Ariel’s Mellody Hobson: Corporate America, Talk Is Cheap

Squawk Pod

CNBC

Investing, Business, News, Business News

4.2 • 543 Ratings

🗓️ 2 June 2020

⏱️ 31 minutes

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Summary

Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO of the largest African American-owned investment firm in the U.S., urges for genuine leadership among her corporate peers, and challenges them to stand up for justice beyond a well-meaning press release. Chairman and outgoing AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson vocally defended the Black Lives Matter movement in 2016 after the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling in Louisiana. Today, he reiterates his message that tolerance is not enough, and he urges other corporate leaders to facilitate impactful dialogue and action internally.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Squawk Pod. I'm C. NBC producer Katie Kramer. Today on our
0:06.2	podcast nationwide protests demand equality and two CEOs urge their peers to
0:11.8	lead the corporate charge for change.
0:14.4	Melody Hobson, co-cee of Ariel, the largest African-American-owned investment firm in the
0:18.6	U.S. I'm going beyond the press release.
0:21.5	I have to say that corporate America talk is cheap.
0:24.8	You know, I've talked about the fact that say we're working on diversity
0:28.0	and in a company is unacceptable to me.
0:30.9	Because in corporate America, we don't work on anything else and making real change at the top.
0:35.3	The role of the CEO and the role of the corporation has changed and while many might want to
0:41.3	sit out these issues, they can't.
0:43.5	They literally can't.
0:45.3	Randall Stevenson, the outgoing CEO of AT&T
0:48.0	argues that inequality is not a political issue.
0:51.0	Free markets don't work in an environment where a large class of our people are perceiving
0:56.7	and experiencing injustice.
0:59.2	And we should talk about it.
1:00.4	Really talk about it.
1:01.8	All of us, CEOs, have large African American employee bodies that we owe it to them to make
1:07.7	sure that we're speaking to this and just say it.
1:10.1	We got a problem.
1:11.7	It's Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020, Squawk Pod begins right now.
	...

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