“Choiceful” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but chief executives love it.
It’s how Walmart CEO Doug McMillon described the average consumer, who is trying to cut back on spending but is still willing to splurge on what’s worth it.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski used the word to characterize the company’s strategy for price increases.
The adjective popped up again during Starbucks’ investor update when CEO Laxman Narasimhan outlined the coffee giant’s strategy for general and administrative expenses.
So far in 2023, choiceful has appeared in 15 quarterly earnings calls for S&P 500 companies, according to a CNBC analysis of FactSet transcripts. That’s nearly double the usage last year when it totaled nine mentions. In 2021, only the CEOs of Molson Coors and McCormick said “choiceful” when speaking to investors on their quarterly conference calls.
Chief executives have found it a useful adjective this year, whether it’s to describe today’s unusual economy or to reassure investors that they can steer their businesses through anything.
“Choiceful” can’t be found in Merriam-Webster Dictionary or on dictionary.com. But the Oxford English Dictionary notes the earliest known use of the word in the late 1500s. The adjective typically appears .002 times per million words in modern written English, making it one of a group of words “which are not part of normal discourse and would be unknown to most people,” according to the OED.
These days, CEOs have used it to describe a consumer whose behavior has changed over the last two years. Inflation has put pressure on their wallets, leading them to pull back on spending in some areas but not others.
Some companies have found themselves scrambling to explain why consumers aren’t buying their products or why inventory was piling up at retailers. Others, such as Ralph Lauren, have been beneficiaries of shoppers’ choosiness.
“I think that’s what consumers are looking for right now as they are more choiceful,” Ralph Lauren CEO Patrice Louvet told investors on the retailer’s Nov. 8 conference call. “They want to invest in pieces that are timeless, that they can wear beyond one specific season.”
The change in shopping habits has put pressure on some companies’ top and bottom lines, leading executives to emphasize the thoughtfulness of their strategies. That’s where “choiceful” comes in handy again.
Take Molson Coors’ portrayal of its restrained, targeted approach to nonalcoholic drinks. In recent years, the beer giant has begun shifting away from ales and lagers in favor of faster-growing categories, such as energy drinks.
“We’re going to be choiceful about where we play, and we have two priority spaces,” CEO Gavin Hattersley said at the company’s investor update on Oct. 4.
Or there’s McDonald’s explaining its approach to hiking menu prices. Restaurants, like many other industries, have seen diners push back against higher prices by visiting less frequently or opting for cheaper orders.
“I think, certainly given the inflation that we’ve experienced over the last year — really more than a year — we’ve tried to be very choiceful and disciplined on how we have executed those price increases,” McDonald’s Kempczinski told analysts in late October.
Consumers are still feeling the sting of higher prices at McDonald’s and elsewhere. They’re racking up record credit card debt, even as inflation cools.
As 2023 comes to a close, economists are split on whether next year will bring a recession, which could mean even more dramatic challenges for CEOs to tackle.
Maybe they’ll even need to find a new favorite word.
Ron Klain, President Biden’s former chief of staff, will join Airbnb next year as its chief legal officer, the company announced Monday.
“Ron is both a big-picture strategic thinker and a highly skilled operator, and I’m thrilled he’ll be a close advisor,” said Airbnb co-founder and CEO, Brian Chesky in a statement. “People have described Ron as one of the smartest people they’ve ever met, but more than his intelligence, he’s known for his excellent judgment and his big heart. Ron is the perfect addition to our team.”
Klain, 62, served as Biden’s top adviser from the beginning of his presidency in 2021 through late January. Klain played a key role in the White House’s negotiations over the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
He previously served as Biden’s chief counsel when Biden was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and earlier served as Biden’s chief of staff when he became vice president during the Obama administration.
In April, it was announced he would rejoin the global law firm O’Melveny & Meyers as a partner. Klain was previously a partner at the firm from 1999-2004.
Airbnb pointed to Klain’s experience in the private legal sector, where he “represented numerous technology and marketplace businesses in complex litigation.”
“I was proud to rejoin O’Melveny & Myers earlier this year and work with outstanding colleagues and clients, and I had planned to finish my career there, but the opportunity to work for Brian [Chesky] and join his incredible executive team was impossible to pass up,” Klain wrote in a statement on Monday.
Klain said he has “always believed that travel is such an important part of creating connection and cultural understanding,” and that he is “honored” to join the property rental company.
Klain will start at the San Francisco-based company in January, the company said.
Jay Carney, a former White House press secretary under former President Obama, joined Airbnb as the head of policy in September 2022, after leaving Amazon, where he served as the top policy and communications executive.
Nvidia is powering the AI revolution — and the chip giant is ramping up hiring to keep pace.
The Santa Clara-based company makes GPUs, a specialized computer chip that companies like Microsoft use to train and deploy their own AI models. The crucial chips have contributed to Nvidia's soaring stock — it's climbed over 200% in the last year.
In response to demand, Nvidia has announced plans to triple the production of its $40,000 chips, build AI factories, and release its newest, most powerful GPU called the H200 in 2024.
All of this requires human power, which the firm is hiring.
As of November 14, Nvidia has 1,810 open positions openings around the world. The majority of jobs are in the company's engineering department — including chip designers, software engineers, and AI product developers — but there are more than 100 openings across operations, sales, and program management as well.
"We have many opportunities," Lindsey Duran, the VP of global recruiting at Nvidia, told Insider. "A lot of our goals continue to be focused on engineering and AI."
Here are 5 tips on how to get hired at Nvidia, according to a top hiring leader at the company.
1) Emphasize your skills on your résumé
It may sound obvious but include specific skills on your résumé.
For technical roles related to machine learning and AI, Duran said that Nvidia looks for a strong math background; computer vision proficiency; and knowledge of programming, machine learning, deep learning algorithms, data handling, and the utilization of GPUs.
Outlining this expertise is particularly important for applicants with degrees in humanities, Duran said.
These skills can be applied to Nvidia roles like AI developer, security architect, and generative AI performance engineer — some of which offer salaries of as high as $333,500.
2) Articulate how you're more than a degree
Beyond technical knowledge, job applicants should articulate what makes them different, Duran said.
Applicants shine when they clearly communicate their career milestones, leadership capabilities, and personal achievements in their résumé or interview, she added. Showing off past projects, for example, demonstrates problem-solving skills, mastery of a particular subject, and impact.
Communicating how you've grown in your career is especially important for applicants who come from non-traditional education backgrounds.
"There's got to be something that shows what makes you unique," Duran said. "There could be many that say "I've got a bachelor's degree, a master's degree," but really, how are you showing on your resume that you stand out?"
3) Show interest in generative AI, but be careful with how you use it
With AI fueling Nvidia, it makes sense that the chip giant considers knowing how to use AI tools such as ChatGPT when hiring.
Still, Duran maintains it's a "relatively new skill" and interest in the topic is paramount to a specific tool.
"The technology is evolving so quickly," Duran said in regards to AI. "We need to find people that are able to learn and grow because in the next few years, there could be new skills that are going to be required."
One thing to avoid: using ChatGPT to move through the application process. Duran said recruiters at Nvidia have caught candidates using ChatGPT during interviews, despite being told not to.
4) Tap into your professional network
Knowing somebody who works at Nvidia can increase your chances of getting hired.
Duran said that Nvidia has a "very strong" employee referral program that the company frequently uses to make hiring decisions.
5) Do an internship
If you're just starting out in your career and don't have the required skills for a particular role, Duran suggests applying for an internship.
Undergrads, master's students, and PhD candidates — even applicants with unconventional backgrounds — are considered for Nvidia's internships, she added.
As of mid-November, Nvidia had 154 internship openings, including sales and research positions.
US-based internships pay an hourly between $19 and $93 an hour depending on the applicant's background.
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has named ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as its interim chief executive officer after the startup ousted former head Sam Altman in a move that rocked the tech industry.
Shear, who was part of the first batch of startup accelerator Y Combinator along with Altman, is known as an outspoken advocate of safety in the development of artificial intelligence.
Shear on Monday shared a plan for the next steps at OpenAI, saying he would look to reform the startup's management team and hire an independent investigator to dig into Altman's departure.
Some facts about Emmett Shear:
* Shear, 40, stepped down as CEO of Amazon.com (AMZN.O)-owned Twitch this March after more than 16 years at the live video streaming platform
* The platform was co-founded by Shear as Justin.tv in 2006 before its name was changed to Twitch in 2011. The platform quickly gained traction in the gaming community and was acquired by Amazon for just under $1 billion in 2014.
* Shear has been working as a partner at Y Combinator for the last seven months, advising startups on everything from fundraising strategy to technical approach
* Shear, who grew up in Seattle, has a bachelor's degree in computer science from Yale University
* In his LinkedIn recommendation, Twitch cofounder Justin Kan says, "Emmett is a great co-founder: works hard, doesn't complain, and is the smartest guy I know."