New research spanning ten years reveals that while long-term stability in leadership teams is often seen as beneficial, it can actually stifle innovation. The absence of fresh perspectives and external input in well-established leadership groups may prevent necessary changes, potentially harming the company's ability to evolve.

AI data centers are increasingly being blocked by city authorities from places like Denver to Seattle. This backlash results from three key factors converging, offering a critical lesson for business leaders navigating the evolving technological and regulatory landscape.

Today’s workplaces bring together four distinct generations: baby boomers, Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z, each with unique perspectives on leadership, communication, flexibility, and the role of AI. In a recent FC Live session, moderator Maia McCann facilitated a conversation with Fast Company editor Shalene Gupta and workplace expert Lindsey Pollak, alongside Gen Z contributors María José Gutiérrez Chávez and Sage Swaby. They explored the sources of generational tensions and shared insights into what the youngest generation truly seeks from their work environment. The discussion provides actionable guidance for leaders aiming to harness generational diversity as a catalyst for innovation.

Just three weeks after stepping into her expanded role as president and chief corporate affairs officer, Jill Hazelbaker has initiated significant changes by cutting nearly a quarter of the workforce in Uber's People and Places division. This department, which oversees HR functions, recruitment, workplace facilities, and company culture, is seeing a sizable reduction, focusing largely on senior positions. These adjustments mark an early phase in Hazelbaker's internal restructuring efforts to streamline and refocus the company.

Many sense a problem: board recruiting isn’t functioning as it should. Boards worry they only tap familiar candidates, while qualified leaders wonder why they’re overlooked. Both views are accurate—the system favors known names, especially former CEOs and CFOs, because risk aversion leads boards to seek safety in proven relationships and titles. Data shows most new board seats go to individuals with prior top executive experience, reinforcing this trend.

The board search process is less about discovering talent and more about verifying trusted candidates. Networking dominates appointments, with 70% made through existing connections rather than search firms. The solution lies in building trust and familiarity well before the search begins, not during the brief recruitment window.

Successful firms nurture long-term relationship-building through advisory boards or structured networks, with dedicated personnel managing ongoing engagement genuinely and transparently. This approach yields more diverse, trusted, and deeper networks, breaking the cycle of recycling names. Boards must shift from reactive to proactive relationship-building if they want real change.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that Poland will enforce a “sovereignty test” for major government technology acquisitions. The move responds to concerns over the country’s growing reliance on foreign digital infrastructure, which Tusk warned has reached a problematic scale. Speaking at the European Financial Congress in Sopot, he emphasized the necessity of a strategic policy approach to safeguard national interests in technology.

Nicole Steller from the European Academy of Management, Albena Björck of ZHAW School of Management and Law, and Guido Möllering from Witten/Herdecke University explore the rise of the chief purpose officer role in organizations.

Jean-Christophe Jaunin took over as CEO of Nespresso North America in 2026, coming from a role as global chief customer and technology officer. In an interview at the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business forum, he discussed how Nespresso integrates sustainability into its business model. Jaunin emphasized that sustainability is integral to maintaining the coffee's quality and future-proofing the business against environmental changes. Over the past two decades, the company shifted from conventional farming, which weakened soil and flavor, to methods that safeguard biodiversity and enrich the ecosystem, enhancing coffee quality. Nespresso supports over 150,000 farming families through its Sustainable Quality Program, offering training, direct partnerships, and income diversification initiatives like beekeeping, which not only benefits the environment but also fortifies farmers' economic resilience. The company consciously chose aluminum capsules for their ability to preserve coffee freshness and be recycled endlessly, committing to costly yet necessary recycling efforts including infrastructure investments in multiple states to ensure capsules can be fully recycled. This sustainability focus is tightly woven into the brand promise and long-term supply strategy.

Christian Gralingen's research explores why artificial intelligence (AI) has not fundamentally transformed finance functions despite high expectations. Through multiyear action design research and extensive interviews with CFOs and senior finance professionals, the study reveals that the pace of AI adoption is hindered less by technology and more by the leadership practices within finance teams. AI promises enhanced forecasting, shorter closing cycles, and better risk management, yet many initiatives stall due to leadership dynamics that favor traditional control over experimentation and adaptive thinking.

Finance operates under a paradox: it must maintain reliability and control while simultaneously embracing curiosity and adaptability. AI can enable finance teams to detect early signals and experiment with new approaches, but success depends on leadership that encourages vigilance, routine experimentation, strategic scenario planning, and the sharing of innovative practices.

Examples from real companies show how shared responsibility for noticing change, legitimizing small-scale trials, framing future uncertainties through scenarios, and fostering the spread of useful innovations can help AI become integrated into finance routines. The CFO’s role is crucial in setting a tone that values learning and permits experimentation, which ultimately shapes whether AI remains a promising tool or becomes a transformative asset.

The research calls for a shift in leadership — from a top-down command model to one embracing shared leadership in everyday finance work — to fully realize AI's potential. Questions for CFOs include who feels empowered to spot emerging trends, how safe experimentation is encouraged, and how local innovations become widely adopted. Without these shifts, AI risks remaining on the periphery instead of driving meaningful change in corporate finance.

This research, carried out between 2022 and 2025 by Kevin and Ivo alongside 23 Swiss companies, reveals how generative AI can be effectively scaled across diverse industries such as banking, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, and consulting. Despite substantial investments in large language models (LLMs), many companies struggle to translate these technologies into broad, strategic advantages. The key to success lies in adopting three core practices: expanding use cases beyond isolated tasks, continuously refining these applications, and promptly discontinuing those that underperform.

A central concept introduced is the 'AI spine'—a novel organizational structure that integrates domain experts from different business units into a central team managing the AI portfolio. This flexible spine fosters coordination across functions, streamlines processes, and ensures ongoing improvement and compliance. Examples include a Swiss bank that significantly boosted customer service efficiency with generative AI tools, and a medical coding company that not only cut operational costs but also created new revenue streams by commercializing AI-driven coding solutions.

The AI spine is financed independently and overseen by C-suite executives, ensuring strategic alignment and agility in funding high-impact projects. It contrasts with traditional hub-and-spoke models by centralizing cross-unit business knowledge rather than dispersing technologists across units. This structure also embeds continuous feedback loops involving business owners, tech specialists, compliance experts, and end users to evolve solutions responsive to real-world needs.

While alternatives like GenAI units and squads offer some benefits, they often fall short of achieving enterprise-wide integration and sustained innovation. The research highlights the necessity for top-level commitment, cross-unit collaboration, clear metrics for value, and ongoing dialogue between technology and business stakeholders. Leaders seeking transformative impacts with generative AI must architect such collaborative frameworks to unlock and sustain economic value at scale.