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In his reflections on the 2025 Wall Street Journal CEO Council summit held in December, WSJ Leadership Institute president Alan Murray noted that CEOs are not actually preoccupied with AI, tariffs, or geopolitics. Instead, theyre focused on something far more fundamental: people and culture. How do you build an organization that can adapt, collaborate, and innovate amid persistent volatility? That instinct is correct. Yet one of the most effective tools for strengthening culture and developing talent remains surprisingly underusedskills-based volunteering (SBV). In a world shaped by geopolitical conflict, climate disruptions, pandemic aftershocks, and unpredictable supply chains, companies need employees who can navigate complexity with creativity and resilience. Skills-based volunteering is a proven, powerful way to build those capabilities while contributing meaningfully to communities and giving employees the purposeful work they crave. SBV is unlocking the next wave in talent potential and catalyzing the workforce of the future. WHY SBV DESERVES MORE CORPORATE ATTENTION SBV matches employees professional expertise with community-based organizations needs. Its impact goes well beyond traditional volunteering, to include: 1. Leadership development and creative problem solvingWorking with nonprofits and social enterprisesoften in resource-limited or rapidly changing environmentsexposes employees to new perspectives and teaches agility, systems thinking, and cooperation across differences. These are the exact qualities CEOs describe as essential, but are difficult to cultivate internally. 2. Strengthens culture and engagementEmployees increasingly seek meaningful work and a sense of purpose. SBV offers both. It reconnects teams to shared values, supports well-being, and fosters belonging at a time when engagement across industries remains low. 3. Produces multi-layered returnNonprofits and other host organizations benefit from much-needed skills and networks. Communities receive unprecedented support and critical insights. Employees grow professionally and personally. Companies advance ESG commitments while enhancing their cultures. Few corporate initiatives produce value across so many dimensions. 4. Builds cross-sector fluencyFrom climate resilience to healthcare access to food security to digital equity, the next decade of business challenges will require collaboration across government, civil society, and industry. SBV gives employees practical experience navigating those intersections, a form of strategic literacy that will soon be indispensable. This is why companies across industriesfrom technology and finance to logistics and manufacturinghave integrated SBV into their leadership and culture strategies. A GLOBAL CONTEXT Two developments underscore the timeliness of SBV. The first is that the United Nations designated 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development. Although not a major campaign, the initiative still signals a broader recognition that volunteer-driven actionespecially skills-based engagementis essential for achieving the UNs Sustainable Development Goals. Companies that embrace SBV now will be better positioned to contribute meaningfully to that global effort. Second, each January, the World Economic Forum in Davos convenes leaders to tackle the worlds most pressing challenges. Davos is built around the search for solutions. SBV is a solution already available: a practical mechanism for aligning business capability with community needs, strengthening culture while improving outcomes for society. If even a portion of the companies gathering there committed to a coordinated SBV effort, the impact could be immediate and globally resonant. SBV is a practical, proven way to build the resilient, purpose-driven cultures companies say they want while contributing to the broader stability and well-being the world urgently needs. A NOTEWORTHY SBV DEVELOPMENT Against this global backdrop, two organizations known for advancing SBVPyxera Global (my organization) and Common Impactannounced that we are uniting our efforts. This alliance is designed to accelerate the work both have been doing for decades. We will retain our brands and long-standing relationships, but integrate strategically to help companies deploy SBV more effectively at a time when the need is acute. Our alignment reflects a broader shift occurring across the social impact sector: moving from fragmented initiatives to more collaborative, systems-oriented approaches. Our work also extends beyond SBV into partnerships focused on climate action, circular supply chains, economic opportunity and digital inclusionfurther evidence that cross-sector partnership is becoming an essential strategy for addressing complex global challenges. THE LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT Alan Murray is right: The central challenge facing CEOs is not technological but human. Yet culture doesnt transform through messaging campaigns or structural reorganizations. It transforms through experiencesthrough opportunities that deepen empathy, expand perspective, and develop new skills. Skills-based volunteering offers exactly that. The companies that embrace it now will be better equipped to navigate the challenges ahead, and to help solve them. Deirdre White is CEO of Pyxera Global.
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E-Commerce
Hollywood kicked off 2026 with “Avatar: Fire and Ash” atop the box office for the third straight week and with hopes for a blockbuster-filled year after a disappointing 2025.In three weeks of release, “Fire and Ash” has cleared $1 billion worldwide. The third chapter in James Cameron’s Pandora epic collected $40 million over its third weekend in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.“Fire and Ash” is doing its biggest business overseas; it’s grossed $777.1 million internationally thus far. The Walt Disney Co. on Sunday trumped the $1 billion milestone as “cementing another monumental achievement for James Cameron’s groundbreaking franchise.”But over the holidays, it wasn’t just about the weekend ticket sales. The whole week was a lucrative one for Hollywood, with most schools still out. What drove ticket sales, beyond “Avatar”? Sydney Sweeney, Timothée Chalamet and “Zootopia 2.”The most sustained success over the holiday collider in theaters belonged to a movie that opened all the way back in November. Yet Disney’s “Zootopia 2” has had remarkable staying power. It landed in second place with $19 million, dipping a mere 4% from the previous weekend.The animated sequel has amassed $1.59 billion in six weeks. That makes “Zootopia 2” Disney’s second highest grossing animated movie ever, trailing only 2019’s photorealistic “The Lion King” ($1.66 billion).“The Housemaid,” the twisty thriller starring Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, also emerged as a holiday-season hit for Lionsgate. It collected $14.9 million over the weekend, giving it $75.7 million domestically over three weeks. It dipped only 3% from last weekend. Internationally, “The Housemaid,” which cost a modest $35 million to make, has added $57.3 million.Just as Sweeney’s star power is propelling “The Housemaid,” so is Chalamet’s with “Marty Supreme.” The A24 release also held well in its third weekend, grossing an estimated $12.6 million. After two weeks of wide release, Josh Safdie’s frenetic table tennis tale has grossed $56 million in North America, passing the director’s previous film, “Uncut Gems” ($50 million worldwide).Just about everything playing in theaters saw small drops from the previous weekend. Sony’s action comedy “Anaconda,” starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd, dipped 31% to collect $10 million in second weekend. Focus Features’ “Song Sung Blue” dropped only 17% in its second weekend with $5.9 million. The Hugh Jackman-Kate Hudson Neil Diamond cover band movie has earned $25 million domestically.With “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and a wide variety of smaller hits, Hollywood started 2026 strongly. Overall sales were up 26.5% from the same weekend in 2025, according to data firm Comscore.The movie industry is coming off a poor 2025, where domestic moviegoing continued to slide. U.S. and Canada ticket sales in 2025 amounted to $8.9 billion, a 2% increase from the year earlier, according to Comscore, but about 20% below pre-pandemic levels. That slight improvement was notably less than anticipated and was also boosted by higher ticket prices. Actual tickets sold declined from more than 800 million in 2024 to around 780 million in 2025.The industry is now awaiting a potentially seismic shift with Warner Bros., one of the most theatrical-friendly studios, agreeing to sell to Netflix. That $83 billion deal awaits regulatory approval.Yet studios are cautiously optimistic 2026 could be the best box-office year of the decade. A release slate filled with marquee franchises, including new “Toy Story,” “Avengers,” “Spider-Man,” “Super Mario Bros” and “Dune” movies, has raised hopes of a turnaround. Top 10 movies by domestic box office With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore: “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” $40 million. “Zootopia 2,” $19 million. “The Housemaid,” $14.9 million. “Marty Supreme,” $12.6 million. “Anaconda,” $10 million. “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” $8.2 million. “David,” $8 million. “Song Sung Blue,” $5.9 million. “Wicked: For Good,” $3.3 million. “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” $2.7 million. Jake Coyle, AP Film Writer
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E-Commerce
J. Crew just revealed its apparel collection with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard teams for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Its an ode to retro ski aesthetics that even the most amateur athlete (or viewer) can get behind. The 26-piece collection, which includes everything from graphic sweatshirts and refined knitwear to ball caps, wool socks, and cozy leggings, is the first installment of J. Crews three-year-long partnership with U.S. Ski & Snowboard, announced in March. Prices for the entire J.Crew U.S. Ski & Snowboard collection range from $49.50 to $498. It will be available online and in select J. Crew stores starting January 8. Each product collection is inspired by vintage logos and archival Olympic patches, blending touches of sportiness with laid-back, aprs-ski leisure. To package that aesthetic with this first launch, J. Crew has created an advertising campaign called Alpine People, featuring members of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard team in a lighthearted spot that feels like Wes Anderson dropped onto the slopes in the ’70s. [Photo: Courtesy of J. Crew] Its a refreshing approach to Olympic-branded gear, which has been most closely associated with Ralph Laurens buttoned-up take on Americana aesthetics since that brand started designing Team USAs ceremony outfits in 2008. Where Ralph Laurens Team USA collection for the 2026 Games has a more polished, preppy vibe, J. Crews collection feels both effortlessly casual and aspirationala balance that can be tricky to achieve in a sport with a reputation for elitism. Vintage references offer a new route into chalet core In recent months, weve seen other brands put their own spin on ski apparel, including Nike x Jacquemuss futurism-meets-80s Aprs Ski collection, launched in late November, and North Face x Skims sporty, neutral-chic line, launched in early December. J. Crews interpretation, with its charmingly retro design and loungewear focus, feels like the best collection for hunkering down in a chalet with a hot beverage, even if youve never put on a set of skis in your life. To conceptualize the new skiing collection, J. Crews team started by consulting archival imagery of both ski apparel brands and Olympic games past. “We spent a lot of time immersed in the archives, both our own and U.S. Ski & Snowboards,” says Olympia Gayot, J. Crews creative director of womens and childrens design. “We traveled to their headquarters and poured through historic imagery of the team and past Olympic moments, everything from old uniforms and outerwear to pins, patches, and ephemera that captured the spirit of different eras of the sport.” Details like the collections recurring red, white, and blue stripes and U.S. Skiing” shield patch have a clear tie to vintage Olympic patches, which often featured the same color scheme and motiftypically alongside imagery like a torch, the Olympic rings, and, for skiing events, an illustration of an athlete descending the slopes. [Photo: Courtesy of J. Crew] Dynamic athlete illustrations star in their own right across multiple items in this collection. One sleek line drawing shows a skier zooming down the slopes, which features on a comfy graphic tee and crew neck; as well as another of an athlete with their skis crossed mid-jump. “While we always start with our archives and brand DNA, the real inspiration for this collection comes from the sport itself, the skiers, the Olympics, and the energy of elite athletes,” Gayot says. Typographic call backs to American ski resorts of yesteryear The whole J. Crew Olympic skiing collection, and its accompanying campaign, is tied together by an ultra-70s sans serif typeface, complete with blocky letterforms, bold curves, and a funky combination of caps and lowercase letters. Examples of this typeface appear in the apparel collection almost everywhere theres lettering, as well as in the bright yellow, Wes Anderson-style captions that appear on the Alpine People campaign video. The typeface callsback to similar styles used in vintage ski apparel and destinations, including the Sugarloaf Ski Resort in Carrabassett Valley, Maine, which once had a groovy wordmark with a near-identical look. “Youll see the vintage references reinterpreted in a way that feels timeless but also unique for this moment,” Gayot says. “Those elements show up across the collection as embroidered patches, knit-in graphics, and printed details, creating a through line that connects the heritage of both brands to the pieces in a way that feels thoughtful, nostalgic, and distinctly our own.”
Category:
E-Commerce
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