Skip to main content

PayPal CEO Dan Schulman Talks Values-Based Leadership and DEI at DiverseCity Summit

Published Oct 29, 2021 by A.J. Mistretta

DiverseCity Schulman

LaTanya Flix with Dan Schulman

Dan Schulman’s first job as a young adult was driving a truck after getting rejected from multiple colleges he applied to. Later, he landed a job as an assistant account executive at New Jersey Bell while attending night school at New York University. Such humble beginnings helped shape the attitude of one of the most successful leaders in the tech world. Today, Schulman is CEO of the fintech giant PayPal where he’s leading the charge to democratize financial services and e-commerce. He’s also widely recognized for his commitment to social change, and his passion for equality, justice and basic human rights.

Schulman discussed the importance of values-based leadership, the big steps he took to make his company’s workforce more financial stable and other topics during a fascinating fireside chat at the Partnership’s DiverseCity Summit this week. He spoke with Partnership Senior Vice President of DEI LaTanya Flix. Here are a few key takeaways: 

Values-Based Leadership 

Schulman said he’s learned that the single biggest competitor differential for his company is the caliber of people who work there and the passion they bring. “Your company’s mission needs to be supported by a set of values and those need to be something that guide your decisions as a CEO,” he said. “They need to be more than words up on a wall—they need to be lived.” 

Schulman said embracing diversity and fostering an inclusive environment is a key value for PayPal—one that’s guided his actions as CEO for the last seven years. 

As a major company, it’s impossible for PayPal to avoid the culture wars that have become pervasive nationwide, Schulman said. “We have to make hard decisions. People can disagree with those decisions…But that’s what it means to be a responsible CEO, it’s values-based actions.” He added that consistency is critical. “Our employees understand what we’re going to stand up for. They may not agree with every public stand we make but we are very consistent about it.” 

“We think that standing up against discrimination of any kind isn’t a red issue or a blue issue, it’s a red, white and blue issue,” Schulman said. 

Thinking Beyond the Bottom Line 

It’s not easy being the CEO of a major company these days, Schulman said. Employees, customers, board members, shareholders and other constituencies all have expectations that often don’t align. “But we need to stand up for much more than making money,” he said. “I don’t believe that the ideas of profit and purpose are at odds with one another.” 

Taking a Hard Look Inside 

Though aware of the statistics that show many Americans struggle to make ends meet, Schulman said he naively thought that wasn’t the case at PayPal. After all, his company pays its thousands of employees at or above market rate for their wide range of roles. But after conducting a poll, he found that many entry-level employees at PayPal were struggling with their finances and having to make tough decisions about health care and other necessities. For a large segment of the company’s workforce, net disposable income—or income after paying for basic needs such as food and shelter—was between just 4% and 6%. 

That led to conversations with nonprofits and other groups and the realization that PayPal should try to get net disposable income for its workers to 20%. It took a series of conversations with the company’s board and shareholders, but changes were implemented. Today, no PayPal employee has less than 18% net disposable income. 

“This was an investment in our people, and it was more important than any marketing or anything else we could invest in as a company, because the foundation of our success rests on the shoulders of our employees,” Schulman said. Following the changes, PayPal’s attrition rate dropped, as did training costs, while productivity rose. 

“Creating financial health for our employees was thinking about the future of our company,” Schulman said. “But also, how do we move from being a good company to a great company over the medium and long term.” 

“A Movement Over Time” 

Schulman is one of the founders of the Southern Communities Initiative (SCI). Launched in April 2021, the initiative aims to accelerate the deployment of corporate resources into six southern communities, including Houston, that are home to roughly 50% of the nation’s Black population. In the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, Schulman wanted to determine the best way to fight inequity and thought PayPal would give a few million dollars to organizations working on the front lines nationwide. “Someone said to me: ‘this needs to be more than a moment in time, it needs to be a movement over time.’ And it made me think: is there more I can do?” 

PayPal made a $535 million commitment to “advance racial equity, sustain and strengthen underrepresented businesses and communities, and help address the economic underpinnings of racial injustice,” the company said in a statement earlier this year. By working alongside other companies through SCI, PayPal is making a bigger impact. 

“Working together instead of separately lets us experiment with what works best—starting with these communities in the South,” Schulman said. 

The fireside chat capped off the first day of the DiverseCity Summit where the Partnership presented the findings of the region’s first Equity & Inclusion Assessment. Learn about the findings of the assessment and the next steps through the Partnership’s One Houston Together commitment here. Get additional information about One Houston Together here

Related News

Racial Equity

Greater Houston Partnership's MBE Accelerator Spurs Corporate Connections, Economic Opportunity

6/18/24
In a move to increase exposure for minority business enterprises (MBEs), the Greater Houston Partnership’s One Houston Together launched the Houston MBE Accelerator, a new 16-week pilot program designed to harness the collective purchasing power of our region’s business community to grow spending with MBEs. The accelerator has seen initial success by facilitating 32 matches for participating MBEs with seven major corporations, resulting in four contracts valued at $1.5 million and seven Request for Information (RFI) with a spend target of $3.5 million. “These are remarkable results from the pilot offering of the MBE Accelerator. The Partnership is focused on creating opportunity, both for companies and Houstonians alike. The new business relationships spurred by this initial program are a great start, and we look forward to expanding the initiative to more corporates and MBEs in the future.” -- Steve Kean, President and CEO, Greater Houston Partnership The Houston MBE Accelerator focuses on facilitating introductions to MBEs that are business-ready, have a proven track record of delivering goods and services for corporate and institutional purchasers, and are currently doing business with a Partnership member company. These three factors differentiate the program from other accelerators. Seven Partnership members participated in the program:    Baker Hughes CenterPoint Chevron Harris Health System JPMorgan Chase Oxy* Shell The following nine MBEs participated in the program:   Cole Chemical Collaborate Competitive Choice MCA Communications Prime Elevator Corp. Sterling Staffing Solutions Twice Media Productions Vecor Pipeline Integrity Vizion Crane & Industrial Support “We are pleased to partner with organizations that share our commitment and values.  The Greater Houston Partnership’s minority business accelerator program aligns with our own aspirations to increase our spend with minority-owned businesses in the greater Houston region which we believe helps us grow and prosper along with the businesses and surrounding communities.”   -- Steve Freeman, Chevron, Chief Procurement Officer The MBE selection process began with 28 MBEs representing 15 different categories and all with prior experience providing goods and services to Partnership member companies. The nine MBEs selected for the Accelerator pilot were chosen based on their product and service offerings being aligned with potential upcoming purchasing opportunities of the seven Partnership members. Determining a match between goods and services and potential spend opportunities paved the way for meaningful engagements between corporate decision makers and the nine MBEs. As of June, the program has initially resulted in new spend of $3.5 million across four contracts with the MBEs.  Outcomes from introductions made during the pilot will continue to be tracked over the next year including the in-process RFIs. The accelerator’s focused approach has allowed the participating corporations to identify potential opportunities with MBEs that likely would not have been possible without the program. “The Partnership’s minority business accelerator program has served as a catalyst in our own efforts to improve outcomes in supplier diversity. We’ve made several meaningful connections facilitated by this program.  I’m very grateful for the opportunity to participate in this groundbreaking effort.”  -- Terence Baptiste, Chevron, Supply Chain Advisor, Supplier Diversity If you are interested in learning more about the MBEs or are a Partnership member purchaser and want to participate in the next accelerator, check out our MBE directory or contact LaTanya Flix, Senior Vice President, Inclusive Leadership & Opportunity.
Read More
Racial Equity

Transforming Supplier Diversity Programs into Core Business Strategy

4/8/24
A leading supplier diversity assessment consulting firm, RGMA, shared its vision for transforming supplier diversity into a core business strategy during the Greater Houston Partnership's One Houston Together Chief Purchasing Officers (CPO) Summit on April 4. Ralph G. Moore, President and Founder of RGMA, and Reginald Layton, Chief Technology Officer of RGMA, presented during the event. RGMA strives to redefine supplier diversity by working with companies to improve programs that lead to not only growth and operational excellence but also healthy, stable and inclusive communities.   “If there’s any city in the world that can do this and illustrate this is Houston,” Moore said. One of their strategic tools is a digital suite. It provides clients a digital roadmap for improving supplier diversity programs by creating process-based goals. Not only does it provide a baseline assessment, but as the company improves, many use the roadmap to identify “pockets of opportunities.” Key Takeaways Supplier diversity is a business strategy, not a social strategy. RGMA believes supplier diversity should be linked to the company’s strategy and should be complimentary to DEI.  Asking “How to spend more money?” is the wrong question  Cost, quality and delivery equals operational excellence  Complete an opportunity assessment for your company Understand and communicate the value proposition. The why or the value proposition of supplier diversity should be communicated to all stakeholders. RGMA helps companies communicate and educate the importance of supplier diversity programs to employees with live and recorded sessions, in addition to e-learning modules. When the value proposition is communicated it leads to: Operational excellence Corporate brand strengthening Strategic responses to customer requirements Support of ESG strategy with a focus on racial equity RGMA Five Levels of Supplier Diversity Maturity Model The maturity model is considered the gold standard for benchmarking supplier diversity initiatives. “It’s about implementing best practices, not increasing your spend,” Layton said. The goal is for clients to improve their RGMA scores as they implement best practices. Reviewing lagging and leading indicators will help you identify areas to improve; leading indicators are best practice.  Partnership Member Examples Tom Sims, VP of Global Supply Chain and CPO of Hess Corp., and Tammy Martin, Director of Business Diversity Program at Burns & McDonnell, joined a panel discussion to share insights on how RGMA has helped their company’s supplier diversity programs.  Hess and Burns & McDonnell are at different stages of their supplier diversity programs. For Hess, collecting the data to determine a strategy was a challenge. Without that data, Hess could not determine the best roadmap for their program, according to Sims. When Burns & McDonnell took RGMA’s initial assessment, it determined the company had a traditional, compliant-driven program. RGMA helped Burns & McDonnell set up a strategic and educational program that launched in June 2022. In addition to that, Burns & McDonnell rolled out a communications plan across the organization, communicating the value proposition. In 2023, the company retook the assessment and found it had moved to a level four from a level three in the Five Levels of Supplier Diversity Maturity Model. Martin said creating visibility and giving their diverse partners “a seat at the table” has made their program successful.    
Read More

Related Events

Demography

Creating and Championing an Inclusive Culture for LGBTQ+ Employees

Creating cultures of belonging and closing belonging gaps is a crucial strategy for every organization that wants to be competitive in the future and retain and engage employees of all backgrounds.   The…

Learn More
Learn More
Executive Partners