“Not that materialism is going to go away, but people are looking to be better global citizens and live their lives in better balance.”
— Former Viacom CEO Tom Freston, who Pattie profiles in the new issue of Fortune. To Freston’s point, he’s now helping Oprah Winfrey develop her new cable TV network, OWN, and working with U2 frontman Bono on his global humanitarian efforts. Does Freston still get calls for CEO jobs? “Yeah, they call me,” he says. His advice to fellow Fortune 500 chiefs who get the boot like he did: “Don’t do anything rash. Get on a place and go somewhere and tune out. Don’t jump at anything. It isn’t like anyone’s going to miss you if you don’t show up a week later with some press release that you just got a job as the CEO of this or that company.” To see video of Freston, click here and here. –Jessica Shambora
