Why has the movement fizzled, and what hurdles might it face over the next three months to three years?

Over the past three years, the ESG movement attracted a broad following across corporate America, with a proliferation of related management and investment strategies to advance environmental, social and governance priorities.  

But in the past three months, the ESG movement has appeared to stall, amid scrutiny revealing the insincerity of managerial proponents and a declining level of both returns and enthusiasm among funds and individuals alike. 

However, a “name game” reveals progress for women in the C-suite.

For all of the momentous events of 2023 so far, one thing the year will certainly be known for is that, according to Bloomberg, more S&P 500 companies are being run by women than by men named John.

Capitalism is an economic system that has demonstrated remarkable benefits and fueled tremendous progress over the centuries. It is the strongest form of economic development in the world and encourages and rewards innovation, generally solves issues of supply and demand for products, and provides for the efficient allocation of financial and human capital resources.   

It has played a significant role in fostering innovation, economic growth and individual freedom. However, like any system, capitalism is not without its flaws and areas for improvement. 

Directors must understand the major supply chain risks and the effect they have on the company.

Five ways the younger generation is poised to affect issues in the boardroom.

Gen Z is coming of age. These digital natives, born between roughly 1997 and 2007, account for more than 46 million Americans and about 14% of the population. Although this cohort is smaller than prior generations, their influence as a force for change surpasses their numbers as they catalyze new consumer and employee trends that are reaching today’s boardrooms. 

Should the board keep the nation’s best interests in mind when considering a company’s long-term success?

The death of globalization, like the reports of his own death that Mark Twain gleefully rebutted, is much exaggerated. Global trade hit a new record of $32 trillion in 2022.

Should directors consider devotion to country when making decisions that affect their companies?

No human-designed process, system, service or structure is infallible; by definition, a construct like capitalism is imperfect. Comparatively, however, it has an impressive track record of proven success as an economic model with many more pluses than minuses. The plusses include reduced poverty, elevated material well-being, increased national competitiveness and general societal prosperity. No other economic system has done or can do that.

My Board Journey

Sonita Lontoh
Director, Sunrun, TrueBlue Inc.

Capitalism, which has regrettably become a somewhat pejorative term to many (explaining why I prefer to refer to it as the free enterprise system), has arguably done more to improve the quality of people’s lives than any other economic system in history. Even the People’s Republic of China’s tenuous experiment with a capitalist economy managed to move more Chinese from poverty into the middle class than there are Americans to move anywhere.

Sometimes it’s wise to sacrifice immediate profits to build market share in the future. 

Company executives remain under pressure from investor activists, institutional holders and equity analysts to deliver earnings, pay dividends and buy shares back now — this year or even this quarter. The continuing intensity of those near-term calls comes as no surprise, as hedge funds have amped up their megaphones, active investors trade more frequently and equity analysts are ever put off by more immediate shocks.