Insights

November 24, 2025

Before we break for Thanksgiving in the U.S., we’ve rounded up a few key event highlights, plus media moves and industry news.

ICYMI: In our last issue, we covered how podcasts help organizations connect with niche audiences, share compelling stories, and strengthen leader and brand visibility. Read it here. If you’re interested in learning more about how podcasts can elevate your thought leadership, reach out at info@gga.nyc— we’d love to connect.

Also: Dec. 2 is Giving Tuesday (transforming the world through radical generosity) and Global Gateway Advisors is hosting our annual trivia challenge. If you would like to join or organize a team to support the cause of your choice, please register here.

Key upcoming global leadership and business forums

• WSJ CEO Council Summit (Four Seasons Hotel, Washington, D.C., Dec. 8-9) A gathering of top executives examining how 2025’s shifts, from tariffs and geopolitical conflict to rapid technological change, are reshaping the leadership playbook and setting the stage for 2026. Participants include John Stankey, chairman and CEO of AT&T; Brian Niccol, chairman and CEO of Starbucks; and Mindy Grossman, partner and vice chair at Consello.
• Fortune Brainstorm AI San Francisco (St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco, Dec. 8-9) A flagship gathering of technologists, founders, Fortune Global 500 leaders, investors and policymakers examining the next era of artificial intelligence, from the rise of AI agents and advances in reasoning to how organizations are deploying, scaling and regulating these systems amid accelerating technological change. Speakers include Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud; Brad Lightcap, COO of OpenAI; Daphne Koller, founder and CEO of insitro; and Gurdeep Singh Pall, president, AI Strategy of Qualtrics (GGA client).
• Reuters Energy LIVE (NRG Center, Houston, Dec. 9-10) Senior leaders across oil and gas, power generation, utilities, data centers and the grid gather to discuss the commercial and operational challenges shaping the next era of American energy. Speakers include Carlos Rechelo Neto, CEO of Petrobras America; David Campbell, CEO of Evergy; and Sandhya Ganapathy, CEO of EDP Renewables North America.
• The AI Summit New York (Javits Center, New York City, Dec. 10-11) Enterprise leaders and technologists unite around the exploration and application of commercial AI, offering practical insight to turn big ideas into tangible, profitable business outcomes. Speakers include Jason Harvey, EVP and general manager of BET+; Hanna Helin, SVP of data and emerging technologies at NBCUniversal; and Svetlana Makarova, AI product leader and principal consultant at Mayo Clinic – Spark Change.

Bookmark Global Gateway Advisors’ event tracker, updated weekly.

Media news + moves

• Leaders on the mic: CNBC launched a new podcast on Nov. 11, “Executive Decisions,” hosted by Squawk Box Europe co-anchor Steve Sedgwick, that will feature interviews with some of the world’s most influential business leaders and policymakers and the decisions that defined their careers. First guests include London Stock Exchange CEO Julia Hoggett and Siemens Energy’s Christian Bruch. Listen here
• More Americans prefer to watch the news than read or listen to it: 44% of U.S. adults prefer watching the news rather than reading or listening, according to recent analysis of an August 2025 Pew Research Center survey. Among those who prefer to watch the news, 62% get it from TV rather than other platforms. Younger groups are more mixed: More adults under 30 prefer to get news by reading it (45%), while 31% say they prefer watching it and 23% prefer listening to it. Despite a shifting information ecosystem, the responses are nearly identical to when Pew last asked the question in 2018. More here
• And what social media apps they use: YouTube is by far the most widely used social media platform, with 84% of U.S. adults reporting they use it, followed by Facebook, according to newly released insights from a Pew Research Center survey conducted from February to June 2025. The least used platforms are Bluesky, at 4% of Americans (compared with 21% for X), followed only by Truth Social. More here
• Imagining a “Google Zero future:” That’s not to say a future where the search engine doesn’t exist, but one where it stops directing users to external sites and instead answers their queries within its own platform, and it’s a major talking point within media. As Business Insider reports in part one of its series on the changing search landscape, newer media startups are building models that can thrive even if that future arrives by prioritizing direct relationships with readers, diversifying revenue, and reducing dependence on platform-driven traffic. Go deeper: Are you GEO ready?
• People are actually tuning in to AI podcasts: Platforms like Spotify and Apple now host over 175,000 podcast episodes created entirely by AI. Many of them come from Inception Point AI, whose Quiet Please network produces 3,000 episodes a week on every topic imaginable — it calls itself “the audio version of Reddit or Wikipedia.” And with 400,000 listeners, it’s clear people are paying attention, showing how AI is reaching into creative roles once thought to be insulated from being disrupted by the technology. More here
• Reuters expands Middle East offerings: The outlet launched two newsletters, underscoring the growing importance of the Gulf region. “Reuters Arabic Briefing” is a daily Arabic-language news roundup, while “Gulf Currents” brings together the essential geopolitics, energy, and finance news from the region. Go deeper: Why the Arab Gulf is rising – and why it matters

Media moves:

• The Wall Street Journal hired Morgan Smith as a newsletter writer for The 10-Point, the day’s top news and scoops from the Journal.
• The New York Times Business desk hired Alex Campbell (from Bloomberg News London, previously at BuzzFeed News) as its new investigations editor.
• Claire Cameron joins Scientific Americanas the breaking news chief. She was previously at Semafor.
• Business Insider hired Sara Chernikoff as senior editor for the insights and analytics team and Megan Arnold as deputy editor of BI Live.
• David May, an assistant managing editor at Modern Healthcare, and Michelle Stein, a deputy editor at the publication, were among those laid off by parent company Crain Communications across its network of publications.
• CNBC hired Elsa Ohlen as a companies reporter covering earnings, strategy shifts, leadership changes, and industry trends.
• WIRED hired Alana Hope Levinson as a features editor, and Max Zeff from TechCrunch as a senior writer covering the business of AI.
• Brady Dale announced he is leaving Axios to launch a Substack.
• Fortune hired Kamal Ahmed as executive editorial director UK and Europe, while tech correspondent Jason Del Ray left the organization to launch The Aisle, an independent media publication that will chronicle the emerging AI era of commerce. He will continue to contribute to Fortune’s events.