Vivek Ramaswamy Speaks on “The Rebellious Entrepreneur” at Hillsdale College
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Vivek Ramaswamy, co-founder and executive chairman at Strive Asset Management and New York Times best-selling author, spoke at Hillsdale College on Jan. 24. The talk, part of the Hillsdale College Business & Industry Program’s Executive Speaker Series, was titled “The Rebellious Entrepreneur.” A faculty and alumni panel preceded the lecture.
“Ramaswamy speaks powerfully about the issues facing business and industry today,” said David Danford, director of Hillsdale’s Business & Industry Program. “He resonates with a lot of people, especially those who have been exposed to the toxic work environments created by diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as environmental, social, and corporate governance practices. Vivek is particularly astute and provides a convincing analysis of the problem before passionately explaining how we should fix it.”
Ramaswamy highlighted the need for businesses to return to a focus on excellence over politics.
“The problem as I see it, the concentration of state power and corporate power that lends itself to capture, facing down a threat far more deep and dangerous than we’ve anything we faced in our nation’s history,” said Ramaswamy. “So where do we go from here? My first view is that not all solutions will be delivered or ought to be delivered through politics. I think that market actors can play a role.” Ramaswamy then went on to argue that America must restore meritocracy. “One of the areas where I care about meritocracy is not just who rules in government, but the ideas that prevail in our society and in our government too,” said Ramaswamy. “And we can only have a meritocracy of ideas in America if we embrace one of the foundational cornerstones of the Great American experiment, and that is free speech.”
Associate Professor of Management Doug Johnson, Associate Professor of Economics Charles Steele, and alumnus Jonathan Slonim spoke during the faculty and alumni panel. The panel discussed the development of Environmental, Social, and Governance standards and their effect on American businesses.
Ramaswamy is the co-founder and executive chairman at Strive, an asset management firm that seeks to depoliticize corporate boardrooms by telling companies to focus on excellence over politics. Before Strive, he founded Roivant Sciences and other multi-billion-dollar biotech enterprises. Vivek wrote the New York Times best-selling book “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam and Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence.” Ramaswamy previously spoke at Hillsdale College in 2021 on Woke Capitalism (view that video here).
For photos from the event, click here.
For a high-resolution copy of the Hillsdale College clocktower logo, click here.
About Business & Industry
The Business and Industry Program at Hillsdale College exists to take the mission of the college into the world of business and industry. It offers companies resources to help teach and train their workforce on the principles of liberty. Business and industry partners have the opportunity to visit campus and meet and recruit Hillsdale College students. The program’s three goals are to educate, build a network, and secure the future. For more information visit businesspartner.hillsdale.edu.