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For the better part of two decades, I worked in food processing plants and other factories in hourly production positions. During that time, I advocated for the rights of workers including myself by organizing workers around ideas and privately and publicly placing pressure on supervisors, managers, and executives to make changes beneficial to workers.
Early one morning a few years ago, I was mining the internet for information to include in an op-ed I was writing when I inadvertently learned something that made me curious. I sent a private message to Sachin Shivaram, the CEO of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, and asked a pointed and personal question the answer to which was really none of my business. Instead of being offended by my directness and ignoring me or telling me to take a long walk off a short pier, Sachin answered my question. Then, he asked if we could have an extended conversation by phone so we could get to know each other better. That morning we had a lengthy conversation while he was eating his breakfast or driving to work about ourselves, our motives, our ideals, and our aspirations. We continued the conversation a week or so later over dessert and coffee at a diner in De Pere, Wisconsin. What we learned is that we are different in many ways, but we began to find ways to bridge the divide.
I was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina in a lower-middle class household led by parents who struggled and strived to make ends meet. My education was earned by taking classes at community colleges and state universities as my work schedule and bank account allowed. The money I earned came from my work in hourly production and frontline leadership roles at various food processing plants and other factories in farflung corners of the country. The socioeconomic situation I found myself in from birth led me to the labor movement where I was a union steward, self-styled Workers’ Rights Advocate – and some might contend – rabble rouser.
Sachin, on the other hand, was born and raised in Milwaukee by middle-class parents who had immigrated to the United States from India. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, a Master’s degree from Cambridge, and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. Although he is a licensed attorney, Sachin has spent most of his working years in managerial and executive leadership positions at industrial metals companies in Mexico, Brazil, and the United States. On top of the immense responsibilities that come with leading a corporation, Sachin serves on non-profit and civic boards, teaches part-time at two universities, and raises two sons with his wife, Lipi. He is a highly respected community member known for his integrity and decency.
Considering the differences in life circumstances and career trajectories between Sachin and I, it would have been natural for us to see each other as foes. Instead, our curiosity about each other created the opportunity for dialogue, understanding, mutual respect, and friendship. Whenever I see Sachin at an event in the Green Bay area he greets me and we catch up. If he is already in conversation he makes me a part of it and introduces me to his friends. One time, when Sachin needed an executive-level speaker for his St. Norbert College MBA “Business Ethics and Values-Based Leadership” class he invited me to speak even though I was what he aptly called an “anti-CEO.” More recently, he wrote a letter of recommendation for my graduate school application in 2022 and my law school application in 2024, both of which helped me get in. The only time Sachin ever asked me for a favor was when he invited me to speak to his class, but even that was beneficial to me.
The kind and respectful way that Sachin has treated me is emblematic of how he treats everyone from hourly workers to C-suite executives. He has not earned a reputation for integrity and decency by living that way once in a while; he has earned it by practicing full-time what he teaches part-time to the university students in his business ethics classes.
Sachin and I bridged all that divided us with curiosity, dialogue, understanding, mutual respect, and good will. I can count all of my CEO friends on my right pointer finger, but I would gladly add more if I knew those friendships would be based on the aforementioned ideals.
– Jarrett Brown is currently employed in a non-attorney role at a non-profit law firm in Green Bay. He writes recreationally and is preparing to attend law school in the fall of 2025.
