Good morning.
Quick quiz: Who’s the CEO of GE? For decades, you would have been laughed out of business school for failing that one. But today…not so much. That’s partly because the iconic company is a shadow of what it once was—falling from the most valuable company in America to No. 52 on the Fortune 500 list. It’s also because the current CEO, unlike his predecessors, doesn’t care whether you know his name or not. Larry Culp is low key, press shy, and talks a lot about humility. But for the first time in a quarter century, he is also making money for his owners. Last year, he provided shareholders a gain of 96%—outperforming Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
How does he do it? Fortune’s Shawn Tully takes a deep dive in a story you should read this morning here. It has a lot to do with “lean” manufacturing, also known as “kaizen.” Culp used the Japanese management system to outperform in his previous job, as CEO of Danaher, and now he’s killing it at GE. Says investor Nelson Peltz: “He’s the No. 1 industrial CEO on the planet. There is no No. 2.”
And since it’s Friday, some feedback:
B.C. correctly noted that the CEOs at our Davos dinner, whom I quoted on Monday, didn’t mention climate when talking about the top risk of 2024. That’s true and may reflect their view that climate change is a longer-run issue.
R.P. and M.H. beat me up from opposite sides on my Wednesday post that looked at the business implications of the 2024 election. R.P. said “it can be easily argued that the current government is socialistic,” while M.H. complained there is “only one party and candidate openly proclaiming dictatorial powers on Day One.”
And D.M. sent a nice tribute to our new magazine, which is fronted by a haunting picture of a unicorpse: “That’s a brilliant, iconic cover.”
Have a great weekend. On Monday, CEO Daily will have a treat for you: a new addition to our growing stable of contributors, Diane Brady, writing on her first day as executive director of Fortune Live Media. I’ll be skiing in Colorado.
More news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
Lyft fights loneliness
Lyft CEO David Risher is refusing to follow Uber into food delivery, citing the surgeon general’s warning on loneliness. “There is so much opportunity to get people out, and it’s the exact opposite of delivering lo mein to their house, which, if anything, encourages people to stay home,” he tells Fortune’s Phil Wahba. Risher took over the CEO role last year, replacing founder Logan Green. Fortune
Bird’s bankruptcy
The rapid rise and even speedier fall of e-scooter startup Bird shows the strains on the sharing economy, the onetime Silicon Valley fad. Former Bird employees note that the startup struggled to get cities to approve plans and would later ignore its promises in pursuit of growth, worsening relations with public officials. Bird declared bankruptcy last December. Fortune
Apple cracks open its walled garden
Apple is opening its app store in Europe to competitors to comply with the upcoming Digital Markets Act. The iPhone maker isn’t happy about the decision, complaining that it puts users at risk of scams. Apple will charge a so-called core technology fee on developers that want to skip Apple's store, a decision that Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, who sued Apple for anti-competitive practices in the U.S, called “hot garbage.” CNBC
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
Chris Dixon, the philosopher king of crypto, makes a fresh case for blockchain. Is he too late? by Leo Schwartz
Spotify has found a way around rival Apple’s brutal 30% charges—at least in Europe by Ryan Hogg
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says protectionism is the only thing stopping China’s cheap EVs from demolishing the competition by Lionel Lim
Bob Iger has ‘systemically eliminated’ any successor candidates, says former Disney CFO and board member by Eleanor Pringle
Gates foundation chief takes a shot at donors who give only to elite universities, urging them to follow Chuck Feeney’s example by Dylan Sloan
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.
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