Today’s Window of Opportunity for Action

Chris Padilla of IBM

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On September 30, 2021, we spoke with Chris Padilla, Vice President, Government & Regulatory Affairs at IBM to explore “A Different Approach to Influence: Non-Giving as a Viable Government Relations Strategy.”

As pressure on companies to engage with climate change and social issues increases, a window of opportunity emerges for companies to act. As employees, customers, and shareholders demand certain actions, political responsibility has become a business issue. How can companies take advantage of this active socio-political context?

In this module, we explore:

• What does this window of opportunity mean for companies?
• Does business really have a legitimate role in political reform?

The Corporate Political Responsibility Taskforce (CPRT)’s Expert Dialogues are in-depth, recorded conversations with academic experts, stakeholder advocates and business practitioners to provide our members and other CPR champions with the expertise and context they need to develop principled, proactive CPR strategies. We invite those interested in a constructive, non-partisan, principles-based discussion.

Christopher A. Padilla leads IBM's global government affairs team of more than 100 professionals in thirty six countries. His team represents IBM’s interests before governments worldwide on such issues as cyber security policy, taxation, trade, intellectual property rights, workforce and education policy, and government procurement. He is also responsible for corporate compliance with export controls, economic sanctions, and customs regulations. He has been named one of Washington’s Top Corporate Lobbyists by The Hill newspaper.

Keywords: #CPRBusinessCase #CPAExternalCommunications #CPAEmployeeCommunications #CorporatePoliticalResponsibility #CPRProcessessStakeholders #CPRFramework