CEOs weigh a return to political middle ground at Aspen
Business leaders at the Aspen Ideas Festival are discussing how companies can work with government as executives face pressure from both parties.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
CEOs at the Aspen Ideas Festival are debating how business can rebuild common ground with policymakers, according to Fortune executive editorial director Diane Brady. The discussion comes as some executives hesitate to speak publicly on policy issues that affect their companies.
Brady wrote in Fortune’s CEO Daily that American business has often advanced through compromise with government: accepting some taxes, backing clear rules and knowing when to engage on public issues. She said the current climate has made that approach harder, with politicians more able to frame business questions in stark terms when CEOs stay quiet.
Political pressure is changing CEO behavior
Brady pointed to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist who has criticized capitalism, as one example of the tension between business and politics. She reported that when she sought to bring Mamdani to a CEO dinner earlier this year, an adviser said public engagement with CEOs was not a priority at that time.
Mamdani later met privately with executives including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Brady reported. She also wrote that pressure from the far right, especially in Washington, has made some CEOs wary of speaking on climate change, diversity, ethics, immigration and other matters tied to business operations.
Executives discuss three approaches
At Aspen, Brady said executives were discussing ways for companies to regain a more active role in policy conversations. The ideas centered on speaking to centrist voters and officials, setting steady corporate values and helping address labor shortages as technology changes work.
Dan Smoot, CEO of space-based intelligence company Vantor, told Brady that he believes many people and politicians remain closer to the middle. He said moderation once helped leaders get work done, and argued that industry needs to work with government because business is moving quickly.
Brady connected that view to Dimon’s willingness to help Mamdani develop practical policies. The point, as Brady presented it, is that executives may have more influence by engaging directly with policymakers than by retreating from public debate.
Values, energy and workforce training
Brady cited Costco CEO Ron Vachris as an example of a leader who talks about equal opportunity for employees. She wrote that companies may need to describe goals behind labels such as DEI and ESG rather than rely on language that has become politically charged.
Southern Company CEO Chris Womack discussed clean energy at Aspen as part of an affordable, sustainable and resilient power grid that can support innovation, according to Brady. The framing links energy policy to reliability and economic growth rather than to partisan labels.
Workforce needs were another focus. Ferrovial CEO Ignacio Madridejos told Brady that his company, which earns most of its $10.9 billion in annual revenue from U.S. projects such as Texas toll roads and JFK Terminal 1, faces labor and skills shortages because too few students are entering the sector.
Brady said Barbara Humpton of USA Rare Earth and leaders in manufacturing and health care have described similar problems. She pointed to public-private efforts such as RAISE US and to Walmart’s plan to offer AI certification to every U.S. employee after telling its 2.1 million workers that AI tools would improve their jobs.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.