But Quarles wants it known that his generation, millennials, are having none of it. “We want to work for organizations that not only publicly denounce racism, classism and patriarchy, but also integrate these values into the private everyday business,” he said.
“We are not interested in working in businesses that are profiting and exploiting people and communities. We are not interested in working for industries that are funding and profiting from privately owned prisons. If the only thing inspiring people to come work for your organization is its starting salary, then your organization is overlooking the culture, its capital,” Quarles said.
He added that he believes the financial services industry, more than any other industry, has the greatest potential to impact the world. “Us, me, you, our organizations can collectively change the very fabric of American society," he said. "With this power, influence and leverage comes grand responsibilities."
Quarles said he envisions a renewal within the industry as it faces unprecedented times. “A renewal where we come to understand that culture, too, is capital. That how we treat people, how we treat communities is capital.”
And lastly, Quarles told the audience that he was not asking anything of them or the industry that he is not demanding of himself. “I am ready to do my part. Hold me accountable and I invite you to join me in doing the same,” he said.