Fortune 500: Titans and Disruptors of Industry

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sits down with Fortune's Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell to discuss the high-stakes balancing act of AI: pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery while confronting the existential risks of loss of control.

In this episode, Altman addresses the reality of AI alignment, the Hugging Face incident, and OpenAI's commitment to halting training runs if safety thresholds aren't met. He also shares insights on global AI coordination between the U.S. and China, healthcare breakthroughs, and the company's timeline for an IPO.

00:00 Introducing Sam Altman

01:54 Astra, AGI claims, and P(doom) fears

03:10 Is a 10% extinction risk real?

06:03 Loss of control and OpenAI’s safety stance

09:05 Recursive self‑improvement and human oversight

12:19 Why alignment is still unsolved

14:23 Can humans control superintelligence?

16:35 From grade‑school math to Navier–Stokes

18:42 The Hugging Face sandbox escape incident

21:58 Limits of current safeguards and accident reporting

23:01 IPO timing, profit pressure, and pausing for safety

28:36 Global coordination, U.S.–China, and AI standards

35:09 P(doom) vs. the upside case for AI

41:51 The weight on Sam Altman and human motivations
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Mary Barra has spent more than four decades at General Motors, rising from an 18-year-old co-op student training on the factory floor to CEO. In her 12-year tenure, she’s steered the company through a near-catastrophic safety crisis and helped turn the century-old automaker into an innovation powerhouse that currently ranks No. 23 on the Fortune 500.

In this episode, Fortune’s Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell speaks with Mary about the Barra family roots in GM, as well as the company’s strategy to address shifting EV policy, growing Chinese competition, and the widening trade skills gap.

00:00 Mary Barra, Chair and CEO of GM

02:50 How GM Stayed Resilient in a Tough 2026

05:50 Why America’s EV Transition Is Taking Longer

08:23 How GM Navigates Changing Washington Policies

10:22 Can GM Compete With China and BYD?

15:35 When Will Self-Driving Cars Become Reality?

18:16 What GM Learned From the Cruise Bet

20:34 How AI Is Changing the Way GM Builds Cars

25:45 Why Safety Is the Priority for GM’s Autonomous Future

28:50 The Skilled Trades Crisis Facing American Manufacturing

35:10 How Mary Barra Transformed GM After Its Safety Crisis

40:18 The Warren Buffett Advice That Shaped Her Leadership

42:00 Mary Barra on Leading GM Into Its Next 100 Years
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Pershing Square Founder and CEO Bill Ackman got his start by cold-calling multi-millionaires and billionaires for startup capital. Today, the billionaire hedge fund manager is a leading voice both on Wall St. and online, where he frequently shares candid opinions about investing, politics, and culture to about 2.7 million X followers.

In this episode, Fortune’s Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell speaks with Ackman about his insights into today’s market, how he recovered from a multi-billion dollar loss, and his perspectives on President Trump and American politics.

Chapters

00:00 Cold Open

01:08 Advertisement

03:19 Ackman’s market insights

05:06 Why Ackman loves Uber

07:38 SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI IPOs

11:33 Ackman’s polarizing online presence

15:02 President Trump and Trump Accounts

18:13 Effective philanthropy

27:01 Becoming Bill Ackman

31:41 Cold-Calling the Forbes 400

35:03 Ackman’s biggest wins

40:52 Investing like Buffet

44:34 Ackman’s biggest losses

52:11 Pershing Square’s company culture

56:32 What’s next for Bill Ackman
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For the first time in the company's history, FedEx has surpassed UPS in market value. Handling roughly 18 million packages a day, FedEx is acutely aware of how tariffs and geopolitical tensions have disrupted the global supply chain. As it enters its AI era, the company is leveraging artificial intelligence to predict and address these obstacles head-on.

In this episode, Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell sits down with FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam to discuss how AI is transforming logistics, how tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and shifting manufacturing hubs are reshaping global supply chains, and what's next for one of the world's largest transportation companies.

00:00 Introduction
01:08 How FedEx Sees the Global Economy
06:21 How a Package Travels Around the World
08:21 Leading 500,000 Employees
16:54 From Entry-Level Analyst to CEO
20:24 Leading Change at FedEx
21:43 Reinventing a 50-Year-Old Company
28:20 Why FedEx Is Betting Big on AI
33:17 The Future of Autonomous Delivery
38:51 Leadership Advice for the Next Generation of CEOs
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For more than 100 years, TIAA has helped millions of Americans — from educators to healthcare workers to public servants — turn their savings into guaranteed income they cannot outlive. Today, the company is expanding beyond its traditional 403(b) roots, pioneering lifetime income solutions inside 401(k) plans and using AI to better protect and serve participants.
In this episode, Fortune’s Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell sits down with TIAA President and CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett to discuss America’s growing retirement crisis, the importance of lifetime income, and how TIAA is using technology and partnerships to build a more secure future for retirees. 

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