Market Leaders Share Their Long-Term Business Strategy at the 8th CEO Investor Forum
CECP's 2020 CEO Investor Forum, the only platform that brings CEOs and Investors together to discuss long-term plans, hosted CEOs from across industries presenting to over 250 investors on Monday, February 25 in NYC, sponsored by KPMG LLP, UBS, Walmart, Ford Foundation, and Bloomberg LP.
The CEOs of Aptiv PLC, Henry Schein, Philip Morris International, Verisk Analytics, and Welltower presented their Long-Term Plans covering corporate purpose, multi-year goals, strategies, material ESG risks and stakeholder engagement. CECP also announced a new "member services" network and on-line hub that will empower additional companies to develop and share their integrated Long-Term Plans.
More than 30 CEOs have presented at previous CEO Investor Forums, the world's only platform for the communication of corporate Long-Term Plans to institutional investors. The audience, collectively representing over $25 trillion in assets under management, gathered at Convene at One Liberty Plaza with over 1200 virtual attendees watching via live webcast. The presentations can be watched at any time online or via CECP's YouTube channel. The 2020 CEO Investor Forum featured Long-Term Plan presentations from:
- Stanley Bergman, Chairman and CEO, Henry Schein, Inc. (HSIC)
- André Calantzopoulos, CEO, Philip Morris International (PM)
- Kevin P. Clark, President and CEO, Aptiv PLC (APTV)
- Thomas J. DeRosa, Chairman and CEO, Welltower (WELL)
- Scott G. Stephenson, Chairman, President and CEO, Verisk Analytics (VRSK)
"While an important conversation is happening about the role of business in society, one thing is certain: The long-term success of any business will depend on its willingness to create and contribute to strong, thriving communities and a healthy planet," said Doug McMillon, CEO, Walmart. "We must operate in a way that creates lasting value for all stakeholders ? from shareholders and suppliers, to customers and employees. We are encouraged by the work being done and eager for others to join us in this ongoing dialogue."
For the first time, CEO signatories of the 2019 Business Roundtable Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation discussed their motivations for signing, reactions it has generated among stakeholders, and how the CEOs are putting the tenets of the statement into action at their companies. Panelists included:
- Joaquin Duato, Vice Chairman, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
- David Abney, Chairman and CEO, UPS (UPS)
- Deanna Mulligan, President and CEO, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
Rebecca Henderson, Professor, Harvard Business School, also shared her thoughts on the purpose of corporation, drawing from her forthcoming book (April 2020), "Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire."
"We are building the momentum to end short-termism on Wall Street and in business," said Daryl Brewster, CEO, CECP. "The CEO Investor Forum plays a crucial part in communicating the information and data that investors need but is often missing from quarterly calls that too often focus on past results. Ultimately the Strategic Investor Initiative's work is about helping investors and companies connect the dots between today's corporate strategy and the results that are further down the road than next quarter. "
Key themes from the Long-Term Plan presentations emerged, including:
- Stakeholder capitalism has taken center stage in a very short amount of time. All eyes are on CEOs and their companies as they take intentional actions to operationalize what it means to put employees, customers, communities, investors, and suppliers at the core of business strategy and create long-term sustainable value for all.
- Boards of directors have a growing role in ESG issues. Beyond fiduciary duties, directors with an eye on the long-term are driving conversations and policy changes about executive pay and incentives, diversity and inclusion, employee experience, corporate purpose, and sustainability.
- Companies are using near-term metrics to track long-term issues. Leading companies are levering metrics traditionally used to track short-term performance to communicate their progress on long-term issues such as research and development, human capital, marketing, and climate change.
CECP is a coalition of over 200 of the world's largest companies representing $6.6 trillion in revenues, $21.2 billion in societal investment, and 14 million employees, and $15 trillion in assets under management. The Strategic Investor Initiative is the capital markets arm that leverages CECP's CEO network to fundamentally change the conversation between CEOs, boards of directors, and investors, from short-term profits to sustained long-term corporate performance by including financially material Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors. SII is co-chaired by Bill McNabb, former Chairman of Vanguard, and Johnson & Johnson's Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky. SII has an advisory board of leading investors that represent more than $15 trillion in assets under management.
CECP is grateful for the generosity of its Advance the Movement supporters KPMG LLP, Newman's Own Foundation, and USAA.
ABOUT CHIEF EXECUTIVES FOR CORPORATE PURPOSE (CECP)
Founded in 1999 by actor and philanthropist Paul Newman and other business leaders to create a better world through business, CECP has grown to a movement of more than 200 of the world's largest companies that represent $6.6 trillion in revenues, $21.2 billion in social investment, 14 million employees, and $15 trillion in assets under management. CECP helps companies transform their social strategy by providing customized connections and networking, counsel and support, benchmarking and trends, and awareness building and recognition.
ABOUT THE STRATEGIC INVESTOR INITIATIVE
The Strategic Investor Initiative is a global organization preparing corporate leaders for the next generation of stakeholders. The CEO Investor Forum provides support and guidance to CEOs and corporate executives on how to develop and communicate their long-term strategy to institutional investors and other key constituencies. Through a proprietary content framework, advisory services, and events, the Forum empowers CEOs to proactively set the context, own the narrative and lead for the future.
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