Real Sustainability Is About People

Robert B Ford and Abbott are leading the charge for greater access to affordable healthcare technologies.
Oct 29, 2021 9:15 AM ET
headshot of  Robert B Ford, Abbott CEO
"Work and family are both important facets of a full life, so supporting our employees with benefits tailored to allow them to succeed in both is central to who we are," says Robert B Ford. (Photo: Abbott)

By Chris Benguhe  AND RaeAnne Marsh 

We honored Robert in May’s feature Family Matters: 10 CEOs Who Support Our Most Important Institution for his commitment to not only looking out for employees’ well-being at work but fostering an approach that recognizes and values the importance of their family life away from work.

This conversation, as with all our CEO Q and A’s, is just the beginning of our series of ongoing articles and interactions with Robert, and we look forward to his sharing more of his insights on how to do business right in today’s complicated and challenging environment where Social Capital is becoming more and more important.

Chris Benguhe: You’ve been an advocate of what we’re calling the Social Capital concept of a company being a force for good in the lives of its employees and customers and of society. Why do you think that is so important? How do you see its relevance even more so today?

Robert Ford: The interests of employees, customers and communities have always been closely tied to the success of any company. That's always been the case. What's different today is there's a greater recognition of the many ways that business can make an impact in people's lives around the world.

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