Emma Grede, Mellody Hobson & Angela Ahrendts on inclusive leadership Transcript from https://podmenti.com/t/b912cbdbcf97d04b The very best founders I know are brilliant at building systems. They connect teams, they remove bottlenecks, and they eliminate single points of failure. And yet When it comes to their own wealth. Most are running a disconnected stack. A tax accountant here and a state attorney there, a wealth manager who doesn't talk to either one of them. Creative planning was built to fix exactly that. One integrated team of tax professionals, state planners, investment specialists, all coordinated by a dedicated wealth manager who sees your full financial picture and keeps every piece working together. Proactive tax efficiency, state strategy, investments all under one roof. Creative planning where wealth works together. Learn more at creative planning dot com slash masters of scale. Hey folks, Jeff Berman here. I am thrilled to share some of the new names who will be joining us at this year's Masters of Scale summit. This may be our biggest stage yet. Reed Hastings, Meredith Whitaker, Van Jones, Amjad Masad, and more. Will be there with us October 20th through 22nd in San Francisco. If you're building something great, or you want to build something great, We want you there with us too. Join us at masters of scale dot com slash apply twenty six. That's mastersofscom slash apply. Twenty six. Build a business, create an infrastructure, employ people, put their kids through school, you know, that to me is what this is all about. That's Emma Greed, the co-founder of the Kardashian fashion brand Good American. Emma shares some stellar lessons from her entrepreneurial successes with us in this episode. And later on we hear from Eldie Hobson. The president of Ariel Investments and former DreamWorks Chair. Who weighs in on DEI efforts, which, as you may have noticed, have been in the news of late. There's this sense that it is a zero sum game in this society, that if someone's winning, someone else is losing. I do not prescribe to that. Our economy and our society has been built on the fact that the pie keeps getting bigger. And the greatness of America is that you had this middle class and others who could share in that over time. You gotta have incredible talent at every position. Huge push. There are fires burning when you're going out. Can you believe it? Such an idiot. And then you go back to this is totally gonna be amazing. There are so many easy ways. I have no idea what to do. Sorry, we made a mistake. But you have to time it right. We're gonna add a free bed apartment. It just seems absolutely not all. Ten years later I'm like, well that's just how you do it. We haven't made it. Just how you do it. This is masters of scale. I'm your host, Jeff Berman. One of my favorite parts of our annual Masters of Scale summit is when we get to witness incredible minds together on our stage. This week we're sharing two of those conversations, both led by Angela Arns. Angela's impressive career includes roles as CEO of Burberry and senior vice president of Apple. In this first segment, she talks with Emma Greed. Emma is the CEO and co-founder of the inclusive apparel brand Good American. She's also a founding partner in Skims and creator of the fifteen percent pledge. Let's head to the stage to hear Angela and Emma's conversation. I think what I love the most about Emma, which is why I agreed to do this, is because this is a founder. Partner. Investor An incredible visionary. And I won't make her tell you how old she is because I think she's about half my age. But it's no but it's absolutely so let's start with founder. Because In two tausen sixtін, you revolutionized the fashion industry. by coming up with an incr good America and an incredible all inclusive concept So did you ever imagine? But it would ignite Such a powerful ship. It started so many things that happened. And did you think that would happen and then what surprised you the most after the fact? The short answer is no, I didn't. And I have to be honest because you know, my background was actually I had an agency and so for a long time I was a very frustrated consultant. They kind of worked in this, you know, first generation of talent and brand partnerships. So I ran this beautiful agency that I started and I loved my job and I really kind of, you know, crafted this company that sat at the intersection of entertainment and brand. And it was that first generation stuff where, you know, you'd see Natalman as the face of Dior or Tom Brady as the face of Hertz. And I was there for that. And as that you know, business progressed. What happened is I became known as the go-to girl for startups when they were looking for a talent to take some equity in their company. And after doing a few of those deals very successfully, you know, I was lucky enough to start Good American and I've started some other businesses in that space and they've been Incredibly successful, way beyond anything that I or my partners honestly imagined. And I think it's really interesting because honestly, I think we're just On the crest of a wave. I think in the next five years we're gonna see hundreds of talent or influencer or creator billionaires. And you know, I still look at it as an almost imperfect model, what I do, right? Because nobody follows the rock to see, you know, him advertise tequila. You know, you follow him because you love him, and he also can't. you know, authentically speak to his audience if he is always talking about his brand project. So I'm really interested in the future of my business, how you start to see talent, you know own their data, become the network. And I honestly I'm always looking at the future. I'm always going forward and I start to think about what's interesting to me next more than anything. But but I'm going to stay on founder for a second say you also but as a founder too, you had to find investors. Oh yes, I did. And so I need the try. So again, you've got a lot of founders in the room. So any advice on when you're pitching А не концепт та ноб's ever done before. And you know it's a big opportunity. I mean how do you don't don't listen maybe to what they say. You know, I had come from a background where I wasn't an apparel person, I wasn't a founder for the audience that I went out to, right? When you have an agency, you're not necessarily who people are looking at. to give millions of dollars to start a new brand that they have no experience. But I had a very strong instinctive feeling about what was needed and where the industry and the business was going. And that came from a personal need. And I was very, very clear about that. And I think all I could say is You know, I have a rule that's I don't take investors that I don't I wouldn't want to have a drink with, that I don't want to spend time with, because you end up in these relationships that are really complex. Um they hopefully go on for years and years and years. And I did it all wrong the First and second time around. I'd love to say I learned the first time, but I didn't. And so I think that I'm at that point now where once you've had a little bit of success, you can be a little bit more choosy, but I do just keep that simple rule and I think about that for everyone I come across, right? If you work with me or for me, if you're coming into one of my companies, you need to understand. understand you need to be along for the ride and the mission and you really need to believe in what it is that I want to do. And so I think it's been a good rule for me. Because you're also a partner. You've got a portfolio of businesses. You have a tremendous amount of partners and I read somewhere where You as a partner by authenticity. And so not dissimilar as you're talking about investors, but is there any other unique attributes you look in? For partners. I honestly I think about people that want to go on a journey because what I've learned is that nothing that I've done has had a quick result. It looks like that and it may appear that way if you, you know, look at Instagram or whatever, but I think that I choose my partners very carefully and I also choose my partners based on my own weaknesses. And I think that's the same way I think about building teams. I'm very acutely aware of where I'm good and I think, you know, I spend an enormous amount of my time hiring because I know that Bringing the right people into the right culture is what building a business is all about. And nothing happens on your own. You know, I get called like self-made all the time and I think God I'm not self-made, because if you knew the hundreds of people that work around me every single day. So I think about investors, partners, team building, all as the same. And I and I say that because I really do think the most important part of my role, aside from thinking about product development and innovation, is really like honing in on who are the right people that I'm gonna do this with and who do I want to spend that amount of time with, quite honestly, because you've got to be in it for the long run. Yeah, absolutely. Well, and I think that's why, you know, in the press they call you a savvy investor. And uh no, but I love that. And I love the fact that you've been a founder. You've got a tremendous amount of partners. But now you're investing. And you've always invested a little, but I'm sure at your scale now, you're making some big bets. And I think you know, when you you have an ethos. Yeah, and so take us on the journey just a little bit from an investor standpoint. On kinda how you looked at it when you started out, and now at this stage. How do you think of investing and what's important to you? Well, you know, when you start out, your deal flow's bad, right? So people would come to me and I had a little bit of money and I would just, you know, do that gut instinct thing. I think the Further I've gone on in my career and my entrepreneurial journey as a black woman, specifically in this country, because I came here just, I'm English and I came here seven years ago, there is this sense of responsibility about leaving the door open, right, and about investing in people that might not otherwise get the opportunity. I left school when I was 15. I'm not on paper someone that is, you know, worth taking a bet of the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars. And so there's a part of me that has a sense of responsibility about who fits the mould of people that make sense for me to invest in. Um but also, you know, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't as opportunistic as anyone. I try to do What I know, but I've done a lot of things that I Feel a sense of like If not me, then who? And that really is my guiding principle. And you're incredibly instinctual though. Yes. Yeah, I mean I think in everything you do, where does that come from? And how do you how do you hone that? I don't know, I think that comes from the streets, you know. I don't know what else to say, but you know, when you grow up in East London and you grow up how I did, you you get this sense of instincts by just trying to keep yourself Like safe and ready, right? And there's a part of you that is always looking for opportunities and always looking to take advantage of a situation. And and I don't think that that is different from how I think about things today. Maybe I've um you know, I've molded that a little bit into trying to solve problems and specifically like women's relate women's related issues. But at the end of the day I get a hunch, I get a feeling, I catch a vibe, and I go for what I think is gonna be right. Incredible. And is that how the fifteen percent pledge came about? Well you know, I'd I'd love to I'd love to take it. Tell them what it is first. Well the fifteen percent pledge is a social justice initiative and it was actually started by a who became a dear friend of mine, um a girl called Aurora James. And it was essentially in the we love Aurora, everybody loves Aurora. Um but it was essentially started in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. When so many brands and so many people and so many prominent individuals were coming to pretty much Anyone who was black and in a position of power saying, What should I do? You know, how can we help? And Aurora's point of view was you can help in a really meaningful way. You can actually put your money where your mouth is, and the premise of it is that Black people make up about fifteen percent of the population of this country. And we're asking brand and retailers all over the country to dedicate fifteen percent of their annual spends towards black owned brands. And really at the root of that, it's about demystifying the idea of who gets to be successful, who gets to have a business. Because half the time, you know, and I really I really believe this in my core. Institutions, brands are not racist, right? It's just what do they know? What are those buying and merchandise departments come in contact with? Who do they know? Where do they find their ideas? And so what we're doing is saying that, you know, black brands aren't just for black people. In fact, if you make it a more amazing lotion, then anybody can use that. And so the idea is about really thinking about how you usher in newness, how you can create, you know, new businesses in places that are maybe a little bit stale and not thinking about in that right way. And I think that pretty much anyone can get behind the idea of supporting small American businesses. And at the heart of the pledge, that's what we're doing every single day. Amazing. But you know, you also have some of the most incredible minds in this room and founders and visionaries, et cetera. So um How can they help? You know, there's so many ways that you can help. And I think that in this moment in time when D E and I is like a dirty word, um or a dirty bunch of words. I think it's really about thinking what kind of world do we want to live in and how do we make incredible companies that we can be proud of. And I think at this point in my career, of course, I'm obsessed with making amazing companies, and amazing companies are made of amazing profits. But they're also made of doing things that whether the time is right, you know the notion is right. And so I am obsessed with bringing people on this journey. And I think that one of the things that I've seen, we've created a$14 billion pipeline of opportunity for Brack-Own brands in this country. But the other side of things that we've done is created amazing profit And revenue streams for all of these businesses that have taken the pledge. So to me, it's just a great business proposition. It's like, how do you do more? How do you better serve your customer? And and that's what this is all about. This is about infiltrating customers and communities that perhaps are overlooked and I think it just makes so much sense. So we want more and more bl brands to take the pledge. And I've been so happy with the results and the impact because you know the pledge has been going for what? Three and a half, like nearly four years now, and they're at seven hundred and fifty brands on the shelves of Sephora and Nordstrom and Macy's and Bloomingdales and everywhere else that just weren't there before. So when you see that impact, when you see a founder that's able to build a business, create an infrastructure, employ people, put their kids through school, you know, that to me is what This is all about. It's about taking what you know and taking your power and taking something that you do uniquely well and being able to say, Okay, let's like pay this idea forward. And if it's a business proposition, it's just a win win all round. Absolutely. Well, and I think what you're sharing with a lot of founders and people in businesses, I've always said the same thing, you know, the focus is always on the PO. And it is and why can't it be why shouldn't there be a P and I? Why shouldn't we focus on the people and the impact they're making first? Because that's really what drives the PS. Yes, it does. And so I think that You know the challenge is as they're running and starting business is what is there You know, you what is I I call her a social visionary because who comes up with that and and fourteen billion later. No, but it's absolutely incredible. So using your instincts and all of the things we just talked about, but I just think that in the future. It is a company's responsibility, and the larger the company, the larger the responsibility. A hundred percent, just like us as individuals, right? Absolutely. So is there any since you are such a savvy investor. Is there Anything any sectors, any Any areas that you're looking at now that excite you? You know what I'm obsessed with right now is women's sports. Like that's all I can think about. Obsessed. But you know, I think about what I can do, you know, I always think about there being a time and a moment in culture when There are things that customers are willing to accept, right? And we just happen to be at this incredible infliction point for women's sports. I've been watching women's sports for years. I live around the corner from the, you know, UCLA campus, and so women's basketball is a big thing. I take my kids. But again, it's about like when is what you do? ready to be accepted. And so I I love this idea of like timing and culture aligning beautifully with what it happens, what I happen to be good at. And so that that's a space that I'm interested in. Amazing. Any others? No well I mean listen, I don't do what I don't know. I'm not here for AI because like it's that's not my space. I'll I'll let like other people in the room do it and I'll catch on like too late, you know. Do what do what you know, let's be fair. And then again, because you are a founder and a partner and a investor and a social visionary. How do you think and I would also argue that you're probably an incredible marketer. So again, it's a very important part when you're launching a business and you're scaling a business. How do you think of marketing in this day and age? Well, you know, I think I I am a marketer first and foremost, right? That's what I know, that's what I understand, that's why I've built the businesses that I have. And what I can tell you is that whatever worked last year is not working now. That's for sure. Right. It's like there's no arbitrage in social media anymore. And I think for a long time I built these very Digitally native businesses that relied on, you know, whether it was Facebook in the beginning and then moving on to Instagram and then TikTok for like twenty five seconds. That time is over. It's done. Um and the only thing that we can guarantee is that meeting customers where they're at, having a business that solves a real problem and serves a real purpose. That's the only continued way that you can connect with customers. And when I think about the things that have really shifted my business, it's the initiatives, frankly, that I didn't think about. Becoming B Corp certified was a turning point in Good America. And and honestly, I'd love to sit here and say I thought it was a really important initiative. I didn't. It was a cost nightmare and a time suck. It was like a complete that I I just thought, what a distraction for a business that's two years old. However, my team really understood the importance of it, and it did two things. Number one, becoming B Corp certified taught me a lot, but for that group of team members that really spearheaded the movement. You know, they are probably the most loyal group of people that I've had in any company I've ever started, but they're the ones that are the boundary pushers and they're coming up with everything that is driving the company forward. And then you look at the customers, because that team those team members were smart enough to bring customers and the community along on the journey, what happened is that we created this like cohort of customers. I mean they literally have their own data segment in my business. It's like the like we call them the the bee call bees. And it's so crazy what happened within those two things that you ended up with this unbelievable team mentality and this group of customers that valued it so beyond anything else that it became the reason to come into this brand and make that choice over that one. And so it's not always the things that you think that are really going to move the needle. And from a marketing point of view, we didn't we never thought about B Corp in that way. It was like how can we clean up what is otherwise a very dirty pollution inducing business. But it was something that actually I look at it now and it future proofed our business in so many ways. And so it's something that I feel very proud about. Yeah, absolutely incredible. So Final question. You've started all these digital native businesses. But you have a pledge. That says get fifteen percent on the shelf. So how do you think about physical retail in the future? Oh, I am I mean I'm the most physical. I'm opening about a store a month at the moment. And that is really doing so much for our businesses because people are craving in real life experience, they're craving community and when you ultimately are in the business that I am, which is apparel, right? Whether however you want to dress it up. People want to touch and they want to feel, but more than that, they want the in person interaction. And I'm so happy that we didn't think about retail as an afterthought, right? There is so much value to traditional bricks and mortar. There's so much value actually to partners in wholesale. And so I think that anyone starting a business to feel like you know in the beginning you have to be so focused in one lane actually ends up you know, stopping you a little bit, right? I just say go like go into the channels that make most sense for your customers and customers are everywhere. If you ignore anything it will it will really stifle your growth. So I'm happy that I didn't do that. So listen to your customers when it keeps it. You have to catch a customer where they are, and if that happens to be because they're in Nordstrom shopping for something else and they happen across your brand, then be there. Right, don't be a snob about it, because I don't think that's how customers think and it's not how they discover. And yeah, I mean that is what has worked. That is what has given me the value and the valuations, quite frankly, that those companies have today. Yeah, well, you're incredibly dynamic, you're agile, you're flexible, you your instincts, you look forward. But Any other advice. You know, I Uh. It's so funny because I always get asked for advice and I get asked for like leadership ethos and I feel like, you know, as a sixteen year old school leaver, for me to give this room advice feels like wah wah. You know, it's like I missed that day at school, sorry. Um I uh It's the truth. I think what I know to be true is that As a person that has teams of hundreds and hundreds of people, what do people really want, right? And we're in a time when it's very difficult to Tell the truth. It's very difficult. Like we talk about authenticity a lot and and I don't know that that is where the world is at right now. It certainly doesn't feel that way to me. Um what I try to do is tell the truth. And what I try to do is be really honest about my expectations, what I need from people, where we're going. And that seems so basic, but it's really served me incredibly well. And that means that you know when people want to come to work three days a week, that's cool, but that's just not for me. That's not the business that I run. It means that when people need to see themselves in a certain way, like I'm you're gonna get the truth and honesty from me. And it also means that you know we're going on a journey together and I'm going to be very open and sharing about what that means. And I think as a founder, just being Who you are and being incredibly honest as just served me really well. And it isn't really made for corporate America. It isn't what my HR and people department like the most about me, quite honestly. Shut up, don't say that. And I'm like, Yeah, but you know, and I and I do think it's what's drawn people to me. I do think it's what's enabled me to hire like the best in class people. It's very straightforward, you get what you see and nobody is In the dark ever. And I think about you know companies we talk about transparency, we talk about authenticity, it's like just tell the truth and you'll never get in trouble. Incredible. Thank you. Still ahead a conversation between Angela and the iconic investor Melody Hobson. They discuss Melody's mission to improve financial literacy for young people. The importance of DEI efforts. And more. Hey listeners, Bob here. If you listen to Rapid Response on Masters of Scale, you may be missing half the show. Because every Friday we release a second rapid response exclusively in the Rapid Response feed. The guests and topics are just as compelling and timely from Ford CEO to NASA's administrator to the lessons from The Devil Wears Prada. It takes about 10 seconds to find, just search rapid response wherever you listen to podcasts and hit follow to make sure you never miss an episode. I hope to see you there. Humans will never be more intelligent than AI. There's gonna be two types of companies. Those are great at AI and those that went out of business because they weren't. How do we build a future? That is human centered. I'm Rana El Calyubi. And on my podcast Pioneers of AI, we answer that question and so many more. As an AI scientist, entrepreneur, and investor, I know what it takes to build AI that works for everyone. Every week, I sit down with the pioneers shaping our future. And we take you behind the scenes of the AI that's transforming our lives. Find pioneers of AI wherever you tune in. Welcome back to Masters of Scale. You can find these and all the other incredible conversations from the Masters of Scale summit. on our YouTube channel. Next up Angela Arnes sits down with Melby Hobson. Meldy is the co CEO and president of Ariel Investments. She's also been a prominent presence on boards for companies like JP Morgan Chase and Starbucks. Her latest project is a children's book. Priceless facts about money. Melody. Your investment firm is called Ariel. And you co founded the Aerial Community Academy on Chicago's. South side. And you've said that your most important investment is empowering youth in underserved communities through financial education. And you've been involved in financial literacy and curriculum for many years. Тудей виселебратню з бук Прис Факс Аба Міні. So first off, huge congratulations. I learned a lot. I know it's for kids, but I I learned a lot. It's incredible. So What are your earliest Memories. Of money. And what stories from your own life did you draw from? For priceless facts about money. The goal of the book is actually, and I've heard this from a lot of people, I'm using children as a gateway. Yeah. I'm hoping that adults are reading this book to kids and actually learning the things that they wouldn't know. Because I literally spent four years researching this. I started working on it during COVID because I decided I was so affected by the fact that we are, as a society, not really financially literate, and I wasn't going to keep, as we say at Ariel, admiring the problem. I was going to do something about it. What is my first memory of money, and I tell people this money was a constant conversation in my family because we did not have any. And so it was a source of grey anxiety. and stress. А реммер, реммер май ферк. Which was seeing it on the wall at the grocery store where my mom had bounced a check and our name. And everything was on the check, and I remember standing at the counter thinking everyone in the store knows that that's us. And I felt such shame and embarrassment. And in general, because we used to get evicted, our phone used to get disconnected, our we would hide our car. To keep it from getting repossessed. And so because of those things having happened to me, I felt all this shame. And as a child, my husband says this, you have no advanced reasoning skills as a child. You don't know when something will be over, you cannot control any outcome. And so I became really burdened with this concept of money. So I don't think it's an accident. I work in the financial services industry. Because as a child, I was desperate to understand money. Have a lot, understand it. And I said if I have the knowledge, I can live a better life and not repeat the cycle that I find myself in, and that my family finds itself in. So the the the the real purpose of my life. was anchored in the depravity that I often felt as a child, which ultimately, even though it didn't feel like it at the time, became this amazing gift. And that is r the reason why I'm so Passionate. About this idea of spreading the concepts because I think if if it could take the burden off of children, young people, even adults, that they knew more know more and can make better decisions that have that can be a real multiplier and quite powerful. Mm-hmm. And you're around a lot of young people. What do you see firsthand? With them not understanding money. And how have you helped demystify it for your young daughter? We are, as I said, I'm not saying this just to be critical, it's just a fact. As a nation, we're financially illiterate. Only twenty five states in the United States actually mandate financial literacy in school, and often it's not what you think of. I don't think. Reading a utility bill is financially literate, helpful, but I'd rather we be learning about the Dow, the NASDAQ, the SP, the power of compounding, what is inflation. I could go on and on and these concepts can be taught starting at a very young age. In my book, I have this idea of barter. You know, they say you how do you teach a three year old about money? A five year old. I said, teach them value. How do you teach them value? Say to a three or five year old, do you want a cupcake or Barbie? And they start to assess value, like which one is more valuable to me, which one do I want in the moment, which one do I want to think about, I'll have the Barbie forever, but I'll eat the cupcake. You want that kind of thought processes happening with a small child. And so I would say to you that I've seen time and time again. The fact that we are not a financially literate society, we have tremendous anxiety about money. Seventy seven percent of Americans say they feel anxious when it comes to money. That's all people, that's people of means, that's people without means. This subject is Incredibly important because all of our money habits are learned from our parents. So if you are not great on this subject, I can tell you you are subconsciously passing it on to your child. The other thing is the whole concept of money, especially for children, is quite mysterious in our current modern day. And what I mean by that is Today's children see money Bing spit out of a machine. At an ATM. Or they see A phone Or a piece of plastic as a mien's of payment. Versus when I grew up my mother tended to use cash. So because we don't have that. Finality to something that's in your wallet that runs out. Children start to say things to their parents, and many of you maybe have even heard this, when the parent says we can't afford this, they say, put it on a credit card. So they don't actually understand the caus and ефект. I'll give the last example. We're at McDonald's, we're going through the drive-thru. She got an order of French fries. And they said it's whatever it is with tax, and my daughter looks at me and she says, What is tax? We did tax on the entire car ride. First of all, she was appalled that we work three or four months a year without any income. And she's like, Literally, they don't pay you. I said no, they pay us, but if you added it all up. Now we know some of us it's even more, but I said, you know, you work and you give this, what happens to the tax? Explaining all these things. Amazing. Well I'm gonna pull us back. When you talk about scaling financial literacy. And what's at stake if we don't? What can we do to help? So let's start off with the fact that every dollar of this is donated. This is not benefiting me personally in any way. So that's not where my energy is coming from at all. I just want to make that clear. I just want kids to have the knowledge, and I actually want adults to have the knowledge too. So my goal is that you will see this book and you will say to yourself, Let me think about every niece, nephew, or young person that I know, friend, family friends, et cetera, that I should give this to that maybe it also will help the parent. Then I would hope that you would think about we had one person in New York, they bought the book for every library in the city of New York. They gave two copies to every branch of New York Public Library, which is a great idea because libraries can't just buy books on the budgets that they have right now. Then I've had a lot of people talk about that they would buy the book for their Child school I can't for some reason buy it for my own child's code or give it to them because my child is too embarrassed. So she's gonna I gave that to the library. I told her I was like, we're gonna give the book to every kid. She was like No. Um, she's like, You're not doing that. So I get it, she's eleven, her name's in the book, the whole thing. She was like, No, but it's in the library. So giving the book even to the school library, I think is very important. The other idea, the state of Maine bought the book for every elementary school student in the state. Wow. 13,000 bucks. Wow. Every single elementary school. So just think in Maine it's thirteen thousand books. It's actually doable. Let's step away for a second from like dollars and cents. And um You've also been incredibly committed. to breaking down barriers. by prioritizing diversity and inclusion. As an investment strategy. And you've also been a staunch advocate of diversity on boards, so Thank you. But But we've all been reading that some corporations are rolling back or pulling out of their DEI commitments. And why do you think this is? And where do we go from here? I think the black hats have been very effective. They've scared people legally. So it started with Harvard. I really do think that that had a A chilling effect on diversity. In the country, they went to an elite institution and they argued a case that ultimately they won. We can all agree or disagree on what the merits of that case were, but I will tell you I went to Princeton and I do believe I was a beneficiary of affirmative action, and I think that is better for society than I am in the seat that I am today. So I am unapologetic about it. And I think if it hadn't existed, I wouldn't have had the same shot to go to that school, and going to that school opened a lot of doors for me after I left there. And that's just A fact. And so what I would say is right now there is There's this sense that it is a zero sum game in this society that if someone's winning, someone else is losing. I do not prescribe to that. Our s economy and our society has been built on the fact that the pie keeps getting bigger. And the greatness of America is that you had this middle class and others who could share in that over time. Though sometimes I do believe, and I'm not saying we are perfect in any way, I think there needs to be more opportunity for people of color and women. I am a hundred percent Convinced of it because I am in the rooms where we are not. And so Even though think what people think we're taking over. After you have one black president. We're not. Нсо, бизнес ефер ту ролбак. Because the legal argument has gotten people nervous, you have general counsels and others saying we have to be careful or You have people who actually agree. and it's just convenient for them. So I think s those of us who are in roles where we can continue to push and explain. Every piece of data shows that diversity helps outcomes. Every piece of data, if you have like-minded people around you, you will not have barrier breaking ideas. You want innovation to come from different thoughts, different backgrounds, different genders, sexual orientations, et cetera. In order to be bold and audacious, and unfortunately. Some people do not agree with that. But I also think that we all have a role to play. And I will tell you Бест Те ток ав е вот листа і май. Is hers from ten years ago. And it's called Color Blind or Color Brave. And I'm telling you, spread it to everybody you know, and maybe that'll help. Thank you. You are absolutely priceless, and we are so grateful. Thank you, thank you for having me. Thank you. I'm so grateful to both Emma Greed and Melie Hobson for sharing their wisdom with us at the Masters of Scale Summit, and to Angela Arnes for leading these conversations. To find out how you can attend our 2025 summit, Meet unbelievable leaders like Emma, Melody, Angela, and others, and perhaps have your mind absolutely blown. Go to masters of scale dot com slash summit. Masters of Scales await what original. Our executive producer is Eve Tro. Our senior producer is Trisha Bobida. The production team includes Tucker Legurski, Masha Makatanina, Brandon Klein, Timothy Lou Lee. Our senior talent executive is Stephanie Stern. Mixing and Mastering by Aaron Bastanelli and Brian Pew. Original music by Ryan Holiday. Our head of podcasts is the tall Malad. Special thanks to Jay Punjabi, Jodine Dorsay, and the entire Masters of Scale summit team. Visit mastersofscale.com to find the transcript for this episode and to subscribe to our newsletter.