Anyone who works in IT knows this basic fact about cybersecurity: People are the weakest link. As long as there has been cybercrime, scammers have exploited this fact. According to a new study from AI-powered cybersecurity company Abnormal, attackers tried to steal more than $300 million from companies through scam emails impersonating vendors in the last year.
While you may be conducting trainings on email safety and continually testing employees with fake scam emails, the scammers are still successful. By monitoring activity in 1,400 organizations’ email accounts, Abnormal found a 44.2% engagement rate with these fake emails. They were some of the most often replied and forwarded emails throughout company inboxes, with large companies’ employees responding and forwarding them 72% of the time. And the vast majority of these incidents—98.5%—were not reported to the IT department.
It’s a difficult problem to solve. Abnormal found that most of the engagement with scam emails came from more entry-level employees, who are likely unaware of the extent of phishing emails and company processes. Adding a section on phishing email training to onboarding might not have the desired effect, considering new hires could be overwhelmed. Abnormal suggests using an AI-powered platform to scrutinize suspect emails, like ones that come from slightly misspelled domain names, or that ask for more information about past transactions in completely different email threads. But a more holistic approach might be leaning on education, so that people in the company better police their inboxes. If they know what to look for, are told the stakes, have an established reporting process and potentially earn rewards for stopping fraudsters, employees will have a reason to pay attention and care—something every IT department hopes they can find.
AI is transforming everything about the way we do business. If you are ready and have a plan to utilize it, AI can take your business to the next level. If you aren’t ready, your business could be left behind. Boomi CEO Steve Lucas wrote a book about preparing for the change called Digital Impact: The Human Element of AI-Driven Transformation. I talked to him about that transformation, and an excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.
Forbes CIO will be on hiatus next week in honor of the Juneteenth holiday. We will be back in your inboxes on June 26.
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Meta is known for putting a deep stake in the ground around up and coming areas in technology, like the VR metaverse and AI-enabled smart glasses. This week, reports indicated it’s making a big move toward the goal of AI “superintelligence”—a system that outperforms human capabilities. Forbes’ Rashi Shrivastava writes Meta has its eye on a 49% stake in AI evaluation startup Scale AI, reportedly costing it $14.8 billion. In this potential deal, Scale AI’s CEO Alexandr Wang would join Meta as part of a new AI superintelligence lab. The New York Timesreports Meta is also trying to woo other top AI figures to work for its new lab. Reports indicate that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has grown impatient with the company’s progress in AI so far, and this acquisition would help Meta close some of the distance between it and other top AI companies.
Meanwhile, this week the Browser Company released the beta form of Dia, its generative-AI-enabled browser, writes Forbes senior contributor Barry Collins. Dia includes several features that allow generative AI to get to know users, as well as summarize and compare information open in different browser tabs. Its standout feature “remembers” everything you do online: every tab you open, every search you do, the work you’ve been doing online, and even your writing style. Browser Company CEO Josh Miller said in a video introducing Dia that at the end of a week, month or year of browsing, Dia will “know you as well as your closest friends and colleagues.” Collins notes the Browser Company doesn’t provide details about how it would keep this information secure.
In the last month, three top tech companies made acquisitions in the data space worth nearly $9.3 billion, writes Forbes senior contributor Peter Cohan. Analytics company Databricks is spending $1 billion to buy cloud-based open source database company Neon. Salesforce is spending $8 billion to purchase data management provider Informatica. And data cloud service Snowflake is spending $250 million to buy data warehouse provider Crunchy Data. Cohan writes that these acquisitions have one thing in common: Many of the larger companies’ customers are demanding better data platforms and organization in order to more effectively use AI.
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This week was Apple’s WWDC, its anticipated annual conference where the tech behemoth usually announces new software updates. This year, many of Apple’s announcements were about AI, bringing more features through Apple Intelligence, which will come to devices with the iOS 26 update this fall, writes Forbes senior contributor Kate O’Flaherty. (Apple is changing its iOS naming conventions to be the same as the year they are released. Updated devices now run on iOS 18.5.) Some of the major updates include the ability to search and take action on whatever users are viewing across apps—they can ask ChatGPT for more information about what’s onscreen and easily search across Google to find similar products. It can recognize when someone is looking at an event and suggest adding it to their calendar. It can screen text messages from unknown senders, keeping them silenced until users accept them. And it will be able to do live translation, which will be integrated into Messages, FaceTime and the phone itself—but the translations will stay on devices and remain personal.
O’Flaherty writes that another new feature, reported on by MacRumors, will basically serve as a secure digital ID verification. The feature, called Verify with Wallet on the Web, will allow users to verify important ID details—like age when renting a car—without having to upload a photo of their actual ID. It will allow users to store state-issued IDs, driver’s licenses and passports online for identification purposes. The data will be protected by end-to-end encryption, so the underlying data will only be accessible to the user. It will also prohibit the use of fake IDs.
Last but not least, Apple is rolling out a refreshed design. Called Liquid Glass, it updates the traditional look of the iOS experience to look, feel and reflect like glass panels. The appearance of screens, toolbars, icons and functions themselves will become more reactive to touch and motion, and will feature more rounded corners. Apple is extending the Liquid Glass look to all of its platforms with the fall’s operating system update. It’s received mixed reviews so far.
STEVE LUCAS
BITS + BYTES
How To Make Sure AI Is Not An Extinction-Level Event
Integration and data management platform Boomi CEO Steve Lucas realized that the capabilities and possibilities of AI were zooming toward businesses like a meteor—but with deep changes that could translate to a wipeout for businesses that aren’t prepared and cannot embrace it. He wrote his new book, Digital Impact: The Human Element of AI-Driven Transformation, to look at what AI can do and help businesses take full advantage of the possibilities.
I talked to Lucas about what companies need to do to not just survive, but succeed in the AI era. This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and continuity.
How do you recommend a company get all of its data sprawl, apps used by various employees and departments, and legions of APIs under control?
Lucas: The first thing is acknowledging you have a problem. The first thing is recognizing the digital fragmentation—a term I use frequently—exists and it is a real problem.
The second thing is then assessing within your organization: What are the systems, the applications, the data, the business elements that I need to run and operate my business? What are the core things that I must absolutely have on a day-to-day basis?
The third is mapping the processes within your organization, what I characterize as the hidden processes today. So think about this for a minute. How many CEOs could say: ‘I know exactly how our income statement is assembled at this company… all the systems required to pull that data together … the spreadsheets that are sitting out there with the magic translation that my accounting team does.’
Knowledge processes are very different than business processes. A business process is a manufacturing process, and I know every step that goes into the assembly. The knowledge process: Do I understand what elements go into the assembly of the income statement as a product? Most organizations don’t have a good model for what their knowledge processes are, so you’ve got to inventory that.
Once you do that, you have the ability to weigh: Here’s my knowledge processes. Here’s my business processes. What systems and applications do I really need to achieve this?
Ultimately, where we’re going with this is probably 75% to 90% of the knowledge processes that we rely on today, that human beings work on, will go to AI.
How does the transformation to AI impact contracts you already have for SaaS and with other tech vendors?
You can’t rely on your suite anymore—rigid architectures, closed systems. By the way, these vendors know that they’re in deep trouble. Your competitors, the ones that aren’t weighed down with these rigid architectures, are building flexible, agent-driven, highly composable systems.
You have to learn how to extract value from your existing stack, not invest in your existing stack. Companies are not going to win by replacing their core systems. Those are very, very expensive. I go back to a simple example: Hundreds of thousands of companies all over the world rely on antiquated billing systems that are 20, 30 years old. If I want to go in and have my billing system be more intelligent so it’s not sending collection notices to my most important customers, the average company today has to spend tens or hundreds of millions of dollars upgrading their infrastructure just to do that. That doesn’t make any sense at all.
Keeping your existing technology, but making it more composable and more flexible with AI, that’s where this stuff is going.
The last thing I would say is silos are a massive liability. If you’ve worked really hard to create this stack that is siloed in nature, when you hear things like your competitors are moving more quickly, they’re more nimble, it’s because they’ve invested in an integration automation orchestration platform.
What advice would you give to a CIO who is working toward bringing in AI agents and wants to make sure they’re going about it the right way?
Prioritize integration, automation and orchestration. Companies that do, that can build modern composable, AI-driven workflows, will win. Build your digital nervous system early. Invest in a platform layer that lets systems, data and agents communicate. Without that layer, your AI is blind and isolated; you’ll build terrific AI that is totally unable to orchestrate meaningful workflows.
I don’t think we’re in a ‘rip and replace’ world. I think we’re in a ‘wrap’ world, where we can wrap our silos and our systems in intelligence and connectivity. Those systems that you already own, wrapping them in intelligence and connectivity is extraordinarily transformative.
Lastly, create out of the gate your AI or agentic governance strategy before the chaos arrives. I met with a hospital network, and they said, ‘Steve, we all have the technology now to build an amazing AI that could help a doctor look at test results and go, ‘Holy cow, your creatinine level was super high,’ and then it could figure out [potentially related conditions the patient was] here for once upon a time. What we can’t bring together is our digital past. The data for that sits in a hundred different systems, and how do we also operate and access all of those systems in a highly regulated environment where HIPAA still matters? How do we protect your privacy at the same time?’ As compelling as that future is that has arrived, we have to rationalize it with our digital past.
COMINGS + GOINGS
Biopharmaceutical firm Neurocrine Biosciences appointed Lewis Choi as chief information officer, effective June 9. Choi joins the company from Thermo Fisher Scientific where he most recently worked as VP of AI automation & data.
Customer experience software provider Genesys brought on Trevor Schulze as chief information officer. Schulze previously worked at Alteryx, where he was most recently the senior vice president and chief digital and information officer.
E-commerce technology company Radial elevated Shauna Bowen to executive vice president and chief digital transformation officer. Bowen, who previously served as SVP of strategy & transformation, succeeds Jim French, who is retiring.
Leadership is never easy, but it’s especially challenging right now with a volatile business climate and rapidly changing economic projections. Here are five mental concepts from other disciplines that can help you lead through whatever the world throws at you.
Successfully bringing AI to your business probably requires a massive cultural shift, which could be met with resistance. Here are some ways to build an AI-first culture, setting expectations around an AI transition.
Quiz
Last week, Walmart unveiled its generative AI-powered shopping assistant embedded in its app. What is it called?
Finance jobs are changing rapidly with the adoption of AI, but the technology has uncovered significant age and gender gaps in how people look at a company’s financial department. A new study from enterprise finance management platform OneStream found that while two-thirds of current finance professionals use AI at work right now, just 54% of those with at least 10 years of experience say they have enough experience with AI to use it in their work. (Earlier career finance professionals are somewhat more experienced, with 63% saying the same thing.) More than half of all finance professionals see a generational technology divide at work, with 44% saying AI skills are contributing to that gap.
On the younger end of the spectrum, nearly nine out of 10 finance students say they already have enough experience to use AI at work. They also see finance jobs as ones with relatively easy schedules. Nearly four out of five expect to work less than 40 hours a week—while 58% of working professionals say they actually work more than 40 hours. Only 16% associate a finance career with burnout, something that 57% of finance professionals have experienced personally.
Men are using AI and technology more frequently than women across all age groups. Just over seven in 10 male finance professionals say they rely on AI at least somewhat often, while only 61% of women said the same. And nearly a third of female finance workers with less than a decade of experience say automation and AI will be the biggest challenge facing their career over the next decade.
Regardless of how different groups feel about AI and technology, these gaps need to be bridged. Hands-on training on AI tools and more education about the functions they can perform could help make all ages feel more comfortable with them. (Considering the current situation with tariffs changing seemingly on a daily basis, deploying AI tools really might be the only way to make sense of the financial picture.) Giving women more opportunities with AI could also help equalize the way that the tools are seen and used. As for the up-and-coming finance students, they may know something about AI that the rest of the profession doesn’t. When the global economy stabilizes, AI tools may actually make the average finance professional’s week less stressful and eliminate long hours.
More and more companies that are looking for new CFOs want a little something extra: A CFO who can eventually become CEO. I talked to Laura McPhail, cofounder and partner at executive search firm Hedley May about this new trend, and how CFOs can use the opportunity to get themselves positioned for growth. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.
If you like what you read here, you can easily share it online and on your social media pages. This newsletter, and all previous editions of Forbes CFO, can be found on our website here.
Last month, inflation was its most moderate in four years, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The consumer price index rose 2.3% in April, just below consensus expectations of 2.4%. Prices rose 0.2% from March to April on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was the first CPI report after President Donald Trump started enacting tariffs, and some economists expected to see tariff-related inflation reflected in the report. However, it takes some time for newly increased prices to show up in a CPI report; JPMorgan Chase chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli wrote last week that he expects to see tariff-related inflation increase in coming months as tariffs are passed along into consumer prices. Feroli also pointed out that energy prices are going down, as crude oil prices have been at a multi-year low.
Last week was another Federal Reserve meeting, and once again, interest rates held steady at the 4.25% to 4.5% they’ve been at since December. “The risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen,” the committee said in a statement. As tariffs continue to shake the economy, the committee said, “uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further.” Considering the uncertain situation, very few predicted any shift in rates—CME’s Group’s FedWatch tool predicted a 98% chance of a hold, while economists at JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America all forecast no change.
The only person who seemed to think a change should come was President Donald Trump, who once again started attacking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on social media after the meeting. “‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell is a FOOL, who doesn’t have a clue,” Trump posted to his Truth Social platform Thursday morning. He added that speaking to Powell is like “talking to a wall.” Unlike Trump’s social media attacks on Powell earlier this month, these didn’t crash markets because he didn’t threaten to fire Powell, and his U.K. trade deal was announced on the same day.
After weekend negotiations with China, there is a trade deal—or at least elements of a potential deal. A joint statement from the U.S. and China Monday morning says that tariffs are decreasing on both sides—10% for China to the U.S. and 30% for Chinese goods imported into the country—for the next 90 days, allowing for more negotiations between the two countries. This is a significant rollback of the 145% tariff the U.S. imposed on China and the 125% China put on U.S. imports, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was equivalent to a trade embargo. Bessent said both sides agreed that “we have a shared interest” and “neither side wanted a decoupling” of trade. The White House announced Monday evening that the tariff on shipments worth less than $800 coming directly from China—like merchandise from Temu and Shein—was dropping to 54% from a previous 120%.
Stocks soared on Monday due to the reduction and pause on Chinese tariffs. By the time the markets closed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.8%, the S&P 500 saw a 3.3% boost, and the Nasdaq was up 4.4%.
But how long will the rally last? While the agreement with China is significant, it’s not permanent and subject to further negotiations—meaning things are still uncertain, especially for businesses that deal with imports from China. Consumer prices also may rise based on the former sky-high tariffs since they were in full effect for a month. And deals will only go so far. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that the 10% baseline tariff on all imports will stay in effect no matter what.
Several companies have already lowered their outlooks or estimated steep losses in profit because of tariffs—including Toyota, which said it lost an estimated $1.25 billion in profits in March and April alone. A new report from Democratic members of Congress said that the tariffs represent a nail in the coffin for small businesses: Costs are rising, hiring is slowing and firms are already laying off workers, writes Forbes’ Brandon Kochkodin. Several small business owners told Kochkodin that their businesses have been damaged irreversibly because of tariffs, and a group of business owners have sued the Trump Administration with the nonprofit legal group New Civil Liberties Alliance, saying that the tariffs are illegal.
HUMAN CAPITAL
Job cuts continue across industries, with Nissan sharing plans on Monday to cut more than 10,000 more workers, adding up to 20,000 job cuts announced since November. The automaker saw its profits drop precipitously in the last year—its previous fiscal year profit was 69.8 billion yen ($472 million)—a decline of 88%. Nissan had been in merger talks with Honda last year, but both sides called off the deal in February.
Nissan isn’t the only automaker that has seen large layoffs. General Motors, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have also announced layoffs for cost-cutting amid economic uncertainty, writes Forbes senior contributor Jack Kelly. UPS said last month it was cutting 20,000 jobs, and many layoffs in the federal government—including a planned 1,500 National Park Service staffers in the run-up to summer—are adding to the year’s job cut tally. But while job cuts may be seen as a quick way for a company to free up cash, Forbes senior contributor Caroline Castrillon writes that corporate leaders often overlook some of the costs of layoffs—including severance payments, unemployment insurance tax increases and damage to employee morale and company reputation.
OFF THE LEDGER
Hedley May cofounder and Partner Laura McPhail. Hedley May, Getty
Why Companies Are Looking For CFOs Who Will Become CEOs
In the last two years, Laura McPhail, partner and cofounder at executive search firm Hedley May, has seen a new trend in CFO searches: Companies are looking for CFOs who can eventually become CEO. I talked to her about what she’s seeing and why companies are using recruiting for succession planning. This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and continuity.
What are you being asked to look for in a CFO who would be an eventual CEO?
McPhail:There has been a move away from heavy regulatory compliance accounting, traditional Treasury backgrounds in the CFO role, and more focus on big data because big data is used for productivity and business optimization. It’s more of a focus on candidates who have range, who understand the data, who understand how to work with the analytics and how to show productivity with those numbers.
Is there a reason for a CFO candidate to be leery of working for a company that is looking for its next CEO?
I see it in a more positive light in that companies don’t want to look at resumes of candidates that jump around too much. And at the same time, candidates don’t want to move so much. It’s a lot to move career to career. I think on both sides, they’re looking for longevity.
If you want a career trajectory to CEO, it’s really great if you find a company that is of the same mind, which is why it’s important to be transparent.
What does this say for the power, viability and future of the CFO to CEO pipeline?
It’s stronger for candidates who have range and who don’t just stay in their own lanes. The more CEOs we talk to, the more it’s about using a CFO as a more strategic partner. That means helping the CEO, getting key messages to business leaders—and sometimes that means the CFO is not delivering the kindest messages all the time. It’s how do you find a person who can deliver key messages, positive or not, and still maintain a wonderfully positive working environment and a collegial culture.
For somebody that would eventually like to be considered for this type of a stepping stone CFO job, what should they be doing to get their resume ready? What responsibilities should they take on to show that they can do it?
What that person could be doing is range. Try to think about being a CFO that is more commercially-focused. Where else can you step aside from your role and demonstrate that you have a real ability to work with the business? That may be taking an overseas assignment. That may be running a function that isn’t part of your initial remit. Or going to a company and understanding how to [show] you understand the numbers, but you understand [them] from a strategic and a cultural perspective.
Nobody wants a CFO who doesn’t appreciate life beyond the metrics. It’s how can we use this function to advance the culture?
Comings + Goings
Data storage firm Western Digital selected Kris Sennesael as its chief financial officer, effective May 12. Sennesael was most recently CFO for Skyworks Solutions, and has also held the same role at Enphase Energy and Standard Microsystems.
Legacy toy maker Mattel appointed Paul Ruh as its new chief financial officer, effective May 19. Ruh joins the company from Kenvue, and will succeed current CFO Anthony DiSilvestro, who is retiring.
Outdoor goods retailer REI Co-op announced Shannon Damen will become its chief financial officer, effective June 16. Damen was previously global head of real estate at Gap, Inc, and she will succeed Kelley Hall, who is retiring.
Looking for revenue growth? Sometimes, an outside opinion can stoke new ideas. Here are five prompts to put into ChatGPT to help you see new ways to improve your strategy, pricing and value.
There are many management strategies, but one of the most effective revolves around creating value for others. Businesses that embody this model tend to grow faster, work better with employees and others, and serve as better corporate community members.
QUIZ
Which industry saw the most Q1 dealmaking this year since 2023?