Leadership Next

Seifi Ghasemi began his career in energy by attending a school in the middle of a refinery in Iran. Now, at nearly 80 years old, the Air Products CEO believes hydrogen is the only option for fighting the effects of climate change. “There is no other source of energy,” he says.He discusses with Alan and Michal why he believes Air Products has a responsibility to push markets toward clean energy solutions like hydrogen; whether or not hydrogen-based fuel will be ready for our 2050 net-zero goals; the moment he started paying attention to climate change; and why he hasn’t been on a vacation in 20 years.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

As CEO of the energy giant, Woods is leading the third largest U.S. company through the energy transition. While Exxon Mobil is investing in low-carbon solutions like hydrogen and carbon capture, he is not yet convinced the world as a whole has what it takes to achieve its decarbonization goals.He discusses in depth with Alan and Michal the roadblocks to net zero; the company’s challenges with activist investors; inflation reduction act subsidies; and, of course, what he does to relax.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

G-P, founded by CEO Nicole Sahin, is an AI-driven global employment platform that enables companies to hire anyone anywhere. Sahin, who came up with the idea for G-P while living in the mountains of Guatemala, shares how her passion for anthropology led her to start the company.She chats with Alan and Michal about emerging talent markets; how AI empowers G-P to onboard workers in 187+ countries; how best to include remote employees as part of company culture; and how globalization is evolving—not retreatingLeadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

Narrative attacks can be generated from an actual event that is then exploited by bad actors or can be completely fabricated using advanced technology like generative AI. Blackbird’s goal is to fight disinformation and misinformation and sharpen the line between truth and lies.Blackbird.AI cofounder and CEO Wasim Khaled discusses a number of topics with host Alan Murray, including the recent attacks on Taylor Swift; weaknesses that bad actors might exploit in the upcoming presidential election; and why generative AI continues to hallucinate.Khaled also announces a product from Blackbird called Compass, which leverages AI to help people check the validity of a post, video, or photo.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

After leaving PayPal, Roelof Botha went on to help Sequoia nurture some of the world’s most influential tech companies, including YouTube, Instagram, and Square.Sequoia has been an investor in the AI space for a long time. The firm was an early investor in OpenAI, the company that has accelerated the current AI wave with its groundbreaking generative AI technology, which Botha sees as a foundational shake-up for business. He tells Alan and Michal that he doesn’t think this wave of AI is hype, and that it will be transformational. He shares his thoughts on what sectors he believes this tech will be most impactful in; why it rivals the previous waves of internet, cloud, and mobile; and whether we will see an AI bubble. He also provides insight into the current state of the venture capital industry.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

Amazon is not just the “everything store,” it is the “everything company.” No. 2 on the Fortune 500, the e-commerce giant impacts our lives in many ways. It delivers our groceries, entertains us with Prime Video, provides us health care with One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy, and plans to provide the planet with broadband internet. Alan sits down with Amazon president and CEO Andy Jassy at Fortune’s annual Davos dinner to discuss all the above topics and more, including how generative AI will challenge and transform business, Jeff Bezos’s leadership, and the FTC’s antitrust case against the company. Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

A lot of tough decisions come your way when you’re a CEO – particularly in today’s world where there are no shortage of challenges. In Leadership Next's final episode of the season, hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram look back at 2023, highlighting how some of their favorite guests from the year are navigating these challenges.Hear from LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman on AI; Vicki Hollub of Occidental Petroleum on climate; CVS Health's Karen Lynch on women in leadership; and Ken Frazier of General Catalyst - plus former Merck CEO - on how to lead with purpose in an increasingly divided world.Also featured in this episode, CEO of Deloitte US, Jason Girzadas.

As business continues to search for ways to harness the incredible power of AI, it's becoming more clear than ever before that the technology requires some level of regulation. But how much is too much? How do you design laws for something that's evolving so quickly? And what happens if you get it wrong? In an effort to get these questions right, the United Arab Emirates created the world's first government position solely dedicated to AI. The goals for this role extend far beyond regulation however, as we hear in this episode of Leadership Next.Host Alan Murray sits down with His Excellency Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence for the UAE. In addition to talking about his job responsibilities, His Excellency explains why he believes the UAE can become a major player in the global AI ecosystem and he describes his goals for the country's University of Artificial Intelligence.Also in this episode, hear from the woman who is President Biden's key advisor on AI-related topics, Arati Prabhakar. She’s Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy - and perhaps the closest thing the U.S. has to a Minister of AI.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

While KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell have their roots in the U.S., the restaurants have a big fan base in China. Yum China, which spun off from Yum! Brands in 2016, runs 14,000 restaurants in over 1,900 cities and - under CEO Joey Wat - is growing fast. Wat told Leadership Next host Alan Murray the company is opening several new locations each day.Unlike their American counterparts, the majority of these restaurants are not owned by franchisees. But the differences don't stop there as Wat explains. (Durian pizza, anyone?) Also in this episode: Wat's journey to the C-suite, what she looks for when hiring, and how she thinks about building sustainability into the business.

Ancestry - the company best known today for analyzing user DNA to help build out family trees - actually started almost 40 years ago as a publishing entity focused on genealogy. CEO Deb Liu, who took the reins in 2021, is now charged with finding new ways to expand Ancestry's offerings. She's well-prepared for that task, Liu told hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram, after 11 years as an exec at Facebook."I think part of what makes Facebook really special is that it really believe(s) in actually building products and having product-lead growth," Liu said. "And I think that that's really important."In this episode of Leadership Next Liu shares what brought her to the CEO role at Ancestry, the challenges women leaders continue to face in the workplace, and how growing up in a small Southern town impacted her leadership style.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.