August/September 2022 Issue
by Eugene Sepulveda, Co-founder & CEO, Culturati
It’s 8:56am PST on Wednesday Sept 7 . . . I’ve been online since 3:20am PST receiving texts, alerts & updates on the Austin airport’s power outage (I chair the airport advisory board) . . . now back in the International Ballroom of The Beverly Hilton awaiting Kara Swisher and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, then CA governor, Gavin Newsom, Secr Pete Buttigieg, Preet Bharara, Robert Iger, John Doerr, Evan Spiegel and Tim Cook . . . just some of today’s speakers at Kara’s & Vox’s CODE Conference in Los Angeles.
Culture? What’s the point of my opening . . . at the airport, the culture Jacqueline Yaft (CEO) & team have built at ABIA allows us to manage passenger experiences during unexpected chaos and service interruptions so that passengers feel safe and resume their travel without additional inconveniences. Culture is always a differentiator — especially, during times of chaos when we rely more on learned behavior and expression of values.
NYU Professor of Finance, Aswath Damodaren spoke yesterday to one of the current controversies, the value of ESG. My takeaway from Prof Damodaren’s presentations and what I’ve been reading . . . it isn’t that ESG initiatives have failed or are’t valuable, it’s the scoring mechanisms which have failed. The scoring system is gamable, is gamed by Wall Street. Companies’ focus on doing what’s good for its people, communities, and our planet is good for their longterm business interests.
I was struck by Mathias Dopfner’s, CEO & Chairman of German media giant, Axel Springer, warnings yesterday. Mathias — when asked to consider parallels between politics in America with politics in Germany in the 1930s, declined to make direct comparisons but — warned that the signs for decline of democracy include denial of facts, erosion of the rule of law, decline of human rights, and the loss of trust in the roles of government institutions.
Bob Iger (former CEO & Chairman of Walt Disney Company) is speaking right now. I am looking forward to his new book on leadership. He’s been researching the commonalities of those leaders who did especially well during tough times, most recently during the COVID pandemic. He’s identified empathy & courage as critical factors and notes a leader must make decisions at a must faster pace during these times.
Lots & lots of takeaways from the conference . . . more to come.
Myste Wylde, Josh Jones-Dilworth and I have been meeting with partners, sponsors, Culturati Scholars, steering committee members and old friends . . . plans are underway for Culturati 2023.
We’re excited to be launching Culturati On Demand, our video library of past Culturati Summit and Culturati LIVE presentations and interviews. Myste has included more about this in her write up and the On Culture newsletter.
I’m getting back to the conference, more forthcoming . . . .
Eugene
Eugene Sepulveda is the co-founder & CEO of Culturati as well as the CEO of the Entrepreneurs Foundation, an advisor to Capital Factory and the Treasurer & a Sr. Advisor to Austin Mayor Steve Adler. Eugene’s long played at the intersection of business, politics, and community in Austin and nationally. He’s also serves on the advisory boards to the Austin Bergstrom International Airport, the McDonald Observatory & the Dell Medical School’s Neurology and NeuroSurgery Departments as well as their Center for Psychedelic Research & Therapy. He divides his time between Austin and Cat Spring, Texas and can be reached at Eugene@ABPorter.org
