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Giving Back

Written by: Vicki Donlan

Article Overview: Corporate America reached a new low yesterday when the chief executive officer of Nestle S.A. asked Boston College’s Chief Executives’ Club “What the hell have we taken away from society by being a successful company that employs people? Companies shouldn’t feel obligated to give back to the community.”

Giving Back

Corporate America reached a new low yesterday when the chief executive officer of Nestle S.A. asked Boston College’s Chief Executives’ Club “What the hell have we taken away from society by being a successful company that employs people? Companies shouldn’t feel obligated to give back to the community.”

With comments like this, how can any of us be surprised by what we see as a weakening in our value system in this country. If our corporate leaders feel so high and mighty that they are totally oblivious to the fact that every person in a community, no matter what their ability, has a moral responsibility to reach out to those less advantaged then it’s time for all of us to stand up and move these guys out of their cushy corner offices.

When we look at our business community here in Boston, we can be proud that our business leaders believe that charity (giving back) begins at the chief executive’s desk. Great companies are built by caring enough not only about your employees but your customers and your potential customers. Jobs, housing, education and health care are the concerns for every individual in a strong society because we are the sum of the all our parts.

This month Women’s Business Boston profiled the strong leadership in our nonprofit community. I’d like to invite Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chief executive of Nestle, to spend some time with our features: Joanne Handy, president and CEO, Visiting Nurse Association of Boston; Marylou Sudders, president and CEO, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; Lyndia Downie, president and executive director, Pine Street Inn; Suzanne Heilman, executive director of Horizons for Homeless Children; and Charlotte Golar Richie, director, Boston Department of Neighborhood Development. Perhaps then he can dare explain how the business community’s support of their work is not an obligation.

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