Latest news with #GaryCohn
Economist
4 days ago
- Business
- Economist
The man behind Trump's first tax cuts assesses the second
As a registered Democrat, Gary Cohn was an unexpected pick for Donald Trump's chief economic adviser in 2017. He came on a mission to slash taxes, but left during the president's first tariff war. Eight years later we interview Mr Cohn at the Reagan National Economic Forum, getting his take on the more-radical 'Liberation Day' tariffs and the 'Big Beautiful Bill' that would make permanent the tax cuts he crafted. Hosts: Mike Bird and Alice Fulwood. Guest: Gary Cohn, former director of America's National Economic Council under Donald Trump and former president of Goldman Sachs. Recorded at the Reagan National Economic Forum. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Executives Are Pouring Money Into AI. So Why Are They Saying It's Not Paying Off?
A recent survey by tech giant IBM came to a conclusion that could send shockwaves through Wall Street and the tech sector writ large. The survey asked whether or not company leaders were reporting that their AI initiatives delivered the expected return on investment. A shockingly small proportion of the surveyed CEOs reported that the tech was delivering on its promises, with only a quarter of the 2,000 respondents answering in the affirmative, while only 16 percent scaled AI across the entire enterprise. A mere half of the CEO respondents indicated they were realizing value from generative AI investments, indicating the tech may be falling far short of some sky-high expectations and billions of dollars spent. Tech leaders have long rung the alarm bells about the dangers of fueling an AI bubble, investing in an unproven tech that's still suffering from widespread hallucinations and a propensity to leak potentially sensitive data. As AI models become more powerful, they're also becoming more prone to hallucinating, not less, highlighting that the industry is heading in the wrong direction. However, company executives are seemingly unperturbed. A whopping 85 percent of the CEOs IBM surveyed expected their investments in AI efficiency and cost savings to return a positive ROI by 2027. The general fear of being left behind by missing the boat on AI is still rampant. "At this point, leaders who aren't leveraging AI and their own data to move forward are making a conscious business decision not to compete," IBM vice chairman Gary Cohn wrote in the report. "As AI adoption accelerates, creating greater efficiency, and productivity gains, the ultimate pay-off will only come to CEOs with the courage to embrace risk as opportunity." But how to leverage AI meaningfully — and convey that vision to workers — is proving extremely difficult. According to a 2024 Gallup poll, only 15 percent of US employees felt that "their organization has communicated a clear AI strategy." Only 11 percent said they feel "very prepared" to work with AI, a drop of six percent from Gallup's 2023 survey. Despite pouring tens of billions of dollars into AI investments and supporting infrastructure expansions, companies are still many years out from turning a profit. When, or if, they'll ever get to the point where AI pays for itself remains to be seen. "Are we using GenAI to solve real problems, or just optimizing slide decks?" CEO Stephen Klein told Forbes. In a study commissioned by Microsoft last year, researchers claimed that for every $1 invested in generative AI, companies would realize an average of $3.70 in return, claims that were never externally validated. How long investors will be willing to prop up an enormous money-burning operation is anybody's guess. More on generative AI: The US Copyright Chief Was Fired After Raising Red Flags About AI Abuse
Forbes
18-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
6 Leadership Habits To Thrive In Chaos, According To An IBM CEO Study
Leading in uncertainty starts with 6 key leadership habits. From geopolitical unrest and trade volatility to market uncertainty and stalled M&A activity, today's CEOs face no shortage of disruption. Add in the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, which is now transforming every layer of the organizational hierarchy, and the complexity intensifies. This level of turbulence isn't novel, but it has increased in intensity. What worked in 2023 won't work in 2025. That message comes through clearly in the latest IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) C-suite Study, which surveyed 2,000 CEOs across 33 countries and 24 industries. The findings reveal what's keeping top executives up at night and the key leadership habits that set the highest performers apart. According to the IBM IBV study, forecast accuracy is the top CEO priority in 2025, a dramatic shift from 2023, when it ranked 15th. Predictability has become the new currency in a world fueled by rapid change. Those who can better anticipate market shifts, customer behavior, and operational outcomes will be in leading positions. Productivity and profitability remain critical, but they've moved from first to second in priority. Innovation, particularly in products and services, rounds out the top three. As Gary Cohn, IBM's Vice Chairman, said in the report, 'Today's leaders who aren't leveraging AI and their own data to move forward are making a conscious business decision not to compete.' Yet amid the opportunity lies increasing pressure. In 2025, CEOs cite supply chain performance, talent recruitment and retention, and business model innovation as their top challenges, a notable shift from just two years ago when supply chain concerns ranked near the bottom. However, technology alone will not solve these problems. CEOs must upgrade their business tools and internal operating systems (i.e., mindset) to lead in today's environment. Among the thousands surveyed, IBM identified a top-performing group comprising just 14% of the sample. These "Luminary CEOs" don't just act differently. They think differently. They significantly outperformed their peers in revenue growth, AI integration, and operating margin. Here are the key leadership habits that set them apart: Luminary CEOs lead organizations with tightly integrated business functions. In a volatile environment, operational connectivity allows faster pivots and sustained momentum. But connection isn't just technical; it mirrors leadership. When CEOs are distracted, reactive, or fragmented, that disconnection cascades throughout the company. The most agile companies have leaders who manage their energy and priorities meticulously. Decisiveness under chaos and uncertainty is a competitive advantage. The IBM study emphasizes the value of acting with speed and conviction, not disorganized haste. Effective CEOs make clear calls with limited information by relying on strong internal principles, focused attention, capable teams, and disciplined energy management. Decision fatigue and potential burnout are pervasive. Therefore, guarding your cognitive space and setting aside time to let your mind wander is just as important as managing your stakeholder relationships. As the IBM study noted, top-performing CEOs know AI's potential and embrace their role in responsibly governing it. Ethical leadership isn't just about compliance. It also shapes culture, builds trust, and appeals to emerging generations of talent (Gen Z especially) who value transparency, purpose, and integrity. While most CEOs think in quarters, top performers operate on much longer time horizons. They don't wait for disruption to hit; they anticipate it. This mindset attracts forward-thinking talent and allows companies to shape markets rather than chase and react to them. In a world driven by reaction, the ability to think proactively and avoid corporate "group thinking" is the mark of a modern leader. Being informed isn't just about staying current; it's about seeing patterns early and interpreting them accurately into tangible outcomes. Forward-thinking CEOs actively assess how new technologies, like generative AI, will reshape roles, systems, and outcomes. Strategic insight requires margin and space equating to time for reflection, zooming out, and making sense of complexity before taking action. Speed is often less about tools and tactics and more about friction. High-performing CEOs identify and remove resistance, often in the form of bureaucracy, culture, or personal. They reduce their internal drag by cultivating deeper clarity levels, cutting red tape, and building cultures that can adapt quickly. Equally important, they eliminate their blind spots—physical, mental, or emotional—that might slow them down and affect their leadership. Just as pilots calmly communicate through turbulence while steering their aircraft precisely, today's CEOs must become unshakeable captains—steady in chaos and clear under pressure. The organizations that continue to innovate, retain top talent, and execute key leadership habits at the highest level in an unpredictable environment share one important commonality: they're led by individuals who can lead through uncertainty because they've learned how to lead themselves.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CEOs say that just a fraction of AI initiatives are actually delivering the return on investment they expected
Companies across the globe are scrambling to incorporate AI into their business models, but a new study has found that the technology isn't working quite like they expected. Only 25% of AI initiatives have delivered expected return on investment (ROI), over the past three years, according to a new report from IBM, which surveyed 2,000 CEOs around the world during the first quarter of 2025. But even with less than impressive returns so far, CEOs are still confident that AI is the future; 85% of these leaders expect a positive ROI for scaled AI efficiency and cost saving investments by 2027, while 77% anticipate a positive ROI for projects that emphasize scaled AI growth and expansion. Despite the lackluster results, however, IBM vice chairman Gary Cohn urges CEOs to stay the course on AI, and even accelerate their implementation of the technology. 'At this point, leaders who aren't leveraging AI and their own data to move forward are making a conscious business decision not to compete,' he writes in the report. 'As AI adoption accelerates creating greater efficiency, and productivity gains, the ultimate pay-off will only come to CEOs with the courage to embrace risk as opportunity.' Corporate America has been vocal about its enthusiasm when it comes to AI over the past few years, whether that be through streamlining internal processes, increasing productivity, upskilling the existing workforce, or improving customer service. In reality though, they are struggling to execute. Only 15% of U.S. employees reported that their workplaces have communicated a clear AI strategy, according to a Gallup poll from late 2024. Some experts, however, believe that the latest economic uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump's on-again-off-again tariff policies will actually help speed up AI adoption in corporate America. Studies found that during eras of historical economic strife, such as the Great Depression, the Great Recession and COVID-19, industry leaders were keen to adopt new technologies in an effort to stay afloat. '[T]here is a view that maybe this is a moment that can actually jump start what we've all been playing with, in terms of AI, to find new efficiencies,' Constantine Alexandrakis, CEO of Russell Reynolds Associates, a leadership advisory firm, recently told Fortune. He likened current C-suite thinking around AI to the COVID-era, where leaders quickly incorporated new communication technologies to keep up with the rapid change. 'CEOs are saying: 'Is this an opportunity to speed up the adoption of AI to help us on the expense line?'' he said. This story was originally featured on 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
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Despite AI challenges, CEOs say they are doubling down on investments
This story was originally published on HR Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily HR Dive newsletter. CEOs expect the growth rate of artificial intelligence investments to more than double during the next two years, prompting an increase in AI-related hiring and reskilling initiatives, according to a May 6 report from IBM's Institute for Business Value. In a survey of 2,000 CEOs worldwide, 61% said they're actively adopting AI agents and preparing to implement them at scale, yet half said recent rapid investments have led to disconnected technology and expertise. 'As AI adoption accelerates, creating greater efficiency and productivity gains, the ultimate pay-off will only come to CEOs with the courage to embrace risk as opportunity,' Gary Cohn, IBM vice chairman, wrote in the foreword of the study. 'Meaning, focusing on what you can control, especially when there is so much you can't.' Nearly 7 in 10 CEOs said their organization's success depends on maintaining a broad group of leaders with a deep understanding of strategy and the authority to make critical decisions, the report found. In addition, 67% said differentiation depends on having the right expertise in the right positions with the right incentives. However, the top barriers to innovation include a lack of collaboration across organizational silos, an aversion to risk and a lack of expertise. In response, CEOs said about a third of the workforce will need retraining or reskilling during the next three years. In tandem, 65% of CEOs said their organization will use automation to address skill gaps. Notably, 54% of CEOs said they're hiring for roles related to AI that didn't exist a year ago. C-suite leaders are grappling with conflict and silos amid their AI adoption plans, according to a Writer survey, similar to the barriers cited by IBM. About two-thirds of leaders said AI tools have led to division between IT teams and other teams, as well as between executives and employees. Some employees even admitted to 'sabotaging' their company's AI strategy or refusing to use AI tools, Writer said. At the same time, most job seekers recognize the importance of digital fluency skills, according to a CompTIA report. Employees and job seekers alike said they're looking to build their skills, particularly in soft skills, data analysis, cybersecurity and AI-related tools. Among workers who use generative AI regularly, productivity increases about 33% for every hour they use it for their work, according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. On average, workers who used AI daily saved four hours or more, the report found. 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
