About this podcast
Welcome to C-Suite Perspectives, a podcast series by The Conference Board. Hosted by our President & CEO, Steve Odland, this weekly conversation will take an objective, data-driven look at a range of business topics aimed at executives. Listeners will come away with what The Conference Board does best: Trusted Insights for What's Ahead™.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 100 episodes
- How to Redesign Work for Real Business Value from Agentic AI · 28 min · Season 1 Episode 417AI agents can access records, initiate actions, and make decisions across multiple systems—but humans need to remain accountable for the consequences. As organizations give…
- Europe's Workers Are Ready for AI—Are Their Organizations? · 17 min · Season 1 Episode 416Europe's workers may be more prepared for AI-driven change than their employers. While 78% say their organization helped them adapt to recent major change, only 54% are confident…
- State of the Economy for October 2026: Consumer Confidence Rises, CEO Confidence Falls · 17 min · Season 1 Episode 415Consumer confidence rebounded in October, while CEO confidence moved back into negative territory in the fourth quarter. What do these contrasting readings reveal about the US…
- How to Build Retirement Income That Lasts: Prudential's Phil Waldeck · 26 min · Season 1 Episode 414Americans are living longer, transforming retirement security from a question of how much people can save into a more complicated challenge: how to turn those savings into…
- Why Tariffs and Protectionism Are Here to Stay+ 4 Other Certainties · 28 min · Season 1 Episode 413Focusing on what's certain can help business leaders make timely decisions. But beneath this ambiguity are five certainties that offer a basis for action: China's rise, the…
- What Will Define AI Winners: Former Cisco CEO John Chambers · 27 min · Season 1 Episode 412AI is advancing so quickly that companies may need to rethink their strategies every nine to 12 months. But keeping pace is not simply a matter of adopting more technology…
- How Solar and Battery Storage Can Meet Rising US Power Demand · 23 min · Season 1 Episode 411After two decades of relatively flat US electricity consumption, power demand is growing again as AI, data centers, and advanced manufacturing expand. Solar and battery storage…
- How NetApp CEO George Kurian Turns Disruption into Opportunity · 27 min · Season 1 Episode 410An established company can be profitable and still lose its place in the future. Avoiding that fate requires treating disruption as an opportunity, preserving what remains…
- Why the Best CEOs Act as Catalysts, Not Commanders · 26 min · Season 1 Episode 409No CEO can personally master every technological, geopolitical, and economic challenge confronting a modern organization. The leadership advantage now comes from building a…
- Salary Budgets Are Flat—But Jobs and Skills Are Changing Fast · 28 min · Season 1 Episode 408US salary increase budgets are projected to remain at 3.5% in 2027, unchanged from 2026. But stability in the headline number does not mean the workforce—or the way companies…
- How Better Boards Navigate Disruption and Transformation · 21 min · Season 1 Episode 407Strategic errors rarely begin as obviously bad decisions but emerge when a strategy outlives the assumptions on which it was built—and leaders fail to recognize that disruptions…
- State of the Economy for September 2026: Consumer Confidence Takes a Tumble · 23 min · Season 1 Episode 406US Consumer Confidence fell to 81.9 in September, marking a third consecutive monthly decline. In this episode of C-Suite Perspectives, The Conference Board's Eric Lundh and…
- Leading for the Next Generation: Graybar CEO Kathy Mazzarella · 31 min · Season 1 Episode 405What changes when employees are not only part of a company but its owners? At Graybar, employee ownership has fostered a long-term approach to leadership—one that places trust…
- Why Empathy Is a CEO's Strategic Advantage: Terumo CEO Antoinette Gawin · 32 min · Season 1 Episode 404Leading a global organization does not mean making every decision yourself. It means creating enough strategic clarity for people to act, understanding the context behind…
- Why AI Alone Won't Fix Health Care Staffing: Covista CEO Steve Beard · 29 min · Season 1 Episode 403The US has no shortage of people who want careers in health care—or employers eager to hire them. Yet tens of thousands of qualified nursing and medical-school applicants are…
- From Vinyl to AI: What the Music Industry Teaches Business About Disruption · 30 min · Season 1 Episode 402Few industries have survived as many waves of disruption as music—from vinyl and MTV to streaming, AI, and now virtual artists. The performers who endure do more than react: they…
- How AI Is Changing Health Care - from Diagnosis to Discharge · 24 min · Season 1 Episode 401Health care systems face a widening capacity challenge: an aging population and rising rates of chronic illness are increasing demand for care, while persistent workforce…
- How CEOs Lead Through Uncertainty: Zoetis CEO Kristin Peck · 22 min · Season 1 Episode 400Leadership does not get easier—leaders get better at doing hard things. For Kristin Peck, navigating uncertainty requires discipline, a growth mindset, and the mental resilience…
- Can Climate Goals Survive the AI Energy Boom? · 23 min · Season 1 Episode 399The era of corporate climate pledges is giving way to the harder work of execution. As 2030 deadlines approach and AI drives demand for energy and infrastructure, companies are…
- How AI Is Reshaping the Future of Employee Reward · 22 min · Season 1 Episode 398Reward is moving out of the HR back office and into the heart of business strategy. From improving frontline productivity to navigating AI and pay transparency, decisions about…
