Leadership Next

When the NBA announced it was indefinitely suspending its season, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made a quick decision: he would continue to pay all of the hourly employees who worked in his arena. How did he do it? And why? That’s what Alan Murray asks in this episode of Leadership Next. Cuban is also an investor in over 150 small businesses, so he’s been closely following government plans to assist these smaller companies. He shares his take on the coronavirus relief legislation, the advice he’s been offering entrepreneurs, and other steps he’s taking to assist both business owners and health care workers during the COVID-19 crisis.

Business, when it’s at its best, can solve very big problems. And today Leadership Next is talking about a very big problem - COVID-19. George Yancopoulos is the President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. His company announced this week it has developed a promising drug to fight coronavirus, and will begin human trials by early summer.Yancopoulos details the innovative approach Regeneron used to create the drug - an approach that led to an effective therapy for Ebola. He also explains that a Regeneron drug aimed at patients with rheumatoid arthritis is currently being used to treat some of the worst symptoms of COVID-19. The treatment is still in a trial phase but, if successful, could potentially keep severely ill patients off of ventilators. Leadership Next host Alan Murray told Yancopoulos, “This is the most encouraging conversation I’ve had in quite awhile.”

Starbucks recently announced plans to cut carbon emissions, waste, and water usage. But, as CEO Kevin Johnson tells Alan Murray in the newest episode of Leadership Next, he's not 100 percent sure how the company will meet those goals.Enter Andrew Wanliss-Orlebar, VP Strategy at Futerra, who advises companies on their sustainability policies. He lays out some of the challenges that Starbucks and other companies face in their quests to protect the planet. Also in the episode: find out just how much coffee Johnson drinks throughout the day, and how reading to his grandson impacted Starbucks corporate policy. 

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella firmly believes that his company must do more than make money - it has a social purpose too. And failing to fulfill that purpose may put capitalism itself in danger. It's an idea that's been most recently popularized by author Colin Mayer. In the inaugural episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray speaks to both Nadella and Mayer, exploring the role business must play in the 21st century. Also featured, insight from Fortune's Andrew Nusca, who profiled Nadella for the magazine in 2016 and then again last month.