Good morning.
The COO is the shapeshifter of the C-Suite: the doer, advisor, strategist, operator, heir apparent, guardian of the coin, keeper of the hearth, No. 2, and person charged with getting the day-to-day stuff done. In fast-changing times, that may be why the COO role is making a comeback, often combined with other C-suite titles.
We recently brought together COOs to discuss their priorities in advance of our inaugural Fortune COO Summit this October in Middleburg, Va. Here’s a sample of what some had to say:
To revolve around hundreds of product and customer teams that are largely independent, entrepreneurial units, we’re reducing hierarchical levels. In the U.S., for example, we reduced the number of managers in our pharmaceuticals business by some 40%. – Sebastian Guth, COO, Bayer Pharmaceuticals & president, Bayer U.S.
We’re turning the operation side into a competitive advantage versus a behind-the-scenes role. We’ve centralized our operations under one umbrella, allowing us to better serve our clients, partners and employees. – Souheil Badran, SEVP & COO, US Bank
I find a lot of intersections between operations and people. Yesterday you were doing claims, adjusting. Today, you’re a prompt engineer. The operations agenda helps achieve overall business goals. – Adina Eckstein, COO, Lemonade
We’re extending supply lines because of diversification but also because of geopolitical and environmental issues. We’ve got to be efficient at managing the risk of supply without incurring the risk of cost. – Paul Connolly, president, global operations, Smith & Nephew
As we think about the potential size and scale of these innovations, it’s clear that a lot of strategic and capital-allocation decisions reside with the COO and with the CFO. – Adrian Mitchell, COO/CFO, Macy’s Inc.
My role is about breaking down silos: connecting the dots and removing barriers for teams. – Raina Moskowitz, chief operating and marketing officer, Etsy
Operations plays the front runner to drive culture. How do we purposefully keep our culture intact while we’re automating so many of these connections with our customers? It’s forcing us to quickly adapt new tools that weren’t originally the ones given to us. – Sebastian Burzacchi, COO/MSO, Alignment Healthcare
My focus probably is more on the tech side right now. We’re spending a lot of time trying to innovate as fast as possible. We’ve done lots of great pilots around generative AI … but you have to balance the cost equation. – Kirsty Roth, chief operations & technology officer, Thomson Reuters
As one customer told Ganesh Ayyar, EVP and president of intuitive operations and automation and industry solutions at Cognizant: “AI is going to be an equalizer. Human intelligence is going to be the differentiator.”
Cognizant, by the way, is our founding partner for the COO Summit. If you’d like to join this gathering of top operational leaders, email coosummit@fortune.com for more information. More news below.
More news below.
Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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TOP NEWS
Saving Boeing from itself
On July 17, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union will vote on whether to call a strike if its contract with Boeing expires. The union wants the planemaker to commit to build a new aircraft in a specific place and a 40% wage increase over three years. But the union also wants oversight over Boeing’s troubled quality-assurance program: “We have to save Boeing from itself,” union leader Jon Holden says. Fortune
Aramco AI
Saudi Aramco believes AI will help it maximize its production and pave a path to a post-oil business model. Unlike many other companies talking about AI, Aramco has the funds to back it up: It generated $23 billion in free cash flow this quarter. Other Saudi entities are investing in AI, with the country’s sovereign wealth fund discussing a $40 billion AI fund with VC firm Andreessen Horowitz. Fortune
Amazon thinks up a Temu clone
E-commerce giant Amazon plans to start a section of its store to allow Chinese warehouses to sell directly to U.S. consumers, in what would be a direct challenge to Chinese services like Shein and Temu. Shoppers are attracted to Shein and Temu’s steep discounts, but U.S. lawmakers have accused both companies of taking advantage of “de minimis” loopholes that allow products to evade some customs scrutiny. The Information
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
FedEx stock rockets almost 16% on earnings beat—and BofA boosts its price target by Luisa Beltran
The knowledge economy is being eroded by AI. Welcome to the ‘relationship economy,’ LinkedIn’s chief economist says by Massimo Marioni
Gen Z’s favorite economist is 27-year-old TikTok star Kyla Scanlon who coined the term ‘vibecession’ by Alicia Adamczyk and Joseph Abrams
Rumors of American consumer strife are greatly exaggerated, Affirm CEO and PayPal cofounder says by Jane Thier
Fortune 100 CEOs ‘despise’ Trump, critic claims—but an insider close to the former president says he’d rather win the hearts of small businesses by Eva Roytburg
Bosses are lying to burned-out employees by posting fake jobs to give false hope that help is on the way by Sydney Lake
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.
