Good morning.
Generative AI is crowding out other priorities on the executive agenda, according to a new poll out this morning from Weber Shandwick. (CEO Daily got a first look). The poll covers roughly 100 top executives of large global companies—including about 25 CEOs—and was conducted during the last week of January, so it captures current thinking. The findings:
—Generative AI was selected as a “top priority” by 51% of respondents, and 30% said it would have the “greatest impact” on their business.
—Inflation and interest rates came next, chosen a “top priority” by 49% and “greatest impact” by 26%.
—ESG fell back on the list, ranked as a “top priority” by 29% and having the “greatest impact” by only 7%.
—Navigating geopolitical conflict was chosen by 17% as a top priority, and 5% said it would have “greatest impact.”
The survey suggests there’s a big gap between executives’ recognition of the importance of generative AI and their confidence in their ability to take advantage of it. Here’s what Chris Deri, president of Weber Shandwick’s Corporate Advisory Businesses, had to say:
“The big takeaway on generative AI…is that 75% of executives do not feel personally equipped to lead their organizations through this. I think that means 2024 is going to be something of an observation year. The No. 1 action executives are looking for is an AI vendor. But they can’t farm out or delegate innovation. They really have to become technologists themselves and have the ethos of testing and learning and failing fast in order to understand.”
You can find the whole survey here. Meanwhile, the must-read of the day is Shawn Tully’s deep dive into what went wrong at Boeing. It’s a sad tale, spanning more than two decades and four CEOs, and it’s not over yet. You can read it this morning here.
Other news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
Nvidia’s bumper quarter
Nvidia shares are up over 9% in extended trading after the chipmaker smashed expectations with a 265% jump in revenue. CEO Jensen Huang even admitted that the company now has to “allocate [chips] fairly” amid giant demand for its AI processors. It’s not all good news, though: Nvidia noted that China now makes up a “mid-single-digit” percentage share of its data center revenue, down from as much as 25% in previous quarters, as Biden’s chip controls target the company’s processors. Fortune
Japan breaks a 35-year-old record
The Nikkei 225, which tracks the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed at an all-time high of 39,098.68 on Thursday. The previous record stood since Dec. 29, 1989, at the peak of Japan’s bubble economy. Strong earnings and governance reforms are boosting Japan’s equity markets, even as the broader economy stumbles into a technical recession. Associated Press
Underemployed
Just over half of college graduates are in jobs that don’t make full use of their skills, according to a new study. Many of those who end up in non-college-level jobs were still underemployed a decade later. “We all need to be thinking of that first post-college job as a high-stakes milestone, and give it the attention it deserves,” says Stephen Moret, president of the Strada Education Foundation, which organized the study. The Wall Street Journal
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
Marc Lore’s startup Wonder is opening food halls inside Walmart stores, in a sequel to his e-commerce startup’s $3 billion acquisition by Walmart by Jason Del Rey
The CEO of Hyundai’s electric air-taxi subsidiary thinks we’ll be flying in them by 2028—but admits batteries aren’t there yet by Lionel Lim
Say goodbye to the peak of home price appreciation, Fortune 500 chief economist says—it’s behind us by Sydney Lake
Bob Iger, Marc Benioff, and the billion-dollar deal that never was: The untold story of Disney’s battle for Twitter by Kurt Wagner
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.
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