World 50 Group

The upcoming U.S. presidential election has been flagged as a risk for global businesses—even before President Joe Biden's announcement to drop from the race (and the flurry of events that have happened since). R.P. Eddy, founder and CEO of Ergo, joined World 50 members last month to discuss how to effectively rise above the day-to-day campaign chaos and home in on realistic scenario planning. More insights in the latest newsletter ⤵ #scenarioplanning #riskmitigation #uselection #geopolitics #tariffs #globalrisk

Calling all DEI champions: The 2025 I&D Impact Awards are now open for entries! https://okt.to/NOld1i Now in its third year, the I&D Impact Awards recognize and celebrate outstanding organizations, leaders, and teams who are making remarkable strides in DEI. More than just accolades, the awards underscore the collective movement to prioritize inclusion for all—and the positive correlation between a diverse workforce and company success. As our 2024 Inclusion Award winners at EY noted, “The I&D Impact Awards are a platform to showcase the critical link between DEI and business strategy.” Ready to tell your story? Visit the Impact Awards website to explore this year’s categories, meet our esteemed judges, and get started on an entry: https://okt.to/HGOwv6. The submission window closes October 4! #world50impactawards #diversity #equity #inclusion #DEI #awards

Thank you, Kelly Jones, and the entire Cisco team for allowing fellow World 50 members to take a peek behind the curtain and to explore firsthand how Cisco is transforming its workspaces to be a "magnet, not a mandate”—a true testament to reimagining the future of work.

“With cybersecurity now a top three global enterprise risk, developing the next generation of chief information security officers is more critical than ever," emphasized Diana McKenzie, former SVP and CIO at Workday. One of the esteemed security leaders at the helm of the Next CISO program, Diana's knowledge and insights will help rising security executives evolve from technical specialists to impactful enterprise leaders. "I am honored to serve as a faculty member for World 50's Next CISO program. As a former CIO, current board member, and technology advisor, I look forward to sharing lessons learned and benefitting from the rich experiences of the Next CISO community and participants." Applications are open now for the November 12-15 program in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Learn more and apply here: https://okt.to/J5l4eb #CISOs #CIOs #nextgenCISO #world50 #leadershipdevelopment #csuiteready #csuiteimpact

Yes! Accountability leads to action. Members who are seeing momentum in DEI are doubling down on decentralizing the work to gain support and partnership from across the organization. Way to help lead this charge, Ranmali Bopitiya and Oscar Health!

The role of CEO is a human job with superhuman responsibility. Some of those responsibilities are expected—strategic vision, board management, investor relations—but many are unforeseeable, especially given the state of today's increasingly complex world. "We’ve got to be doing things that we were not prepared or trained to do," says Penny Pennington, Managing Partner at Edward Jones. Pennington believes that success in the role means having resilience, energy, and audacity, as well as a "shared conviction that what we’re doing is important work. It’s worth going into those areas of ambiguity, because if we don’t, our businesses will be irrelevant." Pennington, alongside 30+ successful current and former CEOs, provide invaluable perspective for new and aspiring CEOs in our recent project, "Excel in Your First Year of CEO." Access the full compilation here: https://okt.to/OGcqNF #ceoinsights #CEOsuccession #leadershipjourney #leadershipinsights

Over the past several months, the political landscape has shaken, disrupted, and tested much of the pivotal DEI work that has been years in the making. As risk intensifies, companies have reason to pause—or even stop—their DEI efforts. Yet, the vast majority are not: According to the 163 global DEI leaders surveyed for the fourth annual 2024 I&D Impact Report, 93% reported increased momentum and backing for their DEI initiatives—a positive trend attributed to: 🔹 Increased organizational focus and commitment, 🔹 Consistent strategy execution, and 🔹 Company engagement. Download the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eSpc4Eax While momentum is steady, members are proceeding with caution, closely assessing and realigning their strategies with internal and external legal counsel. The most noticeable shift? Focusing more on the "inclusion" aspect of DEI. Regardless of how language or approaches change, a proven positive correlation exists between a diverse workforce and company success. “DEI is because the world has changed and is changing," said Gloria Goins, chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at Cisco. "[Generation Z] in less than two years will represent 30% of the global workforce; 48% of them are people of color, 20% are LGBTQ+. Two out of four of them say, ‘I would rather be unemployed than work for a company that doesn’t align with my values.’ If you connect it right back to the business, this is about your business. This work is not going away.” A huge thanks to these DEI trailblazers for bringing this report to life via company stories, case studies, and insights: Celeste Warren (She/Her), Gloria Goins, Beatriz Rodriguez, Carlos Darío Sarmiento Rivadeneira, Cristina Jimenez, DeShaun N. Wise Porter, Karine VASSELIN, Marvin Mendoza, Patrick Sochnikoff, Ranmali Bopitiya, Sandra Cushnie, MBA (she/her), and Tanya E. Spencer. #World50ImpactReport #DEI #DEIImpact

Sustaining high performance and personal resilience are ongoing topics for World 50 members, especially among CHROs who strive for a healthy mix of productivity and wellness within their workforce. In this month's newsletter, we synthesize different perspectives on work-life balance, including: - How Mark Bertolini and other veteran CEOs find time for professional and personal commitments. - Why communication is key to combating "urgency fatigue" via LSE's Laura Giurge. - Nick Propper, CPC's take on managing energy vs. time. - Joshua Kushner's simultaneous pursuit of school and start-up life. More below ⤵ #newsletter #leadership #worklifebalance #burnout #resilience #insights #productivity #wellness

In celebration of the exceptional information security executives leading our Next CISO program, we connected with Bret Arsenault, CVP, Chief Cybersecurity Advisor at Microsoft, to discuss the importance of investing in tomorrow's security leaders. "Programs like Next CISO help us develop a broader, more diverse, and more skilled talent pool. This effort not only scales the capabilities of future security professionals but also ensures we proactively address the industry's top concerns.“ When asked about his excitement for serving as Next CISO faculty, he added, "My best professors were the ones who said they learned as much from their students as the students did from them. The Next CISO program orchestrates a mutual exchange of knowledge, where facilitators and attendees engage in a dynamic dialogue, fostering a collective learning from the synergy of all participants.“ Applications are open now for the November 12-15 program in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Learn more and apply here: https://bit.ly/next-ciso #CISO #leadership #cybersecurity #csuite

As CEO, "You need to understand that what really benefits you is people disagreeing with you," says Frank Blake, former chairman and CEO of The Home Depot and an advisor to World 50 members. While an obvious insight to most, it's one that is not so easily obtained. When sitting in the CEO seat, "The organization starts to feed back to you want they think you want [to hear]. If you tell a joke, they laugh." (Yes, even when it isn't funny.) Albeit difficult, CEOs must constantly work against the "Everything is fine, you're wonderful" response to the "How are things going?" question, Blake says. Actively seeking out what people actually think can help identify potential risks and prevent groupthink—resulting in better decision-making and a more balanced approach to strategic planning. For more advice to new and aspiring CEOs, access "Excel in Your First Year as CEO," a collection of practical learnings from leaders who know what success in the role looks like: https://lnkd.in/eygt57xH #CEO #insights #leadership