LAS VEGAS–AARP has long been seen as the domain of the aged. But its new CEO says the group’s central issue of health care reform makes it an advocate for every age group.
LAS VEGAS–AARP has long been seen as the domain of the aged. But its new CEO says the group’s central issue of health care reform makes it an advocate for every age group.
“This is an issue about the American dream,” said Barry Rand, who takes over the 40-million-member AARP on April 6. “We either reinforce the American dream for all or we redefine it.”
The more-inclusive approach being championed by Rand gained momentum under outgoing CEO Bill Novelli, whose “Divided We Fail” campaign brought together organizations ranging from labor unions to religious groups to fight for affordable health care for all ages, not just AARP’s 50-and-up membership.
The 64-year-old Rand – AARP’s first Black leader – also sees the group’s goal of increasing prosperity for all as an extension of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
“They’re all about the American dream and…we have the same issues now,” he said.
Rand joins AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) after a life in corporate America. He joined Xerox Corp. as a salesman in 1968, rising to become an executive vice president overseeing 70,000 employees around the globe.
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