Business Leaders, NAM Honor Corning CEO Wendell Weeks

More than 100 executives in manufacturing, technology, media and finance, among other fields, gathered to honor Wendell Weeks, chairman, president and CEO of Corning Incorporated, at the Yale CEO Caucus last week.

• The caucus, a marquee gathering of U.S. business leaders, is helmed by Yale School of Management Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a leading authority in executive thought leadership. The event also featured wide-ranging discussions on artificial intelligence, China and the midterm elections, focusing on changing policy dynamics and the role of business leaders in navigating them.

NAM on stage: As one of the award presenters, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons praised Weeks—who has led Corning for more than 25 years—as a “titan of manufacturing.”

• Speaking alongside presenters Apple Executive Chairman and former CEO Tim Cook, Motorola Solutions Chair and CEO Greg Brown and Snap-on Chairman and CEO and NAM Tax and Finance Policy Vice Chair Nick Pinchuk, Timmons tied Weeks’ leadership of the iconic, 175-year-old American brand to the vision and values that make manufacturing strong in a dynamic and evolving world.

A pillar of manufacturing history: Timmons discussed Corning’s long history of glass production and evolution across the decades, from contributing to innovations like Edison’s lightbulb and the iPhone to producing the physical components powering America’s AI leadership today.

• Timmons said that Weeks takes the “long view,” noting that Corning follows a 150-year plan that can adapt to new inventions and technologies. He pointed out that Corning is now a key player in the age of AI, producing “the optical fiber—the very arteries of the AI buildout” and partnering with such companies as NVIDIA.

A standout leader: “Wendell, you are an inspiration to us all,” Timmons said. “You help the 13 million people who make things in America stand taller. For all you have built—and for everything still to come—congratulations on this high honor.”

The word from Yale: “Wendell Weeks practices the rarest form of leadership at the rarest kind of company,” said Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies and Lester Crown professor in the practice of leadership at the Yale School of Management.

• “He is the steward of an iconic 175-year-old American institution—the firm that supplied the glass for Edison’s lightbulb, made the glass for the first television tubes and in 1970 invented the low-loss optical fiber that now carries the world’s information—and in his third decade at its helm, he has carried it to the very center of the AI revolution.”
• “Institutions with such iconic legacies seldom reinvent themselves to this extent, and Weeks’ success is a singular story of how to balance innovation with legacy.”

A final note on leadership: In a ceremony at the end of the day, Sonnenfeld presented the inaugural Yale Patriot Public Service Award for Executive Leadership to former Vice President Mike Pence and the Yale Patriot Public Service Award for Legislative Leadership to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), recognizing them for transcending partisan roles during the events of Jan. 6, 2021 and standing up for the rule of law and the values that make America exceptional.

Photo credit: Donovan Marks