‘Will business stand up?’: Ken Chenault on CEO courage and the US midterms
Semafor · Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson ·
The former American Express chief is calling for a new accord between business and society.
The CEO Signal
Any interference in next week’s US midterm elections should be a “red line” that prompts business leaders to rally behind American democratic norms, Ken Chenault is warning his peers. But the influential chairman of venture capital firm General Catalyst worries that some leaders have lost sight of where to draw such lines, as they’ve retreated from a social responsibility agenda they espoused just a few years ago.
Chenault, who was one of the first Black CEOs to lead a Fortune 500 company and ran American Express for 17 years, says people concerned about meddling in Tuesday’s election or damaging disputes over the results have been calling him to ask: “Will business stand up?”