- In today’s CEO Daily: The next generation’s perspective on AI.
- The big leadership story: AI is getting lazy just as enterprises unleash autonomous agents.
- The markets: Mixed globally as investors await the Fed’s interest rate decision.
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Good morning. I recently co-hosted a “Generations” dinner at the Tribeca home of Cengage CEO Michael Hansen, where CEOs from a broad range of industries each brought a Gen Z child. The goal: to have an informal conversation about life, leadership and the future of work. Many CEOs have children at the starting point of their careers, which makes strategies around AI and talent feel both personal and professional.
Although this was a global group, it was not meant to be representative of a generation. Many of these young adults, much like my own, have grown up with opportunities and exposure to their parents’ industries that others don’t have. But they also have the shared experience of growing up in an era of AI, climate change, social media, geopolitical instability and opportunities our parents could never imagine.
The conversation was under the Chatham House rule, so I’ll share some takeaways but not specific names or companies. There was a diversity of perspectives at the table, with some expressing deep concern about AI while others saw it as a tool. Their career choices ranged from working in a startup to managing workers on a construction site; from being the third generation to work in an industry to choosing a very different realm. We talked about legacy and values, the impact of rapid change and corrosive politics. The lessons were personal: respect for other people, giving back, humor, grit, humility.
Here are some takeaways from Hansen, who oversees a $1.6 billion-a-year global education technology company that provides content, platforms and services for learning from K-12 to higher education and workforce training. “I was struck by the level‑headedness and thoughtfulness of the younger generation when it comes to topics like is AI going to change the world. They were less panicked and more thoughtful than the older generation,” said Hansen, who brought his two sons. “I do think that the conversation between the older generations and the CEOs became, in a way, more human and more real and less sort of this typical management jargon and lingo,” he said.
I agree and look forward to having more of these dialogues, intergenerational or otherwise, through the Fortune CEO Initiative. These co-hosted dinners are just part of the editorial offerings in this fast-growing network. I love partnering on creative ideas. This month, we welcome new CEOI members: Steve Lucas of Boomi, Ecolab’s Christophe Beck, Skyscanner’s Bryan Batista, Mihir Shukla of Automation Anywhere, Rob Fauber of Moody’s, Weber Shandwick’s Karen Pugliese, Sunrun’s Mary Powell, Bob Segert of athenahealth, Bianca Anghelina of Aily Labs, Gaurav Lohiya of Walker Architects, and Nicholas Hamilton-Archer of the Ross School of Business. Thank you to the leaders of NYSE, Edward Jones, HPE, PMI, Laurel Strategies and more for renewing their membership in what’s going to be an exciting year. Reach out if you’re interested to find out more. Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at [email protected]
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