PayPal and Operation HOPE CEOs Discuss The Importance of Financial Dignity In This Historic Moment
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Today, PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman is launching his leadership podcast series, Never Stand Still, for its third season in a new virtual format, featuring John Hope Bryant, the Founder, Chairman & CEO of Operation HOPE, as its premiere episode.
Dan’s discussion with John Hope Bryant comes against the backdrop of a global pandemic, record unemployment, and a massive movement to address systemic racism. The two leaders discussed their shared ambition for society to emerge from this period stronger than before, and proposed a common solution of prioritizing financial dignity to improve the inequities compounded by recent challenges.
PayPal and Operation HOPE, a non-profit that has directed more than $3.2 billion of economic activity to disenfranchised communities, share a similar commitment to leveling the playing field when it comes to financial health and economic opportunity. Both see financial dignity as a gateway to ascension and an imperative for equality—particularly for Black Americans who’ve been disproportionately underserved by the financial system and, more recently, impacted by COVID-19.
John Hope Bryant shared, “I’m convinced people don’t need a hand out, they want a hand up.” In other words, they don’t want a one-time or quick fix. Instead, they want systems to be changed to achieve long-term impact.
Dan Schulman noted, “Financial health is foundational for people. 185 million adults in our country are struggling to get by every single month. When that’s happening, they don’t have the same dreams anymore. They don’t have the same opportunities. And they lose hope.”
The entire discussion below dives into this important moment in history, which presents the opportunity to accelerate positive societal change.
This conversation took place as part of PayPal CEO Dan Schulman’s business and leadership discussion series, “Never Stand Still,” which is now in its third season. The show is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.