C-Suite Perspectives

Does your organization have an inclusive pipeline of capable leaders who are ready to execute the business strategy? In this episode of CEO Perspectives, Cheryl Stokes, CEO of CNEXT, an organization that helps to develop and advance high-impact leaders, joined President and CEO Steve Odland to discuss succession planning. Tune in to find out:

• What is succession planning and why is it important?
• What are the elements of a good succession plan?
• Why should diversity and inclusion be a critical part of your talent pipeline and succession planning?
• What should organizations assess when looking for a candidate?
• Who is accountable for succession planning?
• How does succession planning differ from leadership development?

The capabilities of AI continue to rapidly evolve, with major implications for the workforce and workplace. In this episode of CEO Perspectives, Rebecca Ray, Executive Vice President of Human Capital at The Conference Board, joined President and CEO Steve Odland to discuss AI’s role in HR—and HR’s role in overseeing the use of AI. Tune in to find out:

• What is AI—and what is it not?
• What are some ways that AI can be used by the HR function?
• What are the implications of using more and more advanced AI in the HR space?
• What is the role of HR in the governance of AI throughout a company?
• What risks and rewards should business leaders keep in mind when adopting AI at their organizations?

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, Michael Fraccaro, Chief Human Resources Officer at Mastercard, joined Rebecca Ray, Executive Vice President of Human Capital at The Conference Board, to discuss the health and well-being of the workforce. Tune in to find out:

• How has the notion of well-being in the workplace changed in the aftermath of the pandemic?
• What are some innovative ways organizations can support the well-being of their teams?
• What should companies be doing to attract and retain talent?
• How can leaders measure and drive the cultural health of an organization?
• How can offering flexibility either enhance or work against the culture that businesses are trying to create and maintain?

The Gulf serves as a key source of oil for the world. But as the climate and geopolitics change, how is this region evolving? In this episode of CEO Perspectives, Hisham Al Razzuqi, former CEO of Gulf Investment Corporation and a Global Counsellor for the Middle East at The Conference Board, joined President and CEO Steve Odland to discuss the state of affairs in the Gulf. Tune in to find out:

• How has the Gulf benefited from the wealth generated from oil?
• How sustainable is the reliance on oil in the region?
• How are the Gulf countries diversifying their economies?
• How has the war in Ukraine affected the Gulf?
• What is China's current impact on the Gulf?
• What is the Iranian influence in the region?

The Conference Board announced that the Consumer Confidence Index® ticked down for the month of May. In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland and Erik Lundh, Principal Economist at The Conference Board, sit down to discuss what this means for the US economy. Tune in to find out: 

• How do the current outlook and expectations differ, and what does that say about the likelihood and timing of a recession?
• What effect is inflation having on consumer confidence and who is feeling it the most?
• What can we expect from the Fed going forward?
• Is the job market weakening, and if so, how much?
• How are the debt ceiling discussions affecting consumer confidence?

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, Donna Morris, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Walmart, joined Rebecca Ray, Executive Vice President of Human Capital at The Conference Board, to discuss the future of HR. Tune in to find out:

• What will the future of work look like—especially as generative AI advances—and how can HR support employees through this evolution?
• How does the size of an organization impact the strategy for leading through times of change?
• How can we expect careers to change as people live and work for longer and how can employers adapt?
• How can you foster a sense of belonging and purpose among your workers?
• What top priorities should HR leaders consider as we move into the future of work?

In this CEO Perspectives episode, Tamara Lundgren, Chairman and CEO of Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc., speaks with Dr. Lori Esposito Murray, President of CED, about advancing sustainability and global net-zero goals, how she navigates through disruption, leadership lessons from COVID, and more. Tune in to find out:

• What are the three pillars of Schnitzer Steel’s sustainability framework?
• During the uncertainty of COVID-19, what leadership tactic did Lundgren more frequently rely on—which she continues to leverage today? 
• What steps is Schnitzer Steel taking to be at the forefront of sustainability and global net zero objectives?
• What leadership principles have helped Lundgren to navigate her company through vast change and disruption? 

This episode of CEO Perspectives is part of the Leadership in Challenging Times series from the Committee for Economic Development (CED), the public policy center of The Conference Board. The series features discussions with the outstanding business leaders who are recipients of CED’s Distinguished Leadership Awards. In this series, business leaders discuss the unprecedented challenges facing the nation and how they are helping chart a path forward for both their companies and communities in which they operate.

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland conduct an interview about human generations with a non-human—ChatGPT, the language model created by OpenAI. Tune in to find out AI’s “thoughts” on these questions:

• What risks does AI pose to human generations?
• What are the key characteristics of each human generation?
• How did each generation get its name?
• What events define all human generations—from an AI perspective?

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, Ivan Pollard, Leader of the Marketing and Communications Center, joins Steve Odland, President and CEO, both of The Conference Board, to discuss marketing to multiple generations. Tune in to find out:

• Do the fundamentals of marketing remain the same across generations?
• How can marketers exploit differences and similarities between generations?
• Does mass marketing still have a role to play?
• Why do marketing messages today function more like a “neural network” than a one-way transmission to a target?
• Are there shared events or universal experiences that marketers can still tap into across generations?

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, Rebecca Ray, Executive Vice President, Human Capital, joins Steve Odland, President and CEO, both of The Conference Board, to discuss multiple generations in the workplace. Tune in to find out:

• How do different generations and their unique perspectives impact the workforce and the workplace?
• Why is flexibility key for attracting and retaining employees from different generations?
• What are different generations looking for in their career development trajectories?
• How can leaders maximize knowledge transfer from the baby boomer generation to younger generations in the workplace?
• Why should regional differences, personal experience, and small differences in cohorts make leaders wary of drawing easy generalizations about generations?