Observer

#Leadership transitions are pivotal moments in any executive’s career. The early days in a new role are fraught with complexity, expectation and risk. The choices made in the first 90 days can set the stage for long-term success—or create the conditions for a quick departure. Nowhere is this more evident than in the recent leadership change at Starbucks, where Laxman Narasimhan’s short-lived tenure was swiftly followed by Brian Niccol’s decisive entrance. This contrast offers a compelling case study of what new leaders must get right from the start. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gXRvHGZf By Michael Watkins

Executive orders, unexplained purges and political vendettas are gutting U.S. cyber readiness—just as the threats from China, Russia and rogue hackers reach a boiling point. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eveKUeWw

In a stark reversal from Biden-era policy, the Trump administration has scrapped regulatory guardrails in favor of unleashing market-driven #AI development. With venture capitalist David O. Sacks advising from both sides of the velvet rope, and Vice President J.D. Vance refusing to play ball with global A.I. governance, the U.S. is making a high-risk, high-reward bet on innovation, defense and deregulation. The question isn’t whether the approach will accelerate growth—it’s whether anyone will be watching the road. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eiz89KVn By Mark Minevich

Picture this: A dedicated collector, after decades of building a distinguished #art collection, passes away, leaving behind an extraordinary group of artworks with no clear instructions. The family is left navigating a complex set of decisions: which works to keep, whether to sell (and if so, where and how) or to donate (and if so, to whom)? Without a plan or an idea of the collector’s intentions and hopes, the art collection—carefully curated over a lifetime—risks being fragmented, undervalued or even sold under financial duress. Read more: https://lnkd.in/effxsJ4Q By Megan Fox Kelly

The 2025 edition of the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) fair will return to New York on May 7, welcoming more than 100 exhibitors, with fifty-four first-time participants, including Eugster from Belgrade, Gallery Common from Tokyo, CONSTITUCIÓN from Buenos Aires, Dohing Art from Seoul, Galerie Noah Klink from Berlin and DARLA from New York. Ahead of this year’s fair, Observer caught up with executive director Heather Hubbs to discuss NADA’s evolution from a small New York gallery association into an international coalition and multi-edition fair. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eUcu83KA By Elisa Carollo

What weighs 80 pounds, relies on a daily diet of beef, deer and horse meat, and displays a distinctly snowy fur coat? The answer, according to the Texas-based Colossal Biosciences, is a six-month-old dire wolf, a canine species that has been extinct for more than 12,000 years. But scientists have a different name for the three wolf pups that Colossal has managed to breed after genetically engineering ancient dire wolf DNA into genomes of grey wolves, their closest living relatives. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ebNw6aFx

There’s a shift happening in the world of luxury. Forget the Picasso. Today’s elite are building bespoke game tables that cost more than a penthouse—and signal far more than taste. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gXSuYJtZ By Bernard Semerdjian and Michael Zaretsky, 11 Ravens

In today's fractured #media ecosystem, if content truly still is king, creators and studios must deliver it across all available distribution pathways—films/TV, video games, books/comics, etc. This requires brands to methodically develop interconnected strategies that keep them competitive on all fronts. This approach helped Marvel Entertainment transform the MCU into Hollywood’s most dominant franchise—and could potentially help it recover from its current rut. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e7JpAXH6 By Brandon Katz

Despite a punitive tax system and global headwinds, SP-Arte, #Brazil’s leading art fair, managed to solidify itself as the premier platform to showcase and discover the Brazilian #art scene. The roster of artists presented at the fair was largely Brazilian, and the early sales results are a testament to a healthy market supporting its own scene. “I can bet that the art market in Brazil is much better than if we look at the art market internationally,” fair founder Fernanda Feitosa told Observer in a recent interview. “Our artists are outstanding, and the collectors are very active. And global art market attention is now back on Brazil.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eugYVBb4 By Elisa Carollo

#Microsoft turns 50 today. The tech giant founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen half a century ago is the world’s second largest company by market cap (behind #Apple) today. Over the decades, Microsoft weathered major industry upheavals—from the bursting of the dot-com bubble to the 2008-2009 financial crisis to the decline of PC dominance in the mobile era. Each time, it rebounded, reinventing itself through cloud computing, enterprise software and #AI leadership. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e8ZuvK9x By Olivia Peluso