C-Suite
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The hottest job below CEO comes with 4 distinct career tracks
The path to the corner office often runs straight through operations. Consider recent examples: Dow Inc., Best Buy, and Asbury Automotive Group have all elevated chief operating officers to the top job in 2026. That preference is becoming even more pronounced. As companies seek to unify sprawling processes and sharpen execution (especially in the age…
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As part of her Citi turnaround, Jane Fraser cut management layers from 13 to 8. But the ‘great flattening’ doesn’t always work as intended
When Mike Mayo, the long-time analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, reflects on the turnaround CEO Jane Fraser has engineered at Citi, one decision stands out: her restructuring of the bank into five divisions that report directly to her. “When you look back in 10 years, you’re likely to say this was the most powerful change…
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Delta has trained its passengers to pay premium prices. Here’s how it plans to get even more from them
In the past decade and a half, Delta Air Lines has been wildlyeffective in training its customers to pay more for its premium seats. The airline now gets 20% more revenue per seat than its U.S. competitors, and its premium cabin is about to overtake its main cabin for the first time in Delta’s 101-year…
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Boos, AI-washing, and ‘low-value human capital’: The psychological traps CEOs are falling into when they botch their AI messaging
Is there a right way for CEOs to communicate AI-related layoffs? We certainly know there’s a wrong way. Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters proved that last week when he said the London-based bank would replace “low-value human capital” with artificial intelligence. The dismissive language triggered outrage from the public, condemnation from unions, and questions from…
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‘Excited and terrified’: One of private equity’s top investors built an AI that knows every deal he’s ever done
James Brocklebank has spent nearly three decades making billion-dollar bets on companies most investors would never touch — carve-outs from struggling conglomerates, businesses buried inside bureaucratic giants, deals closed at the height of a pandemic. He has seen complexity and leaned into it. But nothing, he says, compares to what’s coming with artificial intelligence. “Excited…
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Trump’s leadership model has a succession problem
President Donald Trump offered a revealing answer about the limits of centralized leadership in a newly published, wide-ranging interview with Fortune editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell. Asked how the investment deals, diplomatic leverage, and corporate commitments he has championed could endure beyond his presidency, Trump acknowledged the model may not be transferable. “Can’t answer that question,” he…
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EXCLUSIVE: An hour in the Oval Office with the CEO-in-Chief, President Trump
President Trump can’t believe Jensen Huang doesn’t own his own plane. Hours before he departs for his highly anticipated China summit, the president has been arranging for the billionaire cofounder of Nvidia to join the who’s who of Fortune 500 CEOs preparing to travel to Beijing. Also in the group are Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, arguably…
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Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank says micromanagement is ‘underestimated.’ Steve Jobs and Elon Musk would agree
Micromanaging gets a bad rap, but it’s a method some CEOs still embrace. Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank told Graham Bensinger in a YouTube interview published in September 2025 he believes in micromanagement “at certain levels.” “I think it’s totally underestimated,” said Plank, who founded Under Armour in 1996. “I think there’s too much loss…
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Job-hopping is now the fastest path to becoming a CEO—and company loyalty may actually hold you back
When Elliott Hill stepped out of retirement two years ago to take the top job at Nike, his LinkedIn profile had a viral moment. The new CEO had spent his entire career at the sports apparel company, starting as an intern in the 1980s before climbing the corporate ladder as high as it goes. That…
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Why Amex’s CEO scrapped a bonus system that made executives compete for cash
At American Express, the old bonus season had a predictable rhythm. Business-unit chiefs came into the year ready to make their case, defend their turf, and grab as much investment capital as they could. The logic was simple: Grow your own kingdom faster than the others, and your reward got bigger. The system was meant…