Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Fortune senior writer Phil Wahba is filling in for Emma. J.Crew CEO Libby Wadle is moving the company out of a six-year stagnation, Elon Musk is reportedly at the center of Google cofounder Sergey Brin’s divorce, and former CVS and Hudson’s Bay executive Helena Foulkes vies for Rhode Island’s top gig.
– Road to R.I. As a lifelong Rhode Islander and top executive at CVS Health, Helena Foulkes was often puzzled, even irked, by how many hires at the Rhode Island-headquartered company chose to settle in neighboring Massachusetts over the Ocean State.
Foulkes, who worked at CVS for 25 years—most recently as president of the $80 billion-a-year drugstore chain that generated almost half of CVS Health’s total revenue at the time—sometimes questioned her recruits on their decision to live in Massachusetts. Their answer pointed to what she thinks is Rhode Island’s biggest challenge, and what will be her top priority if she wins the Democratic primary in September and goes on to become governor.
“It was really one thing: the great public schools in Massachusetts,” Foulkes tells Fortune. CVS is based in Woonsocket, R.I., 15 miles north of Providence and about a 40-minute drive from larger Massachusetts centers like Worcester or Framingham. But the schools in that state justify the trek for many. “The Rhode Island education system is broken,” says the 58-year-old Foulkes, who as a top CVS exec was regularly featured on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list.
Foulkes is making access to quality public education the central plank in her quest for the governor’s mansion. A poll from Suffolk University and The Boston Globe published in late June suggests her message is resonating, placing Foulkes third in the race with 16% of voter intentions. That’s a 10 percentage point jump over May, but Foulkes is still well behind fellow candidates Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea and Dan McKee, the current governor.
Foulkes, who has never run for public office before, is betting that her business acumen running multi-billion dollar companies, most recently as chief executive of Saks Fifth Avenue owner Hudson’s Bay, can give her an edge with voters tired of government inertia. “What I have been frustrated by has been a sense of politicians talking a lot but not getting things done.”
Though she has never worked in the field of education, she says her experience building teams in the private sector, hearing from and listening to underlings, and seeking out subject matter experts for guidance will prove appealing to Rhode Island’s 1.1 million inhabitants and help her candidacy stand out. She also sees a political inroad as the public places greater trust in CEOs today than politicians.
A major initiative in her education plan is to add $1 billion to Rhode Island’s annual public schools budget, getting inspiration from what she views as a successful approach in Massachusetts. “That attracted more businesses and people to move to the state, then built a revenue base from which you could invest back in education.”
For all the buzz that comes with being a prominent woman CEO, her former position at what is now a Fortune 5 company (CVS Health is No. 4 on the 2022 Fortune 500 list on the strength of $292 billion in revenue last year) could be a turn off to primary voters who tend to be further from the center than voters in the general election, something Foulkes recognizes. “When people first read my biography, it’s their initial instinct,” she said of some primary voters’ skepticism of her corporate America bona fides. But her vocal support for abortion rights, including a plan to work with other Northeastern states to create a super-region that guarantees access to abortion and prioritizes education, is winning many residents over, she says.
In touting her business background, Foulkes talks up her experience building successful teams, her turnaround of Hudson’s Bay until it was taken private in early 2020, and her ability to pull off seemingly impossible projects. The latter includes, notably, an effort she led in 2014 to remove all tobacco products from CVS’s 7,600 stores. “It’s about getting stuff done,” she said.
As a business leader, Foulkes says she looks with envy at how Massachusetts has created a leading life sciences and biotech industry, which has some spillover in Rhode Island. She sees similar potential for her state to build a bigger presence in what is called the “blue economy” —economic activity stemming from the exploitation, preservation and regeneration of oceans. It’s yet another opportunity to elevate the state from more than a glorified extension of its larger, more prosperous neighbor. “Rhode Island is very well poised to be a winner in the blue economy and not just live off the crumbs of Massachusetts,” she says.
Phil Wahba
phil.wahba@fortune.com
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- New crew. When J.Crew CEO Libby Wadle stepped into the retailer’s top role in November 2020, the company was suffering from six years of losses and had just filed for bankruptcy protection in May. While J.Crew is “one of a few great American brands,” Wadle says, the company's reputation for selling basics like polos and chinos became stagnant. Now, Wadle plans to expand the retailer’s offerings and is catering to men. It hired Brendon Babenzien, cofounder of the menswear brand Noah and former Supreme design director, as J.Crew’s men’s creative director, and is opening a menswear store in New York City. Wall Street Journal
- Grounds for divorce. Google cofounder Sergey Brin allegedly filed for divorce from his wife, Nicole Shanahan, after she had an affair with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Brin and Shanahan were separated when the alleged affair happened in December. Brin, a longtime friend of Musk, supplied Tesla with $500,000 during the 2008 financial crisis, but has reportedly ordered a sale of investments in Musk's companies. Brin and Shanahan are currently in divorce mediation, with Shanahan reportedly seeking more than $1 billion. Brin was previously married to 23andMe cofounder Anne Wojcicki, whose company was valued at $3.5 billion in its June 2021 IPO. Musk has denied the affair claims. Wall Street Journal
- Trip to Indiana. Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Indianapolis on Monday to meet with Indiana state legislators about abortion rights. State lawmakers are convening a special session to consider a Republican-led proposal banning abortions with only some exemptions. Indiana became a national focal point on abortion access when news broke earlier this month of a 10-year-old rape victim traveling from Ohio to get the procedure. Harris criticized Indiana’s bill, saying some need to “actually learn how a woman's body works.” Indy Star
- Weighing in. The Supreme Court will issue two separate rulings on affirmative action in college admissions, allowing Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to participate in a case involving the University of North Carolina. The UNC case was originally consolidated with a case involving Harvard, where Jackson served on a board that advised Harvard on policy matters. Jackson said she would recuse herself from the case, citing a conflict of interest, before the Court's decision to separate the two cases. NBC
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Instacart CEO Fidji Simo will become the company’s chairwoman once the grocery delivery company goes private, replacing chairman and founder Apoorva Mehta. Nareit has named Ayris Scales senior vice president of social responsibility & global initiatives. ABC anchor Robin Roberts returned to Good Morning America on Monday, after taking a lengthy absence to support her partner’s breast cancer treatment.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- Overdue apology. Pope Francis apologized to Indigenous people in Canada on Monday for the church's involvement in running residential schools where children were forcibly separated from their families and were sexually and physically abused. Catholic orderlies operated 60% to 70% of these schools. The discovery of thousands of bodies buried in unmarked graves at the schools sparked renewed attention, and demands for an apology from survivors. Francis said he hoped for further investigation and for "concrete ways" to help survivors find healing. New York Times
- Conflict of interest. A Georgia Superior Court judge ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis—who is investigating whether former President Donald Trump and his allies illegally tried to interfere in Georgia’s 2020 election—cannot question, subpoena, or bring charges against a Republican lawmaker who signed a certificate falsely stating Trump won in the state. Willis recently hosted a fundraiser for the lawmaker’s Democratic opponent for the state’s lieutenant governor election, creating a conflict of interest. Associated Press
- No access. Teresa Xu, an unmarried woman in China, lost her court case challenging a Beijing hospital’s refusal to freeze her eggs due to her marital status. Such care is already difficult to access for many healthy women in China, as such care is only permitted for medical issues like infertility. Xu said she is “angry” about the verdict and plans to appeal. Reuters
- Grim relationship. Many companies fail to see the relationship between gender equity and climate change, but women's jobs, financial resilience, and health are often worsened by climate-related events. Women globally are 14 times more likely to die in climate events and four times more likely to be displaced. "This disparity, and the discrimination that causes it, has had a negative effect on workforce resiliency and bottom lines." Fortune
ON MY RADAR
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee has been canceled Vanity Fair
What is Beyoncé’s definitive album? New York Times
Why exceptions for the life of the mother have disappeared Atlantic
"I am not a traitor": Reality Winner explains why she leaked a classified document 60 Minutes
PARTING WORDS
- Nigerian track star and world record holder Tobi Amusan on her strict upbringing and its affect on her career.
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