Dozens of executives and other top leaders gathered at Zoom this weekend to plot what many said big businesses should do about the ongoing new voting laws in Texas and other states.
Kenneth Chenault, former CEO of American Express Co. and Kenneth Frazier, CEO of Merck & Co., urged leaders to collectively demand greater access to the vote, according to several attendees. Mr Chenault and Mr Frazier warned companies against giving up the issue and called on executives to sign a statement opposing what they considered discriminatory voting legislation, people said.
The new statement could appear earlier this week, people said, and would be based on one that 72 black executives signed last month following changes to Georgia’s voting laws. Mr Chenault told executives on appeal that several leaders had signaled that they would sign up, including directors from PepsiCo Inc., PayPal Holdings Inc., T. Rowe Price Group Inc. and Hess Corp, among others, according to the people. PayPal has 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 Republicans and federal lawmakers who say companies are discussing the issue and should not act as shadow lawmakers. Meanwhile, activists and others have said that the actions taken by leaders are not strong enough. Many CEOs now feel a duty or pressure to explicitly disclose the views of employees and others, executive counsel said.
A lot of companies remain precarious to enter politically charged areas. An executive at a consumer product company Fortune 100 said board members, employees and salespeople are pressuring leaders to speak out, but that could take a look at the company.