• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents

2

Current price of oil as of July 13, 2026

3

Current price of silver as of Monday, July 13, 2026

1

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents

2

Current price of oil as of July 13, 2026

3

Current price of silver as of Monday, July 13, 2026
NewslettersCEO Daily

The secrets and rituals behind the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Europe

Diane Brady
By
Diane Brady
Diane Brady
Executive Editorial Director
Down Arrow Button Icon
Diane Brady
By
Diane Brady
Diane Brady
Executive Editorial Director
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 17, 2025, 5:07 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.
  • In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in Europe.
  • The big story: John Bolton indicted; Trump talks to Putin and Zelensky.
  • The markets: Global selloff underway as fear of private credit markets hits bank stocks.
  • Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.

Good morning. How does a company become—and stay—a great place to work? To celebrate the publication of Fortune’s 2025 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Europe, which we produce with Great Place to Work (GPTW), now a part of UKG, I spoke with GPTW CEO Michael C. Bush and leaders from Hilton Worldwide and Cisco Systems, two top-ranking companies on our Europe and global lists. One strong takeaway? To build a shared culture across borders, the leaders on this list create common rituals and practices that reinforce core values. 

Recommended Video

Celebrate success. Laura Fuentes, who is chief human resources officer of Hilton and head of Hilton Supply Management, talked about the importance of having a global “Team Member Appreciation Week” that “anchors our people in a culture and a moment of gratitude.” Creating “holidays” that are common to team members working across more than 8,800 properties creates what Fuentes calls “cultural anchor points that provide a moment of coming together, of refilling our tanks and going back out to do the work that we do.”

Get together to give back. This was a theme that CEOs also talked about at the CEO Initiative dinner that was hosted at the Washington home of CEOI member and Laurel Strategies CEO Alan Fleischmann earlier this week: the power of finding shared moments to come together for a cause that speaks to the core values of your company. Hilton has its Travel with Purpose Week. As Sara Morales, SVP of people and communities at Cisco, put it during our webinar: “Doing good for the world is doing good for business. It drives performance, engagement, and has an incredible impact outside of Cisco.” As a side benefit, it’s a compelling reason for remote workers to meet each other in real life.

Build trust across cultures. Trade patterns and alliances may shift, but great companies understand the importance of rotating across geographies to develop talent for leadership roles. At an individual level, they create space for people to embrace their own culture. It also means creating what Morales called “a path for everyone to participate in the AI economy.” And at a macro level, programs like Hilton’s “crisis concierge” reinforce the message that the company cares. “It all starts with leadership,” said Bush. “You can’t lead a great company and build high trust if you don’t care about people first.”

Check out the 100 companies that made our Europe list here.

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

Top news

John Bolton indicted

John Bolton, the former national security adviser to President Trump in his first term, was indicted by a federal grand jury on eight counts of mishandling classified documents. Bolton has been a longtime critic of Trump’s. The indictment follows federal charges that were brought against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, also both Trump critics.

Trump had “very productive” phone call with Putin

Russia’s President Putin spoke to Trump on the phone yesterday and they scheduled a further meeting in Hungary. “President Putin and I will then meet in an agreed upon location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can bring this “inglorious” War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end. President Zelenskyy and I will be meeting tomorrow, in the Oval Office, where we will discuss my conversation with President Putin, and much more. I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation,” he said. Zelensky is hoping to persuade Trump to supply him with long-range Tomahawk missiles.

Venture capitalist leaves Salesforce Foundation over Benioff comments

Venture capitalist Ron Conway resigned from the Salesforce Foundation board on Thursday over Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff's support for deploying the National Guard to San Francisco, according to an email seen by The New York Times. “It saddens me immensely to say that with your recent comments, and failure to understand their impact, I now barely recognize the person I have so long admired,” the email read.

Trump threatens new wave of violence in Gaza

“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he said on Truth Social.

Huge selloff in bank stocks after two lenders report bad loans

Zions Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorp, two small regional banks, reported $50 million in exposure to a potential loan fraud, and even smaller losses, but investors—spooked by worries about the quality of the private credit market after the First Brands meltdown—sold off in droves. 74 U.S. banks lost $100 billion in market cap, Bloomberg reported. “This is an industry where investors — especially those that are new to this sector — tend to ‘sell first and ask questions later’,” a JPMorgan Chase research note said.

Nestlé announces layoffs

Nestlé CEO Philipp Navratil announced in a LinkedIn post on Thursday that the company is laying off more than 16,000 employees—mostly white-collar positions—to cut costs. “We are evolving and will simplify our organization and automate our processes,” Navratil wrote.

Korean billionaire offers $75,000 for employees to have kids

Lee Joong-keun, billionaire and chairman of Korean construction giant Booyoung Group, will now offer 100 million Korean won ($75,000) to employees each time they have a baby. “The low birth rate results from financial burdens and difficulties in balancing work and family life, so we decided to take such a drastic measure,” he told staff, per multiple reports.

The markets

S&P 500 futures were down 1.11% this morning. The index closed down 0.63% in its last session. STOXX Europe 600 was down 1.58% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 1.61% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.44%. China’s CSI 300 was down 2.26%. The South Korea KOSPI was flat. India’s Nifty 50 was up 0.47% before the end of the session. Bitcoin was down to $104.9K.

Around the watercooler

Starbucks CEO reveals a ‘secret AI barista’ that assists with making coffee in real time—and may one day predict your order by Nick Lichtenberg

The protein craze is heavy metal, literally: bombshell investigation finds unsafe lead amounts in two-thirds of top powders for sale by Eva Roytburg

Apple’s Eddy Cue admits sports streaming fragmentation has gone too far: ‘If we want people to watch games… things need to be fixed’ by Sasha Rogelberg

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault sees wealth skyrocket by $19 billion overnight after months of bleeding billions as shoppers trade designer bags for luxury vacations by Emma Burleigh

CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams and Jim Edwards.

This is the web version of CEO Daily, a newsletter of must-read global insights from CEOs and industry leaders. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.
About the Author
Diane Brady
By Diane BradyExecutive Editorial Director
LinkedIn icon

Diane Brady writes about the issues and leaders impacting the global business landscape. In addition to writing Fortune’s CEO Daily newsletter, she co-hosts the Leadership Next podcast, interviews newsmakers on stage at events worldwide and oversees the Fortune CEO Initiative. She previously worked at Forbes, McKinsey, Bloomberg Businessweek, the Wall Street Journal, and Maclean's. Her book Fraternity was named one of Amazon’s best books of 2012, and she also co-wrote Connecting the Dots with former Cisco CEO John Chambers.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Newsletters

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Newsletters

Exclusive: Corner Health raises $25 million to turn nurse practitioners into entrepreneurs
NewslettersMPW Daily
Exclusive: Corner Health raises $25 million to turn nurse practitioners into entrepreneurs
By Emma HinchliffeJuly 13, 2026
13 hours ago
Smiling colleagues working at desk in office.
NewslettersFortune Workplace Innovation
Is dating a coworker still a career risk? Match Group’s HR chief has a new answer
By Kristin StollerJuly 13, 2026
18 hours ago
TIAA’s CEO shares her advice for separating your personal identity from your title
C-SuiteNext to Lead
TIAA’s CEO shares her advice for separating your personal identity from your title
By Ruth UmohJuly 13, 2026
19 hours ago
Robinhood built a blockchain for real-world assets. Memecoin traders showed up for the cat coin instead
NewslettersFortune Crypto
Robinhood built a blockchain for real-world assets. Memecoin traders showed up for the cat coin instead
By Ben WeissJuly 13, 2026
20 hours ago
Ships go dark as the clock runs out on Trump’s ‘undeclared naval war’ in the Strait of Hormuz
NewslettersMarkets
Ships go dark as the clock runs out on Trump’s ‘undeclared naval war’ in the Strait of Hormuz
By Jim EdwardsJuly 13, 2026
21 hours ago
io Products co-founder Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a 2025 portrait. (Courtesy OpenAI)
NewslettersFortune Tech
Apple’s extraordinary OpenAI allegations
By Andrew NuscaJuly 13, 2026
22 hours ago

Most Popular

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents
Innovation
The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 12, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 13, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 13, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 13, 2026
21 hours ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 13, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 13, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 13, 2026
21 hours ago
Trump embraces Australian retirement system backed by Larry Fink
Personal Finance
Trump embraces Australian retirement system backed by Larry Fink
By Brianna Sosa and BloombergJuly 12, 2026
1 day ago
How Pete Hegseth's DEI order just put Scouting America's future at stake
North America
How Pete Hegseth's DEI order just put Scouting America's future at stake
By Seth T. Kannarr, Derek H. Alderman and The ConversationJuly 13, 2026
12 hours ago
Ex-PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi worked from midnight until 5 a.m. as a receptionist to pay for her Yale degree—and she says ‘respect went up’ because of it
Success
Ex-PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi worked from midnight until 5 a.m. as a receptionist to pay for her Yale degree—and she says ‘respect went up’ because of it
By Preston ForeJuly 6, 2026
8 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.