Weather Company CEO Rohit Agarwal told me his move almost two years ago to helm the leading forecast company, coming from music streaming company SoundCloud, felt like going from one company that tapped into peoples’ emotions to another. While music habits are often driven by mood and emotion, a weather report also taps into mood—but Agarwal said the way it is presented is often boring. Weather needs to be able to get into a consumer’s mood, their direct feelings, their needs and plans for the day, he said, whether their day involves piloting a plane, working on a construction site or just walking a dog.“That’s part of the draw for someone like me,” he said.I talked to Agarwal about the way he acts on his outsider’s perspective on using creativity, mood and emotion—paired with science—to bring an accurate weather forecast to all sorts of customers. 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 IndicatorsgettyThe war with Iran was back for a while, bringing a wider Middle East conflict and higher gas prices with it. Last week, President Donald Trump told media outlets he was close to launching a “massive attack” against Iran—claiming it would be the biggest yet since the war began—and oil prices neared $100 a barrel as Iran extended its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has since backed away from the attacks he spoke about—reportedly after top officials advised against it and to continue negotiations with Middle Eastern countries about reopening critical waterways.Oil prices have settled down, but the national average is still $4.11 per gallon, according to AAA. Markets opened on a high note on Monday as oil prices dropped. But the war’s wider impact on the economy will get a critical look this week. The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee will have its next chance to discuss monetary policy and baseline interest rates tomorrow and Wednesday. Many believe an interest rate hike is likely this year. As of Monday morning, the odds of a rate hike this week sat at nearly 38%, according to CME FedWatch.CEO StrategyUncertainty and unpredictability have been just about the only two constants in business in the recent past. And while Accenture’s newest Pulse of Change report shows that executives are expecting the bad economic news to continue, with at least seven in 10 having expectations of a reduction of global economic growth or a surge in inflation, they are extremely optimistic about one thing: AI. While only 23% of business leaders said they are receiving widespread and sustained value from AI initiatives organizationwide, more than four in five businesses are increasing their AI investments in the next year, and 55% are confident they’ll see reportable business outcomes from AI agents in the next year.Accenture Industry and Enterprise Global Lead Muqsit Ashraf exclusively spoke to Forbes CEO about the findings. He told me the increased confidence in AI as a whole comes from the smaller gains executives are seeing. They’re experiencing siloed and limited value so far because of how AI is often being used: bolted on to existing workflows that could ideally be redesigned to be more efficient with AI. But that limited value, he said, shows there is a deeper unlock available. “In a field where over-promising is abundant, it’s rare that the technology really beats the expectations, and that’s what’s driving the conviction,” Ashraf said. “...The confidence only pays off if you pair agents with a complete rethink of your business model and your op model. In other words, your ways of working.”Another place where AI is changing attitudes is around entry-level hiring. While there have been dire predictions about the future entry-level job market and some recent college graduates have had a difficult time finding work, 52% of executives said they expect to hire more entry-level talent because of AI. A big part of this is because roles are changing, Ashraf said: 85% of leaders will be looking for different skills from entry-level employees, and 73% plan to be creating entry-level new roles built around working with AI. Another big reason to be looking for younger employees: They will be considered more “AI-native” and likely will have more experience and natural comfort using these platforms. The biggest skills gap, the study says, will be in mid-level employees.Tomorrow’s TrendsHow To Disrupt A Legacy Company From The TopThe Weather Company CEO Rohit Agarwal.The Weather CompanyIn today’s polarizing times, one news source stands alone as the most trusted: The Weather Channel. CEO Rohit Agarwal, who’s helmed the Weather Company for close to two years, uses solid science, consumer need, employee creativity and his outsider’s perspective to maintain the trust that people place in the Weather Company’s forecasts—both broad based and business-consumer focused. I talked to Agarwal about how he brings excitement and new thinking to forecasting the weather. This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and continuity.The Weather Company has put out more specialized B2B-style reports lately. Tell me about the mindset that went into their creation.Agarwal: The mindset is one of experimentation and exploration. It’s pretty germane to a science- and engineering-led company. You are all about rapid iteration and testing, hypothesis development, testing those hypotheses. And I think it was getting us out of our comfort zone of doing the same thing for 30 years and saying, ‘The reason why we are world class is because we have scientific and engineering-oriented backgrounds. Let’s start to apply it in new and modernized ways, to actually expand the aperture of the customers we serve and the problems observed.’ Any CEO’s job ultimately is to engage in and drive change in what sometimes can become inertia around one’s success. That is ultimately our greatest challenge. Part of my own personal framework is often being the disruptor inside an organization. I think the opportunity seen with my hiring into the organization was to begin to redrive that re-imagination.You have an organization with incredible ideas. An organization with incredible ideas is not to be underestimated. What I observed is we did not actually have the right tools by which to understand and share those ideas with one another. And, as importantly, we did not have the right approaches to gathering people together and having them debate openly those ideas, and making hard choices about which ideas to pursue at what level of granularity or precision. Just that process has started to illuminate a lot of opportunity for us as a company.You’ll see on labs.weather.com experiments that have been born out of our existing team’s imaginations and ideas they’ve been thinking about probably for a decade.[Another] way in which you accelerate those ideas and ability to execute is bring in talent from the outside. They bring with them new ideas, a clean and blank canvas, and they’re not encumbered by what has been tried in the past, what might or might not have worked, or what politics may or may not have existed in the organization.You have to actually develop the right environment in which people can actually be their best selves. You have to think about the individual environment and the environment of the organization that you’re building in order to create performance. When you create that cycle, it reinforces itself. In your eyes, what does success look like for the Weather Company?Ultimately for anyone and everyone, when they are thinking about their business or activity or opportunity [and] the importance and relevancy of weather in that opportunity, putting us at the center. If we are at the core of everyone’s mind when it comes to the best-in-class weather services to deliver solutions and capabilities, we’ll be in a great spot.Internally, I’m obsessed with our rate of marketing. I personally believe if our rate of learning inside our company is faster than our competitors, everything else will work itself out. We will learn how to meet the needs of our customers, who those customers are. We’ll learn how to communicate the criticality of our services to those customers.What advice would you give to a CEO who is trying to find that change and a new way of looking at things?Ultimately, it’s a mindset game. You have got to change peoples’ mindsets, and there’s a whole set of techniques in order to do that. You have to have the right talent. You have to identify your talent inside the organization and give them the opportunity to shine. You’ve got to find talent that has great skill but is misapplied in what they’re working on, and put them in the right position to succeed. Sometimes, you have to have hard conversations with the talent who might not have the skills that are needed in the business at this stage. And you’ve got to be able to recruit and hire the talent you need to compliment the talent you have to get to where you want to go.If you do all of that really well, you will have a really effective culture, [which] in the end is going to help you thrive, survive, and, candidly, be resilient to change.Comings + GoingsRestaurant chain Cracker Barrel tapped David Deno as its next chief executive officer, effective August 10. Deno steps into the role from Bloomin’ Brands, and he will succeed Julie Masino, who will remain as an advisor to support the transition. Masino’s nearly three-year tenure was marred by controversy over rebranding the company’s legacy logo, as well as activist investor pressure. Retail and convenience store operator Seven & i Holdings selected Mauricio Leyva as chief executive officer of 7-Eleven, Inc., effective August 1. Leyva will join the company after working as group president at Keurig Dr Pepper, and he has also held senior leadership roles at Lala Mexico and AB InBev.Outdoor equipment maker The Toro Company elevated Edric C. Funk to be its next president and chief executive officer, effective November 1. Funk has worked as president and chief operating officer with the firm since September 2025, and he will succeed Richard M. Olson, who is transitioning to executive chairman of the board.Strategies + AdviceEven in an eventful year, there’s room for new, bold approaches within the current climate. A recent whitepaper from Cornerstone Advisors lists six moves a company can make that take real effort, but can help bring success in the long term.As the economy wears on consumers, many are responding by putting money into the “joyconomy:” things that make them happy as humans, including pets, bright colors and positive “play” for all ages. Business leaders should respond accordingly, leaning into human experience, using an optimistic tone in language and communication, and not leading through fear.QuizPresident Donald Trump posted a thank you to a head of state on Truth Social for apparently naming a highway after him. In which country is this roadway?A. BahrainB. IndiaC. MoroccoD. ChileSee if you got the answer right here.Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct Muqsit Ashraf’s name and title.