Fortune 500 CEO Letters on Social Impact & Black Lives Matter

Which Fortune 500 CEOS? The 4 Black CEOs out of the 500 Fortune 500 CEOs

Who: Jide Zeitlin, CEO of the luxury goods brand Tapestry 

What did Zeitlin say?

• “We can replace our windows and handbags, but we cannot bring back George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Emmett Till, and too many others. Each of these black lives matter,” 
• Will “convene a number of social justice, legal, and corporate entities to formulate a longer-term plan for addressing systemic inequality” in areas like health, economic opportunity, and public safety.

Who: Marvin Ellison, CEO of Lowe’s

What did Ellison say?

• “I grew up in the segregated south and remember stories my parents shared about living in the Jim Crow South,” wrote Ellison. “So, I have personal understanding of the fear and frustration that many of you are feeling.”
• Lowe’s has a ZERO tolerance policy on racism
• Commitment to new resources to better support employee and communities

Who: Merck CEO Ken Frazier

What did Frazier say?

• “What the African American community sees in that videotape is that this African American man, who could be me or any other African American man, is being treated as less than human,”
• “huge opportunity gaps” still exist today
• “It is the responsibility of corporate America to bridge those gaps,”

Who: Roger Ferguson, CEO of TIAA

What did Ferguson say?

• “Personally, I am outraged by the recent incidents of racism, violence and police brutality against members of the African American community. The haunting video of Mr. Floyd’s last breaths is a sobering reflection of this national crisis,” 
• “Particularly with the pandemic issues we are confronting in 2020, this is a time when we must embrace our differences and become more inclusive,

CNN Business | There are just four black CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Here’s how they are addressing the death of George Floyd