As major national corporations increasingly come under political attack by state governments looking to prosecute culture war fights, a prominent CEO is pushing back.
“A company has a right to freedom of speech just like individuals do,” Disney CEO Bob Iger told shareholders earlier this month. Iger used his freedom of speech to call out Florida Gov. Ron De Santis for his retaliatory moves against the entertainment giant, calling him “anti-business and anti-Florida.”
Disney is the state’s largest corporate employer and taxpayer and has been subjected to a series of escalating moves by the state government in response to Disney taking a public position on policy. Disney, which has been operating in Florida for 50 years, spoke out against a law that would restrict speech in schools on LGBTQ topics, the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. The state of Florida in turn sought to restrict some of Disney’s power to control the land around and on which Disneyland sits.
Told of Iger’s comments, a spokesperson for the Florida governor promised to continue the state’s fight with the company, warning, “As Governor DeSantis recently said, ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet.’”
Iger’s actions are just the latest example of companies redefining what stakeholder capitalism looks like by taking bold steps to support issues that matter to workers, customers, the community, and others critical to long-term success. Tech giant Salesforce, for example, has sought to change the narrative around stakeholder capitalism by speaking out on voting rights issues. In this 2019 New York Times opinion piece, CEO Marc Benioff described why businesses and executives must value purpose alongside profit.
Daniella Ballou-Aares, CEO of the Leadership Now Project, spoke to The Hill about how CEOs are starting to respond proactively to political retribution. As the last few years have shown, businesses that remain silent in the face of attacks on free speech, ESG, and democracy only invite further abuses of power.
To learn more about stakeholder capitalism
and how other businesses are confronting their role in democracy, you can read Leadership Now’s Business Leader’s Guide to Democracy.