Neil G. Giuliano, Greater Phoenix Leadership

Every four years, our nation is embroiled in a debate about — essentially — leadership: Who will lead? How? And to what end? This is leadership at its most visible, and it is generally agreed that leadership at such a level has deep and far-reaching impact. Yet, in its own context, your leadership has a similarly impactful scope.

I define a leader as one who influences people to accomplish a purpose. Simple, yes, but think about it: At the core, leadership is about serving others, articulating a desired outcome, and coalescing and aligning the work of other people to make things happen. You do it every day, and as we see at all levels of society, it matters. That’s why we need more and more people to accept leadership roles in the community.

Because of the impact on the broader community that businesspeople can bring about — sometimes unwittingly through leadership decisions simply within their own companies — In Business Magazine is holding a magnifying lens to the topic. In Business Magazine editor RaeAnne Marsh reached out to Valley notables in varied industry sectors and representing diverse social and business perspectives to explore the intertwining of impact across the boundaries of individual business, industry, greater business community and our overall community.

Marketing’s use of digital technologies and customer engagement channels is the focus of this issue’s By the Numbers, with survey results that point out gaps which affect the customer experience. Benefits to businesses implementing captive insurance strategies is the focus of another article. Business leaders whose responsibilities stretch them in many directions at once may find options they can implement in how they manage their time in the feature “Just a Minute? Make the Most of It.” And the Roundtable article makes a case for including an often purposely excluded participant in diversity discussions.

It is my pleasure to help In Business Magazine bring you this September issue, with informative and relevant articles on the many subjects that matter to business and working with Valley Leadership, Arizona’s premier leadership development organization. I hope you will put this information to good use; I hope you will choose to lead.

Sincerely,

Neil G. Giuliano 

President and CEO
Greater Phoenix Leadership

Neil Giuliano is president and CEO of Greater Phoenix Leadership, which, for 40 years, has been the forum for corporate leadership to collaborate with the government, education and philanthropy sectors to create and sustain a safe, healthy and prosperous community. 

Serving 1994–2004, Giuliano was the youngest person ever elected mayor of Tempe and the first directly elected openly gay mayor in the Unites States. He led Tempe to earn, in 2003, the “All-American City” award, a coveted honor bestowed on local governments demonstrating exceptional success in problem solving. Between then and now, Giuliano served 2010–2015 as CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation, one of the largest AIDS service organizations in the world and whose advocacy and care models have been replicated around the world. This followed four years leading significant advances as president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the third-largest LGBT advocacy organization in the U.S. 

Giuliano is the author of The Campaign Within: A Mayor’s Private Journey to Public Leadership and has received numerous awards and honors for his work in public policy and community activism.