Yesterday, I shared a Q&A I recently had with Steve Beard on LinkedIn. Steve is CEO of Covista, which recently completed a transformation into America’s largest healthcare educator. It’s a fascinating story that got me thinking more broadly about what distinguishes leaders who successfully navigate profound transformation. The news that Enrique Lores has been named CEO of PayPal and The HOW Institute’s annual release of their State of Moral Leadership in Business report added more food for thought on this increasingly critical topic.
Enrique received our inaugural JUST Capital Lifetime Achievement Award last year for his exceptional leadership at HP Inc. During his tenure, he guided the company through a fundamental strategic transformation while consistently investing in workers, customers, and communities. I have confidence he’ll do the same at PayPal.
What do Steve and Enrique have in common? Both understand that transformation and stakeholder investment aren’t competing priorities, they’re mutually reinforcing.
Covista sits at the intersection of workforce, health, education, and technology. When I asked about Covista Open Doors, their new initiative to expand access to healthcare careers, Steve went straight to the heart of it. “We train and develop the folks that care for all of us,” he told me. “And we’ve got an opportunity that we believe is too good and too important to pass up.”
Enrique operated with the same philosophy at HP. At our flagship Best of American Business event last year he shared his conviction that “…business success and social responsibility are not separate pursuits. They are deeply connected.”
Both leaders also embody authentic leadership grounded in personal experience. Steve, a first-generation college graduate, told me that creating opportunity for historically excluded populations is simply part of who he is. Enrique started at HP as an intern nearly four decades ago, inspiring his commitment to workforce advancement and long-view leadership.
The HOW Institute report demonstrates how rare this kind of human, stakeholder-first leadership may be but also how vital it is to the process of transformation.
Be well,
Martin
The New York Times surveyed prominent technologists, economists, and philosophers and found deep disagreement over whether AI will ultimately expand opportunity or accelerate inequality. They also put out a separate opinion piece featuring three economists debating the impact AI is already having on the economy.
Fortune reports that Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser is pushing an employee training initiative across the organization to reskill their workforce with AI tools before automation reshapes people’s roles.
Axios examines why employees aren’t buying the hype for AI the same way their employers are.
The Washington Post reports a widening labor gap as demand for electricians, plumbers, and skilled trades grows while white-collar hiring slows..
Fortune finds more employers abandoning performance-based raises in favor of flat, across-the-board increases — a move meant to more broadly retain workers.
Bloomberg reveals that CEOs are increasingly anxious about economic slowdown, geopolitical instability, AI backlash, and workforce morale with fewer leaders confident they can manage multiple risks at once.
HR Dive highlights new research showing that replacing an employee now costs employers more than $45,000 on average, strengthening the business case for retention.
The Wall Street Journal reports that The Washington Post is laying off about one third of its workforce as digital subscription growth slows and legacy media companies continue to struggle with advertising and audience fragmentation.
A KFF Health Tracking Poll finds health care costs, expiring ACA tax credits, and insurance affordability are top voter concerns, particularly with many companies having to alter their health benefits due to rising prices.
