• OpenAI’s chairman Bret Taylor reveals he leans on the advice of former Google and Facebook executives on the value of embracing new opportunities in tech. Ditching the planned career path has worked well as he’s taken on roles like co-CEO at Salesforce and chair at Twitter: “Especially in Silicon Valley, there’s just unique moments, and you just have to be self-aware and aware of the market.”

There’s no perfect playbook for navigating the frenzy of Silicon Valley.

But one tried-and-true method is simply listening to the advice of those who have already found success—something Bret Taylor, now chairman of OpenAI and co-founder of Sierra, has embraced throughout his career.

One of the most valuable pieces of advice Taylor learned came from what the former CEO of Google Eric Schmidt told former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, the OpenAI leader recently said on the Grit podcast.

“If someone offers you a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat,” Taylor recalled of Sandberg’s 2012 commencement address to Harvard Business School graduates.

“I do think, especially in Silicon Valley, there’s just unique moments, and you just have to be self aware and aware of the market,” he added.

Opting to be flexible, rather than rigid, in one’s personal and professional lives will not only provide happiness, it’ll also lead to a career upgrade, according to Taylor. For him, that’s translated to resume lines like being the CTO of Facebook, chair of Twitter, and co-CEO of Salesforce

“Most of the unhappiest people I know are rigidly following a plan and not observant of their own happiness or observant of the opportunities around them,” Taylor said.

Be human, and be realistic, former Silicon Valley CEO says

At just 44-years-old, Taylor has already had a long history in Silicon Valley, having served in leadership of over a half-dozen tech companies. But on top of being nimble, he said, being grounded in his career has also been critical to navigating tough situations, like being a leader during Twitter’s sale to Elon Musk. 

“I’m good in a foxhole,” he said to the Grit podcast host, Joubin Mirzadegan. “I don’t freak out…What I try to do is, take a breath, take a step back, analyze the situation, and say, ‘What’s the most important thing I can do right now?’”

Taking a top-down view of a situation can not only help resolve the feeling of being overwhelmed, but also regulate negative emotions that can easily creep up on leaders in running a business, like imposter syndrome.

“I don’t pretend I’m immune to emotions or something like that, but my experiences have developed the calluses that you need to deal with these complex situations and not freak the cows,” Taylor continued.

But overall, being successful takes hard work and thinking outside of the box to solve the world’s most pressing issues—a lesson Taylor said he learned from the computer science pioneer Alan Kay, who led technological advancements at Xerox.

“There’s this Alan Kay quote: ‘The best way to predict the future is to invent it,’” Taylor said. “And that is like my operating principle, and I want to impact the future, and I want to help invent it. I think the idea of sitting on the sidelines, and drinking a Mai Tai at a beach doesn’t give me joy at all.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• The $62 billion data software company Databricks would not exist without college networking. Now, as AI is reshaping learning and the job market, CEO Ali Ghodsi says education is more important than ever, inspiring a new $100 million investment.

Higher education is under the microscope, with questions swirling around its value amid concerns over politicization, cost, and real-world skill development.

But for a team of seven researchers at UC Berkeley, college was a time for exploration—and kindled a spark that transformed an idea for a new data analysis software into Databricks, now a $62 billion company. And while AI advancements have already started replacing traditional grad jobs, like software engineers and creative designers, now is not the time to turn back on pursuing degrees. In fact, according to Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi, education is key to the future.

“We’re in a transition era where generative AI and AI probably will transform society completely,” Ghodsi tells Fortune.

“One of the answers is, let’s educate everyone, at least on what the technology is like, so that they can use the new technology, so that they are set up for this new world that we’re sort of entering.”

For Gen Zers and millennials who’ve spent tens or even hundreds of thousands on degrees only to question their value, there’s some good news. 

In an exclusive first to Fortune, Databricks announced today a $100 million investment in AI and data upskilling with the launch Databricks Free Edition, which offers free access to its data intelligence platform and new tech training courses. What’s more, it comes at a time when demand for data skills is surging: according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, data scientists are among the fastest-growing professions, with median salaries topping $112,000.

From college roommates to office deskmates

The groundwork for Databricks began in 2009 with Matei Zaharia, now Databricks’ chief technology officer, creating Spark, an open source data processing engine, as a researcher at Berkeley’s data research center AMPLab. That’s where he ran into Ghodsi and the other cofounders, and only after coming together did they realize the impending need for businesses to process large datasets—a demand that snowballed into the company’s founding in 2013.

But Databricks are far from the first group of young adults to first meet in the dorm room before heading to the boardroom together. In fact, many of the world’s largest tech companies have roots in top universities.

The founders of Reddit, Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, were roommates studying computer science at the University of Virginia when they started the social forum website. Moreover, Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page met each other during their time at Stanford University.

Mark Zuckerberg also famously met Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes at Harvard University before cofounding Facebook (now known as Meta, and worth over $1.7 trillion). Zuckerberg returned to Cambridge, Mass., in 2017 to give his alma mater’s commencement address, and remarked that he never expected to be part of the entrepreneurial group that would help connect the whole world.

“The thing is, it never even occurred to me that someone might be us,” he said. “We were just college kids. We didn’t know anything about that. There were all these big technology companies with resources. I just assumed one of them would do it.”

“We’ve all started lifelong friendships here, and some of us even families,” Zuckerberg added. “That’s why I’m so grateful to this place. Thanks, Harvard.”

Why continued learning matters in the age of AI

There’s no question—college is expensive. After all, the total cost of attendance for a four-year degree at Berkeley will run over $200,000. And while Zaharia admits that concerns over the price of university are valid, but in many cases, he says, the connections built with like-minded students and faculty are unbeatable.

“People learn differently,” Zaharia tells Fortune. “Some people just need a team around you, otherwise you won’t even start on your homework.”

That’s partly why both he and Ghodsi remain as college professors themselves at Berkeley—to better connect education with industry, and help each of them grow. And thanks to AI, colleges are about to undergo a huge makeover that may make them worth the price tag.

“I think that education will be completely revolutionized, and I think it’s going to happen much faster than people think,” Ghodsi tells Fortune. The entire educational experience will be improved, he adds, by the ability to tailor coursework directly to the objectives and existing knowledge of students.

He adds that those who embrace AI and learning will be able to open doors that weren’t even deemed possible just years ago.

“Follow a passion, pick a subject, go deep now, you can learn faster than ever, and you know, and the more you embrace this kind of technology, you’ll be also more kind of at the frontier,” Ghodsi says. “When an opportunity opens up for new types of jobs that we don’t even know about today, you’ll be the first to go into those.”

This mindset is echoed by educators, who say staying adaptable is key. Arnold Castro, assistant dean for AI at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School—one of more than 1,200 institutions in the Databricks University Alliance—urges students to stay sharp.

“Stay current with developments in AI and cloud technologies and be comfortable working in interdisciplinary teams,” Castro advises. “Most of all, treat learning as a lifelong pursuit, because in AI, what’s cutting-edge today may be table stakes tomorrow.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright says the fast-casual chain is expanding at an “exponential rate,” with plans to open more than 300 new locations this year. Key to making the growth happen is new AI technology, like its hiring platform, “Ava Cado,” Boatwright tells Fortune.

If you’re a fan of bowls, tacos, and burritos, there’s good news: there might be a Chipotle opening in your neighborhood soon.

The company currently operates over 3,700 restaurants, but it has ambitious goals to expand to 7,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada alone. On stage at Fortune’s COO summit today, Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright revealed that the company is expanding nearly by the day.

“We will open a new Chipotle restaurant this year almost every 24 hours,” Boatwright said to Fortune’s Kristin Stoller. “And if you think about the growth that’s ahead of us and the need for highly capable, purpose driven, value oriented individuals is more critical today than it probably ever has been for our brand.”

Chipotle currently employs over 130,000 employees—and with expansion also planned for Mexico, Boatwright admitted that using AI technology has made the hiring process much quicker. Last year, Chipotle introduced “Ava Cado,” the company’s AI hiring platform, and since then, Boatwright said hiring times have been reduced by 75%.

And while the use of AI in the hiring process may be an unwelcome sign for human resource professionals, Boatwright said AI has a place in business across all verticals and industries.

“This not only helps us keep our restaurant staffed, but ensures we have the best talent that’s available in the industry,” he said.

AI might give you a discount on your next Chipotle bowl

While Chipotle is joining the long list of companies embracing AI across its business, Boatwright said you shouldn’t expect to have a robot folding your burrito anytime soon (though, it may be making your guacamole).

“We don’t look to replace the human experience, we look to remove waste and expand or enhance the team member experience,” he added. 

The company is also using the technology within its rewards system. If a customer hasn’t made a purchase in the last two weeks, Boatwright said they may be offered a deal that will escalate over time to get the customer to come into the store. AI technology is helping tailor the deals to the individual based on their personalization and overall brand usage. 

And while Boatwright only just became CEO last year—after serving as COO for over seven years—he admitted his attempts to scale the company with new technology and initiatives will only work if customers enjoy the product.

“Customers come to Chipotle for the food,” he said.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• Amazon CEO Andy Jassy tells Gen Z to stop worrying about knowing what their career will look like in their 20s. Instead, he encourages young people to focus on learning what they want to do—a lesson that paid off well for Jassy. Before starting his now nearly 30 year career at Amazon, he tried out jobs like sportscasting, soccer coaching, and investment banking.

Few topics spark as much debate as what your 20s should look like. Some see the decade as a chaotic struggle, while others view it as a rare window of opportunity.

But from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s perspective, Gen Z should take the pressure off themselves and realize they don’t have to have their entire life planned out by their 20s.

“I have a 21-year-old son and a 24-year-old daughter, and one of the things I see with them and their peers is they all feel like they have to know what they want to do for their life at that age,” Jassy said on the podcast, How Leaders Lead with David Novak. “And I really don’t believe that’s true.”

And while figuring out what you want to do in your career can feel existential—especially during a time when AI is completely reshaping the job landscape—Jassy knows the struggle firsthand.

After graduating from Harvard University in 1990, he tried a number of career paths, including sportscasting, product management, and entrepreneurship. He also worked at a retail golf store, coached high school soccer, and tried investment banking. Eventually, he decided to go back to school to give an MBA a go and explore entrepreneurship. It was only after graduating from Harvard Business School did he land his breakout role at Amazon, just months before turning 30.

“I tried a lot of things, and I think that early on, it’s just as important to learn what you don’t want to do is what you want to do, because it actually helps you figure out what you want to do,”

Fortune reached out to Jassy for comment.

The value of failure—and asking questions

Exploring interests is one thing, but for Jassy, now 57, nothing may be more important for success than asking questions. Having a high quotient of “why”—or “WhyQ” is something he said helps careers thrive at Amazon.

“We ask why, and why not, constantly,” Jassy wrote in his most recent letter to shareholders. “It helps us deconstruct problems, get to root causes, understand blockers, and unlock doors that might have previously seemed impenetrable.”

For Gen Z in particular, being curious—and operating with the right mindset—can be a major stepping stone for careers, Jassy admitted. 

“An embarrassing amount of how well you do, particularly in your twenties, has to do with attitude,” Jassy said in an interview with LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky.

And while finding success ultimately also has an element of chance—and may involve multiple setbacks—taking it one day at a time might eventually land you a shot at the corner office.

“I feel like my journey or adventure was a lot of luck, and I think maybe one of the things I did best was not overthink it,” he added to David Novak.

CEOs that took the long way around to the top

While it may seem like the path to the top of the corporate ladder requires a hyper-focused career path, in reality, the journey can be long and squiggly—with Jassy being just one example.

After graduating as an undergraduate, Reed Hastings, the co-founder of Netflix, served in the Peace Corps as a high school math teacher in Eswatini, a small country in southern Africa. Only after his return did he go back to school and study computer science at Stanford University before helping start the tech company now worth over $500 billion.

Moreover, Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, started his career predicting weather as an on-air meteorologist for a local television station in Ithaca, New York, before becoming one of the most notable media executives. 

And even Jassy’s own mentor, Jeff Bezos, got his start with a quintessential teenage job: flipping burgers at McDonald’s.

“You can learn responsibility in any job, if you take it seriously,” Bezos said to Cody Teets, author of Golden Opportunity: Remarkable Careers That Began at McDonald’s. “You learn a lot as a teenager working at McDonald’s. It’s different from what you learn in school. Don’t underestimate the value of that!”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• Interns are often brushed off for being at the bottom of the totem pole, but at some companies, it’s become a part of the secret recipe for landing a gig in the C-suite. Trivago is part of a list of companies, including Nike, HP, and EY, that have promoted former coffee-fetchers to the top of the corporate ladder.

In the matter of a month during the pandemic, travel planning company Trivago’s revenue forecast plummeted from $1 billion to virtually zero.

It was a “near-death experience” that resulted in a “deep winter” for the company, according to CEO Johannes Thomas. Actual revenue sank 70% to 249 million euros in 2020 from 839 million euros in 2019, the latter equivalent to about $940 million at the time.

But even as restrictions were lifted and travel surged back, Trivago still had not recovered—and thus it was time for a shake-up in the C-suite.

“After you have a near-death experience and three years of depression, you have a team that doesn’t believe anymore,” Thomas, who was brought in as CEO to turn the company around in 2023, tells Fortune.

But for Thomas and other executives, what’s notable about their experiences is not their most recent roles—it’s how they started their careers.

Thomas first joined Trivago in 2011 as an intern working in online marketing, and he’s quietly assembled other former interns, including Chief Financial Officer Wolf Schmuhl and Chief Marketing Officer Jasmine Ezz. Thomas says having leaders who understand the business and its culture from the ground up are key to returning the company to its former glory.

And while Trivago’s revenue for 2024 was still half what it was five years ago in 2019, first quarter 2025 revenues increased by 22% to $124 million. 

An emphasis on young talent

While retirees are often known for traveling frequently, one of Trivago’s focuses is on young people—and it makes sense considering Gen Z’s spending habits. The generation was the only group that reported an increase in year-to-year travel spending between 2023 and 2024, according to Berkshire Hathaway’s State of Travel Insurance Report. The average trip was over $11,000. 

“(We’re) trying to build an ecosystem—a culture and environment where young people can grow and where people can thrive,” Thomas says.

That’s another reason why Trivago’s C-suite is not stacked with Gen Xers, but instead millennials who understand how young people think, spend, and travel. According to Thomas, the average Trivago customer is 34 years old, and 20% have families. 

By focusing on young people as a company, Trivago not only is able to tap into a customer market, but also an employee talent market. 

“You get rock stars on the senior level football team,” Thomas says. “And then you have a second team of young talents that have a chance to grow in this combination we try to execute on.”

The power of the intern

Trivago is not the only company that realized that those with the strongest roots to their company are the best leaders. 

Last year, Nike became the latest Fortune 500 company to name a former intern as a CEO. Elliot Hill began at the sports-gear giant at age 19 as an apparel sales intern and has only ever had one company at the top of his paychecks. In a statement last year, Hill said Nike has “always been a core part of who I am.” 

HP CEO Enrique Lores, Principal Financial Group CEO Deanna Strable, and EY CEO Janet Truncale all similarly went from fetching coffees as an intern to being promoted to the corner office.

And while focusing on hard work as an intern may set your path in motion to one day become chief executive, Lores admits that there’s also an element of luck.

“You can be very smart or very good,” he previously told Fortune. “But you also need to be lucky, and that’s a very important thing for all of us to accept.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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