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Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. We hear all the time about how generative artificial intelligenceor gen AIis eliminating entry-level jobs and changing the way knowledge workers complete daily tasks. But how are CEOs integrating these tools into the day-to-day work of leading a business? To find out, I reached out to executives across industries to understand which AI tools theyre using and how these technologies are changing the way they lead. Heres what seven chief executivesand one chief commercial officershared, in their own words. Brad Bogolea, cofounder and CEO, Simbe Robotics, a robotics and engineering company I use ChatGPT almost every dayits developed a rich contextual memory of how I think, which makes it an incredibly effective partner for writing, decision-making, and pressure-testing strategy. For certain file types and formats, Ill turn to Gemini. The key is knowing which model gives you the best acceleration for the task. I use generative AI as a thought partner to move faster and think more clearly. Most often, its a [sounding board] for distilling ideas, pressure-testing conversation strategy, and sharpening my messaging. Whether Im prepping for a board call, investor meeting, or industry event, Ill use AI to draft talking points, uncover blind spots, and stress-test the framingoften from an Uber or in flight. At its best, AI helps me clarify what Im trying to say and why it matters. Its become an essential tool for thinking through complexity and communicating with precision. Elizabeth Buchanan, chief commercial officer, Rokt, an e-commerce technology company I use AI to accelerate how I consume information and frame decisions, whether thats transforming raw data into strategic narratives, refining product positioning, or stress-testing messaging. Its most powerful when used as a thought partnerhelping me evaluate decisions from multiple angles or refine how we communicate a complex idea with precision. At this stage of scale, decisiveness and speed are nonnegotiable. AI enables both. Its also fantastic to use it to get an update on everything a client has been talking about across touchpoints (their press and official updates to more casual LinkedIn posts from employees) to get an understanding of their current pain points or success stories. Its an absolute lifesaver. I automate these updates for myselfextraordinary time-saver! Dave Dama, founder and CEO, AquaSonic, and cofounder, Onyx Global Group, a consumer brand incubator I use AI to sharpen decision-making, speed up communication, and get to clarity faster. It helps me draft positioning frameworks, prep for key meetings, and collaborate with our CMO Jonathan Cohen on external messaging. I dont use it to replace judgmentbut it helps me move through the thinking and refinement process with more speed and less friction. Its become a trusted part of how I work through early-stage ideas. Spencer Hewett, founder and CEO, RADAR, a software company Recently, Ive been using tools like Fyxer, which is an AI executive assistant, and Cursor, which is a code editor. I also use ChatGPT and Claude as search engines for quick responses from my phone or desktop. I use gen AI tools to streamline email management and responses and sometimes use ChatGPT to brainstorm or flesh out ideas before I make a final decision. Ive also been impressed with ChatGPTs ability to surface talented candidates via their public LinkedIn profiles. Sami Inkinen, CEO, Virta Health, a health technology company On the strategic front, AI acts like an on-demand thought partnerI use it to synthesize market signals, explore strategic scenarios, and identify emerging risks or opportunities. What used to take a day of analyst work or hours of personal research now takes minutes. On the execution side, AI helps me move faster. I use it to draft communications, structure memos, and summarize long-form content, which frees me up to focus on high-leverage thinking and decision-making. Its a force multiplier for clarity and output. Looking ahead, I think AI will reshape how companies are structured. Well move from traditional pyramids to more of a diamond shapefewer layers, more empowered individuals, and highly productive, AI-augmented teams. That has implications not just for org design, but also for budgeting and growth. More companies will grow revenue and impact without growing headcount or spend at the same rate. Thats already happening at Virta. Steven Kramer, CEO, WorkJam, a software company Leveraging AI has been a game changer for WorkJam. We use a number of AI tools, such as Googles Gemini coding assistant and Google Agentspace to more effectively search for files across the organization. I have made AI adoption a mandate for all WorkJam team members in 2025, and we have given every employee access to multiple tools and established a steering group that is driving AI innovation everywhere. Our teams are constantly building new agents to improve our production processes, leveraging a whole suite of tools, such as JetBrains, Windsurf, and others. For simple tasks, we have several trained ChatGPT models that are also helpful. AI easily gives me back five to 10 hours a week, and sometimes more during planning cycles. I use that time to connect with our teams, have more unstructured conversations, and spend time with customers. Thats often where the best ideas surface. AI doesnt just help me do more, it creates the space to think better. Evan Reiser, cofounder and CEO, Abnormal Security, a cybersecurity company Generative AI and personalized AI agents are embedded into nearly every aspect of how I operate as CEO. These tools arent just assistantstheyre collaborators that expand my strategic and operational capacity. Here are some of the ways that I use them: Meeting management: A custom AI agent transcribes and processes most internal meetings, generating concise summaries, action items, and automated follow-up emails. This ensures execution and clarity without manua overhead. Personal executive coaching: Every week, a personalized Evan AI Coach reviews my meetings and delivers email feedback on where I was effective or where I could improve. It analyzes consistency in how I reinforce our mission, values, and strategy, and helps me reflect on areas like listening more deeply or recognizing team contributions. Customer intelligence: Prior to customer meetings, a research agent reviews external sources, (e.g., LinkedIn, X, news) and internal data, (e.g., Salesforce, product usage, subscription health) to generate briefing reports. These are delivered, automatically, 24 hours in advance, ensuring I walk into every conversation fully prepared and contextually aware. Virtual CXO advisers: Ive built custom GPTs trained on hundreds of pages of personal notes and audio transcripts from trusted domain experts. These role-specific agents, (e.g., for AI product strategy, corporate development, etc.) provide critical feedback and help me pressure-test ideasoffering continuity in strategic thinking even when I cant consult advisers in real time. These agents are highly personalized and fine-tuned to reflect how I think, lead, and operate. They allow me to scale myself across more conversations, decisions, and strategic inputs without sacrificing quality or consistency. Philip Smolin, cofounder and CEO, Daash Intelligence, a commerce intelligence platform As such, generative AI functions as both a research and a consulting assistant. My primary use cases are business research and strategic ideation, which are lower-frequency but high-value tasks that help shape critical business decisions and help identify competitive advantages. I also use AI for reviews of legal documents and researching HR and regulatory topics, which would otherwise require outside counsel. The evolution of executive work Im struck by how quickly many of these executives have come to rely on generative AI as collaborators (the term thought partner comes up a lot), coaches, and even as strategic partners. How are you using AI to help you manage your time or lead your company? Whats working? What isnt? Feel free to share your experiences by sending an email to stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. Id like to regularly share great insights and tips on how to use AI with this community. Read more: CEOs and AI How CEOs can lead in the age of AI agents Salesforce CEO just said AI does half of all company tasks CEOs start saying the quiet part out loud: AI will wipe out jobs 25 AI hacks high-growth founders swear by
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When the Trump administration canceled the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, it pulled the plug on grant funds from hundreds of communities working to prevent catastrophes. BRIC wasnt flashy or perfect, but it was essential. Its competitive, complex process favored large, well-resourced cities. Smaller, more vulnerable places often couldnt keep up with the paperwork or wait out the delays. The program was bureaucratic, underfunded, and sometimes slow. But it did something that few else were designed to do: it gave localities from across the country access to federal dollars to proactively reinforce electrical grids, guard water lines, and prepare for floods, fires, and rising seas. In other words, it gave them a fighting chance to withstand increasingly destructive disasters. With more than 95% of Americans living in counties that have experienced extreme weather since 2011, the benefits were bound to be widespread. And fiscally prudent, too. Every $1 spent on disaster prevention saves $13 in recovery costs, according to a 2024 study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Thats not wastethats smart policy to shore up schools, homes, and neighborhoods and safeguard lives. So, what now? We build anyway. A New Era of Public-Private Partnership Urban academic institutions like ours are uniquely positioned to provide applied research, technical expertise, and programmatic support that can help municipalities continue making progress. Universities can serve as innovation labs, testing emerging technologies before jurisdictions invest in full-scale deployment. Indeed, we need a new era of public-private partnershipnot just with academic institutions, but collaborations where localities, businesses, and philanthropy also come together to do what government cant and shouldnt do alone: build vital facilities to withstand natures increasingly powerful storms and floods. At Cornell Tech, weve spent the last two and a half years doing exactly that. Through the Local Infrastructure Huba national nerve center galvanized by Bloomberg Philanthropies with support from other funders (Ballmer Group, Emerson Collective, Ford Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and Waverley Street Foundation), specialists, and policy leaderswe are helping city halls strengthen systems and integrate technology-based tools that bolster infrastructure plans, pro bono. Low-cost solutions Perhaps most promising, from where I sit, is the role of artificial intelligence in revolutionizing local resilience. Even amid funding uncertainty, municipalities can deploy low-cost solutions to streamline processes, identify problems, and look ahead. Consider New York Universitys Urban Systems Lab and its development of ClimateIQ. Its a free, open-source tool that uses artificial intelligence to map neighborhood-level risks from floods and heat, helping local officials make faster, smarter decisions to prepare for severe weather events. Likewise, digital twinsvirtual replicas of physical infrastructureallow planners to model impacts and interventions before committing precious capital to projects. Consider the benefits for municipal leaders in coastal towns susceptible to hurricanes and tropical storms. Instead of sketching evacuation routes and emergency responses on a paper map, they can use a digital twin to simulate what would happen if a bridge collapsed or a road flooded during a crisis. They can see how traffic might respond and adjust their plans proactively or in real time. Thats exactly the kind of thinking behind a partnership between the city of Austin and the University of Texas. They deployed digital twin technology to respond to fast-moving grass fires, especially on the citys east side where dry land and high asthma rates overlap. The system uses drones and weather data to map smoke in real time, then warns schools and senior centersdownwind. It started with 2D maps, but when the data moved into a 3D model, it changed everythingpeople could actually see the risk and take action. It’s not just about shiny software; it’s about leveraging the strengths of each collaborator, building trust among key players, and using real data to protect people. In Jacksonville, the University of Florida is piloting a digital twin project with the intent of scaling it statewide to model everything from wastewater treatment flows to outdoor areas especially prone to flooding. It will give officials an evidence-backed view of the future. In Chattanooga, a coalition that includes the University of Tennessee, Audi, Qualcomm, and others are using digital twins and cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology to make roads safer. These are the kinds of cross-sector efforts that city halls everywhere should be replicating. Powerful tools To be sure, digital twins and artificial intelligence arent silver bullets. But they are powerful tools. AI-driven systems can help cities analyze traffic flows, monitor water quality, and identify structural weaknesses in buildingsbefore disasters strike. With input from academics, assistance from entrepreneurs, and consortiums like the Local Infrastructure Hubwhich has already helped 2,400-plus municipalities unlock national investment to design safer roadways, protect groundwater, mitigate floods, and morelocal governments can implement these strategies today. Thats the model: targeted resources, expert guidance, and innovative ideas delivered by an ecosystem that spans sectors and connects officials to fellow peers. Insurmountable losses But we need more. We need nonprofits to expand their support. We need businesses to invest not only in smart cities, but resilient ones. We need researchers to step off campus and onto Americas main streets. And we need mayors to continue to lean into their frontline role as defenders against wildfires, windstorms, and other natural disastersand reimagine the capabilities they need to lead on preparedness and mitigation. This isnt abstract. Its about whether a community is just one crisis away from insurmountable losses to the local economy, public and private property, and peoples hopes for a dependably safe and sustainable way of life. A North Carolina state report on Hurricane Helenes impact in 2024 said: In addition to the devastating loss of life, the storm destroyed thousands of homes and damaged tens of thousands more. Millions of North Carolinians lost access to critical services like water and sewer, electricity, telecommunications, and healthcare facilities. Thousands of miles of roads and bridges were damaged. . . . The regions economy has suffered a severe blow, threatening livelihoods and the long-term viability of communities. Lets stop waiting for Washington to fix what localities are ready to solve. Lets partner across sectors to keep our communities safe, secure, and prepared. Strong nations need strong cities. And strong cities dont waitthey build.
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E-Commerce
The AI companion space will soon see another new entrant. Elon Musk, the owner of xAI and social media platform X, announced recently, Were going to make Baby Grok @xAI, an app dedicated to kid-friendly content. Were going to make Baby Grok @xAI, an app dedicated to kid-friendly content— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 20, 2025 The decision to enter the AI chatbot and companion market seems logical for X: Around three in every four U.S. teens have already used AI companions, and the platform will naturally want to build brand loyalty early. However, experts in child protection and social media use are raising concerns. Musk, xAI, and child-focused apps may not be a good combination, they warn. The concern is that if X or xAI are going to try to get into the children products zone, clearly they just have a terrible track record with prioritizing child safety, says Haley McNamara, SVP of strategic initiatives and programs at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE). They’ve just proven themselves to not really care, so I think that they should stay away from kids. McNamara is not alone in her concerns. The apprehension is shared internationally. Elon Musks plans to launch a child-focused version of Grok will cause alarm across civil society, with growing evidence about the risks posed by persuasive design choices in AI chatbots, a lack of effective safeguarding in most major industry models, and no clear strategy to prevent hallucinations, says Andy Burrows, CEO of the Molly Rose Foundation, an organization founded by the parents of U.K. teenager Molly Russell, a 14-year-old who died by suicide after being exposed to harmful content on social media. Beyond the fact that Baby Grok would come from the same organization that developed Ani, a sexualized AI chatbot that users have quickly coerced into explicit conversations, and Bad Rudi, a red panda chatbot that defaults to insults, experts see broader dangers. Burrows is particularly worried about introducing AI chatbots to children since they may easily form emotional attachments to such technology. Chatbots can simulate deep and emotional relationships with child users, and there are evident risks that children may use chatbots to seek mental health support or advice in ways that may ultimately prove harmful, Burrows says. Even adults have formed inappropriate emotional bonds with AI chatbots, struggling to differentiate between artificial and real relationships. For more impressionable children, these connections could take hold more quickly, with potential long-term effects on their mental health. McNamara says companies have an obligation to consider how their platforms affect kids and to take steps to protect themsomething she believes a Grok-bot for children fails to do. (Neither xAI nor Musk responded to Fast Companys request for comment.) NCOSE also raises concerns about whether Musks platforms can adequately protect young users. McNamara notes that after Musk acquired what was then Twitter, many child safety staff were let go. X also allows pornography on its platform, which does not require any kind of stringent age or consent verification for those videos, she says, contending that such lax policies have led to a widespread presence of abusive material, and so far theres been little sign that the company is taking meaningful action to address these issues. Burrows, for his part, points to the U.K.s new Online Safety Act as one layer of oversight that would apply to Baby Grok, though he notes that X has been slow to meet the requirements of the legislation. His larger concern is global. In many countries, he warns, the lack of regulation will mean the rollout of badly designed products will go effectively unchecked. Musk may see a business opportunity. But for those responsible for protecting children online, the stakes are far higher.
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E-Commerce
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