C-Suite Perspectives

AI agents can access records, initiate actions, and make decisions across multiple systems—but humans need to remain accountable for the consequences. As organizations give agents greater autonomy, leaders need clear boundaries, human oversight, and governance proportionate to the risks involved.
In this episode of C-Suite Perspectives, Steve Odland, President and CEO of The Conference Board, is joined by Allan Schweyer, Principal Researcher in the Human Capital Center at The Conference Board. They discuss what distinguishes autonomous agents from simpler AI tools and what companies must put in place before deploying them at scale.
Together, they discuss how to choose the right workflows for agentic AI and determine which tasks belong with people or agents, why the cost of governance must be included in the business case, and how organizational values should determine what agents are permitted to do. They also consider the importance of transparency, employee involvement, and protecting entry-level pathways as AI assumes more routine work.
More from The Conference Board:
·         A Framework for Agentic AI and Work Redesign
·         AI and the Workforce: Governing Risk, Opportunity, and Access
·         From Principles to Practice: Governing AI in the Corporation
·         Tokens and Talent: How AI Access Decisions Can Imperil Workforce Development

Europe's workers may be more prepared for AI-driven change than their employers. While 78% say their organization helped them adapt to recent major change, only 54% are confident it can effectively manage future change—a 24-percentage point gap showing that individual adaptability does not necessarily translate into organizational readiness. 

In this episode of C-Suite Perspectives, Sara Murray, Managing Director, International at The Conference Board, speaks with Robin Maillard, Researcher in the Human Capital Center Europe at The Conference Board and author of The Reimagined Workplace 2026: Europe. They examine findings from the first European edition of the study, based on surveys of 475 workers across France, Germany, Italy, and the UK; and 83 senior human capital executives. 

Together, they discuss why AI adoption is moving faster than organizational training and support; how direct managers can turn enterprise strategy into credible everyday change; and why hiring constraints make upskilling, internal mobility, and work redesign essential. They also explore the risk of a two-speed AI workforce and why meaningful choice over workplace attendance appears to matter more than the number of days employees work remotely. 

More from The Conference Board: 

The Reimagined Workplace 2026: Europe 


Reimagined Workplace Hub 


Leadership Disrupted: Preparing for an AI-Enabled Workplace 


Europe's AI Productivity Paradox: Rising Uptake, Shallow Diffusion

Consumer confidence rebounded in October, while CEO confidence moved back into negative territory in the fourth quarter. What do these contrasting readings reveal about the US economic outlook? 
 
In this episode of C-Suite Perspectives, The Conference Board's Senior Economist Alex Heil speaks with Associate Economist Allen Li about what consumers and business leaders are seeing beneath the confidence headlines. They discuss persistent concerns about prices and the job market; why consumers are continuing to spend while economizing; the outlook for hiring, wages, and capital investment; and how AI investment, cybersecurity, geopolitical uncertainty, and energy prices are shaping business decision-making. 
 
Their central takeaway: the economy continues to show resilience, but leaders should look beyond the headline measures to understand the more nuanced risks and opportunities ahead. 
 
For more from The Conference Board: 
US Consumer Confidence 
Forecast for the US Economy 
Global Economic Outlook

Americans are living longer, transforming retirement security from a question of how much people can save into a more complicated challenge: how to turn those savings into dependable income that will last for the rest of their lives. Even successful savers can find themselves reluctant to spend, uncertain whether their assets must support 10 years of retirement—or 40.
In this episode of C-Suite Perspectives, Steve Odland, President and CEO of The Conference Board, is joined by Phil Waldeck, Head of US Businesses at Prudential Financial, to examine how longevity, economic uncertainty, and the decline of traditional pensions are reshaping retirement planning.
Together, they discuss why workers need to think beyond account balances and develop retirement-income strategies, how automatic enrollment and contribution escalation can improve outcomes, and why employers remain one of the most trusted and effective channels for supporting financial security. They also explore the fear of running out of money during retirement; the growing need for accessible financial advice; the potential for AI to complement human guidance; and what longer lives mean for individuals, employers, and the US economy.
More from The Conference Board:
·         How the National Debt Affects All Generations of Americans
·         Alternative Investments in Retirement Plans
·         Explainer: Social Security
·         Responding to US Labor Shortages

Focusing on what's certain can help business leaders make timely decisions. But beneath this ambiguity are five certainties that offer a basis for action: China's rise, the fracturing global economy, protectionism and tariffs, technological transformation, and the end of Pax Americana.
In this episode of C-Suite Perspectives, Steve Odland, President and CEO of The Conference Board, speaks with Dr. Lori Esposito Murray, global affairs consultant and former President of the Committee for Economic Development—now the CEO Center—about her article The New World Order: Five Certainties Amid Uncertainty, featured in the Foreign Policy Association's book Navigating an Age of Uncertainty.
Together, they examine how China is challenging Western economic and geopolitical leadership, why sanctions and competing payment systems are accelerating global fragmentation, and why tariffs are likely to remain a prominent policy tool beyond the next election. They also discuss the shift toward regional military powers as Pax Americana ends, the risks of declining transparency and international cooperation, and why business and government leaders must work together to shape global rules and standards for emerging technologies.
More from The Conference Board:
·       How the National Debt Affects All Generations of Americans
·       AI Policy and Regulation in the US: What Companies Need to Know
·       Charting Pathways for US-China Economic Cooperation Amid Strategic Competition
·       Tariff Tracker