The Ethical CEO Awakens in A Documentary About Tom Gegax, Confessions of a CEO

By Robert White, Editor-In-Chief

In a time when trust in corporate America is unraveling and tensions between the public and CEOs are approaching a dangerous boil, Tom Gegax offers a deeply personal and timely counterpoint. As co-director of the new documentary Confessions of a CEO: My Life in an Out-of-Balance World, now streaming on Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Fandango, and Vimeo, Gegax shares his metamorphosis from traditional CEO to champion of conscious capitalism—just as headlines highlight the perils of unchecked corporate greed, including the tragic killing of UnitedHealth’s CEO and suspicious attacks on other executives.

“I understand the anger at corporate America—I’m angry too,” says Gegax. “Take health care and pharmaceuticals: they’re the No. 1 cause of bankruptcy, charge nearly double what other countries do for worse outcomes, and rake in record profits while paying some of the lowest tax rates. CEO pay has skyrocketed from 20 times the average worker’s salary in the ‘70s to 350 times today. This greed isn’t okay.”

Gegax’s path to redemption wasn’t born of a business seminar or social pressure—it was forged in personal reckoning. Thirty-five years ago, he battled throat cancer, a struggle he attributes to the relentless, unbalanced lifestyle of a high-powered CEO. That wake-up call propelled him to reinvent his leadership style and priorities. Today, as chairman of The Gramercy Fund—a socially responsible venture capital firm—he mentors thought leaders like Deepak Chopra and Al Gore, and preaches a new message: profit must serve people, not the other way around.

Confessions of a CEO is a bold, 90-minute feature documentary that reveals the inner world of corporate leadership, featuring commentary from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner, and Chopra himself. But its heart beats with Gegax’s belief that ethical transformation is not just possible—it’s essential.

“There are fair, effective ways to fight back—without violence,” he emphasizes. “Buy from socially conscious companies. Call out corporate excess online. Take your business elsewhere. Even in pharmaceuticals, there are alternatives, like Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs.”

While the film critiques corporate greed, it doesn’t let viewers off the hook. Instead, it calls for accountability on both sides of the boardroom. Gegax believes that servant leadership is key to restoring balance: “The best CEOs see themselves as head coaches, not bosses. They work for the people, not the other way around.”

He draws a sharp distinction between small business leaders—who often found or grow companies with sweat equity—and executives brought in from the top with massive pay packages and little empathy for the workforce. “Small business CEOs have done more in their communities and for their employees. They deserve respect,” he says. “But when a CEO makes 350 times what an average worker earns—what someone would have to work for 350 years to make—that’s not just inequitable. That’s immoral.”

So how do we fix it?

Transparency is Gegax’s north star. He proposes that corporations report more than just earnings: “They should disclose CEO-to-worker pay ratios, employee happiness indexes, customer experience scores, and community contribution percentages. Where there is measurement, there is motivation.”

Just as critical, he says, is internal evolution. “CEOs need to grow emotionally and spiritually—through therapy, self-reflection, mentorship, and real human connection. Business doesn’t have to be soulless.”

With Confessions of a CEO, Gegax offers a blueprint for navigating the moral crossroads of modern capitalism. His is not a call to overthrow the system—but to redeem it, with heart, humility, and hard truth.

“Tough, not rough,” he concludes. “A warm-hearted, tough-minded approach—boycotts, organizing, and public pressure—can change the system. But shooting CEOs or setting their homes on fire? That’s not the way forward.”

Indeed, in a time of economic extremism and corporate cynicism, Tom Gegax stands as a rare voice of conscience in the C-suite.