Good morning.
I was relieved to hear that Donald Trump is safe after an apparent assassination attempt but bothered by his message that he will “never surrender.” That’s the language of war, not a presidential campaign, and it evokes the wider tribalism that’s impacting business and wearing people down. You can see it in Democrats who sneer at former vice president Dick Cheney crossing party lines to endorse Kamala Harris.
There is a growing desire among business leaders to find and foster common ground. LRN founder Dov Seidman argues that it’s not an accident that Chevron is the “human” energy company, Cisco is the “human network,” and TD Bank boasts about being “unexpectedly human.” “They’re saying humanity’s job one,” says Seidman. “The question is who’s going to translate that into humanizing business?”
It starts with leaders embracing their own humanity. That includes attention to working out and sleep—I’ve counted more than three dozen sleep-tracking Oura rings on leaders I’ve met since coming to Fortune in February. But it also means nurturing mental health, connections, and giving back.
Sunny Gurpreet Singh worked long hours for more than two decades as he built and ran the health care tech company Edifecs. He says he founded Roundglass after “struggling with serious burnout,” stepping down as CEO of Edifecs in 2021 to devote himself full-time to fostering wellbeing in our communities, companies, and ourselves. Through his foundation, he also invests in sustainability, youth development and mental health, and women’s empowerment—mainly in Punjab, where he grew up. Citing a crisis of “isolation and mental health,” Singh believes business leaders have to find ways to create more connections.
He put that philosophy into practice last week by cohosting Fortune’s first CEO Initiative member dinner at his beautiful Seattle home. My colleagues Kristin Stoller and Sarah Worob and I joined Singh and a dozen CEOs for a great conversation with exquisite wine and Indian food. We talked about wellness, the business landscape, leadership, and much more. We hope to cohost many more in 2025.
I was reminded of the findings of study after study that people are more likely to stay and thrive in a job when they have friends at work. With flexible work arrangements and high turnover, it’s easy to forget the business case for connecting around shared interests and values. And millions of immigrants like Singh and myself were attracted to the U.S. because of the shared values of this country, which the upcoming election will hopefully reinforce.
More news below.
Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
Follow on LinkedIn
TOP NEWS
CEO questions for Harris and Trump
Tariffs on China, semiconductor manufacturing, and antitrust enforcement under FTC Chair Lina Khan are the subjects of the most important questions CEOs have for the presidential nominees ahead of the election. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have only posted brief summaries of their policy platforms thus far. Fortune
OpenAI's new model
OpenAI's new AI model o1 is more intelligent and less hallucination-prone than the company's previous models but poses other safety concerns, according to Fortune's AI expert Jeremy Kahn. For instance, OpenAI classified the model as presenting a "medium risk" of aiding a person in carrying out a biological attack. Fortune
China struggles to build new companies
A new Financial Times report that cites data showing a 99% decline in businesses started in China from 2018 to 2023 sheds light on its entrepreneurial struggles. One executive in Beijing told the publication that "the whole industry has just died before our eyes." Fortune
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
Palantir is totally misunderstood on Wall Street, and shares will soar, BofA says by Jason Ma
An affair cost Alan Shaw his job and severance. Will Norfolk Southern also try to claw back his pay? by Greg McKenna
Inside the routine of Red Lobster’s 35-year-old CEO from when he ran P.F. Chang’s by Rachel Ventresca
Elon Musk faces moment of truth in Europe as buyers turn their backs on Tesla by Christiaan Hetzner
How Popflex and Blogilates’ 37-year-old CEO ignored her parents’ advice and built a pair of eight-figure empires by Alice Barlow
Jeff Bezos’ old neighbor says his broker cheated him out of millions when the Amazon founder bought his $79 million Miami mansion—and legal experts say he has a case by Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Joey Abrams.
