Raphael Stevens

The Panthers-Raiders game on Sunday marks the first time two female presidents will go head-to-head in professional football.
Carolina Panthers President Kristi Coleman and Las Vegas Raiders President Sandra Douglass Morgan are the only two female presidents out of the NFL’s 32 teams.
The NFL has made a big push in recent years to increase gender diversity among its ranks.

Las Vegas Raiders President Sandra Douglass Morgan & Carolina Panthers President, Kristi Coleman.
Getty Images (L) | AP (R)

When the Carolina Panthers take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, it will mark a historic first for the National Football League.
The game is the first time two female presidents will go head-to-head in professional football. The two executives represent a small, but growing class of women in the front office at the NFL, and they are the only two female presidents out of the league’s 32 teams.

“I’m really proud of this moment,” Carolina Panthers President Kristi Coleman told CNBC ahead of the game. “It shows you can be anything, as long as you do a good job.”

Carolina Panthers Owner David Tepper (C) and President Kristi Coleman listen to Dave Canales speak with the media during the Carolina Panthers Head Coach introduction at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Feb. 1, 2024.
David Jensen | Getty Images

Coleman, who has a finance background, was named team president of the Panthers in February 2022 after previously serving as vice president and chief financial officer of Tepper Sports & Entertainment. Hedge fund founder David Tepper owns the Panthers.
Sandra Douglass Morgan was named Raiders president by owner Mark Davis in July 2022 after more than two decades in the gaming, legal and corporate sector.
Douglass Morgan said the moment is not lost on her.
“We want to celebrate the fact that these are new groundbreaking moments, but at the same time, we’re doing our job, just like every other president in the league, and making sure that we’re handling the day-to-day business operations,” Douglass Morgan said.

The NFL has made a big push in recent years to increase gender diversity among its ranks.
Last year, women made up 42.5% of employees in the NFL League Office, an all-time high and “a significant improvement from a decade ago when only 29.3 percent of women held these positions,” according to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.
The league says it has 243 women in front office positions.
On the field, the numbers are also growing.
The NFL says 22 women currently hold full-time coaching positions in the NFL. The league says that is a record for any male professional sports league and an increase of 187% over the past five years.
As part of growing and developing that pipeline of women, the NFL holds an annual Women’s Forum. Since its inception in 2017, more than 400 women have gone through the program with upward of 250 opportunities emerging for women at all levels of football, according to the league.
Douglass Morgan said women’s interest in the NFL has been on the uptick for years and that hiring a more diverse employee base is critical to connecting with those new fans.
“As our fans become more diverse, I think our employee base should be as well,” she said.
As the league looks to flag football as another growth avenue for the sport, Coleman and Douglass Morgan say it is another pipeline for women to get involved in the game.
Today, the NFL’s flag football program has more than 700,000 participants and provides a pathway for women to play in college.

Sandra Douglass Morgan (L) and owner and managing general partner Mark Davis of the Las Vegas Raiders pose with a jersey after a news conference introducing Douglass Morgan as the new president of the Raiders, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on July 7, 2022.
Ethan Miller | Getty Images

Both Douglass Morgan and Coleman say their teams’ owners have gone above and beyond to make them feel welcome in the league.
“Mark Davis has always said, ‘Sandra, I don’t care if you’re white, Black, whatever, I hired you because you’re the best person for this job. You’re the best person to lead the Raiders,'” Douglass Morgan told CNBC.
To women looking to break into male-dominated sports leagues, both executives say be confident in your ability to learn new things and don’t be afraid to bet on yourself.
“You need to do your job, the job you have, and you need to do it well so people can picture you in the next job. And then I’d say, you need to be kind and also believe in yourself,” said Coleman.
“Don’t let them see you sweat,” Douglass Morgan said. “When you’re only two of 32, you know, we may be under more scrutiny because we are in the minority here. Make sure you have a good group of people around you to support you through any of the guaranteed challenges that are going to be in your way.”

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Nike CEO John Donahoe is retiring from his position and company veteran Elliott Hill is returning to take the top job.
Donahoe is slated to step down on Oct. 13 but will remain on as an advisor through the end of January.
Hill worked at Nike for 32 years before retiring in 2020.

John Donahoe, CEO of Nike, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., July 10, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters

Nike on Thursday announced that its CEO John Donahoe is stepping down and company veteran Elliott Hill is coming out of retirement to take the helm of the sneaker giant.
Donahoe, who has been Nike’s CEO since Jan. 2020, will retire from his position on Oct. 13. Hill is slated to take over on the following day. Donahoe will stay on as an advisor through the end of January.

Shares climbed 8% in extended trading Thursday. As of the close, shares are down more than 25% this year.
“I am excited to welcome Elliott back to Nike. Given our needs for the future, the past performance of the business, and after conducting a thoughtful succession process, the Board concluded it was clear Elliott’s global expertise, leadership style, and deep understanding of our industry and partners, paired with his passion for sport, our brands, products, consumers, athletes, and employees, make him the right person to lead Nike’s next stage of growth,” said Mark Parker, Nike’s executive chairman.
Nike is in the midst of a broader restructuring after it shifted its strategy to sell directly to consumers. Critics say in the process of building out sales at Nike’s own stores and website, it lost sight of innovation and failed to churn out the types of groundbreaking sneakers the company was known for.
In late June when it reported fiscal fourth quarter results, Nike warned that it was expected sales to drop 10% during its current quarter, citing soft demand in China and “uneven” consumer trends across the globe.
The outlook was far worse than the 3.2% decline that analysts had expected. 

Following the rough report, Nike had its worst trading day in history and some analysts speculated that Donahoe would soon be pushed out in favor of a new CEO. At the time, Nike co-founder Phil Knight said the company was standing by Donahoe’s side and the executive had his “unwavering confidence and full support.”
But on Thursday, Knight said in a statement that he is excited to welcome Hill back to the team.
“Leadership changes are never easy, they test you, they challenge you, but this transition has been handled with remarkable thoughtfulness and an unwavering commitment to Nike,” said Knight. “Looking forward, I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Elliott back to the team. His experience, understanding of Nike and leadership is exactly what’s needed at this moment. We’ve got a lot of work to do but I’m looking forward to seeing Nike back on its pace.”
In a statement, Donahoe said it “became clear that now was the time to make a leadership change.”
“Elliott is the right person. I look forward to seeing Nike and Elliott’s future successes,” he said.

Incoming NIKE, Inc. President & CEO Elliott Hill
Courtesy: Nike

Hill, who is currently based in Austin, started at Nike as an intern in the 1980s and first became interested in the company after writing a paper about it for his marketing class in graduate school, according to an interview he gave in 2020.
Over the course of 32 years, Hill worked his way up the chain before becoming president of the company’s consumer and marketplace division where he was resposible for leading all commercial and marketing operations for Nike and Jordan Brand. He was known to be well-liked among employees before retiring in 2020, people close to him told CNBC.
“Nike has always been a core part of who I am, and I’m ready to help lead it to an even brighter future,” Hill said in a statement. “I’m eager to reconnect with the many employees and trusted partners I’ve worked with over the years, and just as excited to build new, impactful relationships that will move us ahead. Together with our talented teams, I look forward to delivering bold, innovative products, that set us apart in the marketplace and captivate consumers for years to come.”
As Nike goes through its current rough patch, it’s trying to get back to the fundamentals that had long defined the business and made it the market leader in sneakers and athletic apparel. In contrast to Nike’s previous leaders, Donahoe was not a retailer and he’d previously helmed companies like eBay and the consulting firm Bain & Company. He was appointed in part for his digital chops so he could help lead Nike through its direct selling strategy, which involved building out robust e-commerce operations and data gathering efforts.
Under Donahoe’s tenure, Nike grew annual sales from $39.1 billion in fiscal 2019 to $51.4 billion in fiscal 2024. During Covid, online sales were booming and the strategy to transform Nike from a brand into a retailer seemed to be working — until the pandemic started to end. As Nike worked to cut off its wholesale partners, it paved the way for a slew of upstart competitors such as On Running and Hoka to take over that crucial shelf space and take market share.
Earlier this year, Donahoe acknowledged that Nike went too far in its efforts to move away from its wholesale partners and said the company was in the process of fixing it. In December, it also announced a broad restructuring plan to reduce costs by about $2 billion over the next three years. It later said it would shed 2% of its workforce, or more than 1,500 jobs, so it could invest in its growth areas, such as running, the women’s category and the Jordan brand.
Jessica Ramirez, senior research analyst at Jane Hali & Associates, said Hill’s appointment is a positive for Nike because of his deep understanding of the company’s culture, which she said is struggling from a morale slump.
“He is up against a tough environment in terms of morale at the company, rebuilding some of that culture that the company has lost,” said Ramirez. “He does have quite some work to do across various teams but I think that’s what needs to be the focus, its culture and therefore, enabling the ability to have better products and newness.” More

The Walt Disney Company will no longer use Slack for in-house company communication.
The company’s Slack server was hacked in July, leading to more than a terabyte of company data being leaked to the public.
Most of Disney’s business units will move away from Slack usage by the end Disney’s next fiscal quarter, according to a memo from Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston that was obtained by CNBC.

The Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse float passes by during the daily Festival of Fantasy Parade at the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World on May 31, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. 
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images

The Walt Disney Company will no longer use Slack for in-house company communication months after a hack that involved more than a terabyte of company data being leaked to the public.
The company had already begun to transition to a new internal “streamlined enterprise-wide collaboration tools,” but officially notified employees and cast members Thursday that most of its business units would move away from Slack usage by the end Disney’s next fiscal quarter, according to a memo from Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston that was obtained by CNBC.

Disney told investors in August that the summer data hack, which included a range of financial information, computer codes and details about unreleased projects, was not expected to have a material impact on the company’s operations or financial performance.
Representatives from Disney and Salesforce, the owner of Slack, did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
“Our security is rock-solid,” Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, said during an interview with Bloomberg at the company’s annual Dreamforce conference this week.
“Companies also have to take the right measure to prevent phishing attacks and to lockdown their employees’ social engineering,” he added. “So, we can do our part, but our customers also have to do their part.”
Benioff noted that Disney continues to use Salesforce products in other aspects of its business including its Disney store, Disney guides, sales and service operations and its call centers. More

Twenty civil rights organizations signed a letter calling for Fortune 1000 company CEOs and board members to defend diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Signers include the Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, GLSEN, National Urban League, National Women’s Law Center, PFLAG, SAGE, UnidosUS and others.
The letter comes after companies including Ford, Tractor Supply and Harley-Davidson curbed their DEI efforts.

Members of the National Action Network protest outside the office of hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman on January 04, 2024 in New York City. 
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Twenty civil rights organizations sent a letter Thursday to Fortune 1000 companies calling for them to recommit to diversity, equity and inclusion, after several major companies scaled back their efforts.
The call to action comes after businesses including Ford, Tractor Supply, and Brown-Forman announced plans to change or entirely end internal DEI initiatives.

“Abandoning DEI will have long-term consequences on business success,” the authors of the letter wrote. “Ultimately shirking fiduciary responsibility to employees, consumers, and shareholders.”
“These shortsighted decisions make our workplaces less safe and less inclusive for hard-working Americans,” the letter adds.
A range of corporations have curbed their DEI efforts, which picked up in 2020 after a national reckoning over racial injustice sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. Legal experts saw the Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling on affirmative action in higher education as a roadmap for targeting private corporations prioritizing employee, supplier and consumer diversity. While some right-wing activists have claimed credit for pressuring companies on social media into making the changes in recent weeks, several corporations have said changes have been in the works since March.
Rural retailer Tractor Supply started a trend specifically by severing ties with LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign, also known as HRC, which is among the letter’s signatories.
Several companies, including Molson Coors, Harley-Davidson, Ford and Lowe’s all followed suit. They said they will no longer provide data to the nonprofit’s Corporate Equality Index, a traditionally respected barometer for which companies best meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ community.

HRC President Kelley Robinson told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Sept. 12 that there’s a strong business case for diversity in the workplace.
“Consumers are two times more likely to want to buy from brands that support the community,” said Robinson. “This is bottom line the best thing to do for businesses, and that’s why I think that we’re seeing so much energy from employees, from consumers and from shareholders starting to push back on these decisions.”
She emphasized that LGBTQ+ consumers have $1.4 trillion of buying power, as reported by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Robinson called moving away from DEI the “wrong decision for business.”
The HRC responded to the companies that rolled back DEI commitments by cutting their Corporate Equality Index scores by 25 points.
On a 100-point scale, that deduction brings Brown-Forman, Lowe’s, Ford and Molson Coors from a perfect score of 100 to 75. Tractor Supply & John Deere fall from 95 to 70. And Harley-Davidson’s Corporate Equality Index score drops from 45 to 20.
The companies mentioned in this article did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In the letter to the Fortune 1000 companies, the civil rights groups argued pulling back from DEI not only hurts their standing with consumers, but also risks their ability to keep the most talented workforce possible.
“Businesses that fail to include women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people neglect their financial duty to recruit and retain top talent,” the letter read.
“We call on business leaders to speak out publicly, defending decades long, pro-business decisions to support inclusion.”
The full text of the letter and list of signatories is below.
Diversity, equity and inclusion programs, policies, and practices make business-sense and they’re broadly popular among the public, consumers, and employees. But a small, well-funded, and extreme group of right-wing activists is attempting to pressure companies into abandoning their DEI programs. 
Recently, some CEOs have caved and announced their company’s divestment from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.  
These capitulations weaken businesses and the American economy more broadly. And, these shortsighted decisions make our workplaces less safe and less inclusive for hard-working Americans. Meanwhile this exposes businesses to legal risk by increasing the likelihood of bias and discrimination within organizations.
Abandoning DEI will have long-term consequences on business success — ultimately shirking fiduciary responsibility to employees, consumers, and shareholders.  Businesses that fail to include women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people neglect their financial duty to recruit and retain top talent from across the full talent pool and limit their company’s performance overall. 
A survey of 1,039 companies with at least $15 billion in annual revenue showed that companies at the top quartile for both gender and ethnic diversity are 12% more likely to outperform all other companies. There is also a penalty for lagging on diversity which has only gotten larger with time. Companies in the bottom quartile of executive diversity on gender and ethnicity underperform all other companies by 27%. (Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters, McKinsey & Company 2020 report) 
Critically, these decisions are not supported by your employees. According to an Edelman survey in 2024, 60% percent of people say an inclusive work culture with a well-supported diversity program is critical to attracting and retaining them as an employee — that’s up 9 points from 2022.  In addition, according to Pew, only 16 percent of employees think focusing on DEI “is a bad thing.”
Furthermore, divestment from DEI will alienate diverse consumer segments including women, people of color, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community. Women control an estimated two-thirds of global consumer spending and are projected to control two-thirds of all consumer wealth within the next decade, with estimates ranging from $12 trillion to $40 trillion. Today, Black consumers hold $1.7 trillion in purchasing power and the LGBTQ+ community wields $1.4 trillion in spending power.
Future-proofing businesses also means recognizing the increasing diversity of consumers and employees. One-in-four GenZers are Hispanic, 14% are Black, 6% are Asian, 5% are some other race or multiple races, and 30% are LGBTQ+ identified. Our nation’s disabled population continues to grow: recent CDC data showed the number of disabled adults in the United States grew,  from 61 million in 2018 to 70 million in 2024, or more than 1 in 4 Americans (28.7%). This immense financial influence by populations often served by DEI programs are seen across various sectors, from consumer goods to financial services, demonstrating that DEI is a critical driver of business.
Put simply, hastily abandoning efforts that ensure fair, safe, and inclusive work environments is bad for business,  unpopular and unwise.  As business leaders who helped to build DEI programs, you know it’s good business, and we have the receipts that show it.  
At this moment, we call on business leaders and corporate board members to lead.  
When values of diversity, equity and inclusion are tested by politically motivated, anti-business forces, CEOs and corporate board members must defend them unequivocally. To be clear, women workers, people of color and disabled workers aren’t making political statements when they show up to work and ask for equal policies, benefits and treatment. By abandoning best practice programs to support these workers, you not only capitulate to political forces and disregard what’s good for your bottom line, but you introduce risks of discrimination and bias to your employees and your company.
We welcome your partnership and understand the safety risks posed by bad actors are serious — these are threats that impact us all. Backing down from long-standing commitments only serves to empower those who threaten your workers and customers. We call on business leaders to speak out publicly, defending decades long, pro-business decisions to support inclusion. Your trusted voices together will future proof the business community against anti-business, politically motivated extremists.

Advocates for Trans Equality
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC
Asians Fighting Injustice
Color Of Change
Family Equality
GLAAD
GLSEN
Human Rights Campaign
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
NAACP
National Action Network
National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE)
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Urban League
National Women’s Law Center
PFLAG National
SAGE
UnidosUS More

A year after unprecedented strikes by the UAW, the union is once again threatening work stoppages that could disrupt the U.S. automotive industry.
The UAW has announced a strike deadline at a Ford tool and die plant that supports F-150 production as well as strike authorization voting at Stellantis.
Both announcements amount to warning shots against Ford and Stellantis. The union has not announced similar actions against General Motors.

UAW president Shawn Fain and members and workers at the Mopar Parts Center Line, a Stellantis Parts Distribution Center in Center Line, Michigan, picket outside the facility after walking off their jobs at noon on September 22, 2023.
Matthew Hatcher | AFP | Getty Images

DETROIT – A year after unprecedented strikes by the United Auto Workers against the Detroit automakers, the union is once again threatening work stoppages that could disrupt the U.S. automotive industry.
The UAW on Wednesday announced a strike deadline at a Ford Motor tool and die plant that supports the automaker’s Rouge Complex near Detroit – one of two U.S. plants that produce the company’s highly profitable F-150 pickup truck.

The 11:59 p.m. Sept. 25 strike deadline came a day after UAW President Shawn Fain announced plans to hold strike authorization votes at one or more local unions covering Stellantis plants in the U.S.
Both announcements amount to warning shots against Ford and Stellantis and center on union contracts and local issues at the facilities. The union has not announced similar actions against General Motors.
UAW members are covered by national agreements, which include issues such as wages, bonuses and other benefits, as well as local contracts that are tailored to each facility.
Local contracts have historically taken months, if not years, to settle after a national agreement is reached. Sometimes they are not settled at all during the terms of the national deal.
Last year’s auto worker strikes came during historic negotiations over national contracts with all three Detroit automakers at once. The union won record wage increases — 25% over the term of the deal — and reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments, but labor experts said it could be at the expense of jobs.

The most recent strike deadline for Ford was called over local plant negotiations involving “job security, wage parity for Skilled Trades, as well as work rules,” according to the union.
A strike at a supporting facility for an assembly plant could impact vehicle assembly if the automaker cannot make contingency plans for the parts. The plant employs fewer than 500 workers.
Ford, in a statement Thursday, said negotiations with the union are ongoing: “Ford invested $15 million in the plant last year and we have been at the table problem-solving. Negotiations continue and we look forward to reaching an agreement with UAW Local 600 at Dearborn Tool & Die.”
The strike deadline takes tensions there a step further than at Stellantis, where the union has announced authorization voting. Strike authorization votes are procedural. They are votes by workers to authorize UAW leaders to call a strike, if warranted. Such votes for the national contract negotiations typically pass with more than 90% of worker approval.

The announced voting at Stellantis comes after months of mudslinging by Fain against Stellantis and its CEO, Carlos Tavares, following product cuts, layoffs and other actions that the union has deemed detrimental to union workers, including the potential to move production of vehicles such as the Dodge Durango out of the U.S.
The union on Monday filed unfair labor practice claims with the National Labor Relations Board against Stellantis, saying the automaker refused to “provide the Union with relevant information” regarding investments and products.
“The company wants you to be scared, but we are 100% within our rights and within our power to take strike action if necessary,” Fain said Tuesday night during an online broadcast.
Stellantis has contended such a strike would be illegal.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares speaks to media on June 13, 2024 following the company’s investor day at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Michael Wayland / CNBC

Fain has been adamant that the union won the right to strike over the automakers’ product and investment commitments during national bargaining. However, there remains language in the contracts regarding market conditions, economics and other factors that could grant the company leniency.  
Stellantis Tuesday night after Fain’s strike authorization vote announcement criticized the union leader for his actions and comments.
“Shawn Fain continues to allege that the company has violated the contract, but to date has provided no data or information to back up his claims. Instead, he continues to willfully damage the reputation of the company with his public attacks which is helpful to no one including his members,” Stellantis said in an emailed statement.
Stellantis said a strike “does not benefit anyone – our customers, our dealers, the community and, most importantly, our employees.”
In addition to Monday’s NLRB complaint against the company, Fain said 28 Stellantis locals have filed grievances against the automaker. Those complaints cover about 98% of Stellantis’ UAW-represented workforce, according to the union.
“Once we’ve authorized a strike at a local, we meet with the company seven times and either resolve the issue or take strike action as our union sees fit,” Fain said.
As of the beginning of this year, Stellantis employed roughly 43,000 workers represented by the union.
The union this week also began contract negotiations with Volkswagen. VW workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, overwhelmingly voted in favor of UAW representation earlier this year.

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