As businesses continue to rely ever more on information technology to function, the former head of Ford Motor Company Mark Fields joined the board of Tanium, a $9 billion security platform company, on Wednesday.
"Cybersecurity is a critically important need right now," Fields said of his decision to join the company. He explained that there were three factors adding to the urgency of protecting information technology and infrastructure: more devices as part of company networks that will grow with the onset of 5G, the growth of the cloud, and the expansion of work-from-home.
"So for all those reasons, cybersecurity is probably the number one or number two issue on CEOs' minds," he noted, while touting Tanium's products and services in the space.
Reinforcing the point that protecting IT infrastructure is considered integral to current business practices, Fields also stated that across the Fortune 500 companies, security experts have been added to the C-Suite, despite a troubled economy that had shed a record number of jobs in the months since the coronavirus pandemic began.
"As revenues come down because of the economy slowing, I don't think you're seeing any CEO or CIO letting up on making sure that they're investing appropriately to protect their company's data, their employees' data, and their customers' data because it's about trust," he said.
Fields also commented on his previous company, Ford, which announced downsizing efforts this week, as a matter of looking beyond COVID-19 ahead to the future of the automaker.
"This, to me, is just endemic of every CEO, whether it's an automaker or just in general," he said. "It's probably gone from, 'Let's ride out the COVID issue,' to, 'How do we reinvent?' and I think that's what you're seeing at Ford and other companies."
The reinvention, he explained, looks to be in the electric vehicle space, currently led by Tesla, but Fields foresees quickly-growing competition and more investment in the space, as governments around the world add to the pressure of reducing carbon dioxide emissions to combat climate change.
"I think that brands like Ford, which are in the process of introducing a number of new products, the first one coming late this year is the Mach-E, I think this is the first time Tesla's actually going to have some real competition," he said.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
