• Nvidia vice president Laura Fay has retired after a decade at the company.
• Fay grew Nvidia's enterprise marketing team from roughly 60 to 600 employees.
• Nvidia brought in Google Cloud's Alison Wagonfeld as its first chief marketing officer this year.

Laura Fay, a longtime Nvidia marketing executive who reported to CEO Jensen Huang, retired in July after roughly a decade at the AI chip giant.

Fay formerly served as Nvidia's vice president of global enterprise marketing, overseeing campaigns, events, analyst relations, and partner marketing. She said her team grew from roughly 60 to 600 people by the time she left.

Fay was among 36 employees on an internal list obtained by Business Insider last year of company leaders reporting directly to Huang. Prior to joining Nvidia, she spent 22 years at Cisco, concluding her tenure there as VP of global marketing.

Fay said Huang recruited her to build Nvidia's enterprise marketing organization as the company looked to expand beyond gaming.

"I want to change the world, and I want you to change it with me," she recalled him telling her on their first call.

Fay said she began considering retirement around her 10th anniversary in January, though a call from Huang congratulating her and expressing hope that she'd stick around for another decade persuaded her to stay a little longer.

Nvidia declined to comment.

Fay's retirement came as Nvidia also brought in new marketing leadership. In February, the company hired Google Cloud executive Alison Wagonfeld as its first chief marketing officer.

The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that Wagonfeld would oversee all marketing and communications teams and assume responsibilities previously divided among several leaders.

Those changes follow another longtime marketing departure. Greg Estes, Nvidia's former vice president of corporate marketing and developer programs, retired in 2025 after roughly 15 years at the company.

Several other longtime Nvidians have retired this year, including sales chief Jay Puri, chief accounting officer Donald Robertson, and VP of hardware engineering Robert Huang. Some retirees told Business Insider that Nvidia's exponential stock run helped precipitate their decisions.

Nvidia's communications organization has also undergone a shake-up as scrutiny around the company has intensified, with roughly 15 employees departing since 2025 amid a reorganization under new leadership.

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• AI is changing how executives oversee their companies, Eric Schmidt said on the "In Good Company" podcast.
• Google's former CEO described several ways execs he knows use AI agents to manage staff.
• He described one company that uses AI assistants to ensure that staff are following its core values.

Eric Schmidt thinks the CEO of the future will have an AI assistant that can see across the entire company. For employees whose job is to keep a sprawling business coordinated, that could be bad news.

In an episode of the "In Good Company" podcast, the former Google chief executive described assistants that check whether company activity aligns with a leader's values, follow up on projects, and help identify ways to increase profits.

He argued that the technology could make businesses faster and flatter, with fewer people needed to plan, relay information, and move numbers around.

Schmidt sees little time for companies to adjust. He said competition in AI is fiercer than the PC-versus-Mac or Android-versus-iPhone battles: a model can take roughly six months to build, another two to test, and then be overtaken within five months of release.

"Time compresses every cycle," he said.

He also rejected the idea that AI is a bubble, pointing to Anthropic's rapid revenue growth. Schmidt said the company had grown faster than a record set during his time at Google, calling it "real money with real customers."

The changes he envisions are already visible in smaller experiments, he said. Schmidt gave the example of two founders he knows who ask an AI assistant every Friday to flag anything happening at their company that conflicts with their values.

Another executive created an AI version of himself that checks on an employee's progress, gives him instructions, and responds when he needs help, Schmidt said. That exchange sounded potentially abusive and worried him, he added, though he also saw how it sped up the executive's decisions.

Schmidt said his days as CEO were consumed by meetings, 12 hours a day, five days a week, as he listened to people explain projects and decisions. He thinks AI platforms can eliminate much of that "coordination tax": the effort of gathering updates, passing them upward, and keeping teams aligned.

For a company with 10,000 employees, Schmidt guessed AI could leave "a couple of thousand people who you don’t need."

He cited a friend whose fast-growing company cut 20% of its staff, including the "glue people" who handled planning and coordination. The friend later told Schmidt he had received death threats over the cuts.

Schmidt said companies would still need people who build products, make sales, speak with regulators, and lead teams. His advice to workers whose roles were disappearing was that executives should transition them "legally and humanely."

• While pregnant with my second child, an RTO mandate was issued at work.
• Going into the office five days a week wasn't going to work for me, or for my family.
• I decided to take the leap and build my own business instead.

I never imagined myself starting a business, but after a return-to-office mandate that wasn't going to work for my family, I had to rethink what should come next in my career. I spent a lot of time networking on LinkedIn, and after some encouragement, I started asking myself, "Why not?"

I worked in marketing as a content writer, and I've always been ambitious. I was a top performer at my company, receiving glowing reviews and setting a record for campaign performance. However, there was always a constant pull between time at the office and time with my family.

Being required to show up to the office five days a week simply wouldn't work for me

The office was about an hour from my house, which was fine for two to three days a week, especially with the flexibility to work remotely for additional days as necessary. When they instituted the expectation for a full five days in office with no flexibility at the beginning of the year, I knew it wasn't going to work. I was expecting my second child, and my 5-year-old had a weekly appointment and some commitments I didn't want to miss.

Showing up to my kid's events often meant working from home an extra day or leaving the office early, and even though I was crushing performance metrics, those absences made me feel like I wasn't doing enough at work, especially as my department began focusing on new goals. Worse, as departmental pressure increased, my boss made a few comments that left me wondering whether he felt I wasn't sufficiently dedicated to the new direction and my role, adding a layer of fear about my job when I was trying to be present with my family.

Then, there were the moments I felt like I wasn't doing enough as a mom. I apologized on more than one occasion for a school closure or my kid getting sick, and I found myself checking messages while he napped in my arms. It was uncomfortable to acknowledge the guilt I felt across all aspects of my life.

The tug-of-war had become a constant since becoming a mom, and I kept thinking there had to be a way to be true to my high-achieving nature while still being the kind of loving, involved parent I aspired to be. After a series of coffee chats with other "mompreneurs" and marketing colleagues, I realized building a business, like motherhood, isn't about having it all figured out. I could chase entrepreneurship like I once chased accolades.

I've always been a writer. Communication and storytelling have been the constants in my career across industries and roles. I'd helped friends and family with marketing for their law firms while still working full-time; I'd worked in education, both in the classroom and in marketing. I realized my experience would translate to the kind of business I wanted to build: brand development, content strategy, and ghostwriting in higher education and law. I spent most of my third trimester balancing business planning and baby preparation.

I took the leap and started my own business

My LinkedIn community encouraged me to take the leap and supported me again as I began shifting my personal brand to support the business after my son was born. I signed my first client before he arrived, and had two referrals come in during my first couple of months in business.

By the time both my children started school and day care earlier this year, I'd built something that would support the life I wanted without requiring an apology. My first client was recommended in AI overviews after only 30 days. I was a guest on a podcast about AI visibility called Found In AI and invited on a few others focused on motherhood and ambition.

I build my own schedule. I work between pickup and dropoff, and I don't feel the need to check my phone while volunteering or at school events. I relish the details I get when my oldest hops in the car: the games at recess or the math facts that fascinated him in class. I build Magna Tiles cities and go for "treasure hunts" around the neighborhood without guilt or explanation. Sure, there are days when I'm logging back in after bedtime, but instead of putting in those hours to chase titles or prove something, I'm simply putting the work where it fits for me or pursuing something I'm genuinely excited about for one of my clients.

I spent a lot of my career frantically trying to prove that motherhood didn't lessen my capability, while simultaneously feeling guilty for every ask that mattered: the Halloween school parade or my child's sick days. I was afraid of losing respect at my job and afraid of missing out on my kids' childhood.

Now, I recognize that fear was holding me back from building a life that feels much more fulfilled. I've let go of the competition between the roles of "Mom" and "Career Woman." Three ghostwriting clients alone equal my monthly salary from corporate, which was the goal, and anything after that is a bonus. The control of my time is priceless; I'll never have to ask permission to be fully present with my children.

• Still dreaming of logging on in comfy clothes? Fully remote jobs are getting harder to land.
• Remote roles accounted for 9% of LinkedIn postings in September, yet drew 33% of applications.
• If you want a remote position, be prepared to show you can communicate well and thrive from afar.

When Andie Allan scans job listings, her dog, Luther, is never far from her mind — or her side.

The 92-pound German Shepherd has a spot on the couch in Allan's home office. Allan, a marketing manager who hasn't worked full-time in person in more than a dozen years, is looking for a job that lets her remain fully remote, in part so she can stay close to Luther.

More than six years after the pandemic ushered in a work-from-home revolution, many office workers have gotten used to skipping some commutes and having more flexibility outside their 9-to-5. Others have embraced a return to in-person collaboration.

Entirely remote work remains relatively uncommon: In September, 12.1% of US full-time workers were fully remote, according to Stanford data.

For some, these remote setups are a preference. For others, it can make holding down a job feasible alongside factors like caregiving responsibilities or disabilities.

The search for remote jobs can be tough, however, unless you have an especially in-demand or niche skill set. In the US, fully remote roles made up 9% of job postings on LinkedIn in September, yet drew 33% of applications, the company said.

Competition for those roles has also increased as many companies have returned to the office, at least part-time. The number of applicants per remote job rose 10% from a year earlier, according to LinkedIn.

Candidates seeking these roles might need to show employers they can succeed without regular office time — contrary to what some corporate leaders might prefer. Allan is using her track record of remote work as a selling point when applying. She points to the successful products she launched while working with global teams she rarely met in person.

Allan said she's happy being at home, even if it means forgoing opportunities. Commuting to an office from her home outside London could work, Allan said, "If I was 25 and had no ties and wasn't married to a German Shepherd."

More jobs require in-office time

Access to remote jobs also isn't evenly spread across industries. LinkedIn found that it was most common in technology, information, and media; financial services; and administrative and support services.

Winston Murdock, who's dialed in from home since 2010, works in one of the more remote-friendly corners of the job market as a software team lead. He and his wife bought their house outside Atlanta with an extra bedroom for his dedicated office.

Years ago, Murdock said, a recruiter approached him about a job that would have paid more but required a two-hour round-trip commute on weekdays. Murdock and his wife considered the added costs of childcare, gas, vehicle wear and tear, lunches, and work clothes fancier than a T-shirt.

"There's maybe a number that will get me to choose to be back in the office," Murdock said. "That number was not it."

Murdock said he loves his role at a Canadian software company and plans to stay, in part because of the remote arrangement. He would consider office work only if he lost his job.

How to find fully remote work

For workers looking for a new role, office time is increasingly part of the bargain. Robert Half, the staffing firm, said in a July report that a shift toward in-office work meant "more competition for fully remote roles and a near guarantee that new opportunities will come with at least some in-office time."

The relative scarcity of remote jobs makes a targeted search especially important, said Markos Korvesis, a career coach who helps people find such roles. He said job seekers often don't know how to tailor their résumés to show they are a good fit for logging on from outside an office.

Korvesis spends most of his time in Vietnam and has worked from more than three dozen countries over the last eight years. He recommends that job seekers highlight that they're up to date with AI tools and have solid experience using a variety of communication platforms, from Slack to Discord.

People should point to examples of how they've worked across offices, nations, and cultures, Korvesis said. It's important, he said, to be specific: If you've worked with teams in five time zones, say so.

Korvesis said those details can show that a candidate is prepared to thrive in a remote environment.

The challenges of WFH

Landing a remote job is only one of the difficulties. Chad Albert, who lives in South Florida and helps customize and sell software used in healthcare, said technology has made it easier to collaborate across distances, yet communicating through a screen can make it harder to connect with colleagues.

Albert said he makes an effort to pay attention when coworkers talk about their hobbies or what they did over the weekend.

The goal is to be a bit more outgoing and engage people in some side conversations, he said, adding that otherwise, "You wind up living on an island."

With fewer remote openings and more applicants per posting, the job search can demand persistence.

From her home southwest of London, Allan has been looking for a full-time marketing role since May 2025. Last year, she said she was in a "blind panic, applying for everything," submitting more than 1,000 applications.

Now, Allan said, she is being more deliberate. Unless she fully fits the criteria, she doesn't apply, she said. Allan also remains upfront with prospective employers about Luther, who gets at least three walks a day, including one at lunchtime.

"If they get me, great," she said. "And if they don't, well, maybe it's not a great fit."

Do you have a story to share about your work setup? Contact this reporter at tparadis@businessinsider.com.

• Anthropic is hiring an executive communications writer for up to $345,000.
• A comms pro told Business Insider that "When speed becomes cheap, judgment carries a premium."
• 3 writing experts gave Business Insider tips for young workers on practicing critical thinking.

Anthropic's AI chatbot can draft a speech in seconds, but the company is now hiring a human writer — for $295,000 to $345,000 a year.

Anthropic isn't looking for just anyone with a way with words. It wants someone with at least 8 years of experience who can quickly grasp technical concepts, help executives sharpen their thinking, and remain composed when news breaks.

While some LinkedIn users reacted skeptically to the idea that the new hire's work would be used to train AI, with an Oregon-based author commenting that this is the job one would take if the "writer wanted to build their own gallows," communication pros say the Anthropic job offers clues about the enduring value of human creatives.

Three professional writers and comms experts told Business Insider that young writers need to understand that the work starts long before the typing does, and that being good with words is only part of the job.

“When speed becomes cheap, judgment carries a premium," Ann Handley, the chief content officer at MarketingProfs and author of “Everybody Writes,” told Business Insider. "I think we're seeing that value extended to the role of the writer.”

What AI could not achieve

The opening for an "Executive Communications Writer" comes as Anthropic’s own research shows how AI is reshaping its workforce. According to the company's report, junior workers accounted for 9% of hires in technical departments in June, down from 27% in early 2025.

In May, Anthropic CFO Krishna Rao said that AI already writes 90% of the company's code, which shifted hiring needs in all office roles toward oversight, judgment, and strategy, away from the actual execution. Rao also added that the company may actually expand hiring because "there's no shortage of work to do."

Handley said that successful corporate communicators need to become strategists for the company's leaders, rather than simply polish their language.

"Good writers have always been strategic, in the sense that they have always made choices about what goes on the page, and what does not," Handley said.

"The successful candidate isn't merely shaping language, but shaping thought leadership and how the team is presenting to the world," Handley added. "That means knowing which ideas are worth owning, which are worth exploring, and which are just plain dumb."

Joseph Braue, the executive editor of Content Marketing Partners, told Business Insider that a large part of the job as a corporate writer is to challenge unsupported claims, avoid overpromising, and resist pressure to publish weak material.

“The decisions I’ve regretted the most were times I didn’t push back enough on corporate or customer executives,” Braue said, adding that while many writers do collaborate with AI, they must control the narrative and ensure accuracy.

Measure your impact

The compensation for Anthropic's communication role is high compared to similar openings, and professional writers said that there are ways a new hire in such a role could prove they are worth the expense.

By comparison, Amazon Web Services has a job opening for an Executive Communications Manager based in Seattle, offering between $126,700 and $171,400 in annual pay.

Josh Bernoff, an author on business strategy and former executive with 20 years of experience, told Business Insider that a bigger pile of content isn’t proof of a writer’s value in a company, and that to get promoted, writers need to collect evidence of the impact of their writing.

“If your job is to create market research reports, then you're only effective if people read those reports and say, 'here are the changes we're going to make on this product,'" Bernoff added. "Your job is to move people and think about how to do it before you start writing."

Braue, who leads a content strategy team, said that writers looking to prove their value need to understand business language and check whether internal partners and key sales leaders are using their content.

“Learn basic marketing analytics. Understand attribution, conversion, and how a pipeline works," Braue said. "Writers who speak revenue get promoted."

Build evidence that you can think

For young graduates, the pros recommend practicing original thinking while learning to use AI deliberately, even if you don't intend to be a writer.

Bernoff said he would urge all early-career workers to take writing classes and to practice using AI for research and efficiency while composing the words themselves.

Bernoff, who conducts an annual survey on how writers use AI, said he found last year that writers commonly used AI as a thesaurus or search engine, but fewer than 10% used it to create content intended to be published as is.

"If you're in a position to move your fellow students or people reading a school newspaper or your professors, then you're going to be taking the first step that's necessary to be able to move people in a corporate environment," Bernoff said.

Handley said she recommends that early career professionals start a newsletter and publish at least every two weeks, even with a small audience.

“Maybe you'll learn to interview people or ask better questions or notice things others don't," Handley said. "In doing so, you'll build a body of work that shows a potential employer that, sure, you can write, but most importantly, you can think, and you can engage on the page.”

UK defence secretary had been due to unveil proposals on Thursday until concerns were raised at 11th hour

Wes Streeting has been forced to delay the publication of a plan to get more young people into defence industry jobs after pushback from trade unions, the Guardian understands.

The defence secretary had been due to announce the proposals on Thursday, but some unions in the sector are understood to have reacted angrily to the plans, accusing the government of bypassing their members and minimising their roles in job creation.

Union furious as bank scraps remote-first policy from February 2027, requiring all of its UK employees to come in at least twice a week

NatWest has ordered 13,000 staff to increase their in-office days from two days a month to two days a week, angering its staff union.

The banking group, which serves customers under the Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Ulster Bank and Coutts brands, will require all of its nearly 40,000 UK staff to follow a strict two days a week office schedule from February 2027, abolishing a remote-first policy for thousands of employees.

• Social Security's 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment exceeds recent job stayers' wage growth.
• Economist Aaron Terrazas warns inflation could drive economic inequality.
• Baby boomers are helping to prop up the economy, as they're in their core retirement spending years.

There's an income premium for job switchers — and for retirees.

The Social Security Administration recently released the cost-of-living adjustment for next year. About 72 million recipients will experience a 3.6% increase in their benefits in January, higher than the September three-month moving average year-over-year median wage growth for job stayers at 3.4%.

Independent economist Aaron Terrazas said cost-of-living increases for Social Security beneficiaries were higher than job-stayers' increases in three of the past six years, the most recent being the 8.7% 2023 increase announced in 2022 amid the post-pandemic inflation spike.

"Retiree income is adjusted with the cost of living, whereas people who are working are mostly compensated according to the cost of labor," Terrazas said. "For most of the past decades, we've been in a low inflation labor shortage world, so that's worked out in workers' favor, but it feels like that's shifting underneath the surface."

The headline consumer price index increased 3.7% from a year ago in September, moving away from the Fed's 2% inflation target but down from the high rates back in 2022. The Social Security Administration bases the annual cost-of-living adjustment on the average of a related inflation rate during the third quarter of each year.

"Indexing incomes to the cost of living rather than cost of labor is a big part of what fueled inflation, the wage-price spiral in the 1970s," Terrazas said. "We moved away from that practice for most of the workforce, but not for retirees. With the growing share of Americans in their retiring years, more and more consumers are, whether we want it or not, having their incomes indexed to inflation rather than the cost of labor."

This, Terrazas thinks, could continue to drive the K-shaped economy of the haves and the have-nots, as he said older consumers are driving an outsize share of spending, although that could change as boomers start to age out of the peak retirement spending years.

"Baby boomers are in their core retirement spending years," he said. "When we think about consumer trends and what's holding up the economy, that is something we can't forget — that once people reach their 80s, we should expect that spending to start to contract as people become homebound."

Meanwhile, the three-month moving average for job switchers was higher than for job stayers and higher than the announced COLA, so job-hopping could be better than job-staying if you prioritize earning more. The problem is that it may be hard to find a new opportunity, depending on where you're looking. White-collar fields have been experiencing job loss, and employment levels in the leisure and hospitality sector have been pretty volatile.

The US has spent the last couple of years in a low-hire, low-fire period: Layoffs are low, so if you have a job, you're likely doing OK, but job openings and hiring have also been anemic, making an ominous situation for job seekers.

While that means employees may be more secure if they have a job, it also means employers don't have to do a lot to convince people to stay. Some workers have turned to "loud working" to try to make sure their accomplishments are being heard internally at their company or externally via LinkedIn or other platforms, whether that be because of fear of job cuts, to make the case for a raise, or some other reason.

"It's tough, I think, for job seekers to see headlines when we get the jobs report that unemployment is low, we're continuing to create jobs, but it's something very different from what they're feeling," Terrazas said. "And so I think it is important for them to understand that message that they're not alone. Many people, especially in white-collar work, are struggling to find new jobs or struggling to stay afloat in their workplaces."

• Today's tip to get better at work: Get better at handling disagreements at work.
• Jeff Bezos wrote about his '"disagree and commit" strategy in a 2016 Amazon shareholder letter.
• Make your case, but once a decision is made, commit to the decision, even if you disagree.

Get better at: Disagreements

Today's move

In an era where leaders want to move quickly, you don't want to be the one slowing everyone down.

Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon, wrote about the phrase "disagree and commit" in a 2016 Amazon shareholder letter under a section labeled "High-Velocity Decision Making," and it's been making a comeback.

While Bezos popularized the phrase, it echoes a management philosophy that goes back to the 1980s, when Andy Grove ran Intel. Richard S. Tedlow, Grove's biographer, previously told BI that the concept of disagreeing and committing "was the essence of how he felt you should comport yourself at Intel."

Why it works

The idea behind "disagree and commit" is to defend your argument and make a clear case. However, if the team rallies around a different decision, you have to commit to it too. Bezos argued that the use of "disagree and commit" could "save a lot of time."

"If you have conviction on a particular direction even though there's no consensus, it's helpful to say, 'Look, I know we disagree on this but will you gamble with me on it? Disagree and commit?'" Bezos wrote.

The former Amazon CEO has even used it himself, such as when his team green-lit an Amazon Studios project that he didn't think would succeed. Instead of continuing the back-and-forth, he disagreed but committed to the plan.

Try it today

The next time you disagree with a coworker, make the case for your idea and give it your all.

Once the decision is made, though, ask yourself if there's anything you can do to help it work better.

The bottom line

You don't need to agree with every decision at your job, but everyone benefits if there's an expectation that once a decision is made, everyone rallies behind it and tries to make it work.

Source

This insight is drawn from Business Insider's reporting about the origins of the "disagree and commit" phrase that Jeff Bezos popularized, and why it's making a comeback. Read the full story in Business Insider from Ana Altchek and Tim Paradis here.

Has this framework for disagreements worked for you? Tell us what you think of this advice in the comments below.

• Uber is offering bonuses to some drivers for completing more rides or referring new drivers.
• The bonuses can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars.
• Uber has used such extra pay in the past to attract drivers to the platform.

Uber is offering ride-hailing drivers something that many haven't seen in years: Big bonuses.

The ride-hailing service is coaxing some drivers to take more rides, offering up to several hundred dollars in "incentive" pay if they complete a set number of rides within a set time period, according to several screenshots of the offers seen by Business Insider.

In one example, a driver was offered $525 if the driver completed 45 trips within a few days. Similar offers involved smaller payouts and fewer trips, but paid out proportional amounts of $10 to $12 per trip.

That's a huge pay bump for many drivers, who make as little as a few dollars per trip, said Sergio Avedian, an Uber driver and senior contributor to the gig-driver-advocacy blog and YouTube channel The Rideshare Guy.

The bonuses might also be Uber's attempt to get more drivers on the road to meet rider demand during busy periods like Halloween and the holiday travel season, Avedian said.

"This may tell the story that they need supply," he said. "They're saying that we need to get everybody out there."

Some drivers have also gotten messages from Uber encouraging them to refer friends to sign up as drivers or get those who haven't driven in a couple of years back on the app, according to screenshots seen by Business Insider. Payment for those referrals can reach up to $1,225.

The payments are a potential boon to Uber drivers, whose pay can vary significantly between cities.

Uber drivers have to cover their own costs, such as car maintenance, since they are independent contractors, not full-time employees. Rising gas prices have eaten into drivers' pay after the US and Israel started a war with Iran earlier this year.

An Uber spokesperson did not provide details on why the company is offering the payments.

Uber has used targeted incentive payments before.

In 2021, demand for rides began to outpace the number of available drivers after many had stopped driving during the pandemic.

In response, the company decided "to invest fast and to invest aggressively in attracting drivers back to Uber" and increased the number of active drivers on the app by 65% between January and November that year, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on an earnings call at the time. Uber later pulled back on the extra pay.

"When we were coming out of the pandemic, they were short tons of drivers," said Avedian, who was driving for Uber at the time. "It was crazy bonuses out there."

More recently, riders have been paying more per mile and waiting longer for their rides to show up, according to a study published last month.

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• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang wants Europe to be less cautious in its approach to AI innovation.
• Huang told Germany's chancellor that the country and others in Europe are overreliant on regulation.
• "I think you overthink things," he told British journalists on a trip to the UK last week.

Cast off the shackles and be bolder, or risk losing the AI race for good.

That's the pointed message Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has delivered to European leaders during his trip to the continent over the past week.

Over the last seven days, Huang has visited France, Sweden, the UK, and Germany ahead of Nvidia's GTC event in Berlin, which began Tuesday.

During that time, he's been clear that he believes the continent needs to move faster on artificial intelligence and rely less heavily on regulating the sector.

Huang made the case most directly on Monday evening in Berlin, during a public conversation with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Asked how Europe should regulate AI, Huang said safety had to be paramount, but cautioned that policymakers could not regulate their way to technological leadership.

"There's nothing to regulate if the industry doesn't thrive," Huang told Merz, arguing that Germany needed to foster a domestic AI industry while ensuring it developed safely and responsibly.

He said that policymakers should focus on regulating AI applications, similar to the way they regulate products that use the internet, rather than trying to regulate the underlying technology wholesale.

"We should be regulating the applications right away," Huang said.

Merz replied that Europe was still trying to find the balance between innovation and regulation. The German leader said he did not believe "no regulation" was the right answer, but that overly tight rules were not either.

Huang’s response: "Give Germany a chance. Give this industry a chance."

The exchange came as Huang and Merz pitched AI as a potential answer to the economic malaise that led Germany into recessions in 2023 and 2024.

Huang said the country's manufacturing sector, engineering expertise, and industrial know-how are national resources, and that AI could help its companies turn them into an advantage in the next phase of the technology race.

"The next wave of AI is physical," Huang said, referring to robotics, manufacturing, cars, and heavy industry. "Electrons will never replace atoms."

It was the same urgent message Huang had delivered in London days earlier. Speaking to reporters last week, Huang said there was a "strange general behavior" going on in the UK.

He took a swipe at what he described as Britain’s tendency to dwell on failure.

"You have smart people, you have a great culture, you have young people, and the energy is vibrant. But for some reason, if there was a million reasons to win, you find the one reason not to do it."

"I think you overthink things," he added.

The remarks underscore a familiar tension in Europe’s approach to AI. The continent has moved early to establish sweeping rules for the technology, including the EU AI Act, while the US and China have pulled ahead in developing frontier models and the infrastructure needed to train them.

Huang, whose company dominates the market for the advanced chips powering the AI boom, is hardly a neutral observer. Nvidia stands to benefit enormously if governments and companies move faster to build AI infrastructure and deploy its technology.

Regardless of his stake in Europe's AI success, Huang's message was blunt. If the continent spends too long debating how to regulate AI, it may find that the meaningful innovation is done elsewhere.

• I'm Gen Z and have always valued rest, leisure, and finding balance in my life.
• My 86-year-old grandfather has worked as a doctor for 60 years and refuses to retire.
• His dedication has changed how I think about ambition, purpose, and growing older.

As a Gen Z, I have struggled with my work ethic. I have learned to optimize leisure, travel, and rest, and to get into a flow state. However, my grandfather's work ethic has made me rethink my approach.

At 86, my grandfather refuses to retire. For the past 60 years, he has woken up at the same time every morning, showered, dressed immaculately, had breakfast, and left for his work as a general physician in his private clinic.

Barring sickness and rare travel, he has never taken a day off, never deviated from schedule, and has an enviable work ethic that I have not seen in anyone. My grandmother, who was 70, died last year, and he was back to work in a week.

He is the eldest son

Born in 1940 in the small town of Gonda in North India, he was the eldest of six younger siblings. In 1966, at the age of 26, he began his medical practice after completing his MBBS.

From the beginning, he has been focused on his career and his responsibilities as the eldest son of a South Asian family. He worked in big hospitals, then opened a private practice a few years later, and he also established a Rotary Club Chapter in his city, leading it many times in the decades that followed.

There has always been a deep sense of empathy in him, which has made him a very considerate doctor for those who are economically marginalized. Because he charged less, took his time to understand each patient's issue, and prescribed medicines with great care, he gained popularity in his city very soon.

After six decades, the patients who were once young men and women bring their grandchildren from different cities to be treated by him. Only two years ago, he scaled back his work, working only till lunch. So now many patients come home in an emergency. "I don't like turning them away. Helping them makes me feel elated," he told me in one of our weekly phone calls.

He doesn't want to retire

From his work, he built a home for his parents and siblings, and another for his wife and children. He paid for the education of most of his siblings and put down a significant sum when it was time for them to get married. In short, he has been responsible for every role and relationship in his life.

He has three kids, two daughters and a son. They feel as if he should take it easy. "Why don't you retire?" My mother asked him a few years ago, and he shook his head vigorously, as if the thought itself was impossible.

"There were friends who were much healthier than me. They retired early, and I have seen many of them pass away," was his response to my mom. He also feels that being in a perpetual state of rest will dull his senses. Barring a partial hearing loss in one ear and a decrease in activity level due to age, he is fit and completely Independent.

He makes time to enjoy life

He can decide if he ever wants to retire because he has built his own practice, which is a privilege. However, he hasn't denied himself the pleasures of life either. He took time off to go on vacations and spent dedicated time with his kids, parents, and wife.

From him, I am learning that having a work ethic also means having a deep respect for your own life. It is not just dedication to his work; his ethic showcases his will to live as long as he can, independently. I want to live a purposeful and robust life, helping and guiding others and being of use till it's time to go. I want to eat clean, work out every day, put in the work to nurture my ambition, spend time with my loved ones, and focus on my goals. His work ethic has also shown me how he values his time. He nourishes it, nurtures it, and uses it to build a better life for himself. An honorable relationship with time and hard work has led him here.

He wants to be a functional part of society, and it has given me a fresh perspective on how I want to live my life. It is an odd thought, but I aspire to have a work ethic just like his and not retire.

• Google is injecting more AI into the interview process.
• The company has been testing a new format that tests candidates on their AI fluency.
• The pilot has recently rolled out more broadly across Google, internal docs show.

AI is changing how Google employees work — and how Google hires them.

The company has been testing several AI-related changes to its hiring process for software engineers, according to documents reviewed by Business Insider. These changes, which Google has been rolling out in phases throughout this year, include allowing the use of AI in coding interviews and permitting interviewers to use Gemini to give candidates feedback.

Many engineers are also now expected to show some degree of AI fluency as a bare minimum, the documents show.

In May, Business Insider reported that Google was piloting ways to integrate AI into the interview process with a small handful of orgs. This included a new "code comprehension" interview in which candidates are assessed on AI fluency and prompt engineering. Candidates can also use Google's Gemini AI as an assistant during the interview.

The new formats have since been rolled out more broadly across the company, according to the internal documents. However, a spokesperson said they were still considered to be in the pilot phase for now.

"We're piloting updates to our interview process for software engineers, including evaluating for AI fluency, to be more reflective of how our teams are operating," Brian Ong, vice president of recruiting at Google, told Business Insider in a statement.

Like other companies, Google is adapting its hiring process to keep pace with the huge transformation AI is having on software engineering. As developers increasingly rely on AI coding assistants, hiring companies want to know how competent they are with these tools.

In April, Google said that three-quarters of new code created at the company is generated by AI and reviewed by humans, a trend that has since continued across the tech industry. Google has said that its employees are increasingly using the company's own Gemini models to both improve other Google products and to build the next generation of Gemini.

The documents say that for some roles, including software engineering, AI fluency and AI product integration are now used as measures of a candidate's abilities. A Google spokesperson said that AI fluency is a requirement for all software engineering jobs, while AI product integration is required for most roles outside entry-level positions.

Google is also piloting the use of Gemini for interview transcription and note-taking in some job interviews conducted via the company's videoconferencing platform, Google Meet, one document shows.

Google wants to speed up the feedback process using AI, too. The same document states that Google is working to enable interviewers to use Gemini to draft role-tailored feedback.

As Google builds out this new interview system, employees were told they may be asked to participate in some of the pilots — but were warned against using AI tools to generate their own interviewing "solutions."

"Do not use GenAI or LLMs to create your own standalone solutions or agents for hiring or interviewing use cases," the document states, referring to large language models.

Have something to share? Contact this reporter via email at hlangley@businessinsider.com or Signal at hughlangley.01. Use a personal email address and a non-work device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• GoDaddy's CEO said Dara Khosrowshahi once gave him career advice that changed his leadership.
• Aman Bhutani said Khosrowshahi told him he'd never gain ad experience if he didn't start speaking up about it.
• The advice prompted Bhutani to push through the discomfort of learning new functions.

Getting a seat at the leadership table is a challenge in itself — but speaking up confidently once you get there is a different beast.

Aman Bhutani, CEO of the domain registrar and web-hosting company GoDaddy, said he received advice on navigating those moments from Uber's current CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who at the time led Expedia and served as president of the brand. Bhutani was then the company's head of technology, and reported to Khosrowshahi.

Khosrowshahi gave him a chance to discuss advertising in a senior-level meeting they were both attending. While Bhutani was initially excited about the opportunity, he said that eagerness didn't come through.

"Sitting in this room of leaders, where there were people that had way more experience and expertise than I did, I didn't speak up," Bhutani told Business Insider.

Bhutani said he regularly spoke up in meetings about product, engineering, and other areas where he felt confident about. However, while advertising was a core interest, he hesitated to weigh in. After several meetings, Khosrowshahi pulled Bhutani aside and gave him feedback that the GoDaddy CEO said changed his career.

Khosrowshahi asked why Bhutani didn't share his perspective on functional marketing, since the topic was so critical for the business. Bhutani explained he didn't have "any actual experience" in marketing. Khosrowshahi's response, Bhutani said, was simple.

"'And if you don't talk about it, you never will,'" Bhutani said, recounting Khosrowshahi's reply. "'If you don't talk and make mistakes and say the wrong things and get beat up by the CMO, how are you going to learn?"

Khosrowshahi reminded Bhutani that Bhutani wasn't afraid to be wrong on the product-tech side. He told Bhutani that he should approach marketing the same way, even if he didn't have the same background.

That advice has since taken Bhutani far, he said. Bhutani later took over presidency of the Expedia brand from Khosrowshahi in July 2015, with marketing and advertising teams reporting to him.

Bhutani said that in his last job and current position as CEO of GoDaddy, he's had the chance to learn about every part of the business. That means he can speak with accountants, marketers, and auditors in their language. He said he has grown to enjoy learning about new functions, and seeks out people and situations where he's pushed to do that.

"I enjoy the stress and the discomfort of being in an uncomfortable space," said Bhutani, who has been GoDaddy's CEO for seven years now. "I enjoy the idea that I'm learning something new. It keeps me young. It keeps me happy. It keeps me engaged."

Bhutani learned that it's important to share his perspective, but said there's often a fine line between adding value and speaking just to prove you belong in the room.

Bhutani said another piece of feedback that stuck with him from his last job — positive this time — was from a board member who told him he has a good "tongue-to-ear ratio" and "brain-to-mouth ratio." In other words, he knows when to listen and think, rather than speak just to fill silence.

"I think if we all listened a bit more and thought a bit more, we would all do a bit better," Bhutani said.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jeff Kinney, the 55-year-old author of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series, who lives in Plainville, Massachusetts. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Every year, when a new "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book hits the shelves, I'm surprised that kids keep showing up.

I started writing the first book in 1998, while working as a computer programmer and game designer. I wanted to be a newspaper cartoonist, but that didn't work out, so I set out to get my cartoons published somehow. I was inspired by my own childhood experiences.

The first generation of kids who read my books is now almost 30 years old. It's wild to me that there's a new generation of kids encountering these books and finding them fresh.

As an author, I work within a few different spheres: books, my bookstore, movies, and development. I hop from one area to another.

Here's a day in my life.

I wake up before 7 a.m.

I don't set an alarm, so I wake up at that time naturally every day. I stay in bed for a while because after an ankle injury, I have some PT to do, like ankle stretches, while I'm in bed.

I meditate for about 10 minutes, set my intentions for the day, and organize my digital to-do list before I get out of bed.

I do two hours of exercise before breakfast

Right after I get up, I do about two hours of PT yoga, then weightlifting. I do that before I eat breakfast, which is often eggs and sausages.

I'm really committed to my morning physical routine of PT, PT yoga, and exercise. That's now become non-negotiable. I also do some journaling because it orients me toward the day, and it's a calming mechanism.

I've just had my most productive year, during which I wrote two books and two screenplays, so I attribute that to my morning routine. It grounds me.

I stay organized with a habit tracker

I've tried a million different to-do list apps that didn't work, including the pomodoro method and all sorts of others. Then I found a digital habit tracker.

I'm pretty diligent about checking off my daily habits. These include eating enough fiber, drinking enough water, waking up by a certain time, meditating, and doing stretches and yoga.

My workday starts at around 9:30 a.m.

I have about five or six workspaces, and I like to balance between them. One is a really colorful studio with my whole staff on the top floor of my bookstore, which is about three miles away from my home. When I'm not touring or working on a script, I go into the bookstore.

The bookstore is always top of mind for me, though the day-to-day operations are handled by the staff. Every so often, I'll get involved because we'll have a big author that comes to the store, and I'll interview them.

Another is my guest house, where I sit in the quiet living room. I also have a dark room in the basement where I'll go if I need to shut out everything. The other one is sitting in my car at the cemetery, where it's also very quiet. I can't listen to music because it occupies the same part of my brain needed for creating.

Sometimes I write for 8 to 12 hours a day

I feel most creative in the early morning hours, but sometimes I might write for eight to 12 hours a day.

If I'm illustrating, which I basically do all summer, I'll draw from maybe 9 a.m. until about 9 or 10 p.m. every day for months.

When I'm working on a book, I'll write the jokes first, then the manuscript, and finally I'll illustrate. I do all the illustrations myself. I don't usually combine those activities together.

I'm always stuck creatively, so I use a system

When I get stuck, I use something called systematic creative thinking, which helps me to produce material even if I'm not feeling creative.

I start with the components. If I'm writing about an airplane, I'll list the parts of the plane inside and out: the wings, the pilots, the lavatory, everything. Then I'll go through each component with a few different tools like subtraction and multiplication, and that's what gives me my raw material.

I'll use my iPad or my computer, or I have this device called a Freewrite, which is a super simple word processor that's not connected to the internet.

I don't stop for lunch

I only eat two meals a day, so I don't really step away for lunch — this is how I roll.

I do have an energy drink, but it's more of a habit than a need. I also don't typically take breaks.

I don't have many work boundaries

A good day is when I can get my to-do list to under 200 items, which is really hard to do. When I'm not illustrating, my wife might say, "Hey, let's have dinner," and that's my backstop for when I stop working.

Work is always on my mind, and I really don't have any boundaries. I don't tell people when I'm going on vacation because they'll reach me anyway, and I don't want to stop them from making progress. I usually make myself available, even if I'm away.

My team mostly communicates with me by text

Texting is how my team communicates with me. Email has become less useful for me because I get so many emails in a day that I feel like I'm a hockey goalie, and pucks keep whizzing past me.

I can really only answer emails right when I get them. Once they get too far down my list, I'll forget about them. I have a lot of challenges with executive functioning. I really struggle with having a lot of choices.

I've always answered my own emails, and I don't use AI to write.

I'm not often bored; I need stimulation

I don't play a lot. I sometimes go to Celtics games, or I'll go out to dinner with my wife, my friends, or my kids. I'm not often bored.

In fact, I feel very understimulated. I often feel like I'm not getting enough information, or there's not enough that's happening. For example, if I were to drive through the McDonald's drive-thru and get my food, I'd turn on the radio, tune in to some news program, and eat while reading the news on my phone.

Chicken McNuggets with sweet and sour sauce are probably my guilty pleasure. As far as watching TV goes, Survivor is always a staple in our house.

I go to sleep around 9:45 p.m.

These days I go to bed pretty early. I get in bed around 9:45 p.m., put in an earbud, and fall asleep with the news in my ear.

Latest ONS data presents mixed picture amid slump in job vacancies and analysts warning labour market is ‘running on idle’

• Business live – news updates

• Healey to reject calls to raise CGT in budget

Unemployment in the UK has fallen unexpectedly in the final snapshot of the jobs market before John Healey’s first budget next week.

The jobless rate fell to 4.7% in the three months to August, from 4.9% according to the Office for National Statistics. City economists had forecast a rise to 5%.

• Hans Hasselby-Andersen quit Texas Instruments during the 2008 financial crisis with four young kids at home.
• He sold his apartment, cashed out his pension, and took on debt to build a semiconductor startup.
• Nine years later, his company, Merus Audio, was acquired by Infineon.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Hans Hasselby-Andersen, 56, CEO of Danish semiconductor startup Lotus Microsystems and cofounder of Merus Audio, which was acquired by Infineon in 2018. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

When I quit my job at Texas Instruments in September 2008 to start a semiconductor company, I had four children between the ages of 5 and 14.

It was almost the height of the financial crisis. You had Lehman Brothers going down in flames in the US, and the whole credit market was just freezing up.

So to jump out at that point and go into fundraising was a big, big step. My manager was looking at me like I was crazy, basically.

Thinking back, probably I should have waited a year or so and just cooled off a little bit. But the thing is, once you have an idea and you're really motivated, you can't really wait. You have to go do something about it.

I'm an electrical engineer by training. Earlier in my career, I joined a small startup that was acquired by Texas Instruments about five or six months after I arrived.

The whole concept of a company being acquired, an exit and all that, was all new to me.

It planted a seed in my head that, if the circumstances were right, this was also a path I could take, and not just build my career in a large company.

I stayed at Texas Instruments and worked in the audio semiconductor business.

I was picking up things from my interactions in the market where I thought there was actually a need for a much more energy-efficient way to drive speakers in products like portable speakers and soundbars.

I saw a market need, but I didn't have the technical solution, so my first task was to go out and find a cofounder who could come up with a technical solution for that market.

I think that's actually quite unusual for tech startups. Normally, somebody comes up with some technology, and then they go out and try to see where it can be applied. This was the opposite approach.

Four kids, one big decision

Just before I resigned, I called my bank and asked if I could get a basic bank overdraft facility just to give me some extra headroom to live on.

Honestly, I think if I had waited two weeks, I wouldn't have gotten it. It was just when the financial crisis started to really kick in, and I seriously doubt I would've gotten that line of credit.

Getting the first funding took the better part of a year.

I probably spoke to between 50 and 100 different investors.

It's really a dating game. You try to look appealing and interesting from a company point of view, but you mostly get rejections because the investor doesn't invest in your domain, you're too early, you're too late, or you don't fit their profile.

I paid out of my own pocket to travel to Japan, South Korea, and Singapore to meet potential customers. I wanted to pressure-test my idea, understand what they were struggling with, what their requirements were, and help mature my business case.

Eventually, I raised the equivalent of about $150,000 to $200,000. It was a very small amount, and we spent it in about six months. The minute we got the funding, we knew we had to continue fundraising immediately.

My wife, who was a school teacher at the time, has been very, very supportive. She never told me, "This is a stupid idea, go back and find a job."

With four kids, you can't just make that decision on your own. When we finally got the company off the ground, my wife and I made some adjustments to minimize the risk for my family.

We sold our apartment while we could still make a little money from it and rented instead, so we wouldn't risk having to sell at a loss if the company failed. We also sold our car and leased one instead.

I slaughtered my pension and took out the money. I thought, "I need it now. I'm not about to be retired anyway."

Throughout the life of a startup company, you're more or less in fundraising mode all the time. You always have to keep your eye on how long you have cash and where you're going to get your next funding. The worst thing that can happen is that you run out of cash.

If there's one recommendation I would give first-time founders, it's to prepare for things to take longer than they expect because they always do.

If you think you can do something in two years or three years, multiply that by two, at least.

If you plan financially for your cash to fund your plan as you lay it out, then you're going to be in a difficult situation because you're going to run out of cash before you've achieved the milestones you set out to achieve.

Engineers have to sell, too

Starting a company around 40 made me a different kind of founder. There were definitely things I had learned that I wouldn't have been without.

I had learned how to communicate with customers, how to find out what the market needed, and how to explain what I was doing and why it was a good idea.

Many engineers are obviously good at what they do technically, but they can have a big challenge explaining that to others.

When you're standing in front of investors, you have three minutes to explain what you're doing. You have to train to do that elevator pitch.

Nine years later, the company I cofounded, Merus Audio, was acquired by Infineon.

I stayed on to help with the integration, but I was really not looking to go back into the corporate world. I had already had that experience and I had really come to like the startup life.

Today, I'm CEO and an investor at Lotus Microsystems, another semiconductor startup.

I'm not a founder this time, but I feel ownership. I feel invested in the company.

Would I take that same risk again today as I did with Merus?

I think the answer is yes.

If you have that mentality of wanting to try something on your own, to build something, that is a major driver inside you. It gives you an enormous amount of energy and motivation.

When you do that, you can actually achieve a lot.

• The annual salaries of state governors vary, with the lowest being $70,000 in Maine.
• Josh Shapiro, Kathy Hochul, and Spencer Cox are among the highest-paid US governors.
• The average annual salary for a state governor is $174,479 in 2026.

In some states, being the governor doesn't automatically make you a top earner.

With voters in 36 states heading to the polls to elect governors in November's midterm elections, the annual salaries attached to the job vary dramatically across the country — from $70,000 in Maine to over $250,000 in Pennsylvania.

Across all 50 states, governors earn an average official annual salary of $174,479 and are subject to federal and state income taxes — except in states without income tax, such as Florida and Texas.

By comparison, the top 1% of US earners each make at least $731,492 a year, placing the average governor below the ultrarich but also well above the average US wage of $69,846 in 2024, according to the Social Security Administration.

While governors across all 50 states are generally allowed to earn income beyond their state salaries through investments, book deals, and other sources, the income they may take in is closely regulated, and rules vary by state.

Some, like Florida's Ron DeSantis, have brought in yearly incomes of over $1 million thanks to book royalties, while others, like Illinois' JB Pritzker, earn eight figures due to investment gains and even gambling wins.

As such, some governors, like Pritzker and Connecticut's Ned Lamont, who are independently wealthy, have chosen to forgo their six-figure state salaries.

Beyond the salary, other financial perks of being governor may include living in the governor's mansion, receiving private transportation from the state, and having access to security and staff.

See how much your governor makes each year, based on the most recent available state records, salary commissions, legislation, and public payroll data.

50. Maine

Governor: Janet Mills (Democrat)

Salary: $70,000

With a salary of $70,000, Maine Governor Janet Mills is the lowest-paid governor in the US.

The salary for Maine's next governor is set to rise to $125,000 in 2027 under new legislation, marking the first raise in the governor's salary in the state since 1987.

After two terms, Mills is now term-limited. Democrat Hannah Pingree and Republican Bobby Charles are facing off to become the state's next governor in the November midterm election.

49. Arizona

Governor: Katie Hobbs (Democrat)

Salary: $95,000

The Arizona governor, who has the second-lowest salary among US governors, will be eligible to receive a salary of $165,000 starting in 2027, per the state legislature.

Democrat Katie Hobbs is running for a second term in the November midterm election.

48. Oregon

Governor: Tina Kotek (Democrat)

Salary: $98,600

Oregon law sets the governor's annual salary at $98,600 and provides a separate $1,000 monthly expense payment. The salary is one of the lowest for any governor in the US.

Democrat Tina Kotek is up for reelection during the November midterms, seeking a second term.

47. Nebraska

Governor: Jim Pillen (Republican)

Salary: $105,000

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, who earned $105,000 a year in 2025, per the state legislature, is the fourth-lowest-paid governor in the US.

Republican Jim Pillen is up for reelection, seeking a second term in the November midterm elections.

46. South Carolina

Governor: Henry McMaster (Republican)

Salary: $106,078

With a salary of $106,078 in 2025, per state records, the South Carolina governor is the fifth-lowest-paid governor in the US.

After two full terms, McMaster is now term-limited. Republican Alan Wilson and Democrat Jermaine Johnson are facing off in the race to become the state's next governor in the midterm election.

45. New Mexico

Governor: Michelle Lujan Grisham (Democrat)

Salary: $110,000

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is the sixth-lowest-paid governor in the US. New Mexico's next governor will receive a salary of $169,714 starting with the next gubernatorial term in 2027.

Lujan Grisham is term-limited after serving two terms. Democrat Deb Haaland and Republican Gregg Hull are competing to succeed her in the November midterm election.

43. (tie) Louisiana

Governor: Jeff Landry (Republican)

Salary: $130,000

Louisiana law set the governor's salary at $130,000 in 2026. The salary has remained unchanged since January 2008.

43. (tie) Iowa

Governor: Kim Reynolds (Republican)

Salary: $130,000

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds earns an annual salary of $130,000, according to the state's official employee salary records.

Reynolds is not running for reelection, leaving Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn competing for the open governor seat in the November midterms.

42. Colorado

Governor: Jared Polis (Democrat)

Salary: $134,632

The Colorado governor, previously one of the lowest-paid governors in the nation, has received a $134,632 salary since 2023, as outlined by state law.

After nearly eight years in office, Polis is now term-limited.

Democrat Phil Weiser and Republican Victor Marx are competing to become Colorado's next governor in the November midterm.

41. Alabama

Governor: Kay Ivey (Republican)

Salary: $134,780

In fiscal year 2026, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey had a salary of $134,780, per the state's Department of Finance.

After two full terms in office, Ivey is now term-limited. Republican Tommy Tuberville and Democrat Doug Jones are facing off to become the state's next governor in the upcoming midterm election.

40. Wyoming

Governor: Mark Gordon (Republican)

Salary: $140,000

Wyoming law sets the governor's salary at $140,000 in 2026.

Mark Gordon is term-limited after two terms, leaving Republican Eric Barlow and Democrat Kenneth Casner competing for governor in the November midterm election.

39. Florida

Governor: Ron DeSantis (Republican)

Salary: $141,400

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis earns $141,400 per year, according to state records.

DeSantis is term-limited after two terms in office. Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly are competing for governor in the November midterms.

38. Montana

Governor: Greg Gianforte (Republican)

Salary: $141,517

Gianforte, who made his fortune in tech, donates his salary to Montana nonprofits. In 2025, his office said he had donated his entire gubernatorial salary to organizations supporting Montanans in need.

37. Missouri

Governor: Mike Kehoe (Republican)

Salary: $145,095

Missouri law sets the governor's salary at $145,095 as of 2026.

36. Oklahoma

Governor: Kevin Stitt (Republican)

Salary: $147,000

While the current Oklahoma governor, Kevin Stitt, has a salary of $147,000 in 2026, his successor will see a raise to $185,000, per Oklahoma's Journal Record.

After nearly eight years in office, Stitt is now term-limited. Republican Mike Mazzei and Democrat Cyndi Munson are facing off to become the state's next governor in the midterm election.

35. South Dakota

Governor: Larry Rhoden (Republican)

Salary: $148,522

South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden earns $148,522 a year in 2026, per the state's pay transparency website.

Republican Larry Rhoden, who took office last year following Kristi Noem's resignation, is up for election in November, seeking a full term.

34. Idaho

Governor: Brad Little (Republican)

Salary: $151,400

Idaho Governor Brad Little makes $151,400 in 2026, per state records.

Little is seeking a third term in the midterm elections this November.

33. Texas

Governor: Greg Abbott (Republican)

Salary: $153,750

As of 2026, Texas Governor Greg Abbott makes $153,750 a year, per state records.

Abbott is seeking a fourth term in the midterm election this November.

32. Michigan

Governor: Gretchen Whitmer (Democrat)

Salary: $159,300

Michigan law sets the governor's salary at $159,300. Governor Gretchen Whitmer also receives a $54,000 annual expense allowance, according to the State Officers Compensation Commission.

After nearly eight years in office, Whitmer is now term-limited.

Democrat Jocelyn Benson and Republican John James are facing off to become Michigan's next governor in the November midterm election.

31. Mississippi

Governor: Tate Reeves (Republican)

Salary: $160,000

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves earns a salary of $160,000 in 2026, according to the state's personnel board.

30. Rhode Island

Governor: Daniel McKee (Democrat)

Salary: $163,295

Rhode Island's governor, Daniel McKee, earns a salary of $163,295, according to the state's pay transparency portal.

After losing the Democratic primary, incumbent Dan McKee will not be on the ballot. Democrat Helena Foulkes and Republican Aaron Guckian are facing off to become the state's next governor in the midterm election.

29. New Hampshire

Governor: Kelly Ayotte (Republican)

Salary: $165,027

New Hampshire law sets the governor's salary at $165,027.

Republican Kelly Ayotte is up for reelection this November, seeking a second two-year term in the midterm election.

28. Wisconsin

Governor: Tony Evers (Democrat)

Salary: $165,568

Wisconsin law bans salary changes for a governor during their term in office. Gov. Tony Evers has received an annual salary of $165,568 since beginning his second term in January 2023, up from $152,756 during his first term.

Evers is not seeking reelection. The state's next governor is slated to receive an annual salary of $184,684 when they take office in January 2027, according to Wisconsin's official compensation plan.

Democrat David Crowley and Republican Tom Tiffany are facing off in the November midterm election.

27. North Dakota

Governor: Kelly Armstrong (Republican)

Salary: $168,000

North Dakota's governor's salary is $168,000 following a July raise, per state legislation.

26. Nevada

Governor: Joe Lombardo (Republican)

Salary: $170,062

The Reno Gazette Journal reported in May that Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo makes $170,062 a year.

Lombardo is up for reelection in the November midterm elections, seeking a second term.

25. Arkansas

Governor: Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Republican)

Salary: $171,808

In October, an independent commission in Arkansas voted to raise Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' salary to $171,808 annually.

Sanders is running for a second term in the November midterm election.

24. Kansas

Governor: Laura Kelly (Democrat)

Salary: $174,000

In 2023, Kansas raised the governor's annual salary starting January 1, 2025, tying the office's pay to the salary of a non-leadership member of Congress, according to state legislation.

Kelly is term-limited after two terms, leaving Democrat Cindy Holscher and Republican Ty Masterson competing for the governor's seat in the November midterm elections.

23. Virginia

Governor: Abigail Spanberger (Democrat)

Salary: $175,000

Virginia law sets the governor's salary at $175,000 in 2026.

22. Ohio

Governor: Mike DeWine (Republican)

Salary: $180,203

Ohio set the governor's salary in a 2018 law that established yearly pay increases for statewide elected officials through 2028, per state law. After the 2026 increase, Gov. Mike DeWine's salary is about $180,203.

DeWine is term-limited after two terms. Democrat Amy Acton and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy are competing for the governor's seat in the midterm elections.

21. Alaska

Governor: Mike Dunleavy (Republican)

Salary: $182,787

In 2025, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy had a salary of $182,787, per the state's Department of Administration.

After two terms in the governor's seat, Dunleavy is now term-limited.

Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and Republicans David Bronson, Treg Taylor, and Bernadette Wilson are facing off to become the state's next governor in the November midterm election.

20. Georgia

Governor: Brian Kemp (Republican)

Salary: $185,000

In fiscal year 2025, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp earned a salary of $185,000 and also received over $56,506 in travel reimbursements during the year, according to the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts' financial transparency portal.

After two terms in office, Kemp is term-limited. Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson are running to be the state's next governor in the midterm election.

19. Delaware

Governor: Matt Meyer (Democrat)

Salary: $185,096

From July 2025 until 2029, the salary for the governor of Delaware is $185,096, per the state legislature.

18. Kentucky

Governor: Andy Beshear (Democrat)

Salary: $188,523

Kentucky's governor, Andy Beshear, has a salary of $188,523, per the state's pay transparency portal.

17. West Virginia

Governor: Patrick Morrisey (Republican)

Salary: $190,424

Since 2025, the West Virginia governor's salary has been set to match the US Office of Personnel Management's locality pay area for the rest of the US, per the state legislature. That puts current governor Patrick Morrisey's salary at $190,424.

16. Maryland

Governor: Wes Moore (Democrat)

Salary: $192,000

As of his third year as Maryland governor, per the state legislature, Wes Moore's salary was $192,000 in 2025. The governor's salary will increase during the next term, starting at $195,000 in 2027 and reaching $210,000 by the fourth year, according to Maryland's Governor's Salary Commission.

Moore is running for a second term in the November midterm elections.

15. Minnesota

Governor: Tim Walz (Democrat)

Salary: $200,000

The Minnesota governor's official salary is $200,000 after a July raise, per the Minnesota Legislature. Tim Walz previously declined salary raises while in office and accepted only a $127,629 salary. But during his last six months in office, he accepted his full salary, as reported by Minnesota Public Radio.

After two terms as governor, Walz is not running for reelection.

Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Republican Lisa Demuth will face off in November in a race to become the state's next governor.

14. Illinois

Governor: Jay Robert "JB" Pritzker (Democrat)

Salary: $205,700 (foregone)

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a member of the Pritzker family that founded the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, has chosen to forgo his salary. The state has set the governor's salary at $205,700 as of 2023, per the Illinois General Assembly.

Pritzker is up for reelection this November, seeking a third term in the midterm elections.

13. North Carolina

Governor: Josh Stein (Democrat)

Salary: $209,165

North Carolina state law sets the governor's salary at $209,165 in 2026.

12. New Jersey

Governor: Mikie Sherrill (Democrat)

Salary: $210,000

State law sets New Jersey's governor's salary at $210,000 after a 2023 increase.

11. Indiana

Governor: Mike Braun (Republican)

Salary: $220,418

Indiana Governor Mike Braun, who earns $220,418 a year, according to the Indiana state government, is the 11th-highest-paid governor in the US.

10. Hawaii

Governor: Josh Green (Democrat)

Salary: $226,620

Hawaii's governor, Josh Green, is now the 10th-highest-paid following a July raise passed by the state legislature.

Green is running for a second term in the midterm elections

9. Connecticut

Governor: Ned Lamont (Democrat)

Salary: $226,711 (forgone)

Although the State of Connecticut sets the governor's salary at $226,711, the independently wealthy Ned Lamont has chosen to forgo the salary while in office.

Lamont made his money in telecommunications and investments. He's also the great-grandson of Thomas W. Lamont, a former chair of J. P. Morgan & Co. who built substantial wealth in banking.

Lamont is up for reelection this November, seeking a third term in the midterm elections.

8. Washington

Governor: Bob Ferguson (Democrat)

Salary: $234,275

Washington's governor earns $234,275 following a July raise, making Bob Ferguson the eighth-highest paid governor in the US.

7. Massachusetts

Governor: Maura Healey (Democrat)

Salary: $243,493

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey received a salary of $243,493 in 2025, per the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, making hers the seventh-highest governor's salary in the US.

Healey is seeking a second term in the November midterm elections.

6. Vermont

Governor: Phil Scott (Republican)

Salary: $243,520

Vermont law lists the governor's salary at $243,520 following a July raise, making the office the sixth-highest paid in the country.

Gov. Phil Scott is running for a sixth term in the midterm elections.

5. California

Governor: Gavin Newsom (Democrat)

Salary: $245,929

As of May 2026, the California Department of Human Resources listed the governor's salary as $245,929, making Gavin Newsom the fifth-highest-paid governor in the US.

After two terms, Newsom is now term-limited. Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton are facing off in a race to become the state's next governor in the midterm election.

4. Tennessee

Governor: Bill Lee (Republican)

Salary: $246,108

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee earns $246,108 annually as of August, based on a monthly salary of $20,509 listed in the state's public payroll database.

After two terms in office, Lee is term-limited. Republican Marsha Blackburn and Democrat Jerri Green are running for the governor's seat in the midterm election this November.

3. Utah

Governor: Spencer Cox (Republican)

Salary: $249,250

In March 2026, the Utah Legislature passed a bill setting the governor's salary equal to that of the chief justice of the state supreme court, which is $249,250.

The raise made Spencer Cox the third-highest-paid governor in the US.

2. New York

Governor: Kathy Hochul (Democrat)

Salary: $250,000

With a salary of $250,000 established by New York law, Kathy Hochul is the second-highest-paid governor in the US.

Hochul is seeking a second full term in the midterm elections.

1. Pennsylvania

Governor: Josh Shapiro (Democrat)

Salary: $253,870

Shapiro's salary rose from $245,760 in 2025 to $253,870 in 2026 after a 3.3% cost-of-living increase, according to the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget. The raise made him the highest-paid governor in the US.

Shapiro is up for reelection in the midterm elections this November, seeking a second term.

• Lauren Antonoff is the CEO of Life360 and uses the location-sharing platform with her family.
• She says she tried to mimic her mom's somewhat hands-off parenting with her own two kids.
• Giving kids space can help them develop agency and independence, she says.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lauren Antonoff, CEO of Life360. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My mother was an awesome parent, but she was a person first. It was just the two of us for a lot of my childhood, between the time my dad died when I was 8, and my mom remarried when I was 14.

During those years, my mom was parenting while also in school, working, and dating. She was always there for me, but she wasn't trying to manage my childhood. She didn't do homework with me, for example. She made sure I was happy, loved, and well cared for, all while living her own life.

A lot of single moms might not have been open about things like dating, but mine was always transparent. I liked that I got to do my thing while watching my mom do hers.

My mom's benign neglect helped me develop agency

I didn't grow up knowing I wanted to be a parent. When I met my now-husband, he was already a father. Our daughter, who is now 27, was 5 at the time. I say I got her the easy way.

From the beginning, my husband was the primary parent. That really opened the door for me to feel comfortable having kids. About three years later, we had our son.

Once I became a parent, my mom and I would sometimes talk about this idea of benign neglect — the benefits of letting kids do their own thing, and figure it out. In my childhood, my mom's benign neglect allowed me to develop independence and problem-solving skills.

Because my mom was less involved than some parents, I created a sense of agency that's served me well throughout life.

I wanted to change the world, but didn't expect to be in tech

My interest in tech was an accident. I thought I would become a civil rights lawyer and change the world.

While I was in college in the early 90s, I purchased a Mac to write papers with. I was living in Berkley, and got sucked into this community of Mac enthusiasts. I understood the technology — though not as well as some people — and I could articulate things well.

My techie friends diagnosed me as a product manager. I had a desire to advance technology that was both intelligible to humans and useful to them. I started working at a startup that was bought by Microsoft.

I thought it would only be for a few years, until I went to law school. I ended up spending 19 years at Microsoft before joining other tech companies like GoDaddy and now Life360. I realized along the way that I have an impact on people's quality of life, at scale, by advancing technology that makes day-to-day life easier.

Location monitoring keeps my in-person connections close

At Life360, we talk a lot about agency, which was so important in my childhood, and which I tried to encourage for my own kids. For me, and a lot of our users, the platform creates agency while helping people boost their real-life connections.

Here's my favorite use case: my husband is still the primary domestic partner, and he brings me lunch most days. If I'm at work feeling hungry, I can check his location and see if I need to get myself a snack, or if he's around the corner with my meal.

Recently, I got a flight notification from Life360. It showed that my brother — who doesn't live locally — had touched down in LA. I hadn't known he was in town, but since I got the digital signal, we were able to get dinner. Ultimately, the platform keeps us closer in real life by creating those opportunities for connection.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the future

I've never seen tech as a bad thing. I had a TV in my room growing up, and a simple coding game that was so basic I had to retype the code each time I turned it on.

I was pretty liberal in how I let my own kids use technology. Looking back, I got my son — who's now 19 — a phone when he was probably too young. At the time, we wanted to play Pokémon Go as a family. I didn't think about how harmful some aspects of tech can be. I'm lucky that he turned out good despite that.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the future of technology. I'm also an activist. We get to shape what the future looks like, for our children and us — and there's a lot of power in that.

• Walmart has more than 2 million workers — 500 of whom are promoted daily.
• Its chief people officer said she observes 2 qualities in those who move up the ladder quickly.
• First, they do the job they have well. They also show they can take more on.

Walmart promotes roughly 500 employees daily — so there's no shortage of opportunities to climb the ladder.

Workers who advance quickly tend to share two qualities, says Walmart chief people officer Donna Morris, who oversees the company's workforce of more than 2 million people worldwide.

The first is staying focused on the job in front of you, she said. Morris said the employees who stand out are motivated to make a difference and excel in their current roles.

"They are focused as much, if not more, on being exceptional at what they're doing today," Morris told Business Insider.

Once you nail the actual job you were given, the next step might be proving you can take on responsibilities for the role above you — before you get the title.

"Be the type of person that takes on over and above what's being expected of you," Morris said. "Be the person that asks or provides volunteerism for new ideas or new initiatives."

That also includes coming up with new ideas or volunteering to help with new initiatives. Morris said those actions show you can take on more responsibility.

In general, when hiring, Morris said she looks for evidence of the "grit that they had to persevere through." At Walmart, where most of its 2.1 million employees begin in frontline roles, she also likes to see that candidates have had some frontline experience. The chief people officer said it doesn't need to be in retail necessarily; it could be babysitting or helping out with a family business.

"If somebody has never really had to identify with what it's like to be a frontline hourly worker, it's going to be very hard for them to lead," said Morris, who started working at 13 at a dry cleaner's before taking a job at a drugstore two years later.