New York Times Reporter and Author, The Man Who Broke Capitalism
David Gelles: Biography at a Glance
- David Gelles is a correspondent on the Climate desk at The New York Times, covering the intersection of public policy and the private sector.
- Gelles scrutinizes conflicts of interest and corporate influence on government action and highlights companies making serious efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and those that are posturing, greenwashing, or actively pushing in the opposite direction.
- He was formerly a reporter for the Business section, covering CEOs, tech, media, and Wall Street and interviewing more than 100 entrepreneurs, innovators, executives, and cultural leaders.
- Gelles is the author of The Man Who Broke Capitalism which explores the root of all that’s wrong with capitalism today and offers advice on how we might right those wrongs.
- In his first book, Mindful Work: How Meditation Is Changing Business From the Inside Out, Gelles reveals the impact of meditation, yoga, and mindful techniques in fostering happier, healthier workplaces and more productive organizations.
- A skilled moderator, he has interviewed leaders and thinkers and guided panel discussions at many events, including the Climate Hub in Glasgow and DealBook conferences.
Videos
Biography
David Gelles is a correspondent on the Climate desk at The New York Times, covering the intersection of public policy and the private sector. He spent eight years as a reporter for the Business section, covering CEOs, tech, media, and Wall Street. He also penned the Corner Office column, interviewing more than 100 entrepreneurs, innovators, executives, and cultural leaders. Gelles is the author of The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America — and How to Undo His Legacy. Publishers Weekly described it as “an incisive, eye-popping history,” and Kirkus called it “a vigorous argument for a more humane capitalism.”
Gelles was part of the Times team that won a Gerald Loeb Award for its coverage of the Boeing 737 Max crashes. A skilled moderator, he has interviewed leaders and thinkers and guided panel discussions at many events, including the Climate Hub in Glasgow and DealBook conferences. While reporting for The Financial Times, he secured a big exclusive, the jailhouse interview with $65 billion Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff.
In his role covering climate news, Gelles scrutinizes conflicts of interest and corporate influence on government action, shining a light on companies making serious efforts to reduce their carbon footprint – and those that are posturing, greenwashing, or actively pushing in the opposite direction. In his first book, Mindful Work: How Meditation Is Changing Business From the Inside Out, Gelles reveals the impact of meditation, yoga, and mindful techniques in fostering happier, healthier workplaces and more productive organizations.
A graduate of Boston University and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Gelles lives in New York City with his family.
Topics
The Man Who Broke Capitalism: The Legacy of Jack Welch – And the Plight of the American Worker
Jack Welch, the chief executive of General Electric from 1981 to 2001, is often remembered as the greatest CEO of all time. He turned GE into the most valuable company in the world, groomed dozens of proteges that went on to run major companies of their own, and was named by Fortune magazine as the “Manager of the Century.” However, New York Times reporter and author David Gelles argues that celebrating Welch is a mistake.
Based on his newest book, Gelles offers a compelling take on Jack Welch — he was not the greatest CEO of all time. Instead, he was a singularly destructive force in the history of American capitalism, ravaging the middle class, concentrating wealth in the hands of the few, and setting in motion the forces that would shape today’s highly unequal economy.
Stakeholder Capitalism, the End of Shareholder Primacy & How American Business Is Caught Up in the Culture Wars
After decades of the “shareholders come first” attitude, a new era in American business has arrived. CEOs and major corporations have embraced “stakeholder capitalism,” and are pledging to put the well-being of workers, communities, and the environment on par with shareholder returns.
In this engagement, author and New York Times reporter David Gelles invites you to dive into how this new direction is creating the appearance of a kinder, gentler Corporate America. But it is also placing big companies on the front lines of the culture wars, leading to fraught exchanges with conservative lawmakers over issues like voting rights, gun control, immigration, and climate change.
Inside the Corner Office: Celebrity CEOs, Empathic Leaders & the Keys to Great Leadership
The role of the chief executive has never been more complex — or more consequential. Business leaders today are reshaping the internet, reimagining health care, upending transportation, and more. But being a chief executive is no longer just about running a company. It means taking political stands and managing a hybrid workforce — all while balancing short-term profits with long-term goals, dealing with activist investors, and attracting talented employees.
Through interviews with more than 100 CEOs for the “Corner Office” column, Gelles has distilled what makes great leaders tick, the signs that a CEO is veering off course, and what traits inspire loyalty among employees.
Mindful Work: How Meditation Is Changing the Business World
A quiet revolution is reshaping the corporate world. The world’s most dynamic entrepreneurs and businesspeople are using meditation, mindfulness, and yoga to focus on feeling good while making money – and using the money to do good too. Materialism is out and mindfulness is in.
Reporter, longtime meditator, and creator of meditation guides for The New York Times, David Gelles has spoken with hundreds of business people who meditate — from high-level managers at Fortune 500 companies to scrappy entrepreneurs. In this engagement, Gelles shares their stories of how meditation and mindfulness are making for happier, healthier workplaces, and better more productive organizations.