Good morning.
It’s a big day for Fortune: We are publishing our 2022 100 Best Companies to Work For list.
For 25 years now, Fortune has published this list based on a rigorous methodology administered by our partner, Great Place to Work—now part of UKG. (You can read more about the methodology here.)
It is our most popular annual list, and, I would argue, our most important. Over the past half-century, the role of people in the value equation of big companies has risen steadily. As a result, companies that do the best job engaging their people also have the best shot at winning the future.
So who are this year’s winners?
Top of the list, for the second year in a row: Cisco. It also has the distinction of having been on the list for all 25 years. It has long prioritized its employees’ well-being, and never more than during the pandemic.
No. 2 on the list is another returnee: Hilton, which has been on the list for seven years. Despite the pain of the pandemic in the travel industry, Hilton pressed ahead with multiple commitments to helping its employees, including a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion.
And No. 3—another veteran of 25 years on the list—Wegmans Food Markets. This grocery chain, which spreads across seven eastern states, has managed to successfully compete against much bigger chains for over 100 years by taking extra care of its workers. It’s best known for an extremely generous scholarship program. (Read Beth Kowitt’s piece on Wegmans, and another list perennial, Publix, here.)
You can view the full list this morning here. And if you are looking for a new job, take heart: The current number of open job postings at these 100 companies is 238,959—the most we’ve ever seen in the history of the list.
In honor of this 25th anniversary, Great Place to Work CEO Michael Bush and I will be hosting a group of our all-stars—including Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, and Target CEO Brian Cornell—to talk about what they do to make their companies great employers. Others would do well to pay attention. You can sign up to participate here.
News below. And if you missed it last week, be sure to read this piece by Maria Aspan and Emma Hinchliffe on the mystery of MacKenzie Scott, who has turned out to be the world’s most enigmatic philanthropist.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
Correction, April 11, 2022: A previous version of this newsletter misstated the given name of Hilton’s CEO.
TOP NEWS
Stocks, bonds continue to sell off
Last week was a loser for stocks and bonds, and investor mood isn’t looking much better this morning. Stocks in Asia (hurt by inflation data in China) and Europe were mostly lower, and U.S. futures were under pressure at 5 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed again, touching a three-year high. Despite the downer sentiment hanging over markets (crypto, too, is sinking), crude prices are stable, with Brent trading around $100. CNBC
On to Round Two
The card is set for a Round Two runoff to name the next president of Europe’s second biggest economy. In a contest that will be closely watched across the European Union and beyond, French President Emmanuel Macron will face off against his nationalistic euroskeptic rival, Marine Le Pen, in a winner-takes-all vote on April 24. Markets and oddsmakers give Macron the advantage, but not by much. The result of the Round One vote yesterday pushed the euro higher, and stocks in France outperformed other European bourses in morning trade. Fortune
Musk says no, investors head for the exits
In today’s installment of What did Elon Musk do now? the mercurial billionaire decides he doesn’t want to take a board seat at Twitter after all. Investors didn’t take kindly to the news. Twitter shares are down nearly 5% in premarket trading, underperforming the Nasdaq. Fortune
More fallout from the Ukraine invasion
The World Bank now sees Ukraine’s economy shrinking by 45% this year. War is also really bad news for Russia. Its economic output is now predicted to fall by 11.2% this year. And the fallout doesn’t end there. So-called emerging-market economies in Europe and Central Asia will see a combined 4.1% decline, worse than the hit inflicted by COVID. Bonus read: Russia is facing its biggest default since 1917. Bloomberg
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
COVID (fatigue) spike hits the U.S.
Fractal Therapeutics CEO Arijit Chakravarty and coauthor of a big new study on COVID’s long-lasting health impacts, tells Fortune’s Erin Prater that Americans ought to get accustomed to the idea that COVID will be endemic. How bad could it get? Chakravarty says the odds are high that the virus becomes the No. 1 killer in the United States. Fortune
A brewing crisis in EV battery supply?
There’s a dark cloud hanging over the EV revolution, a major Australian lithium producer warns. Stuart Crow of Lake Resources says carmakers are facing a major supply crunch for lithium, a key mineral in the lithium-ion batteries that make electric vehicles run. Crow says China dominates about 80% of the global supply of lithium, essentially locking Western companies out of the market. Financial Times
Why executives do stupid things…over and over again
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a Harvard Business School professor and author of Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time, offers five reasons why executives make knuckleheaded mistakes: from misconduct to strategic gaffes. Wall Street Journal
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by Bernhard Warner.
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