Good morning.
The Fortune CEO Initiative’s annual meeting gets underway this morning in Washington, D.C. (which, thankfully, remains open for business.) This is our community of CEOs who meet regularly to share ideas and best practices for maximizing their companies’ positive impact on society. Over the last seven years, they have been a force for change in business, driving the push for CEOs to step up on climate, diversity and inclusion, mobility, inequality, and more.
This year, however, the gathering occurs in the midst of a political backlash, as well as corporate backsliding. I expect that to be a central part of our conversation today. Technology also will be on the agenda, as it has been since the Initiative’s founding. Members agree that technology is neither good nor bad. But how you use it and what rules govern its use can make a world of difference.
On the agenda tomorrow are government officials including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), as well as top CEOs including Accenture’s Julie Sweet, IBM’s Arvind Krishna, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, Sanofi’s Paul Hudson, J&J’s Joaquin Duato, and ex-Merck CEO Ken Frazier. I’ll be reporting back here tomorrow.
On the topic of responsible use of technology: I led a dinner conversation last week with a group of chief information and chief technology officers that focused mostly on Generative AI. It touched on both the amazing opportunities opened up by this new technology as well as the potential costs and risks. What surprised me, for a conversation among technology leaders, was that the risks seemed to be more on their minds than the opportunities. Among those risks: The massive demand for computing power driven by the new technology, the challenges of protecting proprietary data, the uncertainty around intellectual property protection, the badly-named “hallucination” problem, and what one of the CTOs referred to as the “shiny object” problem. Because Generative AI is so easy to use, CTOs face questions from CEOs, boards and colleagues as to why their company isn’t adopting it more broadly and quickly. As one of the attendees said: “Everyone wants it. Everyone has a use case. But misuse is the biggest concern.”
Still, Mark Papermaster, CTO of AMD which sponsored the event, said there are plenty of exciting business opportunities for using Generative AI. And his company is embracing those…with care and intention. “At AMD, it’s been so fun.”
More news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
Rivian’s big spending
Rivian, the EV maker once worth more than Ford, has burned through half of its $18 billion in cash as it tries to figure out how to make an electric truck. Rivian loses about $33,000 on every vehicle it sells, even at a hefty $80,000 average price tag. Yet there may be light at the end of the tunnel: Rivian reported better-than-expected quarterly deliveries yesterday, and said it is on track to produce 52,000 vehicles by the end of the year. The Wall Street Journal
Huawei’s handover
Meng Wanzhou, whose 2018 house arrest in Canada sparked a diplomatic crisis between Beijing, Ottawa and Washington, is ending her six-month tenure as the rotating chairperson of Huawei Technologies. Meng is the company’s CFO and the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei. Meng is finishing her tenure after Huawei released a new 5G smartphone despite U.S. regulations barring the company from buying cutting-edge chips and chipmaking equipment. South China Morning Post
Flexport’s CEO turnover
Why did logistics startup Flexport fire its CEO Dave Clark? Founder Ryan Petersen, who recently returned as CEO, accused Clark of overspending and over-hiring, yet internal documents reportedly undermine those claims, instead suggesting that Clark pushed for more realistic forecasts amid a shipping downturn. Flexport last week also fired its CFO and chief HR executive. CNBC
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
The trolling of corporate America by Maria Aspan
Tesla unveils first quarter-on-quarter decline since 2020 as Elon Musk ‘disappoints’ Wall Street bulls by Christiaan Hetzner
Airbnb’s CEO isn’t happy with how the business has grown, and wants hosts to lower their prices: ‘We need to get our house in order’ by Orianna Rosa Royle
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour isn’t the only significant live event. Eventbrite’s CEO is powering gatherings for everyday creators by Emma Hinchliffe and Joseph Abrams
One accounting firm is tackling the industry’s talent shortage by giving its 10,000 employees part ownership in the company by Paige McGlauflin and Joseph Abrams
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.
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