Name: EY CEO: 'We Can't Afford to Remain Silent' on Social Issues
Uploaded: 2018-08-23
Duration: 3 min 45 s
Description: Business leaders must defend company values when dealing with government, says EY CEO Mark Weinberger.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Mark, you're a very visible CEO. And you're never shy to speak up on any kind of issue, whether it's from tax reform, to climate change. How do you decide which issues you want to stand up on? If there's an issue out there that we can bring a perspective to because of our business, something that challenges our values, or something that we think we could educate and help others understand, I want to speak up. I think that's our responsibility as business leaders. We have to engage with government. We have to engage with our employees. We have to engage with our supply chain, our stakeholders. It's a critical part of leadership. You and many other CEOs did stand up and object to President Trump's response to the violence in Charlottesville last summer during those race riots. In fact, all of the CEOs resigned from the president's council. What was your thinking at the time? Why did you decide to take that stand? Once the CEOs became the issue, as opposed to the policies that were being executed, it was hard for us to really advise him in a way that made sense. But then, what happened was we were presumed to agree with every single policy the president put out, not just what we advised on. And so we, the CEOs, became the issue. And it became very hard to advise them in that capacity. You said it was the hardest decision you ever had to make. Why was that? Because I really feel business has a critical role to play in helping government understand what's going on with the incredibly difficult policies they put in place. It's really hard to sit in Washington, enact a new law, and understand how it applies all across the United States, all across the world in every corner of America. We can help them understand that. I want to be at the table where I agree or disagree. I don't want to be outside the room complaining. I understand that your employees wanted you to stand up on this whole issue black on the Charlottesville part of it. How much did you factor that into your decision? Well, it's very important that you listen to all your stakeholders. So I listened really closely to our employees. And it did make a difference, that they wanted me to be able to live our values not just in EY, but externally. And making this strong statement by walking away made them feel proud that we're not just saying it, we're actually living it. Well, as you look back on all of that, what would you have done differently? And what did you learn from all of this? Well, I learned that if you do the right thing and make a decision based truly on your values and what you think is right. That's our value at EY. You know, always do the right thing. It's one of many. Then it's easier to defend, because you don't have to concoct stories. Do you see now as CEO that there's a moral responsibility you have in your job? Susie, I think there is a moral responsibility. I don't preach morals, I only talk about issues that go to our values as a business that I think we have a voice on that's legitimate to the debate at hand. I won't talk about politics. I won't talk about people. But when it comes to issues, I think we have a responsibility to have a point of view. We have a quarter of a million people, as I said. And 3/4 of them are millennials. Believe me, they speak up. And they want us to speak up. And they're asking us to speak up. But on the flip side, is there a risk of being too vocal on some of these issues? Yes. There's always a risk that whatever you say, someone could try and use against you and someone won't agree with you. But if you were afraid to speak up, then you were going to have difficulty being a CEO in any event. Is there a risk, a downside risk, if you stay silent, especially in this Twitter age that we live in? I think if you remain silent when important things are going on around you that affect your employees, your business, your culture, your society, then you are tacitly approving what's going on. And I don't think we could afford to stay silent. 

EY CEO: 'We Can't Afford to Remain Silent' on Social Issues

Politics

Business leaders must defend company values when dealing with government, says EY CEO Mark Weinberger.