U.S. Bank CEO weighs in on George Floyd

Tells employees "why George Floyd matteredโ€”to us all."

โ€œWhy George Floyd matteredโ€”to us all,โ€ is the subject line of an all-employee email sent yesterday by U.S. Bank CEO Andy Cecere. The bank is headquartered in Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed by police on Monday. โ€œAs many of you know, I tend to be a private person,โ€ Cecere begins. โ€œI try to lead by doing whatโ€™s best for the bank, and I typically donโ€™t share my personal thoughts or opinions unless necessary. Itโ€™s unusual for a CEO, but itโ€™s where Iโ€™m most comfortable. Iโ€™m not comfortable today. Iโ€™m disturbed by the death of George Floyd …”

At the Founders Meeting of the Executive Communication Council in February in Phoenix, one of the liveliest of many lively discussions had to do with CEOs, and their changing role in American life, should they choose to accept it.

With the American president providing no commonly accepted moral leadership, all kinds of peopleโ€”especially corporate employeesโ€”are looking to CEOs to weigh in on all manner of social issues, from gay rights to immigration.

And CEOs, long regarded (and self-regarded) as dealmakers, decision-makers and beancountersโ€”find themselves bewildered at being asked to make a statement on the death of Kobe Bryant, an example that came up in our meeting.

The phenomenon isn’t totally newโ€”I’ve been writing about it for several yearsโ€”but coronavirus has accelerated it. And for some CEOs, it does seem to be sinking in. This went out to all U.S. Bank employees yesterday. (Hat tip to Target speechwriter Chris Truscottโ€”Target HQ is next door to U.S. Bank, in Minneapolis, for passing it along.)

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