There are some predictable paths to the CEO’s office, with many climbing the ladder through stints as CFO or COO—jobs that are about both strategy and action. Ann Fairchild, the new CEO of Siemens USA, took a different route. She’s been a part of Siemens’ legal and compliance team for 27 years, serving as general counsel for the last eight. And even though general counsel is often at the top executive level, with a wealth of strategic company and industry knowledge, they are often overlooked for the CEO’s job.

In one of Fairchild’s first interviews since taking the helm of Siemens’ largest business region, I talked to her about her path to the corner office and plans for the company. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.

Until next time.

This is the published version of Forbes’ CEO newsletter, which offers the latest news for today’s and tomorrow’s business leaders and decision makers. Click here to get it delivered to your inbox every week.ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Fresh data last week showed how high prices driven by the ongoing war in Iran are hurting Americans. Social feeds blew up when President Donald Trump said he doesn’t think about Americans’ financial situations “even a little bit,” but the ongoing conflict—which has led to shortages worldwide of oil, helium, sulfur, tungsten and fertilizer, to name a few—is weighing heavily on consumers.

Inflation hit 3.8% in April, approaching a three-year high, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The largest increase was unsurprisingly for energy costs, which rose 17.9% in the last 12 months. The spike in gas prices—nearly $4.52 a gallon on average today, according to AAA—essentially is a hidden pay cut for those who must drive to work, writes Forbes senior contributor Bryan Robinson. And it’s unlikely with this degree of inflation that workers will get ahead, even with raises, writes Forbes senior contributor Bill Conerly. Inflation rates are creeping above average wage increases, and could stay there until the situation in Iran is resolved. But it’s not just gas prices: A typical bag of groceries costs more than 50% more today than in 2020, Forbes’ Ty Roush writes.

But in the realm of big business, the last week has been bountiful. On Thursday, the S&P 500 hit 7,500 for the first time, boosted by AI optimism. And Nvidia—already the world’s most valuable company—hit an all-time record market cap of $5.5 trillion. It’s unclear when Wall Street’s finances will meet those of Main Street, though stocks finished the week down as traders digested Friday’s inflation report.

CEO STRATEGY

Businesses often replace their CEO in difficult times, but new leadership doesn’t necessarily fix everything. A new study from PwC quantified how much a CEO change helped companies. The conclusion: It often helps some, but how much depends on the industry. Altogether, for CEOs hired at underperforming companies between 2016 and 2025, new CEOs were able to close the gap from roughly 12% behind the S&P average, to about 5% behind, in their first two years.

Different industries saw vastly different performance. New CEOs in consumer markets, utilities and energy were able to create growth of more than 8% above the S&P in their first two years, the study found. But new CEOs at telecom, tech and media companies—which were initially seeing an average loss of 9.9% below the S&P—saw that loss more than double in their first two years to 25.1%. Finance CEOs also saw losses deepen more quickly, from 1.8% below the S&P average to 17.4% down in two years.

TOMORROW’S TRENDSSiemens USA’s CEO Brings Legal Expertise To Company Growth

Siemens USA CEO and President Ann Fairchild.

Siemens

In March, Ann Fairchild, a 27-year veteran of international industrial, infrastructure and tech powerhouse Siemens, was named permanent president and CEO of Siemens USA, a position she’d held on an interim basis since October. Earlier this month, Siemens announced it reached a goal of $1 billion in new U.S. manufacturing investments in five years—something Fairchild wants to expand on in the future.

I talked to Fairchild about her path to the CEO’s office and Siemens’ U.S. plans. This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and continuity,

What made you interested in going from general counsel to CEO, and what perspective does it give you in the role?

Fairchild: For me, it was a role that I had worked adjacent to in different parts of the company for many years. When you’re the general counsel, you really are that right hand, that close business partner, trusted advisor. It was always interesting to spar with my CEO counterparts in various roles and to think about things: how we could do things differently, how we could grow the business.

I’ve always had, even in the legal role, a view of enabling business and growth. The legal department’s not the department of no. It is the department that enables growth, enables our operations. Sitting close to the CEO, it was always interesting for me to think about how we would navigate the many challenges and changes that were coming our way as Siemens was constantly evolving and innovating faster to meet the needs of our customers.

It was really from that vantage point that I had the interest to raise my hand when the opportunity came. To say, ‘Look, I’d love a hand at this. It’s not just about the governance part, which I know very well, but tapping into my strengths as a leader and someone who knows this company and history very well. To help build bridges and bring the company forward in a new chapter.’

In the role of general counsel, I’ve always found calm and steady leadership was a huge asset. In the legal world, there were always unique challenges that could be concerning for people to navigate. The calm and decisive voice from the role of legal translates quite beautifully into the role that a CEO would have in times of so much disruption, change, innovation. We need stable, steady, calm leadership.

[My perspective also comes from] the types of issues that I navigated over my tenure: enterprise risk management, mergers and acquisitions, integrations, sell off liabilities, but also huge opportunities. In the last five to 10 years, there’s so much change in the way we go to market: new business models, new ways of engaging with our customers to solve their needs. Strong legal and compliance professionals should be right by their business partner’s side to help navigate and guide that. Being able to translate that experience from an enterprise risk management and opportunity perspective into the CEO role has been quite useful for me.

Why is it important for Siemens to be investing in manufacturing in the United States?

Right now, the United States is the largest market for Siemens, and has been for many years. We believe the greatest growth potential globally for Siemens also sits here in the United States. We’ve long made it a priority to localize in the U.S. We have 50,000 employees across the United States, 25 manufacturing sites—and more to come—and about 16,000 suppliers.

We’ve committed to train over 200,000 manufacturing experts and electricians in the U.S. by 2030. That’s a nod towards the greater ecosystem that we’re a part of; obviously a much greater workforce than our own, but we view it as an obligation as employers, as part of an ecosystem with governments, labor, trades and academia, to really address the skills gap right now.

For us to invest more in the United States enables us to create more jobs, but also to give back to the communities in which we live and operate to help develop a much broader workforce, to help elevate the entire U.S. workforce for the demand we see increasing.

Also, the obvious answer is being close to our customers. If we manufacture here, we can deliver faster here. As we see the innovation cycle accelerating so fast here, and we see more onshoring of U.S. manufacturing, there’s a lot of opportunities—particularly around our electrification portfolio. AI data center build out has enormous growth potential as well. It’s an exciting time to be here.

What advice would you give to other CEOs?

This growth mindset is one of our core values, but I believe that is a topic everyone should embrace, and find in their own career development opportunities to take on stretch assignments, step outside their comfort zone and to not be afraid. Everyone has a first day and a first time in a role. Don’t wait for that perfect moment where you feel like you hit 100% or 80% or 60% of the job qualifications to go for something.Find that ‘challenge network,’ who won’t just be the echo chamber, but will be those that question you in a constructive way. It could be peers, colleagues, friends, bosses, mentors, mentees. Build that up so that you can overcome the doubt and be more confident as you’re taking on new challenges.COMINGS + GOINGSChemical distributor Univar Solutions appointed Christopher Kelley as chief executive officer of its subsidiary ChemPoint, effective June 1. Kelley most recently worked as president for HD Supply’s specialty distribution business USABlueBook.Network infrastructure services provider Circet tapped Bill Hogg as its chief executive officer of Circet USA, effective May 11. Hogg most recently worked as founder and chief executive officer of Gigapower LLC, and he succeeded Trevor Putrah, who will co-chair the board of Circet’s U.S. holding company.Frozen food manufacturer Ajinomoto Foods North America promoted Dave Gardner to its president and chief executive officer role, effective April 1. Gardner most recently worked as the company’s chief supply chain officer, and he succeeded Hiroshi Kaho, who moved to a role with the parent company.FACTS + COMMENTS

As the business sphere grows, many companies are still family affairs. Last week, Forbes published a new ranking of the top 100 family businesses in the U.S.

25%: Proportion of U.S. companies that met Forbes’ definition for family businesses

$713 billion: Annual revenue of Walmart, of which the founding Walton family has a 44% stake

‘Grounded in endurance, stewardship, resilience and trust’: What chairman and co-CEO of merchant bank BDT & MSD Byron Trott wrote about family businesses success models

STRATEGIES + ADVICE

It’s vital that CEOs understand how their company is creating value for customers, shareholders, employees and the larger world. Here are some ways to figure that out using examples from the classic fairy tale Cinderella.

The business world will likely never be without people who are dishonest and lack integrity, but ethics and moral integrity are still important. In today’s business climate, credible leaders tend to be honest—even if they don’t know the answers—transparent, honest and grounded in values.

QUIZ

Last week, the Florida attorney general issued a subpoena to a business, saying that its longstanding practice of interviewing diverse candidates “raises significant concerns,” and accuses the business of a “history of open discrimination.” Which business is it?

A. Walt Disney World

B. Publix Super Markets

C. NFL

D. Royal Caribbean Group

See if you got the answer right here.