good morning.
As a summer intern Toronto StarCovering the 1988 G7 summit was a shocking experience: adults jostled and elbowed each other to catch a glimpse of Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher, barricades kept out protesters, and Italy’s prime ministers changed hands so quickly that souvenir makers left a blank space for Ciriaco de Mita. Neither of his two predecessors lasted a year (De Mita served 15 months). Priorities then included trade, debt, monetary policy, and emergency measures for the environment.
This week’s G7 summit in Italy, hosted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with fascist roots and packed with attendees who are not willing to fight to watch politicians struggle to stay in power, is not the same as usual. Europe kicked off the week with news that pro-Palestinian protesters vandalized 20 Barclays banks in the UK and that voters gave far-right politicians a boost in the European Parliament.
America’s CEOs are dealing with a crisis of their own. The economy may be resilient because the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates on hold, but people aren’t as happy either. Employers are hiring, but many employees are exhausted at work. Even managers are suffering from burnout, according to a new Gallup poll.
meanwhile Fortune During a CEO Initiative conversation with former Medtronic CEO Bill George on Monday, leaders shared insights on how to boost engagement. Headspace CEO Russell Glass noted that the company’s sixth annual Workplace Mental Health Report found that nearly three-quarters of employees say their work is negatively impacting their mental health and contributing to weight gain. “That’s accelerated over the last six years,” Glass said, “and I think a lot of it is driven by the political debate, how challenging the environment is.”
“Black leaders are facing an existential crisis right now, as their communities’ fundamental civil rights are being threatened and in some cases rolled back,” said Alphonso David, CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum. David is president of Fearless Fund, whose grants to Black women entrepreneurs were just found to be discriminatory by an appeals court. “How can Black leaders effectively focus on generating revenue and building internal culture when they are seeing regressive policies being implemented against their communities, and indeed against themselves?” David said.
As Americans mark Juneteenth, the national holiday that marks the end of slavery, George argues the answer lies in standing up for core values. “You’re going to be attacked from all sides,” he says. “People want to hear from their leaders and know where you stand.”
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Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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Musk faces retaliation
Tesla shareholders approved CEO Elon Musk’s 2018 compensation package, which had been rejected by a Delaware judge earlier this year. Shareholders also approved a resolution to move the electric vehicle maker’s headquarters from Delaware to Texas. Tesla and Musk lobbied hard for both resolutions in traditional and social media. Associated Press
Berlin opposes tariffs
Germany is trying to block new EU tariffs on electric vehicles, officials say. Earlier this week, the EU announced it would raise tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars to up to 48% starting next month. Germany is now hoping that Chinese and European officials can find a middle ground and avoid a potential trade war before the new tariffs take effect. Bloomberg
Microsoft delays release of omnidirectional AI feature
Microsoft is delaying the rollout of a “recall” feature that would let its service take screenshots of everything you do on your computer and use AI models to search for things you’ve already seen. Cybersecurity experts worry the new feature could make it easier for hackers to spy on people’s passwords and financial information. The Verge
Around the water cooler
Companies are desperate for fresh data to train their AI models, and this startup’s secret sauce is data created from scratch by AI. Sharon Goldman
PayPal co-founder Max Levchin’s network of small banks could help Apple in its Goldman Sachs crisis Michael Del Castillo
Nvidia stock price forecast: The chipmaker has risen more than 200% in a year, is hugely profitable and could be an AI leader, but is a terrible investment Sean Tully
International energy watchdog the IEA has warned that we could soon be living in a world with a “staggering” surplus of oil that we can’t use it all. Prarthana Prakash
China’s state media erupts in uproar over ‘misguided’ European tariffs on EVs: ‘We’ve chosen to succumb to protectionism’ Lionel Lim
Explained: Why a ‘Heartland Visa’ for skilled workers is the answer to America’s immigration debate Vivek Wadhwa and Alex Sarkever
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.
