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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 (www.DisabilityEqualityIndex.org), 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 leading disability-inclusive companies stand to gain as much as 28% higher revenue, double the net income and 30% higher economic profit margins than their peers.

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. Carl S. Armato, President & CEO, Novant Health
  6. Nikesh Arora, CEO and Chairman, Palo Alto Networks
  7. Tom Arseneault, President & CEO, BAE Systems, Inc.
  8. Stéphane Bancel, CEO, Moderna
  9. Mary Barra, Chair and CEO, General Motors
  10. Corie Barry, CEO, Best Buy
  11. Brian Becker, CEO, RSM US LLP (“RSM”)
  12. Marc Benioff, Chair & CEO, Salesforce
  13. Andy Bird, CEO, Pearson
  14. Frank Bisignano, President & CEO, Fiserv, Inc.
  15. Robert M. Blue, Chair, President & CEO, Dominion Energy, Inc.
  16. Jean-Michel Boers, President & CEO, and US Country Managing Director, Boehringer Ingelheim USA Corporation
  17. Gail Boudreaux, President & CEO, Elevance Health
  18. Dr. Albert Bourla, Chairman & CEO, Pfizer, Inc.
  19. Roz Brewer, CEO, Walgreens Boots Alliance
  20. Bruce Broussard, President & CEO, Humana Inc.
  21. Greg Brown, Chairman & CEO, Motorola Solutions Inc
  22. Jeffrey J. Brown, CEO, Ally Financial Inc.
  23. James Butcher, President & CEO, Chemonics International
  24. Giovanni Caforio, Chairman & CEO, Bristol Myers Squibb
  25. David Calhoun, President & CEO, The Boeing Company
  26. Anthony Capuano, CEO, Marriott International, Inc.
  27. Marc Casper, Chairman, President & CEO, Thermo Fisher Scientific
  28. Andy Cecere, Chairman & CEO, U.S. Bancorp
  29. Annette Clayton, North American President & CEO, Schneider Electric
  30. Frank Clyburn, CEO, IFF
  31. Steve Collis, Chairman, President and CEO, AmerisourceBergen
  32. David Cordani, President & CEO, Cigna Corporation
  33. Brian Cornell, Board Chairman & CEO, Target Corp.
  34. Roger Crandall, Chairman, President & CEO, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
  35. Terrence Curtin, CEO, TE Connectivity, Ltd.
  36. Paul Decker, President & CEO, Mathematica
  37. Steve Demetriou, Chair & CEO, Jacobs
  38. Keith Demmings, President & CEO, Assurant
  39. Francis deSouza, President & CEO, Illumina
  40. Sven Dethlefs, MD, Executive Vice President of North America Commercial, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
  41. Harry Dochelli, President & CEO, Essendant
  42. Joe Dominguez, President & CEO, Constellation Energy Corporation
  43. Brian Doubles, President & CEO, Synchrony
  44. Sandy Douglas, CEO, UNFI
  45. Thasunda Brown Duckett, President & CEO, TIAA
  46. Marvin R. Ellison, President & CEO, Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
  47. John J. Engel, Chairman, President & CEO, Wesco International Inc.
  48. Mick Farrell, CEO, ResMed
  49. Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., President & CEO, Mayo Clinic
  50. Bradley H. Feldmann, Chairman, President & CEO, Cubic Corporation
  51. Beth Ford, President & CEO, Land O’Lakes, Inc.
  52. Fabrizio Freda, President & CEO, The Estée Lauder Companies
  53. John C. Freker, Jr., CEO, Buck Global, LLC
  54. Lance Fritz, Chairman, President & CEO, Union Pacific
  55. Pat Gelsinger, CEO, Intel
  56. Paul Gentzkow, President & CEO, Talent Solutions, Robert Half
  57. Thomas P. (Todd) Gibbons, CEO, BNY Mellon
  58. Matt Goldberg, President & CEO, Tripadvisor, Inc.
  59. Jim Goodnight, Co-Founder & CEO, SAS Institute Inc.
  60. Mark Greatrex, President, Cox Communications, Inc.
  61. Kelly Grier, US Chair & Americas Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP
  62. Anders Gustafsson, CEO, Zebra Technologies Corp.
  63. M. Susan Hardwick, President & CEO, American Water Works, Inc.
  64. Cain A. Hayes, President & CEO, Point32Health, Inc.
  65. Gregory J. Hayes, Chairman & CEO, Raytheon Technologies
  66. Joe Hinrichs, President & CEO, CSX Corporation
  67. Lauren Hobart, President & CEO, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc.
  68. Roger Hochschild, President & CEO, Discover Financial Services
  69. Kevin Hourican, President & CEO, Sysco Corporation
  70. Barbara Humpton, CEO, Siemens USA
  71. Jean Hynes, CEO, Wellington Management
  72. Robert Isom, Chief Executive Officer, American Airlines Group
  73. Anthony Jabbour, CEO, Black Knight, Inc. and Dun & Bradstreet
  74. Brad Jacobs, Chairman & CEO, XPO Logistics, Inc.
  75. Haakan Jonsson, Chairman and President, Covestro
  76. Robert E. Jordan, CEO, Southwest Airlines
  77. Rick Keyes, President & CEO, Meijer
  78. Julie Kim, President, U.S. Business Unit and U.S. Country Head, Takeda
  79. Scott Kirby, CEO, United Airlines
  80. Paul Knopp, U.S. Chair & CEO, KPMG
  81. Ralph A. LaRossa, Chair, President and CEO, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)
  82. Alex Liu, Managing Partner, Chairman and Chief Diversity Officer, Kearney
  83. Patrick Lockwood-Taylor, President, Bayer US
  84. Sarah London, CEO, Centene Corporation
  85. Charles F. Lowrey, Chairman & CEO, Prudential Financial, Inc.
  86. Dave MacLennan, Chairman & CEO, Cargill, Incorporated
  87. Mike Mahoney, Chairman & CEO, Boston Scientific
  88. Paul Markovich, President & CEO, Blue Shield of California
  89. Judy Marks, Chair, CEO & President, Otis Worldwide
  90. Geoff Martha, CEO, Medtronic
  91. Rodney Martin, Chairman & CEO, Voya Financial
  92. Alessandro Maselli, President & CEO, Catalent Pharma Solutions
  93. Pamela Maynard, CEO, Avanade
  94. James R. McDonald, President, Americas Land, SLB
  95. Michael H. McGarry, PPG Chairman & CEO, PPG
  96. Richard P. McKenney, President & CEO, Unum Group
  97. Doug McMillon, CEO, Walmart Inc.
  98. Rodney McMullen, Chairman & CEO, The Kroger Companies
  99. Sanjay Mehrotra, President & CEO, Micron Technology, Inc.
  100. Larry Merlo, President & CEO, CVS Health
  101. Ben Minicucci, CEO & President, Alaska Airlines
  102. Sarosh Mistry, Chair, Sodexo North America, Sodexo
  103. Mark Mondello, CEO, Jabil Inc.
  104. Curt Morgan, CEO, Vistra Corp.
  105. Sarah Morrison, CEO, Shepherd Center
  106. Iva Morse, Vice President, Head of BioProcessing Commercial Americas | Country Speaker USA,Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
  107. Brian Moynihan, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Bank of America
  108. Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
  109. Chris Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton
  110. Antonio Neri, President & CEO, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
  111. Kurt Newman, MD, President & CEO, Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
  112. Ronald P. O’Hanley, Chairman & CEO, State Street Corporation
  113. Ken Paulus, President & CEO, Prime Therapeutics LLC
  114. Mark Pearson, CEO, Equitable Holdings
  115. Douglas L. Peterson, President & CEO, S&P Global
  116. Pedro Pizarro, President & CEO, Edison International
  117. Richard Poirier, President & CEO, Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I.
  118. Tom Polen, Chairman, CEO & President, Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD)
  119. Patti Poppe, CEO PG&E Corporation, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
  120. Peter Quigley, CEO, Kelly
  121. Tom Reeg, CEO, Caesars Entertainment
  122. Dave Regnery, Chair & CEO, Trane Technologies
  123. Dave Ricks, Chairman & CEO, Eli Lilly and Company
  124. Dino E. Robusto, Chairman & CEO, CNA Financial Corporation
  125. Jorge M. Rodriguez, President & CEO, Sorenson
  126. Jim Ryan, Chairman & CEO, Old National Bank
  127. Jim Ryan, President & CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment
  128. Tim Ryan, US Chair & Senior Partner, PwC
  129. Leo Salom, President & CEO, TD Bank
  130. Tom Salvaggio, President & CEO, CAI
  131. Rafael Santana, President and CEO, Wabtec Corporation
  132. Julien Sauvagnargues, President, Olympus Corporation of the Americas (OCA)
  133. Charlie Scharf, CEO, Wells Fargo & Company
  134. Howard Schultz, CEO, Starbucks Corporation
  135. Kåre Schultz, President and CEO, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
  136. Alan Shaw, President & CEO, Norfolk Southern Corporation
  137. Seth Siegel, CEO, Grant Thornton LLP
  138. Mike Sievert, President & CEO, T-Mobile
  139. Josh Silverman, CEO, Etsy, Inc.
  140. Lorenzo Simonelli, Chairman & CEO, Baker Hughes
  141. Vince Sorgi, President & CEO, PPL Corporation
  142. Evan Spiegel, CEO, Snap Inc.
  143. Robert E. Sulentic, President & CEO, CBRE
  144. Julie Sweet, CEO, Accenture
  145. Mike Swinford, CEO, NuMotion
  146. James D. Taiclet, Chairman, President & CEO, Lockheed Martin
  147. Joe Tarantino, President & CEO, Protiviti
  148. Laurent Therivel, CEO, US Cellular
  149. Chris Todd, CEO, UKG
  150. Carol B. Tomé, CEO, United Parcel Service
  151. Robert N. Trunzo, President & CEO, TruStage
  152. Brian Turner, CEO & President, Point B LLC
  153. Sherri Turpin, CEO, ZVRS and Purple Communications
  154. Brian Tyler, CEO, McKesson Corporation
  155. Joe Ucuzoglu, CEO, Deloitte Global
  156. Hans Vestberg, Chairman & CEO, Verizon
  157. Michel Vounatsos, CEO, Biogen
  158. Keith Waddell, CEO, Robert Half International
  159. Pat Walsh, CPA, MBA, CEO, Withum
  160. Kathy Warden, Chairman, CEO & President, Northrop Grumman Corporation
  161. Mike Wirth, Chairman & CEO, Chevron Corporation
  162. Dr. Jerry Wohletz, President & CEO, Draper
  163. Anne Wojcicki, CEO & Co-Founder, 23andMe
  164. Ashley Wright, Enterprise CEO, GHD Group Limited
  165. John Zillmer, CEO, Aramark