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CEO Letter on Disability Inclusion

Understanding that we are all operating in an unprecedented environment with multiple, competing interests for the time and attention of the CEO, we are writing to you – from a CEO to CEO perspective – to ask for your much-needed help in advancing equality and inclusion at a time when the need to make sure that no one is marginalized has never been more important.

July 2020 marked the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  While there is much to celebrate in the progress that has been made since the ADA was created, there is still a great deal of work to be done.  Specifically, we want to:

  1. Request your consideration to participate in the Disability Equality Index (DEI), the leading corporate benchmarking tool for disability equality, which is administered by the non-profit organizations, American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN;
  2. Share important information on disability inclusion that details its impact on business performance; and
  3. Ensure that you’re aware of increasing investor interest in understanding how companies are inclusive of people with disabilities.

We have experienced first-hand, within our companies, the potential for innovation, sustainability, and profit as a result of disability inclusion. It is important to us, now more than ever, to drive companies aligned with corporate values and meaningful purpose. Without disability inclusion, we will fail to build sustainable futures that empower all.

We kindly request that your company registers for the DEI, a corporate benchmarking tool created by non-profit organizations AAPD and Disability:IN. 

Our respective companies leverage the DEI to help build better products, stronger workforces, and innovative supply chains. At a larger scale, we stand to boost the American GDP by up to $25 billion if we hire just 1% of the untapped talent with disabilities.

Over one billion people have a disability across the globe – and it is a strength. We are leveraging this – by hiring inclusively, contracting with disability-owned business enterprises, and creating accessible tools and technology for all. We do this because it’s the right thing to do and it makes good business sense. Research reveals that companies that have led on key disability inclusion criteria during that time have realized: 1.6x more revenue, 2.6x more net income, and 2x more economic profit than other participants in Disability:IN’s annual benchmark survey.1 They are also 25% more likely to outperform on productivity compared to their industry peers that have not participated in the survey, measured as revenue per employee.

This is a growing topic for investors in driving sustainable performance. A global investor coalition, representing more than $2.8 trillion in combined assets, called on companies they invest in to become more disability inclusive. The coalition is led by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read, and includes large institutional investors such as California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) and Bank of America.

We understand, firsthand, that many requests come across the CEO’s desk, which is why we’re reaching out directly to you on this topic. The business case for disability inclusion in the workplace is compelling. Investor interest – along with regulator and legislator interest – on the topic of workplace disability inclusion is increasing at an accelerated pace. And the DEI provides an unbiased and confidential way to benchmark disability inclusion in the workplace.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Signed:

  1. Darius Adamczyk, Chairman & CEO, Honeywell
  2. Kevin Ali, CEO, Organon
  3. José (Joe) E. Almeida, Chairman, President & CEO, Baxter International Inc.
  4. Cristiano R. Amon, President & CEO, Qualcomm Incorporated
  5. Bill Anderson, Chairman of the Board of Management, Bayer AG, Bayer
  6. Peter Arduini, President & CEO, GE HealthCare
  7. Carl S. Armato, President & CEO, Novant Health
  8. Craig Arnold, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Eaton
  9. Nikesh Arora, CEO and Chairman, Palo Alto Networks
  10. Tom Arseneault, President & CEO, BAE Systems, Inc.
  11. Stéphane Bancel, CEO, Moderna
  12. Steve Bandrowczak, Chief Executive Officer, Xerox Corporation
  13. Mary Barra, Chair and CEO, General Motors
  14. Corie Barry, CEO, Best Buy
  15. Brian Becker, CEO, RSM
  16. Marc Benioff, Chair & CEO, Salesforce
  17. Andy Bird, CEO, Pearson
  18. Frank Bisignano, President & CEO, Fiserv, Inc.
  19. Robert M. Blue, Chair, President & CEO, Dominion Energy, Inc.
  20. Jean-Michel Boers, President & CEO, and US Country Managing Director, Boehringer Ingelheim USA Corporation
  21. Gail Boudreaux, President & CEO, Elevance Health
  22. Dr. Albert Bourla, Chairman & CEO, Pfizer, Inc.
  23. Roz Brewer, CEO, Walgreens Boots Alliance
  24. Bruce Broussard, President & CEO, Humana Inc.
  25. Greg Brown, Chairman & CEO, Motorola Solutions Inc
  26. Jeffrey J. Brown, CEO, Ally Financial Inc.
  27. Michele Buck, Chairman of the Board President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hershey Company
  28. Bill Burns, CEO, Zebra Technologies
  29. David Burritt, President and CEO, U. S. Steel
  30. James Butcher, President & CEO, Chemonics International
  31. Giovanni Caforio, Chairman & CEO, Bristol Myers Squibb
  32. David Calhoun, President & CEO, The Boeing Company
  33. Anthony Capuano, CEO, Marriott International, Inc.
  34. Marc Casper, Chairman, President & CEO, Thermo Fisher Scientific
  35. Andy Cecere, Chairman & CEO, U.S. Bancorp
  36. Annette Clayton, North American President & CEO, Schneider Electric
  37. Frank Clyburn, CEO, IFF
  38. Steve Collis, Chairman, President and CEO, AmerisourceBergen
  39. Elizabeth B. Concordia, President and CEO, UCHealth
  40. David Cordani, President & CEO, Cigna Corporation
  41. Brian Cornell, Board Chairman & CEO, Target Corp.
  42. Roger Crandall, Chairman, President & CEO, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
  43. Joanne Crevoiserat, CEO, Tapestry, Inc.
  44. Terrence Curtin, CEO, TE Connectivity, Ltd.
  45. Paul Decker, President & CEO, Mathematica
  46. Keith Demmings, President & CEO, Assurant
  47. Francis deSouza, President & CEO, Illumina
  48. Harry Dochelli, President & CEO, Essendant
  49. Joe Dominguez, President & CEO, Constellation Energy Corporation
  50. John Donahoe, President & CEO, NIKE, Inc.
  51. Brian Doubles, President & CEO, Synchrony
  52. Sandy Douglas, CEO, UNFI
  53. Thasunda Brown Duckett, President & CEO, TIAA
  54. Marvin R. Ellison, President & CEO, Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
  55. John J. Engel, Chairman, President & CEO, Wesco International Inc.
  56. Mick Farrell, CEO, ResMed
  57. Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., President & CEO, Mayo Clinic
  58. Bradley H. Feldmann, Chairman, President & CEO, Cubic Corporation
  59. Jim Fitterling, Chair and CEO, Dow
  60. Kathleen Flanagan, CEO & President, Abt Global Inc.
  61. Beth Ford, President & CEO, Land O’Lakes, Inc.
  62. James C. Foster, Chairman, President and CEO, Charles River Laboratories, Inc.
  63. Richard Francis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Teva Pharmaceuticals
  64. Fabrizio Freda, President & CEO, The Estée Lauder Companies
  65. John C. Freker, Jr., CEO, Buck Global, LLC
  66. Lance Fritz, Chairman, President & CEO, Union Pacific
  67. Belén Garijo, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
  68. Pat Gelsinger, CEO, Intel
  69. Paul Gentzkow, President & CEO, Talent Solutions, Robert Half
  70. Russell Glass, CEO, Headspace
  71. Matt Goldberg, President & CEO, Tripadvisor, Inc.
  72. Jim Goodnight, Co-Founder & CEO, SAS Institute Inc.
  73. Mark Greatrex, President, Cox Communications, Inc.
  74. Kelly Grier, US Chair & Americas Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP
  75. Sebastian Guth, President, Bayer U.S. & President Pharma, North America, Bayer
  76. Matt Hammerstein, CEO Barclays UK and Global Agenda Sponsor for Disability Inclusion, Barclays UK
  77. M. Susan Hardwick, President & CEO, American Water Works, Inc.
  78. Cain A. Hayes, President & CEO, Point32Health, Inc.
  79. Gregory J. Hayes, Chairman & CEO, Raytheon Technologies
  80. Joe Hinrichs, President & CEO, CSX Corporation
  81. Lauren Hobart, President & CEO, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc.
  82. Roger Hochschild, President & CEO, Discover Financial Services
  83. Kevin Hourican, President & CEO, Sysco Corporation
  84. Rich Hume, Chief Executive Officer, TD SYNNEX
  85. Barbara Humpton, CEO, Siemens USA
  86. Jean Hynes, CEO, Wellington Management
  87. Robert Isom, Chief Executive Officer, American Airlines Group
  88. Anthony Jabbour, CEO, Black Knight, Inc. and Dun & Bradstreet
  89. Brad Jacobs, Chairman & CEO, XPO Logistics, Inc.
  90. Haakan Jonsson, Chairman and President, Covestro
  91. Robert E. Jordan, CEO, Southwest Airlines
  92. Rick Keyes, President & CEO, Meijer
  93. Julie Kim, President, U.S. Business Unit and U.S. Country Head, Takeda
  94. Scott Kirby, CEO, United Airlines
  95. Tim Knavish, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), PPG Industries, Inc.
  96. Paul Knopp, U.S. Chair & CEO, KPMG
  97. Ramon Laguarta, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo
  98. Ralph A. LaRossa, Chair, President and CEO, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)
  99. Heather Lavallee, CEO, Voya Financial, Inc.
  100. Alex Liu, Managing Partner, Chairman and Chief Diversity Officer, Kearney
  101. Sarah London, CEO, Centene Corporation
  102. Enrique Lores, President and CEO, HP Inc.
  103. Charles F. Lowrey, Chairman & CEO, Prudential Financial, Inc.
  104. Mike Mahoney, Chairman & CEO, Boston Scientific
  105. Paul Markovich, President & CEO, Blue Shield of California
  106. Judy Marks, Chair, CEO & President, Otis Worldwide
  107. Geoff Martha, CEO, Medtronic
  108. Rodney Martin, Chairman & CEO, Voya Financial
  109. Alessandro Maselli, President & CEO, Catalent Pharma Solutions
  110. Pamela Maynard, CEO, Avanade
  111. Bill McDermott, Chairman & CEO, ServiceNow
  112. James R. McDonald, President, Americas Land, SLB
  113. Richard P. McKenney, President & CEO, Unum Group
  114. Doug McMillon, President & CEO, Walmart Inc.
  115. Rodney McMullen, Chairman & CEO, The Kroger Companies
  116. Sanjay Mehrotra, President & CEO, Micron Technology, Inc.
  117. Larry Merlo, President & CEO, CVS Health
  118. Charles Meyers, President and CEO, Equinix
  119. Ben Minicucci, CEO & President, Alaska Airlines
  120. Sarosh Mistry, Chair, Sodexo North America, Sodexo
  121. Mark Mondello, CEO, Jabil Inc.
  122. Curt Morgan, CEO, Vistra Corp.
  123. Sarah Morrison, CEO, Shepherd Center
  124. Iva Morse, Country Speaker USA. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
  125. William S. Mosakowski, CEO, Public Consulting Group
  126. Brian Moynihan, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Bank of America
  127. Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
  128. Laxman Narashimhan, CEO, Starbucks
  129. Chris Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton
  130. Antonio Neri, President & CEO, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
  131. Alan S. Ogilvie, President & Chief Executive Officer, Church Mutual Insurance Co., S.I.
  132. Ronald P. O’Hanley, Chairman & CEO, State Street Corporation
  133. Ken Paulus, President & CEO, Prime Therapeutics LLC
  134. Mark Pearson, CEO, Equitable Holdings
  135. Douglas L. Peterson, President & CEO, S&P Global
  136. Pedro Pizarro, President & CEO, Edison International
  137. Tom Polen, Chairman, CEO & President, Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD)
  138. Patti Poppe, CEO PG&E Corporation, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
  139. Bob Pragada, Chief Executive Officer, Jacobs
  140. Heike Prinz, Chief Talent Officer & Labor Director, Bayer AG, Bayer
  141. Peter Quigley, CEO, Kelly
  142. Tom Reeg, CEO, Caesars Entertainment
  143. Dave Regnery, Chair & CEO, Trane Technologies
  144. Dave Ricks, Chairman & CEO, Eli Lilly and Company
  145. Michelle Riley-Brown, President and CEO, Children’s National Hospital
  146. David Risher, CEO, Lyft
  147. Dino E. Robusto, Chairman & CEO, CNA Financial Corporation
  148. Jorge M. Rodriguez, President & CEO, Sorenson
  149. Horacio Rozanski, President and Chief Executive Officer, Booz Allen Hamilton
  150. Jim Ryan, Chairman & CEO, Old National Bank
  151. Jim Ryan, President & CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment
  152. Tim Ryan, US Chair & Senior Partner, PwC
  153. Vincent L. Sadusky, Chief Executive Officer; Executive Director, IGT
  154. Leo Salom, President & CEO, TD Bank
  155. Tom Salvaggio, President & CEO, CAI
  156. Rafael Santana, President and CEO, Wabtec Corporation
  157. Rodrigo Santos, President Bayer Crop Science Division, Bayer
  158. Julien Sauvagnargues, President, Olympus Corporation of the Americas (OCA)
  159. Charlie Scharf, CEO, Wells Fargo & Company
  160. Jay Shah, Chief Executive Officer, Edelman Financial Engines
  161. Alan Shaw, President & CEO, Norfolk Southern Corporation
  162. Brian Shepherd, President and CEO, CSG
  163. Brian Sikes, President & CEO, Cargill
  164. Seth Siegel, CEO, Grant Thornton LLP
  165. Mike Sievert, President & CEO, T-Mobile
  166. Josh Silverman, CEO, Etsy, Inc.
  167. Lorenzo Simonelli, Chairman & CEO, Baker Hughes
  168. Vince Sorgi, President & CEO, PPL Corporation
  169. Evan Spiegel, CEO, Snap Inc.
  170. John Stankey, CEO, AT&T
  171. Stephen D. Steinour, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Huntington National Bank
  172. Scott Strazik, Chief Executive Officer, GE Vernova
  173. Michael Stubblefield, President and CEO, Avantor
  174. Robert E. Sulentic, President & CEO, CBRE
  175. Julie Sweet, CEO, Accenture
  176. Mike Swinford, CEO, NuMotion
  177. J.K. Symancyk, President & CEO, PetSmart
  178. James D. Taiclet, Chairman, President & CEO, Lockheed Martin
  179. Joe Tarantino, President & CEO, Protiviti
  180. Rob Taylor, President Sonepar North America, Sonepar
  181. Laurent Therivel, CEO, US Cellular
  182. Sanjeev Tirath, CEO, Pyramid Consulting
  183. Chris Todd, CEO, UKG
  184. Carol B. Tomé, CEO, United Parcel Service
  185. Robert N. Trunzo, President & CEO, TruStage
  186. Brian Turner, CEO & President, Point B LLC
  187. Sherri Turpin, CEO, ZVRS and Purple Communications
  188. Brian Tyler, CEO, McKesson Corporation
  189. Joe Ucuzoglu, CEO, Deloitte Global
  190. Hans Vestberg, Chairman & CEO, Verizon
  191. Robin Vince, President & CEO, BNY Mellon
  192. Michel Vounatsos, CEO, Biogen
  193. Keith Waddell, CEO, Robert Half International
  194. Pat Walsh, CPA, MBA, CEO, Withum
  195. Kathy Warden, Chairman, CEO & President, Northrop Grumman Corporation
  196. Mike Wirth, Chairman & CEO, Chevron Corporation
  197. Dr. Jerry Wohletz, President & CEO, Draper
  198. Anne Wojcicki, CEO & Co-Founder, 23andMe
  199. Ashley Wright, Enterprise CEO, GHD Group Limited
  200. John Zillmer, CEO, Aramark