Prof. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld Named to Worth Magazine’s ‘Worthy 100’
Sonnenfeld was recognized for his efforts to push companies to withdraw from Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Yale SOM’s senior associate dean for leadership studies and the Lester Crown Professor in the Practice of Management, has been named to Worth magazine’s “Worthy 100,” an annual listing of activists, political and business leaders, and philanthropists who are “rewriting industry standards and leading us toward a better future.”
Sonnenfeld, the founder and CEO of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute, is known for hosting candid discussions among top CEOs, his frequent commentary on leadership, and his efforts to encourage and coordinate positive action among business leaders. This year, he gained additional prominence as a vocal critic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a proponent of businesses withdrawing from Russia. He and his team assembled the widely discussed “Yale list,” tracking companies that did and did not end their business there.
“It’s fascinating data,” says Worth of the list in its citation, “but it also went viral and drew a stark response from the Kremlin, something Sonnenfeld says he didn’t expect. According to him, he and CELI are now higher on the Kremlin’s sanctioned individuals list than Mitch McConnell. But his work has also garnered attention from other governments. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, members of the British cabinet, as well as reps from the International Monetary Fund have all requested meetings with CELI and access to its data.”
Other figures in the Worthy 100 include Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, comedian Jon Stewart, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, and Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Read Jeffrey Sonnenfeld’s interviews and commentaries on Yale Insights.