from Syracuse.

COMPANY BRIEFS Established in 1987, Steiner Sports (steinersports.com) has been a leader in sports memorabilia and sports marketing for over two decades. The company has evolved from procuring athletes for endorsements and speaking engagements to the world’s foremost provider of authenticated, hand-signed, and game-used sports collectibles. Steiner Sports is owned by Omnicom Group Inc. Founded in October 2019, The Steiner Agency (thesteineragency.com) brings a unique, one-of-a kind business model together with over 30 years of sponsorship/brand activation and promotion experience, to connect clients with exclusive sports properties. It designs and executes unique events on behalf of clients featuring dynamic sports personalities. These strategic marketing events help tap into the emotional platform of sports, resulting in a cohesive alignment between brand and athlete, driving positive brand value and creating memorable guest experiences.

Also launched in October 2019, CollectibleXchange’s (collectiblexchange.com) mission is to provide a marketplace community that maintains the highest level of ethics and authenticity. It offers a trusted online collectible VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

The challenge is that the scalability of it was very difficult. When it comes to the players, considering what I’ve asked them to do and what they have done for me over the past 30 years, it is truly unbelievable. Today, there’s so much going on with them and so many pressures on their time and this stuff is labor intensive and takes a lot of responsibility. One of the reasons for me wanting to build something new and different was that it was really hard to get the players onboard and getting the full trust and getting their cooperation with what is necessary to take the category to another level.

Samples of Steiner celebrity and sports memorabilia

I feel that way not only with athletes, but all celebrities. The burden on their time these days between everything going on with social media and other factors is enormous.

I saw a need to build a platform for players to sell their items so we’re trying to create a parallel platform for collectors and athletes because I think that athletes want their own platform, so we are creating platforms that would be side by side on our site where the athletes will have their own platform and then fans will be able to create a community which is what is missing in the collectable space. My goal in this new platform is to bring the stories back and to bring some of the interesting things that go along with collecting back.

We want to provide fans with a place to get all kinds of different items. The new site is a community where people are able to trade and find unusual things and have the security that the items that they’re buying are real. On our site, you have to declare the authentication that you have and how you got it. If it’s not one of the authentication processes that we’re familiar with, the customer has a right to buy it, but there’s also an option that they can send it to an authentication company to go and get it authenticated so you don’t get scammed.

You are known as a pioneer in the sports memorabilia market. What has made the industry so special for you?

I think a big part of happiness and enjoyment comes from being challenged. It is a complicated process as you get older because there’s always this desire for people to want to get rich quick. They think they’re going to become a multimillionaire overnight which is a fallacy.

I certainly enjoy mentoring and teaching.

I try to keep myself busy with some of those things. I’ve always been interested in building something extraordinary.

It always starts off with misery and difficulty and hardship. I think I’d be lying if I told you that this is all bells and whistles. There is a lot of change going on in the world right now, but even as an older person, if you can stay current, your experience still carries a lot of weight. You’ve just got to stay current with some of the way things are going and for me, I put a lot of effort into new ways of digital marketing and social media. I put a lot of energy into that and when you couple that with experience, you are bringing something valuable to the table.

•

LEADERS 111

Purpose A Racing Family An Interview with Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Co-Owner and General Manager, JR Motorsports EDITORS’ NOTE Kelley Earnhardt Will you discuss JR Motorsports Miller is part owner and general and how you focus your efforts? manager of JR Motorsports and is I oversee about seven or eight considered one of the most promdifferent entities. One of these is our inent businesswomen in NASCAR. race teams, JR Motorsports, which is She oversees the company’s race the top dog of what I do. We race team, management team and busiin the NASCAR Xfinity series and ness ventures for her brother, Dale have four race teams. I focus on Earnhardt Jr. A multiple-award the relationship piece of it with the recipient, she was named in 2015 sponsors. as one of SportsBusiness Journal’s I am involved in negotiating Game Changers/Women in Sports contracts and understanding what Kelley Earnhardt Miller Business for her impact on the our sponsors’ marketing plans are, motorsports industry. The daughwhy they want to be in the sport ter of seven-time NASCAR champion Dale and how they want to use our assets to meet Earnhardt, she graduated from the University the goals they’ve established within their own of North Carolina at Charlotte with a B.A. in organizations. business administration.

My other primary role is serving as Dale’s agent and brand manager. We also have ownerCOMPANY BRIEF Now in its 19th year, JR ship in a bar and restaurant concept at several Motorsports (jrmracing.com) is the profes- locations in airports across the United States. sional race team and management company co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s 15-time Most Popular Driver and winner of 50 NASCAR-sanctioned races. The company is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, and operates out of a 66,000-square-foot facility that serves as the nucleus of the company’s racing, marketing and business interests. JR Motorsports tours nationally in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with four full-time entries. JR Motorsports is also active regionally with its late model program, upon which the company was founded. JRM expanded into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with a single entry in 2015-16, scoring two wins, including a victory in only its second series start.

Did you always know that you had a passion to join the family business?

I figured I would do something in racing, but I was focused on going to college because my dad was focused on me going to college. I was the first kid in my family to go to college. My father only finished the eighth grade and he was very disappointed in that and wished that he had went further.

I started working in the sport while I was in college and worked for a marketing firm since my dad didn’t want us working directly in his business. Most of my early career was spent at Sports Image and Action Performance.

112 LEADERS

Was it dif ficult being a woman in a sport which is known for being male-oriented?

Our sport has changed as the world has changed, and there is more acceptance of women in different areas. I had a leg up when I came into the business. I was an Earnhardt.

I feel like it would have been much more difficult if I had come into the sport as a female without the Earnhardt name. My dad had a very good reputation as a common-sense businessperson and a no-BS kind of a guy. It helped that he had so much respect and was such a leader in the sport.

I have seen opportunities grow for women in the sport, but they are still mainly in PR, marketing and other similar areas. When you get into the competition side of it, such as being on the pit crews, tire specialists or working within the shops, it is still very challenging for women in our sport.

William Byron wins the Xfinity Series Championship on November 18, 2017 during the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

What interested you in writing your book, Drive: Nine lessons to Win in Business and in Life?

When we were working on Dale Jr.’s book, I was having a conversation with one of the ladies at W Publishing and told her a little bit about me. I mentioned that I wanted to write about my growing up as Dale Earnhardt’s daughter since I felt that race fans would be attracted to that and would want to know more about that experience.

Our fan base is very loyal and wants to know every possible thing that they can. We are very accessible in our sport which is different than a lot of other professional sports. I was telling her that everybody thinks it must have been a bed of roses when you grow up underneath someone that has such a fabulous reputation as a race-car driver.

I wanted to talk about this because it wasn’t always easy being his kid when I was growing up. Of course, he was a great race-car driver and I had a lot of admiration for what he accomplished, but there were a lot of things that I compromised on, missed out on and sacrificed as his daughter. I also wanted to tell that story because it took me several years of therapy to finally realize many of those things affected how I operated as an adult and perhaps my story might help others struggling with similar issues.

She looked me square in the eye and said, “That’s not going to cut it. People don’t want to hear about the hardships that people in the public eye went through.” We continued the discussion and the concept morphed into a book about business and life of which I am really proud.

What are the key messages and lessons of the book?

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Many of the lessons I share are about the difficulties in business. For instance, being authentic, approachable and managing emotions are very difficult in business because business tends to be a dog-eat-dog world.

It’s competitive and you’re trying to get to the top. Many times, people make decisions just to make money that lead somewhere down the line, to someone being compromised or sacrificed. While learning these lessons in business may be tough, I think they are extremely important because of the moral and ethical obligation that we have to people.

As you mentioned earlier, being an Earnhardt helped open doors for you. Did this also make it difficult to create your own story and build your own career?

I always accepted the fact that somebody would say, “Oh, well, you’re Dale Jr.’s sister or you’re Dale’s daughter.” There are clearly many advantages of this, but there are disadvantages as well. When I was going through school, I was picked on in a big way. People assumed a lot of things about me just because I had a famous father. Many of these things weren’t true, but few people took the time to get to know me and learn who I really was.

In business and in life, you question whether people like you for who you are or whether they like you because you’re Dale Earnhardt’s daughter and you have access to something that they’re looking for. There are a lot of questions that you ask yourself from that regard.

I worked hard at not letting that bother me.

As I matured, I saw the importance of wanting to prove myself as Kelley rather than as Dale Jr.’s sister or Dale’s daughter.

What has been the key to building such strong fan loyalty for NASCAR? It is built upon the principles of family.

When NASCAR was born, it was a very southern sport, rooted in family and southern hospitality. The families involved in racing through the

Kelley, Dale Jr. and Kerry Earnhardt in their early racing days

years are names like the Pettys, the Earnhardts, the Bodines, and the Allisons. When you say those names, you realize there are grandpas and dads and sons, and even daughters in my case, who followed their family’s tradition of racing.

This sport was built on a foundation of family and that closeness and relationship resonates with the fans.

We’ve always been a very accessible sport.

When people attend a race, they get to go down to pit road right before the drivers get into their race cars. If they’re lucky enough to have a garage and pit pass, they can even talk to them right before the race. This doesn’t happen in other sports.

•

JR Motorsports’ co-owners Rick Hendrick, Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Dale Earnhardt Jr. LEADERS 113

Purpose Making the World a Better Place An Interview with Will Sutton, President and Director, The BB&T Leadership Institute, and Executive Vice President, BB&T Corporation EDITORS’ NOTE As President and organizations with a leadership developDirector, Will Sutton leads The BB&T ment partner that helps create dynamic Leadership Institute in delivering leadand effective leaders, the Institute is ership development and human able to increase employee retention and resources programs and services to improve the bottom line. corporate clients across the United States and to senior leaders throughWhat was the vision in creating out BB&T. The Leadership Institute also The BB&T Leadership Institute and works with school systems and emerghow do you define the mission of ing student leaders on leadership and the Institute? financial literacy initiatives. Sutton The Leadership Institute started joined Branch Banking and Trust as the vision of our CEO, Kelly King.

Will Sutton Company in 1992. After completing In a nutshell, he gathered several of us the Leadership Development Program, in 2012 and said, “I’ve got an idea. Not he moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he sure what it looks like and I want you to help served in various leadership and relationship man- me figure it out. How do we get our message ager roles before joining the training department in 1996. He served as manager of the BB&T University from 2005 until 2013. He was also responsible for The BB&T Banking School at Wake Forest University and BB&T’s Leadership Development Program. He currently serves on the board of directors for the North Carolina Business Committee for Education and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Project Impact initiative. Sutton is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. degree in economics and a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Pennsylvania.

of positive and hopeful leadership out to the broadest possible audience?” From there, the Institute was born. We already owned a leadership development firm which we purchased in 1994, Farr Associates, that we had never fully leveraged. We decided to take Farr, rebrand it as The BB&T Leadership Institute, and use it as the platform to execute on Kelly’s idea. Our vision is to create a world-class center for developing exceptional leaders, teams and organizations. It is all about making the world a better place.

Will you provide an overview of the key areas of focus and programs for the Institute?

Dr. Jim Farr was a psychologist and that heritage of blending the science of psychology with the art of leadership is still very much the

We provide leaders

COMPANY BRIEF BB&T (bbt.com) is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with $230.9 billion in assets and market capitalization of approximately $37.6 billion as of June 30, 2019. Building on a long tradition of excellence in community banking, BB&T offers a wide range of financial services including retail and commercial banking, investments, insurance, wealth management, asset management, mortgage, corporate banking, capital markets and specialized lending. Based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, BB&T operates more than 1,700 financial centers in 15 states and Washington, D.C. and is consistently recognized for outstanding client service by Greenwich Associates for small business and middle market banking. BB&T and SunTrust have merged to become Truist.

Advancing the quiet revolution of psychological leadership development, The BB&T Leadership Institute (bbtleadershipinstitute.com) begins by identifying client’s specific goals and challenges.

Its consultants then develop the best approaches to address that client’s needs and tailor offerings to individual executives, teams or both. By providing 114 LEADERS

with a unique understanding of their

strengths and how to leverage those while also understanding what happens when their leadership comes under pressure, whether it’s through conflict, stress or other factors so common to high-level leaders.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Our vision is to create a world-class center for developing exceptional leaders, teams and organizations.

It is all about making the world a better place.

thread that gets pulled through all of our work.

Dr. Farr was one of the first to do this and actually began this work in the mid-’50s so we’ve been at this for over 60 years. Dr. Farr’s legacy is still very much alive at the Leadership Institute.

Our Director of Programs is a neuropsychologist and all of our consultants are required to have an advanced degree in psychology. Our director of research is a social psychologist. Our calling card is self-awareness. We provide leaders with a unique understanding of their strengths and how to leverage those while also understanding what happens when their leadership comes under pressure, whether it’s through conflict, stress or other factors so common to highlevel leaders. This understanding has profound impact on our participants and many describe the program as life-changing.

We have five key product areas. The first, and our calling card, is leadership development. We offer various programs and personalized executive coaching. The second is team building. We have a process called Team Optimization that allows us to work closely with the executive to improve team performance in whatever area is of the greatest need, whether it is communication, collaboration, conflict, decision-making, etc. Third, we have programs and consulting related to change management. Fourth, we have a proprietary employee engagement process that helps clients unlock the true potential of their employees through an understanding of both their job satisfaction and energy. Finally, we have a talent management function. We want to be able to support the entire human capital system of our clients. Through our talent work we can assist clients with identifying and developing their high potentials, selection and retention strategies, as well as team effectiveness which focuses on having the right people on the bus and in the right seats.

Who does the Institute work with and how broad is its target focus?

First, we work with Truist teammates. We have worked with heritage BB&T senior leaders for four decades and that work will continue in our new company. In fact, we have plans to move our programs further into the company by offering programs to our middle-level leaders as well.

For more than 60 years, we have worked with outside corporate clients helping them increase their leadership capacity through the five core product areas discussed earlier. However, we take all monies we generate along with VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

additional dollars from Truist and put them back into our communities through our philanthropic work. We offer the same high-quality leadership development programs that our corporate clients receive to K-12 public school principals as well as student leaders. To date, over 1,000 public school principals have experienced our flagship program, Mastering Leadership Dynamics (MLD), and it has been 100 percent free of charge. The corporate price for this 5-day program is $8,450.

Our educator guests enjoy the same curriculum, accommodations, and meals while they stay at our state-of-the-art campus in Greensboro, North Carolina. In addition, we have partnered with 69 colleges and universities to offer our Emerging Leaders Certification program. This six-hour program introduces students to our leadership model and helps them discover their core leadership strengths while exploring their preferred leadership and communication style. To date, over 9,000 students have completed the program.

How is The BB&T Leadership Institute integrated into BB&T? We are a subsidiary of the company. We work very closely with our internal Learning and Talent teams to ensure that Truist leaders have access to the best leadership development available in any industry. We are working to ensure that it actually becomes part of the employment brand of Truist. The Leadership Institute is responsible for leadership development of our upper-middle through executive level leaders.

In addition to delivering traditional leadership development programs, we provide executive coaching to senior-level leaders and team building programs through our Team Optimization process. With our recent merger, you can imagine our team programs are quite popular right now. We also work closely with our HR partners on teammate engagement. Truist uses our proprietary engagement methodology and we work closely with our internal engagement team on the design, delivery, and consulting related to our annual study and ongoing pulse surveys.

Will you discuss the employee engagement for the work of the Institute?

The Leadership Institute has been an important part of leadership development at BB&T for 40 years. First as a client of our predecessor firm, Farr Associates, and now as the rebranded and expanded Leadership Institute.

Over that time, thousands of our own leaders have attended our career and life-changing programs. We are in the process of introducing our

work to our heritage SunTrust teammates, starting with members of our executive leadership team. We worked with the new executive leadership through our Team Optimization process on several occasions and the heritage SunTrust members are in the process of attending MLD (all heritage BB&T members have attended).

Our heritage SunTrust teammates have heard about The Leadership Institute and are excited and eager to take advantage of our offerings. As I mentioned, we have done many team building sessions for both heritage BB&T and SunTrust leaders as they bring their new teams together.

In addition, we are a significant differentiator for our commercial and corporate bankers. No other financial institution offers leadership development services. It sends a powerful message to our clients that we care deeply about the success of their company in more ways than just financial success.

How critical are metrics to track the impact of The Leadership Institute’s efforts?

It’s very important and we dedicate significant time and resources to it. We have our own research and measurement team, led by Dr. Patrick Gallagher. That’s one of the differentiators of our work. When we engage with a client, we sit down and discuss their desired outcomes and how, together, we’ll measure impact.

What excited you about the opportunity to lead the Institute?

I tell people that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is a privilege to work for a company like Truist that believes deeply in the power of leadership and that wants to share that with the world. Our work changes people and by extension, those that they touch. It’s rare that we get to hold a position that deeply impacts all of those that are most important to us – our teammates, our clients, and our communities.

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

There are tactical things related to the merger, such as rebranding to Truist Leadership Institute, informing our new and existing teammates about our work and how to position it with clients, executing on the new internal leadership development process, etc. However, the fun part is expanding on our work – creating that employment brand for Truist and a differentiated service for our company and continuing to grow our philanthropic programs with educators and students. That’s the heart of our work and our purpose – “To inspire and build better lives and communities.”

•

LEADERS 115

Purpose

A Community Effort An Interview with Vicki and Fred Modell, Jeffrey Modell Foundation

Fred and Vicki Modell

FOUNDATION BRIEF Jeffrey Modell Foundation (JMF) (info4pi.org) was created after one family’s personal tragedy inspired them to help others. When Vicki and Fred Modell lost their son, Jeffrey, to Primary Immunodeficiency (PI) disease, they were determined to help prevent this pernicious illness from claiming the lives of any more children. Their commitment led them to establish a unique organization dedicated to finding a cure for this life-threatening disease which afflicts at least 500,000 people in the U.S. alone and 10 million worldwide.

They have been tireless in their efforts to help other families who have children with genetic immunodeficiencies and to raise awareness of these diseases by testifying on Capitol Hill, speaking nationwide and before the E.U. Parliament.

They have funded research and opened clinics around the world.

JMF has developed a global network of specialized centers for diagnosis, clinical care and research to find treatments and cures for Primary Immunodeficiencies. Families in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Asia and Africa have found comfort in the expert care they receive at these facilities, as well as through JMF KIDS Days, workshops, website and social media.

Will you discuss the creation of the Jeffrey Modell Foundation and how the Foundation has evolved?

Vicki: Our son, Jeffrey, passed away when he was 15. During his lifetime, Jeffrey would always say to us, “Please, mom, dad, do something. You’re smart, you went to college. Please do something.” With his doctors, he would say the same thing, “Come on. You’re so smart. You went to medical school. There must be some way that you can help me.”

Obviously, it was extremely frustrating and extremely sad for both his doctors and for us to hear him plead like that to find some way to keep him healthy. After Jeffrey passed away, we remembered that plea of “do something” and Fred and I decided we had to spend the rest of our lives trying to figure out what went wrong with Jeffrey. We knew he had a B-cell deficiency, 116 LEADERS

but we wanted to define exactly what that was and help prevent a sad and isolating event like that for another family.

Our vision was to raise a sufficient amount of money to support a Fellow or two to study this at Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he was treated. These Fellows would study B-cells and try to make a difference in the lives of people who have B-cell deficiencies. We were very fortunate to be able to raise substantial amounts of money, so one Fellow became two and Mount Sinai was joined by Boston Children’s Hospital, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

This kept multiplying throughout the world and we now have about 800 physicians in our network that are working at about 400 research and medical institutions. We’re in 300 cities and 86 countries and it’s growing every year. We’re on every continent except for Antarctica. The B-cell research gave rise to T-cells and all the other cells that we have now discovered keep our immune system working properly.

Our vision has grown over the years. We expanded our mission to try to save lives for these children worldwide.

How critical is it for the network to share data and research?

Vicki: We call this our global village, because it is a rather small community of immunologists that make up the primary immunodeficiency community and they are so willing to share with each other. Best practices have now been shared around the world including parts of Africa and parts of Asia instead of just within the United States or Europe.

We’ve organized and hosted many medical meetings where we invite the best of the best to share their knowledge with other immunologists. We still have a ways to go in parts of the world where resources are limited, but it’s getting better and better every day.

Have you received government support for these efforts?

Vicki: The government has been very good to the Jeffrey Modell Foundation. We have been given the opportunity to testify numerous times.

We are the beneficiaries of very sizeable grants, and the grants are specifically for public awareness and physician education. We know that this can really never stop because there will always be more doctors we need to educate and new children born each day who may be faced with this type of illness.

Jeffrey Modell

Will you discuss the advances being made in this area?

Fred: There are now over 400 genetic defects that have been identified, but when Jeffrey was being diagnosed and treated, there was a lot of shrugging of shoulders and doctors saying, “We’re not sure what’s going on here.”

There were only 70 defects identified at that time. Over the years, because of what we’ve been doing and the education and the publishing and the symposia, more and more defects have been identified. It’s a very different picture than it was in the 1970s.

Vicki: We’ve now developed a program for gene sequencing. Physicians and immunologists may have patients who do not have a specific diagnosis. They know it’s an immune deficiency, but they don’t know which one it is. We are providing a free program for genetic sequencing worldwide. We’re going to 380 centers where they can take their most complex, complicated patients and we will get them sequenced.

It is being offered to them for free. The shipping, the kits and final diagnosis. Everything is being paid for by the Jeffrey Modell Foundation, because it will definitely save thousands of lives.

We’ve learned a lot from this about what these defects are and what causes them and how we turn them off.

This is a really important program and we’re very excited about our newest venture.

This effort came out of a tragic situation in your lives and you have been able to touch the lives of so many through the Foundation. Are you able to appreciate what you have built in Jeffrey’s name?

Vicki: That’s a beautiful question and an emotional one. I don’t know that we’ve taken enough personal time to think about that because we’re so anxious to find the next Jeffrey and to make sure that we can save that child’s life. We know we’ve done some good but it always feels like there’s so much more to do. As I said before, there is a baby being born every second somewhere in this world who might need us.

Fred: Vicki gets wonderful e-mails, letters and phone calls from people in the U.S. and around the world who say, “We’ve found out about the Jeffrey Modell Foundation and because of it, we’ve found out what was wrong with our child. My child is doing well.” That’s such a fulfilling and gratifying piece.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Purpose Brand Building An Interview with Amy Scissons, Chief Marketing Officer, Mercer International EDITORS’ NOTE Prior to her current position, Amy Scissons served as Global CRM Practice Lead for Mercer. Earlier, she served as the Global Marketing Leader for Moody’s Analytics. Scissons’ career includes marketing leadership roles at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, BBDO, and DIRECTV Broadband. She also founded and managed the Spanish activewear firm, Bionik, in Barcelona, Spain. Scissons holds a bachelor’s degree in history and an M.B.A. from McGill University as well as a certificate in international business from HEC School of Management.

business forward, we are seeing more and more CMOs looking to be more proactive about ushering their employers into the age of digital transformation and tapping into the power of data to be a north star for growth.

Are Mercer’s marketing efforts consistent globally or do you target your efforts by market?

We take a balanced approach between global and local marketing. The Mercer brand is global but is often perAmy Scissons ceived as a U.S.-first brand. Roughly half of our business still comes from the U.S. and Canada while a little bit more than half of it comes from what we call the International Region – COMPANY BRIEF Mercer (mercer.com) builds all countries except for the U.S. and Canada. brighter futures by redefining the world of work, We recognize that our business is sold at a local reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and level so if the brand is not resonating locally, or our unlocking real health and well-being. Mercer’s more go-to-market strategy does not actually speak to the than 25,000 employees are based in 44 countries needs of the local market, we know we’ll never be and the firm operates in over 130 countries. Mercer is successful. From a global perspective, we have cona business of Marsh & McLennan, the world’s leading sistent messaging globally and our marketers are professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy expected to know where the brand is evolving globand people, with 75,000 colleagues and annualized ally and how it reflects activities locally. revenue approaching $17 billion.

What it drills down to is empowerment. Local marketers need to feel empowered to own messagHow has the role of the CMO evolved? ing within their market. We achieve this by driving In B2B companies, surging returns from value- thought leadership globally while bringing it alive based marketing is forcing CMOs to evolve into tech- through localization in five or six primary markets. nologists and strategic business advisors or perish.

How is technology impacting Mercer’s Technologists, because technology is about people, marketing efforts? processes and data. As the impact of technology At Mercer, people are at the heart of everything continues to evolve, so must marketers’ thinking we do, and we are constantly looking for ways to around its use. Strategic business advisors, because fuse economics and empathy to maximize our it’s critical for CMOs to entrench themselves in the impact. Those principles guide our marketing stratbusiness and be seen as critical partners in develop- egy as well. We focus on tapping into data-driven ing the growth agenda. marketing to positively influence the customer expeThrough both roles, CMOs have an opportu- rience through multi-platform touchpoints. nity to own the customer experience. AI, automaIn doing so, we focus our efforts on what the tion and advanced technologies are unleashing an client experience is on our own digital platforms, as overwhelming number of consumer engagement well as where they play in the market, to determine touchpoints that, under the supervision of tech-savvy where we need to show up digitally. Being able to CMOs, can be used to reach untapped marketplaces. tap into that data to distinctly articulate our value Armed with customer data and insights, marketing across different platforms is part of what uniquely can then educate decision-makers within their busi- sets us apart from our competitors. ness on how, and why, to allocate resources to How critical has it been to build employee emerging opportunities in growth markets, uniquely engagement in Mercer’s marketing programs? positioning themselves to drive the business forward With over 25,000 employees globally, in meaningful ways. delivering services to 26,000+ clients, employee While many marketers are much more com- engagement is hugely important to us. We need fortable playing to more traditional strengths, which to make sure that our senior leaders are aligned is thinking about the brand, communicating to the and that our people understand what it is we’re market, and hoping that this in itself will move the trying to do.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Data helps us with these efforts immensely. Our teams conduct analysis through data visualization tools and transcribe and interpret that information into actionable data sets that inform their decision-making processes. Additionally, everyone on Mercer’s marketing team is assigned simple metrics and KPIs and can directly access their data to track how effectively they are meeting those assigned goals.

This is something that we have had to evolve over time. We needed to recognize that marketing is on a journey and it has to become a customercentric, data-driven function for the organization. It is a matter of earning trust, showing wins, and making sure that we’re fully aligned to the business strategy.

Will you discuss Mercer’s commitment to building a diverse and inclusive workforce?

Diversity and inclusion is very dear to Mercer.

Our workplaces are more diverse than ever before and we know that tapping into this breadth of diversity is key to the creative process and the cross-pollination of ideas that drive modern discovery.

We view D&I as a solution, not an issue, and we have been on the forefront of encouraging our clients and industries as a whole to think more about what it means and how to drive progress.

Externally, we recently launched the next generation of our When Women Thrive, Businesses Thrive, to help re-energize the conversation on D&I and the effort to close the gender gap. Internally, we continue to challenge ourselves to think more broadly and more critically about our hiring and team development practices. For example, by creating diverse software teams, we’re fostering different perspectives and experiences to solve a problem.

The results can be magic.

What do you tell young people about the opportunities that Mercer offers?

As the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people, there are a lot of career opportunities at Mercer.

With a diverse workforce based in 44 countries, with operations in over 130 countries, I always emphasize the globality of Mercer. When I go into the markets and meet with my teams, the first thing that they mention is that they would love to work in such-and-such country, or work with such-and-such team. We do everything in our power to give those opportunities to our employees and to give them ways in which they can challenge and stretch themselves.

When I’m speaking to new recruits, I tell them that if they’re looking for a challenge that could really open interesting doors for them, considering Mercer is a very intriguing option.

•

LEADERS 117

DISRUPTING THE WINE INDUSTRY: AN INTERVIEW WITH ONEHOPE MARI WELLS COYLE

In a world where screen time often dominates face time, it’s no wonder that companies are beginning to reimagine the consumer’s experience. While winemaking legends continue to operate according to traditional standards, one company was bold enough to disrupt the industry.

TIFFANY WOJTKIEWICZ

q: What is ONEHOPE? A. Tiffany: ONEHOPE is a Napa Valley winery built on hope and rooted in purpose. Through wine tasting experiences, we empower people to share wine and give hope. Our vision is a world where all women are empowered to create the future they envision. q: Does that mean only women drink ONEHOPE? A. Tiffany: We think there are plenty of men who love great wine and our vision to empower women. There are so many sons, husbands, and dad's that really connect with what we're about. q: What makes ONEHOPE different than other traditional wine brands that are next to you in Napa like Opus One, Nickel and Nickel, or Caymus?

A. Tiffany: Well, we have quite a few things that stand out about us when you line us up next to our neighbors. First, none of our co-founders had any family in the wine industry. We started with 100 cases of wine in a public storage unit and $10,000. From the beginning, we were built on hope and rooted in purpose. And that purpose of sharing wine and giving hope is what makes us really special. But it's not just the cause, it’s the people, too. Unlike most of our competitors in a male-dominated industry, ONEHOPE is over 50% female, and we have approximately 5,000 more women around the nation that share our wine through at-home wine tastings and virtual fundraisers.

We call them "Cause Entrepreneurs" and they are our story tellers, and the people who have really built this brand alongside us. After that, I'd say our products. We make 90+ point wines from the greatest wine regions in the world by one of the hottest winemakers in the world... this woman next to me, Mari Wells Coyle. We also differentiate ourselves by our technology which is the biggest team in the company. We build the best eCommerce and sales software in the wine industry,

ONEHOPE was founded by eight friends that came together with a vision to deliver exceptional wine to people’s homes, all while giving back to meaningful causes. Their direct to consumer channel is unlike any other, so we sat down with their Co-Founder, Tiffany, and head winemaker, Mari, to learn more about how they’re delivering hope to homes across the country.

which allows us to make data driven decisions that make the experience better for our customers, hosts, and Cause Entrepreneurs. Last but not least is our quick and free shipping all of our subscribers and wine club members get free shipping, and standard customers can also take advantage of the best rates in the industry. On average we take 2-3 days to get wine to your doorstep by ground.

Q: Wow! That's a lot of ways that you are different, Tiffany! What do you do for ONEHOPE, and how long have you been working there?

A. Tiffany: I'm a Co-Founder at ONEHOPE, so I've been here since day 1. I'm also the President and I'm on the Board of Directors. I've been building ONEHOPE for nearly my entire career since my early twenties. I started my career with the largest wine company in the world right out of college, before leaving a couple years later to start ONEHOPE. Over 12 years later I'm still doing that, but now I'm married and I'm a proud mother of two to my daughter Blair and son Otis.

Q: Can you explain what you mean by "Democratizing the Napa Valley Wine tasting experience?"

A. Tiffany: Our goal is for customers across the country to be able to enjoy the wine country tasting room experience out of the comfort of their homes. When they visit a winery and get to hear the brand story and tasting descriptions from an expert, it’s quite a memorable experience. But most people can't afford to make it to Napa, and even if they can, it might just be once every few years.

So we provide the tools to bring that memorable wine experience, that education, that fun to people all over the country. We will power tens of thousands of wine tastings in 2020 - from Napa Valley to your home.

Q: Tell us about how you got into winemaking and do you think about it as more science or art?

A. Mari: I started studying winemaking after attending the Maritime Academy in Vallejo, CA. I transferred to UC Davis where I could learn more science, but with a practical hands-on experience. I’ve always loved to be hands-on. My father was a sailor and I’ve often felt that working in a winery reminds me of being on a ship. After graduating from UC Davis in Viticulture and Enology, I worked for Gloria Ferrer Sparkling Wines, Merry Edwards in Russian River, and traveled to New Zealand for 2 vintages. I became head winemaker at the age of 24 and have always loved developing my own unique style that speaks to the origin of the fruit. I had the science background to really support my creativity at an early age to master my craft. Before coming to ONEHOPE, I was winemaker at Sterling Vineyards. My time at Sterling helped me learn the Napa Valley. I think winemaking is equal parts science and art, and with more experience I find new ways to be creative in the cellar while capturing the essence that is the vineyard.

Q: It sounds like you're opening your winery in the heart of Napa, are you excited about it and what will it mean for the business?

A. Mari: Yes! We have pulled together a small purpose-driven community of eclectic people that we hand-picked ranging from athletes and musicians, to entrepreneurs, visionaries and philanthropic families, all with a common thread of being rooted in purpose. We've connected all of them with the brand and each other through shared ownership in a beautiful vineyard and winery in the heart of Napa. They've helped us to build a beautiful private estate residence on the property that we refer to as ESTATE 8.

Also on the property is a state-of-the-art winery designed by Napa's most famous architect in history, Howard Backen. With 15,000+ square feet of hospitality space it will be a one-of-a-kind entertaining space. It will also be the only winery I know of in Napa with a speak easy type bar with virtual golf. I plan on showing off my winemaking and golf skills! The winery is smack dab in the heart of Napa amongst many of the finest wine brands to ever come out of the U.S. We are next door neighbors to Beaulieu Vineyards and To-Kalon, on property that Robert Mondavi and Andy Beckstoffer have made so famous. It's really humbling to have the hottest new property on Napa's most trafficked road.

Over 5 million cars drive by every year, so to say this is going to be big for our credibility and awareness is an understatement!

Q: I understand you empower people to work from home, how does that work?

A. Tiffany: Well, it's a job where you can make your own hours and work from anywhere. If you have a phone or a computer we give you the tools and software to run your business on your own schedule. Flexibility to work from home, a coffee shop or the beach on any given day is one of the most unique things about being a part of our community of Cause Entrepreneurs!

Q: Can people make a full-time income off of this, or is it just for people who love wine and want to have fun?

A. Tiffany: All of the above. We do have people who make a full-time income, some even over six figures, and most knew nothing about wine before coming to us. Some do it for part-time income and make enough to pay a portion or all of their mortgage or the car payment. There are also people who just do it for the fun, education, and to make an impact in their local communities, and may make enough to pay for their kid’s swim or dance lessons, or to fund their love of wine... haha.

Q: How much impact do these wine events make?

A. Tiffany: Last year we helped hosts raise over $1M and to date we've donated to over 10,000 different local non-profits. As a company we've donated over $5,000,000 through our wine sales, and have helped our charitable partners raise many millions more through sponsorship and awareness.

Q: Do you only sell through at-home wine tastings and online?

A. Mari: No. Although in-home wine tastings and online fundraisers are our #1 sales channel and marketing strategy, we also sell through thousands of restaurants, hotels and fine wine shops around the nation. If you don't know a Cause Entrepreneur or a host you can still go to onehopewine.com and buy direct.

Q: Do you work with bigger corporate customers?

A. Mari: Yes we have a great corporate gifting program and work with companies as big as Google and as small as local real estate agents. Additionally, when we open the winery in July we will have one of the top spots in wine country for private food and wine events.

LEADERS IN EDUCATION

Developing Open, Well-Educated Minds An Interview with Christina H. Paxson, President, Brown University EDITORS’ NOTE Christina H. How do you define the Brown Paxson is the nineteenth president University difference? of Brown University and Professor Several elements distinguish of Economics and Public Policy.

Brown, and they are interrelated. One She assumed the r ole of pr escore attribute is Brown’s openness and ident on July 1, 2012. Prior to her commitment to open intellectual inquiry. appointment at Brown, she was This arises from our long standing Open dean of the Woodrow Wilson School Curriculum, now in its 50th year, which of International and Public Affairs calls on Brown students to be the archiand the Hughes Rogers Professor tects of their own education. of Economics and Public Affairs Brown students are fearless in at Princeton University. While their approach to problem solving.

Christina H. Paxson at Princeton, she also served as They are intellectually engaged at a associate chair and chair of the level beyond anything I’ve seen anyDepartment of Economics and was the found- where else, and Brown’s faculty mirror this ing director of a National Institute on Aging same depth of intellectual curiosity and tenacity.

Center for the Economics and Demography of Over the years, faculty members have adopted Aging. She founded the Center for Health and a Brown approach that blends this intellectual Wellbeing in the Woodrow Wilson School, for freedom with intense collaboration, even if which she served as the director until 2009. they completed their graduate work at other Paxson is nationally recognized as a leader universities. It’s the collaboration piece that in higher education and a respected econo- is another mark of distinction at Brown that mist and public health expert. She has been the goes along with the openness. When I came to principal investigator on a number of research Brown, I was struck by how seamlessly faculty projects supported by the National Institutes of work together within and across departments Health, has authored or co-authored numerous and even across divisions. They work with stujournal articles, was elected vice president of the dents in a really wonderful, flexible way.

American Economic Association in 2012, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Paxson is currently the vice-chair of the board of directors of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, vice-chair of the board of the Association of American Universities and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Paxson is an honors graduate of Swarthmore College, Phi Beta Kappa, and earned her M.A. and Ph.D. graduate degrees in economics at Columbia University.

INSTITUTION BRIEF Founded in 1764, Brown University (brown.edu) is a leading research university home to world-renowned faculty and is an innovative educational institution where the curiosity, creativity and intellectual joy of students drives academic excellence. The spirit of the undergraduate Open Curriculum infuses every aspect of the University. Brown is a place where rigorous scholarship, complex problem-solving and service to the public good are defined by intense collaboration, intellectual discovery and working in ways that transcend traditional boundaries. Providence, Rhode Island, has been Brown’s home for more than two and a half centuries.

120 LEADERS

Another core attribute is that we’re a leading research university without being an ivory tower. There’s a very practical edge to much of the work that happens here. Our faculty and students are focused on how what they’re researching and learning is going to make a difference in the world.

The final point I’ll note is that Brown is known for its commitment to diversity. Since its founding over 250 years ago, Brown has maintained a commitment to openness and diversity of thought and experience. The understanding of the value of this diversity to an educational institution has stayed with Brown throughout its existence. Those are the characteristics that I found when I came here in 2012 and that I fell in love with. It’s been a joy to say, “Okay, how can we take this and build on it to make an even greater university founded on these themes and ideas.”

You developed a 10-year strategic plan for Brown. How important was it to engage the faculty, administration and students in the creation of the strategic plan?

Engagement across the community was essential. Leading a university is in some ways more like being a mayor of a city than it is being a CEO of a company. You have numerous different

Ribbon cutting for the 225 Dyer Street building that houses Brown’s School of Professional Studies in the Jewelry District VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

constituencies. You have alumni, varying groups of students, faculty and staff, and people within the broader community. They all have a stake in what you’re doing, and they all care about it which is fabulous. The challenge is to engage all of these different groups and ensure they all have a voice in the process. When you do this, the result is a plan that reflects a rich range of perspectives, but is truly strategic.

At many universities, strategic plans have the tendency to have everything but the kitchen sink thrown in, trying to be everything for everybody. We worked very hard developing this strategic plan to focus on areas where Brown has the capacity to be really excellent, but through an inclusive process so that all members of the community could participate and envision themselves as being part of what we’re building at Brown.

Will you discuss Brown’s innovative curriculum?

The innovative curriculum is one of Brown’s hallmarks. A key driver is that our students, who are ultimately the best innovators we have, have a large voice in the educational experience. Faculty members do, as well, and they are always thinking about how we adapt to keep pace with a world that is constantly changing. This allows innovation to happen somewhat naturally. Over the past six to eight years, we’ve seen a growing voluntary recognition on the part of students and faculty, and particularly younger faculty, that everybody has to understand digital technologies and data. This means that those tools have to be integrated into disciplines across the university, from science to history to the arts and the humanities. It has been very interesting to observe students flocking to computer science and data sciences in droves, fueling creative intersections and discovery across fields of study.

One of the reasons I love the Brown approach to education is that it isn’t focused only on the first jobs students will take upon graduation. The idea is to educate students who have benefited from building multifaceted educations in different ways. It’s common for a Brown student to say, “I’m studying neuroscience and philosophy” or “I’m studying computer science and theater and performance studies.” When you ask them why that makes sense, they can tell you why it makes sense for them. We see the impact in the way they solve complex problems like those they’ll encounter in life after Brown. If we move into a world where we don’t know what the jobs will be in 20, 30, or 40 years, this type of education encourages people to continue to learn over time and to bring different ways of thinking to solve the complex challenges facing society. It is actually more valuable than it has ever been.

While they’re getting the specific tools they need now, they’re also developing open, well-educated minds, which is something the world needs.

Will you highlight Brown’s focus on research?

Research is essential to everything we do. If you’re an institution that is dedicated to advancing knowledge through research and education, and also that understands and appreciates how they work together to benefit society, that makes for a great research university.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Research being conducted in the Kate O’Connor-Giles Lab

Service is one of the major components of our mission. Brown students, faculty and staff are driven by the idea that their work will have an impact in the world.

Also, the faculty members at Brown involve students, from undergraduate students to graduate students to medical students, as partners in their research and scholarship. Instead of being bifurcated with the education happening separately from the research, they complement each other in meaningful ways.

How important has it been for Brown to build public/private partnerships with government, business and industry?

I believe that the story of Brown is also the story of Providence and Rhode Island. We have been intertwined since the founding of the republic. Brown has a vision to not only be a member of the community, but also a partner in its success.

Providence is a great city, and Rhode Island is a state that is vibrant and full of promise. In a way, it’s almost like a city-state, because the metropolitan center is also the seat of state government. This means I likely have the opportunity to interact with our government and business leaders in both the city and state more routinely than leaders at other higher education institutions. This has enabled ambitious publicprivate partnerships to fuel economic development of an area of Providence called the Jewelry District. It’s the region of the city where there used to be jewelry factories, which all disappeared when that business moved overseas and left the area economically depressed.

Through partnerships with the state and private businesses, we renovated and repurposed an old power plant that sat dilapidated for years, and we collaborated on a new innovation center. We’re talking about future growth that combines state input with Brown, the public universities, the University of Rhode Island, and commercial enterprises.

I have also been very involved in trying to make some changes in the healthcare landscape in the state which, obviously, is complicated and involves a lot of collaboration.

Did you know early on that academics is where you wanted to focus your career?

I am not the kind of person who developed a life plan and then followed it. I discovered when I was a graduate student that I loved research and teaching so I went into academics.

While I was doing that, I discovered that I could amplify my impact by moving into administrative roles and supporting other people who were doing research and education.

That evolved into the concept that I could be a university president. This wasn’t initially the plan, but I have to say that it’s a great position to be in.

Are you able to take moments to reflect and celebrate all the positive things happening at Brown or are you always thinking about what’s next?

Yes to both. The joy of this job is in making continual progress. If I ever get to the point where I say, “Okay, I’m done, Brown doesn’t need to move anymore,” I should not be in this job. Staying under those circumstances would be awful. Recently, we prepared a report that was a look back on the first five years of Brown’s strategic plan. Reading through that reminded me that we have an Institute at Brown for Environment and Society that didn’t exist before, an arts initiative that’s really growing, numerous new programs supporting research and teaching, and diversity and inclusion efforts that are having a huge impact on campus.

Sometimes you feel like you’re moving through mud while you’re getting it done, but when I look back, I can see all that has actually been accomplished with an exceptional team in a short period of time.

•

LEADERS 121

LEADERS IN EDUCATION

Investing in People An Interview with Vincent E. Price, Ph.D., President, Duke University EDITORS’ NOTE Vincent E. Price How do you define what makes is the 10th Pr esident of Duke Duke special?

University, where he is also Walter From its earliest days, Duke has Hines Page Professor of Public always had aspirations for excellence.

Policy and Political Science in the Terry Sanford, while he was president Sanford School of Public Policy of the institution, referred to the “outraand Trinity College of Arts and geous ambition” of this community, a Sciences. Prior to coming to Duke, spirit that is reflected today in an innovaPrice served as Pr ovost of the tive entrepreneurial outlook and a willUniversity of Pennsylvania and ingness to make calculated bets. That was Steven H. Chaffee Professor has translated into a highly collaborain the Annenberg School for tive culture and we have more recently Vincent E. Price Communication and Professor of recognized and worked very hard to Political Science in the School groom a certain kind of community of Arts and Sciences. He also led Penn’s role that’s undergirded by several core values: respect as one of the first partners with Coursera, the and trust, inclusion, a thirst for discovery, and an online open learning platform, and served as aspiration for excellence in all we do.

Chair of Coursera’s University Advisory Board.

What excited you about the opportuHe came to Penn in 1998 after 11 years at the nity to lead Duke and made you feel it was University of Michigan, where he was Chair of the right fit? the Department of Communication Studies and I had long admired Duke. As provost of the a Faculty Associate of the Center for Political University of Pennsylvania, I had an opportunity Studies. Price is a leading global expert on to interact with the then-provost here at Duke and public opinion, social influence, and politi- knew and respected various faculty members. cal communication. His book, Public Opinion Duke is small enough to maintain a strong sense (Sage, 1992), has been published in six lan- of community and support an undergraduate proguages and taught in courses around the gram grounded in liberal arts, but large enough world and he is the former editor-in-chief of Public Opinion Quarterly, the leading journal of public opinion research. Price has held visiting appointments at the University of ParisSorbonne and the University of Amsterdam, and has lectured widely at universities around the world. Price earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in communication from Stanford University and a B.A. magna cum laude in English from the University Honors Program at Santa Clara University.

INSTITUTION BRIEF Duke University (duke.edu) is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina and having been founded as Trinity College in rural Randolph County in 1838. Trinity moved to Durham in 1892. James Buchanan Duke, a tobacco and electric power businessman, made a transformative gift in 1924 and the institution changed its name to honor his deceased father, Washington Duke, and began constructing a new campus. Duke is now ranked among the world’s leading universities and is known for its strength in a range of disciplines, including medicine, nursing, law, the environment and the humanities.

122 LEADERS

to develop and support an array of professional schools, especially a school of medicine and biomedical research and health sciences.

When this opportunity came up, unlike others that I was willing to pass on because I loved my position at the time, I thought it deserved a serious look. As I learned more about Duke, I loved what I saw. I was not all that familiar with Durham and certainly not with the changes in Durham over the past 10 to 15 years. I was convinced that this was the right time and that Duke was the right institution, and I felt that, with the community here and with my experience, we would be a very productive combination.

Will you discuss the strategic framework for Duke?

It is quite purposefully constructed to begin and end with people and to be centered around community. Duke, like most institutions of higher learning, has made substantial investments in physical infrastructure, but we have to remember that our core business is talent identification and development. We’re here to identify the brightest and most ambitious learners and bring them here so that they can study, conduct research, and try to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Autumn at Duke University VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

The framework is focused on making those commitments front and center. This is not to say that we won’t make additional investments in facilities and infrastructure, but we will strive to direct our energies primarily into making sure that our core investments are always in people. That translates into caring for our faculty. That translates into financial aid. It translates into leveraging the resources that we have constructed, a wonderful student health center, investments in the arts, our fabulous Duke health offering, and pulling those together in a way that allows us to dedicate ourselves to education of the whole person – mind, body and spirit. I think that’s the core that underlies the strategic framework.

At the same time, we’re making targeted investments in science and technology to address some of the opportunities of the 21st century. On the educational front, we’ve been very creative but, like most institutions, we have yet to, in a serious way, leverage the opportunities that new technologies present to us and the liberal arts for the 21st century in a profound way.

With respect to our location here in Durham, and the Research Triangle, I feel very strongly in the opportunity for collaborative partnerships.

These will help address the needs of our local community and mobilize our energies collaboratively with government leaders and community leaders. This is, again, consistent with our mission to identify and develop talent for a vibrant workforce in this region, to elevate the quality of education in the region and to address the needs of the community by making sure that we have the healthiest population we can.

Finally, with respect to our global network of Duke alumni, over the past century we have invested in building and sending out into the world these fabulous Duke alumni, and we now have close to 200,000 alumni of Duke University. The world is changing. The demands for adaptability and continuing education are growing day by day. The opportunity to think deeply about lifelong education and commit to our alumni that we’ll always be there for them, while we invite them to be part of this learning opportunity and this discovering opportunity, I think is very exciting.

These are ways in which Duke can step forward and take real leadership as we try to redefine, in many respects, higher education for the 21st century.

How critical is it to build a culture within the university that honors and appreciates diversity and inclusion?

It is essential. Coming back to our core mission of identifying and developing human talent, we overlook, as a society, vast reservoirs of human talent that go undeveloped because of a lack of resources, a lack of attention, and a lack of fairness. As we think about how we can address the challenges of society and how we can be better at our educational mission, it demands that we take a very broad view of opportunity and open ourselves to new perspectives. Diversity brings with it a wide variety of perspectives, and when it comes to problem solving, one of our greatest shortcomings tends VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Students on the campus of Duke University

to be a certain kind of myopia, a failure to see things from a longer distance or difficulty of seeing something from multiple angles.

If we’re going to do our teaching well and if we’re going to do our research well, it demands that commitment to diversity. We have to do it in a way that deeply values human potential, it has to be grounded in respect and trust, and that’s where inclusion really steps forward, in my view. It’s also grounded in a sense of responsibility. We’re an institution with tremendous resources. We have bright students and faculty. We have a wonderful staff that is dedicated to doing the very best that they can. We can’t squander that. It’s important to share the opportunities that we’re creating as broadly as we possibly can.

Do you feel that community engagement and addressing major societal issues is a responsibility of leading institutions and universities today?

I do think it’s a responsibility. In the case of this institution, it’s one of the reasons we were founded. Trinity College, from which we grew Duke University, was established early on as a very rudimentary educational institution, but clearly to advance the regional economy, to educate the workforce, and to bring together largely agricultural communities. Then, when Duke University was created in 1924, it was expressly to help develop the region. This university was founded alongside a separate foundation – The Duke Endowment – which exists for the purpose of advancing healthcare in the region, promoting education, promoting the health and welfare of the community, and assisting the rural church.

These missions are consistent with our founding goals, and we’re a problem-solving community. We’re here to discover and learn new things. We’re wonderfully equipped to solve problems. We’re perhaps less well equipped to identify the right problems to address, and that

requires a conversation with people outside the university, understanding their needs, their wants, their desires, and thinking about how we, after listening carefully, might be able to help and how we can learn from them as much as they learn from us. This is not an attempt by an institution to swoop in and try to solve other people’s problems. It’s part of a deep partnership that starts with understanding other people’s needs and engaging with them and being creative about how we resolve them.

Did you know early on that education was where you wanted to focus your efforts and spend your career?

Yes and no. I fell in love with universities the minute I stepped onto a campus to study as a student. I’ve had the great fortune to be surrounded by fabulous students and faculty members on multiple campuses around the country. I also found, as I burrowed into my own research and my own teaching, that it’s a very collaborative exercise.

I never shied away from administrative opportunities. I became a department chair. I became very engaged in the faculty senate at the University of Pennsylvania. It felt natural, but I would not have predicted this particular trajectory because it was something that opened up over the course of time.

Having said that, I did have one startling experience as I was cleaning materials out of my home in preparation for a move, when I came across my graduate school application.

I have no idea why I even held onto it, but in the application essay that I wrote, I mentioned at that point in time that I liked administrative work and that, at some point, I might be a dean or a provost. I’m not sure I fully understood what a provost was at that point in time, to be honest. I must have had some hint of leaning in this direction, but I had no idea at the time.

•

LEADERS 123

LEADERS IN EDUCATION

A Values-Based Institution An Interview with Dr. Nido R. Qubein, President, High Point University EDITOR’S NOTE Dr. Nido Qubein Will you provide an overview of the became the seventh president of High history and heritage of High Point Point University in January 2005. He University and how the University has served as past president of the Big has evolved?

South Conference and teaches a class Founded in 1924, High Point to all freshmen titled, “The President’s University is a 95-year-old liberal arts Seminar on Life Skills.” In this course, institution located in the Piedmont Dr. Qubein shares with students the Triad region of North Carolina. Since habits, skills, values, and the practitaking on the role as president of High cal intelligence that one must apply to Point University in 2005, the university succeed in an ever-changing world. has experienced extraordinary transThe author of 11 books, Dr. Qubein formation, including major increases Nido R. Qubein received an associate degree in busiin enrollment from 1,450 to 5,400 ness from Mount Olive College, a students, a 272 percent increase, the bachelor’s degree in human relations from High number of faculty from 108 to 366, a 239 perPoint University, and a master of science in busi- cent increase, and the addition of 112 new and ness education degree from the University of North acquired buildings on campus. We’ve added six Carolina at Greensboro Bryan School of Business & academic schools, new programs in neurosciEconomics. In 2009, he was awarded an Honorary ence, entrepreneurship, interactive gaming, Doctor of Letters in Humanity degree from the commerce and many more along with new University of North Carolina at Greensboro. advanced degree initiatives in physician assistant, pharmacy, and physical therapy.

UNIVERSITY BRIEF Founded in 1924, High On a mission to provide every student Point University (highpoint.edu) is a 94-year-old with an extraordinary education in an inspiring liberal arts institution located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina. At High Point University, every student receives an education in an inspiring environment with caring people. “America’s Best Colleges” 2020 Edition, published in the U.S. News & World Report, ranks HPU #1 among all regional colleges in the South (the eighth consecutive year at #1). It also ranks HPU for the fourth consecutive year as the #1 Most Innovative Regional College in the South for innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology or facilities. HPU was selected, for the eighth consecutive year, as a “Colleges of Distinction.” HPU also earned Fields of Study distinctions for the Philips 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 384 Colleges: 2020 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 385 Colleges,” the new Princeton Review rankings also names HPU as one of the top 20 universities in the nation for Best-Run Colleges (#19) and Best College Dorm Rooms (#5) and Most Beautiful Campuses (#18).

High Point University is a values-based

institution, grounded in hard work,

personal initiative,

generosity, gratitude, faith and more.

124 LEADERS

environment with caring people, High Point University’s rankings have soared from #17 in 2005 to #1. The university was named the #1 Regional College in the South for the eighth consecutive year in “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report. High Point University is also recognized in “America’s Best Colleges” as the #1 Most Innovative Regional College in the South, in addition to #1 for undergraduate teaching. The Princeton Review named High Point University among “The Best 385 Colleges: 2020 Edition” for its academic programming, as well as positive survey responses and feedback from students, parents and higher education leaders across the country.

How do you define the High Point difference and what makes the University unique?

High Point University is the Premier Life Skills University. We don’t focus on the “product” – the diploma. We focus on the product of the product – a life filled with meaningful success and framed with purposeful significance. At High Point University, we are focused on rendering value for our graduates. When students complete their education here, we want them to possess not only the technical skills needed to launch their career, but the life skills needed to navigate and continuously grow their career.

High Point University is a values-based institution, grounded in hard work, personal initiative, generosity, gratitude, faith and more.

Parents spend their lives modeling values for their children. When they send their children to a university, they want it to uphold and further those values. When students choose a university, they want an institution that will serve as an extension of their home. Of course, values can’t be taught. They can only be modeled. We’ve built a culture that celebrates those values. It’s in the air at High Point University. It’s the most consistent praise we hear from students and parents, that we’ve dared to build an environment and foster a culture where students choose to be extraordinary.

Will you discuss High Point’s transformation under your leadership?

Our institutional growth has blossomed because students and parents value our approach to educating future leaders of our world. That approach is grounded in the understanding that parents spent a lifetime propelling their child forward. They want the college their student attends to continue their efforts.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

High Point University is the Premier Life Skills University. We don’t focus on the “product” – the diploma. We focus on the product of the product – a life filled with meaningful success and framed with purposeful significance.

We aren’t merely educating here. We are taking this transformational journey together. That’s why 97 percent of the 2019 class of High Point University are employed or continuing education within six months of graduation, 11 points higher than the national average.

How do you define the meaning of Holistic Learning?

A college education should not only focus on the attainment of a diploma. An extraordinary, holistic education should be about professional development and personal transformation as well. Students need context in life if they are to thrive as they exit the hallowed halls of the academy and enter the vast global economy.

Communication skills, relational capital and an attitude of adaptability will take them far in life.

Couple that with a solid understanding of their core discipline and you have a person ready to think entrepreneurially and add value to any organization.

Additionally, our Access to Innovators program is one of the most unique components to our holistic learning model. Students have access to global leaders who serve in residence, including Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph, HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence; Apple

Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, HPU’s Innovator in Residence; Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, HPU’s Sports Executive in Residence; ABC News’ Byron Pitts, HPU’s Journalist in Residence; and Scott McKain, best-selling author, business consultant, trainer and HPU’s Corporate Educator in Residence. We know that connecting students with people who have changed the world unlocks their ability to believe in themselves and accomplish goals they once didn’t know were possible.

How is High Point preparing its students for future success in today’s global economy?

We pr epar e students at High Point University for our ever-changing world with an innovative philosophy toward education that has drawn interest from college leaders, parents and students alike. Our approach to teaching and learning blends scientific strategy and creative artistry in a way that enables students to navigate the world as it is going to be, not merely the way it is today.

Has it been a focus to increase the number of international students attending High Point and will you discuss the makeup of High Point’s student population?

High Point University’s campus includes dozens of sculptures as part of their inspiring environment VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Last fall, we announced our plan for the next 10 years, which includes $700 million in endowed scholarships to support diversity, first generation students, academic excellence and veterans. High Point University has a total of 5,400 students representing 37 countries and all 50 states in the U.S. The student population is comprised of 57 percent females and 43 percent males, with 15 percent of undergraduates enrolling as first-generation college students.

Will you highlight the strength of High Point’s faculty and your focus on attracting top talent to the university?

Providing an extraordinary education is at the heart of High Point University’s mission, but the soul of the university lives and breathes with its people. At High Point University, students are supported by individuals who serve as heroes, models and mentors.

We have stellar faculty conducting high-level scientific research on campus which is receiving national attention and providing students with incredible learning experiences that will benefit their future careers.

What do you see as High Point’s responsibility to the community it serves and how is High Point engaged in the community?

Our city is a big part of our spirit and our heart. We will always be High Point’s university, and High Point will always be our home. For this reason, we volunteer 110,000 hours every year with at least 40 local agencies, and students participate in dozens of service-learning courses that disperse them throughout the city to lend a helping hand. In addition to service, I have raised $63 million from private donors to build projects to bring visitors downtown year-round, including the new downtown ballpark known as BB&T Point, an events center, a children’s museum and a park.

How do you define the role of a university president and what are the keys to effective leadership?

Leaders strive to create capacity in others.

For students, I teach a class to all freshmen titled, “The President’s Seminar on Life Skills,” sharing the principles, skills and values that one must apply to succeed in an ever-changing world. I remind faculty and staff on campus, “We live, students watch, and students learn,” because students are paying attention to our actions.

They need heroes, models and mentors to positively influence their lives and actions. You have to live the example for them to follow.

•

LEADERS 125

LEADERS IN EDUCATION

Rooted. Restless.

An Interview with The Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, Ph.D., President, Villanova University EDITORS’ NOTE The Rev. Peter M. What have been the keys to Donohue has served as Villanova Villanova’s success and how do University’s 32nd president since you define what makes the uniJune 1, 2006. Born in the Bronx, versity special?

New York and raised in Royal The key to success is the peoOak, Michigan, Father Donohue ple that are in various positions ear ned a B.A., with a concenthroughout the university. There is tration in theatr e and commua great dedication to the institution. nication arts, fr om Villanova People really enjoy working here so University in 1975 and was it’s the kind of place where people ordained an Augustinian priest often stay for a long time. in 1979. He holds an M.A. in theWe have a great emphasis on atre from the Catholic University The Rev. Peter M. Donohue building community at Villanova of America, a M.Div. from the and people really feel a part of the Washington Theological Union, and a Ph.D. process when it comes to decisions that are in theatre from the University of Illinois at made here. They feel that they have input Urbana-Champaign. While pursuing his doc- into the university’s future and direction, torate, Father Donohue taught theatre at the which leads to job satisfaction.

University of Illinois, where he received honYour first 10-year strategic plan that ors for outstanding teaching. He is a member focused on igniting the heart, inspiring of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest, largest, the mind, and illuminating the spirit, and most selective all-discipline honor soci- was just completed. Will you discuss ety. He is a tenured full professor at Villanova the impact of the plan as well as your who served as chair of the University’s depart- expectations for the upcoming Rooted. ment of theatre from 1992 to 2006. Father Restless. 10-year strategic plan?

Donohue annually dir ected musical theI think that the most recent plan, which atr e productions on campus, ear ning six we’ve just completed, was very successful.

Barrymor e Awar d nominations and one Barrymore Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical from the Theatr e Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.

It accomplished what we wanted it to accomplish in that we initiated the plan to increase our national recognition and be reclassified from a Masters comprehensive regional institution to a national doctoral research university. In the U.S. News & World Report ranking, we had been the leader in the Northeast, holding the #1 position for 20-plus years, and we really felt that it was time to be on the national universities list which included many of our peer institutions.

As part of the strategic plan, we focused efforts around research work and a handful of doctoral programs, increasing the number of doctoral students and thereby the graduation rate of our doctoral students. This small shift was intended to increase the annual number of Ph.D.s that were graduating from Villanova in order to be reclassified as a national doctoral research university.

We weren’t certain how it would actually play out because we don’t have a say in changing our classification or category. However, we knew that if we put the right conditions in place, we would likely be reclassified.

INSTITUTION BRIEF Villanova University (villanova.edu) was founded in 1842 by the Or der of St. Augustine. To this day, Villanova’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition is the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University’s six colleges.

Villanova has been ranked among the top 50 national universities by U.S. News & World Report and is one of the top 4 Catholic universities in the country. The University’s colleges continue to be recognized among the best in the country, including a #1 ranking of the Villanova School of Business in 2016

by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Father Donohue engaging with students at Villanova University 126 LEADERS

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

Ultimately it worked and we were reclassified by the Carnegie Foundation. We also landed in a place that we were really pleased with in ter ms of our national recognition and our portfolio of research.

With our previous plan, we were also looking to increase the number of states and countries from which our students came.

Previously, we had been a primarily Northeast-based institution, so we adjusted our admissions strategy to expand our geographic footprint and national presence.

We now have students from every state represented here, as well as more international students. It took us a while to do it, which is why it was a 10-year plan, so it wasn’t as if it was happening overnight. I am very pleased with the results.

Moving into our new strategic plan, Rooted. Restless. there was a shift in terms of the way we approached the plan. Many of the previous plans didn’t involve any outside consultants. With the most recent plan, and now this new one, I felt it was important to get the perspective of individuals and experts outside of the Villanova community. We hired McKinsey, the consulting company, to assist us in developing this plan. They were very effective in getting us to speak about our goals and what we wanted to achieve. They continually reminded us that this is our plan and that we needed to create it, but they were very helpful in getting the university to identify who we are, who we aspire to be, where we saw the institution going, and what goals we wanted to accomplish. They were able to get us to articulate all of that.

One of the attributes of Rooted. Restless. that may set us apart from other institutions, is the amount of community involvement in this plan. Many of the initiatives in the plan resulted from the community input and engagement during the planning process.

While McKinsey provided the supporting data and the information that we needed in terms of putting it all together, this plan was truly formulated by our community, so it was a different but highly effective approach.

How important has it been for Villanova to build a diverse and inclusive faculty and student population?

I think it’s extremely important and we see it here day in and day out. I would say that we’re still working on it. It is not an easy process. There is a lot of competition for good people from other institutions who are from diverse backgrounds. I firmly VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

St. Thomas of Villanova Church

believe that, in order to create a diverse student population, we need to create a diverse faculty and staff population as well.

The new plan talks a lot about diversity, equity and inclusion. As we move forward, it is paramount that we, as an institution, concentrate on hiring and retaining a diverse faculty and staff in order to attract that diverse student body, because I really believe people will come to an institution when they see people like themselves here.

They then feel they’re a part of it and that they’re included in some way because they see their own lives represented on campus in one way or another.

How do you define the purpose of Villanova University and its role in the community?

The university is grounded in the thought and spirituality of Saint Augustine. Being an Augustinian institution, his works and his thoughts are woven through everything we do, and he speaks frequently about community.

The Augustinian order perceives the creation of community as one of our primary responsibilities and it was a fundamental commitment for Augustine.

Augustine believed that he became who he was through the influence of other people, the friends in his life particularly, and that’s how he got to know himself better.

There is a great deal of emphasis at Villanova on how we contribute to the community, not only on campus, but beyond. Augustine speaks often, and it’s something that resonates throughout our community, that you take what you need and what is left over is for somebody else’s use. We are constantly looking at who we are becoming through our experiences on campus and our intersection with knowledge and faith, and how we use that in terms of servicing the needs of the common good.

We are very proactive about service outside of the campus community and how we can help certain people achieve the dreams and needs that they have. We look to use the blessings that we’ve been given to answer other’s prayers. It’s all very much directed outward.

How important is it to be innovative with the curriculum in order to prepare students to succeed in the workforce of the future?

I think one of the most important things we need to accomplish in terms of the dissemination of knowledge here is that we help people to become critical thinkers so they can face problems and think about them through various filters.

Preparing students for their time after graduation is critically important. They need to be individuals who can evaluate where they are, what they’re doing, how they’re doing it and who they’re doing it for. There is a focus on giving them the tools they need to create positive change in their personal and professional lives.

In ter ms of the curriculum and the classes that they take, the Augustine and Culture Seminar is the common thread that ties all our undergraduate students together.

Regardless of major, Villanova students take this seminar, which is built upon the teachings, readings and lectures of St. Augustine.

This seminar creates the foundation for everything that our students learn and experience during their time here and its one of the aspects that sets our students apart from their peers. Another area of emphasis at Villanova is interdisciplinary work and finding ways, either formal or informal, to expose our students to other disciplines and areas of study .

•

LEADERS 127

uxury Never Stand Still An Interview with Wilhelm Schmid, Chief Executive Officer, A. Lange & Söhne EDITORS’ NOTE Wilhelm Schmid has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Lange Uhren GmbH/ A. Lange & Söhne since January 2011. Earlier, he served in senior positions in sales and marketing at BMW and worked in sales and marketing at The Burmah Oil Germany (Burmah-Castrol). Schmid is a resident of Dresden, Germany and holds a diploma in business administration.

COMPANY BRIEF Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Walter Lange reopened the several generations old family watchmaking business Wilhelm Schmid destroyed in World War II. The watchmakers of A. Lange & Söhne (alange-soehne.com) continue to pursue one goal, to craft timepieces that represent the pinnacle of international watchmaking artistry. Walter Lange once said, “There’s something that we should expect not only of our watches, but also of ourselves: to never stand still.” This is an attitude that A. Lange & Söhne has adopted with respect to its exceptional mechanical masterpieces, and also when dealing with important topics such as sustainability and social responsibility.

Will you discuss the history and heritage of A. Lange & Söhne?

There are many watch brands that have a great history. I think what sets us apart from literally all of them is that we have a unique history because it’s literally two parts. It’s the first part from 1845 to 1948, where we were a family company, and then after 1948.

From 1845-1948, we were owned by the Lange family and by different Lange members of the family. The company grew very quickly, established a position in the high-end of the market, and remained relevant, profitable and a family company. Even during world wars, recessions and depressions, the brand grew. That was the first part which then came to a standstill after we were expropriated by the Communists and then the company and the brand name literally disappeared until the reunification enabled the company to be recreated on the 7th of December, 1990. It was re-registered and on the 24th of October, 1994, we launched the first four watches.

I was a watch collector all my life. I remember the surprise coming out of the Communist empire was a company in 1994 with four different watches, with four different homemade manufacturer movements, and everything from very simple to extreme complications, and from very classic to very contemporary.

Sustainability is a major focus of the brand. Will you discuss why that’s so important and how the brand addresses sustainability?

A. Lange & Söhne is a generational brand. Probably 90 percent of all pocket watches that we have ever produced still exist, and I’d like to believe that probably 99 percent of all wrist watches that we ever produced still exist. It becomes pretty clear that for what we do today, we always have to think about what is happening to these watches in 50 years and 100 years.

We talked about sustainability as we opened our manufacturing facility about five years ago. We put a lot of investment into making sure it’s a building with a carbon neutral footprint. We use geothermal energy sources to generate the energy to heat and cool the rooms and to humidify or dehumidify as necessary.

128 LEADERS

Zeitwerk Date in White Gold VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

from Switzerland. It is all about working the last millimeter and it’s all about the final decoration, and this is not done by machines, it’s done by human beings.

Will you discuss A. Lange & Söhne’s commitment to the community where it operates?

The majority of our people live in and around our offices. We are a very active part of the community in that we are probably the biggest tax contributor.

Our watchmaker school is of major importance because what all these little cities in a remote place usually lack is young people. This is exactly why we bring young people to Glashütte to become watchmakers and start their families here. I think Glashütte wouldn’t be what it is today without us.

Are there certain watches that you wear the most?

I change regularly, as you can imagine. That’s part of the privilege of being CEO. There are watches that are very close to my heart.

I’m a personal fan of chronographs and they are a big part of my personal collection.

•

Lange 1 in White Gold

Will you highlight the brand’s investment in people?

Our biggest investment is in human resources and our watchmaker school. We always have between 40 and 60 apprenticeship trainings for tool making and watchmaking to insure that when we’re long gone, there are still watchmakers that can repair our watches and produce new watches. This is critical to make sure that the watches will survive all of us.

Is technology changing the way A. Lange & Söhne produces its watches?

We have the most modern technology, but the finishing is done by hand and the assembly is done by hand. The regulation of the watch is done by hand.

We use technology where it makes life easy in cutting, drilling, building, etc. but this will never take the place of the watchmaker. A. Lange & Söhne is about craftsmanship which is why we employ more trained watchmakers with a degree in watchmaking than probably most other companies on the planet, including some of the big watch brands VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

1815 Chronograph in Pink Gold LEADERS 129

World’s Best Suites Omni Berkshire Place Clockwise from top right: The Apartment living area, dining area, bedroom, entrance, and kitchen

Omni Berkshire Place (omnihotels.com/new-york-berkshire) is conveniently positioned near Central Park, Times Square, Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall. Guest rooms and suites were designed with the feel of an Upper East Side residential townhome, while keeping them spacious and larger than most Manhattan accommodations.

The property boasts 399 luxury guest rooms including 45 suites, a 17thfloor sundeck overlooking Midtown Manhattan, 24-hour in-room dining, a state-of-the-art fitness center, 7,000 square feet of function space and a 24-hour business center.

Guests will embrace the experience of staying in one of Omni Berkshire Place’s incredible suites. The Penthouse Suite, named in honor of Rodgers and Hammerstein, who first met at Omni Berkshire Place to collaborate on the 1942 musical Oklahoma!, features a 500-square-foot wraparound terrace with skyline views and elegant furniture, dining room, living room, one and half baths and a spacious master bedroom. Located on a top floor with sweeping views of Manhattan, the space is 1,000 square feet, sleeps up to four adults, and is great for private events.

The ultimate New York townhome, The Apartment, is inspired by the high fashion of New York design. This expansive apartment is spacious, light and bold. Featuring intricate textures, tailored design and curated art, it truly feels like a luxury New York home. Modern and en vogue, yet timeless, it offers a large living space with a study and separate dining room that opens to a private terrace with stunning views of the city.

The Madison Suites, of which there are 17 one-bedroom corner units, offer 781 square feet of comfortable space and are great for meetings. Separate living areas overlook 52nd Street and Madison Avenue.

The 5th Avenue Suites, of which there are six, vary from 450 to 500 square feet, and are great for the more casual traveler. Offering Fifth Avenue views and several featuring balconies or terraces, the units are located on floors 14 and above and have separate living rooms, sleep up to four adults, and can accommodate a rollaway bed.

As any visitor will attest, the customized service and elegant accommodations of Omni Berkshire Place provide a truly memorable experience.

•

130 LEADERS

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

World’s Best Suites Acqualina Resort & Residences on the Beach Acqualina Resort & Residences on the Beach (acqualinaresort.com) is a place where the charm of a Mediterranean villa meets elegance on the beach. A seaside luxury haven located on 4.5 beachfront acres in pristine Sunny Isles Beach, Acqualina Resort features 98 impeccably appointed guest rooms and suites and 188 residences with breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean, world-class dining including Il Mulino New York, three oceanfront swimming pools, spacious meeting rooms and an innovative marine biology-based children’s program. A variety of lavish interior and exterior venues provide an ideal background for opulent weddings and memorable events.

Acqualina Spa by ESPA, the first ESPA-branded spa in the United States, provides guests with an exquisite 20,000-square-foot, two-story tranquil sanctuary of excellence and relaxation. A family owned and operated property, Acqualina Resort is a recipient of the coveted Forbes Travel Guide Awards for both the hotel and spa and the AAA Five Diamond Award.

In early 2019, Acqualina Resort unveiled the new Grand Deluxe Three-Bedroom Oceanfront Suite located on the 32nd floor of the ultraluxury resort featuring sweeping views of the

Atlantic Ocean and Miami skyline. Designed by Stephanie Trump and Deborah Yager Fleming, the resort’s ownership team, together with Florida-based design firm SBI, the suite’s elegant styling and contemporary glamour carries the magnificent ocean grandeur throughout the interior design. The white, blue, silver and gray palette combined with modern and traditional elements creates a tranquil-luxe experience. The elegant entry foyer with chic marble flooring has three round mirrored sconces, a linear polished nickel light fixture and hand painted wallpaper.

The suite’s expansive living room features modern end tables with a geometric design pattern, a 65-inch 4K TV, a flush mount chandelier, and elegant drapery adorns the floor-to-ceiling window. The sitting area has a queen sofa sleeper with quilted back cushions and accented pillows, an antique brass coffee table and an area rug.

There is also a serene gathering area with a sleek writing desk and lounge chairs for four.

A full gourmet kitchen has designer Arctic white quartz countertops with full backsplash, a Sub-Zero built-in refrigerator/freezer, microwave, dishwasher, stainless-steel sink, and fully-stocked private bar. The dining area has a Ralph Lauren

Baxter metal shade chandelier, bay window and floor-to-ceiling views of the ocean, two bar stools and a dining table for four people.

There are three-bedroom options including an oceanfront master bedroom with a kingsize bed, a large bedroom with two twin beds including a wall-to-wall panel, and a bedroom with a queen bed. All beds are outfitted with Frette duvet covers in light gray. In addition, there are three private bathrooms.

The oceanfront master bedroom with terrace access is furnished with a midnight blue rug, a king bed, walk-in closet, side table with nightstand, high definition TV and a sparkling chandelier reminiscent of a jewel box with its exquisite ring pattern. The master bathroom features imported marble flooring, a beautiful chandelier, double sinks, a custom vanity area, a bathtub and a glass-enclosed shower.

The art reflects the warmth and the soft, luxurious lines of the interior. All of the art was personally selected for its ability to set the mood no matter the occasion, whether you are coming from the beach to enjoy a glass of wine or relaxing for an intimate evening. Touchpad thermostats, Lutron lighting control and high-speed Wi-Fi connection are available throughout the suite.

•

Acqualina Resort & Residences on the Beach Grand Deluxe Three-Bedroom Oceanfront Suite living area (top); bedroom (lower left); and dining area (lower right) VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

LEADERS 131

Growing Il Mulino New York An Interview with Brian Galligan, President, Il Mulino USA EDITORS’ NOTE In 2001, Brian Galligan, President, partnered with Jerry Katzoff, Chairman, to purchase the Il Mulino New York brand. Galligan brought more than 20 years of leadership experience in hospitality to Il Mulino USA. Il Mulino New York, an iconic Italian restaurant located in the heart of Greenwich Village, has been rated “The #1 Italian Restaurant in Manhattan” for 25 of 28 years by Zagat Survey and many other publications. The goal of this partnership was to grow the Il Mulino New York concept and brand and significantly expand to other top cities across the globe.

The storied brand’s strength is its authenticity, the quality of the dishes and the original recipes that have earned Il Mulino acclaim for the past four decades.

COMPANY BRIEF Founded in Greenwich Village in 1981, Il Mulino New York (ilmulino.com) originated as an intimate and esteemed eatery serving local foodies in the know. Today, Il Mulino New York has blossomed into a culinary empire with 17 outposts across the U.S. that cater to tastemakers, celebrities, and dignitaries. It has also launched three innovative dining concepts, Trattoria Il Mulino, Bistecca

by Il Mulino and Il Mulino Prime, as well as the Il Mulino New York gourmet product line which offers exquisite signature sauces, pastas, infused olive oils, salts and more.

How is Il Mulino addressing the uncertain and challenging times due to the Coronavirus?

We have welcomed guests for 40 years and have pivoted quickly to continue to be here for our community and families in this time of uncertainty. Due to government direction, our dining rooms are currently closed but our kitchens are open with pick-up and delivery options per geographic location.

Managers, chefs and kitchen staff at the restaurants are fulfilling the needs of our communities. We have created a special family style Italian classics menu for pickup, are offering our a la carte menu for delivery services, and will ship Il Mulino food collection items from our online shop at ilmulino.com.

We want to thank our friends, patrons, vendors, purveyors and staff and know that we will get through this together.

How do you define the Il Mulino difference?

132 LEADERS

Il Mulino New York Uptown (above) and one of the restaurant’s signature dishes (below)

The difference is the level of our food and unmatched service. It’s the atmosphere.

It’s the connection with our devoted staff.

It’s refined and consistent, a timeless dining experience.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities to grow the Il Mulino brand?

We see Il Mulino New York as a great growth vehicle for us in destination cities.

We see Trattoria Il Mulino, which is our casual concept, growing in mixed-use spaces throughout the country. I think our Il Mulino Prime, an Italian modern steakhouse concept, which we currently have two in New York City, has an opportunity to grow rapidly throughout the country.

Are there common characteristics that are present at each of the brands?

It’s the aroma, it’s the feel, it’s the design. The integrity of our brand across all of the concepts is the common denominator. We maintain a high standard offering the finest cuisine and exceptional service across multiple restaurants. The extra details that guests know us for such as our “Benvenuto to Il Mulino” or welcome, an array of complimentary piccolo assaggi including Parmigiano Reggiano, bruschetta and zucchini chips presented to the table before the menu. We serve Abruzzi cuisine using traditional recipes and offer a worldclass wine program.

Will you highlight Il Mulino’s investment in its workforce?

Our waiters and our staff are professionals. We have very limited part-time people, and our dedicated staff is the key to our unparalleled service and success. Our managers have been with us a long time and that consistency is critical. We have invested in service and training. Our staff can grow with the organization and take on different roles within the company as we expand.

How did Il Mulino become involved in working with hotels and what is your outlook for this part of the business?

Our relationships with hotels have been very successful across the country. We are in Acqualina Resort & Residences On The Beach, a five-star property in Sunny Isles, Florida.

We have created a significant business from our Sunday breakfast buffet to offering our signature dishes for room service to the Il Mulino New York dining experience for both

lunch and dinner. We attract a tremendous number of outside guests and appeal to both travelers and locals. We have two concepts in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City which have done very well, Il Mulino New York and Trattoria Il Mulino, and draw a substantial business with hotel guests, travelers, locals and walk-ins. We are also present in The Ritz-Carlton San Juan in Puerto Rico, but the property has been closed because of the hurricanes. We are in a Hilton in downtown Nashville across the street from the convention center which has been great. We’re in the Mount Airy Casino Resort. We’re in The Forum Shops, which is an offshoot of Caesars. We have had tremendous success in the hotel business and this is an area we are focused on continuing to grow.

You mentioned the Il Mulino store.

What products do you offer?

We have a cookware line at HomeGoods.

Il Mulino has signature sauces available at retailers and online at ilmulino.com. In addition, we offer pastas, salts, extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano and more at ilmulino.com.

•

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 2

VENUS DE MILO

AVAILABLE AT MONTEGRAPPA BOUTIQUES, ONLINE AND AUTHORISED DEALERS WORLDWIDE

MONTEGRAPPA.COM

Unique problems need unique solutions.

The challenges you face, such as emerging tech and competition, aren’t themselves unique.

But they do uniquely impact you. That’s why we deliver solutions based on our immersion in your business along with our decades of experience. To ID your unique path, get in touch at deloitte.com/us/possible.

Copyright © 2020 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.