A panel of executives spoke on Tuesday at the TIME100 Built to Last: The Enduring Power of Iconic American Brands forum about the ways in which their companies have been able to adapt and dominate their industries throughout the years. Included on the panel were Scott Kirby, chief executive officer of United Airlines; Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet, the parent company of Google; and William Ford, executive chair of automotive company Ford, which sponsored the event. Each panelist spoke about the unique approaches their companies have taken to remain relevant and an asset to consumers across generations.
Ford said prioritizing his employees and the communities his company impacts is chief among his values. We take care of our communities. We take care of our country,” he said.
And it’s different than culture because cultures change and cultures evolve. But I think the values that underlie that culture are what really have sustained us for our whole lifetime.” Porat stressed “a commitment to long-term investing” and “relentless focus on innovation.” She said that “we should never take innovation for granted.” In this spirit, the founders of her company, she explained, created something called “20% time,” which allows employees to dedicate a fifth of their workload to an idea that is deemed great. Alongside encouraging innovation, she continued, is setting ambitious goals.
We haven’t set the goal high enough.” Kirby attributed the long-term success of United Airlines to it being what he described as a “brand loyal airline.” This has entailed focusing on four areas of the business: “the reliability, the service, the hard product, and the technology.” “We need to wow them consistently,” he said. After reflecting on how they’ve succeeded in the past, the panelists were also asked about their visions for the future. Part of Porat’s vision for the future lies in expanding Alphabet’s business infrastructure into space, where on Thursday the company will launch an AI data center.
We still call it research.” Ford hoped for a lot more of the same, and again stressed the value of his product for customers.
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