Episodios

  • Arvind Krishna, IBM CEO, on Big Bets, AI, and Quantum

    Arvind Krishna, IBM CEO, on Big Bets, AI, and Quantum
    Apr 16 2026
    What does it take to make big bets inside a public company? In this episode of The CEO Signal, IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna discusses how he thinks about major strategic decisions at a moment of rapid technological change — from hybrid cloud to AI and quantum. At the center of the conversation is IBM’s acquisition of Red Hat — a decision Krishna helped drive before becoming CEO, and one that reveals how he thinks about conviction, resistance, and making a consequential call before the outcome is obvious. Krishna explains why IBM chose to bet on hybrid cloud rather than try to become another hyperscale player, how he thinks about large strategic bets inside a public company, and how that logic now shapes IBM’s approach to AI and quantum computing. He also lays out the case for a more hybrid AI future, a larger role for domain-specific models, and a quantum shift he believes business leaders should already be preparing for. About the show The CEO Signal is Semafor’s interview platform for conversations with the global CEOs whose decisions are shaping the future of the new world economy. Hosted by Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, the show explores the moments of judgment that define leadership. Penny Pritzker is the founder and chairman of PSP Partners and served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 2013 to 2017. Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson is CEO Editor at Semafor and a veteran Financial Times journalist who has spent decades covering global companies and corporate leadership.
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    44 m
  • Emma Walmsley on Leading and Leaving GSK

    Emma Walmsley on Leading and Leaving GSK
    Apr 2 2026
    What does it take to hand over a company after years at the helm? Dame Emma Walmsley reflects on her tenure as CEO of GSK at the moment she was preparing to hand over to her successor, Luke Miels. It’s a rare chance to hear a CEO reflect on the full arc of their tenure, from stepping into the role to shaping their own succession. After nearly a decade leading one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Walmsley speaks candidly about the realities of the job, from navigating activist pressure to reshaping the company’s strategy and structure. At the core is responsibility. “No one should take on these jobs without taking on the accountability,” she says. In moments of pressure, the job is to absorb the noise so the organization can stay focused and perform. During an activist campaign against her leadership, she made a deliberate choice to contain the disruption and keep the company aligned. Inside GSK, she pushed to shift decision-making toward clearer accountability while encouraging open disagreement at the top. She describes explicitly inviting counterarguments and even staging visible disagreement within her leadership team to normalize challenge. Looking back, she reflects on how her leadership evolved. Less formal, more focused on communication, and more human. She is also direct about succession. It is not something that is worked out at the end, she argues, but a responsibility that starts on day one. About the show The CEO Signal is Semafor’s interview platform for conversations with the global CEOs whose decisions are shaping the future of the new world economy. Hosted by Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, the show explores the moments of judgment that define leadership. Penny Pritzker is the founder and chairman of PSP Partners and served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 2013 to 2017. Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson is CEO Editor at Semafor and a veteran Financial Times journalist who has spent decades covering global companies and corporate leadership. This conversation was recorded in December 2025.
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    46 m
  • Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol on Leading Through Turnarounds

    Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol on Leading Through Turnarounds
    Mar 19 2026
    Why do some CEOs run toward the hardest challenges in business? In the first episode of The CEO Signal, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol joins hosts Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson to discuss the leadership mindset behind one of the most closely watched turnaround stories in global business. Niccol has built a reputation for stepping into difficult situations. He previously led Chipotle through its recovery following the company’s food safety crisis — and before that took on struggling brands earlier in his career. Now he’s tackling a new challenge at Starbucks, a company under intense scrutiny from customers, employees, and investors. In the conversation, Niccol explains what draws him to these moments of pressure — and how he approaches them. He describes visiting Starbucks stores multiple times a day before officially starting the job, listening to baristas and customers who felt the company had made the experience more complicated than it needed to be. That insight became the foundation of his strategy: “Back to Starbucks.” A return to the essentials of the brand — the coffeehouse experience, the connection between baristas and customers, and simple decisions that show up clearly in the store. Niccol also reflects on lessons from his time at Chipotle, the importance of building teams that tell the truth, how CEOs make decisions under pressure, and why technologies like AI should enhance — not replace — human connection. About the show The CEO Signal is Semafor’s interview platform for conversations with the global CEOs whose decisions are shaping the future of the new world economy. Hosted by Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, the show explores the moments of judgment that define leadership. Penny Pritzker Penny Pritzker is the founder and chairman of PSP Partners and served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 2013 to 2017. Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson is CEO Editor at Semafor and a veteran Financial Times journalist who has spent decades covering global companies and corporate leadership. The CEO Signal is presented by PwC.
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    49 m
  • Introducing: The CEO Signal

    Introducing: The CEO Signal
    Mar 16 2026
    When the business world moves, these are the people turning the wheel. Introducing The CEO Signal, a new show hosted by Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson. Episodes are released every two weeks. Building on The CEO Signal newsletter, the essential briefing read by the world’s top chief executives, the show brings that perspective to revealing conversations with the people steering the world’s biggest companies.
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    1 m