The room was packed and the conversation frank – and full of insights. For an hour on January 22, former NPR host Ari Shapiro interviewed Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert over a range of topics.
The Mehrotra Institute’s partnership with WBUR’s Breakfast Club is off to a great start.
Patagonia is known for its commitment to social justice and reducing its impact on the planet – and CEO Gellert did not disappoint. “The work that we’re most passionate about is protecting wild places,” he said. When Shapiro asked if he had advice for the business leaders in the room, he said, “There is work that everybody can do to change and alter this system that we all operate in which is called capitalism. I think it’s the best system we have, I think it’s fatally flawed, I think it is leaving far too many people behind, and I think it’s a disaster for the natural world.”
Business leaders in the room were able to ask questions of the CEO. In response to a question about CEO pay, Gellert said, “I think CEOs are paid way too much. There is this belief that they add more value than they do.”
Shapiro ended by asking Gellert if he could ask the group of civic and business leaders in the room to do one thing, what would it be? Gellert said, “Engage in the political process…we can’t get paralyzed by despair and fear.” He added, “The future of our democracy is in play, to say nothing of the future of our home planet.”
You can watch the video of this event on our YouTube page.
The next WBUR Breakfast Club is on Thursday, February 26 at 7:30 am and will feature Jet Blue CEO Joanna Geraghty in conversation with WBUR Morning Edition host Tiziana Dearing.
