Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose Remembers Organization's First Executive Director, Charles Hewes Moore, Jr.
Olympic gold and silver medalist laid the foundation for a robust coalition of leaders committed to a better world through business
NEW YORK, October 14, 2020 /3BL Media/—Twenty years ago, Charles Hewes Moore, Jr., who passed away on October 8, 2020 in Laporte, Pennsylvania, was hand-picked by Paul Newman, actor, and philanthropist; Peter Malkin, current Chairman Emeritus of Empire State Realty Trust; David Rockefeller, then Chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank; Paul A. Volcker, Jr., former Chair of the Federal Reserve; and John C. Whitehead then Co-Chairman of Goldman Sachs, to be the first Executive Director of Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP).
Moore served CECP for 15 years, growing the coalition and instituting many critical programs. Moore was the spark behind CECP’s annual Giving in NumbersTM survey and what has become the CEO Investor Forum. Perhaps Moore’s most important achievement, in addition to fundraising, was recruiting successive CEOs to join the coalition, which has today grown stronger than ever today to 200+ of the world’s leading CEOs and companies, representing $11.2 trillion in revenues, $23 billion in total community investments, 14 million employees, 30 million hours of employee engagement, and $21 trillion in assets under management.
Moore was engaged with CECP long after he retired; he was a constant presence at CECP Summits and Board of Boards and celebrated CECP’s 20th anniversary in the spring of 2019. He is the name behind CECP’s annual corporate leader award, the Charles H. Moore Award for Leadership in Corporate Community Engagement, with honorees most recently including Lata Reddy, Senior Vice President, Inclusive Solutions, Prudential Financial and Chair of The Prudential Foundation; Shannon Schuyler, Chief Purpose and Inclusion Officer, PwC US; and Heather Nesle, President of the New York Life Foundation and Vice President of New York Life.
Moore’s early successes began as star on the U.S. track and field team. Throughout his running career, Moore never lost a 400-meter or 440-yard hurdle race. In the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki, Moore won a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles while setting the Olympic record in that event. In the same Olympic Games, he ran the third leg of the 4x400-meter relay race for the American team, which won the silver medal. Later in life, Moore served in several capacities on the U.S. Olympic Committee and was a member of the President’s Council on Fitness and Sports. In 1999, he was inducted into the U.S. National Track and Field Hall of Fame. He was also an inaugural member of the Cornell University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Moore was CEO of many successful multinational businesses and was the author of Running on Purpose: Winning Olympic Gold, Advancing Corporate Leadership, and Creating Sustainable Value. He was recently featured in a piece in Forbes about his legacy.
“Charlie’s passionate pursuit of excellence was his hallmark. Whether it was his spirited sense of family; his pursuit of Olympic Gold; his partnering with Paul Newman, Peter Malkin, John Whitehead, and others to bring into being CECP; or his constant championing of business as a force for good in society, Charlie was ‘all in’”, said Doug Conant, Founder and CEO, ConantLeadership; former CEO, Campbell Soup Company; former Chairman, Avon Products; and Chairman, CECP. “We at CECP will keep Charlie’s spirit alive in all of our efforts going forward.”
“Charlie is a powerful example of a life lived with intention, purpose, and kindness,” said Daryl Brewster, CEO, CECP. “He was an inspiration to me and a model for us all. He will be missed deeply but certainly not forgotten. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Judith and his family.”
ABOUT CHIEF EXECUTIVES FOR CORPORATE PURPOSE (CECP)
Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose® (CECP) is a CEO-led coalition that believes that a company’s social strategy—how it engages with key stakeholders including employees, communities, investors, and customers—determines company success. Founded in 1999 by actor and philanthropist Paul Newman and other business leaders to create a better world through business, CECP has grown to a movement of more than 200 of the world’s largest companies that represent $11.2 trillion in revenues, $23 billion in total community investments, 14 million employees, 30 million hours of employee engagement, and $21 trillion in assets under management. CECP helps companies transform their social strategy by providing customized connections and networking, counsel and support, benchmarking and trends, and awareness building and recognition. For more information, visit cecp.co.
