- In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady reports on building trust and dispelling bubbles from the DealBook Summit.
- The big story: Trump rolls back car efficiency standards.
- The markets: Mostly up.
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Coins2Day.
Good morning. I spent yesterday hearing from dozens of business leaders onstage and off at the New York Times DealBook Summit, deftly moderated by Andrew Ross Sorkin. I was invited to moderate a thought-provoking breakfast conversation on the topic of mission as a driver of growth, with Vanguard President and Chief Investment Officer Greg Davis, Nike Chief Communications Officer Michael Gonda and author Simon Sinek. The takeaway for me: If leaders don’t internalize and institutionalize a company’s mission, it’s just rhetoric.
TL;DR
- Leaders must build trust and be transparent to maintain credibility with employees.
- The "new normal" includes rapid perspective shifts and acceptance of policy changes.
- Focus on AI's potential rather than "AI bubbles," as revenue growth outpaces staff.
- Trump weakens car efficiency standards; markets mostly up, but child deaths are projected to rise.
With that in mind, a few themes emerged for me:
Acceptance of a new normal. Perspectives can shift rapidly. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disregarded his prior reservations regarding President Trump’s “maximalist” strategy on trade disputes and price increases in liberal states, stating his views on duties “had evolved.” However, listening to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong discuss a “golden age” during a particularly difficult period for digital currencies or GM CEO Mary Barra brush aside complete reversals in strategy makes one understand that we've grown accustomed to such occurrences.
Apart from California Governor Gavin Newsom, no one expressed any disapproval regarding Trump, tariffs, or the majority of federal policy developments. “It’s amazing what feels normalized,” a foreign business executive shared with me.
The need for leaders to build trust. PR guru Richard Edelman told me to stay tuned for some daunting data on the mass-class divide in the upcoming Edelman Trust Barometer. A finance CEO pointed to a row of bodyguards, reminding me that Dec. 4 is the anniversary of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson being shot to death a few blocks away, with his alleged murderer in a downtown courthouse as we spoke.
On stage, Alex Karp of Palantir said leaders are losing credibility because they fail to give real opinions or face consequences for “completely stupid decisions.” He added that dyslexia made him learn to think freely, he creates friction by blowing things up, and believes being authentically transparent to the point of rude has paid dividends with employees who know he’s going to tell the truth about products and the rest of the business, too. Not speaking up means you’re “underestimating your audience,” he said, and likely to lose access to smart people who’ll work elsewhere.
Stop talking about AI bubbles. While asset values might be elevated and certain investment funds potentially ill-advised, the rationale for pursuing AI is strong. BlackRock BlackRock CEO Larry Fink mentioned that revenue growth is outpacing staff increases significantly. During a discussion at my table, facilitated by Steve Case, cofounder of AOL and a venture capitalist, we explored avenues for expanding innovation and even fostering startups with a single founder that achieve massive valuations.
Anthropic's chief executive, Dario Amodei, strongly argued that governing bodies and executives must confront the potential for job displacement and societal transformation. Nevertheless, the advantages are evident. As Marc Feigen, an attendee and recognized CEO mentor, shared with me: “The only bubble may be all this talk about AI bubbles.”
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at [email protected]
Top news
Trump rolls back car efficiency standards
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday weakened Biden-era fuel efficiency standards for new automobiles and smaller trucks that aimed to tackle global warming by incentivizing citizens to purchase electric automobiles. Standing alongside leaders from the automotive sector, Trump labeled the regulations a “scam” that imposed excessive expenses on the public. The tariffs imposed by Trump are anticipated to raise the price of vehicles manufactured abroad.
Stocks rally on job news
Bad news for workers was good news for stocks on Wednesday. Payrolls processor ADP reported that private payrolls shrank by 32,000 in Novembereconomists had anticipated a 40,000 rise. Market participants viewed the unexpected drop as further evidence that the Federal Reserve will lower borrowing costs in the coming month, leading to gains in major stock indexes by the close of trading.
The most billionaires ever
The world now has 2,900 billionaires, an increase from 2,700 in the previous year, possessing wealth totaling $15.8 trillion, as revealed by a recent analysis from UBS. Rapidly escalating technology valuations and a strong stock market are creating millionaires at an exceptional pace.
More child deaths
The number of child deaths in 2025 is expected to rise for the first time in decadesthe Gates Foundation states that a significant portion of these fatalities, projected to be 243,000, are expected to happen in nations such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Uganda, which are struggling with ongoing conflict and weak healthcare infrastructures. Bill Gates pointed to a 27% decrease in global health funding from affluent nations, the U.S. Among them, as the cause for the increase in mortality.
IBM CEO’s AI doubts
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna doubts that hyperscalers like Google and Amazon will be able to turn a profit at the pace of their AI data center expenditures. “It’s my view that there’s no way you’re going to get a return on that, because $8 trillion of capex [capital expenditure] means you need roughly $800 billion of profit just to pay for the interest,” he stated.
Billionaire Michael Saylor stares down potential $8 billion collapse
Billionaire Michael Saylor is in a rough spot as the cryptocurrency sector persists in showing a downward trend, and Strategy, the company he leads, seems poised for removal from a selection of widely followed indices.Should Strategy decide to divest a portion of its 650,000 bitcoin holdings, a move that both Saylor and Strategy's CEO have suggested the firm might undertake, it could initiate a cascade effect within the cryptocurrency sector.
BofA predicts ‘air pocket,’ not bubble, in AI
This week, Savita Subramanian, who leads U.S. Equity and quantitative strategy at Bank of America, stated that an AI bubble is improbable. Rather, she predicted that an “air pocket” is forming as companies spend aggressively on data centers, often relying on debt.
Companies turn to soup wars for AI talent
In a conversation with tech podcaster Ashlee Vance, OpenAI Chief Research Officer Mark Chen described that the company’s war for talent with Meta now includes delivering soup to recruits. Meta’s offerings are “hand-cooked” by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, while OpenAI orders soup from a fancy Korean restaurant.
The markets
S&P 500 futures are flat this morning. The last session closed up 0.3%. STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.3% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.14% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 2.33%. China’s CSI 300 was up 0.34%. The South Korea KOSPI was down 0.19%. India’s NIFTY 50 is up 0.18%. Bitcoin was flat at $93K.
Around the watercooler
Scott Bessent describes the Giving Pledge as having good intentions but being "very amorphous," stemming from "a panic among the billionaire class." By Nick Lichtenberg
CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams, Claire Zillman and Lee Clifford.
