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Wall Street Journal
25-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
The Fashion Must-Have at ‘Billionaire Summer Camp': A Humble Baseball Cap
How do you show your personality in a room full of billionaires, each of whom can afford as much designer fashion as they care to buy? Try a baseball cap. This week, members of the tech and media elite gathered in Sun Valley, Idaho, for the annual conference thrown by the investment bank Allen & Company, colloquially known as 'billionaire summer camp.' Most attendees dressed in the off-duty CEO uniform—lightweight down vests and quarter-zip sweaters, sometimes paired together.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
From AI to Trump 2.0, Here's What's Looming Over Sun Valley
The place to be this week for the tech and media elite is not the Amalfi Coast, the Hamptons, or Jeff Bezos' wedding (that was so last week). As is the case each year following the 4th of July weekend, Sun Valley, Idaho, is about to be inundated with private jets that are flying in a who's who of billionaires and industry bigwigs to attend investment firm Allen & Company's annual conference. Everyone from Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger to, yes, Bezos himself, will be at the so-called 'summer camp for billionaires' when it kicks off on Wednesday. More from TheWrap From AI to Trump 2.0, Here's What's Looming Over Sun Valley Joe Rogan Says OpenAI's Sam Altman Comes Across Like He's Running for President | Video Senate Eliminates AI Regulation Ban From 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Controversial AI Provision in Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' Reduces State Regulation Ban to 5 Years Sun Valley has historically played host to the media and tech industry's wheelings and dealings, famously serving as the launchpad of deals such as Disney's 1995 acquisition of ABC and Comcast's $30 billion takeover of NBCUniversal in 2011. The conference comes right after Paramount's $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump, widely seen as a way to push through its pending merger with Skydance Media. This year's conference comes at a particularly unique time, from the rise of artificial intelligence threatening to disrupt everything to companies figuring out how to navigate an environment made unpredictable by Trump. That's in addition to the typical merger talks that arise out of Sun Valley. Here's what to expect and what to watch at the conference this week. AI, like it has everywhere else, will likely take center stage in Sun Valley. Each of the industries represented at the conference, from media to entertainment to tech, are currently grappling with how to implement the technology and to what extent. Executives have already been less gun-shy about talking about AI's effects on jobs. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told CNBC last week that AI will lead to more automation and 'fewer jobs' for humans in the near future, and Zuckerberg has said AI will erase a number of engineering jobs. Hollywood is also coming to grips with how to use AI. Brian Grazer and his Imagine co-founder Ron Howard said last month they were both 'excited' by the technology and use it for a number of projects, including post-production work and for helping brainstorm ideas. But they also said they cannot see it replacing professional writers anytime soon. That prediction may be tested in the near future after AI companies scored a critical legal victory in June, allowing them to use copyrighted work to train AI models. How the entertainment world — as well as media outlets, which are looking at how to implement AI in the newsroom — can coexist with the major AI companies will likely be on the agenda. Even OpenAI COO Brian Armstrong has said a 'level of trust' has yet to be established between Hollywood and the AI world so far; perhaps this week will lay the foundation — or it risks driving the two sides further apart. Speaking of AI, the two attendees most likely to be at odds would be Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (both are invited). Meta has emerged as OpenAI's top rival of late — leapfrogging Elon Musk, who has been Altman's most prominent critic in recent years — as the two companies battle for position in the budding AI field. Over the last several months, Zuckerberg poached four top OpenAI researchers and spent big bucks to make it happen, offering up to $100 million in first-year pay for employees to switch sides. Altman has made it clear he is not thrilled with the development, at least to those inside the ChatGPT parent company. He downplayed Meta's hirings, saying the company 'didn't get [OpenAI's] top people and had to go quite far down their list,' in an internal memo obtained by Wired; Altman added he found Meta's poaching was 'somewhat distasteful.' Having the two occupy the same halls of the Sun Valley conference could lead to some awkward tension. Attending tech and media executives will also likely be trading their opinions on the best way to lead their companies in today's volatile political environment. Paramount and ABC's recent settlements with Trump will be fresh on everyone's mind, as well as the stock market, which has rebounded from its steep decline in April, following the president's 'Liberation Day' tariff plan announcement, to hit new all-time highs. (The pause on those tariffs is set to lift on Wednesday.) What is the best approach to take? Cutting deals with the 'Art of the Deal' author has been one approach for some attendees, at least so far. OpenAI has partnered with the White House on its $500 million 'Stargate' AI infrastructure plan — a plan the president has said will help the U.S. 'dominate' rivals like China when it comes to AI. And Apple, led by CEO Tim Cook, earned kudos from the president after the company pledged $500 billion towards U.S. investment over the next few years. Zuckerberg and Bezos, meanwhile, have both warmed up to President Trump following his victory last November. Not coincidentally, both of their companies are trading at all-time highs on Wall Street. Sun Valley attendees appear to have reached a consensus that they will get more with sugar than they do with salt when dealing with the second Trump Administration. Going in the other direction and being critical has not worked out for one prominent ex-attendee recently; Elon Musk's criticism of the Trump-backed 'Big Beautiful Bill' has led to several major stock drops for Tesla. Sun Valley execs may believe keeping their mouths shut for a few years is the best move in order to keep their businesses running smoothly. The following people have been invited by Allen & Company to this week's conference: Tech Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Amazon founder Jeff Bezos Apple CEO Tim Cook Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel Spotify CEO Daniel Ek YouTube CEO Neal Mohan Media and Entertainment Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum Creative Artists Agency CEO Bryan Lourd Disney CEO Bob Iger Disney co-chairman Dana Walden DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch Former Disney CEO and CAA co-founder Michael Ovitz IAC chairman Barry Diller Imagine Entertainment co-founder and producer Brian Grazer Liberty Media CEO John Malone Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino Motion Picture Association CEO Charles Rivkin Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings Sony Pictures CEO Ravi Ahuja Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav Wasserman Media Group CEO Casey Wasserman Press ABC News former anchor Diane Sawyer CBS News reporter Gayle King CNBC reporter Becky Quick CNBC and The New York Times reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin CNN anchor Anderson Cooper CNN anchor Erin Burnett Fox News anchor Bret Baier The Free Press founder Bari Weiss The New Yorker writer Evan Osnos The Washington Post columnist David Ignatius Politics Democratic Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia A few big names are notably absent from the 2025 roll call, including Tesla and X CEO Musk, who last attended in 2022. Another former attendee who will not be in Sun Valley this year is Paramount Chairwoman Shari Redstone, who was at the conference last year. Redstone's absence comes a week after Paramount paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit over how '60 Minutes' edited an interview with Kamala Harris last year — a settlement that has been skewered by many in the press. Oprah Winfrey, who has attended a handful of times in the past, including last year, was not on the invitee list this year, and conference staple Warren Buffett will not be in attendance after announcing he plans to step down as the boss of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of this year. His successor, Greg Abel, is expected to attend once again; it will be worth watching in the years ahead if Abel is more willing to invest in tech companies represented at the conference than Buffett, who has been famously reticent to put money into the sector beyond Apple and Amazon. The post From AI to Trump 2.0, Here's What's Looming Over Sun Valley appeared first on TheWrap.
The Guardian
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘We have lots of opportunities': how women working in tech are empowered by role models at EY
When Julie McGourty was speaking at a tech conference recently she noticed something different about the room. 'It was very nice to look out at the audience and see that the vast majority of them were female,' says the EY director, cybersecurity. 'That's something I've never seen at any conference I've been to in the last 20 years – when the audiences were always mostly male – so it was really inspiring to see that shift.' EY is leading that shift, thanks to its strategic focus on empowering women in their careers. McGourty's been in cyber for 20 years and at previous companies she was often the only woman in a team, but this isn't the case at EY, where women are 'very much empowered', as shown by the large number of female partners it holds. EY cybersecurity partner, Shriparna Ghosh, agrees. Although women can still be under-represented in the cybersecurity field, she says her experience at EY 'has been nothing short of extraordinary', because she's worked alongside 'so many experienced female cyber leaders'. McGourty says the 'variety' of her work is her favourite aspect of it. She loves it because 'no two days are the same'. She works with clients across all different sectors, from government and utilities, through to big high street retailers and supermarkets. 'You can see the difference that our work makes out there,' she says, 'and that's so interesting and fulfilling.' At the start of her career, she wondered if IT was 'really just sitting in front of a screen all day and interacting with technology', but her role actually means she interacts with people as much as technology and there are many other positions in cybersecurity that are 'very, very people oriented', she says. 'People would be surprised by the amount of time I spend in my week travelling around the UK to visit clients,' she says. She holds workshops and discussions with people right up to chief executive level, educating them about cybersecurity. 'It's a part of the role that I really do enjoy.' EY partner Kanika Seth agrees cybersecurity is evolving and soft skills are becoming more in-demand: 'Cyber isn't just about technology – it's also about people,' she says. 'There's a common belief that you need to be highly technical to succeed in cybersecurity. But human and social aspects of cybersecurity are key in preventing and mitigating threats. A deep understanding of the business you're protecting is also a crucial part of cybersecurity.' McGourty says she relishes the 'independence and autonomy' she's given to manage her time and her working week. 'I think this is why people here are so energised and why we enjoy the culture,' she adds. 'EY wants to find good people and make sure they stay.' EY wants to encourage that retention because 'they realise that having that knowledge and expertise and being able to take that to the next client is good for the individual, but it's also good for EY. It's very much a place that likes to encourage people to stay by developing them and giving them an opportunity.' The managers are 'incredibly encouraging' and keen to develop talent across the board, she says, but sometimes women may need a bit more support when it comes to developing the confidence to take the next step on their career journey, so there are lots of initiatives for them, such as the EY Women in Technology network and also 'lunch and learn' sessions, where team members share their own career journey and offer mentoring and guidance to women who may aspire to become partners. It's all part of the fascinating dynamism of life at EY. 'We have lots of opportunities for training and development and you can learn anything and everything – it doesn't even have to be within your own particular domains,' McGourty says. 'I wanted to learn some of the more legal aspects of technology and regulation and there are courses for that. You get that empowerment to shape your own development with the support of some very inspiring role models who are always willing to coach and develop as well.' One inspiring role model for McGourty is a colleague at the Edinburgh office who's been with the company for 38 years. He joined straight from university as a trainee chartered accountant and has moved through different departments, worked with many different clients, lived in the US for five years and is now a partner, opening new frontiers in the energy sector with oil and gas companies, and flying to Texas for meetings. For anyone who wants to reach a senior position, the company offers programmes and training, including one called Path To Partner. It's a two-year development programme that trains, coaches and mentors staff members to be ready when a partner position comes up. 'Becoming a partner is probably the most important, career defining jump of your life,' she says, 'and there's so much support to get you there.' But then working at EY means you're 'always learning and always developing', she says, particularly given the fast-evolving threats in the world of technology. 'One of my colleagues joked the other day that she took her week's holiday and when she came back everything had changed,' she says. Every day the challenges of cybersecurity evolve, but this inspired workforce is well poised to protect its customers and their data. Discover more about tech consulting careers at EY. Join our online talent community to read more career stories and receive all the latest news
Bloomberg
13-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
OpenAI to Continue Working With Scale After Meta Deal, CFO Says
OpenAI said it will continue working with Scale AI after Meta Platforms Inc. made a multibillion-dollar investment in the startup, as it seeks to maintain a broad ecosystem of data sources. 'We don't want to ice the ecosystem because acquisitions are going to happen,' OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said at the VivaTech tech conference in Paris on Friday. 'If we ice each other out, I think we're actually going to slow the pace of innovation.'
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Microsoft pulls major conference from Seattle over safety fears
Seattle's reputation as a center for global innovation is in tatters as the Democrat-run city's rampant crime and drug-addled homeless problem has driven a major tech conference out of the Pacific North West for first time in almost a decade. Microsoft will relocate its flagship Build conference from 2026 following mounting concerns over dystopian scenes of open-air drug markets and violence, which have dramatically changed the character of Seattle since the company's first conference in the city in 2017. The decision, confirmed in a statement from the company, follows mounting concerns over public safety, visible drug use, and deteriorating conditions in the city's downtown. This year's event also faced disruptions when pro-Hamas protesters vandalized the convention center and attempted to enter the venue. An internal email from Visit Seattle, the city's tourism agency, said that both Microsoft leadership and event attendees had expressed alarm about the downtown area surrounding the Hyatt Regency and the Arch Building on 8th Street - key locations for the annual developer conference. 'The customers cited the general uncleanliness of the street scene, visibility of individuals engaging in drug use, and unhoused individuals, including the recurring tent in the Arch Tunnel,' the email, obtained by journalist Jonathan Choe, stated. Despite efforts to keep the conference in the city by Visit Seattle and local authorities - including the Seattle Police Department, the Downtown Seattle Association, and the city's Care Team - Microsoft's concerns ultimately proved decisive. 'Unfortunately for Build, it was a contributing factor to their final decision to move out of Seattle,' the agency wrote. The loss of Build represents a significant hit to Seattle's convention and tourism economy, which has long relied on major tech events to draw visitors and business. Seattle restaurateur David Meinert also confirmed the news in a Facebook post, citing feedback from attendees about the open-air drug use, the large number of tents lining the streets, and the aggressive homeless population. 'Mayor Bruce Harrell's downtown activation plan is not having the success he claims,' Meinert wrote. 'I can tell you firsthand how poorly the massive spending on different city agencies is going, due to the inability for them to communicate and work together. It's 100% about lack of leadership.' Microsoft acknowledged the change in a formal statement: 'Our plans for Build 2026 have changed, but our vision to empower builders and developers at a major event next year remains the same. We thank the city and the community for their support over the years.' Build has been held in Seattle since 2017, drawing thousands of developers and tech leaders from around the world. Its departure underscores growing unease among corporate leaders about the state of downtown Seattle. The Build conference typically attracts thousands of developers from around the world. Acknowledging the impact of the decision, Visit Seattle described Microsoft's departure as a 'huge loss for the city.' This development follows a pattern of businesses leaving downtown Seattle. Starbucks has closed several stores, with former CEO Howard Schultz attributing the closures to public safety issues and what he termed failed leadership . 'At the local state and federal level, these governments... and leaders, mayors and governors, and city councils have advocated their responsibility in fighting crime & addressing mental illness,' Schultz stated. Other major retailers, including Target, Nike, and Hard Rock Cafe , have also closed their downtown locations. Amazon Go has similarly shut down its stores in the area, citing underperformance. The situation has drawn comparisons to San Francisco, another city that has faced challenges with crime, homelessness, and business retention. In May, Seattle was the site of violent clashes between Christian activists and counter-protesters. The Seattle Police Department (SPD) reported 23 arrests at a 'Mayday USA' rally. 'Police working to keep two different groups apart, witnessed multiple people inside one group throw items at the opposing group,' SPD said. 'Officers immediately moved to arrest the people responsible... resulting in even more arrests.' Public safety in Seattle has been a contentious issue for several years. In 2020, then-Police Chief Carmen Best expressed a desire for officers to return to the East Precinct, which had been abandoned during protests that led to the creation of the 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone' (CHAZ). Her stance contrasted with that of then-Mayor Jenny Durkan, who favored a more hands-off approach. When asked how long she anticipated the protest zone would last, Durkan told CNN, 'I don't know. We could have a summer of love.' The 'autonomous zone' was established after clashes between police and protesters following the death of George Floyd, during which law enforcement used crowd control measures such as stun grenades and tear gas. While some reports described lawlessness in the CHAZ, authorities at the time also noted a 'block party atmosphere.' Protesters stated their intention to occupy the area until their demands, including police funding cuts, were met.
