AppLovin Short Sellers Discover Mobile Ad Tech's Ugly Underbelly
Dell shakeup: Dell COO Jeff Clarke said he would take over day-to-day responsibility of the company's PC unit, which has been in a prolonged slump.
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Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
I led teams at Meta and Airbnb. My Big Tech career taught me an important lesson about dealing with chaos and crisis at work.
Judd Antin has held leadership roles at Meta and Airbnb, where he worked between 2012 and 2022. During that time, he led teams through rapid changes, such as layoffs. He learned one secret to effective leadership: authentic clarity. Over the course of my career in Big Tech, I've been lucky to work at several successful, fast-growing companies. At Meta and Airbnb, I helped scale research and design teams from 2012 to 2022, ultimately becoming Head of Design Studio at Airbnb. I loved building teams of talented people, but it wasn't all roses. Rapid changes and looming crises were constants, as they seem to be at most companies. For example, I was working at Airbnb when COVID-19 hit in 2020. The company lost 80% of its business in a matter of weeks, and by May, I was forced to lay off more than 25% of my team. Managing that crisis and recovery was one of the most difficult leadership crucibles of my career. The everyday chaos of a fast-paced company was just as educational, though, and one strategy for managing it rose above the rest. The secret to effective leadership in times of change — whether it's reorgs, strategy shifts, or layoffs — is to provide authentic clarity. Clarity allows people to move forward calmly, even if they don't have all the answers. In a chaotic environment, providing clarity takes frequent communication in an authentic voice. Clarity, not certainty Early in my leadership career, I mistakenly assumed that being a decisive leader in a crisis meant projecting certainty. My logic was that people need to be reassured their leader knows exactly what to do. I quickly realized that was a fantasy. I can't remember a single time in my leadership career when I had all the answers. Once, in an effort to project certainty, I confidently presented some details using guesswork. But things were moving fast, and the information I shared was proven wrong just days later. What I thought would be useful only made me look foolish and ultimately damaged my team's trust in me. After a few failed efforts, I realized my team didn't need me to have all the answers; they just needed me to provide clarity about what was happening. I learned the importance of clarity in three key areas: What is happening? It's essential to clearly state the facts as you know them, even if they're incomplete, to help people process what's happening. Why is it happening? Sharing the "what" without the "why" is a key mistake. My understanding of the "why" was usually incomplete, but sharing any context I had helped my teams make sense of it. What does it mean for me? It's usually hard for people to translate high-level changes down to their level. Even simple reminders like "Your day-to-day work won't change," or "Here's when we'll know how this will affect our road map," helped people feel calmer. The best leaders I've worked with were proactive about answering these questions, reaching out to teams early and often. I made it a practice to hold frequent Q&A sessions with my teams, and say things like: "Good question, I don't know. Let me see if I can find out." I found that even a response like that could be clarifying. Communicate like a human People can tell immediately when leaders aren't being themselves, so it's important to communicate in your own voice. Early in my career, I followed instructions from HR or internal comms teams and stuck to the talking points. I used templates for my emails and repeated the language I was given during leadership meetings. But my team quickly called me out, and I realized I was hurting my reputation by communicating like a corporate puppet. Rather than relying on jargon or HR talking points, I started trying to speak honestly and vulnerably. The strategy I developed wasn't going rogue in a sensitive situation; it was translating the company's carefully chosen talking points into my own voice, using empathy. In practice, this also meant I'd say things like: "I don't know what's going to happen either. The uncertainty isn't great, but I'll let you know as soon as I know more." Or: "This sucks. Layoffs are hard for everyone, especially when it's good friends and talented colleagues we're saying goodbye to." Acknowledging real things like frustration or mistakes helped build trust by signalling we were all in the same boat. Repeat yourself. Then repeat yourself. The No. 1 mistake I've noticed leaders make during times of change isn't just poor communication; it's infrequent communication. Even leaders who were good at providing authentic clarity weren't doing so consistently. They'd communicate once and assume everyone understood. Or worse, they'd say nothing until they had all the answers, or there was something new to say. But that vacuum would often be filled with gossip and speculation. I learned the solution was simply to repeat the message. I'd share the most important messages multiple times via several channels and in different words, because different framings might resonate with different people. People have high anxiety and a short memory in times of crisis. Touching base often, even if there's little new information to share, builds confidence in a visible, highly present leader. Even without new information, it helps people feel confident that they didn't miss something. Leading through change was never about having all the answers During my Big Tech career, I observed that the most effective leaders in a crisis were rarely the ones with all the answers or the boldest vision. They were the ones who communicated clearly, showed up consistently, and were willing to be authentic. That's what builds trust and gets teams through chaos. Representatives for Meta and Airbnb did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Do you have a story to share about managing teams through rough seas in Big Tech? Contact the editor, Charissa Cheong, at ccheong@ Read the original article on Business Insider Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures hit pause after record-setting rally
US stock futures steadied near all-time highs on Friday as investors assessed a packed week of major earnings, trade deals, and President Trump's unusual visit to the Federal Reserve. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) ticked up 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures (ES=F) traded flat on the heels of notching its fourth record close in a row thanks to hopes for AI growth. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were also little changed. Markets are hitting pause on the recent risk-on rally that has seen the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) stack up records, setting the major gauges on track for weekly gains of around 1%. Spirits got a boost from a US-Japan trade pact that boosted optimism for more deals, while blue-chip and Big Tech results underpinned a solid start to earnings season. But some on Wall Street are questioning whether FOMO — "fear of missing out" — is driving gains, rather than fundamentals. Investors may now be locking in profits ahead of a big week bringing the Fed's two-day policy meeting, the monthly US jobs report, and a flood of quarterly results highlighted by Apple (AAPL), Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), and Meta (META). Most of all, it features the Aug. 1 deadline for countries to strike trade deals with the US or face "reciprocal" tariff hikes — with major trading partner the European Union yet to agree terms. Read more: The latest on Trump's tariffs Meanwhile, Trump has downplayed the risk of Jerome Powell being ousted as Fed chair, easing market concerns about upheaval at the central bank. The president visited the Fed's headquarters on Thursday to tour its $2.5 billion renovation project. He has criticized the project as too expensive, sparking speculation he might use it as a pretext to try to fire Powell. However, Trump indicated he wasn't considering firing the Fed chair. "To do that is a big move, and I just don't think it's necessary," he said. Intel reported its earnings after the bell Thursday, beating Wall Street expectations on revenue. The company's stock turned negative, however, as CEO Lip-Bu Tan discussed layoffs and the cancelation of some factory plans. Read more: Full earnings coverage in our live blog Intel stock slides amid plans to cut 15% of workforce, cancel factories Intel (INTC) shares slid almost 6% in premarket after the struggling chipmaker said it will cut its workforce and drop plans for factories in Europe as it pursues a comeback. While the company posted a second quarter revenue beat late Thursday, its earnings fell short. Its profit forecast for the current quarter was also more downbeat than hoped: It expects to break even, rather than deliver the $0.04 earnings per share estimated. Yahoo Finance's Daniel Howley reports: Read more here. Oil prices climbed overnight Thursday, driven by renewed optimism over global trade negotiations, which bolstered confidence in economic growth and energy demand. The wave of positivity managing to overshadow concerns about a possible increase in Venezuelan oil supply. Reuters reports: Read more here. Intel stock slides amid plans to cut 15% of workforce, cancel factories Intel (INTC) shares slid almost 6% in premarket after the struggling chipmaker said it will cut its workforce and drop plans for factories in Europe as it pursues a comeback. While the company posted a second quarter revenue beat late Thursday, its earnings fell short. Its profit forecast for the current quarter was also more downbeat than hoped: It expects to break even, rather than deliver the $0.04 earnings per share estimated. Yahoo Finance's Daniel Howley reports: Read more here. Intel (INTC) shares slid almost 6% in premarket after the struggling chipmaker said it will cut its workforce and drop plans for factories in Europe as it pursues a comeback. While the company posted a second quarter revenue beat late Thursday, its earnings fell short. Its profit forecast for the current quarter was also more downbeat than hoped: It expects to break even, rather than deliver the $0.04 earnings per share estimated. Yahoo Finance's Daniel Howley reports: Read more here. Oil prices climbed overnight Thursday, driven by renewed optimism over global trade negotiations, which bolstered confidence in economic growth and energy demand. The wave of positivity managing to overshadow concerns about a possible increase in Venezuelan oil supply. Reuters reports: Read more here. Oil prices climbed overnight Thursday, driven by renewed optimism over global trade negotiations, which bolstered confidence in economic growth and energy demand. The wave of positivity managing to overshadow concerns about a possible increase in Venezuelan oil supply. Reuters reports: Read more here. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
19 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Dell No. 2 Jeff Clarke is taking control of its stuttering PC business. Read the memo he sent to staff.
Dell's PC and hardware division is the company's biggest revenue driver, but revenue has declined for the last three years. Now, the company is parachuting one of its top executives to take the reins. Jeff Clarke, Dell's vice chairman and COO, announced in an internal memo sent on Tuesday that he would take on "day-to-day leadership" of the consumer solutions group, or CSG, which produces Dell's computers, monitors, and other hardware. "This will help accelerate decision making and build momentum as the PC refresh cycle picks up speed," he told staff in the memo, which BI has seen. Clarke, who has been at Dell since 1987 and is a key lieutenant of billionaire founder Michael Dell, also announced a series of other leadership changes and told staff that "modernizing how we operate includes fine-tuning leader roles and reporting lines so we can go fast and win." The reorganization included appointing Sam Burd, previously the president of CSG, to lead Dell's corporate strategy. Dell splits its business into two units: CSG and ISG, the infrastructure solutions group. Demand for AI is driving growth in the ISG division, which develops AI servers — ISG revenue was up 29% in Dell's last full financial year. However, CSG's annual revenue has declined every year since 2022, when it peaked amid the pandemic-era boom in PC sales. Total CSG revenue was $48.6 billion in 2025, down 21% from its 2022 peak, and just above pre-pandemic levels. Dell's total annual revenue was up 8% in its 2025 financial year and the company's stock is up 11% since January. One employee who works in sales support for Dell's CSG division told BI that Dell had been losing market share to competitors Lenovo and HP in specific categories like consumer and commercial notebooks and desktops for a few quarters. "Our displays have always dominated for years, and I don't see that changing," the person added. A Dell spokesperson told BI that the company is " focused on leading the commercial and consumer PC markets and capitalizing on the critical PC refresh cycle." "We will continue to evolve our business with that goal in mind," the spokesperson said. In a LinkedIn post on Thursday, CEO Michael Dell promoted the company's AI PCs, saying they deliver "longer, multi-day battery life, smoother workflows, and the confidence that you're ready for the AI era." "Whenever companies see challenges to their revenue and market share, as Dell recently has, it's not uncommon to make organizational changes in an effort to bring new ideas into the mix," Bob Woodward, the president and chief analyst at Technalysis Research, told BI. Woodward said the reorganization was a "subtle rearranging of the chairs, but hopefully one that drives the kind of new ideas Dell needs to reinvigorate their critical PC business." The leadership changes come one week after Dell's annual employee survey results were released internally. Dell's employee satisfaction score — known as the employee net promoter score, or eNPS — fell to 32, according to a transcript of a video update obtained by BI. Amid workforce reductions and RTO mandates, the eNPS has declined almost 50% in two years. Read Jeff Clarke's full memo below: Team, Modernizing how we operate includes fine-tuning leader roles and reporting lines so we can go fast and win. To that end, I'm making a few changes to my leadership team. I've asked Sam Burd to lead Corporate Strategy. Sam is an expert strategist and his BU leadership, deep market knowledge and consulting background will be instrumental as we plan for the future. Vivek Mohindra, who has led Corporate Strategy for the last two years, will take on a new role as Special Advisor, working directly with me on business-critical projects. I am grateful for the leadership and vision he brought to the Corporate Strategy Office and look forward to working with him in this new capacity. Dennis Hoffman and the Telecom Systems Business will move to ISG, with Dennis joining Arthur Lewis's Leadership team. For now, I will take on the day-to-day leadership of CSG. This will help accelerate decision making and build momentum as the PC refresh cycle picks up speed. The following CSG leaders will report directly to me: Alex Barretto wil lead an expanded team including PC Engineering and Services, CTO, Experinece Design Group and GOPO. Chris Cowger will continue to lead Global Consumer and eCommerce Bert Park will now lead Displays, Docks, Partner Software and Client Peripherals Karen Plotkin will lead Product Operations, Strategy and Transformation Kevin Terwilliger will continue to lead PC Product Management The rest of the CSG leaders and their teams will report to one of the leaders above. Alex, Chris, Bert, Karen and Kevin will host team meetings later in the week to share more details. As many of you know, my CSG roots run deep. I care a lot about this business and believe in our portfolio and our people. I also believe we have a winning hand, but we've got to play it right. Let's stay focused. Let's go all in. And let's win. Jeff
