Corporate America’s strongest opponent is initiating a lobbying group focused on “long-term corporate oversight” of diversity policies in companies.
Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe’s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group “to make sure this never occurs again.”
Starbuck said he has gotten a “blank check” offer from at least one big Republican donor. “The catch is: they want the ability to kill stories” — Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist — “and pick targets. And I just don’t work that way.”
In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk:
“I get along well with Elon,”
he states — and far-right celebrities.
His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had [CEOs] say, ‘No way, we’re not going to do that… and then, ‘Oh, crap, we’re going to do that.'”
Starbuck indicated he’s counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI “worst offenders.” But he indicated he wouldn’t work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration’s attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.
They need to be careful with that,” he said. “If it’s individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead… but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.
Starbuck indicated that he’s advocating for “corporate neutrality” alone. “I don’t want to make the Fortune 500 right-wing companies,” he stated. He indicated that he’s attempting to avoid “a situation where we have totally parallel economies,” with blue brands and red brands, because “it’s going to hurt our economy, and it’s going to hurt our country.”
