Punit Renjen believes that companies should not only worry about the bottom line, but the most successful ones must also confront the issues facing their communities.
“Corporate excellence is not just taking care of business, it is taking care of all your stakeholders — customers, people, and the communities that you live and work in,” he said.
Renjen grew up in India, and was 18 years old when he came to the United States on a Rotary Foundation scholarship, which he said changed his life. He became CEO of Deloitte Global in 2015, the first Asian-born person to lead one of the world’s biggest professional services firms. He also serves on Deloitte’s global board of directors. He was named Global Indian of the Year by the Economic Times in 2022, and two years before that he won the Oregon History Makers Medal in recognition of his business leadership. His name appears frequently on lists of top consultants and business leaders.
Under Renjen’s leadership, Deloitte’s revenue exceeded $50 billion in FY2021, with the company investing three percent of its income in support of local communities. Renjen started a number of programs at Deloitte, including its WorldClass initiative (directed at improving opportunity for 100 million of the world’s underprivileged) and its WorldClimate initiative, the latter part of the firm’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.
“What we have before us is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-orient the global economy and create more sustainable, resilient, and equitable long-term growth,” he said.
