SI is growing rapidly. Our latest conference illustrated why.
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The Satell Institute’s 14th Private CEO Conference — held October 30th in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Baltimore — began, fittingly, with insightful words from SI’s founder, Ed Satell, about why companies and communities need each other.
“It’s in businesses’ self-interest to have better communities,” Ed noted in his introductory video remarks. “It’s in businesses’ self-interest to have more people who have jobs and also have a conscience about the community. That’s why companies are excited about Corporate Social Responsibility.”
The Satell Institute exists, he continued, to give the leaders of those companies — community-minded CEOs — the opportunity to connect and share ideas with their like-minded peers. As Ed put it, “The greatness of the Institute is our members because they’re the doers.”
The CEO Conference — attended by a record crowd of more than 550 business leaders — perfectly reflected the powerful ideas Ed talked about in his introduction. The fall ’24 conference put a particular focus on how, even in divided times, Corporate Social Responsibility unites people around a common purpose.
In a morning filled with great insights from an extraordinary roster of speakers and member-practitioners, here are three takeaways that stood out:
1. Businesses and nonprofit organizations serve as crucial anchors for communities — and give people purpose.
Conference chair Travis Rhodes, Executive Vice President of Truist Financial, began the morning by talking about the growth of the Satell Institute.
“In a handful of years, Ed Satell’s vision for a Collective Force of leaders coming together to benefit the community has not just become a reality, it’s become a movement,” Rhodes said of SI, which has now expanded into a dozen cities and adds new members and Nonprofit Affiliates every week.
He then talked about the importance of having purpose, particularly in a divided world.
“As I look around right now, it seems like everything is trying to pull at the very fabric of who we are. It seems like I hear too many times all the things that are bad. It seems like I hear too often what is going wrong, versus what is going right.”
But businesses and nonprofits offer an antidote to that.
“We impact lives in the communities that we serve,” he said. “And I think the purity of that purpose is something we can never get away from. As the leaders of organizations and communities, we give something to a world that is in chaos — something to anchor to. What you do and how you do it is meaningful.”
As an example of purpose in action, Rhodes talked about the early days of the COVID pandemic, as he and his colleagues at Truist worked, literally around the clock, to process PPP loans for customers.
“Every time we approved a PPP loan, I would flash a picture of the employees of that company that we just approved the loan for because I wanted our team to concentrate on what they were doing. Not the tasks they were doing, but ultimately the lives that they were impacting.”
2. Businesses and nonprofits help people take control of their own lives.
Rev. Luis Cortes Jr., Founder, President and CEO of Esperanza, one of the nation’s largest Hispanic, faith-based organizations, offered inspiring (and often hilarious) remarks that built on Rhodes’ message.
Esperanza began nearly 40 years ago, Rev. Cortes said, with a minimal budget. Today it has annual revenue of $80 million and provides stability to the neighborhoods it serves.
“We learned that to build opportunity we had to create Hispanic-owned-and-operated institutions. Why institutions? Institutions have permanence. They uphold and develop culture. They uphold and develop civic values. Without those things, our young people – and our adults – seem aimless.”
The work Esperanza does, Rev. Cortes noted, is built around facilitating what the organization calls “the transformative experience.”
“It’s that moment when we have a sense of ownership of our own lives. It’s that moment where we say, Oh, I can do that. That seems like a small thing for some people. But for others, it is a giant hurdle. Oh, I can get my degree? Oh, I can get a better job? Oh, I can own my own home? It’s an aha moment.”
Rev. Cortes also noted that for Nonprofits (as for for-profit businesses), “Cash is king,” giving them breathing room and flexibility. “It’s the equivalent to having an R&D department.”
3. The U.S. economy is fine. But…
Oscarlyn Elder, Co-chief Investment Officer of Truist, offered an overview of the economy — including significant insights about why so many people are feeling a level of discontent.
Elder showed that, in the aggregate, the U.S. economy is performing well. Unemployment is relatively low. Overall inflation has dropped significantly. GDP growth is solid.
But she offered an important caveat: averages don’t necessarily tell the whole story. “Aggregate data doesn’t speak to unique journeys.”
Elder noted that, after rising for 50 years at an average 3 percent annual rate, GDP growth since the financial crisis of 2008-2009 hasn’t recovered consistently. “The gap in American wealth that hasn’t been created since the Great Financial Crisis is about $4.4 trillion,” she said. “That is real wealth.”
She also noted the impact that inflation has had on the buying power of middle- and lower-income Americans. After inflation-adjusted family earnings grew steadily from 2012 to 2020, 2021 and 2022 saw the worst performance since the early 1980s. “This is a rollercoaster ride,” she noted. Making things even more challenging is the rising cost of housing compared to incomes. “The home is the heart of the American dream. It helps bring stability. It helps build wealth. And it’s a key mechanism for intergenerational wealth transfer.”
While the stock market’s performance has been strong, which reflects the health of American corporations, Elder noted the majority of Americans don’t necessarily feel the impact of that.
“It’s really important that we stay in touch with and understand the journeys that are different than our own,” she said in conclusion. It’s why Corporate Social Responsibility is so important. “How can we partner with others to elevate the entire community? How can we elevate and equip entire communities to grow and prosper?”
The CEO Conference also included incisive panels in each city, comprised of member-practitioners talking about their approaches to CSR. And it featured what is always the highlight of any Satell Institute CEO Conference — the Idea and Experience Exchange, with CEO members and guests convening at small tables to talk with and learn from their peers.
SI wishes to thank the extraordinary Conference Committee that made this event possible, as well as our host venues: The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia; the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh; and Junior Achievement of Central Maryland.