Good morning. Accor Group CEO Sébastien Bazin says he left the financial industry for a “super narcissistic” reason: “After 25 years in finance and being successful enough, I had no idea whether I was lucky or smart.”
Turns out he’s smart, having expanded the Paris-based hotel group from a portfolio of 13 economy to mid-scale hotel brands, mostly based in Europe, to a global hotel giant with 360,000 people working in 110 countries and 47 brands that include Fairmont, Raffles, Mövenpick, Ibis, Mercure and Novotel. After a “monster that was super complex to run,” he split the business two years ago and hired three more CEOs to run different units, retaining oversight of the luxury and lifestyle division “because this is probably where the danger is the greatest; it’s all about execution and experience, so faster growth, greater risk.” Now, he’s focused on sustainability, expansion in markets like India, and AI to help his people deliver better service.
When it comes to decision making, he first trusts his instincts: “What is my stomach telling me of that situation? Then I need to go to the heart, as it’s going to tell me how the decision will impact others. And the brain tells you one thing, which is the timing upon which you need to make a decision. Anybody who starts with the brain will probably make the wrong decision 80% of the time.”
From finance, he says, “I learned the cost of a dollar and how to assess the risk of a dollar being invested.” At Accor, he learned that executing on a vision takes time. “You need to put it on paper, share it with your board of directors and once you have their blessing, you need to actually explain it to your management team, so that they understand where you’re going.”
Luck aside, he offers three tips that have served him well over the years. “Always be an actor in your own life; never a spectator,” he says. “Anybody who’s waiting for the day after tomorrow is just an idiot, because a decision made later is usually worse than one made today.” And he always tries to show up in a good mood. “Your people may only see you once a quarter or once in a lifetime, and you owe that to them.” More news below.
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com
Top news
Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has disappeared
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has not been seen in nearly a week and even regime insiders don’t seem to know where he is. The U.S. and Israel’s air war against Iran is known to have taken out a large chunk of Iran’s senior leadership but the presumption until now is that Khamenei remained alive.
CIA: Iran sites “severely damaged”
The CIA now says Iran’s nuclear facilities were “severely damaged” and that rebuilding them would take years—a reversal from an earlier leaked report that said the damage from U.S. bombing was less serious than thought.
Trump wants to name a new Fed chair early
The president—who hates current Fed chair Jerome Powell—has considered naming a replacement for him as early as September, a move that would undermine Powell who is due to leave office in May, the WSJ reports. Among the potential candidates are: former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, former World Bank President David Malpass, and Fed governor Christopher Waller.
Trump called Mamdani “a 100% Communist Lunatic”
“It’s finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line. Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor. We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart, he’s got AOC+3, Dummies ALL, backing him, and even our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, is groveling over him,” he said on social media.
New York’s business leaders are apprehensive
Many are afraid the city’s socialist mayor-to-be might destabilize the economy. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman posted a lengthy tweet in the small hours of the morning promising to financially back any viable candidate who could still defeat Mamdani. “His policies would be disastrous for NYC … The ability for NYC to offer services for the poor and needy, let alone the average New Yorker, is entirely dependent on NYC being a business-friendly environment and a place where wealthy residents are willing to spend 183 days and assume the associated tax burden. Unfortunately, both have already started making arrangements for the exits,” he wrote.
Jane Street founder allegedly hoodwinked into funding arms deal
Robert Granieri, a co-founder of Jane Street Group, was defrauded into a $7 million purchase of AK-47s, Stinger missiles, and grenades for a coup in South Sudan, according to prosecutors. Granieri is not accused of wrongdoing.
Bumble cuts 30% of staff
Dating app Bumble announced it is cutting roughly 30% of its workforce on Wednesday in a securities filing as the company attempts to reduce costs amid a declining user-count. JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note yesterday that the move “comes as a surprise.”
Tesla’s Europe problem could be moving in the other direction
Tesla only saw a 28% drop in vehicle sales across Europe in May, marking the EV company’s best month in the continent of the year. Next week, the company will publish vehicle production and delivery numbers for Q2.
Shell denies report of potential BP merger
Shell has denied a Wall Street Journal report that the energy giant is planning a potential mega-merger with competitor BP. An acquisition of the smaller BP would put Shell in a stronger position to take on rivals like Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
Must-read: The FT has a lengthy feature on how climate change is causing a systemic crisis in the property insurance business on a scale comparable to the 2008 financial crisis.
Fortune 500 Power Moves
Hormel Foods (No. 352 on the Fortune 500) appointed Jeffrey M. Ettinger as interim CEO, effective July 14. Ettinger previously served as President and CEO of the company from 2005-2016, and succeeds Jim Snee, who announced his retirement in January.
GXO Logistics (No. 363) appointed Patrick Kelleher as CEO, effective August 19. Kelleher most recently served as CEO, North America at DHL and succeeds Malcolm Wilson, who is retiring.
Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition.
The markets
- The dollar fell 0.55% against other currencies on the DXY index on news that Trump planned to name a new Fed chair early. The S&P 500 closed flat at 6,092 last night. S&P futures were up 0.32% this morning, signalling that the index may make another attempt to beat its all-time high of 6144.15 today. Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.23% in early trading. Bitcoin was above $107K this morning. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.65%. India’s Nifty 50 was up 1%. China, Hong Kong, and Korea’s main indexes were all marginally down.
From the analysts
- Macquarie on “war” at The Fed: “Could a ‘war’ be brewing at the Fed as ‘doves’ assert their claim on the policy outlook? Calls for a July rate cut are premature, and likely motivated by ‘political’ ambition. But Jay Powell can still agree (in today’s testimony) that rate cuts may come in 2025. It’s also possible that July brings a ‘dovish’ hold, where one or two dissenters are ‘allowed’ to say that they want a cut,” per Thierry Wizman and Gareth Berry.
- JPMorgan on the S&P 500: “We maintain a bearish stance on the USD, predicated on fading U.S. exceptionalism and more growth-supportive policies abroad. In US equities, the growth slowdown and higher-for-longer rates are likely to lead to a repeat of the 2023-2024 playbook of narrow leadership and high market concentration. We now anticipate the S&P 500 to close near 6,000 by year-end, driven by accelerated earnings growth,” per Hussein Malik.
- Wedbush on stocks: We turn more sanguine on the near-term market outlook following Middle East conflict: Volatility indices have come down in recent days, reflecting lower levels of uncertainty. …Past seasonality points to solid performance in July: Over the last 15 years, July has proven to be one of the best months of the year in for the broader market and many sectors,” per Seth Basham.
- Oxford Economics on consumer sentiment: “Consumers were more pessimistic in June, as they remain fearful over the inflationary impacts of tariffs. Several downside risks could weigh on confidence in the near term, as many tariff pauses are set to expire during the summer and tensions in the Middle East threaten oil prices. All components of [Oxford’s] index weakened this month. Perceptions of job availability deteriorated further, and the labor-market differential continues to signal an uptick in the unemployment rate this year,” per Grace Zwemmer.
Around the watercooler
Snap exec on the ‘impersonal email’ mistake that transformed his leadership journey
CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams and Jim Edwards.
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