Giving Compass' Take:

• Lisa Hogan at Kennedy School Review discusses the rise of corporate CEO activism and how to innovate and adapt to the changing business ecosystem of the Information Age.

• The public has increasingly begun to pay attention to leaders from nongovernmental sectors. How can we support CEO activism? 

• Read more about CEO activism and the potential for positive social change. 

In 2018 and 2019, more than 1000 businesses or their chief executive officers took public stands on constitutional, environmental and social matters often unrelated to their core business. The rise of unprecedented CEO activism in America signals the permanent convergence of business and social responsibility in the Information Age.  This activism by business leaders is in part a response to political gridlock, failure of governmental checks and balances on controversial policies, and civic disunity exacerbated by divisive rhetoric.  Cutting through the noise have been the voices of corporate CEOs exercising needed leadership on social and political issues by articulating a larger long-term vision of America, adopting corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles in their business operations, and encouraging Americans to work together to preserve democracy’s values. In fact, at least 28% of Fortune 500 company CEOs publicly weighed in on a myriad of topics during the past two years. The common thread among them was a desire to speak out on issues that impact core American values, including equality, opportunity, and religious freedom.

Read the full article about the rise of corporate CEO activism by Lisa Hogan at Kennedy School Review.