"The uncertain activism of Silicon Valley CEOs," 01 Mar 2018

Chief executive officers (CEOs) are being told to become activists and take a stand on hot-button issues...employees and customers won't stand for companies without meaningful leadership. Surveys have shown that more people want to work at companies with activist CEOs. Weber Shandwick's KRC Research survey found a new form of consumer activism among US and UK...more than 80% agree it is more important than ever to support companies that do the right thing...respondents said they expect CEOs to speak out publicly on major issues. Google certainly knew it...in 2004 when it filed for its IPO. The first page was a letter to shareholders...saying that their goal was not profits but to do good. Marc Benioff, head of Saleforce.com...has done a great job in publicizing all the good works that he and his staff have achieved, from helping local schools, to building a large Children's Hospital in San Francisco.Social corporate responsibility used to be important in Silicon Valley but over the past 15  years it has virtually disappeared. Doing nothing is less risky than taking a stand. Silicon Valley activist CEOs will continue to be...a very small club.