As the Russian war on Ukraine continues, companies worldwide are ceasing their sales and services in Russia, and the list is growing daily. This includes companies as large as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, and industry leaders far and wide support even more sanctions. Matt Calkins, Chief Executive Officer of Appian, is one tech leader who supports restricting software sales to the conflict’s aggressor. Appian offers a low-code development platform that is among the most popular software of its kind.
Calkins, who co-founded Appian in 1999, has called the global ban of sales to Russia a battle of “good and evil” — as vocal a stance as any executive has taken. In fact, from the beginning the company has avoided doing business with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and Calkins is urging other public tech companies to join the embargo.
The CEO has been an active advocate for Ukraine, creating fight4ukraine.com, a website that tracks the world’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His goal with the tool, made in conjunction with the Renew Democracy Initiative, is to keep other major tech corporations honest while the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains ongoing.
