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:
- 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;
- Share important information on disability inclusion that details its impact on business performance; and
- 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 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:
- Darius Adamczyk, Chairman & CEO, Honeywell
- Kevin Ali, CEO, Organon
- José (Joe) E. Almeida, Chairman, President & CEO, Baxter International Inc.
- Cristiano R. Amon, President & CEO, Qualcomm Incorporated
- Bill Anderson, Chairman of the Board of Management, Bayer AG, Bayer US
- Peter Arduini, President & CEO, GE HealthCare
- Carl S. Armato, President & CEO, Novant Health
- Nikesh Arora, CEO and Chairman, Palo Alto Networks
- Tom Arseneault, President & CEO, BAE Systems, Inc.
- Stéphane Bancel, CEO, Moderna
- Steve Bandrowczak, Chief Executive Officer, Xerox Corporation
- Mary Barra, Chair and CEO, General Motors
- Corie Barry, CEO, Best Buy
- Brian Becker, CEO, RSM
- Marc Benioff, Chair & CEO, Salesforce
- Andy Bird, CEO, Pearson
- Frank Bisignano, President & CEO, Fiserv, Inc.
- Robert M. Blue, Chair, President & CEO, Dominion Energy, Inc.
- Jean-Michel Boers, President & CEO, and US Country Managing Director, Boehringer Ingelheim USA Corporation
- Gail Boudreaux, President & CEO, Elevance Health
- Dr. Albert Bourla, Chairman & CEO, Pfizer, Inc.
- Roz Brewer, CEO, Walgreens Boots Alliance
- Bruce Broussard, President & CEO, Humana Inc.
- Greg Brown, Chairman & CEO, Motorola Solutions Inc
- Jeffrey J. Brown, CEO, Ally Financial Inc.
- Michele Buck, Chairman of the Board President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hershey Company
- Bill Burns, CEO, Zebra Technologies
- David Burritt, President and CEO, U. S. Steel
- James Butcher, President & CEO, Chemonics International
- Giovanni Caforio, Chairman & CEO, Bristol Myers Squibb
- David Calhoun, President & CEO, The Boeing Company
- Anthony Capuano, CEO, Marriott International, Inc.
- Marc Casper, Chairman, President & CEO, Thermo Fisher Scientific
- Andy Cecere, Chairman & CEO, U.S. Bancorp
- Annette Clayton, North American President & CEO, Schneider Electric
- Frank Clyburn, CEO, IFF
- Steve Collis, Chairman, President and CEO, AmerisourceBergen
- Elizabeth Concordia, President and CEO, UCHealth
- David Cordani, President & CEO, Cigna Corporation
- Brian Cornell, Board Chairman & CEO, Target Corp.
- Roger Crandall, Chairman, President & CEO, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
- Joanne Crevoiserat, CEO, Tapestry, Inc.
- Terrence Curtin, CEO, TE Connectivity, Ltd.
- Paul Decker, President & CEO, Mathematica
- Keith Demmings, President & CEO, Assurant
- Francis deSouza, President & CEO, Illumina
- Sven Dethlefs, MD, Executive Vice President of North America Commercial, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
- Harry Dochelli, President & CEO, Essendant
- Joe Dominguez, President & CEO, Constellation Energy Corporation
- John Donahoe, President & CEO, NIKE, Inc.
- Brian Doubles, President & CEO, Synchrony
- Sandy Douglas, CEO, UNFI
- Thasunda Brown Duckett, President & CEO, TIAA
- Marvin R. Ellison, President & CEO, Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
- John J. Engel, Chairman, President & CEO, Wesco International Inc.
- Mick Farrell, CEO, ResMed
- Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., President & CEO, Mayo Clinic
- Bradley H. Feldmann, Chairman, President & CEO, Cubic Corporation
- Beth Ford, President & CEO, Land O’Lakes, Inc.
- Fabrizio Freda, President & CEO, The Estée Lauder Companies
- John C. Freker, Jr., CEO, Buck Global, LLC
- Lance Fritz, Chairman, President & CEO, Union Pacific
- Belén Garijo, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
- Pat Gelsinger, CEO, Intel
- Paul Gentzkow, President & CEO, Talent Solutions, Robert Half
- Matt Goldberg, President & CEO, Tripadvisor, Inc.
- Jim Goodnight, Co-Founder & CEO, SAS Institute Inc.
- Mark Greatrex, President, Cox Communications, Inc.
- Kelly Grier, US Chair & Americas Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP
- Sebastian Guth, President, Bayer U.S. & President Pharma, North America, Bayer
- Matt Hammerstein, CEO Barclays UK and Global Agenda Sponsor for Disability Inclusion, Barclays UK
- M. Susan Hardwick, President & CEO, American Water Works, Inc.
- Cain A. Hayes, President & CEO, Point32Health, Inc.
- Gregory J. Hayes, Chairman & CEO, Raytheon Technologies
- Joe Hinrichs, President & CEO, CSX Corporation
- Lauren Hobart, President & CEO, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc.
- Roger Hochschild, President & CEO, Discover Financial Services
- Kevin Hourican, President & CEO, Sysco Corporation
- Rich Hume, Chief Executive Officer, TD SYNNEX
- Barbara Humpton, CEO, Siemens USA
- Jean Hynes, CEO, Wellington Management
- Robert Isom, Chief Executive Officer, American Airlines Group
- Anthony Jabbour, CEO, Black Knight, Inc. and Dun & Bradstreet
- Brad Jacobs, Chairman & CEO, XPO Logistics, Inc.
- Haakan Jonsson, Chairman and President, Covestro
- Robert E. Jordan, CEO, Southwest Airlines
- Rick Keyes, President & CEO, Meijer
- Julie Kim, President, U.S. Business Unit and U.S. Country Head, Takeda
- Scott Kirby, CEO, United Airlines
- Tim Knavish, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), PPG Industries, Inc.
- Paul Knopp, U.S. Chair & CEO, KPMG
- Ramon Laguarta, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo
- Ralph A. LaRossa, Chair, President and CEO, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)
- Heather Lavallee, CEO, Voya Financial, Inc.
- Alex Liu, Managing Partner, Chairman and Chief Diversity Officer, Kearney
- Sarah London, CEO, Centene Corporation
- Enrique Lores, President and CEO, HP Inc.
- Charles F. Lowrey, Chairman & CEO, Prudential Financial, Inc.
- Mike Mahoney, Chairman & CEO, Boston Scientific
- Paul Markovich, President & CEO, Blue Shield of California
- Judy Marks, Chair, CEO & President, Otis Worldwide
- Geoff Martha, CEO, Medtronic
- Rodney Martin, Chairman & CEO, Voya Financial
- Alessandro Maselli, President & CEO, Catalent Pharma Solutions
- Pamela Maynard, CEO, Avanade
- Bill McDermott, Chairman & CEO, ServiceNow
- James R. McDonald, President, Americas Land, SLB
- Richard P. McKenney, President & CEO, Unum Group
- Doug McMillon, President & CEO, Walmart Inc.
- Rodney McMullen, Chairman & CEO, The Kroger Companies
- Sanjay Mehrotra, President & CEO, Micron Technology, Inc.
- Larry Merlo, President & CEO, CVS Health
- Charles Meyers, President and CEO, Equinix
- Ben Minicucci, CEO & President, Alaska Airlines
- Sarosh Mistry, Chair, Sodexo North America, Sodexo
- Mark Mondello, CEO, Jabil Inc.
- Curt Morgan, CEO, Vistra Corp.
- Sarah Morrison, CEO, Shepherd Center
- Iva Morse, Country Speaker USA. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
- William S. Mosakowski, CEO, Public Consulting Group
- Brian Moynihan, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Bank of America
- Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
- Chris Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton
- Antonio Neri, President & CEO, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
- Ronald P. O’Hanley, Chairman & CEO, State Street Corporation
- Ken Paulus, President & CEO, Prime Therapeutics LLC
- Mark Pearson, CEO, Equitable Holdings
- Douglas L. Peterson, President & CEO, S&P Global
- Pedro Pizarro, President & CEO, Edison International
- Richard Poirier, President & CEO, Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I.
- Tom Polen, Chairman, CEO & President, Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD)
- Patti Poppe, CEO PG&E Corporation, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
- Bob Pragada, Chief Executive Officer, Jacobs
- Heike Prinz, Chief Talent Officer & Labor Director, Bayer AG, Bayer
- Peter Quigley, CEO, Kelly
- Tom Reeg, CEO, Caesars Entertainment
- Dave Regnery, Chair & CEO, Trane Technologies
- Dave Ricks, Chairman & CEO, Eli Lilly and Company
- Michelle Riley-Brown, President and CEO, Children’s National Hospital
- Dino E. Robusto, Chairman & CEO, CNA Financial Corporation
- Jorge M. Rodriguez, President & CEO, Sorenson
- Horacio Rozanski, President and Chief Executive Officer, Booz Allen Hamilton
- Jim Ryan, Chairman & CEO, Old National Bank
- Jim Ryan, President & CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Tim Ryan, US Chair & Senior Partner, PwC
- Vincent L. Sadusky, Chief Executive Officer; Executive Director, IGT
- Leo Salom, President & CEO, TD Bank
- Tom Salvaggio, President & CEO, CAI
- Rafael Santana, President and CEO, Wabtec Corporation
- Rodrigo Santos, President Bayer Crop Science Division, Bayer
- Julien Sauvagnargues, President, Olympus Corporation of the Americas (OCA)
- Charlie Scharf, CEO, Wells Fargo & Company
- Howard Schultz, CEO, Starbucks Corporation
- Kåre Schultz, President and CEO, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
- Jay Shah, Chief Executive Officer, Edelman Financial Engines
- Alan Shaw, President & CEO, Norfolk Southern Corporation
- Brian Shepherd, President and CEO, CSG
- Brian Sikes, President & CEO, Cargill
- Seth Siegel, CEO, Grant Thornton LLP
- Mike Sievert, President & CEO, T-Mobile
- Josh Silverman, CEO, Etsy, Inc.
- Lorenzo Simonelli, Chairman & CEO, Baker Hughes
- Vince Sorgi, President & CEO, PPL Corporation
- Evan Spiegel, CEO, Snap Inc.
- John Stankey, CEO, AT&T
- Steve D. Steinour, President and CEO, Huntington National Bank
- Scott Strazik, Chief Executive Officer, GE Vernova
- Robert E. Sulentic, President & CEO, CBRE
- Julie Sweet, CEO, Accenture
- Mike Swinford, CEO, NuMotion
- J.K. Symancyk, President & CEO, PetSmart
- James D. Taiclet, Chairman, President & CEO, Lockheed Martin
- Joe Tarantino, President & CEO, Protiviti
- Rob Taylor, President Sonepar North America, Sonepar
- Laurent Therivel, CEO, US Cellular
- Chris Todd, CEO, UKG
- Carol B. Tomé, CEO, United Parcel Service
- Robert N. Trunzo, President & CEO, TruStage
- Brian Turner, CEO & President, Point B LLC
- Sherri Turpin, CEO, ZVRS and Purple Communications
- Brian Tyler, CEO, McKesson Corporation
- Joe Ucuzoglu, CEO, Deloitte Global
- Hans Vestberg, Chairman & CEO, Verizon
- Robin Vince, President & CEO, BNY Mellon
- Michel Vounatsos, CEO, Biogen
- Keith Waddell, CEO, Robert Half International
- Pat Walsh, CPA, MBA, CEO, Withum
- Kathy Warden, Chairman, CEO & President, Northrop Grumman Corporation
- Mike Wirth, Chairman & CEO, Chevron Corporation
- Dr. Jerry Wohletz, President & CEO, Draper
- Anne Wojcicki, CEO & Co-Founder, 23andMe
- Ashley Wright, Enterprise CEO, GHD Group Limited
- John Zillmer, CEO, Aramark
