This Week's Top Five Leadership Stories

Google CEO Sundar Pichai Acknowledges Growing AI Concerns

Despite the growing backlash against AI – most notably following the booing of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt by University of Arizona students after the executive praised AI’s potential – current Google CEO Sundar Pichai says young people are right to feel anxious about the growing technology.

Speaking on the “Hard Fork” podcast, Sundar was asked about his “boo strategy” during his upcoming address at Stanford University in June. 

“These graduates are actually both going to be a big part of that driving that progress and also dealing with the impact of that technology,” Sundar said. He added, “I've always been extraordinarily optimistic about the next generation.”

Sundar added that public anxiety around AI is “rightfully” growing and that young people are entering a rapidly changing workforce shaped by automation and emerging AI systems. 

He also emphasised that the next generation would experience AI’s impact and also play a part in how the technology develops.

Dropbox's CEO is Stepping Down after 19 Years

Dropbox Co-Founder Drew Houston is stepping down from the company’s CEO position after 19 years.

This week, he told staffers that he will be transitioning to an executive chairman role following an initial period sharing the co-CEO title with Ashraf Alkarmi, who is being promoted from product chief to the CEO position. 

Drew has been instrumental in positioning Dropbox as a pioneer in the cloud storage market and has helped the company compete with large industry rivals like Google and Apple. 

Under Drew’s leadership, the company has become an industry leader in cloud storage that has brought in more than US$1bn in yearly revenue, every year since 2018.

Drew helped create the brand due to what he describes as a “personal frustration” with misplacing USB sticks during his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Drew says “I think my 18-year-old self would be high-fiving me," adding that Dropbox is “something that a percentage of the planet still uses”.

Micron Technology CEO Achieves Billionaire Status

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has become one of the most influential Indian-born leaders in the technology industry.

Following a 194% stock climb this year and an increase of 863% over the past 12 months following rapid demand for AI and memory chips, Sanjay has helped spearhead the company to a market valuation of more than US$1tn.

In part with these record highs, he is now worth an estimated US$1.2bn.

Sanjay has served as President and CEO of the company since 2017, joining the company after serving as Co-Founder, President and CEO of SanDisk – the flash memory firm Western Digital acquired in 2016 for around U$16bn.

As Micron expands alongside the broader AI boom, Sanjay’s rise has placed him among prominent Indian technology leaders heading major American companies.

Kao Data Appoints New CEO

Kao Data, the specialist developer and operator of data centres for AI and advanced computing, has announced the appointment of Spencer Lamb as its latest CEO as part of a company-wide leadership strategy to push the firm towards its next phase of growth.

With more than 20 years' experience within the international data centre industry – and having joined Kao Data in January 2020 – Spencer steps up from his previous role as Managing Director and CCO and will assume the CEO position alongside Founder and Executive Chair, David Bloom, leading one of the UK's largest developers and operators of AI-ready infrastructure.

Discussing his appointment, Spencer says: “I have loved my time at Kao Data, and I am excited to step up and lead the company as its CEO. 

“One of the biggest strengths of Kao Data is our 'player-manager' mentality, recruiting from within to develop and grow our people, which is exactly what this role calls for. 

“I am looking forward to ensuring Kao Data continues to play a strong and defining role in the UK's AI infrastructure story, and that we keep delivering for our customers, our people and the communities we operate in.”

His appointment as CEO is effective immediately, succeeding previous lead executive Doug Loewe, who stepped down in July 2025 after nearly two years in the role.

Ferrari CEO Defends EV Model Amid Industry Backlash

Following backlash over the price announcement of Ferrari's first EV car, CEO Benedetto Vigna has defended the vehicle’s €550,000 (US$640,000) price tag, adding that the model has already seen strong consumer interest.

The company’s Luce model was announced earlier this week and drew negative market reaction, resulting in a fall in Ferrari’s share price the following day.

Responding to the criticism, Benedetto says the cost of the new model was a fair pay price considering its innovative design.

He adds that media coverage was framing the announcement as a company move to replace all traditional engines with all-electric equivalents, which he stresses is not the case.

“You have to see Luce to understand that it has nothing to do with Chinese EVs or those by other brands,” Benedetto said in an interview to Reuters.