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Murray Martin

The Pitney Bowes Focus

Editors’ Note

Murray Martin became Chairman of the Board in January 2009. Martin was appointed to his current position in May 2007, after serving as Pitney Bowes’s President and COO since September 2004. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President and Group President for Global Mailstream Solutions, following a three-year stint as President of Pitney Bowes International. He also served as President of Pitney Bowes Copier Systems and President and CEO of Dictaphone Canada Ltd., a former division of Pitney Bowes. Prior to joining Pitney Bowes in 1987, Martin worked at Monroe Systems for Business, a division of Litton Industries, where he ultimately served as President. Martin attended the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.

Company Brief

Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, Pitney Bowes Inc. (www.pb.com) is the world’s largest provider of mailstream hardware, software, and services, all of which optimize the flow of mail, documents, and packages. Pitney Bowes employs more than 35,000 people around the globe and offers products in more than 130 countries.

How much of a focus is put on social responsibility and community involvement at Pitney Bowes?

The company’s 88-year history is based on ensuring that our workforce reflects the demographics of our community and that we participate in our community. We have always encouraged our employees to be involved in the community, and the company has also been very involved. For the past decade, literacy and education have been a strong focus for us because we believe a well-educated society will create a better society, and well-educated young people will create a better workforce and resolve many of the long-term challenges in local communities and across the country.

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Volunteers from Pitney Bowes and the Red Cross
collected 1.4 million cards for United States service members and their families during Holiday Mail for Heroes.

Are environmental issues also a key focus for you?

Yes, we have continued enhancing our green focus so we can be more environmentally friendly and more successful concurrently. It’s not just a business opportunity – it’s a way of helping our customers ensure their success and meet their own commitments.

How important are diversity and inclusion at Pitney Bowes?

Walter Wheeler (former Chairman) set that standard by stating, as early as the ’40s, that Pitney Bowes was committed to equal opportunity for all. So we have a long legacy of inclusion; it’s just a way of life at Pitney Bowes. Diversity gives us a competitive advantage. It is a way of getting broader and richer ideas and concepts. We’ve done it for so long, it just doesn’t feel exceptional anymore. It’s just one of our core values; it’s who we are.

Would you tell us about your employee health and wellness efforts?

A number of years ago, we looked at the challenge of health care. We decided to focus on improving employees’ health as the path to lower costs over the long term, even though in the early years, Pitney Bowes would have to spend more money. We found that, over time, employee health improved and our costs went down. It was a win for the employee and a win for the company. We continue to trust that agenda and encourage the state and federal government to focus on this strategy as well.

How does the current financial crisis affect your culture?

We have challenged our employees, even this past year, not to back away from working in the community. Although the economic climate is certainly stressful for employees, there are people in our communities who have even greater needs and we must live up to our responsibilities to them. We have not seen our employees reduce their energy or their contributions. Our employee giving was higher in 2008 than in 2007, so even through challenging times, our employees contributed. We continue to match our employee giving, so our total giving actually went up in 2008.

Is it critical to be able to measure success in all your philanthropic efforts?

We always look to measure success because we do not wish to just give away money and not see returns. Whether it is Reading Is Fundamental, the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Urban League, ProLiteracy, Junior Achievement, or our WNBA connection around literacy, we look at each program and ask if it is delivering on its original intent. Are we seeing children with improving scores? Are people entering into the workforce at a better level? If not, then we look to modify the programs or change how we support them. We expect everyone we work with to be able to demonstrate progress, and if not, we change where we put our support.

How critical is senior management involvement in terms of setting the example?

We encourage people to be involved in the community as they progress through the organization. We especially encourage senior management to participate on boards or to be personally involved in volunteer programs. Senior management’s continuous involvement in philanthropy stimulates the next generation of leaders to think the same and take on projects. This is just what we should be doing in the community.

Was philanthropy and community involvement something that was instilled in you early on?

Growing up as a preacher’s kid, I was immersed in community from day one and exposed to many of the challenges. When I came to Pitney Bowes more than 20 years ago, George Harvey (former Chairman, President, and CEO) set a real example of corporate leadership, which gave me perspective on how corporations can take on responsibilities and marry them with personal commitment.

When you look back to 1987, when you first joined the company, could you have imagined this would be a place you would still be, and what is it about the culture and the experience that has made you spend so much of your career at Pitney Bowes?

If you have the right company with the right environment and the right opportunities, there is no reason to seek opportunities elsewhere. When I came here, I saw this as my landing spot for the rest of my career. Did I envision that I’d end up in exactly this position? Not necessarily. I did want to continue to progress to the limits of my ability. And I had the opportunity to do that here. But at the same time, I had the opportunity to live my life in a balanced form, which is part of what this company stands for. I was able to participate in my community; I was able to enjoy my family; I was able to balance my life.