With success comes obligation

We are pleased to fill our pages this week with some of the leading young executives in our industry. Our fifth annual Forty Under 40 report shows an industry rich with talent and long on achievement. This group represents significant accomplishment, intellect, vision and passion. These pages are filled with stories about unique people and we are proud to introduce — or re-introduce — them to you. We salute them.

We also challenge them — and ourselves. In five years of compiling this list, we have made 200 selections; 167 of them have been white males. This is not by design. We wish there were more women and minorities on our lists, that the faces were more representative of society. We challenge ourselves to do a better job of finding the best and sharing their stories of success.

At the same time, we ask that the industry, and particularly our honorees, commit to a more diverse work force and target dynamic talent from all over the world. We hope, and trust, our winners are up to the challenge of bringing about change.