Latest news with #StephanieMehta
Fast Company
28-07-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Future-proofing supply chains
BY gs1 us The pandemic revealed gaps in global supply chains and fast-tracked the adoption of transformative technologies. Tools like real-time tracking and 2D barcodes are reshaping how companies handle logistics and inventory. With resilience and agility now front and center, predictive tech is helping businesses anticipate demand and adapt faster. The question now is: Which pandemic-driven changes have endured, and how are they powering the supply chains of tomorrow? In this panel discussion from the premier supply chain conference, GS1 Connect, we talk with some of today's industry leaders to explore lessons learned and the innovations shaping supply chains for the next generation of consumers. Moderated by Mansueto Ventures CEO Stephanie Mehta, the panel features global business leaders Bob Carpenter, president and CEO at GS1 US; Greg Cathey, SVP, U.S. transformation and innovation at Walmart; and Sudarsan Thattai, chief information officer and chief transformation officer at Lineage Logistics. Join these leading experts as they discuss tips for enabling interoperability, creating a culture of innovation, and how new technologies are providing more information than ever before. Want to dive deeper into the conversation? Listen to the Next Level Supply Chain with GS1 US podcast to hear Why Smart Brands Are Rethinking Supply Chain Resilience.
Fast Company
28-07-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
7 CEOs—and one chief commercial officer—explain how they actually use AI to do their jobs
BY Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I'm Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. We hear all the time about how generative artificial intelligence —or gen AI—is eliminating entry-level jobs and changing the way knowledge workers complete daily tasks. But how are CEOs integrating these tools into the day-to-day work of leading a business? To find out, I reached out to executives across industries to understand which AI tools they're using and how these technologies are changing the way they lead. Here's what seven chief executives—and one chief commercial officer—shared, in their own words. Brad Bogolea, cofounder and CEO, Simbe Robotics, a robotics and engineering company 'I use ChatGPT almost every day—it's developed a rich contextual memory of how I think, which makes it an incredibly effective partner for writing, decision-making, and pressure-testing strategy. For certain file types and formats, I'll turn to Gemini. The key is knowing which model gives you the best acceleration for the task. 'I use generative AI as a thought partner to move faster and think more clearly. Most often, it's a [sounding board] for distilling ideas, pressure-testing conversation strategy, and sharpening my messaging. Whether I'm prepping for a board call, investor meeting, or industry event, I'll use AI to draft talking points, uncover blind spots, and stress-test the framing—often from an Uber or in flight. At its best, AI helps me clarify what I'm trying to say and why it matters. It's become an essential tool for thinking through complexity and communicating with precision.' Elizabeth Buchanan, chief commercial officer, Rokt, an e-commerce technology company I use AI to accelerate how I consume information and frame decisions, whether that's transforming raw data into strategic narratives, refining product positioning, or stress-testing messaging. It's most powerful when used as a thought partner—helping me evaluate decisions from multiple angles or refine how we communicate a complex idea with precision. At this stage of scale, decisiveness and speed are nonnegotiable. AI enables both. It's also fantastic to use it to get an update on everything a client has been talking about across touchpoints (their press and official updates to more casual LinkedIn posts from employees) to get an understanding of their current pain points or success stories. It's an absolute lifesaver. I automate these updates for myself—extraordinary time-saver! Dave Dama, founder and CEO, AquaSonic, and cofounder, Onyx Global Group, a consumer brand incubator 'I use AI to sharpen decision-making, speed up communication, and get to clarity faster. It helps me draft positioning frameworks, prep for key meetings, and collaborate with our CMO Jonathan Cohen on external messaging. I don't use it to replace judgment—but it helps me move through the thinking and refinement process with more speed and less friction. It's become a trusted part of how I work through early-stage ideas.' Spencer Hewett, founder and CEO, RADAR, a software company 'Recently, I've been using tools like Fyxer, which is an AI executive assistant, and Cursor, which is a code editor. I also use ChatGPT and Claude as search engines for quick responses from my phone or desktop.' 'I use gen AI tools to streamline email management and responses and sometimes use ChatGPT to brainstorm or flesh out ideas before I make a final decision. I've also been impressed with ChatGPT's ability to surface talented candidates via their public LinkedIn profiles.' Sami Inkinen, CEO, Virta Health, a health technology company 'On the strategic front, AI acts like an on-demand thought partner—I use it to synthesize market signals, explore strategic scenarios, and identify emerging risks or opportunities. What used to take a day of analyst work or hours of personal research now takes minutes. 'On the execution side, AI helps me move faster. I use it to draft communications, structure memos, and summarize long-form content, which frees me up to focus on high-leverage thinking and decision-making. It's a force multiplier for clarity and output. 'Looking ahead, I think AI will reshape how companies are structured. We'll move from traditional pyramids to more of a diamond shape—fewer layers, more empowered individuals, and highly productive, AI-augmented teams. That has implications not just for org design, but also for budgeting and growth. More companies will grow revenue and impact without growing headcount or spend at the same rate. That's already happening at Virta.' Steven Kramer, CEO, WorkJam, a software company 'Leveraging AI has been a game changer for WorkJam. We use a number of AI tools, such as Google's Gemini coding assistant and Google Agentspace to more effectively search for files across the organization. I have made AI adoption a mandate for all WorkJam team members in 2025, and we have given every employee access to multiple tools and established a steering group that is driving AI innovation everywhere. Our teams are constantly building new agents to improve our production processes, leveraging a whole suite of tools, such as JetBrains, Windsurf, and others. For simple tasks, we have several trained ChatGPT models that are also helpful.' 'AI easily gives me back five to 10 hours a week, and sometimes more during planning cycles. I use that time to connect with our teams, have more unstructured conversations, and spend time with customers. That's often where the best ideas surface. AI doesn't just help me do more, it creates the space to think better.' Evan Reiser, cofounder and CEO, Abnormal Security, a cybersecurity company 'Generative AI and personalized AI agents are embedded into nearly every aspect of how I operate as CEO. These tools aren't just assistants—they're collaborators that expand my strategic and operational capacity. Here are some of the ways that I use them: Meeting management: A custom AI agent transcribes and processes most internal meetings, generating concise summaries, action items, and automated follow-up emails. This ensures execution and clarity without manual overhead. Personal executive coaching: Every week, a personalized 'Evan AI Coach' reviews my meetings and delivers email feedback on where I was effective or where I could improve. It analyzes consistency in how I reinforce our mission, values, and strategy, and helps me reflect on areas like listening more deeply or recognizing team contributions. Customer intelligence: Prior to customer meetings, a research agent reviews external sources, (e.g., LinkedIn, X, news) and internal data, (e.g., Salesforce, product usage, subscription health) to generate briefing reports. These are delivered, automatically, 24 hours in advance, ensuring I walk into every conversation fully prepared and contextually aware. Virtual CXO advisers: I've built custom GPTs trained on hundreds of pages of personal notes and audio transcripts from trusted domain experts. These role-specific agents, (e.g., for AI product strategy, corporate development, etc.) provide critical feedback and help me pressure-test ideas—offering continuity in strategic thinking even when I can't consult advisers in real time. 'These agents are highly personalized and fine-tuned to reflect how I think, lead, and operate. They allow me to scale myself across more conversations, decisions, and strategic inputs without sacrificing quality or consistency.' Philip Smolin, cofounder and CEO, Daash Intelligence, a commerce intelligence platform 'As such, generative AI functions as both a research and a consulting assistant. My primary use cases are business research and strategic ideation, which are lower-frequency but high-value tasks that help shape critical business decisions and help identify competitive advantages. I also use AI for reviews of legal documents and researching HR and regulatory topics, which would otherwise require outside counsel.' The evolution of executive work I'm struck by how quickly many of these executives have come to rely on generative AI as collaborators (the term 'thought partner' comes up a lot), coaches, and even as strategic partners. How are you using AI to help you manage your time or lead your company? What's working? What isn't? Feel free to share your experiences by sending an email to stephaniemehta@ I'd like to regularly share great insights and tips on how to use AI with this community. Read more: CEOs and AI How CEOs can lead in the age of AI agents Salesforce CEO just said AI does half of all company tasks CEOs start saying the quiet part out loud: AI will wipe out jobs 25 AI hacks high-growth founders swear by The super-early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is tonight, July 25, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Stephanie Mehta is chief executive officer and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures, publisher of Inc. and Fast Company. She previously served as editor-in-chief of Fast Company, where she oversaw digital, print, and live journalism More
Fast Company
21-07-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
These are the keys to good strategic partnerships that can future-proof your business
Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I'm Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. Modern business is built on partnerships. Some 43% of mid-market executives surveyed by J.P. Morgan at the end of last year said they were planning to invest in strategic alliances in 2025 as part of their growth plans. A third of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies surveyed in 2023 said they were looking at initiating partnerships with third parties to maintain their innovation readiness. What does it take to make such partnerships work? 'You need humility and the willingness to take a risk on behalf of the partner so that both sides have skin in the game,' says Steve Beard, chairman and CEO of Adtalem Global Education, a for-profit provider of education and training for the healthcare industry. Finding solutions together Adtalem, which reported $1.6 billion in sales in fiscal 2024, up 9.2% from a year earlier, routinely partners with schools, hospital systems, and training organizations to increase its pipeline of medical professionals and offer hands-on experience to students and graduates. Beard shared the example of a new alliance between Chamberlain University, one of Adtalem's nursing schools, and SSM Health, a nonprofit health system operating in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. The arrangement aims to enroll 400 nurses annually, primarily in Chamberlain's online Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. Students in the program have the opportunity to gain work experience at SSM Health facilities while in school and have access to full-time employment opportunities at SSM Health—with loan repayment—upon graduation. Beard and Amy Wilson, chief nurse executive of SSM Health, say the program is designed to help address a nursing shortage in the U.S. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting nearly 200,000 nursing openings each year through 2032 due to retirements—but the size of the registered nurse population is only expected to grow by 177,400 nurses between 2022 and 2032. Chamberlain recruits 'nontraditional' students, including people whose educations have been interrupted or those who have been shut out of selective colleges and universities. The school says it is the No. 1 provider of nursing degrees to minority students. 'Prestige and selectivity are, by definition, intended to be small, and there's no incentive for those institutions to grow to meet the market demand, which creates a very attractive lane for us,' says Beard. 'That is exactly what we exist to do.' Critics of for-profit colleges say students can get a comparable education at community or state colleges for much less money and fret about the schools' low completion rates. 'While our tuition may be higher than community colleges, it's often lower than private nonprofit institutions and out-of-state public rates,' says Beard. 'When you factor in speed to completion and targeted career alignment, we believe we offer strong return on investment for students underserved by traditional models.' Chamberlain says its four-year graduation rate is 71.2% for full-time undergraduate students across all its campuses compared with about 50% across all four-year institutions. Partnerships at work Beard says Adtalem respects its partners' areas of expertise. 'We have to have the humility to understand that we'll never know as much about their business and the challenges they're facing as they do.' And in partnerships like the one with SSM Health, each party had to be willing to try something different in order to make the deal a win-win. In SSM's case, Wilson says, the health system had to get comfortable with giving Chamberlain students priority placement in its clinical settings, an accommodation Wilson says she was willing to make in order to help fill her hiring pipeline. 'Saying that you have a strategic relationship with one school can sometimes be difficult within the nursing profession,' she says. 'We had to overcome that hurdle internally and get people comfortable with that.' For Adtalem, the arrangement means that other health systems won't necessarily have access to recruit from the student population that commits to work at SSM. Beard advises other CEOs that their teams need to be willing to co-create and iterate for partnerships to succeed. 'We've built in a tremendous amount of flexibility to adapt the program and its features as we learn together.' Announcing Inc.'s Power Partners Does your company partner with small businesses and entrepreneurs? Every year, Inc.'s Power Partner Awards recognizes companies of all sizes that help independent companies scale. You can apply here to earn a slot on this prestigious list. The deadline is July 25.
Fast Company
14-07-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
CEO security is on the rise. What does it take to keep company leaders safe?
Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I'm Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. Prominent CEOs and high-net-worth individuals have long had security details, but in recent months executive security feels like it has become a more conspicuous part of the corporate landscape. It is no longer unusual to see a CEO's protection officer standing nearby during lunch in a restaurant. I've had a growing number of companies request a 'sweep' of our office before a CEO visits Fast Company or Inc., and I've seen leaders arrive at meetings in bulletproof vehicles, even after traveling just a few blocks. This rise in CEO security isn't just anecdotal: More than a third (34.4%) of S&P 500 companies offered executive security in 2024, according to a fresh analysis of 2025 proxy statements by intelligence firm Equilar, up from 28.2% in 2023. Median security spending last year increased to $105,749, up 6% from a year earlier, with some companies, such as Intel, boosting security spending more than 8,000%, to $250,000 from just $3,000 in 2023. And security spending is likely to climb in 2025 following the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. Experts say heightened security resources correlate to a rise in credible threats against executives, fomented by political rhetoric, social media, and antibusiness sentiment. Bodyguards for the top boss Even for public company CEOs, the level and visibility of their security operations vary wildly based on their fame and circumstances. Meta provides CEO Mark Zuckerberg with a $14 million annual pretax allowance to protect him and his family, up from $10 million in 2018. 'We believe that Mr. Zuckerberg's role puts him in a unique position: He is synonymous with Meta and, as a result, negative sentiment regarding our company is directly associated with, and often transferred to, Mr. Zuckerberg,' the company says in its 2025 proxy statement. In contrast, Berkshire Hathaway last year spent $305,111 on in-home and personal security services for its equally high-profile but relatively unprovocative CEO, Warren Buffett. Most CEOs are initially reluctant to embrace protection. 'Usually, CEOs think everything's fine,' says Paul Donahue, president, global security services at Constellis, which provides security services and support. When they do concede to security, chief executives can be very selective about the professionals who guard them. 'We tell all of our executive protection folks, 'CEOs operate at a very high speed, they're highly demanding, and they're as particular in picking security as they are in picking a plane they're buying,' so we've had a lot of turnover,' he says. Constellis recruits ex-military, ex-law enforcement, and career security professionals to work in its executive protection unit. Donahue says those careers instill people with the skills, including discipline and an understanding of chain of command, needed to succeed in the field. Protecting a CEO can be a balancing act: Security professionals need to be able to say no to clients, especially when a seemingly simple request, like running out to pick up a pint of ice cream, might require Constellis to put together a patrol team and mobilize several cars. 'But if they insist, we'll go to Häagen-Dazs at 11 p.m.,' Donanue says. 'It's as personal a service as I think there is.' Should companies invest in CEO security? While the odds of an incident are fairly low, Donahue argues (self-servingly) that it is money well spent. He notes that the Thompson killing unleashed a wave of negative sentiment about United Healthcare and the health insurance industry, damaging the company's reputation and hurting employee morale. Furthermore, he says, if companies spend millions of dollars guarding intellectual property, products, and brands, they should feel comfortable earmarking a couple hundred thousand dollars for CEO protection. 'If you truly believe your most important asset is your people, which we hear over and over, you probably should spend a little more on protecting that important asset,' he says. How do you protect yourself? CTOs outearn founders at tech startups
Fast Company
30-06-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg talks 25 years of innovation and the future of 5G and AI
Stephanie Mehta, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Content Officer of Mansueto Ventures, speaks with Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg as he reflects on the company's 25-year journey—from its groundbreaking innovations to its leadership in 5G technology. Vestberg also shares insights into the future of AI, the next phase of Verizon's legacy, and his bold vision for the next 25 years of connectivity.
