Plus: How 1-800-Flowers Has Been Able To Keep Coming Up Roses |
| When it comes to tariffs, 98% of businesses are concerned about their impact, according to the most recent EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook Survey, conducted in March and April. Indeed, geopolitical, macroeconomic and trade uncertainty was ranked by 42% of businesses across the globe as the top stumbling block to achieve their growth targets in the next 12 months. Business leaders are moving quickly to reduce impacts—44% are looking to adjust supply chains, 42% are looking at product design innovations to minimize reliance on items that will be subject to tariffs, 42% are looking at new cost management strategies, and 39% are relocating their operational assets to different areas. On top of the tariff threats, 71% of CEOs said that inflation continues to challenge their business. However, CEOs are still planning on M&A as a path to growth. Deals were long predicted to boom this year, but many have stalled in the face of uncertainty. More than half—57%—said they are planning on M&A in the next 12 months. However, what is planned and what happens can be two very different things. More than one in five companies stopped a planned investment in response to the economic uncertainty, while 54% delayed one. And 71% of companies said that problems in determining fair valuations could get in the way of dealmaking until the economy solidifies. It’s unclear when that might happen, considering trade deals and tariff rates seem to be constantly moving targets. EY-Parthenon recommends that CEOs develop their flexibility, scenario planning, financial discipline and good sense. The report points out that crisis-period acquisitions can generate better returns than those made during more robust economic times, usually because the acquiring company is ready to accelerate its new capabilities once the economy becomes stronger. But how to move forward will continue to be a challenge. “Beyond efforts to mitigate the current instability, we may see CEOs being bolder in their transformation and transaction strategies in the face of challenge,” said Andrea Guerzoni, global vice chair of EY-Parthenon. “The response to recent crises shows clearly that acting now, rather than hunkering down to wait until the storm has passed, will create greater chances of creating long-term value for all their stakeholders.” About four decades ago, a shrewd business investment from an accidental florist led to the creation of delivery behemoth 1-800-Flowers, which is still a household name. Founder Jim McCann served as CEO most of that time, but he’s officially handing over the reins to Adolfo Villagomez today. I talked to McCann a few weeks ago about how business has continued to bloom. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter. Until next time. |
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| In today’s CEO newsletter: |
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| After weekend negotiations with China, there is a trade deal—or at least elements of a potential deal. A joint statement from the U.S. and China says that tariffs are decreasing on both sides—10% for China to the U.S. and 30% for Chinese goods imported into the country—for the next 90 days, allowing for more negotiations between the two countries. This is a significant rollback of the 145% tariff the U.S. imposed on China and the 125% China put on U.S. imports, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was equivalent to a trade embargo. Bessent said both sides agreed that “we have a shared interest” and “neither side wanted a decoupling” of trade. Trump announced another trade deal last week with the U.K., reducing tariffs on a quota of imported cars from 27.5% to 10%, and steel and aluminum tariffs from 25% to zero. Stocks soared on both deals, with the markets on Monday surging on the reduction and pause on Chinese tariffs. The rally started on Thursday when Trump said from the Oval Office, “You better go out and buy stock now.” But how long will the rally last? While the agreement with China is significant, it’s not permanent and subject to further negotiations—meaning things are still uncertain, especially for businesses that deal with imports from China. Consumer prices also may rise based on the former sky-high tariffs, since they were in full effect for a month. Deals will only go so far. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that the 10% baseline tariff on all imports will stay in effect no matter what. Several companies have already lowered their outlooks or estimated steep losses in profit because of tariffs—including Toyota, which said that it lost an estimated $1.25 billion in profits in March and April alone. A new report from Democratic members of Congress said that the tariffs represent a nail in the coffin for small businesses, showing that costs are rising, hiring is slowing and firms are already laying off workers, writes Forbes’ Brandon Kochkodin. |
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| Last week was another Federal Reserve meeting, and once again, interest rates held steady at the 4.25% to 4.5% they’ve been at since December. “The risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen,” the committee said in a statement. As tariffs continue to shake the economy, the committee said, “uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further.” Considering the uncertain situation, very few predicted any shift in rates—CME’s Group’s FedWatch tool predicted a 98% chance of a hold, while economists at JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America all forecast no change. The only person who seemed to think a change should come was President Donald Trump, who once again started attacking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on social media after the meeting. “‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell is a FOOL, who doesn’t have a clue,” Trump posted to his Truth Social platform Thursday morning. He added that speaking to Powell is like “talking to a wall.” Unlike Trump’s social media attacks on Powell earlier this month, these didn’t crash markets because he didn’t threaten to fire Powell, and his U.K. trade deal was announced on the same day. |
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| Even before Trump began his second term, the face of corporate DEI has been shifting. While many companies voluntarily rolled back their policies, others left anti-DEI proposals to be voted on by shareholders. And while zero shareholder resolutions to restrict or examine DEI measures have been successful in 2025, Forbes’ Maria Gracia Santillana Linares writes that some companies are quietly responding to the anti-DEI movement. For example, she writes, while Goldman Sachs urged shareholders to vote down two anti-DEI measures, it internally removed the entire diversity and inclusion section from its annual report and purged mentions of race from its “Black in Business” program, suggesting “black” now meant profit in a business sense. Some of these changes could be more related to legal rulings in the last few years against using race as a factor in college admission and decision-making. And others find it to be important but want to stay out of trouble. Natalie Norfus, a DEI consultant with her own firm, said, “A lot of companies, and some of our clients, are just focusing on how they rename it so that they’re not caught up in the fire of the villainization of the acronym.” |
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|  | | 1-800-Flowers founder and Executive Chairman Jim McCann. 1-800-Flowers |
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About 40 years ago, when 800 phone numbers that spelled something were all the rage, Jim McCann transformed his chain of New York flower shops into what became the national chain 1-800-Flowers. It’s stayed relevant through the years by adopting new technology, making acquisitions in the gift-giving and delivery space, and staying true to an always-desired product. Today, the day after one of the busiest in the flower delivery business, Adolfo Villagomez takes over as new CEO. McCann will remain the company’s executive chairman. I talked to McCann last month about his time in the flower business, the risks he’s taken and the reasons business has persevered. This interview has been edited for length, clarity and continuity. A longer version is available here. How did you go from flower shops in New York City to the nationwide company 1-800-Flowers? McCann: I had 40 or so flower shops, and I decided to buy the company that had the telephone number that became 1-800 Flowers. Then I changed how we went to market. I changed the name of the shops to 1-800-Flowers. Everyone thought that was crazy: To buy the telephone number, to change the name of the retail stores to a telephone number. But so far it’s worked. I sold those shops because I needed money to build this idea, to market it. I didn’t know anything about venture capital or private equity. I didn't have any of those skills or knowledge. So I became a franchisor because I needed to sell the shops to get money to build this brand. The good news is, five years later, we were a national brand, and because we didn’t have any money, we couldn’t make any big financial mistakes. We caught the wave of interest in people using 800 numbers. We got a lot of free press and promotional opportunities that really helped us become a brand. At that point, my younger brother, 10 years my junior, joined us in business. We said, ‘If we could become a national brand with no money and no knowledge, what’s going to replace us?’ So we were always on the lookout for what’s next. What happened next? What’s next was the internet. We were early to it. That was our third wave. The fourth wave was just at the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. We were impacted by it and we said, ‘Geez, we can’t afford to do all these development ideas we had in mind.’ We went from 16 to three that we continue to fund. One was our technology platform and the other two were social and mobile. And boy oh boy, they were the right guesses because social and mobile changed everything for us. How have you decided which business gambles to bet on? You’ve done well with all of them. Not really. When we got on the internet, we were tracking how many other things we tried, and there were over 50 other tech changes. We put our catalogs on a CD-ROM when that was in vogue back in the early ’90s. It was a bomb. There were 50 of those bombs. The one we kept coming back to and iterating on was this online world, which was dominated at that time by CompuServe, Prodigy and this little outfit called AOL. My brother and I are very curious and we’re not afraid to ask a lot of people what’s going on. In my case, you don’t have to be the smartest person in the world, but you have to ask a lot of questions and you have to get to the right people to get their insights so you can make your judgment about what’s coming through the pipe. What advice do you have for other CEOs? The advice I give myself is don’t think that you have all the answers, and develop a support system of people that you can turn to get a different point of view. Get people who tell you things that you should hear which you’re not going to hear from the people who work for you. I turned to a friend this week and said, ‘Bob, these are the three things that I’m wrestling with.’ He gave me very unvarnished advice about where I should be spending my time and my energy, and he was very candid with me. So it’s good to have people you can turn to who you trust and who will give you the unvarnished truth.
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Aerospace firm TransDigm Group announced Mike Lisman will step into its president and CEO role, effective September 30. Lisman, currently co-chief operating officer, will succeed Kevin Stein who is retiring, but will continue as an advisor until March 31, 2026.
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Contract research organization Fortrea will appoint Peter M. Neupert as interim CEO and board chair, effective May 13, while conducting an executive search. Current CEO Thomas Pike is stepping down from his role at the research firm, which was spun off from Labcorp in 2023.
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Natural foods and personal care goods firm Hain Celestial Group selected Alison E. Lewis to serve as interim president and CEO, effective May 7. Lewis succeeds Wendy Davidson in the role temporarily, and the company will also undergo a strategic review of its portfolio.
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| Send us C-suite transition news at forbescsuite@forbes.com. |
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| President Trump is not exactly reserved when it comes to calling out anyone he disagrees with, specific businesses and executives included. What should you do if he attacks you, your company or your industry? Here are some tips to arrive at an appropriate response. While investors care about a company’s DEI policies, they are important to employees in a completely different way. And for any company, retaining good employees—regardless of their race or gender—is often a challenge. Recent research examined how well common equity policies for women and racial groups promoted retention, and found a combination tends to work best. |
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| | Which billionaire announced last week that by 2045, they would wind down their foundation and donate 99% of their fortune? | | A. | Bill Gates | | B. | George Soros | | C. | MacKenzie Scott | | D. | Larry Page |
| | Check if you got it right here. |
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