Leadership Next

2025 Recap: CEOs discuss embracing AI, tracking wellness, and marketing for Gen Z | Leadership Next

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller recap the year’s defining themes on Leadership Next - from CEO wellness and “leaders as athletes,” to AI-driven org redesign at companies like Corning, Gen Z’s reshaping of work and marketing, and a look ahead to 2026 with a focus on purpose, people, and measurable impact.

Expedia’s CEO on the U.S. tourism slowdown, AI, and 2026 travel predictions | Leadership Next

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Expedia Group’s CEO Ariane Gorin joins Fortune’s Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller for a deep dive on the technology, trends, and economic realities shaping travel today. Ariane explains how AI is already changing the way we vacation, how the company is trying to help visitors discover “off the beaten path” cities, and why taking a job no one wanted was critical to her success at Expedia.

Ad legend Dani Richa on AI, risk taking, and how advertising has changed

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 18:41:00 -0000

Dani Richa is the Chairman and Group CEO of Impact BBDO, the famed ad agency that partly inspired Matt Weiner’s classic show Mad Men. Dani joins Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller On Leadership Next to talk about the night he spent watching ads from all over the world, his favorite campaigns, the project he killed, and advertising successfully in MENA. Of course, it wouldn’t be a 2025 conversation without talking about AI and Dani dives in to discuss why ignoring AI tools would be a “missed opportunity,” while still believing that only humans “can do what’s never been done before.”

Why Circle’s CEO Says Stablecoin Regulation Is Essential | Leadership Next

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Circle, one of the world’s largest issuers of stablecoin, went public in June 2025, breaking new ground as the first U.S. stablecoin issuer to do so. Circle issues the world’s second largest dollar-backed stablecoin, USDC, and largest euro-backed stablecoin, EURC. Chairman and CEO of Circle, Jeremy Allaire, spoke to Fortune’s executive editorial director Diane Brady and editorial director Kristin Stoller about the digital currency and how he sees the future of crypto. In this episode of Leadership Next, they discuss why Allaire is lobbying for government regulation of stablecoin and why he says there needs to be global policy change to meet the new internet financial system.

Why entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian is doubling down on women’s sports | Leadership Next

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Alexis Ohanian is a tech entrepreneur and investor whose enterprises have shaped the internet as we know it. He co-founded Reddit and, as an investor, has backed household names like Coinbase, Hubspot, and Patreon, among others. He is the Founder and General Partner of Seven Seven Six, an early stage venture capital firm. Now he’s reshaping the world of women’s sports. In 2020, he co-founded the NWSL Los Angeles expansion team, Angel City, and this past May he bought an eight percent stake in Chelsea Women.

He joined Leadership Next to talk about investing in women’s sports, why he and his all-star wife, Serena Williams don’t work together, and why the next wave of technology will focus on human community.

Why the Company Built on the Mouse Is Going All-In on Gaming | Leadership Next

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Most know Logitech as the world’s largest manufacturer of computer mice. But the company’s reach extends everywhere from boardrooms to game rooms, with product selection that spans ergonomic desk accessories to professional eSports gear.

CEO Hanneke Faber spoke to Fortune’s executive editorial director Diane Brady and editorial director Kristin Stoller about how she’s leading Logitech through both new and long-lasting tech. Faber shared that equality is a core value for the company, why Logitech pivoted away from its multi-brand efforts, and the parallels between her competitive diving career and the risks she takes as CEO.

How CEO Zak Brown Turned Around McLaren Racing | Leadership Next

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0000

McLaren Racing’s Formula 1 team was in a period of decline and suffering record-low sponsorship revenue before Zak Brown took over as CEO.

Shortly before McLaren's second consecutive win at the Constructors’ Championship, Brown sat down for an interview with Fortune’s Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller. He shared how he was able to turn around the culture at McLaren with a “no-blame” policy and his approach to managing the fastest racing drivers in the world.

JLL CEO Christian Ulbrich on Smart Buildings, AI and Global Housing Challenges | Leadership Next

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0000

JLL’s Global CEO and President Christian Ulbrich sat down with Fortune’s Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller to discuss global housing affordability challenges, Zohran Mamdani’s victory, and the relationship between governments and developers.
On this week’s episode of Leadership Next, Ulbrich also gives his predictions about the future real estate trends.
“You enter a building and a camera will detect you. The building will know where you are, what you are using, where you spend your time. Everything will be measured, and that can be scary…” JLL CEO Christian Ulbrich says. “…But on the other hand, it is very beneficiary, because we will be able to operate those buildings at a much lower cost level.”

Kecia Steelman on ULTA’s Global Expansion and Her Dream Collab | Leadership Next

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0000

ULTA Beauty, the largest beauty retailer in the United States, will open its first Middle East store in Kuwait later this week.

The company has been on a trajectory of global expansion since its international debut earlier this year, with the opening of the first stores in Mexico and the major acquisition of the leading British beauty retailer SpaceNK.

CEO Kecia Steelman sat down with Fortune’s Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller to discuss what her first months as CEO have been like, her leadership style, and how social media has charted the way for doing business overseas.

Brené Brown on Leadership During Times of Uncertainty

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Author and researcher Brené Brown sat down with Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women summit to discuss leadership and power during times of uncertainty, political turmoil and fear. Brown emphasized the importance of businesses having mission clarity for every employee, human work over AI “slop,” and making decisions in the space between stimulus and response.

Wendell Weeks on Risk, Resilience & Reinvention at Corning

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Wendell Weeks, Chairman and CEO of Corning Incorporated, joins Diane and Kristin to reflect on leading one of America’s oldest innovators through constant reinvention. Weeks shares rare stories from his partnerships with visionaries like Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos, revealing lessons on collaboration, and what it takes to build a company designed to last the next 150 years. He also discusses Corning’s pivotal role in the iPhone’s creation, its quiet influence across industries from solar to AI, and why true leadership begins with followership.

Eric Glyman on Ramp’s Rocket Growth, AI-Powered Finance, and Redefining Corporate Finance

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Ramp cofounder and CEO Eric Glyman joins Leadership Next to discuss how the fintech upstart has scaled from launch to $1 billion in annualized revenue in just a few years—while reshaping the incentives of the corporate card industry. Glyman explains Ramp’s mission to help companies spend less, how AI is automating millions of hours of financial work, and why urgency and speed are core to Ramp’s culture.

How Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert Leads with Purpose

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Diane and Kristin sit with Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert to discuss how he's redefining what it means to lead a global brand with values at its core. In this candid interview, Gellert discusses Patagonia’s bold financial restructuring, its decision to give away company profits to fight climate change, and why advocacy is essential to making a powerful impact as a company.

Lyft CEO David Risher on comebacks, customer obsession and moonlighting as a Lyft driver

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0000

In this episode, Diane and Kristin sit down with Lyft CEO David Risher to explore his leadership philosophy, deeply rooted in firsthand experience and an unwavering commitment to customer experience. David shares insights on the future of ride sharing, his dedication to delivering exceptional service for both riders and drivers, and the journey that shaped his path to leadership.

Breaking Ground and Glass Ceilings: Sheryl Palmer’s Mission to Humanize Homebuilding

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Sheryl Palmer, Chairman and CEO of Taylor Morrison, joins Leadership Next to share her journey from McDonald’s crew member to the first—and still only—woman leading a publicly traded home builder. In this live episode recorded in Scottsdale, Palmer opens up about leading through the housing crash, the challenges of going public, and what it takes to grow a billion-dollar business without losing its soul. She reflects on navigating the post-2008 crisis, standing up to private equity, and building a culture rooted in empathy and impact. Palmer also unpacks how Taylor Morrison is tackling housing affordability through innovation and policy, why she believes “love the customer” is more than a slogan, and how CEOs today must balance public scrutiny with purpose-driven leadership.

From Meme Stocks to Financial Futures: Vlad Tenev’s Vision for Robinhood

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Vlad Tenev, CEO and cofounder of Robinhood, joins Leadership Next to discuss his evolution as a leader, from weathering the GameStop firestorm to reshaping the platform into a full-spectrum financial services provider. Tenev reflects on how Robinhood disrupted Wall Street giants, the leadership lessons he learned under pressure, and why he sees AI as both a labor market disruptor and a catalyst for wider retail investing. He also opens up about navigating viral misinformation, the power of financial education, and how memecoins and tokenized assets could transform capital markets.

Inside WM’s Plan to Automate the Future of Trash

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0000

WM CEO Jim Fish joins Leadership Next to unpack how the company formerly known as Waste Management is reinventing itself for a new era—one defined by sustainability, automation, and culture-first leadership. Fish explains how WM is transforming from a landfill-dependent waste hauler into a high-tech environmental leader, investing in profitable recycling centers and piloting autonomous garbage trucks. He shares why recycling is not only good for the planet but a major business driver, and reveals WM’s plan to reduce 5,000 jobs through attrition—not layoffs—by automating hard-to-fill roles. Along the way, Fish reflects on the surprising role trash collection has played in improving public health, and why, in his eyes, managing waste responsibly is a civic duty we all share.

Running Through the Boom: How Brooks Is Winning Over Generation Well

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0000

What does it take to lead during a new era of health, culture, and commerce? Brooks Running CEO Dan Sheridan joins Leadership Next to discuss the company’s pivotal role in today’s running resurgence, and how it’s winning over Generation Well. From investing in biomechanics and injury prevention to launching lifestyle collaborations, Sheridan shares how Brooks remains purpose-led and performance-focused while adapting to modern consumer habits. He also reflects on navigating global expansion, tariff challenges, and how a strong internal culture has kept Brooks grounded as it grows.

Gillian Zucker's Blueprint for Modern Sports Entertainment

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0000

Gillian Zucker, master operator at the L.A. Clippers, discussed her unique relationship with owner Steve Ballmer, emphasizing his genuine love for the game. She detailed her career journey, from Hamilton College to roles in PR, sales, and operations. Zucker highlighted the transformation of the Clippers’ fan base and the development of Intuit Dome, focusing on frictionless technology and fan engagement. She shared insights on leveraging data for personalized experiences, such as rewarding loud fans and using facial recognition. Zucker also touched on the Clippers’ commitment to sustainability and efforts to enhance the fan experience through innovative features like the Halo scoreboard and the Wall.

The Yahoo Comeback: Jim Lanzone on Reviving a Tech Icon

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0000

Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone joins Leadership Next to unpack the company’s bold transformation from a sprawling media conglomerate into a streamlined, product-first tech company. He shares lessons from turning around Ask Jeeves; why authenticity, not hype, is key to rebuilding trust; and how Yahoo’s future rests on delivering real utility to users through innovation in AI, sports, finance, and beyond.

Plus, Lanzone gets personal about leadership, family, and why Yahoo’s next 30 years might be its most exciting yet.

The Machine Learns Medicine: Daphne Koller’s Vision for AI in Biotech

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Daphne Koller, CEO of insitro and cofounder of Coursera, joins Leadership Next to unpack a bold idea: Just as calculus revolutionized our understanding of physics, AI could do the same for biology. In this episode, Koller explains how insitro is blending biology and machine learning to unlock new treatments for diseases like ALS and fatty liver. She also opens up about her leap from academia to entrepreneurship, the ethical challenges of data collection, and why the future of medicine lies in personalized, AI-driven care. Plus, her take on why humans and machines must work in tandem to drive meaningful innovation.

Home Truths: Inside the Future of Real Estate With the CEO of Zillow

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman joins Leadership Next to unpack the forces reshaping American real estate—and the friction threatening its transparency. In a wide-ranging conversation, Wacksman addresses the industry lawsuit brought by Compass and defends Zillow’s stance on keeping property listings open and accessible to all. He explains how the current system—a uniquely American one that allows any buyer or agent to view every listing—is now at risk.With home prices nearly doubling since the pandemic and affordability out of reach for many millennials and Gen Z buyers, Wacksman outlines how Zillow is leaning into AI, computer vision, and immersive virtual experiences to create “super listings” that streamline the buying process. He also shares Zillow’s strategy for supporting buyers long before they’re ready to transact, highlighting the role of casual browsing in shaping the future of homeownership.Wacksman discusses the emotional weight of buying a home, why nearly half of buyers report crying during the process, and how Zillow is building tools to ease the burden. He also opens up about the company’s remote-first culture, the power of retreats to foster creativity, and why he champions a “career jungle gym” over a traditional ladder.

Brian Moynihan on Leading Bank of America with Calm, Purpose, and AI

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, joins Leadership Next to reflect on his journey from law to banking—and how that unexpected pivot brought him to the head job at one of the world’s largest financial institutions. He shares his leadership philosophy, emphasizing the power of staying calm in a crisis and the importance of giving energy to his team, not taking it away.

Moynihan discusses Bank of America's strategic shift from aggressive acquisitions to organic growth, fueled by major investments in technology—like the AI assistant Erica. He explains why Erica is evolving from “third-grade Einstein” to near-genius capabilities.

He also shares his perspective on responsible capitalism, the importance of expanding opportunities for underserved communities, and how he's preparing the bank for its next generation of leaders.

Tune in to hear Moynihan's take on what it means to wear responsibility like a “comfortable sweater”—and how corporate leaders can help combat hate and promote dignity in today’s world.

Leading the Built World: Michelle MacKay on Innovation in Real Estate

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Michelle MacKay, CEO of Cushman & Wakefield, doesn’t see the company as just a real estate firm—she sees it as an architect of the built world. In this episode of Leadership Next, she joins us to discuss the evolving definition of commercial real estate and Cushman & Wakefield’s expansive global strategy, from solar installations to hospital management. Michelle reflects on her unconventional path from political science to the C-suite, her “filters-off” approach to hiring, and the lessons boardrooms have taught her about resilience. She also breaks down why adaptability is crucial in cities like New York and Singapore, how AI is reshaping the future of the industry, and why she’s placing big bets on underdog markets like Baltimore and St. Louis.

Hacking the CEO Job: Drew Houston on Reinvention and Leadership

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 08:00:00 -0000

In this episode, Dropbox founder and CEO Drew Houston joins Leadership Next to share how he's reimagining work in the age of AI. He traces Dropbox’s evolution—from solving file-syncing in the early cloud era to launching Dropbox Dash, a new AI-powered search and knowledge-management tool. Houston reflects on the hard lessons from failed ventures into email and photo apps, the pressures of self-disruption, and what it takes to stay relevant in a crowded productivity space. He also opens up about distributed work, leadership growth, and the books and mentors that have shaped his journey toward becoming a “bionic CEO.”

The CEO Turning a "Sleepy Telecom" Into AI’s Fiber Backbone

Tue, 27 May 2025 08:00:00 -0000

In this episode of Leadership Next, cohosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller speak with Kate Johnson, CEO of Lumen, about her bold effort to reinvent a legacy telecom as the digital backbone of the AI era. Johnson shares how Lumen is capitalizing on its vast fiber network to support the explosive data demands of artificial intelligence—and how partnerships with innovators like Corning are helping supercharge that capacity.

Johnson opens up about the cultural overhaul she led inside the company, shifting Lumen’s mindset from “play not to lose” to “play to win,” and implementing leadership frameworks like Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead across tens of thousands of employees.

She also reflects on her personal evolution as a leader, the phases of AI adoption she sees ahead, and why she believes human creativity and empathy will remain central in an AI-driven world.

Mastercard’s Michael Miebach on the Future of Payments—and Why Plastic Is On Its Way Out

Tue, 13 May 2025 08:00:00 -0000

What does the future of money look like when plastic disappears—and payments happen seamlessly in the background?

In this episode of Leadership Next, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach joins hosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller to explore how technology is reshaping the way we spend, save, and connect. With 150 billion transactions processed each year, Mastercard is positioning itself as a key player in the digital economy—far beyond credit cards.

Miebach discusses the company’s push to eliminate manual account entry by 2030, innovations in fraud prevention, and why tokenization is central to building trust in a cashless world. He also reflects on his own path—from a German exchange student in Michigan to the helm of a global financial powerhouse—and Mastercard’s mission to expand financial inclusion, particularly across Africa. From post-COVID spending habits to the end of card numbers, this conversation reveals why payments are more than just transactions—they’re infrastructure for a connected world.

From the Court to the Corner Office: Mat Ishbia’s Blueprint for Winning

Tue, 06 May 2025 08:00:00 -0000

What do mortgage lending and pro basketball have in common? For Mat Ishbia, everything. In this episode of Leadership Next, cohosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller sit down with the CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage—and owner of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury—to explore how Ishbia channels his experience as a Michigan State basketball player into building winning teams in boardrooms and arenas alike.

Ishbia shares how he balances being a hands-on CEO, sports team owner, and father of three, while staying laser-focused on culture, execution, and doing things “the right way.” He opens up about leading UWM to become the country’s largest mortgage lender, revolutionizing fan experiences in Phoenix, and why he believes money follows people—not the other way around.

Redefining Meat With Ethan Brown: The Battle Beyond the Burger

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0000

Ethan Brown, founder and CEO of Beyond Meat, isn’t just trying to disrupt the meat industry—he’s challenging the cultural, political, and economic systems that uphold it. In this episode of Leadership Next, Brown speaks with Fortune’s Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller about the uphill battle of building a plant-based food company in a world dominated by Big Meat.

He shares why he believes alternative proteins are key to addressing the climate crisis, what the latest research says about the health benefits of going plant-based, and how legacy food giants—and even the pharmaceutical industry—are pushing back. From regulatory hurdles in Europe to cultural resistance in the U.S., Brown offers a candid look at what it takes to lead a mission-driven food innovation company in an increasingly polarized marketplace.

Navigating Banking’s Next Chapter: Citizens CEO on Growth and Leading Through Uncertainty

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0000

Citizens Financial Group CEO Bruce Van Saun joins Leadership Next to discuss the bank’s evolution in an era of digital disruption and economic uncertainty. Van Saun shares insights on Citizens' fintech partnerships, its focus on affluent and rate-sensitive customers, and the expansion into private banking. He reflects on leading through financial crises, including the aftermath of 9/11, and the importance of balancing regulatory oversight with innovation. From AI integration to community investment, Van Saun reveals how Citizens is positioning itself as more than just a bank—but a trusted advisor for customers navigating life’s biggest financial moments.

Failing Forward: Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner on Leadership, Innovation, and Customer-Centric Growth

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0000

Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner is betting big on Wendy’s future—expanding internationally, doubling down on breakfast, and leveraging data to drive smarter decisions. In this episode of Leadership Next, cohosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller sit down with Kirk to discuss the fast-food giant’s evolving strategy. Tanner shares insights on the brand’s commitment to fresh ingredients, digital innovation, and international expansion, while reflecting on key leadership lessons from his time at PepsiCo. He also explains why failing forward is essential, how customer behavior—not just feedback—shapes decisions, and sets the record straight on Wendy’s so-called “surge pricing” controversy. Plus, he shares Wendy’s approach to transparency and career advice for rising professionals.

Guest-Obsessed and Future-Ready: How Chipotle Innovates to Grow

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0000

Chipotle is more than just burritos and bowls—it’s a $4 billion digital business with ambitious plans for international expansion. In this episode of Leadership Next, cohosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller sit down with Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright to discuss the brand’s strategy for sustainable growth, the role of AI in streamlining operations, and how external factors like immigration and economic uncertainty shape the fast-casual industry. Boatwright shares his journey from flipping burgers at McDonald’s to leading one of the most recognized food brands, opens up about his friendship with former CEO Brian Niccol, and explains why Chipotle is holding off on breakfast—at least for now.

Beyond Gaming: How Roblox is Redefining Digital Worlds With AI and Wellness

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0000

Roblox started as a simple gaming platform, but today it’s an expansive digital ecosystem powered by AI and user-generated content. In this episode of Leadership Next, cohosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller sit down with Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki to discuss the company’s evolution, the future of interactive entertainment, and how AI is reshaping digital experiences. Baszucki also shares insights on Roblox’s commitment to online safety, its growing role in digital commerce, and even his personal approach to health and wellness—revealing how a ketogenic diet and continuous glucose monitoring influence his leadership. Plus, he offers advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on how to shape their own realities.

The Connected Trip: Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel on the Future of Travel

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 08:00:00 -0000

From spontaneous backpacking trips to AI-powered, hyper-personalized itineraries, travel has undergone a radical transformation. In this episode of Leadership Next, hosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller sit down with Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel to explore the future of travel. Glenn reflects on his early experiences navigating the world before smartphones, how AI is revolutionizing trip planning, and why personalization is key to the industry's evolution. He also discusses Booking Holdings’ rapid growth, its response to global crises like the Ukrainian refugee situation, and the industry’s potential next frontier—hypersonic travel. Plus, he shares insights on leading through uncertainty, the resilience of the travel industry, and why, despite a lifetime of global adventures, his favorite place to travel is home.

Zig Serafin on the ‘Why’ Behind Leadership and How AI is Changing the Game for Experience Management

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 08:00:00 -0000

In this episode of Leadership Next, recorded live at Deloitte University’s Next Generation CEO Conference, hosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller sit down with Qualtrics CEO Zig Serafin for a deep dive into the future of experience management, the transformative power of AI, and the importance of defining your “why” as a leader. Serafin reflects on his 18-year tenure at Microsoft, his leadership journey at Qualtrics, and how the company navigated SAP’s $8.5 billion acquisition, went public, and later returned to private ownership. He also explores the rise of agentic AI, customer experience lessons from Delta Airlines, and what today’s leaders can learn from the early skeptics of the iPhone.

Giving Your Body a Voice: Oura’s CEO on the Power of Wearables

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Oura is more than just a sleep tracker—it’s a cultural phenomenon. In this episode of Leadership Next, Oura CEO Tom Hale joins Diane and Kristin to discuss how the smart ring has become a symbol of well-being, embraced by everyone from high-profile figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Kim Kardashian to everyday users looking to optimize their health. Hale explores Oura’s expansion into activity readiness and women’s health, the importance of accuracy in wearables, and the growing consumer demand for data privacy—especially in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned. He also shares compelling stories of how Oura has helped athletes, cancer patients, and even non-drinkers make informed lifestyle choices and develop healthier habits. Plus, hear his take on whether too much health data can be a bad thing—and what Oura is doing to remain a trusted companion in personal health.

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Reinventing Bayer: CEO Bill Anderson’s Push for Agility and Innovation

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 09:00:00 -0000

When Bill Anderson became CEO of the German pharmaceutical conglomerate Bayer AG in 2023, he found a company with a long history and a robust corporate bureaucracy. The company handbook was 1,300 pages, and layer after layer of management too easily stifled innovation. Anderson, who worked at Genentech earlier in his career, wanted to instill more of an ownership culture, where decisions and information moved more nimbly. Almost two years in, the changes have been significant: The entire company now runs on 90-day review cycles—allowing for quicker course correction and more of a startup feel for the 161-year-old firm. Anderson is this week’s guest on Leadership Next. He spoke to Diane and Kristin about the current state of the health care system, the U.S. regulatory environment, and Bayer’s newest advancements in Parkinson’s treatment, as well as the company’s own complicated history.

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Serial Entrepreneurs Naveen And Ankur Jain On Business Lessons And What Makes Them Tick As Leaders

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Can success run in a family? For serial entrepreneur Naveen Jain, the answer is clearly yes. This week's guests on Leadership Next are Jain and his son, fellow entrepreneur Ankur Jain. Naveen Jain made a name for himself in the 1990s as the founder of InfoSpace. These days he's hard at work on other endeavors, including his personalized medicine company Viome. Meanwhile Ankur, whose earlier company Humin was acquired by Tinder a few years ago, is already on to his next endeavor, a platform called Bilt Rewards, which allows users to pay their rent online, and helps them earn rewards by doing so. Diane and Kristin speak to Naveen and Ankur about the differences in their leadership styles, how Naveen put entrepreneurship front and center for his children, and innovation driven by AI.

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How e.l.f. Beauty Uses Pricing And Technology To Stand Out In The Noisy Cosmetics Industry

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Beauty is a crowded space with tons of entrenched players. But stiff competition hasn’t slowed the growth for e.l.f., the popular drugstore beauty brand founded in 2004. Tarang Amin is e.l.f’s CEO and this week’s guest on Leadership Next. The company and its popular products, including its flagship Halo Glow Liquid Filler, are lower-cost than industry competitors, says Amin. That value proposition, savvy social media marketing partnerships with celebrities like Jennifer Coolidge and Judge Judy, and early moves onto popular tech platforms like TikTok, Twitch, and Roblox, have made the company a Gen Z darling. Amin speaks to hosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller about the importance of DEI in beauty, the brand’s focus on sustainability, and its strategy for dealing with the current U.S. political environment.

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A Deep Dive On The Relationship Between Business And Trust

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Trust is the lifeblood of business. That makes Edelman's annual Trust Barometer a must-read for leaders. This week's guest is Richard Edelman, the CEO of global communications firm Edelman. This year marks Edelman's 25th year doing the Trust Barometer. Richard Edelman talks to hosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller about why trust is more important today than ever, and gives an update on which sectors are gaining or losing on the trust scale. The conversation also highlighted a generational divide around trust, and touched on the importance of business leaders working together where possible to help address some of society’s most intractable issues.

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Why AI Is Fueling Optimism Among CEOs For A Strong 2025

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 09:00:00 -0000

2025 promises to be the year of AI for global business. The change will go beyond applications like the popular chat tools that can answer questions and sort data. For Deloitte US CEO Jason Girzadas, this week's guest on Leadership Next, AI is front of mind for him and the CEOs he speaks with. Girzadas believes 2025 is the year of the full-time digital assistant, with advancements like Agentic AI deploying across a range of functions, driving both efficiency and growth. Along with hosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller, Girzadas also discussed the shift from proof of concept to practical implementations, and how AI is reshaping workforce dynamics and enabling legacy brands to stay competitive.

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Marc Benioff Weighs In On The AI-Powered Future

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 09:00:00 -0000

Salesforce has been at the epicenter of several tectonic shifts in tech over the 25 years of its history. The company, and its CEO and founder Marc Benioff, rightly anticipated that rapid advancements in computing power and bandwidth would usher in a new era of work-from-anywhere technology built on cloud computing. Today, Salesforce, and its powerful suite of software tools have become among the most ubiquitous for business at large. The company’s next big bet is called Agentforce, making it easier for customers to set up agentic AI tools to increase business efficiency. On this special bonus episode of Leadership Next, Diane speaks to Benioff about the new era of AI agents, his leadership mentors, and how San Francisco, his hometown, has shaped Salesforce’s values.

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How Premium Luxury Brand Coach Has Built A Moat For Parent Company Tapestry

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 09:00:00 -0000

If purses are your bag, chances are you're familiar with the classic luxurious silhouettes that made Coach into a global powerhouse brand. The luxe leather goods are but one brand owned by parent company Tapestry, which also has Kate Spade and bootmaker Stuart Weitzman in its portfolio. Joanne Crevoiserat is Tapestry's CEO and this week's guest on Leadership Next. She talks to Diane about what luxury means in 2024, how Gen Z shoppers are sending shock waves through retail, and about AI in fashion.

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What SAP CEO Christian Klein Learned Going From Intern to CEO

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 09:00:00 -0000

AI promises to upend almost every industry in the coming years. SAP, the German software behemoth, is no exception, although the company has already been investing heavily in AI for more than a decade. On this week’s episode of Leadership Next, Diane talks to Christian Klein, the 44-year-old CEO of SAP. Klein grew up at SAP, starting as an intern, and spent years climbing the ranks before being named solo CEO in 2020. The wide-ranging interview covered the need for regulation in the field of AI, the intersection between sustainability and technology, and SAP’s culture.

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Eli Lilly CEO On Why Making New Drugs Is Hard, Takes So Long, And Costs So Much

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 09:00:00 -0000

Pharmaceutical companies are often the poster children for what's wrong with the health care system. New drugs can take decades of development and cost billions of dollars in R&D, and once they clear the FDA, consumers are too often met with sticker shock and high prices for their meds. Dave Ricks, CEO of drugmaker Eli Lilly, this week's guest on Leadership Next, says drug development is very hard—so hard that most of the thousands of Lilly employees who work on R&D for the company may never work on a drug that's actually released. Diane spoke to Ricks about how AI will impact drug development, why health care shouldn't be a political football, and the company's smash-hit obesity drug Tirzepatide.

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Why Malcolm Gladwell Just Took 'Revenge' On His Own Book

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 08:00:00 -0000

In 2000, Malcolm Gladwell published The Tipping Point, identifying the key players and small, seemingly inconsequential decisions that together can make ideas, products, and behaviors spread like a virus. Gladwell was hailed as a guru whose concepts were embraced as a how-to guide for marketers and policymakers. In his latest book, Revenge of the Tipping Point, Gladwell revisits the themes from his original book to examine how they’ve held up and also been manipulated to create negative impacts. In this week’s episode of Leadership Next, Diane Brady speaks to Gladwell about his perspective on The Tipping Point today, as well as on topics from leadership to the decline of local news.

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Inside Nextdoor's Next Chapter

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 08:00:00 -0000

How do you create an online community that can foster in-person connections? That's what Nextdoor, the social network for neighbors, has been trying to do since its 2008 founding. This week's guest on Leadership Next is current—and former—CEO Nirav Tolia. Tolia, a longtime entrepreneur, talks to Diane about returning to the company he cofounded, what people gain by getting to know their neighbors, and what it's like to be on Shark Tank.

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How PG&E Is Charting A New Course Post-Bankruptcy

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 08:00:00 -0000

When Patti Poppe took over as CEO of the massive California utility Pacific Gas & Electric in 2021, the company had gone through a very rough period. It was found liable for multiple California wildfires, dealt with a bankruptcy, and paid billions of dollars in settlements to fire victims. Poppe says the size and importance of the opportunity at PG&E is what drew her to the turnaround. On this week’s episode of Leadership Next, Poppe, the first woman to lead two separate Fortune 500 companies, talks to Diane about PG&E’s progress towards going carbon-free, its massive safety overhaul, and how love has shaped her leadership philosophy.

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How T-Mobile Conquered The Mobile Market

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 08:00:00 -0000

When T-Mobile burst on the scene in 2002, the wireless market was already saturated with big players like Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T. To make inroads, the company became “The Uncarrier,” famous for customer-centric contracts with better pricing and more user-friendly terms and features. Twenty-two years later, T-Mobile today is one of the biggest telecom companies in the world. On this week’s episode of Leadership Next, Diane speaks to CEO Mike Sievert, who took over for John Legere in 2020. Sievert, a longtime technology executive, has interests that go way beyond wireless. He’s also a pilot. Topics covered include innovation in the wireless space, how AI will change telecom, and what happens when a company goes from startup to incumbent.

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Here's how AI is shaking up the job market in 2024

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Hiring is always high stakes for CEOs. The right hire can help drive an organization to new heights, and the wrong one can take years to recover from. So, most business leaders are keenly aware of how important it is to hire well. Yet, there's no silver bullet. On this week's episode of Leadership Next we speak to Indeed CEO Chris Hyams. According to Hyams, demand for in-person jobs is way up, while remote jobs, which gained in popularity during the pandemic, have seen fewer openings recently but continue to be sought after by job seekers. In addition, Hyams provided interesting perspective on the impact of generative AI on jobs, and shared insights from Indeed’s treasure trove of data.

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Why The Car Industry Is A Reflection Of The Economy

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Climate change will force almost every industry to move away from dependence on fossil fuels. Automotive is no exception, where EVs are gaining in popularity in certain sections of the United States and across the globe. This week on Leadership Next, Diane speaks to Bill Nash, CEO of CarMax, one of the nation’s largest car resellers. Nash started his career at electronics retailer Circuit City, which was at that time CarMax's parent company. The episode is a wide-ranging conversation about trends in the car industry, the impact of high interest rates on consumers' buying habits, and the Tesla effect on the EV market.

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The Hedge Fund Founder Now Taking On Climate Change

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 08:00:00 -0000

The climate crisis will require a whole host of solutions—spanning technology, investment, and policy. It’s this intersection that is now the focus for Tom Steyer, who’s had a hugely successful career as an investor, and more recently a Democratic political candidate. Through his company Galvanize Climate Solutions, Steyer is now investing in firms on the forefront of the climate fight. On this episode of Leadership Next, he spoke to Diane about the future of EVs, investing in infrastructure to combat climate change, and China’s climate opportunity.

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Inside JCPenney’s Recipe For Retail Success

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Technology has fundamentally altered retail shopping habits, as savvy customers know they can buy almost anything they want with a single tap of their smartphones. But JCPenney, the iconic American department store brand, says customers still value in-store shopping. For Marc Rosen, who had a long career at Levi Strauss & Co. and Walmart before taking over as JCPenney CEO in 2021, customer focus has been key. On this week’s episiode of Leadership Next, Rosen talks to Diane about back-to-school shopping, why customers don’t like to buy clothing where they get groceries, and about how technology continues to shake up retail.

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How Jim Kavanaugh Went From Olympian To CEO

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Can lessons learned in the world of sports translate in the world business? Jim Kavanaugh, CEO of the tech behemoth World Wide Technology, ought to know. Long before he cofounded World Wide Technology in 1990, he represented the United States as a member of the 1984 Olympic soccer team. On this week's episode of Leadership Next, Kavanaugh talks to Diane about the AI boom, the benefits of running a tech company from the Midwest, and the surge in popularity of soccer in the United States.

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How A Duck Helped Aflac Double Sales

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 08:00:00 -0000

What does a duck know about selling insurance? Nothing, unless you're Aflac. The famous duck has been the company's mascot since 2000. On this episode of Leadership Next, Diane talks to Aflac CEO Dan Amos about running the company started by his family, shifts in the insurance landscape, and, of course, the duck.

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How Cybersecurity Became A Top Priority For Business Leaders

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Cybersecurity is front and center for business today, regardless of industry. That fact has helped fuel Palo Alto Networks’ growth in recent years. According to CEO Nikesh Arora, this week’s guest on Leadership Next, data security is no longer just a problem for the IT department—it impacts decision-making across all levels of an organization. Diane spoke to Arora about his long career in tech and finance, the security implications of the AI boom, and how growing up the son of an Indian Air Force officer prepared him to be a leader.

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Why Kellogg's Became Kellanova

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops and Raisin Bran. These are just a few of the popular cereals that made the Kellogg Company a global leader in breakfast. But over the decades Kellogg's has expanded far beyond cereal into a snack powerhouse as well, with brands like Pringles, Pop-Tart's and the fan favorite Cheez-It crackers. Trouble is, while its snack business was growing quickly, its cereal business was in decline. Last year, Kellogg's split in to two companies. Its North American cereal business is now a standalone company called WK Kellogg Co, and its snack brands and international cereals are run out of the newly formed Kellanova company. On this week's episode of Leadership Next, Kellanova CEO Steve Cahillane talks to Diane about the tough choice to separate the companies, why Pringles are a hit overseas, and the love affair between Cheez-It and Taco Bell.

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What Kendra Scott’s Employees Taught CEO Tom Nolan About Being A Better Leader

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Kendra Scott started her jewelry company with $500 in 2002 out of her house in Austin. Today it’s a billion-dollar jewelry brand with both mass-market and premium lines and hundreds of retail stores across the country. On this week's episode of Leadership Next, Diane Brady talks to Kendra Scott CEO Tom Nolan about the company's growth plans, his unlikely path to the CEO role, the process of taking over for a founder, and what being CEO of a female dominant company has taught him about leadership.

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Inside Sephora’s Plan To Win At Retail In The Age Of Beauty Influencers

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have become key drivers for trends in the beauty space in recent years. The power of beauty influencers shows no sign of slowing down, according to president and CEO of Sephora North America Artemis Patrick, this week’s guest on Leadership Next. After spending the bulk of her career at the LVMH-owned company, Patrick, who became North America CEO in April, is now the first woman to lead the brand. She talks about Sephora’s push to modernize its stores, industry trends, the importance of DEI at Sephora, and how her time in foster care as a child helped her become an empathetic leader.

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Klarna’s CEO Is Taking On Giants Visa and Mastercard with Gen Z–Approved Buy-Now, Pay-Later Offerings

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 08:00:00 -0000

If you shop on the internet, you’ve probably seen Klarna—and its buy-now, pay-later installment offers—when shopping at major retailers like Bloomingdale's, Foot Locker, or Sephora. The company’s plans allow shoppers to break up purchases into four equal payments, with no interest. Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski says installment plans fill a gap in the market, allowing customers some payment flexibility without the interest and fees found with typical credit cards.

But Klarna does much more than just installments. On this week’s episode of Leadership Next, Michal and Diane Brady talk to Siemiatkowski about Klarna’s early adoption of AI, why the company also offers credit cards, and its growth plans.

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How Warby Parker Went From Disruptor To Incumbent

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 08:30:00 -0000

Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa started Warby Parker as a business school project in 2010. The premise was simple: shake up the old-line optical business by selling frames online, and at a lower price than traditional retail. Today, Warby Parker is one of the biggest players in optical, a robust online business leveraging e-commerce but with a growing retail footprint of some 250 stores as well.

On this episode of Leadership Next, Michal talks to Neil and Dave about Warby Parker's founding story, changing consumer behavior, and how to remain innovative as a company matures beyond startup mode.

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How GE Appliances Made Nugget Ice Into Big Business

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 08:00:00 -0000

GE Appliances started making products for cooking and heating way back in 1907. Today, it’s one of the largest manufacturers of appliances in the U.S. On this episode of Leadership Next, Alan and Michal talk to GE Appliances president and CEO Kevin Nolan about the company’s culture of entrepreneurship, keeping up with changes in consumer behavior, and why “nugget ice” has become a game changer.

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How BNY, The Bank Founded by Alexander Hamilton, Stays Innovative

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 11:30:00 -0000

Its origin story dates back to the birth of the United States. Today, some 240 years later, Bank of New York—the bank founded by Alexander Hamilton—is a global giant that powers large swaths of the worldwide financial system.

On this week's episode of Leadership Next, Alan talks to BNY CEO Robin Vince about cybersecurity, how to build an enduring company culture, and how a 240-year-old firm innovates for the future.

A note for listeners: This interview was recorded before BNY Mellon rebranded as BNY.

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What USAA Learned From The Pandemic

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 08:00:00 -0000

In 1922, 25 military veterans came together to start USAA. At the time, military families were having difficulty getting car insurance. Fast-forward to today, and USAA provides insurance and financial services to millions of veterans and their families. This clear mission, says CEO Wayne Peacock, has actually helped the 102-year-old company remain innovative.

On this episode of Leadership Next, Peacock talks to Alan and Michal about inflation’s impact on the insurance and housing sectors, hiring military veterans, and how early investments in technology gave USAA an advantage during the pandemic.

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How Lyft's Customer Focus Has Helped It Compete Against Rival Uber

Tue, 28 May 2024 08:00:00 -0000

When David Risher became CEO of Lyft in 2023, he realized the ridesharing company had a speed problem. At the time, it took Lyft cars on average four extra minutes to arrive compared to wait times for cars from Uber, its main competitor. A year later, thanks to onboarding many more drivers onto the Lyft platform, the difference is down to 10 seconds.

On this episode of Leadership Next, Risher chats with Alan and Michal about innovation in ridesharing and Lyft's customer-centric focus, including new features designed to make women drivers and passengers feel safer when they use the platform. For Risher, transparency isn't just a buzzword: His work email is readily publicized and drivers often reach out directly with feedback. He also makes a habit of driving Lyft cars every six weeks, an opportunity to hear from customers directly as well.

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Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan Shares Valuable Lessons Learned From Apple and Google

Tue, 21 May 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Volvo Cars has an ambitious goal of going all electric by 2030. But, according to CEO Jim Rowan, the EV push won't be linear. Major population centers are way ahead of rural communities, both in the U.S. and globally when it comes to things like charging infrastructure, critical for the move away from gas-powered cars.

Rowan became CEO of Volvo Cars in 2022 after a long career in tech, including stints as the CEO of Dyson and COO of Blackberry. He says Volvo's market position as a premium brand gives it a distinct advantage in a crowded field. On this episode of Leadership Next, Alan and Michal talk to Rowan about innovation in automotive, China's EV-manufacturing infrastructure, and Volvo's 70-year history bringing Scandinavian design sensibility to the U.S. car market.

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Why One of Fintech’s Most Powerful Women Bet $52 Million On A Community Bank

Tue, 14 May 2024 08:00:00 -0000

None of Jackie Reses’s fintech contemporaries were surprised that she bought a bank. A former Square executive, Reses bought Lead Bank to address compliance and technology challenges facing fintechs.

She discusses with Michal how she’s turning a 95-year-old family-owned banking institution into an innovative provider of banking infrastructure for fintechs; the importance of consistent culture across NYC and Kansas City headquarters; the spirit of entrepreneurialism in her family; her experience at Square; and what she learned from Jack Dorsey.

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The Inventor Behind the Apple Watch Shutdown: Masimo CEO Joe Kiani Discusses Lawsuit and Health Care Innovation

Tue, 07 May 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Medical-device maker Masimo has been embroiled in a legal battle with Apple over alleged patent infringement and trade-secret theft—resulting in a temporary import ban on some Apple Watch models late last year. But before the medtech company was going up against tech giants in court, Masimo was a quintessential startup story running out of CEO Joe Kiani’s garage.

Kiani himself is every bit the prototypical American dream success story. He emigrated with his family from Shiraz, Iran, to Huntsville, Ala., attended college at 15, and started his career as an electrical engineer. He speaks with Michal Lev-Ram about both his and his company’s origin stories; how he’s managed to navigate Masimo’s legal disputes; how he’s stayed ahead of the AI curve; and more.

Note: Apple continues to deny Masimo’s IP claims. Additionally, Apple defended its standards for suppliers, telling Fortune it conducted thousands of assessments and audits last year to ensure healthy labor practices. Apple disputes Kiani's characterization of its App Store commissions.

Axios CEO Jim VandeHei Calls Out The Problem With Most Media

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0000

The media industry has seen a lot of turbulence in the last several decades, but Jim VandeHei managed to cut through the noise and found not just one but two successful news organizations—Axios, where he still serves as CEO, and Politico. As a student, VandeHei says, he struggled academically, but found his calling as a political journalist before ultimately stepping up to be a media entrepreneur.

He speaks with Alan and Michal about his unconventional path to success; lessons he’s learned as an industry-disrupting leader; his thoughts on the media landscape at large; how AI will radically shape newsrooms; his turn as a lifestyle and wellness guru; and more.

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LinkedIn CEO: These Kinds Of Jobs Could Be Most At Risk For Automation

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Everyone is talking about AI and jobs. Will AI take jobs? Will it add jobs? What skills do I need to sharpen as AI continues to impact work? Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn, talks with cohosts Alan and Michal about what he’s seeing in the data.

Roslansky explains why he is transforming LinkedIn into an AI company, and what that will look like for users as well as employees. He also discusses how he feels the education system needs to evolve to accommodate the rapidly growing AI boom; the edge LinkedIn benefits from by being under the Microsoft umbrella; and how he has changed as a leader over the last 10 years.

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Chewy CEO Wants His Customers To Feel Like They’re At Disney

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0000

E-commerce is a notoriously competitive landscape—but online pet retailer Chewy has managed to not just survive, but thrive. Since joining the company in 2018, CEO Sumit Singh has shepherded Chewy through its IPO in 2019 and its debut on the Fortune 500 list in 2021.

He talks with Alan and Michal about Chewy’s obsession with customer loyalty; his background in e-commerce and supply chain, with top leadership positions at Amazon and Dell prior to joining Chewy; what he learned from Jeff Bezos; the company’s expansion into veterinary health care; and more. Plus—the guest and hosts have a chance to share a little bit about their own furry friends.

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Autodesk CEO Believes AI Can Help Solve Housing Supply Challenges—And Do It Sustainably

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Autodesk is a 1980s software company that continues to reinvent itself. CEO Andrew Anagnost attributes this to the company’s ability to be the first to “kill our own businesses.”

Anagnost goes into detail about how he sees AI impacting architecture, specifically when it comes to sustainable construction. He and cohosts Alan and Michal also discuss AI regulation; his “problematic” teenage years; what he learned from former Autodesk CEOs Carol Bartz and Carl Bass; and industrial fungus.

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Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins Discusses Resilience Through a “Constant Time of Crisis”

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Alan sits down with Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins at a Fortune CEO Initiative dinner in NYC, to have a conversation focused on his new role as chair of the Business Roundtable.

Robbins discusses the challenges facing business today, and what he hopes the BRT can accomplish during the next presidential administration, including improvement to trade and immigration, and better policy around tech. He also shares why he believes Cisco continues to be at the top of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.

This conversation was recorded on March 20, 2024.

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How Otis CEO Judy Marks Doubled The Company’s Stock Price

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Alan sits down with Judy Marks at Deloitte University in Westlake, Texas, to have a wide-ranging conversation about Judy’s career in front of an audience of next-generation CEOs.

She recalls Otis’s 2020 spinoff from United Technologies; what she learned as CEO of the newly independent company during COVID; Otis’s growth in the last four years, boosted by its innovation and service business; geopolitics and Otis’s business in China; sustainability; how tariffs impact consumers’ pocketbooks; and what’s next for the 170-year-old company.

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Fannie Mae’s CEO Priscilla Almodovar Says “American Dream Is Still Very Much Alive,” But There’s A Catch

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 08:00:00 -0000

Priscilla Almodovar, CEO of Fannie Mae, is the only Latina on the Fortune 500. She talks to Michal and Alan about how she uses her platform as CEO to make housing more equitable, and recalls her Puerto Rican parents buying their first home on Long Island, N.Y., and how important a piece of the American Dream that was for them.

She also discusses her experience as a woman on Wall Street; how Latinos are becoming a bigger percentage of U.S. homeowners; what she learned from Jamie Dimon; her 2024 housing outlook; and tips for first-time buyers.

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BILL’s René Lacerte To Silicon Valley Founders: 'Don’t Come Here To Make Money'

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 08:00:00 -0000

BILL CEO and founder René Lacerte is a fourth-generation entrepreneur. In 2009 he sold his first company PayCycle, to Intuit. He shares with Michal how being in a family of entrepreneurs has shaped him as a founder and a leader. He also talks about the unique responsibilities a CEO has versus a founder.

He gives advice to future founders about how to navigate potential challenges, especially when taking your company public. He also shares thoughts on how to keep a healthy work-life balance.

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Air Products CEO Seifi Ghasemi Believes Hydrogen Is Our Only Option to Reduce Global Warming

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 09:00:00 -0000

Seifi Ghasemi began his career in energy by attending a school in the middle of a refinery in Iran. Now, at nearly 80 years old, the Air Products CEO believes hydrogen is the only option for fighting the effects of climate change. “There is no other source of energy,” he says.

He discusses with Alan and Michal why he believes Air Products has a responsibility to push markets toward clean energy solutions like hydrogen; whether or not hydrogen-based fuel will be ready for our 2050 net-zero goals; the moment he started paying attention to climate change; and why he hasn’t been on a vacation in 20 years.

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Why Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods Isn’t Convinced We Can Get to Net Zero by 2050

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 09:00:00 -0000

As CEO of the energy giant, Woods is leading the third largest U.S. company through the energy transition. While Exxon Mobil is investing in low-carbon solutions like hydrogen and carbon capture, he is not yet convinced the world as a whole has what it takes to achieve its decarbonization goals.

He discusses in depth with Alan and Michal the roadblocks to net zero; the company’s challenges with activist investors; inflation reduction act subsidies; and, of course, what he does to relax.

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How $4 Billion CEO Is Leveraging Remote Work and Globalization to Prove Both Are Alive and Well

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 09:00:00 -0000

G-P, founded by CEO Nicole Sahin, is an AI-driven global employment platform that enables companies to hire anyone anywhere. Sahin, who came up with the idea for G-P while living in the mountains of Guatemala, shares how her passion for anthropology led her to start the company.

She chats with Alan and Michal about emerging talent markets; how AI empowers G-P to onboard workers in 187+ countries; how best to include remote employees as part of company culture; and how globalization is evolving—not retreating

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Blackbird.AI CEO on How Humans Can Stop Harmful AI and Save Democracy

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 09:00:00 -0000

Narrative attacks can be generated from an actual event that is then exploited by bad actors or can be completely fabricated using advanced technology like generative AI. Blackbird’s goal is to fight disinformation and misinformation and sharpen the line between truth and lies.

Blackbird.AI cofounder and CEO Wasim Khaled discusses a number of topics with host Alan Murray, including the recent attacks on Taylor Swift; weaknesses that bad actors might exploit in the upcoming presidential election; and why generative AI continues to hallucinate.

Khaled also announces a product from Blackbird called Compass, which leverages AI to help people check the validity of a post, video, or photo.

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Sequoia Capital’s Roelof Botha Shares AI Predictions and Where He’s Investing

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 09:00:00 -0000

After leaving PayPal, Roelof Botha went on to help Sequoia nurture some of the world’s most influential tech companies, including YouTube, Instagram, and Square.

Sequoia has been an investor in the AI space for a long time. The firm was an early investor in OpenAI, the company that has accelerated the current AI wave with its groundbreaking generative AI technology, which Botha sees as a foundational shake-up for business. He tells Alan and Michal that he doesn’t think this wave of AI is hype, and that it will be transformational. He shares his thoughts on what sectors he believes this tech will be most impactful in; why it rivals the previous waves of internet, cloud, and mobile; and whether we will see an AI bubble. He also provides insight into the current state of the venture capital industry.

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Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on the Biggest Risk and Biggest Opportunity Facing Business in 2024

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 09:00:00 -0000

Amazon is not just the “everything store,” it is the “everything company.” No. 2 on the Fortune 500, the e-commerce giant impacts our lives in many ways. It delivers our groceries, entertains us with Prime Video, provides us health care with One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy, and plans to provide the planet with broadband internet.

Alan sits down with Amazon president and CEO Andy Jassy at Fortune’s annual Davos dinner to discuss all the above topics and more, including how generative AI will challenge and transform business, Jeff Bezos’s leadership, and the FTC’s antitrust case against the company.

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Wisdom for Navigating the Year Ahead from Leadership Next

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 09:00:00 -0000

A lot of tough decisions come your way when you’re a CEO – particularly in today’s world where there are no shortage of challenges. In Leadership Next's final episode of the season, hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram look back at 2023, highlighting how some of their favorite guests from the year are navigating these challenges.

Hear from LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman on AI; Vicki Hollub of Occidental Petroleum on climate; CVS Health's Karen Lynch on women in leadership; and Ken Frazier of General Catalyst - plus former Merck CEO - on how to lead with purpose in an increasingly divided world.

Also featured in this episode, CEO of Deloitte US, Jason Girzadas.

Meet the World's First Minister of State for AI

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 09:00:00 -0000

As business continues to search for ways to harness the incredible power of AI, it's becoming more clear than ever before that the technology requires some level of regulation. But how much is too much? How do you design laws for something that's evolving so quickly? And what happens if you get it wrong? In an effort to get these questions right, the United Arab Emirates created the world's first government position solely dedicated to AI. The goals for this role extend far beyond regulation however, as we hear in this episode of Leadership Next.

Host Alan Murray sits down with His Excellency Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence for the UAE. In addition to talking about his job responsibilities, His Excellency explains why he believes the UAE can become a major player in the global AI ecosystem and he describes his goals for the country's University of Artificial Intelligence.

Also in this episode, hear from the woman who is President Biden's key advisor on AI-related topics, Arati Prabhakar. She’s Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy - and perhaps the closest thing the U.S. has to a Minister of AI.

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How KFC Is Different in China, and Other Insights from Yum China's CEO

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 09:00:00 -0000

While KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell have their roots in the U.S., the restaurants have a big fan base in China. Yum China, which spun off from Yum! Brands in 2016, runs 14,000 restaurants in over 1,900 cities and - under CEO Joey Wat - is growing fast. Wat told Leadership Next host Alan Murray the company is opening several new locations each day.

Unlike their American counterparts, the majority of these restaurants are not owned by franchisees. But the differences don't stop there as Wat explains. (Durian pizza, anyone?) Also in this episode: Wat's journey to the C-suite, what she looks for when hiring, and how she thinks about building sustainability into the business.

Deb Liu Is Using Learnings from Facebook to Build Ancestry

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0000

Ancestry - the company best known today for analyzing user DNA to help build out family trees - actually started almost 40 years ago as a publishing entity focused on genealogy. CEO Deb Liu, who took the reins in 2021, is now charged with finding new ways to expand Ancestry's offerings. She's well-prepared for that task, Liu told hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram, after 11 years as an exec at Facebook.

"I think part of what makes Facebook really special is that it really believe(s) in actually building products and having product-lead growth," Liu said. "And I think that that's really important."

In this episode of Leadership Next Liu shares what brought her to the CEO role at Ancestry, the challenges women leaders continue to face in the workplace, and how growing up in a small Southern town impacted her leadership style.

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How this Swedish Chemist Founded Not One But Two Battery Startups

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0000

It's become increasingly clear that lithium-ion batteries are key to a sustainable future. Is it too late for the U.S. to become a power player in this industry? That's the question Leadership Next host Alan Murray has for today's guest, a woman he calls "The Battery Queen" because she is one of the pre-eminent experts on batteries in the world. Currently founder and CEO of battery technology company Cadenza Innovation, Christina Lampe-Onnerud previously founded and led Boston-Power. That company was sold to Chinese investors in 2011. Now, Lampe-Onnerud is part of Li-Bridge, a public-private partnership working to create a robust manufacturing base and supply chain for lithium-ion batteries in the United States.

Recorded in front of a live audience at Deloitte's Next Generation CEO event (Deloitte is also a sponsor of this podcast), Lampe-Onnerud details the rise of the global battery industry, explains why her first company wound up going to the Chinese, and lays out what needs to happen in order for the U.S. to compete in this space.

She also talks about growing up in Sweden and how she became interested in a career that revolves around batteries.

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Ken Frazier on Why CEOs Must Have Principles

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0000

Ken Frazier is currently Chairman, Health Assurance Initiatives, at General Catalyst, which is just the most recent leadership position on an impressive resume. Frazier served as CEO of pharmaceutical giant Merck for 10 years, stepping down in 2021. He is also co-founder and former CEO of the OneTen initiative - aimed at connecting underrepresented talent with corporate jobs - and, until last year, was the Lead Independent Director of the ExxonMobil Board of Directors.

Frazier has also become known for standing by his principles. He first made a name for himself as a young lawyer in the early 1990s, when he represented a wrongfully-convicted death row inmate and worked to get his conviction overturned. In 2017, he resigned from former President Trump's Manufacturing Advisory Council after the president's ambivalent comments following the Charlottesville rally. The move prompted a number of CEOs to follow in his footsteps. And in 2021, spurred by a new law in Georgia, Frazier urged corporate America to vocally fight for voting rights for all Americans.

In this episode of Leadership Next, recorded live in Washington D.C. at a Deloitte Next Generation CEO event, Frazier tells host Alan Murray why these decisions were a matter of principle not politics and why he thinks CEOs can and should stand for every American's right to vote regardless of their political views. He also discusses the challenges he faced in his first few years as CEO of Merck and the shareholders who trusted his vision enough to support him. Finally, Frazier talks about starting the OneTen coalition after the murder of George Floyd and the need to find a common language to talk about ESG and DEI.

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L'Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus on How a 114 Year-Old Beauty Giant Stays Relevant

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0000

L'Oréal is a longstanding giant in the consumer beauty industry. And despite being 114 years-old, the company shows no signs of slowing down. The L'Oréal group has a portfolio of 37 international brands, more than 87,000 employees and 20 research centers across 11 countries around the world. In 2022, the L'Oréal group generated $42 billion in revenue, a 10% year-over-year increase. Nicolas Hieronimus, who first joined the company in 1987, took over as CEO of L'Oréal in 2021. He is only the sixth person in the company's history to hold the title, and he is keenly focused on keeping the century-old beauty company relevant in a rapidly changing world.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Hieronimus sits down with host Michal Lev-Ram to talk about L'Oréal's evolution into a "beauty tech" company and how it uses tech both in its consumer-facing products and in its internal R & D operations. He also discusses the luxury brands responsible for L'Oréal's historic 2022 revenue growth and how L'Oreal goes about strategically acquiring brands. Additionally, Hieronimus shares more about L'Oréal's sustainability efforts, using TikTok to gather consumer feedback and track beauty trends, and how he works to keep L'Oréal's core culture in place despite having employees scattered all over the world.

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Lessons in Leadership from Fortune's 2023 Most Powerful Women Summit

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Fortune's 2023 Most Powerful Women Summit took place on October 10th-12th in Laguna Niguel, CA. Over the three days, women across a wide variety of industries (healthcare, politics, entertainment, retail, and tech - just to name a few!) took the stage to share their perspectives on the state of their respective businesses, what it means to be a woman in leadership and how to address global tumult while also running a business. In today's episode of Leadership Next, you will hear excerpts from conversations with three women who especially embody many of the MPW values like leadership, tenacity, vision and creativity. Leadership Next Hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram share their perspectives on the Summit throughout the episode.

Up first, we hear from Senator Laphonza Butler who joined Fortune's Emma Hinchliffe onstage just one week after she was sworn in as a California senator, filling the seat vacated by Dianne Feinstein who passed away in September. Senator Butler discusses being an example of economic empowerment for women and girls and the power of coalition building across parties and the business sector to affect real change.

In the second conversation of the episode, Lev-Ram sits down with #35 on the 2023 MPW list, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Starbucks and Ariel Investments co-CEO Mellody Hobson. Hobson shares how she initially became interested in strategic decision making and how to keep DEI a priority in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action. Hobson also dives deeper into the origin of the idea for Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan to complete a six-month barista immersion.

Finally, we hear excerpts from Lev-Ram's conversation with #53 on the 2023 MPW List, Netflix Chief Content Office Bela Bajaria. Bajaria discusses how the company chooses which content to produce and acquire, plus the importance of balancing the use of algorithms versus trusting her gut in that process.

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Janet Yellen on the Current State of the Economy and Joaquin Duato on why J & J is in its "Golden Era"

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0000

The Fortune CEO Initiative was formed in 2016 as a membership organization bringing together CEOs of purpose driven companies that are committed to addressing business excellence, diversity, and major societal issues as a core part of their business strategies. Each year since then, members have gathered for a one of two day conference to exchange ideas and discuss best practices. The 2023 conference took place last week in Washington D.C., with sessions that focused on topics like: staying committed to social impact programs in a tough economic environment, generative A.I. and sustainable business practices.

In this week's episode of Leadership Next, you will hear two conversations from CEOi. First up, Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell sits down with Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato. The two discuss why Duato thinks J&J is in its "golden era", as well as the potential of J &J's consumer brands to compete with companies like L'Oreal. Duato talks about J&J's ongoing R&D in the areas of robotics and A.I. Duato also shares his thoughts on how he approaches leading through the tumult of crises like the baby powder lawsuit and the pulling of J&J's COVID-19 vaccine from American markets.

In the second half of the episode, Fortune CEO Alan Murray talks to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen about the current state of the economy. They discuss the narrow avoidance of a full government shutdown, U.S. and global investment in industrial development of things like semi-conductors, and generative A.I. and how it may affect productivity. Yellen also shares her predictions for interest rates, job creation and the economy as a whole.

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Starbucks' Laxman Narasimhan Wants to Serve Connection in Every Cup

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Laxman Narasimhan is six months into being CEO of the world’s most ubiquitous coffee shop. Narasimhan took over Starbucks from Howard Schultz in March of 2023. Before stepping into the CEO's office, he completed a six month immersion in Starbucks cafes around the country, where he learned the ins and outs of making each customer’s favorite drinks while also constructing a vision for the future of the company. In April of this year, Narasimhan sent out a letter with a revised company mission statement highlighting the need to nurture human connection while also promising big returns for shareholders. Those big returns may come in part from the company's plans to open 10,000 more stores across the globe by 2025.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Narasimhan joins hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram to talk about how his six month immersion is informing his leadership of Starbucks. He also shares more details about Starbucks' plans for growth and why this is the right time to open thousands of new stores around the world. Additionally, Narasimhan gives his take on the state of Chinese and Western relations, and how that affects Starbucks' business. Woven throughout the conversation is how his personal story of growing up in India impacts his approach to leadership.

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Julia Hartz of Eventbrite on Bouncing Back

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Julia Hartz started the event management and ticketing platform Eventbrite in 2006 alongside her then fiancée. The goal: bring the world together through live events. Hartz took over as CEO in 2016 and led Eventbrite through its $230 million IPO in 2018. The years following this promising IPO were rocky for Eventbrite. When the Covid-19 pandemic decimated the live events industry, Eventbrite lost 90% of its revenue and laid off 45% of its workforce. Yet as the world reopened and the live events industry bounced back, so did Eventbrite. In 2022, it pulled in $3.3 billion in gross ticket sales and made $261 million in revenue, an almost 40% year-over-year increase - all while maintaining an average ticket price of $40.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Hartz joins hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram to discuss how the company navigated the challenging early days of the pandemic and how it bounced back alongside the return of live events. Hartz also talks about why Eventbrite is different than other ticketing platforms and how Eventbrite is democratizing live events for both organizers and attendees. Additionally, Hartz shares her perspective on the the post-pandemic state of live events, including why events are currently so expensive (even if you're not going to see Taylor Swift of Beyoncé). Finally, Hartz talks about the challenges and advantages of starting a company with her now husband, the reality of being one of the few women who have taken a tech company public and why women are uniquely suited to lead a company through a crisis.

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Paula Kerger on Moving PBS Into the Future

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Paula Kerger has been the CEO of PBS for 18 years, making her the longest-serving CEO in the broadcaster's history. Kerger oversees 330 member stations across the country and led the transformation of PBS from a broadcaster to a multiplatform digital media organization that boasts a slate of podcasts, a YouTube channel, and programming on streaming services like Amazon Prime and Hulu. According to the company, PBS reaches 42 million adults through linear television each month and another 15 million through streaming platforms, with another 56 million people viewing PBS content on social media.

In this episode of Leadership Next, hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram sit down with Kerger to talk about why public access media is still relevant in an increasingly digital, and increasingly divided, world. Kerger shares more specific details about the opportunities and challenges of PBS' digital transformation and what leadership lessons she learned in the process. Kerger also discusses PBS' commitment to climate and civic programming, the enduring power of PBS Kids, how PBS is affected by the ongoing SAG and WGA strikes and the politics of PBS' funding.

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Design for the Rapidly Changing World of Work

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Diane Hoskins and Andy Cohen have been co-leading global design and architecture firm Gensler for 18 years. Gensler has 53 locations and 6,500 designers distributed across the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Gensler has designed some high profile projects including airport additions like SFO's T2 terminal, office redesigns like the Marriott HQ in Bethesda, MD and sports stadiums like the New York Mets' Citi Field. Hoskins and Cohen believe great design is researched-based and responds to the crises and innovations transforming our world. In fact, they've written a book about the need for great design, entitled “Design for a Radically Changing World,” set to publish in February 2024.

In this episode of Leadership Next, hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram chat with Hoskins and Cohen about the return to work trends revealed in Gensler's 2023 Workplace Report and how the design of office spaces should change to accommodate these trends. They also discuss the opportunities and challenges of converting empty office space into housing, the demand for sustainable design, and how they've been able to successfully navigate being co-CEOs for 18 years.

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Supply Chain "Superstar" Dave Clark on Transforming a Shipping Company That Isn't Amazon

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Due to deep disruptions caused by global crises like Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine, the supply chain has been top of mind, and top of the media cycle, for more than three years. Even the most casual business news observers now have a basic knowledge of how the supply chain works, and how it breaks. But none of us are quite the expert that Dave Clark is. Clark is probably best known for his 23 year stint at Amazon. He joined Amazon in 1999 and is credited with building out its current logistics infrastructure and ended his tenure there as the CEO of Worldwide Consumer Business. He left Amazon in June 2022, and soon after he became the CEO of freight forwarder Flexport.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Clark joins host Michal Lev-Ram to discuss his plan to transform Flexport from a freight forwarder into an end-to-end supply chain platform. He also reflects on how this moment in Flexport's history feels very similar to when he joined Amazon, and what elements of Amazon's culture he is bringing to Flexport- and which elements he isn't. Additionally, he shares his advice on building a team to lead the business you want, rather than the business you have. Clark also gives his take on the current state of the supply chain and what it means for this year's holiday shopping.

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Comparing the Crypto Crash of 2022 to the Dot-Com Bust of the 1990s

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0000

The great crypto crash of 2022 was spectacular, to say the least. $2 trillion evaporated seemingly overnight. FTX collapsed. The price of Bitcoin fell to $18,000 in June 2022 just one year after it reached an all time high price of $69,000. The stablecoin company Circle was not also not spared. It lost half its valuation, had to delay going public, and was impacted by the SVB collapse. But things have turned around for Circle. It's USDC stablecoin regained its dollar peg in March and there is $26 billion of it in circulation.

In today's episode of Leadership Next, Circle CEO and co-founder Jeremy Allaire joins hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram to discuss how Circle, and the entire crypto industry, is pulling itself out of last year's wreckage. He compares the crypto crash of 2022 to the dot com bust of the late 90s and predicts that crypto will one day be as ubiquitous as the internet. Allaire also discusses the underlying value of crypto beyond being a speculative asset and how Circle's focus on stablecoins sets them apart. He also shares his take on the importance of the regulation of crytpo, both by the U.S. government and global bodies. Additionally, Allaire talks about the increasing role of traditional finance institutions in the crypto market and Circle's partnership with the UN to make USDC usable by Ukrainian refugees

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People Are Dreading Work; This Billion-Dollar Mental Health Company Is Trying to Help

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0000

In 2021, the popular mediation app Headspace merged with the enterprise teletherapy provider Ginger. The merger created a $3 billion mental health care company that serves both enterprise and consumer customers. The company says it now serves 4,000 employers across 200 countries and that several million people actively use the Headspace app each month. Headspace Health is keenly interested in the growing need for mental health support in the work place. A May 2023 Headspace Health survey of over 4,000 workers found that 49% of respondents felt a sense of dread at work at least once a week. That number climbed to 59% for CEOs.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Headspace CEO Russ Glass joins host Michal Lev-Ram to discuss how the provider's services can help address these dreadful feelings and why he thinks these feelings have persisted beyond the pandemic. He also talks about how the company's approach differs for its enterprise and consumer customers, and why those differences matter. Additionally, Glass shares what he thinks business gets wrong about mental health and offers his advice to leaders on how they can support their employees' mental health while also protecting their own. Glass also discusses how meditation changed his life and why he stepped back from his career for over a year to raise his three daughters.

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Roam Is Trying to Revolutionize Remote Work

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0000

We are more than three years into a pandemic-altered way of working. Many companies have decided to stay fully remote or offer their employees hybrid work options, which means workers across the world have become very familiar with ever-present apps like Zoom and Slack. But there is a new remote work tool that claims to have identified the shortcomings of these existing applications, and promises to make hybrid work more efficient and connected- a tool that claims to cut down meeting times to an average of eight minutes and includes a digital floor plan to see whose in the office and who isn't. Founded by co-founder and former CEO of Yext Howard Lerman, Roam is a "cloud HQ" for distributed teams. Roam launched in November 2022 with $40 million in Series A funding and 40 initial corporate clients.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Lerman joins host Michal Lev-Ram to discuss why he was inspired to start Roam. He also shares how Roam cuts down meeting times, makes communication between colleagues more seamless and how it differs from its competitors. Lev-Ram and Lerman also discuss employees' wariness of the surveillance implications of remote work tools like Roam. They also chat about why Lerman moved the company to Miami and his take on tech hubs outside Silicon Valley.

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The Business Opportunity in Women's Sports

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Kara Nortman fell in love with women's soccer at the Women's World Cup in Vancouver in 2015. She promptly went out to buy a jersey to show her support ... and couldn't find one. She struggled to find a way to watch more women's games. And eventually, this led her to join other investors to bring a women's soccer team to her hometown of Los Angeles. The Angel City FC inaugural season was 2022. Then, in March of 2023 she - along with business partner Jasmine Robinson - launched the Monarch Collective. With an initial raise of $100 million, the fund invests in women's sports, from teams and leagues to adjacent revenue streams like media and gaming.

Today on Leadership Next, Nortman tells hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram what prompted her to leave her long-time job as a tech investor and dive headfirst into the world of women's sports. She lays out the opportunity she sees and plainly states the challenges that accompany her work. Finally, she offers advice to anyone else who is considering making a big career move.

A.I., Green Tech & Protecting Your Privacy

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 15:40:23 -0000

Fortune's 2023 Brainstorm Tech Conference took place over three days last week, and it was one of our buzziest conferences yet. CEOs, a former Vice President, investors, founders, journalists and entrepreneurs gathered in Park City, UT, our first year hosting BST in the "Silicon Slopes," to discuss what's happening in the tech industry.

In this episode of Leadership Next, host Michal Lev-Ram is joined by guest co-host Deputy Tech Editor Alexei Oreskovic to recap the conference's highlights alongside its most controversial moments. We hear from four Utah-based CEOs on the advantages and challenges of doing business in the burgeoning tech hub. Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez and Keith Rabois of the Founders Fund also discuss how the political situation in Florida is affecting tech workers' inclination to relocate to the state. Lev-Ram recaps her conversation with former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann about what he learned from his experience as the embattled founder and leader of the co-working giant and about his new venture, Flow.

Later in the episode, the hosts dig into the tech topic on everyone's mind- A.I. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei discusses the short term, medium term and long term risks of generative A.I. and Dr. Arati Prabhakar, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology, shares her thoughts on what a national strategy for A.I. regulation could look like. Then, Meredith Whittaker, the president of encrypted messaging app Signal, shares why it is imperative to address the privacy issues in tech and what Signal is doing about it.

Finally, Vice President Al Gore shares his view of what is happening in green tech, his thoughts on President Biden's climate legislation and the potential technology has to save the planet.

You can find more Fortune conference coverage here.

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Mattel Is Betting Big on Barbie

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0000

When Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz took over the toymaker in 2018, he was the company's fourth CEO in four years. Mattel's internal culture was rigid and top down, and operating income was at a $343 million loss. Kreiz implemented cost saving and restructuring measures, which included laying off almost 2,000 people and closing five Mattel factories. In 2021, the company recorded $730 million in profit. Mattel is now betting big on using its beloved toy brands as IP in other media, starting with the much anticipated Barbie movie, in theaters on July 21st. Mattel currently has 14 films in various stages of production, each centering on an iconic toy like Hot Wheels and the Magic 8 Ball.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Kreiz joins hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram to talk about his experience of joining Mattel at one of the company's lowest points and his strategy for turning it around. He also explains why he thinks Mattel's toy brands hold so much promise as larger franchises beyond the toy aisle, so expect a lot of conversation about the Barbie movie. Kreiz talks about how he expects the movie to affect the perception of Barbie and what he thinks of Will Ferrell's portrayal of Mattel CEO. Additionally, he shares more about how his experience as a media exec prepared him for this role and Mattel's plans for more diverse and inclusive toys - and how he deals with political blowback for creating those toys.

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How Should CEOs Respond When Pride Celebrations Spark Backlash?

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 08:00:00 -0000

The changing public expectations for how corporations should honor Pride month has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride over the past decade. Pressure from both the public and from employees to support the LGBTQ+ community has been vocalized and well documented. That pressure was followed by some corporate missteps and accusations of pinkwashing, but this year’s corporate pride celebrations have been the most conflicted in recent memory.

Right-wing backlash led Target to pull its Pride merchandise from stores and AB InBev to yank ads featuring a transgender influencer. Those companies have made a lot of headlines, but they are not alone in facing backlash and needing to figure out how to respond. These responses have impacted both the public perception of companies and their bottom lines.

In this episode of Leadership Next, GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis joins hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram to discuss how the country's political atmosphere has impacted this year's Pride, and why it feels different from previous years. She shares advice and guidance for companies in supporting the LGBTQ+ community and explains what happens when CEOs listen to the needs and desires of both shareholders and stakeholders to guide these sorts of decisions. Ellis also talks more about GLAAD's transformation under her leadership from a media watchdog to a consultant and advisor to media, advertising, social media and business industries on representation and support of LGBTQ+ people.

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Dave Calhoun Became Boeing CEO at the Company's Lowest Point

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Dave Calhoun took over as the CEO of Boeing in January 2020 in the midst of two major crises: the crash of two of Boeing's 737 Max aircrafts that led to the grounding of the fleet and an abysmal internal culture that was being discussed in the press and throughout the industry. Calhoun has led the company through a notable turnaround in the past three years, as reflected in the company's earnings and increased demand for its aircrafts. Boeing's Q1 earnings for 2023 grew 30% year over year.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Calhoun joins hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram to discuss leading Boeing through a difficult and complicated period in its history. He shares what he chose to prioritize in his turnaround efforts and why, including initiating a safety overhaul for Boeing's aircrafts and emphasizing transparency throughout the company. He also discusses how supply chain issues are impacting Boeing and the aerospace industry at large in the face of unprecedented demand, along with his predictions for when the problem may resolve. Additionally, Calhoun shares how working with Jack Welch at G.E. influenced his leadership style, the needs of both Boeing's military and commercial arms, and producing more sustainable aircraft.

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DaVita Is Treating One of America's Leading Diseases

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Over 30 million Americans suffer from some form of kidney disease, and roughly 600,000 people have their kidneys fail. It's a chronic disease that requires chronic treatment, and there is a Fortune 500 healthcare company dedicated to supporting people living with it. DaVita, an Italian phrase meaning "give life", is number 357 on this year's 500. It runs almost 3,000 outpatient dialysis centers across the country and is working to transform from a dialysis company into a holistic kidney care company. Javier Rodriguez took over as CEO of DaVita in 2019, after 21 years with the company.

In today's episode of Leadership Next, Rodriguez joins hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram to discuss the scale of the kidney disease crisis and how DaVita is addressing it. He explains DaVita's plans to shift from a fee for service to a value based model with the goal of providing care to people earlier in life before their kidneys begin to fail, and how this change will affect business. Rodriguez also discusses navigating the healthcare staffing shortage, Berkshire Hathaway's investment in DaVita and tech innovations in healthcare. He also shares his personal story of immigrating to the U.S. from Mexico and his decision to turn down $250 million in government pandemic relief funding back in 2020.

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Ed Bastian of Delta Air Lines Is No Stranger to Bouncing Back

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Delta Air Lines soared twenty-eight spots up the 2023 Fortune 500 to reach number eighty-five. Demand for air travel is bouncing back to and beyond pre-pandemic levels, and Delta's earnings are bouncing back along with it. Delta reported $51 billion in revenue in 2022, a 69% jump from the previous year. This is not the first time CEO Ed Bastian is leading Delta through a period of bouncing back. Bastian took over as CEO in 2016, but he has been in the airline's leadership ranks for twenty-five years. This means he has led the company through some seriously tough times, including 9/11, Delta's 2007 bankruptcy declaration and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Bastian joined hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram for an in-person recording in Fortune's studio. Bastian shares which crisis he found the hardest to lead through and how Delta is planning to meet this summer's unprecedented demand for air travel, which he refers to as "revenge travel." He also explains why the airline has done away with change fees and what Delta is doing to bring free WiFi onboard every flight. Additionally he shares his thoughts on the pushback against "woke ceos" - a label that's been attached to him in the past. We also hear from Bastian on developing more fuel-efficient aircraft, how Delta is using A.I., pilot and flight attendant shortages.

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GSK's Emma Walmsley Rejects the Notion of 'CEOs as Superheros'

Tue, 30 May 2023 14:00:00 -0000

Emma Walmsley, who became CEO of drug giant GSK in 2017 after 17 years at L'Oreal, has led the company through several challenges: disappointing COVID-19 vaccine candidates, noise from activist investors, and Europe's largest demerger in two decades when the company spun out its consumer healthcare business. But according to Walmsley this all comes with the job. And, she also has a lot to celebrate. Shortly before she visited the Leadership Next studio, GSK announced its RSV vaccine was one of two recommended for approval by the FDA for older adults.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Walmsley talks to hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram about the potential impact of that approval and the other aspects of GSK's infectious disease portfolio including innovation in H.I.V. treatment and prevention. She also shares her thoughts on the opportunities for data tech in healthcare, leading in the face of pushback from activist investors, and being the only woman CEO in big pharma.

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Reid Hoffman Co-Wrote a Book with A.I.

Tue, 23 May 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Reid Hoffman might be best known as the cofounder of LinkedIn. He’s also a partner at the VC firm Greylock and was an early investor in OpenAI, the company that developed ChatGPT. He's been investing in and writing about A.I. for several years, and recently he put the technology's capabilities to the test. In March 2023, he released his book Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity With A.I. , co-written by GPT-4.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Hoffman joins hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram to discuss what it was like to write a book using generative A.I. Hoffman also discusses how he thinks A.I. will change the job market, and why all of us might soon have a "co-pilot" to help us do our jobs. He also has some thoughts on how both tech and non-tech CEOs can talk about A.I. with their employees. Finally, Hoffman shares his perspective on the creative opportunities for A.I., and what its limitations are.

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Target CEO's Unpopular Decision Pays Off

Tue, 16 May 2023 08:00:00 -0000

When Brian Cornell became Target's CEO in 2014, the company was in desperate need of a turnaround. The retailer was plagued by supply chain problems, trying to recover from a major data hack and struggling to compete with e-commerce giants like Amazon.

In today's episode of Leadership Next, Cornell talks about some of the key decisions he's made that have led Target to now be ranked number 32 on the Fortune 500, including a particularly unpopular announcement in 2017 that the company would spend $7 billion to rehab Target stores across the country. In the age of Amazon, investors were doubtful that spending money to improve brick and mortar was worthwhile. But today it's clear that investment has paid off. And as Cornell tells hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram, despite the rise of online shopping, 73% of retail sales last year took place in physical stores.

In today's conversation, Cornell details how consumer spending has changed since the height of the pandemic, and how shoppers seem to be responding to the current economy. He explains why he feels it's so important for Target to improve wages and benefits for store associates. And, he talks about the importance of culture to the company's success.

Also in today's episode hear from Fortune Senior Writer Phil Wahba who has been reporting on Target for nearly a decade. Wahba fills us in on the state of Target when Cornell took over and how the CEO's leadership has transformed the company.

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What Private Investment Can (and can't) Do For Childcare

Fri, 12 May 2023 08:00:00 -0000

May 12th is National Childcare Provider Appreciation day. To show our appreciation for the workers who take care of our kids, Leadership Next is bringing you an episode of Where's My Village? Fortune's podcast about America's childcare crisis and the people who are trying to fix it. You can listen and subscribe to the entire series here.

In this episode of Where's My Village?, Fortune senior writer Megan Leonhardt digs deeper into the opportunity for and pros and cons of private investment in childcare.

Private investment in childcare companies doubled between 2020 and 2021, and the range of apps, software, products and services investors can put their money into is growing. Many think private dollars have the potential to transform the childcare industry, others think involving private investors is a risky endeavor.

Shruthi Jayaram of Dalberg Advisors and Jess Lee of Sequoia Capital talk through why investors have been skeptical of investing in care in the past and what's changed in the past few years.

Chris Bennett, the CEO of Wonderschool. discusses his decision to focus on in home providers, how many providers on the Wonderschool platform earn almost triple the national average and his vision for the company's future. Wonderschool is a childcare management platform that works with home-based providers to streamline and grow their businesses.

We also hear from home-based providers about the realities of their professions and experts in the field on their concerns about private investment in childcare.

Marriott's CEO on Post-Pandemic Travel Trends

Tue, 09 May 2023 08:00:00 -0000

In the spring of 2020, the travel industry ground to a halt due to COVID. Marriott International's business dropped more than 90 percent. Where does the company stand today? CEO Anthony Capuano joins Leadership Next to provide an answer to that question. And yes, the answer does involve "bleisure" travel - the growing trend of combining work and leisure travel.

Marriott International is made up of over 8,000 properties across 139 countries. And the company's growing all the time. Just last month, Marriott acquired City Express- a mid size hotel chain with 150 locations across Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. Although most of these 8,000 properties are hotels, Marriott International claims to be more than just a hotel company. What does that actually mean? That's another question Capuano answers for hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram.

Also in this episode: Marriott's continued expansion into the luxury market (including the launch of the Ritz-Carlton yacht), the company's plans for global growth, the success of the Marriott app and how it competes with travel tech companies like Expedia and AirBnb. Lastly, Capuano talks about sustainability at Marriott hotels and social responsibility initiatives like training associates to recognize signs of human trafficking.

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A.I. and Other Trends Reshaping Health Care

Tue, 02 May 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Each year Fortune brings together experts from a variety of fields to talk about health care, how it's changing, and the vital role business plays in the industry.

Leadership Next hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram both attended Fortune's Brainstorm Health event and today they're sharing some of their favorite conversations with you.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy explores the consequences of America's mental health crisis. Olympic athlete turned entrepreneur Apolo Ohno shares how he stays healthy. Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation Chelsea Clinton and reproductive rights activist Professor Loretta Ross explain why all of us need to start paying more attention to Black women's maternal health. Twitter's favorite doctor, Dr. Robert Wachter, talks about the pandemic accelerating our adoption of digital health and several voices weigh in on A.I.'s potential to solve some of healthcare's most pressing problems.

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What's Next for Moderna?

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 08:00:00 -0000

In 2019, Moderna reported revenues of sixty million dollars. By 2022 it was number 195 on the Fortune 500 with over $18 billion in revenue. This meteoric rise was due to Moderna's development of one of the major COVID-19 vaccines. Now, thankfully, the height of the pandemic has passed and the need for these vaccines is far less urgent. There is something to be said about your marquee product being less useful because people are healthier, but where does Moderna go from here? And how will its CEO Stéphane Bancel help it get there?

In this episode of Leadership Next, Bancel talks with hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram about the other uses for Moderna's proprietary mRNA platform - including potential vaccines for cancer and H.I.V. Bancel also discusses Moderna's controversial plan to start charging as much as $130 a dose for the COVID-19 vaccine once the U.S. ends the pandemic public health emergency on May 11th.

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Christa Quarles Always Speaks Her Mind

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 08:00:00 -0000

In this episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray is joined by his new co-host Fortune Editor-at-Large, Michal Lev-Ram. In Lev-Ram's first episode, she and Murray speak to Christa Quarles of Alludo. Alludo, formerly known as Corel, is a software company whose products enable people to work from anywhere. Quarles became the CEO of Alludo in 2020, after stints as the CEO of OpenTable and the SVP of Interactive Games at Disney.

They start the episode recapping a legendary moment at a 2017 Fortune conference where Quarles literally called B.S. on a claim that women in business don't support each other. Quarles then shares what progress she's seen made for women in tech over the past six years and how she reached 50/50 gender parity in hiring at OpenTable. Qaurles also discusses how Alludo is trying to compete with software like Canva and Asana, the state of remote work, her "management by Haiku" leadership approach and the process of rebranding Alludo from Corel. Stay tuned until the end of the episode to hear Alan and Michal read their original Haikus!

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Can You Be an Oil CEO and Be Serious About Sustainability?

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 08:00:00 -0000

When Vicki Hollub was named CEO of Occidental Petroleum in 2016, she became the first woman to lead a major oil and gas company. In the years since she's brokered some big acquisitions, brought on Warren Buffett as a major investor and produced record returns for shareholders.

But the savvy Leadership Next listener wants to know: can you do all of that AND truly care about sustainability? Hollub says not only is it possible, it's essential that energy companies focus on their climate impact. In today's episode, recorded live at Deloitte University in Dallas, Texas, Hollub tells hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt all about OXY's plans to build out a carbon capture business and why this makes strategic sense for the company.

Also in today's episode: details on how the controversial deal to buy Andarko Petroleum came to pass, how employee expectations around the CEO role have changed, and why Hollub never thought she would become CEO.

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Chemours on Cleaning Up its Legacy

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 08:00:00 -0000

Mark Newman is the second CEO of Chemours, a chemical company that spun out of DuPont in 2015. Chemours is now a global company with almost 7,000 employees, $7 billion in revenue and has three industry-leading businesses. Chemours may be best known for producing Teflon, a chemical coating associated with non-stick surface on pots and pans. Teflon is also considered a polyfluoroalkyl substance. Polyfluoroalkyl substances (better know as PFAS) are a class of chemicals considered “forever chemicals” meaning they don’t break down in the environment, and are linked to a number of health problems. Production of some of these chemical has landed Chemours in legal and regulatory trouble in the past, but Newman thinks Chemours can right its past environmental wrongs and has worked to weave sustainability into the company's next chapter.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Newman talks with host Alan Murray about how Chemours is addressing these legacy issues while pushing back against claims of greenwashing. Newman explains how the company's chemicals work in consumer products like mobile phones and how its products are striving to solve the EV battery challenge. He also talks about hydrogen production and hydrogen's potential as an energy source.

Later in the episode, host Ellen McGirt talks with Dr. Maria Doa, the Senior Director of Chemicals Policy at the Environmental Defense Fund, about the impact of PFAs and if they can ever be made responsibly.

Will Drone Delivery Go Mainstream?

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Zipline is the world’s largest commercial drone delivery system. Since the company’s founding in 2014, Zipline’s autonomous electric aircrafts have delivered hundreds of thousands of packages to people around the world. It's planning to complete 1 million deliveries by the end of 2023. Most of the packages the Zips have delivered include vital items like medicine, vaccines and PPE. Zipline's first distribution center opened in Rwanda in 2016 and it has since expanded into Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire, Japan, and the U.S.

Keller Rinaudo Cliffton is Zipline's co-founder and CEO. In today's episode of Leadership Next, Rinaudo Cliffton joins hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt to share why Zipline started with drone delivery to hospitals in Rwanda seven years ago, and how the company has grown. He explains why launching as a business, not a philanthropy, was essential. He also talks about Zipline's partnership with Walmart, delivering to shoppers in Arkansas, and the company's plans for expansion into the consumer delivery market.

Later in the episode, hear from Fortune Senior Writer Jessica Matthews who visited Walmart's drone delivery site in Pea Ridge, AR back in 2021. Matthews tells us more about the state of the drone delivery market, where it’s going and what challenges it's facing.

Prudential CEO Charlie Lowrey on Transforming an Almost 150 Year-Old Company

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Prudential Financial was founded in Newark, N.J. in 1875 with the goal of providing insurance to everyday American families. Almost 150 years later, Prudential has offices all over the world and now provides investment management and other financial services along with insurance.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Prudential CEO Charlie Lowrey joins hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt to talk about how this legacy insurance company (one of the oldest companies we've ever had on Leadership Next!) is transforming to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.

Lowrey also shares why the company is committed to remaining in Newark and why it has contributed over one billion dollars to the city. He also discusses his perspective on ESG, his dedication to making Prudential a fully inclusive workplace and his journey from being an architect to leading one of the world's largest financial services companies.

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CVS's Karen Lynch on the Future of Healthcare

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 09:00:00 -0000

CVS Health is ranked number four on the Fortune 500. And when Karen Lynch became the company's CEO in 2021, it was a big deal. No woman had ever led a company that highly ranked on the list before. Plus, she brought some serious ambitions for healthcare to her role. The short version: she wants to provide a continuum of both physical and mental healthcare for CVS customers.

Since taking over as CEO almost exactly two years ago, Lynch has initiated a plan to transform hundreds of the brand's almost 10,000 U.S. stores into super-clinics. And, she's spent billions on acquisitions that move CVS into primary care and home healthcare.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Lynch joins hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt to discuss how far CVS has come in the 60 years since its founding as Consumer Value Stores. She explains how the company's recent acquisitions of Oak Street Health and Signify fit into her larger vision, how the pandemic has influenced the company's strategy and how technology is transforming healthcare. Lynch also shares more about her personal passion for health, the importance of including mental health services in primary care and her journey as a woman in leadership.

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For Kickstarter, Crowdfunding Is Key to a More Creative World

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 09:00:00 -0000

Crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has launched a lot of creative dreams, including those of household consumer names like Peloton and Allbirds. Since its founding in 2009, backers have pledged over $7 billion to over 200,000 projects on the platform. For Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor, these numbers are just a start.

In this episode of Leadership Next, hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt talk to Taylor about how Kickstarter is democratizing crowdfunding and working to make sure creators of color have equitable access to funds. He also discusses taking over Kickstarter in October 2022 as a turnaround effort, what makes a successful Kickstarter campaign and the company's thinking on A.I. in art. Finally, Taylor shares his experience of being the first Black person in Kickstarter's C-suite and the impact he'd like to make as the company's leader.

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Cotopaxi: Why Business Is the Best Way to Improve the World

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 09:00:00 -0000

Cotopaxi is an outdoor gear and apparel brand that pledges to give at least 1% of its annual revenue to charitable causes through its Cotopaxi Foundation. Cotopaxi is also a certified B corp and 94% of its products contain recyclable or reusable materials. On its mission to help people and the planet, Cotopaxi is also making money. In 2022, the company surpassed $100 million in revenue. Its work has caught the eye of investors. In 2021, Bain Capital's Double Impact Fund invested $45 million in Cotopaxi.

In today's episode of Leadership Next, hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt talk to Cotopaxi founder and CEO Davis Smith about why he built Cotopaxi as a for-profit company rather than a non-profit, and how Cotopaxi differs from other outdoor brands. Smith also explains why he's stepping away from leading the company he believes in so deeply.

Later in the episode, we hear from Cecilia Chao, Managing Director of the Bain Double Impact Fund. Chao talks about why Bain invested in Cotopaxi and the importance of prioritizing both impact and profit. Chao also gives her take on trends in impact investing and the difference between impact and ESG investing.

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Bernard Looney on BP's Big Announcement

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 09:00:00 -0000

In 2020, BP CEO Bernard Looney announced the international oil company planned to significantly increase investments in solar and wind energy while cutting oil and gas production - and thus carbon emissions - up to 40 percent by 2030. Last week, amid soaring oil prices, BP rolled back that commitment. BP's new plan is to reduce its oil output 25 percent by 2030 and its Scope 3 carbon emissions by 20 to 30 percent.

At the same time, the 114 year-old company points out it now spends 30 percent of it capital on its alternative energy business, up from just three percent in 2019. And, it still intends to cut its own direct emissions 50% by 2030.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Looney joins hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt to dissect this complicated message. He details what motivated the change and lays out BP's strategy to become an integrated energy company (to include explaining why oil will remain a part of that strategy). Also in the conversation: BP's approach to addressing the "energy trilemma," maintaining public trust in the midst of a strategy change, and how growing up on a farm in Ireland influenced Looney's leadership style.

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Esusu Brings "Justice Capitalism" to the American Credit System

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 09:00:00 -0000

Forty-five million Americans are credit invisible, meaning they do not have a credit score or have had very little opportunity to build credit. Many of these millions are people of color, low-income people or immigrants. Esusu co-CEO Wemimo Abbey is trying to do something about that. Esusu is on a mission to democratize access to credit. By reporting on-time rental payments to the three major credit bureaus, the company allows people with no or low credit scores to build credit history. In the five years since its founding, Esusu has reached over one million renters in all 50 states and helped put 44,000 people on the financial map.

In this episode of Leadership Next, hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt talk with Abbey about how Esusu's platform is helping change who can fully participate in the American economy. Abbey shares what inspired him to start the company, how Esusu makes money, and his long-term dreams for it. He also shares how he persevered through "NOs" from over 300 investors to become the founder of what is now a unicorn company.

Later in the episode, McGirt is joined by Erika Seth Davies, the CEO of Rhia Ventures and the founder of The Racial Equity Asset Lab. Seth Davies shares her thoughts on trends in impact investing, the barriers diverse-owned companies face when looking for capital, and what we can all do to encourage investment in those companies.

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The Biggest Opportunities for Business in 2023

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 09:00:00 -0000

Welcome back for season four of Leadership Next! In today's season opener, hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt present exclusive content from Davos, where Coca-Cola's James Quincey, Novartis' Vasant Narasimhan and Grab's Anthony Tan joined Fortune for conversation over dinner. On the menu: discussion around the biggest opportunities and challenges facing business in 2023.

Murray, McGirt and the panelists tackle topics like using A.I. to help scale business while protecting employee jobs, responding to the “woke ceo” narrative, and more.

In this episode, Murray and McGirt also talk with Fortune Senior Writer Jeremy Kahn about the A.I. tool on everybody's mind... ChatGPT. Kahn shares how the chatbot can be used for good and what we should be afraid of. You can read more about ChatGPT in Kahn's Fortune magazine cover story The Inside Story of ChatGPT.

What We Learned About Leadership in 2022

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 09:00:00 -0000

In this final Leadership Next of 2022, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt are joined by Joe Ucuzoglu, CEO of Deloitte and long-time supporter of the podcast. The team talks through how the biggest news of the year impacted CEO leadership, and discusses what's ahead for business in 2023.

You'll also hear thoughts, reflections and advice from CEOs featured throughout this season, including Doug McMillon of Walmart, Jane Fraser of Citi and Albert Bourla of Pfizer.

Leadership Next will return with more interviews in January of 2023. Subscribe to be the first to know when we return!

A.I. Is Still Human Intelligence

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 09:00:00 -0000

Tiger Tyagarajan is the CEO of Genpact. Originally a part of GE, Genpact is a professional services company that helps organizations undergo digital and technological transformation. And in this penultimate episode of Leadership Next's third season, host Alan Murray explains why he considers Tyagarajan his A.I. mentor. Along with co-host Ellen McGirt, the three discuss how A.I. is being used effectively in business and explore its future potential.

Tyagarajan also shares his leadership journey from being a sales manager in Mumbai to being the CEO of a global, publicly-traded company. He details what he learned from former head of GE Jack Welch, digs into the role of globalization in business and explains how podcasts have helped him become a more curious leader.

Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

Citi CEO Jane Fraser is Bringing Empathy to Banking

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 09:00:00 -0000

Jane Fraser became CEO of Citi in March 2021- a difficult time for the world and for the bank. Fraser was expected to turn around a bank that had struggled to recover from the 2008 financial crisis when it took a $45 million government bailout in order to survive. Luckily, Fraser was prepared for the challenge. She had already navigated economic crises in Venezuela, Argentina and Puerto Rico in her previous role as CEO of Citigroup Latin America.

In this episode of Leadership Next, hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt speak with Fraser about why focusing on culture is essential to turning Citi around and why she is committed to making empathy a key initiative in banking. She explains her approach to true inclusion in the workplace and why equity is essential to successful investing. Fraser also shares her thoughts on the current state of the economy, the return-to-office debate and how the crypto meltdown has impacted traditional banking. She also speaks candidly about her journey towards the CEO role as a woman and a mother.

Cigna's David Cordani is Expanding the Definition of "Healthy"

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 09:00:00 -0000

Whether it is leaning more on telehealth options or lining up outside our local pharmacies and walk in clinics for vaccines and covid tests, the pandemic has changed out relationship with healthcare. And the pandemic is still changing the way we relate to each other and the world. Mental health issues are on the rise and many of us feel more isolated than ever before. Cigna insurance is on a mission to make sure that the half a million people enrolled in their plans can access top tier care for their bodies and their minds.

In this episode of Leadership Next, hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt speak with Cigna's CEO David Cordani. Cordani interprets the findings of a few of Cigna's studies and initiatives that are determined to understand and treat America's mental health crisis- including Cigna's research on the loneliness epidemic and on the mental health of young women and girls coming out of the pandemic. He then shares more about Cigna's new vitality index as a measure of true ability, and how the vitality of America's workforce impacts the economy. Cordani also has some advice for other CEOs on what they can do to maximize their company's insurance offerings and support the health of their employees.

Affirm CEO Max Levchin on the Potential of Buy Now, Pay Later

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 09:00:00 -0000

Recently, you may have noticed that when you buy almost anything online - clothing, furniture, even groceries - there's an option to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). This usually means splitting the total cost of your purchase into a series of smaller payments, and it doesn't require a credit card up front. The BNPL business is taking off as a payment alternative, thanks in part to Affirm. Affirm is a financial company that allows its 14 million active consumers to pay for purchases over time, without a credit check and without late fees.

In this episode of Leadership Next, hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt speak with Affirm's founder and CEO Max Levchin. Levchin, also a co-founder of PayPal, struggled to build credit in the U.S. after immigrating from Ukraine. He shares how this led him to eventually found Affirm and shares his hopes for making financial services more equitable. He also explains how Affirm plans to make money without collecting late fees, and discusses the ups and downs the company has experienced since its January 2021 IPO.

What Makes Progressive a Top Workplace for Women?

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Tricia Griffith started her career at Progressive in the insurance giant's claims department.

"I saw that there were not very many people that looked like me at the top," she tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt on this week's Leadership Next. "And we had to change that."

Today, Progressive's board of directors is led by a woman and the board has gender parity. Griffith talks about the work it took to get to that point, and details DEI initiatives she's launched and supported over the years.

"We've been working on this for probably 15 to 20 years," she says.

Also in today's conversation: how Progressive is thinking about climate change, the aftermath of Hurricane Ian and the impact of inflation on the insurance business.

Most Powerful Women on Leadership Next

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 11:05:00 -0000

Each year Fortune hosts the Most Powerful Women Summit - a gathering of some of the most influential women in business. And, as the CEO of Fortune, Alan Murray typically scores an invite too! On today's Leadership Next Alan and Ellen McGirt share some of their favorite moments from this year's Summit.

Melinda Gates talks about advocating for women and the fight for women's equality. Lisa Su, the CEO of AMD, shares how she's grown the semiconductor company. Thasunda Brown Duckett reports on her first year as CEO of financial firm TIAA. And finally, the inspiring Cynt Marshall tells how she came to be the CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, and why it was so essential for her to be in that role.

Wharton's Dean on Prepared Leadership

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Erika H. James is the Dean of Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania and the author of The Prepared Leader: Emerge from Any Crisis More Prepared Than Before. In this episode of Leadership Next, Dean James talks to host Alan Murray about how leadership has changed over the past decade and what fundamental truths about leadership are evergreen. Dean James also discusses what it means to be a prepared leader, how the pandemic changed her understanding of preparation and why humans are usually so poorly prepared for a crisis. Finally, she shares her hopes for the next generation of leaders and how the role of educational institutions is evolving in an increasingly hybrid world.

An Introduction to Fortune's Newest Podcast

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 10:00:00 -0000

This week Alan Murray is at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit, gathering material for an upcoming episode of Leadership Next. In the meantime, check out Where's My Village? Fortune's NEW podcast co-hosted by Leadership Next's Ellen McGirt. Where's My Village is a limited series about the childcare crisis in America and the stories of people who are trying to fix it. Like what you hear? Subscribe!

Thanks to the COVID pandemic it's become very clear that the issue of America's crumbling childcare infrastructure extends far beyond individual families. The lack of formal support for working parents is a problem that all company leaders – and frankly anyone interested in building a better economy – needs to understand.

Over five episodes Fortune reporters will introduce you to politicians, community leaders, entrepreneurs and corporate executives who fully believe that doing right by kids and families ultimately drives economic growth.

In this episode, also available here along with the series' prologue, Fortune's Beth Kowitt investigates what happens when state and local governments take it upon themselves to try and fix this broken system. Kowitt tells the story of how one New England state and a city in Kansas are finding both the political will and financial resources to provide reliable, affordable childcare to their residents.

Running a Sustainable Business Is Good for the Bottom Line

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 08:00:00 -0000

At beer giant AB InBev, the company is focused on farming methods that conserve water. That's just the start of its focus on sustainability. And on this episode of Leadership Next, CEO Michel Doukeris tells Alan Murray this focus is not a passing fad.

"We, as a company, have been doing this for many, many years," Doukeris says. "And we do this, first, because it's good for the business. Every time that you can be more efficient, you are doing something that is good to your business."

Doukeris has been in the CEO role for just over a year, but has spent 26 years at the company. He shares his career journey to AB InBev's top job, discusses his approach to leading a global company and explains why the brand's digital platform could one day eclipse its current beverage business.

Ray Dalio on the Big Challenges Threatening the U.S.

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Ray Dalio's approach to investing has netted his hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, billions of dollars. He's taken that same analytical approach and dug into history in an effort to decipher what today's turbulent economic and political period tells us about the future. Here's a hint: it's not pretty. He laid out the findings in a book last year, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order, and on today's Leadership Next he and Alan Murray discuss the details. With markets down, fears of recession continuing to grow and elections on the horizon, Dalio's reading of history is more timely than ever.

While today's conversation is different from those usually held on the podcast, Dalio's insights are likely helpful for all leaders.

'We're In the Same Storm, But Our Boats Are Pretty Different'

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Zoetis is a Fortune 500 company that makes medicine, vaccines and other products for pets and livestock. When the COVID pandemic hit - just weeks after Kristin Peck became CEO - animals still needed those products, and Peck had to figure out the best way to support her team to enable their work to continue. This ultimately led her to reimagine how she operated as CEO - details she shares with Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt in this episode of Leadership Next.

"My big saying was, we may all be in the same storm but our boats are pretty different, so let's find out what your boat looks like ... What was it that was making it challenging for you? And how as a CEO could I create policies, benefits and leadership that supported you?"

Also in today's episode: why Zoetis cares about sustainable agriculture, Peck's take on the future of stakeholder capitalism, and pandemic puppies.

ESG Investing Likely Here to Stay, Despite Political Pushback

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Lynn Martin grew up loving math. She went on to be one of two women in her college cohort to major in computer science. Today, she's the 68th President of the New York Stock Exchange, and only the second woman to hold that role.

On today's Leadership Next, she tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt about the path that led her to this job and the mentors who helped her get there.

But first, she digs into the growing interest around ESG investing, the impact of technology on financial markets and explains why being a CEO is more challenging than ever before.

This Tech CEO Is Not Buying the Web3 Hype

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Alan Murray describes the CEO of Box, Aaron Levie, as "a serious leadership nerd." And that makes him the perfect guest for Leadership Next! In this episode, Murray and co-host Ellen McGirt dive into Levie's time heading a leadership course at Stanford, exploring lessons learned about digital disruption in long-standing industries.

Also in the conversation, Levie's approach to hybrid work and his take on Web3 technologies.

Are You Happy at Your Job?

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0000

The question Are you happy at your job? seems to be on the top of more people's minds than ever before. Employees are looking for employers whose values align with their own and who will care for them in moments of personal and global strife. Employees' changing priorities have revved up the War for Talent, where a shortage of workers in many industries has led companies to reassess how they attract and keep talented people. How has this shifting dynamic already changed hiring? How does hiring still need to change? Indeed CEO Chris Hyams explains.

In this episode, Hyams joins hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt for an in depth conversation about the changing nature of work and the resulting impact on the labor market. Hyams shares his insights on why talent is more important to companies than ever before and what leaders should focus on to meet the needs of the moment. He gives his thoughts on how to minimize bias and prioritize inclusivity in hiring. He also frankly discusses his own learning journey that has led him to be a more thoughtful, inclusive leader.

Instacart Is Optimistic About Its Future

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Instacart was a pandemic darling. Its nationwide network of drivers, shoppers and grocery partners made it a go-to service for Americans stuck at home during a time when grocery shopping was considered a high-risk activity. But what does Instacart do now that many of us have returned to the norm of in-person shopping? Fidji Simo, who just marked her one-year anniversary as the CEO of Instacart, answers this question, and more.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Simo tells host Ellen McGirt why she wanted to be CEO of Instacart, even during such tumultuous times. She explains Instacart's decision to begin accepting SNAP EBT benefits and how that's tied to the company mission of increasing access to healthy food. Also in the conversation: what she learned from a 10-year career at Facebook and why she is optimistic about the company's future even in the face of a 40% cut in its valuation, .

The Geopolitics of Semiconductors

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Even if you have never heard of Arm, you've likely used its technology. Arm is a semiconductor and software design company. It designs blueprint technologies for the microprocessors that live inside most of the tech we use every day, including our smartphones, our TVs and our cars. The ubiquity of this technology also makes demand for it very high. So how is this high demand impacted by the struggling international supply chain and Russia's invasion of Ukraine? And what does this mean for the consumer? Arm CEO Rene Haas explains.

Also in this episode, Haas and Fortune CEO Alan Murray discuss Arm's impending IPO, Arm's work to make chip processing more climate friendly, and how the rapid access to information has changed the nature of leadership.

Arianna Huffington and Tony Bates on Empathetic Leadership

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 13:34:00 -0000

Over the past two years, Arianna Huffington, CEO of Thrive Global, and Tony Bates, CEO of Genesys and co-author of the book Empathy in Action. have been spreading the word that empathy-driven leadership isn't an afterthought, it is an essential business practice. They believe this approach not only makes employees happier at work but boosts productivity and other important metrics.

What does it mean to be an empathetic leader? How do you do it well? Why is it important, especially right now? Huffington and Bates share the details with Leadership Next hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt.

Also in the episode: how Genesys software helps call center workers monitor and manage their stress levels, how the pandemic has fueled a focus on empathy at work, and why both Huffington and Bates have dedicated themselves to companies that center emotional wellness.

Thrive Global is a behavior change technology company that Huffington started in 2016 after she collapsed due to sleep deprivation and exhaustion. Bates' company Genesys is a software company with the vision of creating empathetic customer service experiences at scale.

Maven Makes Women's Health a Priority

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Kate Ryder, the founder and CEO of Maven, was early to telehealth. Ryder founded Maven in 2014 after witnessing and experiencing gaps in the women's and family healthcare model. Today, Maven offers patients access to a digital network of over 2000 providers specializing in women's and family health. It has become the first company valued at over a billion dollars in the category. This suggests investors - alongside employers and insurance companies - are recognizing the business case for comprehensive family planning and reproductive health benefits.

Ryder joined Fortune CEO Alan Murray in Aspen, CO at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech Conference. In this powerful conversation, Ryder explains what healthcare shortcomings motivated her to start Maven and how the company has evolved over the past eight years. Ryder also shares how employers have responded to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and how the ruling is impacting her company.

Panera's Purpose Is Baked Into Its Brand

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Niren Chaudhary is the CEO of Panera Brands, which includes the popular chain restaurants Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bagels. The brand has nearly 4,000 restaurants across 10 countries, and the company is committed to serving high quality food in every one of them. Panera also wants to make sure its 110,000 employees feel supported on and off the job.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Chaudhary tells Alan Murray that Panera Brands only serves food he would be willing to serve to his own family. He also describes Panera's commitment to providing its diverse workforce an array of educational and growth opportunities. Chaudhary elaborates on how including each meal's individual carbon footprint on the menu is key to their sustainability goals and how his late daughter inspires his leadership. Chaudhary is also Leadership Next's first singing CEO! Stay tuned to the end of the episode to hear his ode to Panera's chicken sandwich.

Shipping Is a Hot Topic

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Shipping is an industry that is so invisibly essential to our lives, so much so that we might only think about it when something’s wrong. And the world has been talking a lot about the shipping industry since the start of the pandemic BECAUSE there are so many factors making their jobs very difficult. Supply chain issues, COVID restrictions, climate concerns, the invasion of Ukraine... to name just a few.

In this episode, hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt interview Søren Skou, the CEO of Maersk. Maersk is a Danish shipping and global logistics company that moves goods around the world, primarily by sea. Skou talks to Alan and Ellen about the challenges and opportunities presented by the global events of the last two years. Skou discusses how the pandemic, China’s stringent Covid regulations and the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has impacted the supply chain and Maersk’s role in it. He also explains Maersk’s decision to withdraw its business from Russia after they invaded Ukraine, how Maersk plans to meet their goal of going carbon neutral by 2040 and what tech advancements consumers can expect from the shipping industry in the coming years.

The Freelance Economy May Be Bigger Than You Think

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Hayden Brown is the CEO of Upwork, a platform that connects freelance workers with companies looking to hire. Founded over twenty years ago, Upwork went public in 2018. But it was the pandemic that has truly proved to be a turning point as both workers and companies have begun to embrace remote work in new ways.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Ellen McGirt digs into the size and scope of the freelance economy, and explores how the past two years continue to influence the future of work. Also in the conversation: bringing new diversity into a company via freelance talent, Brown's push to help working moms regain jobs lost during the pandemic and the opportunities that come with crisis.

Deloitte presents: Leadership Transformed

Thu, 16 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Over the past two and half years, many companies have transformed at faster rates than ever before, as the sudden shifts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, calls for racial justice, and other events have accelerated the need for new ideas and innovations. Those organizations that rose to the challenge were able to navigate ongoing disruptions—and embrace change to meet the evolving needs of their stakeholders. Now, as business leaders look ahead, they are searching for ways to continue to build on this growth.

Here, Fortune Media CEO Alan Murray and Deloitte US CEO Joe Ucuzoglu sit down to discuss how global events have challenged businesses, from digital transformation to the Great Resignation, and how forward-looking leaders can utilize the lessons they’ve learned throughout this challenging and transformative period to come out even stronger.

“Deloitte presents: Leadership Transformed” was produced by FORTUNE Brand Studio. FORTUNE editorial staff was not involved in its creation or production. The views and opinions expressed by podcast speakers and guests are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of FORTUNE.

Our 100th Episode: Levi Strauss, Nasdaq and JUST Capital

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0000

For two and a half years, Leadership Next has introduced listeners to a new CEO each week - exploring how these leaders are looking beyond the bottom line and tackling issues that impact employees, customers and other stakeholders.

But, to mark our 100th episode, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt have invited three previous guests back to the show. Why? To learn how much progress these CEOs have made on some important initiatives, and gain perspective on how strongly the business world is embracing the idea of stakeholder capitalism.

Today you'll hear from Chip Bergh, CEO of Levi Strauss; Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq; and Martin Whittaker, CEO of JUST Capital.

Doug McMillon on Walmart's Regenerative Future

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Doug McMillon is a Walmart lifer. He started loading trucks at a Walmart warehouse as a teenager trying to pay for college. He is now the company's CEO. Just two weeks ago, Walmart topped the Fortune 500 for the 10th year in a row. In this episode, McMillon and Leadership Next's Alan Murray discuss how record-high inflation, conflict in Ukraine and supply chain snarls are affecting Walmart’s business.

McMillon elaborates on Walmart’s plans to become a regenerative company, detailing the environmental impact that transformation will have. And, to critics who say today's CEOs invest too much time in the planet and other external stakeholders, he has this to say:

“I think it all boils down to timeframe. Yes, we are here to provide a return for shareholders. The best way to provide a return for shareholders over time, is if you have strong communities, associates that are well compensated and happy with their jobs and excited about their futures. A planet that works.”

Intuit's CEO Is Moving the Company Beyond Taxes and Accounting

Tue, 31 May 2022 08:00:00 -0000

When Sasan Goodarzi became Intuit CEO about three and a half years ago he wanted to move the company beyond its focus on taxes and accounting. Through two big acquisitions and innovations utilizing data, A.I. and blockchain, he's making big strides towards that goal.

On today's Leadership Next, Goodarzi explains why this was so important and how he's pulling it off. Also in today's conversation: what it means to truly be an inclusive company and how Intuit is helping small businesses hit climate goals.

Edward Jones CEO on Crypto, Recession and the Importance of Empathy

Tue, 24 May 2022 08:00:00 -0000

To those who love online trading or flock to the latest cryptocurrency, Edward Jones may appear old-fashioned. The company has been offering clients financial advice for 100 years and it remains focused on face-to-face interactions. And, CEO Penny Pennington says while cryptocurrency may be a fit for some portfolios, "we do not believe that speculation is a part of serious long-term financial planning. And there is part of the crypto market right now that is pure speculation."

This approach is clearly working out well for Edward Jones, a Fortune 500 company that's spent the pandemic growing its customer base. In today's Leadership Next, Pennington tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt how she's working to diversify the company's pool of financial advisors, why she strives to infuse empathy into all aspects of the company, and what she sees as the key tenets of good leadership. Also in today's conversation: Pennington's approach to investing in crypto and her take on the threat of an impending recession.

How did this healthcare provider's patients defy the COVID odds?

Tue, 17 May 2022 08:00:00 -0000

When Dr. Marlow Hernandez was a child in Cuba, he promised his grandmother he would become a doctor. He did so, and is now the CEO of Cano Health, a primary care provider specializing in senior care. Cano has 137 medical centers across the country. The majority of its patients are located in low-income areas of South Florida.

Companies the size of Cano Health don't typically appear on Leadership Next. But Cano's results are anything but typical. COVID-19 mortality rates among its patient population are 60 percent lower than the comparable senior population. How did Cano pull this off, and what can the rest of the health industry learn from its business model?

War in Ukraine: 'There will be a food crisis,' says Yara CEO

Tue, 10 May 2022 08:00:00 -0000

As the war in Ukraine continues, it's brewing one crisis - threatening the global food supply - and deepening another - pushing millions of Ukrainians from their homes. Today on Leadership Next, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt speak with two leaders who are working hard to mitigate these problems.

Svein Tore Holsether is the CEO of global fertilizer company Yara. He explains why the war is hurting agricultural production and driving up prices. He also points out that while the larger businesses community has widely paused operations in Russia, Yara doing so has ripple effects across the world's food supply. Holsether shares how he's navigating this humanitarian dilemma. Also in the conversation: why Holsether is pushing his company to produce green fertilizer, the challenges this presents and how it's changing the way he spends his time.

David Miliband is CEO of the International Rescue Committee, an NGO that assists refugees in over 40 countries. He lays out the scope of the refugee problem created by the war in Ukraine. He then details the role business can play in improving the lives of refugees.

A Conversation With the Incoming CEO of FedEx

Tue, 03 May 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Fred Smith envisioned FedEx during his time as an undergrad at Yale. By 1973 his school project had become a functioning business. He's been a part of the organization ever since. But on June 1st he'll step down from the role of CEO and transition to FedEx Executive Chairman.

Taking the reins at the Fortune 500 giant is current President and COO, Raj Subramaniam. In his first interview with a major media outlet, Raj tells Leadership Next how he came to FedEx, and how he's thinking about filling the shoes of a legendary CEO.

Also in today's conversation: why the company stopped delivering packages for Amazon, the role FedEx played in delivering crucial COVID-19 supplies, and how technology will impact FedEx operations in the future.

Does Your Company Have a "Modern" Board?

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 08:00:00 -0000

As Leadership Next listeners know, the role of business in society is changing. Companies are being held responsible for their environmental footprint, CEOs are asked to weigh in on social issues. Employees and customers both have new expectations of the corporations in their lives. And as companies respond to these changes they need corporate boards that understand these new expectations and pressures.

Today, boards best equipped to do this are composed of diverse members with a wide variety of expertise. Nobody knows this better than Brian Stafford, the CEO of Diligent. Diligent designs software and educational tools for use by corporate boards and leaders. The company has also partnered with Fortune to build a list of companies with the most innovative boards.

In this episode, Stafford explains the changing demands on board members and the skills these leaders need to succeed.

Pfizer's COVID Lesson: Set Big Goals and People Will Meet Them

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 08:00:00 -0000

When the COVID pandemic struck, Pfizer was ready to tackle the challenge of developing a vaccine. That's due in large part to some key decisions CEO Albert Bourla made after becoming CEO in 2019. In this episode of Leadership Next he was also quick to acknowledge the role purpose played in making this feat possible.

"I think it was the most important factor," Bourla said. "It was not the singular focus on sciences, it was not the infrastructure were able to develop. It was the culture and the mindset ... breakthroughs that change patients' lives. That's the reason of our existence. This is why we have formed this corporation. Without that there's no reason for us to be part of corporate America ... Companies that are staying true to their purpose always perform better than companies that don't. And I think this is because when you are having a strong focus on your purpose, you coordinate all the resources of the company towards one common goal."

Also in the episode: the complicated debate over drug pricing, big lessons learned from the COVID pandemic, and Bourla's top leadership goal.

How IKEA Decided to Pause Business in Russia

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 08:00:00 -0000

On February 24, Russia fired missiles into Ukraine, launching a war that has displaced millions and likely killed thousands. One week later, mega retailer IKEA announced it would pause all production in both Russia and Belarus and shutter its namesake stores. This decision was anything but simple. Showing support for Ukraine ultimately meant impacting over 12,000 IKEA employees in Russia, not to mention Russian consumers who turn to IKEA for reasonably-priced home goods.

On today's Leadership Next, the CEO of IKEA's Ingka Group Jesper Brodin explains how the company thought through this complicated decision.

"A bit like the pandemic, there is no manual or guidebook for us here," Brodin says.

Also in today's conversation: why IKEA now sells renewable energy, the mattress-recycling economy in Sweden, and how Brodin nurtures his mental health.

Clorox CEO: 'I don't expect volatility to go away'

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Linda Rendle is one of just a few women to be running a Fortune 500 company. She took over the top job at Clorox early in the pandemic when the company was scrambling to meet unprecedented demand for its cleaning products. That demand has subsided but inflation has skyrocketed, handing Rendle yet another challenge. On today's Leadership Next, she tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt how she's approached these hurdles and why she strives to take care of her employees and the planet.

"(It) has nothing to do with the idea of being woke. it has to do with this is the way that we actually create value," Rendle explains. "And we've been under leveraging it as a society for many years. And now I think it is the way and the path forward to continuing to create good growth, and really a more comprehensive view of capitalism."

You Won't Be Spending Bitcoin at the Grocery Store Anytime Soon

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Global Payments provides the technology plumbing for a lot of digital commerce. That means when life moved largely online for many in 2020, the company's bottom line benefited. And while pandemic restrictions have eased, CEO Jeff Sloan says consumers will likely continue to order dinner, buy shoes and visit the doctor online.

"Cash and check is the enemy. And the pandemic has accelerated the decline of cash and check," Sloan tells Leadership Next. "As long as you as a consumer are paying for something other than in cash and check, we ultimately are going to get paid."

That extends to cryptocurrency as well. But Sloan feels strongly nobody is going to be buying groceries with crypto any time soon. Instead, he expects to see the introduction of a U.S. stable coin in the near future.

Also in the conversation: how Sloan see corporations benefiting from cryptocurrency today, the importance of empathy in leadership, and why Sloan aims to surround himself with people who disagree with him.

What the Invasion of Ukraine Is Teaching Us About Cyber Warfare

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0000

Ahead of Russia launching attacks on Ukraine, businesses and governments were warned to brace for cyber warfare. That hasn't transpired yet, but it doesn't mean it won't warns the co-founder and CEO of security company CyberArk.

"Perhaps they're saving it for a later time," Udi Mokady tells Leadership Next. "(Y)ou don't certainly pull out all of your arsenal at once. And of course, my concern is that some of it will be taken against countries that are participating in the sanctions."

Cyber threats - and the actors behind them - have changed dramatically since Mokady helped found CyberArk in 1999. Of course, he points out, investment in cyber defenses have changed over time too.

Also in today's conversation: why companies are more vulnerable than ever to cyber attacks and how to improve the cybersecurity talent pipeline.

Why CEOs Should Be Thinking Like Designers

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 09:00:00 -0000

What is design thinking, and why should you care about it?

" You know, so many leaders today are asking the question, what comes next? How do we prepare ourselves for what we can't even see? ... Well, that's where design thinking comes in," Sandy Speicher, CEO of IDEO, tells Leadership Next.

Design thinking is a different way of seeing the world, a different approach to problem solving and leading. It's also a bit of a buzz word that many people still don't fully understand.

But with so many changes happening in business right now - the technology revolution, the rethinking of how companies function in a hybrid world, the search for greater corporate purpose - now's the time to figure it what it is and how to implement it, according to Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt.

The CEO Remaking GE

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 09:00:00 -0000

Bigger is no longer better for General Electric, according to CEO Larry Culp. When he took charge of the iconic company in 2018 it was clear change was needed - GE was in the midst of a years-long slump where much of its market value disappeared. His solution: break the corporate giant into three smaller, focused companies.

How did he come to this conclusion? Why is it the right move? And what leadership lessons can others gain from Larry's story? Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt answer those questions and more in this episode of Leadership Next.

Who Buys Diamonds Online? Lots of People, Says Signet Jewelers

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 09:00:00 -0000

Signet Jewelers - parent company to Zales, Kay and several other brands - has seen its digital sales quadruple since the start of the COVID pandemic. And an estimated 85 percent of customers interact with the company digitally at some point during their shopping process, according to company CEO Gina Drosos.

But pushing the company towards a digital future is just part of the transformation plan Drosos put in place after becoming CEO in 2017.

"Our transformation has been both strategic and cultural, with cultural being probably even the more important of the two," Drosos tells Leadership Next.

Also in today's conversation: tracing the diamond supply chain, the importance of having a diverse leadership team, and inflation's impact on the jewelry industry.

How Chobani's CEO Built a Yogurt Brand Worth Billions

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 09:00:00 -0000

Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey, He purchased an old yogurt factory in upstate New York in 2005. Two years later, the company sold its first Greek yogurt. Today, the brand is reportedly worth billions and is preparing for an IPO.

But perhaps the most remarkable part of this story is HOW Ulukaya met his goal of making quality yogurt available to the mass market. As he tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt, it all came down to trusting his employees and treating them well. Chobani makes a practice of hiring refugees, and has enlisted other companies in these efforts. Ulukaya is dedicated to the idea that CEOs have the power to change lives, and the responsibility to do so. Hear more in this episode of Leadership Next.

Working to Help All Africans Afford the Internet

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 09:00:00 -0000

As recently as 1993, 80 percent of Africans had never heard a phone ring according to Cassava Technologies CEO Hardy Pemhiwa. Today, the vast majority of people on the continent own mobile phones. But connecting those phones to the internet remains pricey.

This is where Cassava Technologies enters the picture. The company aims to become the first tech company to connect all of Africa. This massive ambition springs from the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to afford online access, and that providing this access opens the door to job growth and - ultimately - to a better economy.

Pemhiwa tells Leadership Next how he's approaching the challenge, the role of regulators in Africa's growing tech industry, the opportunity for investing in African entrepreneurs, and more.

How Companies Plan to Address Talent Wars, Inflation and Supply Chains in 2022

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 09:00:00 -0000

In this episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray and Ellen McGrit take listeners inside the annual CEO meeting that Fortune typically hosts at Davos. Davos itself was postponed due to Omicron, so Fortune moved its meeting online - and attendance was impressive. Leaders who joined oversee an estimated $2.6 trillion in annual revenues and directly employ just under seven million people.

On the agenda: looking ahead to the biggest challenges and opportunities of 2022. Today you'll hear from Andy Jassy of Amazon, Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, Carol Tomé of UPS, Nicolas Hieronimus of L'Oréal, Vicki Hollub of Occidental Petroleum, and Dan Schulman of PayPay.

Also on the show, Joe Ucuzoglu of Deloitte US shares results from the Fortune-Deloitte CEO survey conducted in January.

Investors Are Looking Beyond Silicon Valley, Thanks to the Pandemic

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 09:00:00 -0000

For years Steve Case has been pushing venture capital investors to look beyond California, New York and Boston for startups to support. This has been the driving mission of his investment firm, Revolution, and his seed fund has backed nearly 180 companies in 80 cities. But now - finally - a growing number of investors are joining him.

"I do believe one of the silver linings of a terrible tragic pandemic may be this accelerant in terms of what's happening with these rising cities and more companies starting and scaling in cities," he tells Leadership Next's Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt.

Case says this is of course good news for company founders, but it's also good for workers and local economies. And, hopefully, it translates into more diverse entrepreneurs attracting funding.

Also in the conversation: the types of companies Case has his eye on now, his time as the founder of AOL, and why you may want to consider a trip to Chattanooga.

The transcript of this episode will be available on Fortune.com.

Leadership Next's 2021 Season: Trends and Takeaways

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 09:00:00 -0000

In this final Leadership Next of 2021, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt are joined by Joe Ucuzoglu, CEO of Deloitte US and long-time sponsor of the podcast. The team reviews highlights from the season, identifying themes that emerged from the 40 episodes, and discusses what's ahead for business in 2022.

Voices from the season appear throughout the episode. Hear from the CEOs of UPS, Chipotle, Intel, S&P, United, Best Buy, Albertsons and many more.

Leadership Next will return with more interviews in January of 2022. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a thing!

Why Carol Tomé Came Out of Retirement to Lead UPS

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 09:00:00 -0000

After 24 years at Home Depot, Carol Tomé was ready to retire. But United Parcel Service - where she had served as a board member since 2003, had other plans. Why did she decide to accept the CEO job at UPS? That's just the first thing Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt want to know in this episode of Leadership Next.

UPS is the leading delivery business in the U.S. Tomé says the company delivers six percent of the country's GDP each day. That requires a lot of employees! Tomé sees making these workers happy and developing them into leaders as one of her top priorities. She explains the various ways she's tackling that part of the job.

Also in the conversation: growing the business, navigating COVID, smoothing supply chain snarls and innovating for the years ahead.

Can a Burrito Save the Planet, and Other Questions for Chipotle's CEO

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 09:00:00 -0000

Before the COVID pandemic, roughly 10 to 15 percent of Chipotle's business came in through digital channels. Today, that number is closer to 40 percent.

"Sometimes, you know, your strategies end up finding an unknown accelerator. And the pandemic proved to be an accelerator on the strategy," CEO Brian Niccol explains.

The company was well positioned to excel during the pandemic in other ways too. Thanks to its previous food safety scares, Chipotle had stringent health and safety protocols in place. Raising wages and outlining opportunities for career growth have helped the company weather the current labor shortage. And now, Niccol is looking ahead to another big challenge: climate change.

Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt dig into all of the above, and more in this episode of Leadership Next.

United's Vaccine Mandate: "Clearly just the right thing to do"

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 09:00:00 -0000

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby was one of the first leaders of a major American company to insist all employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. The move was controversial. But in the end, over 99% of workers complied. Kirby tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt that while he was confident the mandate was the right choice, he's glad the process is now in his rearview mirror.

In this episode of Leadership Next Kirby shares how he makes hard decisions. He talks about United's commitment to be "100% green" by 2050. (He's quick to point out that carbon offsets do NOT figure into the company's plan.) And, he explains how his military training and love of reading have set him up for success.

How Adrian Gore Turned a Hunch Into a Winning Business Model

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 09:00:00 -0000

When Adrian Gore decided to build an insurance company in South Africa in the early 1990s, he took a novel approach: the company should aim to make people healthier. This was not - and is not - a common tactic in the insurance business. But in a country with lots of sick people and not enough doctors, it seemed like the only sustainable choice Gore told Leadership Next.

His gamble paid off - Discovery is now a very successful global business that has expanded beyond health insurance. In this conversation with Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt, Gore explains how he founded Discovery, the power of incentives to drive healthy behavior and where the company is headed next.

Autonomous Vehicles Coming to a Road Near You?

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Cruise, backed by General Motors, plans to have one million of its self-driving cars on the road by 2030, according to CEO Dan Ammann. But the cars won't be sold to individuals. Instead, Cruise plans to introduce the public to its autonomous vehicles via ride sharing. The idea is that instead of calling an Uber or a Lyft, passengers will call a Cruise AV.

On this episode of Leadership Next, Ammann tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt how the company plans to pull this off. He also explains why he's so eager to get more self-driving cars on the road. For him, it's about safer roads and saving lives.

An Inclusive Approach to Training Company Leaders

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0000

In the past, offering executives leadership training was an expensive proposition. This meant only a handful of employees were able to participate. But what if you blew that model up? If you could lower the. cost, you could increase the number of employees being trained to excel. The result: a broader and more diverse group of up-and-coming corporate leaders. This is exactly what ExecOnline's CEO and co-founder, Stephen Bailey, has done. His company partners with top business schools and offers their material online to nearly half of all Fortune 500 companies.

In this episode of Leadership Next he tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt why he started ExecOnline. The three discuss how the responsibilities of corporate leaders have changed, and what it takes to be a successful leader today.

Esri: The Private Company Whose Maps 'Run the World'

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Jack Dangermond founded Esri over 50 years ago and has grown it into a giant private company that provides software to global corporations, governments and NGOs. At its heart, it's a map-making company. Customers pull data into Esri software to create maps that help inform all sorts of decisions. As Jack tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt, "Our customers run the world ... and they do it through maps."

But Esri's mission runs deeper than this.

"We look at issues of a social nature or an environmental nature, and try to build some of the parameters of that kind of thinking into the basic tools. So when our users buy those tools, they wind up doing usually a lot more than their basic mission. ... They do things more efficiently. They do things more sustainably, ... So we can't actually control them or tell them what to do. But we can introduce to them this geographic way of thinking and acting that ultimately drives better action and behavior on their part."

Michael Dell: We've Only Seen Tech's 'Pre-Game Show'

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Michael Dell had a reputation for not paying attention in school. But apparently, reading computer magazines in the back of his high school classrooms paid off - he went on to found Dell Technologies. This story, and many others, appear in Dell's new book, 'Play Nice But Win.' And today he's sharing several of them on Leadership Next.

Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt spend some time digging into Dell's decision to take his company private in 2013 and then return to the public markets in 2018.

You may not be surprised to hear that the CEO of Dell Technologies also has a lot to say about tech itself. He believes "nobody is going to be spared" from transformation, that the experience will be "wicked and brutal" but also "wonderful and amazing."

Helping Women Build Families Is a Smart Economic Move

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Thanks to COVID-19, corporate America has been forced to reimagine how, where and when works gets done. And the former CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi, is pushing companies to inject "more humanity" into these future of work conversations. For her that means including discussions on how to support families, enabling everyone to fully participate in the workforce. As she tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt, this is not a "feminist issue," it's an economic one.

Drawing on her new book, "My Life In Full," Nooyi lays out some specific steps she believes companies should take to better support working women. The Leadership Next conversation also touches on Nooyi's moves as PepsiCo CEO to make healthier products and boost sustainability efforts.

How to Create a Great Place to Work

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0000

In today's race to attract and retain the best employees, creating an inclusive environment where people actually want to work is key to success. And this is something today's Leadership Next guests have been focused on for years. Michael Bush is CEO of Great Place to Work (GPTW), and Aron Ain is CEO of UKG, the company that recently acquired GPTW.

The two tell Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt why their companies recently joined forces, and share advice on navigating the rapidly-changing world of work.

Can a Robot Do Your Job?

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Robots have been moving into factories and other manufacturing facilities for some time. But Daniel Dines is out to automate tasks traditionally done by knowledge workers. Dines's company, UiPath, is working hard to bring robotic process automation, or RPA, into offices across the world. He argues that automating routine tasks ultimately enhances jobs - and investors seem to agree. The company went public earlier this year in one of the largest U.S. software IPOs in history, and continues to grow.

On this episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt dig into Dines's argument that this automation is a positive development for all concerned.

Are CEOs Truly Committed to Stakeholder Capitalism?

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 08:00:00 -0000

It's been almost exactly two years since the Business Roundtable - a DC-based advocacy group comprised of the country's biggest companies - updated its mission statement to include stakeholders like employees and communities alongside shareholders. The move signaled a change in approach that Leadership Next's Alan Murray calls "transformational." As co-host Ellen McGirt points out however, skeptics continue to say this is all just talk, not substantive change.

So today, Alan and Ellen check in with the head of the Business Roundtable - Josh Bolten - to hear the arguments he offers critics. They also discuss implementing standards to better measure the impact of the stakeholder approach, how the pandemic has impacted adherence to the stakeholder model, and Bono (yes, that Bono).

Why Business Cares About the $1T Infrastructure Bill

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Why should business care if the government agrees to repair roads and bridges? The answer to that question is more complex than you may think. But this week's Leadership Next guest lays it out beautifully. Andrew Liveris, former CEO of Dow, is co-chair of a boldface group of CEOs called Build Together. Their goal: to encourage bipartisan support of the $1T infrastructure bill. That bill passed the Senate - garnering support of all Democratic Senators and 19 Republicans - last week. Now, it's heading for the House.

Liveris explains why Build Together was formed and how it functioned. Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt also ask about what's next for the group and how the CEOs feel about the $3.5T soft infrastructure budget blueprint.

Flex CEO: The Future of Manufacturing

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Flex is "one of the biggest companies you may have never heard of," Alan Murray says on this week's Leadership Next. The third-largest manufacturer in the world, Flex makes products and components for other companies you DO know - like Cisco, Dyson and Bose. Revathi Advaithi became Flex CEO in February of 2019 - just in time to negotiate sensitive trade issues with China, quickly followed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Advaithi talks about running factories and managing customers during the pandemic's early days, what the pandemic revealed about supply chains, and how she expects manufacturing to change over ensuing years. She also shares her career journey, and her thoughts on how more women can reach leadership positions within Global 500 companies.

Best Buy Is Reimagining Retail

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0000

When the COVID pandemic hit, Best Buy turned all of its stores into curbside service only - in the span of just 48 hours. And while stores have since reopened, many changes made as a result of the global crisis are here to stay. CEO Corie Barry tells Leadership Next how Best Buy has rethought using its stores, connecting with customers and best utilizing employee skills. And what about business itself? Will the outsize demand we saw for tech products eventually wane? Barry's answer may surprise you. Also in this episode: Best Buy's efforts to retain women employees, its focus on cybersecurity, and why being CEO "is not a job you do by yourself."

The Small Hedge Fund Pushing Big Change at Exxon

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Leadership Next's Alan Murray calls the board shakeup at Exxon one of the biggest business stories of the year. And today the man behind that shakeup - Chris James of Engine No. 1 - joins Alan and Ellen McGirt to explain what inspired his activist campaign, and why he believes it succeeded.

Fortune's Katherine Dunn - who has been reporting on the story - has valuable insight to offer too, laying out how the proxy fight unfolded and why the moment was ripe for disruption.

Also key of course is what happens next. Will the three new board members be able to drive change at Exxon, pushing it to invest in the technology needed to transition away from a carbon-centered energy future? And does Engine No. 1 have its sights set on another company?

A Focus on Social Impact Led Grab from Ride Hailing to Financial Services

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Grab is widely considered Southeast Asia's most valuable startup. Founded in 2012, the company started as a riding hailing service and has grown to include food delivery, financial services and more. From the beginning, co-founders Anthony Tan and Hooi Ling Tan have focused on building a successful business that also creates a lasting social impact.

On this episode of Leadership Next, CEO Anthony Tan tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt how the company came to be, how it has grown, and how competition has made Grab better. Throughout it all, he illustrates how an unwavering attention to stakeholders has benefited millions across Southeast Asia, and strengthened Grab's bottom line.

Can Silicon Valley Build a Better Burger?

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0000

While Leadership Next enjoys an extended Fourth of July holiday, check out this episode of Fortune's Brainstorm podcast - a weekly podcast which examines how tech is reshaping our world. Like what you hear? Subscribe here!

In this episode, which originally aired in May, hosts Michal Lev-Ram and Brian O'Keefe look at Silicon Valley's efforts to perfect a delicious meat alternative. There are more plant-based meats on the market than ever before. But startups are increasingly using other methods to develop alternative proteins too - and investors are flocking to support their efforts.

Today's Brainstorm podcast is all about these alternative meats: the case for developing them, how Silicon Valley is embracing the challenge, who is most interested in backing these companies and - perhaps most importantly - how do they taste?

Fortune senior writer Beth Kowitt wrote her first big feature on the industry in 2017 and has been following it closely ever since. She gives Brian O'Keefe and Michal Lev-Ram an industry overview.

Kowitt also interviews Lisa Dyson, the founder and CEO of Air Protein. A young company that - yes - aims to make alternative protein from the elements found in air.

Finally, hear from Sharyn Murray of The Good Food Institute. She has a slew of data about who is investing in this industry and where the money's going - plus an interesting argument that the government should be playing a larger role in encouraging the adoption of meatless meat.

How Duke Energy Plans to Reach Net Zero by 2050

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Duke Energy, number 126 on the Fortune 500, delivers electricity to nearly 8 million customers in the Southeast and Midwest. A fair amount of that electricity remains generated by coal-fired plants. Since Lynn Good became CEO in 2013 she's retired 52 of these plants, but there's still work to be done. And with an increased focus on climate change coming from government, investors, employees and customers - the push to reach net zero is stronger than ever.

Good tells Leadership Next's Alan Murray how the company is approaching this challenge. They also discuss cybersecurity threats, activist investors, and how the job of CEO has changed over time.

Running a Grocery Business During the Pandemic

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Vivek Sankaran was ten months into his tenure as CEO of Albertsons Companies when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. His roughly 300,000 employees immediately became front-line workers, and the company had to scramble to figure out how to keep everyone safe. But ultimately, Sankaran said, the pandemic made Albertsons a better company by accelerating innovation around digital orders and much more.

Another big change for Sankaran over the past year is how he thinks about social issues and community impact.

"I shouldn't be episodic about this," he explained. "I need to make this commitment, I need to problem solve it like I'm problem-solving other aspects of the business."

Dow Is on the Path to a Sustainable Future - Really

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Dow is one of the world's largest producers of plastics, yet company leader Jim Fitterling is committed to ending reliance on single-use plastic products. It's a tension that's difficult to balance, and it makes for an interesting discussion on this week's Leadership Next.

As Dow moves towards a more sustainable business, Fitterling points out that products are just part of the equation. The processes used to make the products have an even bigger carbon footprint. So how specifically do you approach this challenge AND still run a profitable business? Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt dig into the details.

Intel Wants to Build More Computer Chips in the U.S.

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Pat Gelsinger has been CEO of Intel for about four months now. But he's not new to the company - he spent the first 30 years of his career at Intel. The story of how a young man from a Pennsylvania farming community landed at Intel is a good one - and it's something Pat shares with Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt in this episode of Leadership Next.

But first, semiconductors. They're embedded in all the tech we touch, and most of them are manufactured in Asia. Supply chain problems have led to shortages recently, which has put the issue on many American's radars. But the push to increase manufacturing capacity in the U.S. has been building for some time. Gelsinger admits Intel ceding manufacturing to Asia was a strategic mistake and, as he explains, he has a strategy for improving the situation.

Fortune's Eamon Barrett also joins this episode to shed further light on the global chip shortage, the challenges of increasing manufacturing in the U.S., and the political forces behind initiatives to do so.

Hilton CEO on How to Build Corporate Culture

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Chris Nassetta has been CEO of Hilton since 2007. He tells Alan Murray that when arrived on the job "the business just wasn't functioning in the ways that it needed to function." And while some of that related to strategy, he pinpointed the real problem as tied to culture. "It (had) really sort of lost its way from a cultural point of view."

While the problem may have been easy to diagnose, it was anything but easy to solve. He succeeded however, as evidenced by the company's high ranking on Fortune's 'Best Companies to Work For' list. In this episode of Leadership Next he explains how he tackled the problem.

Also in this episode, the return of business travel and a peek at what Nassetta calls the "phygital" future (yep, it's a combo of physical and digital.)

The Nasdaq's Push to Diversify Corporate Boards

Tue, 25 May 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Any time you propose a change that impacts thousands of companies, you're likely to hear complaints. That's what happened when the Nasdaq stock exchange said it wants its listed companies to disclose their board diversity stats. What's more, it wants companies to have at least one woman and at least one individual who identifies as an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ+ on their boards.

The proposal is still making its way through the SEC approval process, but Nasdaq's CEO says she's not concerned by the debate surrounding the plan.

"This is a significant change to the governance of public companies. And so we like the rigor," Adena Friedman tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt in this episode of Leadership Next.

This diversity rule would be a first for a major American stock exchange. Pushing for the change placed Friedman - the first woman to lead a major American stock exchange - on Fortune's latest list of the World's Greatest Leaders. Friedman originally joined Nasdaq as an intern in 1993, and was named CEO in 2017.

Tune in for more on the board proposal, her take on the current stock market, and how leadership has changed as a result of the pandemic.

PagerDuty: The Complexity of Hybrid Work

Tue, 18 May 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Even before the pandemic, a large number of PagerDuty employees were working in a hybrid fashion.

"I think maybe even some organizations are underestimating the complexity that comes as a result of giving your employees the flexibility they want," CEO Jennifer Tejada says on this week's Leadership Next.

She shares tricks and tips for successfully leading a hybrid workforce. She also talks about the impact the pandemic has had on working women, why PagerDuty opened an office in Atlanta, and the importance of networking.

Also in today's episode, the CEO of Puppet, Yvonne Wassenaar.

Stitch Fix CEO: Modeling a 'New Normal' in Business

Tue, 11 May 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Katrina Lake is the founder and CEO of Stitch Fix, a personalized styling service founded ten years ago. When Lake took her company public in 2017, she was the youngest female founder to ever do so. And, she's one of the few women founders to IPO a tech company. The IPO itself was notable for another reason too: many pictures from the event show Lake holding her young son. "It was a really meaningful moment that I didn't anticipate," she tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt. Lake reports that she's moved from "bristling" at regularly being called a female founder (instead of simply "founder") to embracing her position as a role model for other women in business.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Lake describes the moment she knew she wanted to be in business, the dangerous lack of diversity amongst investors, leading through the pandemic, her plans to transition to executive chairperson, and more.

Crafting a Return to Work That Really Works

Tue, 04 May 2021 08:00:00 -0000

As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, it's a question that seems to be plaguing most CEOs: How do you hold on to the benefits of remote work while encouraging more in-person collaboration? This is just one topic that Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt broach with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen. Listening and responding to employees is clearly something Adobe does well - the company has landed on Fortune's list of 'Best Companies to Work For' several years in a row.

It's far from the only thing the company does well however. Adobe's financial results continue to impress year after year. How does he do it, and how is Narayen positioning his company - home to products like Photoshop, Adobe Sign and many more - for the future? That's all on this episode of Leadership Next.

Also featured in this week episode, Catalyst's Senior Director of Women and the Future of Work, Lauren Pasquarella Daley.

Patagonia on Voting Laws and Environmental Responsibility

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Patagonia - the 48 year-old outdoor equipment and apparel company - has long been passionate about protecting the environment. But when Georgia passed new voting access laws in March, Patagonia was one of first to speak out and push back against the changes.

Why did the retailer choose to be a part of this political fight? That's what Alan Murray asks Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert in this episode of Leadership Next. Gellert details how the company's activism has evolved over time, and how Patagonia decides which issues to support.

Gellert also shares the challenges of becoming carbon neutral, how being a certified B Corp has made Patagonia a better company, and why a failure to fight for stakeholders is a "real risk to businesses."

Etsy: An Amazing Year During a Terrible Time

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Etsy - the e-commerce site focused on handcrafted goods - saw its revenue more than double in 2020. CEO Josh Silverman describes the COVID-19 pandemic as the company's "Dunkirk moment." At a time where traditional suppliers couldn't even come close to meeting the demand for face masks, Etsy makers stepped up. The company wound up selling about $740 million worth of masks in 2020, according to Silverman. However those sales were dwarfed by the clamor for home goods - everything from custom-made desks to throw pillows.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Silverman tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt why he believes so many people turned to Etsy during the pandemic. And he explains the company's commitment to three big issues: economic empowerment, diversity and sustainability, saying "being a good citizen makes us an even better business."

Why This CEO Wants to 'Democratize' Real Estate

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Ryan Williams is the CEO of Cadre, a company that's out to "democratize" commercial real estate. In other words, he's making it easier for the average investor to buy a piece of the pie. And, he's utilizing technology in a way the staid industry hasn't seen before. His success landed him on our 40 Under 40 list in 2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic hasn't slowed him down.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Williams tells us about his early business ventures and how he came up with the idea for his company. He talks about why he thinks everyone should be able to include real estate in their portfolios, and about the company's commitment to invest in minority operators who are often building properties in underrepresented communities. He goes on to explain why this investment will not hurt the company's bottom line saying in part, "unconventional approaches can lead to unconventional returns and outcomes."

Also joining Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt, Fortune's Shawn Tully who has his own take on Cadre's approach to business.

Boosting Diversity in Drug Trials

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Biotech company Genentech has eight drugs in various stages of development as therapeutics for COVID-19. But early in the pandemic, the company decided to turn over a large chunk of its manufacturing capacity to a competitor. Time was of the essence, and this company had a promising monoclonal antibody cocktail in the wings. Will this spirit of collaboration survive post-pandemic? That's just one topic Leadership Next explores with Genentech CEO Alexander Hardy.

Another big topic of conversation: health equity and the diversity of drug trials. Health disparities between races is nothing new, but the pandemic put a bright spotlight on the issue. It quickly became clear that COVID-19 was hitting communities of color hard. This did not go unnoticed by Hardy who told Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt "we have a really significant responsibility as an industry to society to never let these sorts of issues impact these populations as they've done now." One part of solving this problem is ensuring that drugs in development are effective for all people, and that requires including more people of color in clinical trials.

Diana Zuckerman, President of the National Center for Health Research, joins Leadership Next to more fully explore why today's clinical trials lack diversity, and what needs to happen to change that.

Advice and Inspiration from Hint's Kara Goldin

Tue, 30 Mar 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Kara Goldin never planned to create a company that competes with giants like Pepsi or Coca-Cola. She just wanted to drink water that didn't taste boring. But now Hint is the country's fastest-growing independent beverage company.

Since its founding in 2005, Hint has grown to include products like sunscreen and hand sanitizer. But its mission remains the same according to Kara: to help people lead healthy lives.

That purpose has also led her to push for a closer examination of the country's drinking water. She says despite EPA oversight, many dangerous impurities remain in tap water, and she's fighting to draw more attention to the problem.

Also today on Leadership Next, she tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt about her early dreams of working for Fortune, how she landed her first job out of college, and she offers advice to women who suspect NOW may be the time to change careers.

The Race for 5G

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Typically, company CEOs also serve as Chairman of the Board. But that's not the case at AT&T. Bill Kennard is the newly installed Chair at AT&T and today, he's our guest on Leadership Next.

The pandemic has made clear the importance of universal broadband access - and just how far the U.S. is from that goal. Kids struggling to connect to remote school "hits us in our gut" Kennard tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt. He lays out the history of this problem, and explains what needs to be done to fix it.

Also in today's conversation: the innovations likely to come from 5G, and the race to establish standards for the technology; diversity in corporate America; and a favorite Leadership Next topic - the role of corporations in society.

Will Bitcoin Disrupt Visa's Business?

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 08:00:00 -0000

Ever since he fell ill with COVID-19, Visa CEO Al Kelly has made sure his 21,000 employees know they have a role to play in ending the global pandemic. And while he's made a full recovery, he admits Visa is still feeling some pain as the coronavirus continues to depress spending on travel and entertainment. But long-term, it seems as though the pandemic may wind up being good for business. Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt dig into why that is, and then move on to a variety of other topics: how Bitcoin is impacting Visa, the company's renewed efforts to boost internal diversity, its commitment to the environment, and how Kelly's faith impacts him as a leader.

Producing N95 Masks During the Pandemic

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 09:00:00 -0000

One year ago we were just beginning to feel the impact of COVID-19 here in the U.S. And our efforts to fight the virus were in early innings. But it was already clear to 3M's Mike Roman that the coronavirus was a force to be reckoned with. 3M is the company behind N95 respirators. Demand for the product took off early last year, and has remained incredibly high ever since..

Today on Leadership Next, Roman tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt what the early days of the pandemic were like for the company and how his employees worked to meet increased demand. He shares 3M's response to the killing of George Floyd, the company's newest sustainability efforts, and his approach to stakeholder capitalism.

Also in today's episode, Deloitte's Joe Ucuzoglu details findings from a recent Fortune/Deloitte survey of big company CEOs, highlighting their thoughts on returning to offices, resuming business travel, and more.

ESG Investing: A Fad, or Here to Stay?

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 09:00:00 -0000

Has the stock market lost touch with reality? That’s the first thing Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt want to know from this week’s Leadership Next guest, S&P Global CEO Doug Peterson. The conversation quickly turns to talk of ESG investing – the desire by investors to know their money is being invested in companies that are doing good for people and planet. Recent studies have shown that not only are big dollars flowing into these types of investments, but the funds themselves are outperforming the general market. Is this a trend that’s here to stay? And just because an investment claims to be ESG friendly, how do you know that’s really true?

Jeff Immelt Explains What Went Wrong at GE

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 09:00:00 -0000

Jeff Immelt was the CEO of General Electric for 16 years. It was a controversial run to say the least. During his tenure company stock plunged, wiping out well over $100 billion in market value. Now, Immelt is ready to talk about what went wrong – and, what went right. He’s written a new book called Hot Seat: What I Learned Leading a Great American Company. And today, he joins Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt on Leadership Next.

Also in today’s episode, Fortune’s Geoff Colvin who has spent years chronicling the company and has his own insight to offer.

Is Augmented Reality Coming to Your Business?

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 09:00:00 -0000

Years ago, the average person didn’t have a cell phone – mobile phones were a tool used primarily by big business. Of course today everyone has a phone in their pocket. Peggy Johnson believes augmented reality tech is going to follow this same trajectory. She’s the new CEO of Magic Leap, a startup founded in 2010 that makes augmented reality headsets. When it became clear that selling these devices to consumer gamers wasn’t going to sustain the company, Magic Leap decided to pivot to the enterprise market. And Peggy Johnson is leading that charge.

In this episode of Leadership Next, she tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt why she raised her hand for this challenging job and lays out the business case for industries adopting augmented reality. She also talks about building her management team, supporting employees and says even small companies can “embrace stakeholder capitalism.”

Tristan Walker: Companies Need a Plan to Serve Diverse Customers

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 09:00:00 -0000

Fed up with razor blades that irritated his skin, and tired of walking down “ethnic” beauty aisles, entrepreneur Tristan Walker decided to start his own company. In 2013 he launched Bevel, a suite of shaving products designed for Black men. Walker & Company Brands was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2018, making Tristan the first Black CEO of a P&G subsidiary.

In this episode of Leadership Next he tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt that he believes all companies should have a plan to serve customers of color. “Every company in 20 years, when folks of color become the majority in this country, if they do not have a plan to serve this audience with empathy, I believe that they will not exist.”

Walker believes the global pandemic may have accelerated opportunity for employees of color, and he shares his outlook on the likelihood of lasting change in the wake of this past summer’s social justice uprising. Also in the conversation: why Walker sold his startup to the giant P&G, his complicated feelings around venture capital, and advice for other Black entrepreneurs.

Business Sets Priorities for 2021

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 09:00:00 -0000

Each year Fortune assembles about 50 of the top CEOs in the world for a dinner on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Of course this year, the annual event was postponed due to COVID-19. But Fortune still wanted to convene this group to discuss how business could best join forces to make a positive impact in 2021. How can all of us emerge from the global pandemic stronger than before?

And today, on Leadership Next, our listeners are getting a special seat at that event. Before setting priorities for 2021, attendees heard updates on several of the most pressing issues of the moment: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla spoke about the coronavirus vaccine efforts; Mary Barra of General Motors unveiled how her company plans to fight climate change; Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg offered a picture of tech regulation in the months ahead.

Leadership Next's Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt bring you highlights from these reports. Also joining the conversation, the co-host of Fortune's Brainstorm podcast, Michal Lev-Ram.

Need Help Improving Your Company's Diversity Efforts?

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 20:45:00 -0000

Leadership Next kicks off a new season with important discussions around Black Americans and work. Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt speak with tech executive Charles Phillips who is a founding member of OneTen – a coalition of business leaders committing to hire one million employees of color over the next ten years. Phillips explains how the group came about, and why it’s so important. He talks about his own experiences - how he became interested in computers, how his upbringing prepared him to succeed in a corporate world where very few people looked like him, and why he sold his company to Koch Industries instead of taking it public.

Also on today’s show, David Craig the CEO of data company Refinitiv. Refinitiv is a key partner in a new Fortune initiative, Measure Up which pushes companies to track, report and disclose their employee diversity numbers. While many companies proclaim the importance of corporate diversity and inclusion, very few actually report their progress towards meeting DEI goals. You can join the effort by heading to https://Fortune.com/measureup

Check Out Fortune's Newest Podcast

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 09:00:00 -0000

Leadership Next has wrapped for the year. We’ll be back with more CEO interviews in January, when we kick off Season 2.

In the meantime, we invite you to check out - and subscribe - to a new Fortune podcast: Fortune Brainstorm.

Each week hosts Michal Lev-Ram and Brian O’Keefe talk about how tech is reshaping our world. They’ve explored how robots are identifying COVID-19, how AI is preventing wildfires, and why we should all care about the government’s antitrust lawsuit against Google.

Today, Alan selected one of his favorite episodes to share with Leadership Next listeners. It's all about Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year, Elon Musk. You may admire Musk, you may despise him – but you'll likely learn something new about him in this episode of Fortune Brainstorm.

If you enjoy what you hear, you can find more episodes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brainstorm/id1533311996

What We've Learned About Leaders in 2020

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 09:00:00 -0000

The first episode of Leadership Next launched on March 17th, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was gearing up to wallop the U.S. Over the next nine months, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt talked to CEOs of some of the world's largest companies about how they were making decisions during this difficult time. Because of course the difficulty didn't stop with a health crisis. It led to economic upheaval too. And, in the midst of that, the country faced a reckoning on racial justice spurred by the killing of George Floyd. Surprisingly, through it all, the leaders interviewed on this podcast maintained a commitment to stakeholder capitalism.

In this episode, Alan and Ellen are joined by Joe Ucuzoglu, the CEO of Deloitte and sponsor of Leadership Next. They revisit conversations with IBM's Ginni Rometty, Sanofi's Paul Hudson, Salesforce's Marc Benioff, and many others in order to uncover some of the big trends that emerged from Season One. And, they look ahead to 2021.

What Does the Future Hold for Oil Giant Chevron?

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 09:00:00 -0000

It has not been an easy time to be leading an oil company as the pandemic pushed down both oil demand and prices. Meanwhile, the UN is pushing for a future of zero net carbon emissions, and many countries and global companies have signed on to meet the goal. Does all of this mean we've hit "peak oil?" Chevron's CEO, Mike Wirth, says no. He explains his thinking on this episode of Leadership Next, and lays out his vision for the future of the company.

Wirth also spends time talking about how the relationship between CEOs and their employees have shifted over time. He communicates more often and more directly with his employees than leaders of the past. Along these lines, he shares specific examples of listening to employees during the COVID-19 crisis, and describes his approach to leading a global company.

TIAA's Roger Ferguson on Avoiding a Double-Dip Recession

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 09:00:00 -0000

With coronavirus hitting the U.S. with renewed force, are we on the verge of a double-dip recession? That’s the first question Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt had for Roger Ferguson, the CEO of TIAA. Before leading the money management firm, Ferguson spent several years at the Federal Reserve. This background gives him great perspective on the roles business and government play in building a strong economy, and how the two can – and should – be working together.

In his conversation with Leadership Next, Ferguson lays out the immediate steps he believes the government should take to support the economy in the near-term. He also highlights how the coronavirus crisis has taken a greater toll on black and brown communities, and offers some ideas for helping these groups.

Ferguson is just one of four black CEOs leading a Fortune 500 company – just like he was one of the few black men to ever hold a regulatory role at the Federal Reserve. Quick to acknowledge this as a serious problem, he has a list of three moves companies can make to bring greater diversity to the workplace.

Beyond Meat CEO: Why Business Is Quickest Route to Social Change

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 09:00:00 -0000

When Ethan Brown set out to look for a job, he wanted to tackle what he saw as one of the world’s biggest problems – climate change. After stints in government and the non-profit world, he found himself frustrated with the plodding pace of change. He decided business had the most power to move the needle on the problem. Enter Beyond Meat: his company that had a wildly successful IPO last year. His plant-based meat products are available at restaurant chains and grocery stores across the country, globally. He talks to Alan Murray about plans to build a plant in China, how COVID has impacted the company, and why he remains focused on long-term, not quarterly, results.

If you enjoy Leadership Next, check out Fortune's “Brainstorm” podcast about how tech is reshaping our world. To listen and subscribe, click here from your mobile device.

Michelle Gass: Retooling Kohl's Strategy In the Midst of a Pandemic

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 09:00:00 -0000

In March of 2020, Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass was preparing to unveil a retooled strategy for the retailer. Instead, she had to shelve those plans and face the coronavirus pandemic. In this episode of Leadership Next, she details many of the hard decisions she and her team had to make to keep employees safe and the business running. Kohl’s has long called itself an omnichannel retailer and, as Gass shares, its digital footprint certainly helped blunt the economic blow of COVID-19. During this time Gass also started hosting live weekly meetings for the entire company – something she had never done before. She was particularly glad to have this communication method in place when news of the George Floyd murder broke – she explains why. Gass goes on to talk about the diversity efforts at the company, Kohl’s plans to be the go-to retailer for healthy families, and her approach to stakeholder capitalism.

If you enjoy Leadership Next, check out Fortune's “Brainstorm” podcast about how tech is reshaping our world. To listen and subscribe, click here from your mobile device.

Nike's CEO Went on a Vision Quest: Here's What He Learned

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 09:00:00 -0000

Not many people obtain the title of CEO. But John Donahoe has held the position four times. He’s currently the CEO of Nike. Before he accepted that job, however, he took a year off to figure out what he really wanted the next decade of his life to look like. He solicited advice from 50 people during that period – much of which he summarizes and shares with Alan and Ellen.

Ultimately, that search led him to the top post at Nike – a company whose board he had sat on for several years. Soon after moving into the C-Suite, the coronavirus pandemic hit. That was quickly followed by unrest sparked by the murder of George Floyd. Donahoe tells Leadership Next how both of those events impacted the company. He also reveals how early in his tenure he recognized the company needed to boost its culture of diversity and inclusion, and what he’s done about it.

Also in the conversation: how he envisions the company’s org chart (hint, he’s not at the top), how being a CEO is similar to being a coach, and how business can help heal some of the divisions within our country.

Are CEOs Truly Committed to Purpose Beyond Profit?

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 09:00:00 -0000

In a nod to Election Day, Leadership Next is engaging in a hallmark of American democracy: debate. Part of the thesis on this podcast is that business is changing. The best leaders recognize that to motivate their employees, customers - and sometimes their investors - they need a purpose beyond profit. And they need to be willing to address some big social problems like climate change and inequality that may be seen as existential threats to society and therefore to their businesses.

But of course not everyone agrees. Harvard Law's Lucian Bebchuk calls the promise of stakeholder capitalism "illusory."

He joins Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt, along with Rebecca Henderson who is author of "Reimaging Capitalism in a World on Fire," and a professor at the Harvard Business School.

Up for debate: Are the CEOs who profess to focusing on purpose actually following through? What types of incentives are needed to encourage companies to focus on stakeholders? Can companies proclaim a commitment to stakeholders while also spending heavily on lobbying in Washington DC?

COVID-19 Vaccine: Sanofi CEO Shares Company's Progress

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Paul Hudson became CEO of pharmaceutical company Sanofi in September 2019, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic. His company has moved quickly to develop vaccines for the illness. In this episode of Leadership Next, he shares the progress they’ve made. He also shares his enthusiasm for the new technology and tools the company is using to fight disease – COVID-19 of course, but also Parkinson’s, breast cancer and more. Alan Murry asks if Hudson believes his industry will continue to collaborate once the pandemic is under control. Ellen McGirt wonders how he’ll handle the growing number of people who say they won’t accept the COVID-19 vaccine. And of course, because this is Leadership Next, there’s plenty of talk about purpose – Hudson believes refocusing on the company’s purpose has brought energy and innovation to its search for a vaccine.

If A.I. Is Not Regulated, 'We Are Going to Be Sorry'

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Here’s a first for Leadership Next: an episode that begins with a story about being mauled by an elephant. The victim of that event: Tom Siebel, CEO of C3.ai, and a long-time Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Almost equally as unusual, in this episode Siebel lays out the case for government regulation of artificial intelligence – not something you expect to hear from the leader of an A.I. company. “If we don't regulate this, we're going to have to live in a very scary place,” Siebel tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt. C3.ai is a provider of enterprise AI software, and Siebel feels strongly that companies who fail to adopt A.I. in a big way will ultimately be left behind. But he freely admits the dangers inherent in running human systems with the technology. He talks about the line his company draws in the sand when choosing where to apply A.I.

Also in the episode, Siebel talks about the “data lake” the company has created to help fight COVID-19, and his funding of a group called “Siebel Scholars.”

If you enjoy Leadership Next, check out the new Fortune podcast "Reinvent" about companies fighting to thrive in a world turned upside down. To listen and subscribe, click here from your mobile device.

HP Says the Pandemic Has Given 3D Printing a Boost

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 08:00:00 -0000

HP – the company perhaps best known for outfitting homes and businesses across the world with computers and printers – is widely considered the original Silicon Valley tech company. It was founded in a small garage in 1939; at the time it was called Hewlett-Packard.

Today, HP is run by Enrique Lores, who started at the company as an intern and moved into the corner office about a year ago.

Leadership Next listeners will not be surprised to learn that he believes HP can benefit both shareholders and stakeholders. Specifically, he talks about how the company has been caring for employees during the pandemic, the need to continue pursuing diversity goals, how HP is working to protect trees and provide kids with computers.

Also, Lores explains how the pandemic accelerated 3D-printing technology at HP. Check out the episode to discover why co-host Ellen McGirt is particularly excited about this!

Whole Foods Founder: How Merging With Amazon Is Like Marriage

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 08:00:00 -0000

In its first year of life, Whole Foods Market had a “near-death” experience. Founder and long-time CEO John Mackey tells Leadership Next that a flood nearly destroyed the store – none of the damages were covered by insurance. But employees and customers banded together to clean things up, and a local banker personally guaranteed a loan to get Whole Foods back on its feet. This was Mackey’s first real understanding of how important all stakeholders are to a company. And from that day forward he’s become a proponent of what he calls “conscious capitalism.” He explains the details to Alan Murry and Ellen McGirt. How do these values mesh with Whole Foods’ owner, Amazon? Mackey describes the company pairing as a “marriage” where each partner changes and influences the other.

Also in the episode: how Whole Foods has worked to protect employees from COVID-19, how the pandemic had impacted business, and why Mackey believes in pay caps and pay transparency.

Ursula Burns: 'This Is a Make or Break Moment for Companies'

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Ursula Burns is not afraid to speak her mind. And she has lots to say in this episode of Leadership Next.

As the CEO of Xerox, Burns was the first and only Black woman to run a Fortune 500 company. She stepped down from that position in 2016 and has refocused her energy on a new goal: diversifying corporate boards. She’s doing so through a new group, The Board Diversity Action Alliance.

But calling this “a make or break moment for companies,” Burns says the challenges facing business extend beyond racial justice. She tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt "we're poisoning the world.” She mourns the treatment of essential workers during the pandemic – putting people in harm’s way yet paying them minimum wage. And she has a strong message for fellow CEOs who may choose to vote with an eye on their bottom lines, not their communities.

“We have a responsibility to leave behind a world that's better than it is when we inhabited it,” Burns said. At the moment, she believes business is failing to live up to that responsibility.

Also in this episode: Fortune's Kristen Bellstrom sheds some light on the dismal diversity numbers driving Burns' new project.

No Water, No Beer: AB InBev’s Case for Stakeholder Capitalism

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Ab InBev may be the world’s largest brewer, but in many ways it’s a local company. CEO Carlos Brito tells Leadership Next 95% of the company’s products are brewed locally from local ingredients, and then sold locally. That means the company’s policies have a direct impact on communities around the world. And it makes caring for those communities a clear business imperative. Brito shares some specific ways AB InBev is helping farmers thrive, and how it’s offered support to retailers during the coronavirus pandemic.

These efforts have also landed the company on Fortune’s 2020 Change the World list. Fortune’s editor-in-chief, Clifton Leaf, joins Alan Murray to offer more details on how the list is put together, and why it’s important.

How the CEO of Lowe's Is Boosting Diversity Company Wide

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Marvin Ellison is one of just four Black CEOs to lead a Fortune 500 company. And the company he runs - home retailer Lowe's - has been booming since the pandemic struck. Sales rose 35 percent in the most recent quarter, and online sales were up 135 percent. Leadership Next's Alan Murray asks if that demand will continue. The heart of the episode however comes when Ellison talks about his efforts to boost diversity at Lowe's - from the executive ranks, all the way through his newest initiative centered around diversifying suppliers. Also in the episode: Ellison's take on problems plaguing JCPenney - a company he ran before coming to Lowe's, Fortune's retail reporter Phil Wahba with some additional insight into Ellison's leadership style, and Ellen McGirt on ... wait for it ... potato cannons.

PayPal CEO: 'Capitalism Needs an Upgrade'

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 08:00:00 -0000

It’s no surprise that the coronavirus pandemic has pushed more people than ever before towards digital payments. What is surprising is just how dramatic that shift has been. PayPal CEO Dan Schulman lays out those details in this episode of Leadership Next. But what he truly wants to talk about is what this means for all of those who have been left behind by America’s economic system. He’s convinced “capitalism needs an updgrade,” and he’s doing what he can to make that happen. He tells Alan Murry and Ellen McGirt about his company’s decision to pay entry level employees more. He talks about a recent massive $530 million commitment to businesses and communities of color. And he answers the question that’s often asked on this podcast: why, as a corporate CEO, is it your job to care about this?

Over the years Schulman has taken stands on a variety of controversial issues – from gun control to voting. He’s been practicing stakeholder capitalism since well before the term became popular.

Why Levi's Cares About Gun Control and Voting

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Chip Bergh doesn’t know what the future holds, but he's certain it includes people wearing jeans. The CEO of Levi Strauss & Co says even when much of the world was on lockdown in April, 50 percent of us were still wearing jeans. That’s not to say this has been an easy time for the company. It’s lost a lot of money, and been forced to lay off hundreds of employees. But online sales are growing fast and Bergh tells Leadership Next that by closely tracking what consumers want, Levi’s will emerge intact from the coronavirus pandemic.

For Bergh, responding to consumers means more than just selling them denim. It also means using Levi’s corporate muscle to support issues consumers - and employees - care about. Gun control is a key example. He explains how the company entered the debate around guns, and why it has continued to push for more restrictions on who can own them.

In this episode Bergh also tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt about the ‘Time to Vote’ initiative, urging companies to give employees paid time off to vote. Additionally, the Levi Strauss Foundation is giving over a million dollars to organizations to promote get-out-the-vote efforts. Ellen catches up with the founder of one of these groups – Aimee Allison from She the People.

Beth Ford: Rural America's Problems Are a 'National Security Issue'

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 08:00:00 -0000

In this episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt have a wide-ranging conversation with the CEO of Land O’Lakes, Beth Ford. The farmer-owned cooperative has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic in some pretty unique ways. For instance, with nobody flying, airlines don’t need all of those mini tubs of Land O’Lakes butter. So what do you do with all of that butter? Ford’s supply chain team has been hard at work on some creative solutions.

The pandemic has also shone a spotlight on an issue that Ford has been focused on since she became CEO: improving rural America’s access to the internet. Remote learning and telemedicine can’t happen without broadband. And, poor connectivity keeps farmers from utilizing the high-tech tools and big data applications that allow them to increase productivity and yield. Ford wants everyone to realize this is not just a problem for rural America – if the communities keeping us fed are not strong, we all suffer.

Other topics discussed include: why the Supreme Court’s decision to protect LBGTQ employees from discrimination was so important to Ford, how Land O’Lakes responded to the killing of George Floyd, and how working from home has changed Ford’s relationships at work.

Also in the episode, Fortune’s Beth Kowitt puts Ford’s leadership in context – she goes about her work in a relatively low-key way, but the difference she’s making in rural communities is anything but understated.

What's Next for the Hotel Industry?

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 08:00:00 -0000

The coronavirus pandemic has touched every industry and every business. But the hospitality industry has been hit particularly hard. As Mark Hoplamazian, the CEO of Hyatt, shared with Leadership Next, hotel bookings were down 94 percent this spring. Demand basically went to zero overnight. So how do you continue to take care of your employees when the bottom falls out of your business? Mark’s answer: it’s painful. He details the steps Hyatt took to try and soften the blow of layoffs and furloughs on employees, and how employees responded.

Also discussed in the episode: how the killing of George Floyd impacted Mark personally, and how it is changing the way he runs Hyatt. Why he believes improved testing is key to recovery for the hotel business. How the pandemic will permanently change the hotel experience. And, we get the nitty gritty on what’s happening with the business, which geographic areas are seeing a recovery, who is still traveling, and what Mark sees in the weeks and months ahead.

Workday CEO: 'Companies need to have a soul'

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Aneel Bhusri, the CEO of Workday, runs an employee-first company. He believes taking care of employees translates into better business results. And Workday - which supplies customers with HR and other business software – seems to bear this out. In 15 years it’s grown into a $40B+ business. And it tops Fortune’s “Future 50” list which identifies companies with the strongest long-term growth potential.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Bhusri and Alan Murray talk about the challenges of building company culture while everyone is working from home. Despite the talk of remote work becoming mainstream, Bhusri believes it’s key to get people back into physical offices, at least part time.

Ellen McGirt picks up this line of conversation with Fortune's Geoff Colvin who has dug into research showing that meeting face to face is key for building trust and enabling innovation.

Also in the episode Bhusri talks honestly about company diversity. He admits Workday must do a better job expanding its hiring practices to bring more black employees into the company. And, he says, once they’re there, Workday must ensure black employees have equal opportunity to reach leadership positions.

And of course, the conversation circles back to an important theme of Leadership Next: Bhusri's focus on caring for all stakeholders. As he simply says, "Companies need to have a soul."

Brian Moynihan: 'It isn't a gimmick. This is how we run the company'

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 08:00:00 -0000

At the heart of today’s Leadership Next episode is the question, “How do you measure stakeholder capitalism?” We’ve been measuring shareholder returns for years – think earnings reports and stock market moves. But how do you judge if a company is successfully caring for its employees, customers and society? Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America, is on a mission to figure that out.

After all, identifying the companies doing this well is just as important for big investors as it is for job seekers.

As chair of the International Business Council, Moynihan is working with the Big Four accounting firms to develop a set of metrics to measure stakeholder capitalism. The group is nearing consensus and, despite the coronavirus pandemic, Moynihan says companies are more committed to adopting these standards than ever before.

Moynihan himself has been leading his company through the lens of stakeholder capitalism for some time. He and Alan Murray dive into those specifics, including the company’s response to the killing of George Floyd, raising the company’s minimum wage to $20 an hour, its focus on the environment, and Moynihan’s stance on the controversial “bathroom bill” in North Carolina in 2016.

Nextdoor's Sarah Friar: Fighting Racism, One Neighbor at a Time

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 08:50:00 -0000

Growing up in a small community in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, Sarah Friar saw first hand what it means for neighbors to be at war with one another. But she also saw the transformative power of neighbors helping neighbors. She’s brought this experience to her role as CEO of Nextdoor, the social network platform centered around local communities. In this episode of Leadership Next, she and Ellen McGirt take a deep dive into two topics. First, the racism that exists in our neighborhoods and on Nextdoor itself. Friar explains how the platform is pushing back against that and, hopefully, even playing a role in deepening understanding between white and black neighbors. Second, the pair discusses Friar’s role as a female CEO. Women running tech companies are still vastly outnumbered by men. Friar has used her role to boost gender diversity at Nextdoor, and is focused on doing the same for people of color. She offers some specific advice for other leaders looking to bring more diversity to their own organizations.

Here's How to Win the War for Talent

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 08:50:00 -0000

Bill McDermott’s been leading companies for many years – he spent 10 years as CEO of SAP, and in the fall of 2019, he took over as CEO at ServiceNow. But his approach to leadership is anything but old school. “The pendulum has really swung more towards a leader being absolutely in service to the employees and absolutely finding new ways to inspire them, new ways to innovate, new ways to bring out the best in them,” he tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt on this week’s Leadership Next. McDermott credits this shift to a war for talent. And, he points out that taking care of employees means taking a hard look at how people of color are advancing through your organization. “Put the cards on the table and take a look at the facts,” he advises. “The facts just don’t lie. … And by looking at the facts honestly and openly, you will open up a new gateway to innovation and opportunity within your company because that’s what people want.” Alan and Ellen also ask about ServiceNow’s response to COVID-19, the workplace of the future, and what brought McDermott to ServiceNow in the first place.

Why More Companies Should Consider Becoming B Corps

Tue, 07 Jul 2020 08:50:00 -0000

When the coronavirus pandemic hit and its economic implications became clear, Leadership Next wondered if CEOs would quietly shelve the idea of stakeholder capitalism and focus on their bottom lines. But for food giant Danone, the crisis has instead accelerated its commitment to people and the planet. It’s on the path to becoming a certified B Corporation, meaning it will be held to strict standards for social and environmental impact. Company CEO Emmanuel Faber now wants to hit that goal of becoming the world’s largest B Corp even sooner. Why? He feels it’s a competitive advantage. Faber explains, and tells Alan Murray how shifting toward B Corp status has changed the company’s behavior.

The majority of B Corps are small businesses, but a growing number of larger companies are showing interest in the certification, according to Anthea Kelsick, Co-CEO of B Lab U.S. & Canada. That interest was spurred by the Business Roundtable's shift to stakeholder capitalism last year and, more recently, by both COVID-19 and the business community's spotlight on racial justice. Kelsick speaks with Ellen McGirt.

Airbnb's Brian Chesky: 'We are a better company now'

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 08:50:00 -0000

What happens to a travel company in the midst of a global lockdown? “It felt like it took 12 years (..) to build this business, and we lost most of it in four to five weeks,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt in this week’s Leadership Next. Chesky goes on to describe the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic as “harrowing and nerve racking,” complete with large layoffs and a push to refocus the business. He outlines in detail how he made tough decisions during this time, and how he strove to take care of guests, hosts, employees and investors. Alan and Ellen also ask Chesky how Airbnb is responding to racial discrimination on the platform, and when the company plans to go public.

How Paul Polman Wants to Change the World

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 08:50:00 -0000

Paul Polman is the former CEO of Unilever. And Leadership Next host Alan Murray says he was the first CEO of a major company to truly embrace and promote stakeholder capitalism. Early in his tenure he pointed out that capitalism, as we practice it today, isn’t working – and he demanded that business take responsibility for its impact on society. Today’s episode explores how Polman did that at his own company, the pushback he faced, and how he’s tackling the issue with his new company, Imagine.

Also joining Leadership Next is Dov Seidman, founder of LRN and the HOW Institute for Society. Alan calls him “one of the most thoughtful people I know in thinking about how business is changing, and needs to change, the way it operates.”

GM CEO Mary Barra Is Looking to Drive Change

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 08:50:00 -0000

The CEO of General Motors, Mary Barra, is a fixture on Fortune’s list of the Most Powerful Women in business. When the coronavirus hit, GM was the first major American automaker to put idle assembly lines to work producing ventilators. She sprang into action again following the killing of George Floyd and the swelling protests supporting Black Lives Matter, committing the company to internal improvements on diversity and vowing to use the power of GM to drive global change. All of that gave her lots to discuss with Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt on this episode of Leadership Next.

And for additional insight on Barra's leadership style, Ellen turned to Fortune Senior Editor at Large, Geoff Colvin. Colvin has been reporting on Barra since she became CEO in 2014. He says the changes she's wrought in the GM culture are extraordinary, and her example provides valuable lessons for any leader looking to drive change at their own company.

How to Talk to Your Employees About Race and Racism

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 08:50:00 -0000

After George Floyd was killed, the CEO of Cisco put out a strong statement. Chuck Robbins called the incident horrific, maddening, truly abhorrent. On this episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt ask “why?” How did this national conversation on race become a business issue for Cisco? And the questions don’t stop there. They want to know – among other things - what exactly Robbins plans to do, and how he develops trust among his employees on this topic.

Ellen also speaks with Dr. Erin Thomas, the Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Upwork. Thomas offers some very practical, actionable advice to companies looking to address concerns around race and equality in their own organizations.

Coronavirus and the Art of Unbossed Leadership

Tue, 02 Jun 2020 08:50:00 -0000

Vas Narasimhan is the CEO of Swiss drug giant Novartis. With a medical degree from Harvard, and a public policy degree from the Kennedy School of Government, he has unique and specialized insight into the COVID-19 pandemic. On this episode of Leadership Next, Narasimhan speaks with Fortune editor-in-chief Clifton Leaf. The two dive into a detailed discussion about the challenges in developing and manufacturing a vaccine. They also discuss the fragilities in our healthcare system, preparing for the next pandemic, what it takes to lead during crisis, and why being a global company will help Novartis weather this storm.

Working for Women: WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert

Tue, 26 May 2020 08:50:00 -0000

Cathy Engelbert is used to breaking the mold. As commissioner of the WNBA, she just hosted professional sports’ first-ever virtual draft. Under her watch, WNBA players will – for the first time – receive fully-paid maternity leave and have a shot at significantly higher salaries. Before coming in to lead the women’s basketball league, she was the first woman CEO of Deloitte, and the first woman to head one of the country’s large professional services companies.

On this episode of Leadership Next, she and Alan Murray discuss how and when the WNBA will resume play, and the league’s efforts to engage fans digitally. Engelbert shares how her competitive childhood and college sports prepared her to become a business leader. And the pair debate how to elevate more women to the C-suite. Fortune’s Ellen McGirt also weighs in with some valuable insight.

Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Promise. Now What?

Tue, 19 May 2020 08:50:00 -0000

The coronavirus has pharmaceutical and biotech companies racing to find a vaccine. Moderna is the first company to test its vaccine in people and, this week, Moderna announced those early tests appear to be a success. On this episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray speaks with the co-founder and chairman of Moderna, Noubar Afeyan.

Moderna is a portfolio company in Afeyan’s biotech incubator, Flagship Pioneering. He founded Flagship in 2000 with the goal of financing companies that use innovative technologies to solve problems. Moderna certainly fits that description: its approach to the coronavirus vaccine is unlike any other. Afeyan explains why. He touches on the challenges of scaling production of the vaccine, and answer’s Alan’s blunt question: Is Moderna going to make any money off of this? The two also discuss how Flagship Pioneering differs from a venture capital firm, and how Afeyan’s immigrant roots have impacted his approach to business.

Mastercard CEO: Pandemic Is Pushing Adoption of Digital Tech

Tue, 12 May 2020 08:50:00 -0000

On the newest episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray is joined by the CEO of Mastercard, Ajay Banga. The two discuss how the global pandemic has impacted Mastercard’s business – surprisingly, it’s not all bad news.

Talk then turns to economic recovery – what it may look like, and when it’s coming. Banga believes the crisis will likely speed the adoption of digital technologies. And while this can be a great equalizer, it can also deepen divisions. Banga has a passion for financial inclusion – under his leadership, Mastercard has launched roughly 1500 products designed to promote financial inclusion. Those projects have touched some 500 million people in 80 different countries. This drive for inclusion carries through the current situation too. Banga explains that a focus on inclusion has led him to commit to no layoffs at Mastercard right now, and to contribute $250 million to aid struggling small businesses.

Also in this episode: Fortune's Ellen McGirt asks Kate Moore - Head of Thematic Strategy at BlackRock - which industries are best positioned for an economic rebound.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Tackles the Coronavirus

Tue, 05 May 2020 08:50:00 -0000

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff believes business can improve the state of the world. And as the world has grappled with the realities of the coronavirus, he’s used both company and personal resources to attempt to do just that. But now he says we are preparing to enter the second phase of this pandemic: returning to work.

In this episode of “Leadership Next,” Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt ask Benioff what that return looks like. They discuss his challenge to companies to retain employees for at least the first 90 days of this crisis. They also ask if company devotion to issues like diversity or the environment falls by the wayside in the months to come. Benioff’s answer: CEOs who remain committed to stakeholder capitalism will ultimately find the most success.

Answering Calls for Help: Business Is Pivoting to Battle COVID-19

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 08:50:00 -0000

During World War II, American industry mobilized to support the military - reconfiguring assembly lines to produce things like airplane engines and tanks. Seventy-five years later, the world finds itself in a different type of war: the battle against COVID-19. And once again, business is responding to calls for help.

On today’s Leadership Next, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt speak with two CEOs whose companies have pivoted to fight the pandemic. KR Sridhar is founder and CEO of Bloom Energy, a clean energy company based in San Jose, CA. Responding to a call from California governor Gavin Newsom, Bloom quickly figured out how to refurbish ventilators.

Jane Mosbacher Morris is founder and CEO of To the Market, a for-profit social enterprise that connects artisans from all over the world with businesses looking for products. Morris has redirected many in her network to begin producing hospital-grade masks. This work landed her on Fortune’s 2020 World’s Greatest Leaders list.

While Sridhar and Morris run very different companies, they share something important: the belief that now, more than ever, they have a responsibility to put their companies to work for the greater good.

Eileen Fisher: Focused on Using Business for Good Since 1984

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 08:50:00 -0000

Eileen Fisher has been putting purpose at the center of her company since 1984. The entrepreneur started her women’s clothing line with $350 in her pocket and the desire to help women feel great about getting dressed.

Although it’s more expensive to do so, Eileen is focused on using environmentally sound raw materials, and ensuring good working conditions for those creating her products. She’s observed a growing number of companies following suit. She tells Leadership Next's Alan Murray, “I think the companies that aren’t doing this kind of work will be gone in 5 years, 10 at the most.”

Eileen and Alan discuss some of the tradeoffs that have come with sticking by these sustainability practices, why Eileen has never partnered with investors, and the advice she has for other entrepreneurs.

Also in this week’s episode, Ellen McGirt speaks with the founders of the fashion label Public School, who – with advice from Eileen Fisher - are retooling their business to become a more sustainable brand.

IBM's Ginni Rometty on the Urgent Need to Reskill Workers

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 08:50:00 -0000

Retraining workers for jobs in the digital economy has been a focus of IBM’s Ginni Rometty for a long time. Now, with coronavirus driving unemployment sky high, the need for reskilling is even more urgent. On this episode of Leadership Next, Rometty – who recently transitioned from CEO to Executive Chairman of IBM – tells Alan Murray why corporations, not the government, are best positioned to make this happen.

The two also discuss the Business Roundtable. The group represents nearly 200 companies, and in August announced it believed business has a duty to serve all stakeholders, not just shareholders. This was a big deal, and Rometty was part of the group that pushed for the change. She explains why she believes this is essential for economic success, and how she has instituted a commitment to all stakeholders at IBM. Also shedding light on how this change from the Business Roundtable came to fruition, Alan speaks with Rick Wartzman of the Drucker Institute.

Measuring Company Responses to COVID-19

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 08:50:00 -0000

How well are companies responding to the coronavirus crisis? That’s what today’s Leadership Next guest wants to find out.

Martin Whittaker runs JUST Capital, a non-profit which attempts to measure if companies are doing well by ALL stakeholders – employees, customers, communities and shareholders. Since COVID-19 has gripped our attention, and the economy, Whittaker’s group has been measuring how major corporations are responding to the pandemic. He highlights some specific companies he believes have risen to the challenge, protecting employees and customers alike.

Also in this episode: Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian tells Fortune’s Susie Gharib how hard it’s been to furlough thousands of workers. Plus, the steps he’s taken to try and soften that blow. And, Fortune senior editor Ellen McGirt joins Leadership Next to offer her thoughts on how this pandemic will change the future of business.

Coronavirus Tests and Vaccines: Ammunition in the War Against COVID-19

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 08:50:00 -0000

Can business rise to meet the challenges presented by COVID-19? Can supply chains provide the medical equipment doctors and patients need? When will we have adequate coronavirus tests? And ultimately, how close are we to finding a vaccine for the disease? Those are the questions Alan Murray is asking on this week's Leadership Next. Today’s guests are two CEOs working overtime to provide the answers.

Up first, Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnosn and Johnson. His company has just announced it will begin testing and manufacturing a vaccine that may be available early next year.

Also adding insight is Stan Bergman, the CEO of Henry Schein, a dental and medical supply company. Not only does the company supply healthcare workers with disposable masks, gloves, and gowns, it's working to bring COVID-19 point-of-care tests to these workers.

Mark Cuban Is Pouring Money Into Coronavirus Relief: Here's Why

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 08:50:00 -0000

When the NBA announced it was indefinitely suspending its season, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made a quick decision: he would continue to pay all of the hourly employees who worked in his arena. How did he do it? And why? That’s what Alan Murray asks in this episode of Leadership Next. Cuban is also an investor in over 150 small businesses, so he’s been closely following government plans to assist these smaller companies. He shares his take on the coronavirus relief legislation, the advice he’s been offering entrepreneurs, and other steps he’s taking to assist both business owners and health care workers during the COVID-19 crisis.

Fighting COVID-19: Regeneron's George Yancopoulos

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 18:00:00 -0000

Business, when it’s at its best, can solve very big problems. And today Leadership Next is talking about a very big problem - COVID-19.

George Yancopoulos is the President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. His company announced this week it has developed a promising drug to fight coronavirus, and will begin human trials by early summer.

Yancopoulos details the innovative approach Regeneron used to create the drug - an approach that led to an effective therapy for Ebola.

He also explains that a Regeneron drug aimed at patients with rheumatoid arthritis is currently being used to treat some of the worst symptoms of COVID-19. The treatment is still in a trial phase but, if successful, could potentially keep severely ill patients off of ventilators.

Leadership Next host Alan Murray told Yancopoulos, “This is the most encouraging conversation I’ve had in quite awhile.”

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson: Sustainability Is Not a Competition

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 08:55:00 -0000

Starbucks recently announced plans to cut carbon emissions, waste, and water usage. But, as CEO Kevin Johnson tells Alan Murray in the newest episode of Leadership Next, he's not 100 percent sure how the company will meet those goals.

Enter Andrew Wanliss-Orlebar, VP Strategy at Futerra, who advises companies on their sustainability policies. He lays out some of the challenges that Starbucks and other companies face in their quests to protect the planet.

Also in the episode: find out just how much coffee Johnson drinks throughout the day, and how reading to his grandson impacted Starbucks corporate policy.

Microsoft's Satya Nadella: How to Save Capitalism

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 08:50:00 -0000

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella firmly believes that his company must do more than make money - it has a social purpose too. And failing to fulfill that purpose may put capitalism itself in danger. It's an idea that's been most recently popularized by author Colin Mayer. In the inaugural episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray speaks to both Nadella and Mayer, exploring the role business must play in the 21st century. Also featured, insight from Fortune's Andrew Nusca, who profiled Nadella for the magazine in 2016 and then again last month.

Leadership Next: Alan Murray Previews Season 1

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 15:26:00 -0000