Wednesday, November 12, 2025

How CEOs are navigating the global economy’s ‘frog-boiling’ conditions

In today’s CEO Daily: CEOs on leading amid uncertainty.
The big story: Air travel chaos.
The markets: Mixed, with U.S. futures ticking up.
Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.

Good morning. Andrew Nusca here, taking a break from my usual duties helming the Fortune Tech newsletter to make a cameo. I had the pleasure of hosting more than a dozen executives yesterday in a Fortune CEO roundtable discussion about how their strategies are shifting amid economic uncertainty and global complexity.

We kicked things off with former Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart, who outlined the state of the economy and memorably said that it wasn’t “frog-choking” conditions he was most worried about, but “frog boiling”—in his words, “the creeping, long-term changes where you can’t point to a particular event, necessarily, but over time you wake up and find you’re in a different world.”

So how did the CEOs say they’re managing change?

For one software firm, it’s “go all in” on AI with the ability to “answer the ROI question in about 24 months.” For another, it’s “hold on to your best developers” and “train up” everyone to leverage new tech. For an auto supplier, it’s diversifying your supply chain to deal with evolving relationships on the global stage; for a robotics company, it’s “robots building robots” in the U.S. where tariffs won’t wreck the balance sheet. And, of course, it’s seizing fresh opportunities amid the tumult.

Broadly, CEOs are feeling more upbeat about the global economy than they were earlier this year. In an October survey of chief executives conducted by Fortune and Deloitte, out yesterday, 32% of respondents described themselves as pessimistic about the economy over the next year, down from 58% in April. One reason for the change in sentiment is the fact that tariffs have not disrupted global trade as feared.

CEOs have shifted their focus to a different kind of disruption—that driven by AI. Sixty percent of chief executives say AI will have either a significant (45%) or transformational (15%) impact on their core processes over the next one to three years.

Drawing from the survey, Deloitte U.S. CEO Jason Girzadas highlighted the importance of a “growth mindset” and “emotional intelligence” as top skills to ride the wave.

Many thanks to sponsor Deloitte for helping to make the conversation happen.

More news below.

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

Top news

Flight chaos

As the U.S. shutdown drags on, government-mandated flight cancellations are crippling major U.S. airports. Cancellations representing 5% of all daily flights hit main hubs in Chicago and Atlanta on Tuesday; at New York’s LaGuardia, 12% of flights were scrapped. The shutdown could end soon, but the Federal Aviation Administration has declined to say when air travel will return to normal.

Fracture at the Fed

Federal Reserve officials are split over a December rate cut as they differ on which threat is more urgent: ongoing inflation or a cooling labor market. Even the availability of official government data might not bridge the rift.

Limiting proxy advisors’ influence

The White House is considering an executive order to limit the power of proxy advisors like ISS and Glass Lewis and index-fund managers like BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, the WSJ reports. The proxy firms, in particular, have drawn ire from CEOs like Jamie Dimon who say they have conflicts of interest in making shareholder recommendations.

AMD’s revenue growth

AMD CEO Lisu Su said “insatiable" demand for AI chips could fuel revenue growth of 35% per year for the next three to five years. Much of that will come from its data center business, which Su forecasts to grow at 80% over the same period.

SoftBank sinks on Nvidia sale

SoftBank Group’s announcement Tuesday morning that it sold its entire $5.8 billion stake in Nvidia has spooked investors who are already nervous about inflated tech valuations. Shares in SoftBank plunged as much as 10%, touching a one-month low.

Paramount Skydance's RTO losses

Company disclosures from Paramount Skydance released this week reveal that 600 employees in New York and Los Angeles rejected the company’s five day return-to-office plan. The total cost of severance packages amounted to $185 million.

Chief AI scientist to leave Meta

Yann LeCun, chief AI scientist at Meta, has reportedly told colleagues that he is leaving the company in the next few months, per those familiar with the conversations who spoke to the Financial Times. LeCun has been working on AI at Meta for more than a decade but is reportedly exiting to establish his own startup.