Chapter 9 - The CEO Who Once Hid His Identity From His Own Employees Finally Put Every Executive Salary on the WallTransparency became my obsession.
Every executive salary was public.
Every board expense.
Every supplier contract above a threshold.
Every employee complaint received an independent review.
Cristiana helped create the employee council.
Some executives hated it.
I didn't care.
One director said:
“People don't need to know everything.”
I answered:
“They need to know enough.”
“Why?”
“Because secrecy is where corruption grows.”
He resigned.
Good.
The company grew anyway.
We opened new stores.
Improved wages.
Expanded benefits.
Created childcare programs.
Cristiana's daughter received a scholarship.
One evening, Cristiana came into my office.
“You know what I thought when I first saw you?”
“What?”
“Just another rich man.”
I laughed.
“That hurt.”
“You looked expensive.”
“I was wearing cheap clothes.”
“You still looked expensive.”
I smiled.
“What changed?”
“You listened.”
I looked at her.
“You made it impossible not to.”
She nodded.
May you like
Then smiled.
“I like being impossible.”
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