The Committee for Economic Development is the public policy center of the Conference Board. Since its founding, CED has harnessed the power of business leadership to solve the nation's most pressing economic and social issues. As a nonpartisan, business advised organization, CED delivers trusted insights and reason solutions in the nation's interests that provide equal opportunity to all Americans. Today's operating environment is remarkably complex. And you know, over the last few years, the risk indices have reached historic levels for global businesses. And yet at the same time, we've seen record innovation and performance. So that means that if we can navigate complexity and respond to risk with innovation, we can create a better future. And organizations like CED help business leaders convert risk to opportunity and deliver transformation amid complexity. CED was formed amid the height of the Second World War to help transition the nation from a wartime to a peacetime economy. Then CED helped plot a course for prosperity in the post war years. It helped shape the Marshall Plan that rebuild Europe and help established a stable global financial system with the Bretton Woods Agreement. Not since then have those issues borne such consequences as they do today. As the nation continues to battle disruptions to the economy, wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and the aftermath of a worldwide pandemic, CED is determined in its efforts to help chart a bipartisan path forward to a more prosperous, just, and peaceful society. I think the relationships and the work that CED generates are so incredibly important for any of us in business. When you think about the responsibilities, the expectations, both in terms of business performance, in terms of leadership, they really are extraordinary times we're living in right now. When you think about all the issues in the US unfolding politically, when you think about what's happening in the economy, when you think about the speed of technological change and then think about the geopolitics of the world we now live in, business can find itself pulled in many directions and in some ways navigating a tightrope. I think CED is enormously powerful for having some of the best business minds in the US engaged on issues. But when I look at the things that I have used CED for, the pieces where I think CED really is unrivaled is the degree of expertise, policy analytics, the data that is brought to some of these problems. Quite honestly, in the world we live in, having the analytical tools and the data behind policy positions unbelievably important. Through its history, CE DS work has been guided by its core principle of making capitalism sustainable for generations through sustained economic growth, prosperity, and equal opportunity for all Americans. Comprised primarily of chief executive officers and board directors, CED lends its voice to help shape economic policies that include responsible adoption of advancing technologies, efficient fiscal and regulatory policies, sustainable energy and climate solutions, competitive and open markets, accessible healthcare, a globally competitive workforce, education reform, and sustaining our democratic institutions. CE DS future will be shaped by its ability to continue to respond to our nation's biggest economic challenges. I fully expect CED will continue to be a trusted source of unbiased and workable policy solutions that promote sustained economic growth and development. CED has helped the business and policy communities navigate unprecedented challenges that threaten our collective future while seizing opportunities that can propel us forward. Now, as the nation looks to the future, one thing remains clear. We must continue to provide leadership in challenging times in order to chart the path for a brighter, more prosperous nation and a rule based international world order. Distinguished guests CED is now proud to introduce a truly inspiring group to the stage. Formed in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Northwell Health Nurse Choir is made-up of frontline nurses who came together to provide hope and healing through their music. After advancing to the Season 16 finale of America's Got Talent, they have since performed on some of the world's most prestigious stages, including the White House and Carnegie Hall. Please join me in welcoming the Northwell Health Nurse Choir. I will fight. I will fight for you. I always do, until my heart is black and blue. I reach my head down in the darn good way for yours to enter. Like I wait for you. I wait for you because I'm not giving up. I'm not giving up giving up. No, not yet. Even when I'm down to my last friend, even when they say there's nothing left. Sit down and I will hold. I hold on to you. No matter what. This world will grow. It won't shake me loose. I reach my hands out in the dark. And for yours to interlock. I'll wait for you. I'll wait for you. Because I'm not giving up. I'm not giving up giving up. No, not yet. Even when I'm down to my last breath. Even when they say there's nothing left, don't give up. Thank you to the Northwell Health Nurse Choir. Distinguished guests. We would like to welcome to the stage the President of the Committee for Economic Development, the Public Policy Center of the Conference Board, David K Young. Wow, my goodness. I followed some performances in my time but that was absolutely spectacular. Thank you so much. Incredible. Good evening and welcome. Welcome to CE DS Distinguished Leadership Awards Dinner, where we gather, as we have done for over a quarter century, to honour 6 business leaders and to their companies who have exemplified CE DS mission by answering the call for corporate citizenship and demonstrating an unwavering commitment to public policy in the nation's interests. We would like to express our sincerest gratitude and appreciation again to the Northwell Health Nurse Choir for their frontline care. For their frontline care and their service to their communities. And I've got to say their outstanding performance this evening. Thank you again. As the incoming President of CED, it is a privilege to be working with our trustees and leading such a legacy organization that is part of the Conference Board. Thank you again to Steve Odlin, the CEO of the Conference Board, who joins us this evening. Thank you, Steve. These awards, they exemplify CDs Mission as the public policy centre of the Conference Board and honour the legacy of its founders and its longest serving trustee, Peter G Peterson. We live, as we know, in remarkable times and tonight's honorees have demonstrated exceptional leadership despite the challenges that they have faced. I know we're eager to hear directly from them. And so without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, welcome and I hope you enjoy your evening. Thank you. Kindly welcome to the stage. Chairman and CEO of Dynex Capital Incorporated. Byron L Boston, Co. Chair of the 2024 Awards Dinner Committee. Good evening. I'm excited to be here tonight to celebrate our honorees, the Committee for Economic Development, and the work that many of you do as trustees. These are really challenging times. And in challenging times, we need great leaders. We need organizations such as the Committee for Economic Development to bring leaders together to find solutions that will help create better opportunities for all Americans. So imagine with me. What if you lived 100 years ago in 1924? Now imagine what you were going to experience over the next 30 years. Major human conflict, devastating climate events, Technological advancements that unfortunately were used to fight other humans during this tumultuous period. In 1942, the Committee for Economic Development was created to help address those challenges by focusing on the public interest through pragmatic through a pragmatic business lens. Today, the CD Trustees make a steadfast commitment to represent the reason nonpartisan voice of business. They're dedicated to providing solutions that serve the nation's interest on major public policy issues, ensuring equal opportunities for all Americans. These trustees are not just figureheads. There are the driving force behind the CDs mission. They include chief executives, board directors, and key senior executives from leading U.S. companies, collectively representing over 30 industries and 4 million employees each year. The trustees determine CDs priorities and lead committees that produce thorough analysis and actionable solutions to the greatest challenges that we face. These policy statements are not merely theoretical, they are coupled with robust outreach efforts directed at the nation's policy makers and elected officials. It is through this bipartisan collaboration that we carve pathways forward, striving for a better future. Now, this work is not only pivotal for the nation, but also deeply personal. For me. My father, probably first Class Victor Boston, was born in Chickasaw County, Mississippi in 1913 and as a young African American male, received only nine years of formal education. Despite this, he dutifully served our country in World War 2, earning 4 Bronze Stars and multiple campaign ribbons. Yet when he returned home, he was only half American in the eyes of the law, denied the full service, the full rights of citizenship, despite his courageous service nonetheless than one generation. I'm standing before you tonight as Chairman and Co CEO of the New York Stock Exchange. So I am testament, my family's testament, that we can make progress. However, my journey also underscores the importance of Ceds work. The efforts of the leaders we honor tonight and the collective commitment of each of you are crucial in creating a future where every American, regardless of background, has the opportunity to succeed. So thank you very much for your attention and for the work that you do. Together we can continue to drive positive change and create prosperity for all. Thank you very much. Enjoy the evening. Kindly welcome to the stage, Chairman and CEO of Unisys Corporation, Peter Altobeth Co Chair of the 2024 Awards Dinner Committee. Thank you, David. Byron, thank you for those remarks. I, I took out about half of my speech during your remarks. So, so it's it's much shorter now. On behalf of my fellow Co chairs, I'd like to thank the other members of the Awards Committee for the 2024 Distinguished Awards Dinner. You guys all participated in this election and as is obvious, you did a terrific job. So thank you very much. Since the founding of CED during World War 2, the mission has been to harness corporate leadership to address our most urgent economic, geopolitical and civil challenges for more than three decades. Established in 1991, the Distinguished Leadership Awards have honored leaders that exemplify CE DS mission to advance public policy that drives meaningful societal change. This year's honorees are outstanding examples of that commitment. They have worked tirelessly to sustain to advance sustainable and equitable economic opportunities for all, and you'll hear about that in the remarks tonight. Their resilience in navigating these uncertain and complex times exemplifies the best of corporate citizenship and the best that CED represents. I'd also like to acknowledge the team behind CED as a as a trustee and as Co chair of the Technology and Innovation Committee. I have witnessed first hand the accomplished leadership and vision the people in this organization represent. And if we could have a round of applause for the people who work at CED now to advance CE DS causes. There are nearly 200 trustees, many of whom are in the room tonight. These include chief executives, board members, senior leaders who actively collaborate on a dozen committees and multiple task forces. To the trustees in the room and to the rest of the trusteeship that will watch this, I want to thank you for your continued commitment. To those considering membership in CED, join us as we celebrate tonight's honorees. I hope their stories inspire us to deepen our commitment to the CED and to those other organizations and efforts that we believe in most dearly. Thank you all and congratulations again to the Distinguished Leadership Award recipients for 2024. Kindly welcome to the stage our Master of Ceremonies, Trustee and former President of the Committee for Economic Development, Doctor Lori Esposito Murray. Thank you, thank you. I am both privileged and grateful to be your master of ceremonies tonight for this fantastic, inspiring event. And a very special welcome to David as our new CED President. And a very warm welcome to all of you, our trustees, our sponsors, the Conference Board, family led by Steve Odland, and of course the mission driven CED team. All of our support that we garner from you for CED and for the President's Leadership Fund is absolutely invaluable. And I want to give a very, very special shout out because talk about leadership, The Northwell Nurse Choir, thank you so much. You have taken us from the despair of the pandemic, and you're allowing us to heal with joy. Thank you for your frontline commitment. Leadership. It's really our privilege to host you tonight. So two years ago, I opened this dinner forecasting that an Iron Curtain was descending on the global landscape, a 21st century Iron Curtain descending on the global landscape. And now that global divide is even clearer. And it's really complicating our ability to navigate the array of challenges before us. Climate. And our hearts and prayers go out to all the families in Florida tonight. Rapid technology change, inequality, all of these are making the navigation of the challenges even more complex. As the divide is becoming deeper and deeper, the need for US leadership is becoming stronger and more obvious. And the need for US leadership underscores the importance that business leadership is needed now more than ever. Whichever historical model you choose to try and understand and garner lessons for the period we're in now, whether it's US isolationism in World War One, the rise of fascism and Nazism in the 1930s, or the Cold War under the shadow of a nuclear Armageddon, whichever 1 you choose, it's so clear that today we're in an era of disruption and rapid flux. But tonight is about optimism. Because as our honorees have demonstrated, leadership is rising to the challenge, is taking action, and you are providing lasting change. Our honorees leadership values are bold and they're timeless. They include purpose, passion, ingenuity, empathy, agility, but perhaps most important, not shying away for making the difficult decisions at difficult times out of fear of failing. We're going to hear important insights tonight, lessons learned. And so buckle your seatbelts. We are going to have a very inspiring evening tonight. And now it's my privilege and pleasure to introduce Arvind Krishner, CEO of IBM, a former distinguished honoree, who will be introducing Nikesh Arora, our first awardee of the night, CEO of Palo Alto Networks. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Its my immense pleasure to be able to introduce Nikesh. Very few people are more deserving of being honored here than Nikesh. Let me give you a few snippets about him. When you think about his business resume, it kind of speaks for itself. T-Mobile, for those of you who have watched the rise of that company and many of you may not know that Nikesh did work there. Google, I think a company that kind of everyone knows. And some of the things he did there remain to this day in terms of the business relationships he struck up both in Europe and in North America. SoftBank, another name that people might well know as a massive investment and Palo Alto Networks, where he currently CEO since 2018. And I'll come back to the success that he has LED that company on to. But its how Nikesh does this that is also incredibly, incredibly energizing. I know him well. We are great business partners with Nikesh. I've known Nikesh now for a number of years. He does everything with integrity. He does it with trust. He does it with speed, something that many people here who lead businesses would like. He does it with an intensity that is truly, that is truly inspiring. When you call Nikesh, many people will get a call back. OK, go through my office. He's like text me, call me. I don't think there's ever been a time when I havent gotten a message or call back within an hour. Sometimes I'll text him. Its five in the morning on the West Coast and typically in 30 minutes you get a call back. Nikesh, its 5:30. Well, I'm an early riser. It speaks, but it speaks to really the the partnership that he wants and being able to work together always for a win, win proposition, not A1 sided proposition. And I think that that is truly inspiring in terms of how he works. What probably most people will not know is also the focus he has on family. When you think about him, you don't really think that this is the father of a traveling basketball player. And that is where he is on weekends, lying in strange hotel beds, helping his young son do that, right? That's not the image most of you will have of Nikesh. But when you watch him around his children, he's truly dedicated to making sure that they have a good time, that they actually are immersed in what they're doing at that moment, and he's looking after them. I think that that is truly something that should inspire all of us. Because amongst all of the travel, all of the commitments, all of the work that he has to do and the way he leaves the company in terms of be lean but be good to the outside, his commitment to sustainability, his commitment to renewable energy, all of these are things should inspire all of us. But I have to end on the business success. He began with a company that had maybe about a $20 billion market cap. It's sitting at about 120 billion now. So those of you in the room, think about those who create 100 billion of market cap, by the way, about a 500% stock price gain. Not that many count, but believe me, people do count that that is there going from somewhere in the three hundreds on the S&P 500 list all the way into. I think he's sitting just shy just below #70 right now and he's not done. I can tell you that from from what he is up to. I think that business success speaks for itself in that. But for his clients, I think we'll all acknowledge cyber is something we all worry about. Its something that everyone worries that can take somebody out of business and the strategy he has taken of platformisation and of adding more and more capabilities but make life easier for the clients, take cost out while improving capability, I think is something that is also to be admired and it it is motivating for the prior gains. So with that, I'd like all of you to join me in acknowledging Nikesh Arora as this year's honoree. This is the first one. You guys will figure it out. OK, Perfect. You got it. Well, very rarely do I regret my wife not being here. Arvind, will you come over and do this one more time? Thank you very much, Arvind. Thank you Lori. Thank you, Peter. Thank you, David. Thank you Byron and the fellow trustees of the CED. I'm extremely grateful to be included in this August group of leaders who being honoured tonight. I personally don't think I belong because they're such amazing business leaders. Sitting at this table for me tonight is a testament to the success of the CED, the work they've done. They've been doing this since 1942 and they've been inspiring business leaders and the entire country to come and be more mission driven. So like, I'm very honored to be here amongst all these familiar faces, many of the people who I read about in books or I admire from a distance. So for me, it's an amazing pleasure and privilege to be here tonight. I know we're honoring leadership in challenging times. The problem is I work in cybersecurity every morning when I get a call. Every day is challenging time. So this is not a new thing. I'm going to take the other side of the argument and talk about the optimistic times right this morning when I woke up at that time, which Arvind highlighted, I noticed the guy I was speaking to yesterday on the phone just got a Nobel Prize in chemistry for AI. The physics Nobel Prize is also steered towards AI. So we're sitting at a moment in life where we're on to the next technological revolution, which is about to change our lives in leaps and bounds and waves. You've never thought about, you know, improving the quality of life of billions of people, eliminating disease, solving problems we'd never know were possible to solve. These are amazing, exciting times. I think we have amazing times ahead of us. And our job is not to act as leaders in challenging times. Our job is to make sure that we deliver this future for the rest of the world in a responsible manner, in a mission driven manner. So I think we're these are amazing times in front of us. These are not challenging times. Shit, challenging times were there, which Laurie espoused in 1942, right? Challenging times there before us. We're like, these are pleasurable times. Look at you guys are making nice wine, eating great food. Doesn't sound like a challenging time to me. So like I'm delighted. All of us are leaders. All of us get to do this stuff. But for me, more importantly, you know, the opportunity for me to be here today is because many of my colleagues wake up every morning at Palo Alto Networks wanting to be to make this world a safer day, safer place tomorrow, right? There's 15,000 people who wake up every morning saying I'm going to solve this problem. So all of you in this room can actually get up out of your business in an amazing way. So I'm just delighted to be able to represent 15,000 people about that works. It is their honor, their privilege for what they do. Thank you very much everyone. Thank you CD, Appreciate it. Well, congratulations, Nikesh, and I do apologize. I grew up in the national security community on the dark side of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. And so, but I do want to really congratulate you because I think in terms of ingenuity, as you said, you're you're in cybersecurity. And as you told me, and I know as you tell your team, every time you solve a problem, it only gets worse because the the black hats are are out to just beat that new solution. So congratulations and thank you for all you're doing. It's now my privilege to introduce Michael Milken, who is Chairman of the Milken Institute, who introduce our awardee Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton. Well, it's wonderful to be with you tonight and I do believe we have challenging times which require talented leaders to deal with those challenging times. And I couldn't be more honored to be here tonight to honor Jenny Johnson. My relationship with the Johnson family began 50 years ago. Charlie hard to believe it was 50 years ago. And if you ever want to study a period of time and in the history of finance, 1974 stock market going down 50% interest rates, doubling credit controls, not able to loan money to new customers would be a great place to start. But you forge the best relationships and enduring relationships in difficult times. These are challenging times for the financial community. Its approval rating is relatively low with the public. I never thought, and many of you I'm sure, didn't think we would have to defend the free enterprise system in the United States of America. And so the world is extremely dependent on the United States. We estimate there's almost 800 million people that want to come here with a belief in the American dream and that we are a meritocracy. And it's this the ideal that we uphold. But finance, like many industries, requires new leaders at new points in time. And many people, and I used to have many traders tell me the world is not aligned today, but the world had passed them by. And so a leader in finance today is has many responsibilities. And we are so lucky that Jenny, after a couple decades, has taken up that mantle today as a leader in finance for the 21st century. It was a little more than 40 years ago then I start getting hate mail for financing women in companies. And it was a little more than 40 years ago that I start getting death threats for financing African Americans in business. But the world has changed dramatically and needs new leaders. So when we asked ourself what leader do we need in the financial community and looking at those qualities, we need ones that has a great deal of energy. Jenny follows that. I used to think I was alone with my energy source, but no matter whether she's in Singapore or the Middle East etcetera, I can tie in with Jenny. We need someone that's competitive. Now, how did Jenny get her stripes and competition as a young girl, as one of a group of six kids in the family, you have to be competitive. However, becoming the CEO of Franklin in 1920, she fearlessly entered the Bloomberg bracket. Ality cause here to see who could pick the best against 8000 others and in her first first year of competition won the men's bracket 192120212021. Sorry Jenny. OK, so she has entered that competition and she noticed boy, how can we just have competition for the men's bracket? What about the women's? So she called Mike Bloomberg and told Mike you have to have a women's bracket. He was thinking about it, but she didn't stop there. And then she called Peter Grauer, who's on one of my board and who was the president, and told him we need a women's bracket. And within two weeks, you now can compete for the women's bracket in the NCAS. And who better to win against those thousands of competitors the first time than Jenny Johnson? So the message, the message was clear. She built the best team of researchers on the planet to help her in these brackets. But it was a clear message to the financial community that the face of this community is changing and in many cases, it's women. And Jane Frazier will be addressing you later today. And it couldn't be a better person that I can think of to lead our financial community in the 21st century. Her knowledge of blockchain surprised me when she gave me her first lecture on the subject, crypto, etcetera. What the financial firm of the future is going to look like, Jenny is shaping today at Franklin. Now, a fact you might not know in closing is that she played basketball and actually was recruited for college to play basketball, but like me, she didn't make the team. However, this strong feeling towards basketball can be found in her five children that are here today, her two sons and her three daughters. Just to keep that fabulous 5 going for another generation. I think we should all be thankful for the challenges that will be met through Jenny's leadership of the financial community over the next couple of decades. Jenny Johnson. All that Botox that makes me not look 100 and. Six, 100. And 20, thank you, Mike, for that incredible introduction. He's no idea how meaningful this is to me because actually he didn't hire me when I applied for a job out of college. So this is like, I want to thank David and all the trustees at this really important organization for the impactful work they do. And of course, my fellow honorees, I feel feel surprised. I'm in a class with all of you and so many are friends and just you, you're so impressive and everything that you do. A shout out to my partner Kara and my family. We're actually having Thanksgiving dinner over here because there's so many of them that have showed up. So we're just figured we'd cover that both. But the, the theme is leadership in challenging times. And I always say that to me, leadership is, is 4 things, people, passion, purpose and persistence. And the first thing and probably the most important thing for a CEO to do is to pick their team. And I have to say over here, I have a portion of the Franklin Templeton Executive Committee as well as some of my board members. And I can't think of a better team. I think they're the best in the industry. In the four years, we have doubled the assets in the firm to 1.7 trillion, done 10 acquisitions and they do it always staying focused on the clients and really working together as a team. I'm just proud to be a part of it, so thank you guys. Passion, love what you do and it doesn't feel like work. Purpose. Describe what you do in a purposeful way and you will rally people behind you and behind the cause. Now, I actually learned that I wasn't very good at this because I asked my five children whether any of them would join me in this industry. And my daughter said, no way, mom, I want to do something that helps people. And I said, you know, are you kidding me? Like, this is what we do every day. We help people achieve their most important financial goals, whether it's retirement, helping their kids pay for college, or saving for a rainy day or I wouldn't even say hurricane, but saving for whatever those unexpected things are. That's what we do. And we work with pensions and institutions and financial advisors whose clients are teachers and doctors and plumbers and and firemen and policemen. And we help them collectively invest their money into companies where they have ownership in those companies, companies that are innovating and changing lives. Think about the the COVID vaccines that came through in 18 months after a major global pandemic. You had companies like Pfizer, J&J, Moderna, who came through and with these breakthrough vaccines that saved millions of lives. You know, think about the innovations that have happened with the smartphone and how that's changed their lives or the wearables that help you measure your your health. My son Christopher was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 10 years old. At the point that he was diagnosed, his life expectancy was dropped by 15 years. Today he wears a continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump that are that were basically invented by companies like public companies like Medtronic and Abbott and private companies like Dexcom. And that life expectancy gap has now cut in half and continues to prove every day. So I have to tell you, as a mother, I couldn't be more proud to work at Franklin Templeton and be a part of what is a very virtuous cycle in the free markets. Now, having said that, there are a lot of, it is not a perfect place. There are a lot of improvements that we can make and leaders here can make that difference. And then finally, I'll say persistence. My dad always said that sometimes the difference between success and failure is just who holds on longer. But I can tell you that Franklin's been been around for 75 years and we've thrived for 75 years because we focused on trying to innovate for our clients. My grandfather got into the investment management business because the average individual didn't have access to the equity markets and and the then the mutual fund was the great innovation that gave everyone a democratized access to the equity markets. Well, we have that same challenge today because now companies are waiting longer to go public. They used to go public in three years, now it's 10 years. And all that appreciation in the early growth years is only appreciated to the people who can afford to invest as accredited investors in the private markets. And at Franklin Templeton, we are committed to figuring out ways to democratize and bring those excess returns that you can receive in the illiquidity premiums of the private markets to every American in their investment portfolios. So people, passion, purpose and persistence. Unfortunately for you, not pithy, but thank you. And again, thank you to the CED. Congratulations Jenny and I have to share that I had the privilege of being on Jenny's team in ACO table competition of who could come up and with the most creative and innovative way of talking about the challenges and opportunities ahead and our table one. I have to admit that Jenny turned a little bit to AI for a little help to make sense of all the recommendations you were making. But it's great to be part of your team. And I think Jenny, your passion, which just came through so clearly in your remarks, all of our all of our honorees share passion, as I mentioned, but you really do win that competition. It was amazing in our discussion for the CEO podcast how much you liked going to work. And you know, I took that as, you know, leadership lesson. Wake up, happy to be there. So, so thank you so much. And now it's my honor to introduce to Shonda Brown Duckett, CEO of TIAA, who is going to introduce our honoree, Robert Smith, CEO of Vista. Looking at the picture, I have a little hair change today, so enjoy it. All right. Thank you so much, Lori, and good evening, everyone. Good evening everyone. I am so excited about the person, the human that I get to introduce. He is an amazing entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is a man who embodies the spirit and values of the Committee for Economic Development and the Distinguished Leadership Awards. When it comes to giving back and paying it forward, few, and I do mean few, set the bar as high as Mr. Robert F Smith. Robert F Smith is a trailblazer in finance. He is the founder and chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, which has fueled the growth of some of the most widely known enterprise software companies in the world. His business success should not be overlooked. But the problem, Robert, is that you have done extraordinary things in philanthropy. So I'm going to focus my attention there when I think about your deserving honor. In 2017, Robert F Smith became the first Black American to sign the Giving Pledge, committing to invest half of his net worth. And that is a lot and charitable projects over the course of his lifetime. Roberts Fund 2 Foundation has awarded more than $265,000,000 to promote access to STEM education and STEM careers among underrepresented students, as well as to support Black maternal health, which is a real issue, as well as human rights, as well as music education and more. Through the Family Fellowship Program, Robert F Smith and his beautiful wife Hope not only provide financial support to help Foster youth attend college or post secondary training. But what I think is so extraordinary, and I witnessed it upfront and personally, is that he invites those fellows, foster fellows, and to their home each holiday season because they do not have a place to go during the holiday season. But Robert F Smith and his wife changes that trajectory. He provides, quite simply, a sense of family, pride and dignity to these young, remarkable students. Perhaps his most well known charitable act came in 2019 while delivering the commencement address at Morehouse College. He changed the game for all of us who deliver commencement addresses and quite frankly, disappoint so many students every year because Robert F Smith announced that he would pay off the Student Loans of the entire senior. Class. I mean, why not? That one gift totaled $34 million. But I would argue it wasn't the $34 million. It was the compounding shift in those young men's lives that truly was the gift. This incredible, generous. Our act recognized some fundamental truths. That when you unburden people early in their careers, you free them up to pursue a wider spectrum of dreams and opportunities. A dream deferred that is being realized. That when you help one group of people, that benefit ripples out into families and communities and, dare I say, the world. That when you reward people who have worked hard to achieve a goal, they will remember your generosity and strive to be generous themselves. As Robert F Smith frequently says, there's nothing greater than liberating the human spirit. His Morehouse gift inspired the Student Freedom Initiative, of which Robert F Smith is the chair, which aims to relieve the crushing burden of student debt for STEM students at historically Black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions. Ladies and gentlemen, if there is one way to describe Robert F Smith, one thread that runs through his business and philanthropy, it may be this. He gets it done. He spots problems and he solves them. He spots opportunities and he realizes them. And that is why he has become such an inspiration to me personally. He is the example of the ideals of what can be accomplished, a dream deferred that has been realized and realized over and over again and has been compounded through the lives that you have impacted. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege and honor to welcome my friend Robert F Smith. Thank. You thank. You. Well, I am Robert F Smith. Thank you. I I don't think I could have a better person introduce me than the Sunday. You are the best and I admire all that you do, not only at TIAA but in your life. And I love the way that you bring your full self to everything that you do, including introduction. So thank you again. I, I do feel quite honored to be part of this class when I see Julie, when I see Jenny, when I see Nitesh, and when I see Hamid, who I've just met, I think two years ago, Hamdi, what we were doing there with the RFK, human rights and the work that you do, I feel so privileged to be a part of this group. And Raj, of course, who's become a recent friend and delighted to see you honored as well for your work. It's critically important that we as business executives understand what we can do. We have the ability through our platforms to change lives, to open apertures, to create on ramps of opportunity, to educate, to inform and to inspire not only the youth of America, but the youth of the world. Many of our businesses are global in nature. Our platforms have far reaching capabilities and it's important that we embrace that opportunity to leverage these platforms to inform the world that we as business people have the ability to change not only the economic environment that we are in, but the social environment in which we operate. I tell my teams all the time, part of our role is to impact the communities that we care about. Some of our communities are communities of employees. We have to give them the opportunities to excel, to be themselves, to bring their best selves every day to work and to express that through their creativity, through their diligence, their passion. But then the virtuous cycle of business, if we do this well, yields profits. We can then deliver those profits back to our shareholders. We can deliver those profits back to our employees, who can then plow them back into the communities that they care about. And it might be the foster kids that they grew up around. It might be students that they had a chance to go to school with in the past that didn't have the same resources and opportunities. It might be children who need music in their lives to inspire their hearts to be greater and to be better, but understand it's important that we create that virtuous cycle. Capitalism is the heart of that. Your efforts are what make that heart pump. And it's important that we never forget that and that we bring all that we can every day to the platforms that we have, frankly, the privilege and the honor to steward in some cases for short periods of times and some cases for longer. But in stewarding those platforms, let's not lose sight of our humanity and let's not forego the responsibility that we all have to other human beings on this planet. I want to thank you all for this award. I feel quite honored and privileged to be here with this distinguished class, and many of you I see all the time, and some of you I want to see more. So thank you again. I was going to say Robert and I was told before this evening that to make sure from from Robert's team to make sure we his name was Robert. I didn't get the memo which was just received that it's Robert F Smith. So congratulations Robert F Smith, you are truly an inspiration. And it's it's not only the generosity at Morehouse College in terms of forgiving student loan, paying off student debt, but it's the plans you have come up with, the follow through these, the systemic ways and the ingenuity you're bringing to solving student debt and really encouraging inclusiveness and really dealing with the problems of inequality throughout this country with your 4 Cities initiative as well. We can go on and on. But in terms of how you're so committed to that, I do want to share one anecdote that I actually made Robert F Smith tell us about in our in our podcast, which was a a lesson learned on how you get things done. He was a an intern at Bell Labs as a junior in high school and he called to be an Internet Bell Labs as a junior in high school at the very beginning of his school year. And they said no. And he became a intern at Bell Labs that summer at the end of the school year and asked him to tell us how. And he said, well, I called every week and tried another way to convince them that they're no was the wrong answer. So to all of you, that another lesson to take home tonight in terms of persistence and just stick with it. So we are about to have dinner. There's much more to come after dinner. Please enjoy the dinner break with us and we'll see you back soon. Distinguished guests, we will now resume the 2024 Distinguished Leadership Awards celebration. Kindly take your seats. Once again, please welcome the Northwell Health Nurse Choir. We'll be the last one standing. Our hands in the air. We're champion. You'll be looking up at us when it's over. We live for the battle. We're soldiers. Yeah. I'm a fighter like Rocky. When you fight on the back like Holly all together, we'll make you stronger. In a licensing. You live longer. Yeah, I've been training my whole life. Oh, when they write my story, they're going to know I didn't do it for the glory. You know I didn't because I knew I had to call it. No matter what the cost. Promise that I'm all in and this is the chance I'm taking you and everybody I'm bringing. I've been training my whole life. And I will never stop the fire. Come on. Unbreak the bone. Unstop the bone. Unshake the bone. They knock you down and get up again. We are the Champions. Don't know when it's going back now. We're still the day we will make the news. We were born to win. We are. We are not changing the earth. We will be for this. We will born to win. We are not changing the earth. More time for our champions. Let's hear it. And hopefully at the end of the night, we can get Michael Dowling. Hopefully we can get Michael Dowling to join the Northwell Nurse Choir at the end. Well, thank you, thank you and welcome back. I feel like I'm at the one of the speakers of the Democratic Convention saying thank you, except I really mean it that I need you to keep quiet. So thank you and welcome back. It's my privilege now to introduce Jane Frazier, CEO of City, who will introduce our next award on on honoree Raj Subramarian from FedEx. Well, good evening everybody. It is my absolute and utter delight to honour and introduce my friend Rajesh Subramanian. I wish he had a middle initial for Sundar. We were we're trying to come up with one around the table, but we we failed on that. And tonight is about honouring exceptional leaders and Raj, I have to say, my friend, this defines you to AT step back for a minute. Can you carefully, Can you imagine taking over as the second CEO of a company as iconic as FedEx from the founder? I think those of us who have taken on CEO ships, we all know that it's daunting at the best of times, but the takeover from the founder of a firm like that requires an exceptional man. And FedEx is truly, and we are all benefited by that, that Raj is an exceptional man and an exceptional leader. He's been at the firm for over 30 years, India, various parts of Asia, Canada and the US. So a world traveller and a globalist, to say the least. He's worked in different departments. If you have a conversation with Raj, you'll know he has a strategic brain. He has analytic, but he's also done marketing and he's also played many different roles within the firm, and he's risen through the ranks to take on this role as the CEO of the firm. And he's played a remarkable role in helping shape FedEx into the global powerhouse that it is today. If I think about his leadership style, it's not only strategic and resilient for sure, but it's also modest. It's in touch. He's always stayed very close and connected to his roots, including a love of cricket, which most Americans probably don't understand. When he was when he was running operations in FedEx in Canada, Raj swapped jobs with one of the frontline team members for a week well before this became a thing. And that's what I'd say about Raj. Raj is always quick to own a problem, but the mark of the man is he is the last to take credit for its success. Don't be fooled by his understated ways. Few companies play as critical a role in the world and in the global economy or in the lives of people as FedEx. And I don't just mean in delivering parcels in time for your holidays and your loved ones family events. Businesses count on FedEx for their supply chains for e-commerce. Governments rely on FedEx for their medical supplies. Hospitals rely on FedEx and clinics for their medical supplies. Simply put, the world doesn't run without FedEx and it doesn't run on time without them. And behind it is a lot of what Raj has done. When there are conflicts, when there are natural disasters going on in the world, Raj and his team are always there. We're seeing that as we speak tonight. He has made sure that his company is there present all around the southeast of the States, making sure that people are getting the supplies and the resources that they desperately need. Raj, I'm sure and I hope you will talk a little bit tonight about what you did in COVID. I always think one of the miracles of America is the entrepreneurs. It is extraordinary what this country did in terms of the discovering the vaccine. But one of the unsung heroes is Raj and what he did in making sure those vaccines got distributed. And that is one of the incredible things, the unsung hero that is Raj Subramanian. Under his leadership, FedEx has upheld a reputation for delivering Peace of Mind, not just packages. And as one of our bank's most important, and I have to say one of our favourite clients, it's just an absolute delight to watch him in action. It's that quiet, resilient leadership, the clarity of what needs to get done, and this wonderful, humble, extraordinary leader. I'm so proud to be here to help honour you tonight, Raj. Congratulations. Thank you, Jane for those very, very kind words. Most importantly, I appreciate your friendship and the tremendous example that you are now setting by Leading city and there's a lot that I can continue to learn from you. So thank you very much for being here tonight and and for those very kind words. I'm indeed very grateful to the Board of Trustees of CED to recognize for this recognition and for everything that you all do to advance policy and progress. When I listen to the my fellow recipients, I'm wondering what the heck I am am I doing here you congratulations to all of you and it is indeed just a great, great pleasure to be part of this class today. Of course, we talked about the challenging times that we are facing right now, and there was conversation on both sides, but I'm finding myself talking about the opportunity now to create impact and change. And that always, always has been the goal at FedEx, you know, where you see us delivering packages to your house, but we believe our mission is simply connecting people and possibilities around the world. You all talked about networks, you all talked about platforms. Just think about this. Over $2 trillion worth of global commerce goes through our networks every single year, or three million businesses ship every single day. And we, we, we deliver to 225 million recipients every single day. That's the centre of the ecosystem network, the platform that we are in the middle of. It's taken us a while to get here, that's taken over 50 years to to build this network. And we believe that we can shape commerce, we can shape communities and shape the very idea, the concept that business is a force for good now. Pandemic was an example, and I'm glad that during the pandemic we kept the global economy running when the vaccines, as you talked about the several companies who were of course did a remarkable job of getting those vaccines ready on that cold December day at 5:37 AM, we delivered that very first vaccine to Boston. But who's keeping score? It's actually fun to be in the stable today because there was around the world when the calamity hit, especially we're talking about India, April 2021. In fact, it was Julie Irwin. And then he called. They called me on a Saturday, and then within the 24 hours, we had 60 or 70 Fortune 100 CE OS on a Zoom call talking about what we can do to help. That was an unbelievable thing. Now here, three of us are sitting on the same table here, and the answer was the Indian government needed oxygen, oxygen and oxygen. And so everyone started scrambling for oxygen around the world. The next question was, who's going to get it over there? I was like, oh, that's me. So we've done a lot of great work, you know, we, there's a lot of human connections and people, you know, impacting people's lives. And I will give you one other example, which is slightly off, off, off centre. So a year ago almost, I was in San Francisco where the president of US and China were meeting and they decided to talk about several different things. There are five different con agreements. Everyone remember 4 things. The fifth one, people forget, the fifth one was pandas. So next week we are transporting some VIPs, very important pandas on our very own Panda Express. So we really believe in our ability and responsibility to deliver a better future by creating a more sustainable, inclusive and connected world. And we think our mission also is evolving right now. Prior to the pandemic, if someone had uttered the word supply chain in this room, or I had to heard the word supply chain in this room, you would have politely escorted me out of the room because nobody cared. But during the pandemic and after the pandemic, it seems to have been a topic of even talk show hosts. So our mission has now evolved to make supply chains smarter for everyone. We are sitting on lot of intelligence about global supply chains. I told you about the amount of traffic that we go through our system. So that's that's what our future looks like. But at the end of the day, as businesses, we must continue to bring people together to catalyze solutions for the most pressing challenges. No matter our industry, ideals or cause, we can all, all commit to our sources as greater good of finding that purpose and leading with that purpose. I heard the few PS that you talked about earlier and really to close the chasms that separate us and acting collectively for that progress and change. Several of you talked about the philosophy of the companies that you belong to. Ours was very simple. From the very get go, it was you take care of your people. They deliver outstanding experience and service for our customers. We deliver as profit and that was reinvested back in the people. This unending circle that we call PSP is really what guides FedEx. And we have some FedEx team members here tonight and I'm very, very grateful. So let me finish by saying that I accept this award on behalf of more than 500,000 global team members at FedEx. This honour is about them. It's about their ingenuity, their teamwork, their commitment to excellence. They make me the leader I am and inspire me to build a better, more connected world. Maybe all be united in that purpose. Thank you very much. Congratulations, Raj, and a very special thank you to the culture that you have developed and lead at FedEx for your many, many, many team members. There isn't a person in this room, I'm sure, who went through the pandemic who didn't consider their FedEx delivery person as their closest touch to humanity other than their families. So thank you for that. We love them dearly and thank you for leading such a wonderful company. It's now my privilege and pleasure to introduce Peter Zafino, CEO of AIG, who will introduce our next honoree, Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture. This is either the most polite audience I've ever seen or am I'm the only Mets fan in the room. I mean, come on, Citi Field. Jane is on fire tonight. So, so good evening, everybody. It's my distinct honor to introduce my good friend Julie Sweet tonight, who's the chair and chief executive of Accenture. It's also my distinct pleasure to see her receive the CED Distinguished Leadership Award. There's a word in the title of the award that caught my attention, and it wasn't leadership, even though leadership's incredibly important. It was the word distinguished, a word that has multiple meanings and usages and one can distinguish oneself, which Julie has done so well over her entire career. And I've had the privilege of of seeing the recent years with her at Accenture. But she had a meteoric rise to partner at a law firm, Cravath, and but she took a bold move to become the general counsel of Accenture. But the board quickly realized all of Julie's enormous potential, her vision for the future and her ability to transform, and became the chair and CEO. But you can also distinguish something from something else, and I think Julie's done that in an amazing way compared to so many business leaders across the world. There's several reasons why, and I can offer a personal testimony to that. The first time I met Julie, I liked her immediately. But I said, Julie, just one thing you need to know about me. I don't like consultants, none of them. I still don't. But Julie's an exception. She didn't take it as an insult. She kind of went with it, but I think she understood why, which is like, how do you actually distinguish yourself as an individual that actually cares about outcomes for other companies, other people? And so she not only took it as a challenge, but I think she's actually built her entire company around that entire principle. She's met challenges, help companies. No one could have ever predicted during one's tenure that you're going to lead through a pandemic. But Julie not only did that with incredible courage, she improved her company. She invested in her company, and she actually made it an enormous objective to do as much for other companies, including AIG, as she possibly could. And so navigating through that was something that not only did she focus on the investment side, but more importantly is how do we actually transform and improve businesses during this period of time? And she did that for so many countless CE OS and so many companies. Also, you can distinguish yourself amongst things. And I want to just point that out that it's, there's more than just leading an organization of the size of Accenture. But if you're truly leading, investing and doing things in demanding times like today, again, you need to have courage. And so she's been look at this was easy for me because I can list, you know, 50 things that she's done, but. When I look at like the priorities of building on a fundamental pillar of learning and how important that is to Julie and how she's driven that culture at Accenture, she's committed more than a billion dollars to professional development of skill Accenture's employees. While so many companies are pulling back, she's pulling forward, and that's evident in terms of what she's done for the company. Accenture's trained more than 4 million leaders in the broader community through Accenture Skills to Succeed program, led by Julie with a lot of passion. She's demanded inclusivity as a bottom line necessity. And today, Accenture is on track to reach gender parity globally by 2025, with women now making up more than 30% of its managing directors. It's this kind of leadership that you know, Julie emulates the blend of excellence, confidence, and always humility, and it sets her apart and above so many leaders in the world, it's no surprise that she's been recognized as times 100 Most Influential people and as one of Fortune's Most Powerful Women in Business. So please join me in welcoming Julie Sweet to the stage to receive the 2024 CED Distinguished Leadership Award. Well, thank you, Peter. I've been so lucky to become friends with Peter. We started our friendship notwithstanding the consulting comment around shared values, commitment to business excellence, our people, service, responsibility and family. And Peter has LED an incredible return for AIG to be recognized as one of the world's great insurance companies again, which was a contribution not only to the people of AIG, but to the country. And we know the history there. He's worked with me side by side and really important things in the community. The USCO Council welcome dot US for refugees, the New York CEO Council creating job pathways. He's passionate about equity. He lives it every day and he supports it in the community, including women's sports. And one thing I love about Peter is that since they started sponsoring the AIG Women's Open, they have tripled the prize money. So thank you Peter for your inspiring leadership. I'm really honored to accept this recognition on behalf of our over 700,000 people at Accenture who really do try strive everyday to make a positive difference at our clients for each other and for our communities, including the incredible team I have with me tonight. So thank you, and it's such an honor to be among this crowd. I think you figured out that we're friends, the leaders here who are being recognized, and we're friends because we have the same values. We've worked together. I've seen the incredible impact that each of these leaders had, and it's really special that the CED recognizes leadership and brings us here together every year. This is my fourth time coming. I prefer doing introductions by the way, but and thank all of you for taking the time to be here because it's inspiring to have this room be here together. When I was coming here, I thought about 3 leadership lessons I learned from my parents that seem particularly important now and that we strive to live every day at Accenture. Good jobs matter. Service is not negotiable, and doing the right thing sometimes means taking real risks. So my dad was a car painter. If you know anything about the industry, at least when my dad did, it had terrible working conditions and horrible benefits. My mom got her beauty's license after high school, and so together they decided that the best way to have a better life for their family was for one of them to go to college. And so my mom graduated from college when I was a freshman in college. And so I know personally what it means to have a good job make a difference. And today, communities need businesses with good jobs to thrive, and businesses need thriving communities to succeed. And so I'm very proud that at Accenture, over the last five years, we've created over 11,000 jobs in the US, 2000 of them being apprentices, providing a pathway to people who would normally not get a job at Accenture. And under the leadership of my remarkable new CEO of the US, Manish Sharma, we're taking the next step and we are bringing our tech and business centers to disadvantaged communities that have never seen centers like this. We've started here in the Bronx. We've partnered with one of our clients to go to a city in Arkansas that was severely economically challenged. And in my backyard, we're opening in Ward 8 in Washington, DC, 1 of the poorest parts of DCA cybersecurity center. And we remain committed to inclusive growth, which is going to be so important as we continue to build this country. My second lesson was my family. When we grew up, service was part of what you did. My family said to me, my parents, that we may not have money, but we have time. So I tried to role model that today with my own children, and I'm super proud that I get to lead a country that has had decades of service being in its DNA. People come to Accenture and they stay in part because of that DNA. And so last year, we had over 75,000 volunteer hours. And because we believe consistent with the CED, the companies have a very important role to promote civic engagement. We're now offering our employees 4 hours to go and volunteer to be of nonpartisan ballot, nonpartisan ballot, election volunteer, or to vote because we need to continue to provide those volunteer opportunities to promote civic engagement. So I'll wrap up with my third lesson. My parents, as part of their volunteer work, used to answer calls at the Church of Families in Need. One of those calls was a young couple with a baby that needed food. It turned out that the young man, who was 19, had recently been arrested. He'd made a mistake. He was scared, no family to support him and a public defender not particularly interested in helping him. My parents came home and they talked it over and they withdrew their entire life savings, $500 to hire a lawyer because they thought a private lawyer would be a better advocate. I'm 56 years old and I think about that story a lot because it was a powerful example to me that doing the right thing is hard. You have to do it even when it means personal sacrifice and frankly, putting our own family at risk. Today, as CE OS, we're navigating a very complicated environment. I'm optimistic, but it's a hard 1. Politically, socially, economically. I strive to make the right decisions, and I know I will not always get it right. And I have two guiding principles. The first being make the decision that's right for the business and our stakeholders. And the second, take the actions consistent with our core values. And so I want to end tonight by reaffirming our unwavering commitment to inclusion and diversity because it is the right thing for our businesses and it is the right thing and living all of our core values. Thank you very much to be. Julie, congratulations and and thank you as as with all of our honorees for making being willing to make the tough decisions during difficult times and, and to lead us forward on all of these important issues. I've been This is my fifth CED dinner, and one constant in every dinner is that Julie is always asked to be the introducer. Not just by one of the honorees, but more than one of the honorees, and the CD team knows that. My most familiar response is Julie's already committed. And as Peter's shown us, that's a tough crowd to be that well liked by. So congratulations, Julie. And it's now my privilege and opportunity to introduce Michael Talling, CEO of Northwell Health, who will introduce our honoree, Tandy Ulukaya. Thank you very, very much. And what a privilege it is to be in a room full of extraordinary individuals like everybody here. And I want to say, to begin with, I want to congratulate all of the award winners tonight, an exceptional group of people. I want to congratulate CED for everything that they do on an ongoing basis, for continuing to provide information to all of us so that we can continue to be more and more educated. I also want to congratulate FedEx. I know you're surprised, but you did deliver the vaccine to us on December 13th, 2020. And Northwell was the first organization to give the first vaccine in the United States by some of the nurses that are now members of the Northwest. So the theme of tonight, which has been referenced the number of times as the leadership in troubled times. And I've always believed that when there are challenges and I don't believe necessarily in the concept of challenge, I believe every challenge is an opportunity. It's an opportunity to think about things in a different way. It's an opportunity to force change, but it takes great people to do this. It takes leaders who go outside the confines, the confines of their own businesses, to look more broadly at society in general and ask themselves, what's my obligation to improve what's going on all around me? Because it's not just about me is about all those others that are not as fortunate as we are. So many people today in circumstances around the United States and across the world who have none of the benefits that we take for granted each and every day. Now, lots of issues we have to deal with, but one of the things I would like people to think about is that we need to bring some civility into our public discourse. We need to promote a sense of community across the United States. We have to break down the toxic partisanship that exists, the inability to talk and discuss with one another openly, honestly, with truth. We need to attack the pandemic of misinformation, half truths, and conspiracy theories. All of those things matter. How we promote decency, integrity, and trust defines who we are, and we have to understand that. We need people to understand that. We build on America's greatness by looking forward, not backward. But it takes great people, people like you and people like the person I am now privileged to introduce, Hamdi Alakaya. There's a similarity between US and we look different. He grew up on a farm. So did I. He's an immigrant, so am I, but then again, so are we all. We all came from someplace. Something to keep in mind, by the way, when there are public discussions about these issues. He grew up in a small village. So did I came to United States and built a wonderful distinctive company that I am sure most of you have partaked in its products to Bonnie. Wonderful company that has won extraordinary awards for what it has done and for how it treats its employees. An exceptional entrepreneur somebody has who has received extraordinary awards for his company and for what he does for his employees. For to him, employees are the most important asset in his organization. And I know everybody here would agree with this, those of us that have employees. But he does more than this. He goes above and beyond. He goes outside the confines of his business. That's why he's exceptionally involved in working to help refugees all over the world, to provide opportunities for a refugee to have a job, to understand how to achieve a dream, how to help them. Think about that. There is the possibility as you look over the frontier to have opportunity and he works with about 400 companies across the globe to help this. He's involved in hunger and food insecurity. And as we partake in wonderful meals tonight, remember there were so many that have never had the opportunity to experience what we just experienced tonight. He's involved in climate change and sustainability because what we do with the environment and what each of our companies does with the environment enhances our health of those the opposite and is involved in education. Exceptional. A person who is unbelievably caring, compassionate, who believes in the future, who believes in people's potential and possibilities. As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of a court by Ralph Waldo and Emerson who said do not follow, follow, follow. Sorry. Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail on the You're leaving a trail, leaving a legacy. We all as a community, a world community, are so better off because we have people like you. Please welcome Hamdi Alakaya. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Thank you, Michael. You know, if one gain I have from this tonight, if there if I summarize the one thing I get to know you, Sir. I'm sad that I didn't get to know you before, but now I know you. Thank you. The second dimension is if you put an Irish and a Kurd in the same place, you're asking for a trouble. And growing up we always heard as Kurds, you know, the the Irish struggle and the move and we were the people of the mountains and the Kurds. You know, we never made our own fortunate, but we maintain our dignity and we maintain our hope. And we always felt closer to the people of Ireland. But here we are. You know, Doctor Laurie, you put me in the last. If it was yogurt, I would give it to it would leave a really good taste on people's mouth before they leave. So I have to watch what I say. And I come after Julie Sweet, my one of my heroes. And so I have to be very careful. Normally I'm not, but I'm going to be very, very careful. And, and and I didn't even realize what this was all about. There are, there are heroes of mine here. Mike Milken is here. I didn't realize, I didn't realize Raj is here. I didn't realize all these amazing, beautiful CEO's are here. So I'm extremely honored Robert F Smith is here. I mean, what's here anyway I come? Can I, can I tell a story? I will tell a little bit of story because that's all I can say is to bring a spotlight this magical country that we live in. Yeah. I left Turkey in the age of 22 within one of two months because I got in trouble with the government. Because I wrote some political articles in the newspaper I was publishing when I was in university, they took me on the street. And I tell this about this, even the president, the one knows, I talk about this. They took me on the streets of Ankara when I was in the university without anyone knowing that I was taken. And they took me to this very famous place in the centre of Ankara where you go 7 Storey below. And if you go there, we as university students knew if you go there, you're never going to come back. As you went in there, you're just going to be, no one is going to hear from you or you're going to come back really damaged. I was there for 18 hours and they let me go. And I still don't understand until today why that person let me go without doing anything to me. Maybe it was a happy day for him. Maybe it was my mother's prayer, maybe something. I don't know what it is. When I left, I went to my brother's store. I said I have to get out of here, I have to leave the country, I have to go somewhere. And the only thing that come to my mind is Europe, because everybody was going down at the time, Germany, France and all those places. So I was talking, I have to go to Germany, I have to go to France. There was this particular person would come and shop in my brother's store every day. He would not say too much more. He was a very silent person. They didn't even like him too much that day. He heard me saying to my my friends that I was going to go to Europe. He said, don't be stupid, go to America. So I I look at the guy I said, so you do speak and the first thing you come from your mouth is to go to his capitalist, imperialist America, as that would be the last thing I would do. And you can go silence. Now he said, you think Europe is all that good? They're all fascists. You know, this is street conversation in Anka. Don't pay too much attention to this. It's just just, you know, I'm, I'm 1920 years old, young kid and talking to a guy I don't like. And he said, why don't you go to America, see if you like it. And if you don't, you can always go to your beautiful friends. I dismissed him. I went to sleep. The next day, I waited for him to show up. He came in. I said, so how do you go to America? He said, why don't you go to this person, ask for a language school, and you go and see, that's exactly what I did. The only person I had to ask the permission is to go back to my village and tell my mother that I was going to go. And my mother, some of us know that there's a tradition. There is an arranged marriage that happens. My mother already picked a girl for me to marry. He said, what about that? I picked your girl. I said, what if I go and I come back and you know, we figure shit out, we pick you something up. I didn't say it that way. I just this is American way of saying things with this back. I I convinced her it's A1 picture I will never forget. My mother is in the rear mirror and I'm saying goodbye to her. In a very rainy day on October 15, 1994, I made it here. My brother gave me $3000. I spoke no language. I knew nothing about America. It was just my safety. I had to leave. I had to leave and I couldn't sleep for months until I get here. And the Penn Station to Adelphi University was one of the longest trip of my life. Finding that ticket counter and getting to that university and going into that empty, you know, dormitory bed, It was the first time I had a very long, comfortable sleep. And that was my journey started 30 years ago. Business was the longest distance things from me. I never knew I would be in the business. I didn't know what I would do. I'm a nomad, son. I'm a Kurdish nomad. I grew up with shepherds. I don't even know what my birthday is. I grew up hating business, literally blaming business for everything was going wrong in our communities, in our towns, in our villages. I saw suffering factory workers, villagers. I saw the distance between the rich and poor. I grow hating and I grow with anger. You know, my friends joined movements, like some of them were violence movements. I still believe that there was a peaceful way of going against this. But when I grew up, business was so distance from me and I never wanted to touch it until I went to upstate New York, start working in a farm. And I worked in that farm for a year and a half. And then one day my father said they don't know how to make good cheese here. Why don't you make some cheese? And that's my journey started. But what I saw in upstate New York was the small business owners, medium business owners were community members. They were happy schools. They were happy in hospitals. They were given food. And I saw a different dimension of the business. Maybe I said, you know what? I could make some cheese. I can make a living. It wasn't until I saw this factory in the middle of farmland in South Edmundston, New York. I worked in there and there's this factory being closed. And I worked this cheese plant for a few years. And now I saw this ad and said blue fully equipped yogurt plant for sale. And I go, I just want to, I'm curious. I want to see what this is all about. I go in there and this is like a 7080 years old, old factory and there's about 50 people, Michael, they're closing this place. It's silent. And I was talking about this the other day. It felt like somebody died on Euphrates River, where I grew up with something heavy, something heavy clouds in the air. People were sad, People were sad. This was the last place in that town and the steam was going to be cut off. The source of living was going to be shut down forever. And I was just there to witness it. And this 55 people were doing their best to close this place the best way they can. I left and I'm not going to be too long. I left saying I got to get this place. The person I called first an attorney, he said in so many different ways to said this is the most stupid thing you can ever think of doing this like this is the biggest company food company in the world closing this place. This is a old factory. They're getting out of yogurt business. You have no idea what you're doing, which is true. I never studied business. I never worked anywhere. I never read business book. I never knew anyone who had done business. All I'll do is some making some cheese and I'm looking at this place. I said I want to have this since since you have no effing idea, like you literally don't. And plus he said you have no money. You have not given me my my invoice. It's been 6 months, $15,000. You haven't paid me yet. It's true. So 2 bankers shows up. Pat Moochie, John Ryder. I will never forget these two names. They're 2 little town bankers, Julie. They are this most beautiful people. Pat Moochie. You just want to hug him. You know, he walks around as if he has cannolis in his pocket all the time. You know he wants to give you some gifts. I said, Pat, I want to buy this factory, can you help me? He says if he if you write a business business plan and if we get an SBA loan guarantee, then I will give you a a loan which is like 80% long guarantee or 50%. I said how do you write a business plan? Just go search. So I did, he got the loan guaranteed. Six months later, I have the key. I hired four people from that, 55 people. The first thing that we did was paint the walls. We have a board meeting in our old, old office, Maria Wilcox, Mike Allen, Frank and Richard Lake and myself. These are 4 factory workers and myself. We're sitting around the table and they're looking at me because they're going to make a life decisions where they're going to go next, and they're looking at me. I have a broken English. I'm driving a very broken car. I might be the first Turkish or Kurdish guy in that time they have ever seen. The next guy who had an accent was the guy from Sicily who's making pizza in that town. And the last company just closed this place and they're looking at me. Should we just trust this guy, make a life plan, or should we just move out of this place? And I said, we're going to go get some paint from the Ace Hardware store and we're going to paint the walls. So the Mike retired from that place. Mike Allen, he said, I retired from this place. We haven't painted these walls outside as long as I have been here. Tell me you have another idea. I said, yeah, I have ideas, which I had no idea, but let's paint the walls the paint. That was in summer of 2005. In 2007, we launched the yogurt called Chobani. If I had told that guy it was four people, we're going to launch a yogurt here called Chobani means Shepherd in Turkish. And within five years we're going to reach a billion dollars in sales. This four people is going to be 1000 people. We're going to invest 1 1/2 billion dollars in a state in Idaho. I had never been before and we're going to be a number one, number one, number one yogurt brand in the country. I will not raise a penny from anybody, right? We're not going to raise a penny anybody. We're going to get all this community lifted. Farmers are going to come back. People are going to start painting their homes. We're going to do all that kind of stuff. They probably would look at me and say, OK, this guy is smoking or drinking something really, really strange because there's no way that possibly happens. So why I tell this story? A Kurdish guy from Turkey goes to a small town in upstate New York, makes Greek yogurt. Imagine, right? Where is the chances of this is happening other than this magical country that we live in? Where? So I come down to this topic that Mike Milken is fighting for. How do we keep this promise alive in this country that the more shepherds, more refugees, more people from all around the world can come? Be the CEOs of those most amazing companies, create most amazing products, inspire humanity, fix problems and reach to their dreams. Yeah. How do we do that? How do we leave that? What can I do? What can I do as a person? That to this country, to land that my grandfather didn't fight the war or my father. It was so generous to let me come in and the shepherd's boy or nomad's son reach to his dreams and be here with this most amazing people. This is what we forget what this country is all about. I went to Idaho and a governor, you know, said hi to me when I went to Idaho. He had a big hat like I saw on TV's like Texas, you know, the the cowboy hat. He had a cowboy boots and a strange tie. And he told me in Turkish, welcome. I said, OK, this is a movie. He said, you're going to invest your, your, your business here. Said wow, that's that's, that's, that's confidence. And I spent two days in there. I probably love Idaho more than the town that I grew up. And in so many issues. We disagree the people there so many issues. But what is happening with politics in this country? For God's sake, where are we going? And what if this, what if this breaks at at some point? What if it breaks? What if it breaks? What happens to humanity? What happens to refugees all around the world? What happens to human violations all around the world? What happens to journalists that they stay in jails all around the world? It's because of this country. So many people survive. So many people say things, so many people can stand for something, so much at stake and I have confidence in businesses and CEOs, especially the ones in here. It's the power of business. I go from the hating the business to advocating and loving the business because of the empathy can do. A lot of companies, CE OS and representations are here are the part of Tent Partnership for refugees. My companies, you know, amazing people at Chobani and tents are here. They're witnessing every day with what we do, the power of business, making a difference on people's life. And that's what the CED is all about. That's why she convinced me to come here, and that's why I'm taking this tool. I apologize. It's so essential, so crucial as we are facing this election in this country. I will make yogurt, of course, but what I say is cup of yogurt won't change the world, but how you make it just might. And that's the dream and that's the hope. On my on behalf of my wife Louise and everyone at Giovanni Intent, I am so honored and I will never forget this tonight. I'm so sorry to talk so long. Thank you so much for sharing your magic tonight and everything you're doing to keep this country magical and sharing your magic globally to deal with some of the most difficult challenges and changing people's lives during this time of major transformation and migration happening around the world and what you're doing for refugees. So everyone, I hope you take the lessons tonight home together. If we embrace the values and the principles that we heard tonight and the lessons that were learned, we can really make a difference and remember that working together we're much bigger and can then working by ourselves. So with that, I've turned the torch over to David to give us a wrap tonight. Thank you. Thank you, Lori. Lori, thank you and thank you again for all your leadership with the award ceremony and with the CD. One minute and then I promise I will let you go. People, people. Passion, purpose, persistence. Be all that we can. Let's not lose sight of humanity. The world doesn't run without FedEx. Connecting people and possibilities, Excellence, confidence, humility. Service is not negotiable. Doing the right thing isn't easy. Every challenge is an opportunity, but it takes great people magic. Thank you for the inspiration this evening. It means a great deal to a great number of us. This is what CED does. It has done it since 1942. Our hope is that we continue to do it. Thank you again. Safe travels home. Good night. _1730352574094

Commitment To Business Stewardship & Corporate Citizenship

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