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Finance leaders are rethinking succession planning as automation reduces traditional entry-level tasks, with a growing emphasis on developing critical thinking, cross-functional experience, and leadership skills among junior staff. CFOs highlighted strategies such as job rotation, mentorship, and increased exposure to decision-making to ensure a pipeline of future leaders who can interpret data and drive business outcomes rather than perform routine work. Many executives stressed the importance of structured talent reviews, internal promotion pathways, and well-defined processes to reduce reliance on individuals, while noting that automation is changing - but not eliminating - junior roles. However, in smaller or fast-growing organizations, succession planning at senior levels often remains informal, with day-to-day execution taking priority until the business matures.

 

CFO

Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau will retire later this year after being criticized for failing to speak French in a condolence video following a fatal collision at LaGuardia Airport in New York that killed two pilots. Rousseau informed the airline that he will be stepping down by the end of the company's third quarter. He had faced calls to resign after delivering his condolences in English only. One of the pilots who died, Antoine Forest, was from French-speaking Quebec. Air Canada is headquartered in Montreal and the company's own policy requires employees to be able to communicate in both of Canada's official languages. In a post on X, Quebec Premier François Legault welcomed Air Canada's announcement, saying the carrier's next CEO should speak French as a "matter of respect for the employees, francophone customers, and all Quebecers."

 

CBC

CNN

New York Times

BBC News

Starbucks shareholders have overwhelmingly re-elected the full board, dismissing a campaign by labor-aligned investor groups that had urged votes against two directors over concerns about the company’s handling of labor relations. The challenge centered on the board’s decision to dissolve a dedicated committee overseeing workforce and union matters, with critics arguing this weakened oversight amid ongoing tensions with unionized baristas. Proxy advisers had also raised governance concerns, but Starbucks maintained that labor oversight now sits with the full board, which it said has the necessary expertise. The vote represents a clear endorsement of the company’s current governance approach and leadership under chief executive Brian Niccol, despite continuing scrutiny of its labor practices and recent efforts to restart negotiations with unions representing a minority of its U.S. workforce.

 

Reuters

The ranking members of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee have quizzed ​Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr and criticized ‌his approval of Nexstar's merger with Tegna without a vote from the full commission. Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and Senator Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat, jointly told Carr that he improperly allowed agency staff to give the merger the go-ahead even though it involved waiving major anti-consolidation rules, according to a copy of the letter seen by Bloomberg. Significant questions of policy must be addressed by the full FCC in a vote, the senators said.

 

Bloomberg

Unilever is close to agreeing a cash-and-stock deal to combine its food division with McCormick, creating a business worth around $60bn in which Unilever shareholders would own roughly two-thirds. The transaction, likely structured as a tax-efficient reverse Morris trust, would accelerate Unilever’s shift away from food - it is home to brands such as Hellmann’s, Marmite, and Knorr - towards a more focused beauty and personal care strategy, while giving McCormick greater scale and emerging market exposure.

 

CNBC

Financial Times

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

Sysco has agreed to acquire Jetro Restaurant Depot for approximately $29.1bn including debt, with shareholders receiving $21.6bn in cash and 91.5m Sysco shares. The acquisition is intended to accelerate Sysco’s expansion into the higher-margin, fast-growing cash-and-carry segment, where Restaurant Depot serves independent restaurants and small businesses through warehouse-style outlets, complementing Sysco’s traditional delivery-focused model and broadening its customer reach across economic cycles. The deal will be primarily funded through around $21bn of new and hybrid debt alongside existing cash and equity, prompting Sysco to pause its share buyback program to prioritize deleveraging. The combined group expects to deliver approximately $250m of annual cost synergies within three years, while Restaurant Depot will continue to operate as a standalone division with its existing management team.

 

Bloomberg

CNBC

Wall Street Journal

Eli Lilly has agreed to acquire UK-based Centessa Pharmaceuticals for an initial $6.3bn cash consideration, or $38 per share, representing a 38% premium, with total potential value rising to $7.8bn including contingent payments tied to future drug approvals. The deal, expected to close in the third quarter, strengthens Lilly’s neuroscience pipeline and expands its capabilities into sleep medicine. Centessa’s lead candidate, cleminorexton, has shown promising Phase II results in treating narcolepsy and related conditions, and the acquisition continues Lilly’s recent run of biotech dealmaking to bolster its pipeline.

 

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

JPMorgan's bid to dismiss Wells Fargo's breach of contract lawsuit to recoup losses for investors in a defaulted $481m commercial real estate loan has been rejected by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge ​Dale Ho in Manhattan said Wells Fargo, acting as the ​investors' trustee, adequately alleged that JPMorgan knew of an ⁠event of default by Manhattan real estate development ​firm Chetrit, which took the loan in 2019 to buy 43 ​multifamily properties with 8,671 apartments in 10 U.S. states.

 

Reuters

Match Group has settled a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit that accused the company of giving an outside facial recognition firm, Clarifai, access to personal data of millions of OkCupid users, including photos, demographic information, and location data, without users' knowledge or consent and contrary to OkCupid's privacy policies. The settlement in ​Dallas federal court prohibits Match from misrepresenting ‌the ⁠privacy of user information, and requires the Dallas-based company to certify compliance. A ​spokesperson for OkCupid said ​it ⁠has strengthened its privacy practices, and the alleged conduct "does not reflect how ⁠OkCupid ​operates today."

 

Reuters

General Motors is extending downtime at a Detroit electric vehicle plant - which produces vehicles including the Chevrolet Silverado EV and Hummer EV - until April 13. The downtime began on March 16. “Factory ZERO will temporarily ⁠adjust production to align EV production with ​market demand,” a GM spokesperson said. The temporary ​layoff affects 1,300 workers.

 

Reuters

Mattel has announced another round of layoffs, affecting 65 employees at its El Segundo headquarters, effective May 22nd. This follows a previous layoff of 120 workers last year and 89 in January, as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures. The company has faced significant challenges, including a 25% drop in stock value and nearly $1bn in lost market value due to disappointing holiday sales. Despite the success of the “Barbie” movie, sales of Barbie products have declined. Mattel is shifting its focus towards digital games and entertainment, with Chief Executive Ynon Kreiz saying: “Success in our toy business will drive success in entertainment, and success in entertainment will drive greater success in toys.” The company aims to capitalize on this cycle while also investing in new franchises and partnerships.

 

Los Angeles Times

The U.S. has pledged to pursue alternative trade agreements outside the World Trade Organization (WTO) after talks in Cameroon failed to extend a longstanding e-commerce tariff moratorium, blocked by Brazil and Turkey. Trade representative Jamieson Greer warned the WTO will play a diminished role in global trade policy, as Washington seeks plurilateral deals with willing partners, while the collapse highlights growing fragmentation in the global trading system and risks creating a complex patchwork of bilateral and regional agreements.

 

Financial Times

Apple's Australian subsidiary has engaged PwC to investigate a significant internal technology error affecting thousands of employees' pay and leave entitlements. The company must reimburse hundreds of former employees and provide additional leave to current staff due to a mistake in its human resources systems, which incorrectly counted public holidays as leave days. "We are committed to rectifying this issue," a spokesperson said.

 

Financial Review

The loss of small perks and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in a push seemingly aimed at squeezing more work out of fewer people have conspired to strip the office of all fun, many employees are saying. The Wall Street Journal notes that chief financial officers at large U.S. companies mentioned “efficiency” at least once on 307 conference calls in the latest quarter as of March 26, up from 219 a year earlier and the highest level since at least 2020, according to AlphaSense. “There’s almost nobody who is feeling positive vibes about their job right now,” said Rocco Seyboth, a longtime software marketer outside Seattle. “Everyone I talked to is consumed by AI - either how to use it, how to pretend to use it, how much they hate using it, how it’s going to eliminate their position or their company’s product,” he said. Human resources executives say they are aware of the concerns of white-collar staff.  “There’s fear in the workforce,” said Jacqui Canney, chief people and AI enablement officer at the technology company ServiceNow. 

 

Wall Street Journal