Like many people today, I am often kept awake at night by the enormous challenges that our world is facing, including climate change, the rampant increase in dehumanizing hateful discourse, and global threats to democracy and freedom. As a business leader, I feel a responsibility and urgency to ensure that I am doing my small part to try to build a better future through my work.
When it comes to harnessing free market forces to improve our world, I'm all for it. In 1989, I stumbled upon an idea in my college thesis for using business to bring neighbors in conflict regions together. In 1993, I launched PeaceWorks, which produced food products, like tapenades and spreads, using raw ingredients procured through trading across so-called enemy borders. Turks, Jordanians, Egyptians, Palestinians, and Israelis shared in the profits of their collaborative efforts, incentivizing them to cooperate, and through that process, to discover one another’s shared humanity.
