Since the publication of his influential book on traffic safety (Unsafe at Any Speed, 1965), Ralph Nader has been among the most prominent critics of American capitalism. His new book, The Rebellious CEO: 12 Leaders Who Did It Right, profiles a group of executives who succeeded both as business leaders and as stewards of the social and natural world.
Speaking to Forbes about the unwillingness of CEOs to intervene politically, Nader said of the leaders mentioned in his book:
These twelve spoke out. They endorsed politicians. They spoke out against injustice in a variety of ways, sometimes to their own detriment. They held controversial views. They were not going to leave their conscience at home when they went to work. […] I never heard any of these CEOs complain about regulation. They were way ahead of the regulators. They had much higher standards than the regulators. For example, Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface […], urged the regulators to strengthen the environmental standards for his industry.
Among the figures discussed by Nader are Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard, Vanguard’s John C. Bogle, and Southwest’s Herb Kelleher.
