Good morning.
In my twenties, I reported throughout Asia and Africa, meeting numerous expats who would go on to take bigger leadership roles back home. Developing a global mindset, an ability to navigate cultures other than your own, was seen as a critical skill to hone if you wanted to lead a business. Today, the Fortune 500 itself is more global: About 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs are of Indian origin, and many others are immigrants from other nations.
I had an opportunity to speak with a globally diverse group of rising leaders in Texas yesterday at Deloitte’s Next Generation CEO Program. (Deloitte sponsors this newsletter.) I talked with some about how their cultures shaped them as leaders and the importance of being able to engage across borders.
But let’s not ignore politics. This morning marks the opening of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Along with attracting heads of state and their teams, the week-long event also brings a mix of global business leaders to town. While many want to dismiss and even defund the UN, consider how many of its agencies enable business to operate at a global level. Consider how many of these meetings may open doors for new trade or business opportunities.
It’s easy to divide the world into good and bad, or them and us. As the head of a far-right government, Giorgia Meloni sparked as much fear as rejoicing when she became Italy’s first female prime minister two years ago. And yet she has proven to be more of a defender of rights than someone who tramples on them, committed to protecting democratic institutions.
Last night, after Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented Meloni with one of the Atlantic Council’s Global Citizen Award for her “political and economic leadership” in Italy, the EU, and beyond, she spoke about democracy, equality and learning from mistakes. Here’s the full text of her speech. It will take more to calm fears in some quarters. What matters is having the conversations.
More news below.
Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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TOP NEWS
Bank of America: recession is not likely
A group of Bank of America economists told clients on Monday that there is little indication that a recession looms despite weaker than expected job and GDP growth. The economists claim that potential recession indicators, like rising credit card debt and decreased consumer spending aren't as devastating as some have predicted. Fortune
Palantir CEO's aggressive foreign policy
Palantir CEO Alex Karp described his ideal foreign policy to CNBC last week as "if you touch an American, we will inflict pain on you for generations." The leader of the data-mining company, which works frequently with the U.S. military, said that this rule would apply to Americans in Ukraine and Gaza. Fortune
Intel's missteps
In a new feature, Fortune's AI editor Jeremy Kahn dissects the many flaws of Intel and CEO Pat Gelsinger that have caused the chipmaker to fall far behind competitors like Nvidia. The company's sales are down 30% since Gelsinger was appointed in 2021 and investors are skeptical that he can stage a rebound. Fortune
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
Tesla stock surges amid buzz over Q3 earnings and ‘robotaxi day’ by Greg McKenna
Marc Benioff blasts Microsoft’s Copilot AI tool as the next ‘Clippy’ by Sasha Rogelberg
AI doesn’t just require tons of electric power. It also guzzles enormous sums of water by Jane Thier
Sam Altman and Apple’s legendary designer Jony Ive are collaborating on a secret AI project by Chris Morris
Germany can’t get its hands on important economic indicators because of a tech update that’s been the works for 5 years by Prarthana Prakash
Harris offers olive branch to crypto sector during Wall Street fundraiser by Leo Schwartz
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Joey Abrams.
