Two top CEOs told CNBC in recent months that the rise of artificial intelligence contributed to their decision to hand over the reins and step down from their positions.
It’s one of the latest glimpses into how U.S. business leaders are assessing the transition to AI.
Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday that his decision to step down from his position was influenced by “larger waves of organizational momentum.”
“My job is also to think about what is the best team to put on the field to carry out the next wave,” Quincey said. “And I concluded that, in fact, it was time to put someone else on the ground for the next wave of growth.”
Quincey, who has been CEO of the drinks giant since 2017, will be replaced by current COO Henrique Braun, effective at the end of this month.
“In a pre-AI, pre-gen-AI mode, we’ve made a lot of progress. But now a huge new shift is happening,” Quincey said.
While he says he’s leveraging technological advancements, he believes the beverage company needs “someone with the energy to pursue a whole new transformation of the business.”
That person, Quincey said, is Braun, who he believes will uniquely equip the company to take on its next chapter.
Quincey’s comments echo alumni’s sentiments Walmart CEO Douglas McMillon in December before he left the post.
McMillon, who had served as CEO of the global retailer since 2014, told “Squawk Box” at the time that he decided to give the role to someone “faster.” John Furner, who previously led Walmart US, took over as CEO on February 1.
“With what’s happening with AI, I could start this next big series of transformations with AI, but I haven’t been able to finish it,” McMillon told CNBC.
“About a year ago I really started thinking about this next edition, you could see what agent commerce was going to look like, the AI vision of shopping, and I started thinking about everything that needs to happen over the next few years, and that really made me think it was the right time. [to step down]” he said.
Walmart decided in December to list on Nasdaq, which McMillon said was symbolic of the company’s progress in technology.
The retailer has integrated AI to optimize its supply chain, provide customer assistants and more.
“I think what you’re going to see from the Walmart team is they’re just going to continue to evolve what we’ve already started, build new things on top of it, and then use AI to transform everything,” he said.