Allstate CEO Tom Wilson on trust, purpose and why CEOs should speak up

"There should be more voices" in the corporate world speaking up on societal issues, Allstate CEO Tom Wilson says in this episode of The CEO Signal. “CEOs need to stand up and decide what’s important to them, what’s important to their customers — and take a stand.” Wilson has led Allstate for nearly two decades, running a business built on trust at a time when trust in America is under pressure. He explains why declining trust is not just a social problem, but a business risk for an insurance company whose promise is to be there when customers need it most. Wilson discusses why he believes companies have four roles: serving customers, making money for shareholders, creating opportunity for employees, and improving communities. That philosophy has shaped Allstate’s stance on issues from climate resilience and personal privacy to wages, good jobs, and the future of work in an AI-driven economy. He also talks about the 20-year journey of turning purpose from a corporate slogan into daily practice — including Allstate’s work helping more than 75,000 employees identify their own personal purpose. “If you want to be a purpose-driven company,” he says, “you have to be powered by purpose-driven people.” Wilson reflects on his evolving leadership style, why “greater clarity leads to greater empowerment,” and how CEOs must be willing to pick the big moments and be “in the change” if they want organizations to move. The CEO Signal is Semafor’s interview platform for conversations with the global CEOs whose decisions are shaping the future of the new world economy. Hosted by Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, the show explores the moments of judgment that define leadership. Penny Pritzker is the founder and chairman of PSP Partners and served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 2013 to 2017. Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson is CEO Editor at Semafor and a former Financial Times journalist who has spent decades covering global companies and corporate leadership.