For years, Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, has crusaded for stakeholder capitalism, the idea that business leaders should value the well-being of people and the planet along with the interests of shareholders.
These “woke” beliefs – Salesforce offered to relocate employees who were concerned about being able to get an abortion in Texas and stopped selling software to retailers that stock military-style rifles, and Benioff spoke out against Georgia and North Carolina for passing laws that would allow LGBTQ discrimination – have gotten this activist CEO in hot water with conservatives who say he’s sacrificing profits for politics.
But Benioff hasn’t backed off. Last fall, Salesforce sided with Harvard University and the University of North Carolina in a pair of cases before the Supreme Court challenging the practice of considering race in admissions to build diversity on college campuses.