Tonight could be a nervy one for the up to 19 current or former CEOs due to meet with Donald Trump on Friday, with the president’s immigration ban potentially prompting a healthy, or maybe not so healthy, clash of opinions.
The Wall Street Journal reported the formal meeting schedule will include regulatory relief, women in the workforce, tax and trade and infrastructure. That’ll leave Trump’s decision to stop people from seven Muslim countries entering the U.S. as the elephant in the room, though it’s possible the issue could loosely apply to the topic of “trade”.
It’s an anxious wait for CEOs because they’ll be mindful of the damage that could be done to their businesses if they goad the president, who’s already singled out companies including Ford, Boeing and Lockheed Martin for attack.
That hasn’t stopped some who’ll be attending Friday’s meeting—including Ford’s Mark Fields, Tesla’s Elon Musk and Uber’s Travis Kalanick—from publicly criticizing the executive order, which would no longer make it possible for their companies to attract and retain as much international talent.
The 19-member economic advisory panel is chaired by Blackstone founder Stephen Schwarzman and also includes JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, IBM’s Ginni Rometty, GM’s Mary Barra and Disney’s Bob Iger.
As has been customary at CEO meetings with Trump, the president is expected to start things off with a short address open to the media. That may be followed by a short statement from Schwarzman, reports suggest, followed by a closed-door forum at least an hour in length.
Big-name CEOs considering taking legal action over the ban, including Apple’s Tim Cook and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, aren’t on the advisory committee and won’t be in attendance.
Pressure is building among all CEOs to speak up against the ban as numerous activist groups voice their dissent. Among them were 14,800 college and university professors, including 50 Nobel laureates.
Separately, a band of human rights groups and responsible investors, some of them faith-backed, wrote a joint letter to the 19 members of the council urging them to speak out strongly.
“As key representatives of corporate America, the business leaders advising the president have a critical responsibility to respect human rights and reject the thinly veiled bigotry and xenophobia that the travel ban evokes, ” said Josh Zinner of the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable, which was one of the signatories.
But in a demonstration of the fine line attendees will have to tread—not just with the president, but also with the general public—a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday showed that 49% of American adults either strongly or somewhat agreed with the executive order. That compares with 41% who strongly or somewhat disagreed and 10% who were undecided.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
