Is AI forcing CEOs to exit? Coca-Cola, Walmart chiefs cite reasons behind their decisions to quit
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File photo of Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey and former Walmart CEO Doug McMillon. Photograph: (Wikimedia Commons/ Flickr)
Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey and former Walmart CEO Doug McMillon shared that the fast pace of AI advancement played a key role in their decisions to step down. They emphasised the need for a new generation of leadership better equipped to navigate this technological shift.
Amid the rising trend and use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the industry, experts have consistently cautioned about the risk of entry-level jobs that could lose employment opportunities. Along with entry-level employees, it now appears that even top executives at multinational corporations are not immune to these changes.
In an interview with CNBC, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey and former Walmart CEO Doug McMillon shared that the fast pace of AI advancement played a key role in their decisions to step down. They emphasised the need for a new generation of leadership better equipped to navigate this technological shift. Quincey, who has led the beverage company since 2017, is set to be replaced by current COO Henrique Braun at the end of this month.
“My job is also to think who's the best team to put on the field to get the next wave done,” Quincey said during the interview and added, “And I concluded that, actually, it was time to put someone else on the field for the next wave of growth.”
Quincey further said that his company has made a lot of progress under him in a pre-AI and a pre-gen-AI mode, but currently, there is a 'new shift' potentially needing different leadership. He noted that Coca-Cola requires someone with the "energy to make a new transformation of the enterprise".
AI revolution
Meanwhile, McMillon, who retired in January this year has said in a previous interview that his decision to resign from the post was due to his being unable to see through the AI revolution. “With what's happening with AI, I could start this next big set of transformations with AI, but I couldn't finish,” said McMillon, and added, "About a year ago, I really started feeling like this next run, you could see what agentic commerce was going to look like, the vision for AI shopping."
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"I started thinking about everything that needs to happen over the next few years, and it really caused me to think that now was the right time to step down," McMillon further said.
While top CEOs are preparing for the rise of AI, the outlook for entry-level workers appears increasingly uncertain. Last year, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei cautioned that AI could eliminate up to half of entry-level white-collar jobs within the next five years. He noted that roles involving repetitive yet adaptable tasks, such as those in law firms, consulting, administration, and finance, are especially vulnerable, as companies may turn to AI to reduce costs.
"Specifically, if we look at jobs like entry-level white, you know, I think of people who work at law firms, like first-year associates, there's a lot of document review. It's very repetitive, but every example is different. That's something that AI is quite good at," Amodei said. "I think, to be honest, a large fraction of them would like to be able to use it to cut costs to employ fewer people," he added.
