The New CEO Activist

Leaders in all sectors — from business to sports to education — are publicly engaging
in controversial political and social debates that they would have shied away from just a few years ago.
Weighing in on divisive issues can alienate stakeholders — customers, employees, and investors among them.
But does CEO activism actually change public opinion and policies? What are its risks and rewards?
And what is the playbook for leaders considering speaking out? The author
examine those questions and explain the takeaways of his research.
One finding: Consumers tend to view CEO activism through the lens of their own
political affiliations, so it can provoke both negative and positive responses.
Nevertheless, in the age of Twitter, silence on an issue can be conspicuous- and consequential.
Aaron Chatterji is an a professor at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and Sanford
School of Public Policy and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
He previously served as a senior economist for the White House Council.