Staunch advocacy for social reform can transform a leader into a change agent. Susan Wojcicki’s willingness to share her garage with struggling Google founders, an act that likely rewrote the tech giant’s history, led her to become Google’s premier marketing manager and its 16th employee. Wojcicki not only encouraged Google to buy YouTube, which generated roughly $30 billion in ad revenue under her leadership in 2022, but also worked to redefine corporate culture. Aiming to be “on the right side of history,” she sought to safeguard content and fiercely advocated for paid leave to support parents. Under Wojcicki’s leadership, YouTube ultimately became the ratings juggernaut for countless would-be influencers and artists.
McKinsey alumnus Sir Roderick Carnegie established the firm’s first office in his native Australia, later leading the mining company CRA Limited (now Rio Tinto) and aspiring to leave his country better than he found it. Famous Amos CEO Wally Amos—who, prior to founding his cookie company, worked with the likes of Simon & Garfunkel and the Supremes at the William Morris Agency—shared his passion for baking with others. Later in life, Amos indulged in another passion, sharing his recipe for academic success with children. Betty Jean Hall, founder of an advocacy group that helped diversify the mining industry, “believed in the underdog.” Hall fought for legislation to help workers support sick family members while retaining their jobs. Literacy Volunteers of America founder Ruth Colvin, also a champion for change, converted her basement into a classroom, going on to help immigrants, preachers, and prisoners alike. Her local literacy group has transformed into a multilingual, global company, which provides nearly 1,000 literacy programs across multiple continents.
