Open Letter: The Business Community Stands with Democracy in Ukraine

           March 18, 2022 

OPEN LETTER:

THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY STANDS WITH DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE

 In response to the unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Russia, American business leaders are standing up to defend democracy and support tough sanctions against the Russian Federation.

The American business community has made it clear that a strong economy can only be built with the foundation of a healthy democracy, both at home and abroad. A recent survey by Morning Consult showed that 85 percent of business leaders believe a strong American economy depends on a well-functioning democracy, because we know that our economy cannot flourish and grow without the assurance of stable democratic institutions.

American democracy is the foundation of global economic stability. And when democracy is attacked, the United States stands with our international partners to defend democracy and economic prosperity across the globe. Now, we must be leaders to hold Russia accountable for its destabilizing, anti-democratic war in Ukraine.

That is why, as leaders in the business community, we are committing ourselves to standing for democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. These values promote prosperity, economic growth, and human flourishing. Together:

1.    We support the historically strong sanctions against the Russian Federation, including sanctions on their financial sector, the removal of Russian banks from the SWIFT banking system, and against the Russian Central Bank. The economic repercussions of not holding Russia fully accountable and allowing democracy to be threatened globally will be far worse than any short-term cost of sanctions. If Russia is allowed to continue unchecked, we fear further global instability which would only further disrupt international trade.

2.     We commit to examine ways in which we can use private sector levers to support the people of Ukraine including providing humanitarian assistance, as many companies have already begun to do.

3.    We support taking steps to examine how corporate finances may flow through Russia and taking action to stop American dollars flowing to Russia.

We applaud the quick action and international leadership in imposing immediate sanctions against Russia following the invasion. America’s business community stands united in the fight for democracy and freedom everywhere.

Highlighted Signers

•       Stewart Bainum Jr., Chairman of the Board, Choice Hotels

•       Daniella Ballou-Aares, Co-Founder & CEO, Leadership Now project

•       Daryl Brewster, CEO, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose

•       Robert Burt, CEO, FMC Corp. (retired)

•       Rhett Buttle, Founder, Public Private Strategies

•       Carmen Castillo, Pres/CEO, SDI International Corp.

•       Ramiro A. Cavazos, President & CEO, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

•       Honorable Maria Contreras-Sweet, 24th Administrator, Small Business Administration

•       Mike Fernandez, MBF Healthcare Partners

•       Felice Gorordo, CEO of eMerge Americas

•       Bulbul Gupta, President & CEO, Pacific Community Ventures

•       Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

•       Danny Meyer, Union Square Hospitality Group

•       David Teten, Founder, Versatile VC

•       Chiling Tong, President & CEO, National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship

•       Martin Whittaker, CEO, JUST Capital

Business Organizations

•       Credit Union National Association

•       International Franchise Association

•       JUST Capital

•       Leadership Now Project

•       Minority Business RoundTable

•       National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship

•       National Association of Women Business Owners

•       NextGen Chamber of Commerce

•       Public Private Strategies

•       South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce

•       UpState New York Black Chamber of Commerce

•       Small Business for America's Future

•       Texas Border Coalition

•       United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Additional Business Leaders & Organizations

•       Basic American Foods

•       Bloomer Biotech Investment Advisors

•       Ceres

•       CF Creative

•      Chris Chan, Founder & CEO, 3C Strategies, LLC

•      Christine Chin Ryan, President Synergy Consulting, Inc.

•      Richard J Crespín, CEO, CollaborateUp

•       DotAlign

•       DSM North America

•       KD7 Enterprises Inc.

•       Phillip Jones, Bain

•       Miranda Consulting

•       MitchMar Events and Meetings

•       Pioneer1890

•       The Reddix Group, LLC

•       Richard Robbins, CEO, Upper West Strategies

•       Shine, Inc.

•       Telepathic

•       Underground Group, LLC

See the full letter in PDF form here.