{"id":1896,"date":"2026-03-20T11:10:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T11:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=1896"},"modified":"2026-03-20T11:10:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T11:10:58","slug":"the-fortune-ceo-initiative-dinner-debt-worries-diplomacy-and-a-chance-to-have-a-good-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=1896","title":{"rendered":"The Fortune CEO Initiative dinner: Debt worries, diplomacy, and a chance to have a ‘good debate’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Good morning. Three speakers took turns addressing the room at the Fortune CEO Initiative dinner in Manhattan\u2019s Hudson Yards on Wednesday night. One was Trump\u2019s UN Ambassador, sharing insights on the Administration\u2019s strategy for Iran and the rest of the world. One was a Kennedy scion with a strong message for business about the next generation and leadership in the digital age. And one was a longtime diplomat and State Department official, sounding the alarm about a nation declining in ways we don\u2019t often talk about. Together, their words were a clarion call to business leaders to look at how these trends create a need to step up and speak up.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Mike Waltz spoke off the record to share frank insights about his prognosis for everything from Iran to the future of the UN. His perspective was in stark contrast with Richard Haass, a veteran diplomat, scholar and senior counselor with Centerview Partners who\u2019s been a longtime critic of Trump\u2019s policies. He pointed to two crises, in particular, that are \u201ceroding confidence in American competence and leadership.\u201d The first is a disdain for expertise, whether it\u2019s scientific expertise or the policy expertise that\u2019s guided previous presidents in making decisions such as whether to go to war. The second is the fiscal crisis as U.S. national debt this week surpassed $39 trillion. If unfunded entitlements are added, the fiscal gap is closer to $100 trillion. Said Haass: \u201cI think we\u2019re living on borrowed time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Few are more aware of that than younger Americans who are struggling to find jobs, afford homes, and see themselves in the political parties that claim to represent them. It was especially refreshing to speak with Jack Schlossberg, a Democratic congressional candidate and grandson of JFK, who told attendees that the Democrats\u2019 \u201creactionary\u201d and \u201canti-everything\u201d stance has been a turnoff to many younger voters.\u00a0 \u201cThe Republican Party has embraced modernity in a way the Democratic Party used to own,\u201d he told us, later speaking of priorities like service, innovation and opportunity.<\/p>\n

There were disagreements, some vehement, and an energy that I value at these gatherings. One takeaway for me was the high number of CEOs who start their day at around 5 a.m. (A lot) And another was the sense that opportunities to come together from different sides of the table with a shared desire to learn are rare. One CEO told me it\u2019s hard to even get opposing sides of his family to talk these days, saying \u201cI miss a good debate.\u201d I agree. If you want to find out more about the CEO Initiative, click here \u00a0or reach out to my new colleague, John Pentin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com<\/p>\n

Top leadership news<\/p>\n

CEOs need a wartime mindset<\/p>\n

With the U.S.-Israel war against Iran roiling supply chains and sending energy prices higher, scenario planning has become more important than ever. The most prepared CEOs are readying for a number of possible futures\u2014and rehearsing what they\u2019d do in each one. \u201cScenario testing or stress testing: If you\u2019re not already doing it, you need to start yesterday,\u201d says Rebecca Patterson, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.<\/p>\n

Supermicro’s cofounder is in federal custody<\/p>\n

Supermicro\u2019s cofounder Yih-Shyan \u201cWally\u201d Liaw was arrested on Thursday, charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with allegedly secretly funneling billions of dollars worth of the company’s AI servers to China in violation of U.S. export control laws.<\/p>\n

\u2018Factory to the factories\u2019<\/p>\n

China is shifting from exporting finished goods to supplying critical components, becoming a \u201cfactory to the factories\u201d as global manufacturing disperses to emerging markets. Southeast Asia, in particular, is playing \u201cmatchmaker\u201d between China and the U.S., says McKinsey partner Jeongmin Seong.<\/p>\n

The markets<\/p>\n

S&P 500 futures are up 0.1%, after a 0.3% drop on Thursday. South Korea\u2019s KOSPI is up 0.3%, Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng Index is down 0.9%. (Japan\u2019s market is closed today). Vietnam\u2019s VN-Index is down 3.0%. India\u2019s NIFTY 50 is up 0.8%, the STOXX Europe 600 is up 0.8% in early trading. Bitcoin rose to above $71,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Around the watercooler<\/p>\n

Baked by Melissa\u2019s founder was fired at 24. Two decades later, she\u2019s \u2018so freaking thrilled\u2019 to step down as CEO by Eva Roytburg<\/p>\n

DOGE cancelled a $349,000 grant to replace a museum\u2019s HVAC after ChatGPT flagged it as DEI, court documents show by Sasha Rogelberg<\/p>\n

Uber will operate its own robotaxis again\u2014this time with Rivian\u2019s not\u2011yet\u2011built EVs by Jessica Mathews<\/p>\n

France is experiencing a wave of crypto assault. One involved an influencer\u2019s father doused with gasoline by Carlos Garcia<\/p>\n

War, oil, and an unpaid TSA: The perfect storm of travel chaos feels like the pandemic all over again by Catherina Gioino<\/p>\n

How an MBA internship led Mitsubishi to e-commerce platform Yami\u2014and into the U.S. snacks market by Nicholas Gordon<\/p>\n

Today’s edition of CEO Daily was compiled and edited by Joey Abrams, Nicholas Gordon and Lee Clifford.<\/p>\n

#Fortune #CEO #Initiative #dinner #Debt #worries #diplomacy #chance #good #debate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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