Why Skills-First Leadership Is Replacing the Ivy League Playbook in the C-Suite
05/23/2025
No Comments
The old prestige pyramid—where Ivy League degrees and blue-chip consulting backgrounds paved the way to the CEO seat—is cracking.
August 9, 2023: Austin is the next official market for Waymo’s ride-hail service, an announcement on Wednesday stated.
Austin is the fourth major city to allow Waymo’s ride-hailing pilot program, behind Metro Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The program’s “initial phase of operations” will begin in the fall, per the announcement. Still, Waymo will wait to offer rides to the public until a few months later “with fully autonomous deployment.” The company had manipulated early tests in Austin since at least March of this year.
According to a blog post, Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing service will be available night and day in downtown Austin, Barton Hills, East Austin, Hyde Park, Riverside, and more. The company cited reports of Austin’s fast-growing economy as influential in its decision to expand its services to the city and its dense population, with nearly 2.5 million people in the metro area.
The company has raised at least $5.5 billion in funding since Alphabet set up Waymo as its entity in 2016. Waymo earmarked its latest round, which totaled $2.5 billion from investors, including Alphabet and Andreessen Horowitz, in 2021 for advancing its technology and expanding its team.
In recent years, Waymo and competitors in the self-driving space have waged an uphill battle for adoption amid consumer safety concerns, red tape in cities, and the need for more human safety drivers.
Nearly three years after the departure of Waymo One, Waymo’s fully driverless service, it remains one of only two such services with commercial operations in the U.S. Part of the challenge is due to robotaxi companies’ struggles to land in cities with not only favorable local leadership and regulatory circumstances but also the perfect mix of characteristics, such as road infrastructure, climate, and population.
Waymo announced in late July it would “push back the timeline” on its autonomous semi-truck development and instead focus on independent ride-hailing services. An undisclosed number of layoffs were part of the decision to pause trucking efforts.
The old prestige pyramid—where Ivy League degrees and blue-chip consulting backgrounds paved the way to the CEO seat—is cracking.
Loud leaders once ruled the boardroom. Charisma was currency. Big talk drove big valuations.
But the CEOs who make history in downturns aren’t the ones with the deepest cuts
Companies invest millions in leadership development, yet many of their best executives leave within a few years. Why?
The most successful business leaders don’t just identify gaps in the market; they anticipate future needs before anyone else.
With technological advancements, shifting consumer expectations, and global interconnectedness, the role of business leaders
Following a distinguished Law Enforcement career Joe McGee founded The Securitatem Group to provide contemporary global operational specialist security and specialist security training products and services for private clients, corporate organisations, and Government bodies. They deliver a wide range of services, including complete end-to-end protection packages, close protection, residential security, protection drivers, and online and physical installations. They provide covert and overt investigations and specialist surveillance services with a Broad range of weapons and tactical-based training, including conflict management, risk and threat management, tactical training, tactical medicine, and command and control training.
Jay Wright, CEO and Co-Owner of Virgin Wines infectious energy, enthusiasm, passion and drive has been instrumental in creating an environment that encourages talent to thrive and a culture that puts the customer at the very heart of every decision-making process.
Fabio de Concilio is the visionary CEO & Chairman of the Board at Farmacosmo, a leading organization dedicated to mental health and community support services. With a deep commitment to identifying and meeting customer needs, Fabio ensures that high standards are maintained across the board.
Character Determines Destiny – so said Aristotle. And David CM Carter believes that more than anything else. For David, it has been numerous years of research into codifying Entelechy Academy’s 54 character qualities that underpin everything he stands for as a leader and teacher.
Leave us a message
Subscribe
Fill the form our team will contact you
Advertise with us
Fill the form our team will contact you
