A Letter from Marc B. Lautenbach
President & Chief Executive Officer
Next year, Pitney Bowes will mark its 100th anniversary. It’s a proud moment for us as we prepare for this celebration; after all, not many companies get to do this.
Of course, what we’re celebrating is not just our past, but our future. Our remarkable capacity for self-renewal has proven itself before and is helping us move forwards today with new solutions that help clients and improve lives. Business strategies and execution skills are critical to this process, but the key drivers are the culture and behaviour that have made this company what it is.
Our annual Corporate Responsibility Report is a report on the health of our culture. It details our commitment and ability to ‘do the right thing the right way’ for all our stakeholders, from clients, employees and investors to the communities where we have an impact.
As you’ll see in this report, the Pitney Bowes culture remains vibrant, resilient and competitively advantageous as we progress through the ongoing transformation of our core businesses. In reshaping ourselves to meet the changing needs of our clients, we have taken bold initiatives requiring extraordinary efforts from everyone in the company. To do this, we have also drawn on qualities that have distinguished Pitney Bowes for decades and proved their ability to bear new fruit.
What are these qualities that drive us, and how are they making a difference?
Innovation. Pitney Bowes came into existence as a company with a profoundly innovative solution to a vexing business problem. Since then, our focus has always remained client-first. Our investments in people, technologies and processes continue to serve the common goal of helping clients to operate more effectively. As our markets have evolved, we’ve pushed forward with new platforms and approaches that have helped us grow into a powerhouse of 21st-century digital commerce. At one level, this rebirth is just the latest expression of who we are. At another, it’s the energy source for innovations yet to come.
Inclusion. We are inclusive by design. We firmly believe that our diversity of backgrounds and commitment to inclusion lead to better ideas and more satisfying lives inside and outside the workplace. Part of this commitment involves gender: women now constitute 38 per cent of our Board of Directors, and businesses led by women generate 40 per cent of our revenue. But it’s a story with many other dimensions. Another important facet includes our decision to turn half of the proceeds from last year’s corporate tax reduction into permanent wage increases for the majority of US employees that are paid on an hourly basis. Investing in inclusion is an investment in engagement, productivity and growth.
Learning. Creating long-term value requires constantly assimilating new information from new and existing sources. This requires all of us to be agile learners, both through formal training and through innovative collaboration and communication approaches. Staying on course and staying fresh require a mix of internal and external perspectives. Fortunately, thanks to sustained investment in employees’ professional development, we now regularly fill more than 40 per cent of new job openings with in-house talent. Every day provides new opportunities for our entire company to learn more and do better.
Community. Corporate citizenship has long been a foundational value at Pitney Bowes. For a company of our size, we do a lot, both through corporate giving and the enthusiastic volunteering activities of people at every level of the organisation, including myself. Our philanthropic focus on literacy and education is a natural extension of the culture of the company and a valuable asset to the communities in which we operate. Our signature global volunteering programme, Dedication to Education, is now five years old and growing stronger every year. Last year it spanned 47 Pitney Bowes sites, nine countries and nearly 100 team projects. At the same time, Pitney Bowes Foundation grants served 155,000 students with 4.3 million hours of reading and enrichment. In strengthening our communities, we sow the seeds of new opportunities for employees, families and neighbours while also learning to see ourselves in new ways.
These are just a few of the powerful positive impacts the Pitney Bowes culture has on everyone who comes into contact with it. It informs every aspect of our business, from ethics and governance to environmental responsibility to programmes that safeguard the health, wellness and safety of everyone who works here. As for the health of the culture itself, I’m pleased to report that it’s robust and ready for the challenges of the coming century.
President and Chief Executive Officer