Dozens of chief executives and other top leaders gathered at Zoom this weekend to plot what several say big companies should do next about the new voting laws underway in Texas and other states.
Kenneth Chenault, former CEO of American Express Co., and Kenneth Frazier, CEO of Merck & Co., urged leaders to collectively call for greater access to the vote, according to several people in attendance. Messrs. Chenault and Frazier warned companies not to abandon the issue and asked CEOs to sign a statement opposing what they consider discriminatory voting legislation, people said.
The new statement could arrive earlier this week, according to people, and would be based on one that 72 black executives signed last month as a result of changes to Georgia’s voting laws. Chenault told call executives that several leaders had indicated they would sign the session, including executives from PepsiCo Inc., PayPal Holdings Inc., T. Rowe Price Group Inc. and Hess Corp., among others, according to people. PayPal confirmed that it has signed the statement. PepsiCo, T. Rowe Price, and Hess did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
As more companies and their leaders have spoken out on the issue in recent weeks, their positions have angered Republican state and federal lawmakers who say companies are damaging the issue and should not act as shadow legislators. Meanwhile, activists and others have said the actions taken by leaders are not strong enough. Today, many CEOs feel a duty or pressure to explicitly disclose their views to employees and others, executive advisors said.
A lot of companies are still wary of wading into politically charged areas. An executive at a Fortune 100 consumer products company said board members, employees and vendors are pressuring leaders to speak out, but if they did they could take a look at the company.