Good morning from Geneva.
It’s a summer Friday, so a travel story seems fitting. Yesterday I took the train to Vevey, a town on the other side of Lake Geneva, to have a coffee with Guillaume Le Cunff, CEO of Nespresso. It turned into a trip that delivered unexpected lessons.
My journey started with a beginner’s mistake. Instead of going to Nespresso’s office, I navigated my way to the Le Corbusier-designed headquarters of its parent company, Nestlé, by accident. But with beautiful views over the Swiss riviera, the French Alps, and Lake Geneva, I had no regrets. Whoever insists on working remotely clearly doesn’t work at Nestlé’s HQ.
Nespresso’s HQ—once I made it there—was just as striking. The coffeemaker’s offices are nestled in Nestlé first-ever factory, built in 1866 and stunningly redesigned. Before being used by Nespresso, the site briefly served as a museum, and the mix between 19th Century industrial and 21st Century modern art elements gives the space a Stanley Kubrick kind of feel.
As for my meeting with the company’s CEO, the Frenchman Le Cunff welcomed me in white sneakers and offered me a cup of Nespresso—what else?—next to a life-size cardboard cutout of George Clooney.
Le Cunff told me about the company’s achievement of being one of the largest globally certified B Corps. I figured he’d sought the B Corp label for marketing purposes, but he says the principal upside has been employee enthusiasm.
“The main benefit of being a B Corp—and I didn’t expect it—is from the inside,” he said. “We brought 14,000 people across the world along in our journey. You will see it in the signature of people. To attract talent, this is part of the conversation. Any young talent interested in Nespresso, will browse and will see the B Corp label.”
Le Cunff also pointed to the fundamental improvements in operations the B Corp process engendered: “B Corp made us more systematic and homogenous,” he said. “There is a common language between everyone, whether you work for us in Thailand, Malaysia, the U.S., or Chile. Everyone will ask questions about sustainability in the same way, and answer in the same way.”
That shared commitment matters greatly, the CEO said, because “with no commitment to sustainability, there is no coffee.”
More news below.
Peter Vanham
peter.vanham@fortune.com
@petervanham
TOP NEWS
China chatbot rules
Beijing censors have watered down their approach to generative A.I. in new rules released yesterday. While the finalized regulations demand chatbots uphold “core socialist values” and avoid giving “false and harmful information,” they also weaken some of the more stringent provisions and include pledges to support innovation. China’s Big Tech companies are rushing to launch new A.I. products, with e-commerce firm JD.com announcing their model “ChatRhino” yesterday. South China Morning Post
ChatGPT investigation
The Federal Trade Commission is launching a broad investigation into OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. The government body believes that the developer may have engaged in deceptive practices that led to “reputational harm” for consumers. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pledged to work with the FTC. The Washington Post
Affordable luxury
PepsiCo beat expectations on revenue and profit for the most recent quarter, despite raising prices to keep pace with inflation. The food and beverage company generated $22.3 billion in revenue, up 10.4% even as sales volume fell. PepsiCo CFO Hugh Johnston suggested consumers are still looking for “affordable” luxuries even as they pull back on big-ticket items. The Wall Street Journal
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
Thanks to Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, it’s a Barbie world this summer by Fortune Editors
Now could be the worst time to buy Apple stock. Yes, really—just look at Robert Shiller’s famous CAPE metric by Shawn Tully
Ex-Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer says A.I. will torch the tech industry but ‘strong trees’ will survive and there will be ‘healthy regrowth’ by Alexandra Sternlicht
Housing market shortage is so acute and the office glut is so big that Boston will offer 75% tax breaks on office-to-residential conversions by Alena Botros
Citi CEO Jane Fraser: ‘We must be proactive about embracing A.I.—it’s an essential part of winning in the digital era’ by Sheryl Estrada
Will Bored Apes still be around in 10 years? by Jeff John Roberts
This edition was CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.
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