Editor's Note: Meet the 2017 CEOs Who ‘Get It’

This month, Safety+Health presents the CEOs Who “Get It” – the National Safety Council’s annual recognition of leaders whose actions demonstrate a personal commitment to creating and sustaining a culture of workplace safety and health.

As always, my favorite part of this feature is reading the personal stories of the CEOs – the journey and experiences that brought them to their current understanding of the importance of keeping workers safe.

Some CEOs, like Larry Hogan of H+M Industrial EPC, say safety “has grown on me” and that his experiences and interactions led him to “discover a truth.” For others, like Tim Murray of Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. and Ray Brown of ESCO Group, worker injuries and fatalities spurred a renewed focus on prevention. Murray, whose background is in finance and operations, came to realize that he “did not want a consultant’s view of safety.” Brown credits a mentor with teaching him “to surround myself with smarter people than I and to empower them so great things will happen.”

Throughout the 15 years that CEOs Who “Get It” has been in existence, NSC has shone a spotlight on leaders from diverse industries. To help us showcase more diversity among the CEOs themselves, I’d like to encourage safety pros whose leaders are women and minorities to submit their leaders’ names for consideration. Submissions for 2018 are due July 31. We look forward to hearing from you.