C-Suite Perspectives

What does this week’s rate hike from the Fed and today’s Leading Economic Index signal for the US economy? In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Erik Lundh, Principal Economist at The Conference Board, to discuss the looming recession. Tune in to find out:

• What are the warning signs that a recession is coming and what is the worst case scenario?
• What should businesses do in the face of imminent recession?
• How would a recession affect the holiday season?
• How does quantitative tightening impact interest rates?
• What is the Fed’s outlook for the next few years and what was most surprising about their expectations?

What differentiates the top CEOs from everyone else? In this episode of CEO Perspectives, Ivan Pollard, Leader of the Marketing & Communications Center at The Conference Board, sits down with Vikram Malhotra, senior partner at McKinsey & Company, to discuss what it takes to excel as a CEO. Tune in to find out:

• What should CEOs focus on to be most effective? What isn’t worth their time?
• What distinguishes CEOs who are truly excellent?
• What mindsets are necessary to realize a clear, audacious company vision?
• How has stakeholder engagement evolved for CEOs, and who should they be engaging with now?
• What do leading CEOs say they regret the most?

Everything from our phones to our computers to our national security is dependent on semiconductors. Taiwan produces a majority of these sophisticated chips. What would a China-Taiwan conflict mean for the supply of semiconductors and how should businesses be thinking strategically about this possibility?

In the latest episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Dr. Lori Esposito Murray, President of the Committee for Economic Development, the public policy center of The Conference Board (CED). They discuss the heightened tensions between China and Taiwan in the wake of China’s recent military drills near Taiwan and the global economic impact of a supply shortage.

• What would a China-Taiwan conflict mean for supply chains and the global economy?  
• What are the economic risks to the West if semiconductor manufacturing were disrupted?  
• Why should companies incorporate geostrategic risk challenges in their future threat assessments? 
• Why are public and private sector partnerships essential to bolstering the nation’s semi-conductor strategy?  

“You learn as much by not being successful sometimes in a role, as you did by being successful,” says Holly Gagnon, Co-CEO and chairperson of Artemis Strategic Investment Corporation.

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Gagnon to discuss overcoming your professional fears and opening yourself up to new and varied career experiences. Tune in to find out:

• How can being open to unexpected opportunities open doors throughout your career?
• How can you grow your confidence to explore new prospects?
• Do you have to change jobs regularly to advance your career?
• How can being a risk-taker early in your career set you up for success?
• How can you balance the demands of career, family, and community?

As worries of a recession mount and shoppers continue to battle inflation, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators and Surveys at The Conference Board, to discuss the latest economic indicators from The Conference Board. Tune into this episode on CEO Perspectives to find out:

• Do CEOs and US consumers anticipate a recession?
• Are worries about inflation and recession affecting consumers’ buying plans?
• How are higher input costs and raising wages impacting firms?
• What might cause a recession in various regions?
• Will firms continue hiring amid a looming recession?
• What are the global GDP forecasts for 2022 and 2023?

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Bernard Bailey, Chairman of Authentix Corporation and a leading voice on corporate governance issues, to discuss shareholder activism. What is it and how can boards prepare for it? Tune in to find out:

• What are the three types of activist shareholders?
• What are the pros and cons of shareholder activism?
• How can you be confident that management is going to act in the best interests of absentee owners?
• How does activism generally impact the performance of a company long-term?
• What are the reasons activists get involved and how can boards and management prepare?

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Carter Roberts, President and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund, to discuss the sustainability of the world’s food systems. How do we produce more food without putting a greater strain on our ecosystem? And what can countries and companies do to address these human needs while preserving our environment? Tune in to find out:

• How do we continue to feed the 7.3 billion people and counting on the planet without destroying it? Where do we start?
• What opportunities do we have to be more efficient with our resources?
• Why are public-private partnerships important to achieving these goals?
• What is a resilient food system and what needs to change to be more resilient?

“The promise of ESG, the whole notion behind it, was that if you perform better in those areas, you will have better financial performance over time as well.”

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Paul Washington, Executive Director of The Conference Board ESG Center, to discuss ESG funds. What are they and what are they trying to accomplish? And why are they now so controversial? Tune in to find out:

• What are the different types of ESG funds and which are growing the fastest?
• Why has ESG investing garnered negative press in recent years? What are the various criticisms of ESG funds?
• Why was Tesla recently thrown out of the S&P 500’s ESG Index? Should companies be judged on their conduct, their impact, or both?
• How do ESG funds compare to the broader market?
• What are the new SEC disclosure rules for these funds? What are they trying to fix?

“People leave, generally speaking, for salary increases or career development—that’s been the same for decades. But they are also leaving because they think that they might actually have a respite, a little chance to take a breather, and then start again somewhere new.”

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Rebecca Ray, Executive Vice President of Human Capital at The Conference Board to discuss the ongoing mass resignation of workers, known as The Great Resignation. Tune in to find out:

• What triggered this shift? Why are so many people now reexamining their relationship with their job?
• What demographics are seeing this trend the most?
• Will a recession prompt those who left the workforce to reevaluate their decision?
• How can businesses better support the return of women to the workplace?
• What should employees consider when weighing a job change?
• What is the role of managers in retaining top talent? And how can businesses support them?
• What other cost-effective strategies can businesses employ to retain workers?

In this episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Asutosh Padhi, Managing Partner for McKinsey & Company in North America and John Kelleher, Senior Partner. Odland, Padhi, and Kelleher discuss the current economic environment and the possibility of a recession. Tune in to find out:

• How an economic downturn will likely play out
• How business leaders can navigate through this period of economic uncertainty
• What businesses should be doing to prepare for a recession
• How companies can find growth, even in a down cycle

Click here for more information on McKinsey research.