Dr. James Mwangi has joined a league of 14 global CEOs who have committed to champion cross–sector collaboration in the creation of a purpose-first economy.
Dr. Mwangi joined the CEOs of Mastercard, Fortune Media, Mahindra, Interface, Voyager, Danone, DSM, Philips, L’Oréal, International Chamber of Commerce, Ketchum PR, Natura & Co. and Beiersdorf in calling on businesses, governments and development actors to join them in accelerating the transition towards an inclusive, resilient, sustainable economy that recognizes and enables purpose-first businesses to thrive.
In a global call to action, the letter signed by the signatories outlines their vision for a new global economy that is more equal, inclusive and sustainable; an economy that is more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate change and many other global challenges that the world is facing. The CEOs’ open letter has been endorsed by the UN Secretary General António Guterres, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, and OECD Development Co-operation Director Jorge Moreira da Silva, among others.
The global corporate leaders represent a combined annual revenue of over $100 billion USD and a combined global workforce of over 500,000. They have proposed a roadmap to “build the economic system better,” after COVID-19, rather than simply “building it back.”
Prior to signing the open letter, the signatory CEOs worked with the Leaders on Purpose team that comprises experts from Harvard University, Unilever, The World Bank, and The London School of Economics on a White Paper focused on purpose driven businesses that will be released at the 3rd Annual Leaders on Purpose CEO Summit taking place on the sidelines of the 2020 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Dr. Mwangi will play an integral role in this year’s global virtual event, serving as Co-Chair and panelist in discussions on how to create a purpose-first economy.
The outcome document of the summit will be presented to world leaders at this year’s November G20 Summit in Saudi Arabia, and to the leaders attending the Davos World Economic Forum gathering in 2021. The initiative will be carried forward into other global forums throughout the coming years.
Dr. James Mwangi had this to say while signing the letter, “The current state of the world economy, as evidenced by the inequality revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic, has left business leaders with only one choice; the choice to recognize that the world system only works for a few and not the majority of the world’s population. This demonstrates that the economic and social system we have relied on is broken. We must, as a cohesive stakeholder community of leaders, address this inequality and serve humanity in a more productive and concerted way.”