W ITH G R ATI TUD E
k n a Th
THERE IS A TENDENCY IN A MOMENT LIKE THIS,
Honoring the CEOs and the system that saved the world.
in the lee of a long, hard time, to move on. It’s understandable, it’s human, it’s healthy. The Covid year was an extraordinary event—one that lingers in too much of the world. We’d just as soon forget it. As a society, we’re doing so at a rapid clip. In a blink, we’ve passed from fights over the PPP to fights over inflation. From mask shortages to chip shortages. Banging pots and pans to celebrate the work of front-line healthcare workers to grumbling about doctor bills. Vaccinations, once miraculous, are now mundane and, sadly, the powerful innovations that brought them into existence, the smarts, drive, investment, risk and effort behind one of the great achievements in all of American history—yes, it is true—have been fully taken for granted by government and citizens alike. But the intent here isn’t to fight or even bemoan that battle—there are other times and places for that. Our hope here is to focus on something bigger and more elemental. Something we worry is being forgotten in the headlong rush to take the next hill, make the next sale, win the next election. And that is to simply say thank you. Every religion humanity embraces teaches us that gratitude is among the most powerful spiritual practices. For leaders charged with stewarding the lives and treasure of others, it’s perhaps even more essential (for more on that, see p. 26). So, before moving on to whatever comes next, Chief Executive, on behalf of the nationwide community of CEOs we serve, would like to offer up thanks, first, for the heroic efforts of the doctors, nurses, scientists, police officers, delivery drivers— everyone who helped move us through this horrific time, those who served others directly in a year of peril. You will be forgotten too quickly. You should not be. THE CEOS WHO SAVED THE WORLD
It is also the moment to honor three exceptional men, essential members of our community, three CEOs who deserve our particular gratitude. Without them, without their efforts, our nation, our world, would be in a far worse place. That isn’t hyperbole. That is fact. With their uncanny ability to marshal science, capital, labor and imagination to a cause with implications for all of humankind, they demonstrated the irreplacable power of business leadership in our world. So let us thank:
24 / CHIEFEXECUTIVE.NET / SUMMER 2021
