GM, Toyota, Fiat-Chrysler, and others are now backing the Trump administration’s move to remove California’s power to impose CO2 rules — and by proxy mileage rules — that exceed federal standards. This is the latest twist in the standoff between Trump and California regulators over the Administration’s proposed weakening of federal auto-emissions standards set during the Obama administration. …
Ed Stack, CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods, sparked a national debate when he decided to stop selling assault-style firearms in February of 2018, after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida. In his book, It’s How We Play The Game: Build a Business. Take a Stand. Make a Difference, Stack says the tragic shootings made him realize that,…
CEO Jack Dorsey is taking a bold stance and banning political ads from Twitter’s platform beginning November 22nd. The announcement came minutes before Facebook posted its quarterly results, highlighting the differences between the two companies on the controversial practice of political advertising in social media. Lunchtime Conversations: On Facebook, an ad claims that Joe Biden gave…
Despite the opportunities represented by women and multicultural entrepreneurs, venture capitalists are not making these investments a priority and missing out on significant returns. To understand why, Morgan Stanley surveyed a combination of nearly 200 US-based VCs and diverse entrepreneurs and found few made it a top priority and lacked the motivation to educate themselves…
Marc Benioff, co-founder and co-CEO of Salesforce, is the epitome of the activist business leader and frames every discussion in terms of values. He says that “Capitalism as we know it is dead.” He opposed a law in Indiana that could have discriminated against the LGBTQ community, and he has called Facebook “the new cigarettes.”…
Google management unsuccessfully tried to shut down an employee-led talk on unionization at its Zurich office last week. Dozens of full-time Google employees met in defiance of their employer’s attempt to cancel the meeting. Google continues to struggle with employee discontent over workplace issues on a variety of topics, including labor organizing. Lunchtime Conversations: Why…
Meeting the ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions set by governments and the Paris Agreement will require more energy from sustainable sources like wind and solar power. This shift is creating problems for utilities due to the unpredictable nature of these renewable energy sources. The energy sector is turning to open source software to meet these technological challenges. …
Facebook is running a false ad about Joe Biden paid for by President Trump’s reelection campaign. The platform says it meets with its policies, and other media/tech companies are following suit. Lunchtime Conversations: What are the implications for democracy if public opinion is manipulated at scale with false ads? CNN and other stations refuse to…
CEOs who take activist stances on social and political issues in the U.S. seem to have a double standard when it comes to other countries. These CEOs are increasingly outspoken about issues within our borders but take a very different approach when it comes to China’s authoritarian communist party or the Saudi royal family. Lunchtime Conversations:…
For more than a decade, promised immigration reform proposals never see the light of day. Meanwhile, U.S. corporations continue to struggle with immigrant workforce challenges. Now corporations are taking action due to political gridlock. Lunchtime Conversations: How can business leaders be the new change agents for immigrant reform? Why is having a diverse workforce so…
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