Name: MPW Summit 2023: The Disruptor
Uploaded: 2023-10-11
Duration: 14 min 51 s
Description: MPW Summit 2023: TheHeather Manchin, Founder and CEO, Americans Together, Pattie Sellers, Co-chief Executive Officer, SellersEaston Media Disruptor

MPW Summit 2023: TheHeather Manchin, Founder and CEO, Americans Together, Pattie Sellers, Co-chief Executive Officer, SellersEaston Media Disruptor

MPW Summit 2023: The Disruptor

Conferences

Heather Manchin, Founder and CEO, Americans Together, Pattie Sellers, Co-chief Executive Officer, SellersEaston Media

OK. Now to a topic that many people, especially business leaders are trying to avoid these days and that's us. Politics don't, don't walk out please. Politics are messy, divisive and some say that our political system is so dysfunctional right now that it is a threat to us competitiveness, but it's not all bad blood and name calling. Of course. Right, Kathy. Yeah. Yeah. There are those who are working to mobilize the middle support centrist ideas. And the question is, is there enough power in such a movement to bring real change? Our next guest believes that there is Heather Manchin is the former CEO of the drug maker Mylan at the time. She was the first woman to run a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company and her work is now focused on politics. She's the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Americans together, which is focused on changing the national narrative, disturbing ideolog ideological extremes and putting country over party Heather joins us for our conversation with fortune most powerful women, co founder and co CEO of Sellers Eastern Media Patty Sellers. As I mentioned yesterday or as we mentioned, this is the 25th MPW summit and Patty obviously has been a huge part of it since its inception since she helped start this whole thing. And we are so grateful to her for that. So please welcome Patti and Heather to the stage. Thank you, Mi so Heather. OK. What's the problem you're trying to solve here? It's a small one. It would be the, I guess, toxic polarization. I think we find ourselves in this country and I think I probably share it with many of you that feeling of just exhaustion or had enough. And so what to do about it. And that journey really started for me about a year ago. How did it start? So, I retired, got divorced and was an empty nester all at the same time in 2020. And, you know, I started doing what most would do is spending some time with loved ones that you hadn't been able to spend as much time with. And so I ended up going to DC quite a bit, spending time with my parents and those conversations on the boat in the morning, kind of led to really recognizing that, say who your father is. Senator Joe Manchin for those. So he has found himself, you know, as you may imagine, quite alone sometimes in his really putting what's right over party. He's not often the party line vote and, and just recognizing the truly big business of politics and that, that divide is really being driven by business um the party, the party line votes, the, the polarization and the reality is that the Dems and the Republican parties, I think working as a duopoly, the business model is working as intended. It's working for the party but not the American people. And what's being left behind are the everyday problems we're facing and having no resolution to because it's feeding the parties. And you know, as you guys know, a duopoly in most industries is illegal, there's just no regulators for the regulators in this instance. So we find ourselves with, I believe a huge percentage of people out there that feel politically homeless. They don't identify with the extremes and just going more right, more left, more right, more left and the blaming what can we be against versus what we can be for. And you know, I think that we find ourselves that Americans are hopeful and optimistic even in the chaos we find ourselves in today. How can we kind of harness that energy and tap into the souls of people that I think very much want to share common ground, common values and make a difference. So how is Americans together different from no labels? So there's many platforms out there talking about centrist and moderate ideas. I think no labels by your example is a group that started in Washington trying to help sitting senators and congressmen be bipartisan by camera looking for solutions legislatively recently in the last year, they have started an effort to get to get ballot access. And they've talked about if it is a Biden Trump rematch, is there an opportunity to run a candidate as an independent in the middle? So I would say all of that effort is very different than what we're looking at Americans together is truly about, can we create a platform that harnesses what people are feeling and seeing every day? You know, you recognize that actually listening both socially and humanly, you learn a lot and what does that mean? Create a platform? So create a platform. For instance, when you, when we think about things that could help heal this country, I think that whether we're talking about a year of service after high school, that there have been a lot of proven discussions and a lot of proven policies that really would bring the country together. But there's not a central depository that lets you come and say, how could I find out more about this in 11 area as far as policies around finding those common ground and common sense solutions to immigration. Those are the chaos at our border. You look at where we stand with abortion now throughout the country, I believe as most that we get around the table and have a discussion, we find common ground. I mean, you guys do it every day in your personal life and your business life. That opportunity to say yes, I can, I can live with that. It's a compromise that I can live with. Instead of being just this, this outrage and monetizing, the anger is sure way to power in politics today. How big is this middle that you want to mobilize? Well, look, you guys are smart, intelligent business women. And if I said to you when you wake up in the morning, you're going to tell your board that you're going to ignore 70% of your market. You would say, well, that's crazy. I would never do that. Well, of course, but us government, if you think about them as a business, they're ignoring 70% because the right and the left are catering to the fringes and normalizing those fringes. And I think like I said, 70% of Americans out there are saying I don't identify with either of these. Those aren't the issues that I'm talking about. They're not the issues affecting my everyday life. So I think the market is huge. I'm looking at Americans together a start up a lean start up. How do we lean into this? Be agile? How do we harness this conversation that's happening, propose and try to get people physically around a table to say, look, we can find common ground and we need to hold politicians accountable for that. And is Americans together going to endorse a candidate or put up a candidate? I would rather think about this as candidates or politicians endorsing our agenda. So if we can put forth a moderate agenda that people set back and say, well, of course, that makes sense of how we should be handling our border. How do we secure it and get working visas and get people working again? How do we look at the chaos in our streets and, and, and respectfully deal with guns? How do we think about abortion or codifying Roe versus Wade as a starting point? I think that there's controversial issues. But again, we in our everyday lives find ways to come around and find what is the path forward that compromise? Who has a question or anything to share anyone? OK. Well, I'll ask the question that a lot of you are thinking is your father going to run for president? And do you want him to look, he has said he'll make a decision by the end of the year and look, I think it's complicated and I know obviously I hear often about the concerns that there could be a spoiler or you know, that it could, it could end up helping Trump end up hurting Biden. I guess what I would say. I would ask everybody to be open minded and really think about how less choices is not democratic. I think our democracy is founded on options and choices. So when you hear people saying, let's limit it for the sake of democracy, I would ask you to really think hard about what they're really asking you to do? I think that, look, we are, we are in an unprecedented moment in time. I don't think we've ever been here before. So when people want to talk about, you know, back when Ross Perot Ran, I think today is so different. You were talking about Bush and Clinton. I think Biden and Trump is a completely different era. I think problems we're facing as a country are completely different and I think it's going to take, you know, very unprecedented actions to how do we disrupt that and how do we perhaps get this country back on the right track? So look, Americans together, as I've said, was not about any politician or any action. It was about creating a platform with a modern agenda that I think we can harness and truly perhaps mobilize change because we're at a tipping point in this country and it's usually hard to mobilize the middle. We're usually, it's the un organiz we're not advocating for something, but I almost believe I can feel such a palatable when I'm going around this country of people being hungry for something. You can, you see it in the papers every day, you see the opinions and the editorial boards talking about. Wow, is there another course for the country? So certainly we don't have all the answers and don't know what that decision will be at the end of the day. But I do know that this country, we have American values. We're hopeful and I think there's ways to tap into that optimism and that people truly have had enough of the rage and extremism. Yes. Back here, Carrie. Yeah. Hi. Carry Schwab Pomerantz. I come from a pretty politically active family also. Um, I just want to know how, how do we help you? How do we get involved? Oh, I love that question and I wish I could say, go to my website and, and read all about it. I'm in the midst of setting this up and over the next couple of weeks, um that I will, I can't wait to have people get involved in the meantime, get involved with having discussion, conversation with me. I am talking to people all around the country in a lot of different fields and expertise because this is going to take, this is going to take everybody uh really putting their arms and wanting to make a difference. And I have found that people who want, who care and want to get involved. There is a place. So please, um afterwards see me and I'll share my information, Heather will be here until tomorrow. So talk with her. Yes, Carrie Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. So, so yeah, my father, brother. Um but so I thought I have two questions or one statement, which is, I think that the thing that's driving this is that the system is not working for people and that's why they're so frustrated and does and sometimes angry. So that's just one part. My question is um how do you change the structural a design of the Democratic and Republican parties? Because Gerry Gerrymandering has made it in everybody's favor to make sure the other party boozes or doesn't have legislation. So I'm just wondering how in your mind we um we attacked that problem. Thank you. It is broken. I mean, I think all of us know and feel Washington is broken. It's what to do about it. I think to your point, there are many efforts that are looking at gerrymandering, for example, being able to take, you know, computer based systems to really think about and take this, take this partisanship out. I think that there's the open primaries, the rank file voting. I think that there are many efforts and I don't, again, I don't think there's a silver bullet fix. I do think that if we can create and energize people to one get involved, hold accountable and understand the issue. What I found is that people don't really understand how things are working. And so the sound bites and the and that's quickly driving people to their corners versus saying no, these issues are complicated and complex. We didn't get here overnight. We're not going to fix them overnight. Americans together to me is a I hope a decades long platform that allows starting to have people really understand and dig in to know that how we got here and I think that these fixes that people, there's a lot of smart people doing smart things, they've just not been scale and been able to really find their way through the billions being spent on each side. And, you know, as you know, in, in marketing, if you're trying to convince something, somebody of something that doesn't resonate with them, you have to spend a whole lot to do it. If we can tap in to what you're feeling and what resonates with you and what makes sense, just what start with just what makes sense. You don't have to spend as much. But I, but I truly believe if we can give a voice to, to harness that energy, we could go long, long way over the years. It's not going to change for 24. I think 2024 is going to be again a moment in time and probably a pretty historic one, however, it ends up. But I do think it sets the stage for people really getting involved and wanting to get involved and want to try to help be part of the change real quick. What's the, what's the most important thing you learned from your father that if you can't change your mind, you're not gonna ever be able to change anything. It's great. Thank you, Heather. Talk with her this afternoon.