So last week Pfizer's CEO divulged that the company and its industry has a credibility problem and issued a call for healthcare reform.
Yesterday ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva said basically the same thing about the oil industry, in a speech at the International Petroleum Week conference in London:
Nearly everyone agrees that renewable energy and lower carbon footprints are needed. But those here tonight realize that fossil fuels will remain essential for decades to come. Unfortunately, the public views oil companies as the people standing spread-eagled to cast shadows on solar panels. They don’t want to hear what we have to say. So our ability to influence public opinion and government policy is declining.
He went on to tell a joke:
It’s like the executive who was walking down the street when he saw a small child being attacked by a Rottweiller. Without hesitating, he grabbed the dog with his bare hands and wrestled it to the ground. After a life-and-death struggle, he subdued it and rescued the child. As he lay there bleeding, a passing journalist ran over to ask what happened. “What a story!’ he said when told the details. “Local hero saves child. By the way, what do you do?” “I’m an oil company CEO,” was the answer. And the next day the headline read, “Corporate fat cat strangles family pet.”
Like that fellow, we need to work harder at engaging shareholders.
The speech isn't as substantive as its Pfizer counterpart, but if another speech like this comes out next week, I think it'll be safe to start calling this a trend.
(Hat tip to New York Speechwriters Roundtable doyen Dana Rubin for the heads up.)