Leadership Next

 Growing up in a small community in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, Sarah Friar saw first hand what it means for neighbors to be at war with one another. But she also saw the transformative power of neighbors helping neighbors. She’s brought this experience to her role as CEO of Nextdoor, the social network platform centered around local communities. In this episode of Leadership Next, she and Ellen McGirt take a deep dive into two topics. First, the racism that exists in our neighborhoods and on Nextdoor itself. Friar explains how the platform is pushing back against that and, hopefully, even playing a role in deepening understanding between white and black neighbors. Second, the pair discusses Friar’s role as a female CEO. Women running tech companies are still vastly outnumbered by men. Friar has used her role to boost gender diversity at Nextdoor, and is focused on doing the same for people of color. She offers some specific advice for other leaders looking to bring more diversity to their own organizations.   

Bill McDermott’s been leading companies for many years – he spent 10 years as CEO of SAP, and in the fall of 2019, he took over as CEO at ServiceNow. But his approach to leadership is anything but old school. “The pendulum has really swung more towards a leader being absolutely in service to the employees and absolutely finding new ways to inspire them, new ways to innovate, new ways to bring out the best in them,” he tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt on this week’s Leadership Next. McDermott credits this shift to a war for talent. And, he points out that taking care of employees means taking a hard look at how people of color are advancing through your organization. “Put the cards on the table and take a look at the facts,” he advises. “The facts just don’t lie. … And by looking at the facts honestly and openly, you will open up a new gateway to innovation and opportunity within your company because that’s what people want.” Alan and Ellen also ask about ServiceNow’s response to COVID-19, the workplace of the future, and what brought McDermott to ServiceNow in the first place.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit and its economic implications became clear, Leadership Next wondered if CEOs would quietly shelve the idea of stakeholder capitalism and focus on their bottom lines. But for food giant Danone, the crisis has instead accelerated its commitment to people and the planet. It’s on the path to becoming a certified B Corporation, meaning it will be held to strict standards for social and environmental impact. Company CEO Emmanuel Faber now wants to hit that goal of becoming the world’s largest B Corp even sooner.  Why? He feels it’s a competitive advantage. Faber explains, and tells Alan Murray how shifting toward B Corp status has changed the company’s behavior. The majority of B Corps are small businesses, but a growing number of larger companies are showing interest in the certification, according to Anthea Kelsick, Co-CEO of B Lab U.S. & Canada. That interest was spurred by the Business Roundtable's shift to stakeholder capitalism last year and, more recently, by both COVID-19 and the business community's spotlight on racial justice. Kelsick speaks with Ellen McGirt.

 What happens to a travel company in the midst of a global lockdown? “It felt like it took 12 years (..) to build this business, and we lost most of it in four to five weeks,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt in this week’s Leadership Next.  Chesky goes on to describe the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic as “harrowing and nerve racking,” complete with large layoffs and a push to refocus the business. He outlines in detail how he made tough decisions during this time, and how he strove to take care of guests, hosts, employees and investors.  Alan and Ellen also ask Chesky how Airbnb is responding to racial discrimination on the platform, and when the company plans to go public. 

Paul Polman is the former CEO of Unilever. And Leadership Next host Alan Murray says he was the first CEO of a major company to truly embrace and promote stakeholder capitalism. Early in his tenure he pointed out that capitalism, as we practice it today, isn’t working – and he demanded that business take responsibility for its impact on society. Today’s episode explores how Polman did that at his own company, the pushback he faced, and how he’s tackling the issue with his new company, Imagine. Also joining Leadership Next is Dov Seidman, founder of LRN and the HOW Institute for Society. Alan calls him “one of the most thoughtful people I know in thinking about how business is changing, and needs to change, the way it operates.” 

The CEO of General Motors, Mary Barra, is a fixture on Fortune’s list of the Most Powerful Women in business. When the coronavirus hit, GM was the first major American automaker to put idle assembly lines to work producing ventilators. She sprang into action again following the killing of George Floyd and the swelling protests supporting Black Lives Matter, committing the company to internal improvements on diversity and vowing to use the power of GM to drive global change. All of that gave her lots to discuss with Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt on this episode of Leadership Next. And for additional insight on Barra's leadership style, Ellen turned to Fortune Senior Editor at Large, Geoff Colvin. Colvin has been reporting on Barra since she became CEO in 2014. He says the changes she's wrought in the GM culture are extraordinary, and her example provides valuable lessons for any leader looking to drive change at their own company.

After George Floyd was killed, the CEO of Cisco put out a strong statement. Chuck Robbins called the incident horrific, maddening, truly abhorrent. On this episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt ask “why?” How did this national conversation on race become a business issue for Cisco? And the questions don’t stop there. They want to know – among other things - what exactly Robbins plans to do, and how he develops trust among his employees on this topic.  Ellen also speaks with Dr. Erin Thomas, the Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Upwork. Thomas offers some very practical, actionable advice to companies looking to address concerns around race and equality in their own organizations.

Vas Narasimhan is the CEO of Swiss drug giant Novartis. With a medical degree from Harvard, and a public policy degree from the Kennedy School of Government, he has unique and specialized insight into the COVID-19 pandemic. On this episode of Leadership Next, Narasimhan speaks with Fortune editor-in-chief Clifton Leaf. The two dive into a detailed discussion about the challenges in developing and manufacturing a vaccine. They also discuss the fragilities in our healthcare system, preparing for the next pandemic, what it takes to lead during crisis, and why being a global company will help Novartis weather this storm.

Cathy Engelbert is used to breaking the mold. As commissioner of the WNBA, she just hosted professional sports’ first-ever virtual draft. Under her watch, WNBA players will – for the first time – receive fully-paid maternity leave and have a shot at significantly higher salaries. Before coming in to lead the women’s basketball league, she was the first woman CEO of Deloitte, and the first woman to head one of the country’s large professional services companies. On this episode of Leadership Next, she and Alan Murray discuss how and when the WNBA will resume play, and the league’s efforts to engage fans digitally. Engelbert shares how her competitive childhood and college sports prepared her to become a business leader. And the pair debate how to elevate more women to the C-suite. Fortune’s Ellen McGirt also weighs in with some valuable insight. 

The coronavirus has pharmaceutical and biotech companies racing to find a vaccine. Moderna is the first company to test its vaccine in people and, this week, Moderna announced those early tests appear to be a success. On this episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray speaks with the co-founder and chairman of Moderna, Noubar Afeyan. Moderna is a portfolio company in Afeyan’s biotech incubator, Flagship Pioneering. He founded Flagship in 2000 with the goal of financing companies that use innovative technologies to solve problems. Moderna certainly fits that description: its approach to the coronavirus vaccine is unlike any other. Afeyan explains why. He touches on the challenges of scaling production of the vaccine, and answer’s Alan’s blunt question: Is Moderna going to make any money off of this? The two also discuss how Flagship Pioneering differs from a venture capital firm, and how Afeyan’s immigrant roots have impacted his approach to business.