Robert Reis interviewed Dan as part of his CEO and Leadership focus for Forbes. The conversation was published August 5, 2020 and delves into the evidence support Dan’s long-held belief that corporate responsibility is good for all involved in the business - stakeholders, customers, and employees.
In thinking about which CEO was right to shed important light on Great to Good, I wanted someone who was an early adopter of being a good corporate citizen and also wasn’t currently at the helm so they could speak more freely. I immediately thought of Dan Hesse who during our first conversation had so impressed me with his passion for being a truly good company through stakeholder capitalism.
Key Insight from Dan Hesse
“I’ve long believed that doing ‘good’ for all stakeholders, especially employees and customers, is in the long-term interests of shareholders, but we didn’t have the data to prove it. That’s no longer the case. Now we know that companies that serve all stakeholders – employees, customers, communities, the planet, and shareholders provide higher returns for investors than their peers who don’t.”