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The New CEO

Activists

by Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toff el

WHEN WE FIRST STARTED STUDYING CEO activism, three years ago,

we never imagined how signifi cant this phenomenon would become.

At the time a small but growing band of executives were taking pub-

lic stands on political and social issues unrelated to their companies’

bottom lines. Since then, controversies over laws aff ecting trans-

gender people in North Carolina, police shootings in Missouri, and

executive orders on immigration have drawn increasing numbers

of CEOs into contentious public debates. More recently, the White

House’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, response to the

clash between white supremacists and counterprotesters in Charlot-

tesville, Virginia, and decision to rescind Deferred Action for Child-

hood Arrivals have galvanized many U.S. corporate leaders to speak

out and take action.

Of course, corporations have long played an active role in

the U.S. political process. They lobby, make contributions to candi-

dates, and fund political action committees and campaigns on var-

ious issues in an eff ort to shape public policies to their benefi t. But

CEO activism is something new. Until recently, it was rare for corpo-

rate leaders to plunge aggressively into thorny social and political

discussions about race, sexual orientation, gender, immigration, and

the environment. The so- called Michael Jordan dictum that Repub-

licans buy sneakers too reminds executives that choosing sides on