Titans

SUNDAR PICHAI

Meeting the moment

BY JAMIE DIMON

Taking the helm of an iconic American company and positioning it for long-term success in a way that reflects your values is no easy task. Sundar Pichai’s uniquely American story—emigrating from India as a young adult and working his way to become CEO of a $1 trillion corporation—represents the best of what we aspire for our society. He used his natural gifts and strong work ethic to rise through the ranks of Google (now Alphabet) by leading many of their most successful products, such as Drive, Gmail and Maps, and officially took the reins of the company in December.

Google is a client, partner and competitor of ours, but we both recognize that our success is dependent on a healthy and inclusive economy that looks out for employees, customers and communities. Sundar, along with myself and 25 CEOs of New York City’s other largest employers, recently committed to hiring 100,000 traditionally underserved New Yorkers by 2030, with a focus on low-income, Black, Latinx and Asian communities.

The challenges Sundar faces in his role are among the most important of our time—issues of innovation, privacy, regulation and competition. But his analytical, humble and inclusive leadership will position Google to meet the moment. These are traits the world could use a lot more of in these times.

Dimon is chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase

Tyler Perry

Empire builder

BY OPRAH WINFREY

There’s no one else like him. In the entertainment business and in life. He’s a true visionary. A trailblazer.

In 2005, I saw my first Tyler Perry play. I knew then he was special. I watched the audience laugh, cry and delight in seeing themselves reflected in the story onstage. Since then, he has directed and/or produced 22 feature films and produced more than 1,000 episodes of TV, maintaining a sincere connection to the audience he serves.

Last fall, Tyler made history, opening the largest privately owned motion-picture studio in the U.S., set on 330 acres. The former Confederate Army base is now a state-of-the-art production facility with 12 soundstages—each named after an iconic African-American figure. On Sept. 20, he made history again when he received the prestigious Governors Award at the Emmys.

Though he now sits atop a growing pinnacle of successes, he’s always trying to help others. Whether addressing food insecurity and homelessness in his community, helping the families of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and Secoriea Turner, or donating millions, his giving always comes from a personal place.

In a recent essay on his hopes for the future of our country, he wrote he will explain to his son “that progress is made in small steps and even if you get exhausted to fight on, because there are always