Few CEOs like to brag that, as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs once said, they're “not ashamed to steal great ideas,” but they're less reluctant when it comes to poaching top talent. Of course, unlike ideas, people are not patented and have free will, only that it may be limited by non-compete agreements. And poaching top talent is a proven way to accelerate growth, launch new departments, and develop instant expertise that can take your company to the next level.
Exhibit A this week is Qualtrics' announcement that Microsoft veteran Gurdeep Singh Paul has joined the experience management software company as its first president of AI strategy. Qualtrics CEO Zig Serafin told me it was a “dream” to hire one of the people who helped spearhead Microsoft's OpenAI partnership. He hopes that this will “help us continue to lead the way” in the next era.
Serafin himself spent nearly 18 years at Microsoft, and says that there's no place he can think of that would give him so much exposure to cutting-edge thinking and the opportunity to implement it in such impactful ways across so many different industries. “It doesn't exist,” he claims.
Of course, some may disagree with that assessment, but it's worth noting the number of former Microsoft employees who have been popping up elsewhere lately. The shortlist includes Lila Tretikov of NEA, Vahé Torossian of Builder.ai, Xuedong Huang of Zoom, Rashmi Misra of Analog Devices, Tim Solms of Slingshot Aerospace, Brian Janous of Cloverleaf Infrastructure, and Agility Robotics. Including Peggy Johnson. Why they left Microsoft is a mystery, and they probably explained it over drinks with close friends.
What we do know is that many former Microsoft leaders have gone on to companies and roles focused on AI. This strengthens the company's position as an academy for AI talent, in the same way that Procter & Gamble trains leaders in marketing and consumer products and Goldman Sachs trains leaders in finance. . PepsiCo has trained Fortune 500 CEOs.Again, talent can flow both ways: Microsoft in his March Hiring Mustafa Suleiman, Co-founder of AI research institute DeepMind. Meanwhile, Elon Musk says he is increasing salaries at Tesla as OpenAI looks to poach employees.
Welcome to the AI talent wars. Businesses are in the early stages of understanding how AI will transform their operations, but it remains to be seen whether the leaders of the next revolution will be those with technical know-how or those with “softer” skills. It is not yet clear whether he will be a prepared person. Seraphine values both, praising Paul as a technology leader who excels in understanding how AI impacts human interactions. “How we do things with the insights that AI provides is going to define the next generation of leading companies,” he says.
Separately, as my colleague Alan Murray concludes his transformative tenure as CEO of Fortune, a number of CEOs are telling us what the brand means to them. Here are comments from his Cisco CEO, Chuck Robbins:
“Access to objective, detailed business and technology reporting has never been more important. luck It continues to be a trusted resource, providing thought-provoking and educational perspectives on important topics. ”
Please see the news below for more information.
diane brady
@dianebrady
Diane.brady@fortune.com
top News
Ibotta IPO
Shares of Walmart-backed digital marketing company Ibotta will begin trading on Thursday. The company's IPO raised $577 million at $88 per share, above the market range. At that price, Ibotta would be worth $2.67 billion. The IPO market is starting to recover from last year's slump, including last month's much-anticipated initial public offering by social media platform Reddit. luck
micron money
US chipmaker Micron Technologies is set to receive $6 billion in government funding as part of the latest CHIPS Act. TSMC, Intel, and Samsung have all received billions of dollars in subsidies to expand U.S.-based chip manufacturing. Micron has pledged to spend up to $100 billion over the next 20 years on a chip factory it is building in upstate New York. bloomberg
amazon intelligence agency
Amazon used its secret retailer, Big River Services International, to collect information about other e-commerce platforms such as Walmart and eBay. Big River initially tried to list products gleaned from “going out of business” sales in Seattle on Amazon's competitors to figure out pricing, logistics and other details. An Amazon spokesperson said the benchmarking is a “common practice” and that the company suspects other retailers are conducting similar studies to sell products on Amazon's platform. wall street journal
around the water cooler
Another Goldman Sachs veteran explains why the bank is losing its top female executives: “The Street wants to develop and access this great talent.'' Written by Luisa Beltran
Co-inventor of Amazon's 'Just Walk Out' technology, which is being removed from US grocery stores, sets record to debunk 'overblown' theories of Amazon's demise Written by Jason Del Rey
Netflix's password crackdown sparks a wave of subscription revenue, with plenty of room to grow Written by Rachel Jones
Why the CEO of a $12 billion pet services company still responds to customer emails himself By Fortune Editor
Commentary: The US and China lead the world in AI innovation, but the UK punches above its weight.Here's how to do it Written by Victor Riparbelli
Dr. Martens, which is popular among Gen Z, is struggling after CEO resigns – maybe it's because its shoes last too long Written by Jasmine Lee
THis edition of CEO Daily is curated by Nicholas Gordon.
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