Tim Cook to Sergey Brin, top bosses who refused to bow down to Trump

President Donald Trump’s executive order banning people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from travelling to the US temporarily has drawn sharp reactions from corporate America. From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, business leaders have denounced the order.

While some like Drew Houston (CEO, Dropbox), Reed Hastings (CEO, Netflix) and Alexis Ohanian (co-founder, Reddit) have called it “un-American”, others like Sergey Brin (President, Alphabet) and Martin Sorrell (CEO, WPP) have harked back to their own immigrant roots.

In emails, memos, tweets, blog posts, media interviews or at protest rallies, these leaders have spoken out:

SERGEY BRIN

President, Alphabet

“So many people have been outraged by this order. As am I, being an immigrant and a refugee. I came here to the US at the age of six with my family from the Soviet Union, which was, at the time, the greatest enemy the US had. It was the period of the Cold War and there was the threat of nuclear annihilation. And yet, even then the US had the courage to take me and my family in as refugees.”

HOWARD SCHULTZ

Chairman, Starbucks


(Image: AFP)

“We are in business to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one person, one cup and one neighbourhood at a time – whether that neighbourhood is in a Red State or a Blue State; a Christian country or a Muslim country; a divided nation or a united nation.”

MARTIN SORRELL

CEO, WPP


(Image: Reuters)

“As the grandson of Eastern European grandparents, who were admitted to the UK in the very late 19th and early 20th centuries, I have an instinctive dislike of such measures.”

LLOYD BLANKFEIN

CEO, Goldman Sachs

“For us to be successful, our men and women must reflect the diversity of the communities and cultures in which we operate. That means we must attract, retain and motivate people from many backgrounds and perspectives. Being diverse is not optional; it is what we must be.”

TIM COOK

CEO, Apple


(Image: AP)

“Apple is open. Open to everyone, no matter where they come from, which language they speak, who they love or how they worship… In the words of Dr Martin Luther King, ‘We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now’.”

SAM ALTMAN

President, Y Combinator


(Image: BCCL)

“We are now at the stage where something is starting that is going to be taught in history classes, and not in a good way. This morning, Kellyanne Conway posted on Twitter that Trump is ‘a man of action’ who is ‘just getting started’. I believe her. We must now start speaking up.”