The future of the corporation

The British Academy, under the leadership of Prof. Colin Mayer, asked a number of business leaders how business can be purposeful in times of crisis. 


Ashley Grice

CEO and Managing Director of BrightHouse Consulting, Ashley Grice believes “purpose” is now the essential north star that must inform all core business decisions and companies should re-examine their metrics to include social and sustainable elements in keeping with stakeholder capitalism.


Robert Eccles

As the world's foremost expert on integrated reporting, Robert Eccles believes that we live in a time when the fundamental purpose of the company will increasingly come under scrutiny. He believes that the time for “pretending” and lip-service regarding a stakeholder perspective is long gone and the need to act from purpose and beyond profit is now.


Satya Nadella

CEO of Microsoft, Staya Nadella shares his perspectives on the role that corporations should play as central stakeholders in the wider social system and says if this purpose is properly articulated to shareholders, they are likely to support purpose initiatives that stand outside of core business activities.


Alan Jope

CEO of Unilever, Alan Jope urges business to take responsibility for creating a better more equitable planet. He believes that the post pandemic world will be built on a new set of priorities and companies that don’t recognize the primacy of purpose and the necessity of multi-stakeholder perspectives run the risk of “moral bankruptcy.”


Mark Carney

Impact investor and former central banker Mark Carney believes that as organizations shift toward purpose driven operating models, they have the opportunity to reperceive and reimagine how they invest and create value, ensuring they do so in ways that serve both people and planet.


Stefan Oschmann

Chairman and CEO of Merck Group Stefan Oschmann says that today he observes a sense of purpose much greater ever before and given the significant challenges we face today, purpose can be a powerful catalyst for both motivating people and improving performance.

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