Accountable

Accountable

How we Can Save Capitalism

Summary

"Uses a combination of great stories and thoughtful analysis to suggest that we must find a way to change the purpose of our corporations if we are to build a society that works for all of us.
Rebecca M. Henderson, John & Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University

"Fresh, balanced, highly readable and deeply informed"
John Pepper, former Chairman and CEO of P&G

"Thought-provoking and insightful, Accountable offers a pragmatic and original roadmap to transform capitalism into a system that's more inclusive, sustainable, and just."
Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation

Capitalism is failing and the tools we are relying on to fix it - corporate social responsibility, divestment, impact investing, and government control - are only making things worse.

-Chevron boasts about the $50 million per year it spends on renewable energy whilst it spends 200 times that on oil exploration

-Goldman Sachs touts its 10,000 Women initiative but its board ranks 358th out of the Fortune 500 for gender diversity and women earn 55% less than men do on average

By focusing on corporations rather than people, we've put our faith in empty trends and brand-focused window-dressing. Why should those responsible for our current crisis be trusted to fix it?

In Accountable, authors Michael O'Leary and Warren Valdmanis offer a blueprint for everyone to take responsibility for using their economic power as consumers, as investors, as employees, and as voters to trigger a fundamental shift away from an economy that is unethical, unfair, and destructive to our environment and institutions. Their investigation cuts through the tired dogma of current economic thinking to reveal a hopeful truth: if we can make our corporations accountable to a deeper purpose, we can make capitalism both prosperous and good.

Trenchant and gripping, this is an indispensable guide and call to action for citizens to take control of our economic power and hold corporations to a higher standard.

Reviews

  • A thoughtful, well researched and compelling way to rethink how to assure that prosperity and fairness are linked
    Deval Patrick, Former Massachusetts Governor

About the authors

Warren Valdmanis

Warren Valdmanis is a partner at Two Sigma Impact, a private equity business that invests in the American workforce. He was previously a managing director with Bain Capital's social impact fund, and before that invested with Bain Capital's private equity team for over a decade. He grew up in Canada and has lived and worked in Australia, Chile, France, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa and the United States. Warren studied economics at Dartmouth College and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. He lives with his wife, Kristin, and their four children in Portland, Maine.
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Michael O'Leary

Michael O'Leary is a managing director with the impact investing firm Engine No. 1. Previously, he was on the founding team of Bain Capital's social impact fund and invested in consumer, industrial and technology companies through Bain Capital's private equity fund. Michael studied philosophy at Harvard College and earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He lives in New York.
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