Good morning. I did not expect to return from the Yale CEO Caucus in Washington yesterday feeling more hopeful than when I arrived. After all, this is day 200 of the Iran War, which has killed thousands, exposed security gaps, cost U.S. taxpayers at least $42 billion, and sparked global protests amid rising fuel costs. There’s concern about the economy, the markets, jobs, climate, compute, and the state of the union, not to mention OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei pondering whether their products will kill us all.
Where’s the hope in that? While the semiannual gathering of CEOs, policymakers, journalists and scholars hosted by Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, founder of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute, is off the record, I can share some polling data and feedback from private conversations. Here’s what stuck with me:
A shared desire for common ground and rule of law. I didn’t meet anyone, left or right, who disagreed with the Supreme Court decision to reject President Trump’s plan to make it harder to vote by mail. There were standing ovations for former Vice President Mike Pence, who was honored with the Yale Patriot Public Service Award for Executive Leadership, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who received the first Yale Patriot Public Service Award for Legislative Leadership. What unites them isn’t their politics but their commitment to the Constitution, public service, integrity and something bigger than themselves.
A shared celebration of the importance of human leadership. The value of a good boss isn’t always clear from the rhetoric, especially among tech leaders who love to vilify managers as useless layers of bureaucracy in an era of always-on agents. While AI might eliminate redundant roles, it doesn’t diminish the value of a great manager any more than it reduces the value of a great teacher. What drove that home for me was the praise for Corning CEO Wendell Weeks, who was honored with the Yale Legend in Leadership Award. It’s clear from those comments and my podcast conversation with Weeks that the most important factor in making him one of the most transformative leaders in Corning’s 175-year history isn’t his technical prowess but his ability to inspire excellence, loyalty, and respect.
A shift in the conversation around AI. There’s an interest in addressing fears about the technology: 88% of respondents in a flash poll said Trump should address AI safety with Chinese leader Xi Jinping when they meet next week; 74% think he’ll do it. And 93% of attendees disagreed with Trump’s Truth Social post that AI warnings are a hoax. The fears of rogue agents know no boundaries. If the U.S. and China can find some common ground around safety and regulation, we could all be better off.
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at [email protected]
Top leadership news
Europe’s biggest companies reach record revenue
The 2026 Fortune 500 Europe is out today, with companies on the list generating a record $15.5 trillion in combined revenue and just over $1 trillion in profit. Volkswagen held the No. 1 spot for the third year, and finance was the largest sector. See the rest of the list here.
Companies put tariff refunds toward workers
Williams-Sonoma will make a one-off contribution of $10 million to the 401(k) plans of eligible employees, and TJX will assign $112 million to bonuses after it receives its tariff refunds. Total refunds going back to American importers amount to more than $100 billion; the levies had a negative effect on hiring and wage growth.
Sanders links AI to a four-day workweek
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Mark Takano reintroduced a bill to reduce the standard workweek for nonexempt employees from 40 to 32 hours—plus overtime pay for hours beyond that threshold. Sanders argues that AI and robotics should bring more free time and economic gains to workers rather than primarily benefiting billionaires and corporate executives.
The markets
S&P 500 futures are up 0.14% this morning. The last session closed down 0.45%. The STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.21% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.25% in early trading. The Nikkei 225 was up 0.69%. South Korea’s KOSPI was up 1.37%. China’s CSI 300 was up 0.68%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.19%. India’s NIFTY 50 was up 0.49%. Bitcoin is down at $76k.
Around the watercooler
Urgent calls from OpenAI, Anthropic for an AI slowdown fall on deaf ears with Trump, Xi ahead of next week’s meeting by Emily Forlini
‘Give the American people a say in how AI develops’: OpenAI’s least favorite New York politico sees an opening by Catherina Gioino
Exclusive: Manufacturing AI startup CADDi valued at $1.2 billion following $114 million Series D funding round by Jeremy Kahn
Walmart heirs Olivia and Tom Walton are committing $100 million to America’s maternal death crisis—and betting states and donors will pour in more by Sydney Lake
Exclusive: The great boomer business handover just got its own Zestimate by Nick Lichtenberg
CEO Daily is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Claire Zillman, and Lee Clifford.
