Contributed by HOPE Volunteer Tiana Allen
Tuesday December 12th 2023
HOPE Global Forums Day 3
The 3rd and final day of the HOPE Global Forums on December 12th 2023 was packed with conversations from CEOs of some of the most influential companies in the realm of online business, sports and travel. Chairman John Hope Bryant shared the stage with Alex Rodríguez of the A-Rod Corporation, baseball hall of famer “Mr. October” Reggie Jackson; NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell; entertainer and businessman, T.I. “Tip” Harris; co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky; founder and CEO of Shopify, Tobi Lütke, and more.
Today’s meeting took a more humanistic approach. Its theme, “perseverance.”
“I know where my blessings come from” shares TI “Tip” Harris. Can’t nobody take what God gave me. Whatever happens, God has already given us the tools we need to get through it.”
Baseball Hall of Famer, Reggie Jackson took the stage and reflects on the challenges he’s overcome while being a Black athlete in the 70s and 80s; even surviving a near fatal car theft attempt. Despite these unfavorable moments, Jackson compares his success to the game that created the winning streak in a season of his life that gave him the signature name “Mr. October.” “I know it’s a home run from the time I hear the click of the ball touching the bat” he states. Regarding overcoming, Jackson left the audience with an important piece of spiritual advice “you have to do the right thing by your community, it’s what God wants us to do.”
The day continued with more HOPE filled nuggets as the CEO of Pfizer Albert Bourla shares story of how his mother survived the Holocaust as a teenager. “Typically survivors don’t discuss the horrors they’ve lived through, he stated. “It’s something they’d never forget, but my mother talked” he shared. ‘She is a survivor and was saved to have our family,’ it was my family who saved me.”
The need to continue to build community became a second topic of discussion as baseball legend Alex Rodriguez talks about the responsibility people of color have in predominately white spaces. “I’m the only man of color in the room” he expresses. It’s something that I take very seriously.” Rodriguez also has a moment of transparency with the audience as he recalls seeing food stamps for the first time as a child. “My mother’s rent was $550 a month and we had a hard time paying that. I prayed that God would use me to one day be able to help my mother [financially]” he notes.
“What people are missing is community” adds Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. “We need more than social media activism, we need people to be active in person. The biggest issue is loneliness and I want to go much bigger than just monetizing your home through our platform. I want to innovate an actual sense of community.”
The day ended with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky showcasing his sense of community by staying after the interview to shake hands and take selfies with the audience. This act of kindness revealed the personhood behind the brand. It also breathes life into Ambassador Andrew Young note where he states “Life is a struggle of good and evil. Good always prevails, eventually.”