Ex-McDonalds CEO to Launch Campaign Pushing Back Against Politicisation of US Corporations

The initiative comes in the wake of the US companies becoming more eager to take political stances. This is particularly well-illustrated by the recent clash between entertainment giant Disney and the state of Florida, with the "Don't Say Gay" bill being the stumbling block.

Former McDonalds CEO Ed Rensi is on track to team up with advocacy groups to launch the so-called Boardroom Initiative - a project aimed to push back against US corporations that are becoming too politicised, according to FOX Business.

Rensi is set to become the initiative's executive chairman. Among others behind the project are The Job Creators Network (set up by Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus), and two conservative advocacy groups: The Free Enterprise Group and Second Vote.

The goal of the initiative, according to FOX Business, is to shield shareholders and employees of public companies from "woke" policies while ensuring corporate accountability.

"Corporations have no business being on the right or the left because they represent everybody there and their sole job is to build equity for their investors," Rensi told the network.

During his tenure at McDonalds, Rensi was credited for development of the fast-food network's iconic Chicken McNuggets and "numerous other innovations".

The Boardroom Initiative's website is already featuring several articles exposing what it deems as the "woke politics" of American Express, Lockheed Martin, Hollywood and Disney. The latter has been in the conservatives' crosshairs over its stance on Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, which was decried by LGBTQ+ activists as potentially breaching the rights of such people.

"This law is immaterial for Disney’s financial performance. Disney’s shareholders are the real losers of this controversy," Rensi's op-ed posted on the website reads. "The broader lesson here for corporate America: Stay out of culture wars."

Many people in Disney seem to share the sentiment. Ray Keating, one of the company's shareholders, has also called on the entertainment giant to steer clear of politics and focus on doing its business.

"Get back to business, that is, excellence in storytelling, and stop wasting shareholders' money on political crusades that have nothing to do with Disney's business," Keating said.

However, the company's CEO Bob Chapek appears to view things differently as he took a firm stance opposing the controversial legislation and even halted Disney's political donations in Florida. The Sunshine State responded with scrapping the special status of Disney that allowed the park to govern itself.