- In today’s CEO Daily: Edelman CEO Richard Edelman, Nikki Haley, Microsoft’s Brad Smith, Suntory’s Takeshi Niinami, and Heineken’s Dolf van den Brink on the collapse of trust.
- The big story: Trump in action.
- The markets: Mostly up.
- Analyst notes from Apollo, Wedbush, and Convera.
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Good morning. Donald Trump officially became president again yesterday, signing a staggering number of executive orders while surrounded by guests who together have a personal net worth of about a trillion dollars. It was either a dark day or a bright new dawn for America, depending on which TV network you watched. As Trump noted in his speech: “Our government confronts a crisis of trust.”
Indeed, in Davos this morning, we had a thought-provoking debate on rebuilding trust in governments, business leaders, and the media, which has devolved to the point where people feel angry, alienated and willing to drive change by almost any means possible, according to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer.
“Grievance makes society dysfunctional,” said Edelman CEO Richard Edelman, who argued that restoring economic optimism is critical for addressing the “zero-sum mentality” among respondents. “You’ve got to do something.” (Here’s what he wrote in an opinion piece published last week in Fortune.)
Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell led the discussion. Some highlights:
Nikki Haley, who ran against Trump for the Republican nomination and is now vice-chair of Edelman, argued that “it’s a good thing that tech CEOs are getting involved with government” because “government breaks more than it fixes.” Added Haley: “Allow innovators to innovate … I don’t think governments need to heavily regulate this.”
Microsoft President Brad Smith argued that shrinking working-age populations in industrialized countries have created a “desperate need” for productivity growth and the need to “deliver skilling at scale.” Added Smith: “People need to feel heard; they need to be understood … They need leaders in institutions to acknowledge what we might have done … We need to underpromise and overdeliver.”
Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami noted that trust scores were especially low among young people in Japan. “People in their 60s and 70s have a lot of social benefits but what about the younger generation?” He called on leaders to emphasize growing wages over dividends and invest in people. “The current greedy capitalism should be replaced.”
Heineken chief Dolf van den Brink argued that there’s “already a shift happening between labor and companies” that’s leading to increased salaries, at least in his company. “We better start addressing this systemically. The most important word that comes to mind is hope. We need to restore hope. We need to bring economic optimism back.”
That’s especially true for Gen Z, a group that grew up with technology and now trusts bots as much or more than institutions. As Gillian Tett, a Financial Times columnist and provost at King’s College, Cambridge said, “I see these Gen Z creatures every day. The one thing that Gen Z does trust is its own tribe and its peer-group online … Gen Z has stopped trusting institutional leaders. Gen Z is looking to its peer group online for validation for what is or is not true.”
More news below.
Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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TOP NEWS
President Trump signed a huge number of executive orders: Pardons for January 6 insurrectionists, withdrawing from WHO, boosting fossil fuels, deporting immigrants, saving TikTok, rolling back DEI policies in the federal workforce, exiting the Paris Agreement on climate change, designating that there be only two sexes, among many others. Read them all here.
TikTok acquisition, maybe: Trump gave TikTok a 75-day lifeline by executive order, after which the president says he wants the U.S. government to own half of it. If China doesn’t agree the president says he will order 100% tariffs on Chinese imports.
Tariffs on Canada and Mexico? Trump floated a threat to place 25% trade tariffs on Canada and Mexico by February 1. That’s not in an executive order — yet. We’ll see.
Day 1 Trump trivia: The president failed to place his hand on a stack of bibles when he was officially sworn in (video here) … Melania’s wide-brimmed gaucho-style hat was the standout fashion moment of the day (photo here).
Elsewhere, Hamas is back in Gaza. In the recent hostage exchange that led to the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, observers were shocked by the number of Hamas fighters present in uniform, with weapons, and undamaged vehicles.
The markets
- U.S. markets were closed on Monday but futures contracts for the S&P 500 were buoyant this morning at $6,052.25 … Bitcoin sat at $102,000 … Asia and Europe were mixed … the UK’s normally sleepy FTSE 100 is up 3.26% YTD — more than the S&P 500 (don’t expect that to last!)
From Fortune
How much can DOGE do?
Elon Musk wants to cut federal spending by as much as $2 trillion through President Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but how much can he actually do? As Fortune’s Geoff Colvin explains, Musk may not have the time, or power, to reach that goal.
Musk’s cost-cutting aficionado
The Boring Company CEO Steve Davis, an under-the-radar figure that has led cost-cutting efforts at two of Elon Musk’s companies, is expected to join forces with the billionaire at DOGE. Former employees have described his intense management style as sometimes “ruthless,” though the success of his style is still up in the air. Fortune
Another EV startup files for bankruptcy
Electric vehicle startup Canoo filed for bankruptcy on Monday as the EV market braces for new challenges under the new Trump administration. The already suffering industry is expected to see further losses as Trump is expected to roll back tax credits and other programs for EVs. Fortune
From the analysts
- Wedbush on TikTok: “We continue to believe Musk will be heavily involved in finding a solution for TikTok and ultimately could build a consortium to buy TikTok. Other strategic/financial players are looking at this golden asset, but it needs to be formally approved by Beijing and will never be sold with the algorithm in our view. We also believe Oracle could play a key role in any deal given their key technology partnership with TikTok,” Daniel Ives and team wrote in a note to clients seen by Fortune.
- Convera on the Fed: The U.S. economy remains strong and thus “the Fed is unlikely to rush into rate cuts, staying on hold at its January 27-28 meeting,” according to Boris Kovacevic in a note seen by Fortune.
- Apollo on the U.S. economy: “... with additional tailwinds to growth from high stock prices, high home prices, high crypto prices, Fed cuts, higher animal spirits, and potential Trump policies, the bottom line is that the US economy is entering 2025 on a firm footing. With GDP currently at 3.1% and core inflation at 3.2%, we continue to worry more about upside risks to growth and inflation,” Torsten Sløk wrote.
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
Meet Craig Underwood, the 82-year-old farming millionaire whose chilis made sriracha hot until a mysterious fight destroyed the business by Sunny Nagpaul
A former Tesla employee is suing the company, saying he was ‘completely blindsided’ by its RTO policy by Brit Morse
Musk, Zuckerberg and Huang among 5 people now expected to become trillionaires within 10 years by Eleanor Pringle
Day One of the new Trump Administration, and things are looking good for China by Jim Edwards
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Joey Abrams and Jim Edwards.
