Craig Arnold

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Eaton

Search every verified Craig Arnold interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a June 2020 appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Alley," Craig Arnold, chairman and CEO of Eaton, discussed the company's approach to leadership diversity and broader trends in corporate representation. Arnold stated that Eaton has a "long-standing commitment to inclusion and diversity," noting that 50% of its board and global leadership team are women or minorities. He attributed this progress to the company's values-based culture, which he said was established under prior leadership, and acknowledged that such changes "took time." Arnold also addressed national diversity metrics, saying that while women's board representation increased by 10 percentage points over the past 12 years, minority representation rose by only about 2 points. He described African-American board representation as having increased by only half a point over the same period, and cited a Center for Talent Innovation finding that African Americans hold roughly 3.2% of senior leadership roles, a figure he said is "largely unchanged" over a decade. Arnold noted that he was one of six African-American CEOs of large U.S. companies, a number he said had not improved since 2002, when there were seven. He concluded that "society and corporations need to do better" on racial diversity.