The CEO Center held its Spring Policy Summit in Washington on June 10. From AI and the economy to geopolitics, defense, immigration, and the future of education and work, the day convened CEOs and university Presidents with policymakers and thought leaders to discuss the forces reshaping business and society. The topics were wide-ranging, but a common theme emerged: solving complex challenges requires practical ideas, constructive dialogue, and leaders willing to work across differences. This document provides a summary of our discussions, held as always under the Chatham House Rule.
In addition, the Summit offered an opportunity to discuss an exciting new chapter in our evolution. For more than 80 years, the Committee for Economic Development (CED) has convened business, academic, and policy leaders to deliver timely insights and reasoned solutions to our nation’s most critical economic and geopolitical challenges.
Now, we move that work forward under a new name: The CEO Center.
This change reflects both the challenges leaders face today and the growing role this community plays in helping address them. As The CEO Center, we will continue to convene CEOs, board directors, university presidents, and other thought leaders while expanding opportunities for engagement through new programs, research initiatives, and broader policy coverage launching later this year.
Together, these efforts will create new opportunities for dialogue, collaboration, and impact on the issues most affecting business and society, from fiscal responsibility, workforce readiness, and geopolitics, to innovation, education, economic growth, and much more.
While the name will change to further integrate and align to The Conference Board, our core mission remains the same and will continue to highlight our important history and mission: advancing reasoned solutions in the nation’s interest. The values that have defined CED for decades will continue to guide this work across three strategic pillars:
- CEO Convenings - Connecting CEOs through exclusive conversations that spark insight, relationships, and leadership impact.
- Knowledge Partnerships - Transforming member expertise into influential ideas that shape business thinking and public dialogue.
- Policy Impact - Advancing business-led solutions that inform policy and make a measurable difference at the highest levels of government.
As part of this transition, CED Trustees will now be referred to as Members of The CEO Center, aligning with naming conventions across The Conference Board.
In a moment when polarization often dominates the headlines, the Summit served as a valuable reminder that bipartisan pathways forward are still possible—and that business leaders have an important role to play in helping drive them. Sincere thanks to everyone who joined us and helped make the Summit such a success. A special thanks to our sponsors: AlixPartners, Ellig Group, Growth Protocol, Peter G. Peterson Foundation, and RW2 Enterprises.
Policy Summit: Insight Summary
Trusted Insights for What’s Ahead
Economic and Fiscal Outlook
- Despite demographic headwinds, including lower immigration, lower fertility, and an aging population, the US economy continues to grow at a reasonable pace. Business investment, particularly in data centers and related infrastructure, remains an important driver of future economic growth.
- Social Security and Medicare remain among the most difficult fiscal challenges facing policymakers. Trust fund pressures are expected to require action within the next decade, and any long-term solution will likely involve a combination of entitlement reforms and broader fiscal adjustments.
- Interest rates are increasingly viewed as the most important indicator of fiscal health, reflecting the interconnected risks of debt accumulation, inflation, reserve-currency status, and government borrowing costs. Given current debt levels, even modest increases in interest rates could have significant consequences for the federal budget.
Education and the Workforce
- Demographic change, workforce shortages, and immigration are increasingly interconnected challenges that will shape economic growth. An aging population, declining birth rates, labor force constraints, child care affordability, and immigration policy all point to the need for coordinated solutions to support workforce growth and long-term competitiveness.
- Stronger collaboration between employers, educational institutions, and policymakers will be essential to preparing workers for technological change. Work-based learning, internships, employer partnerships, reskilling programs, and local workforce development efforts will be increasingly important to aligning talent pipelines with business needs.
- The primary workforce challenge posed by AI is not widespread job displacement, but the need to continuously reskill workers as job requirements evolve. AI is accelerating the shift from credential-based hiring toward skills-based hiring, increasing the value of adaptability, critical thinking, and experiential learning across industries.
Technology and Business
- Payments are evolving toward more automated, embedded, and AI-enabled experiences, with transactions increasingly occurring in the background rather than as distinct consumer or business decisions. As AI agents become more capable of initiating purchases and managing financial activity, questions around trust, transparency, and user control will become increasingly important.
- The future of payments will be shaped not only by technological innovation but also by the complexity of the underlying financial ecosystem. While AI, real-time payments, and digital assets may improve speed and efficiency, widespread adoption will depend on regulatory frameworks, industry coordination, and the ability to manage fraud and systemic risks.
- AI is shifting from a technology initiative to a business transformation imperative, requiring organizations to rethink operating models, decision-making, and how value is created. As AI adoption accelerates, the greatest opportunities may come not from incremental productivity gains but from redesigning processes and workflows.
- Successful AI adoption will depend as much on governance, data quality, and organizational change as on the technology itself. As companies scale AI, leaders are increasingly focused on balancing innovation with accountability, auditability, privacy, and human oversight, while ensuring AI strategies are integrated with broader business objectives.
Geoeconomics and Geopolitics
- Supply chain resilience has evolved from an operational concern into a core component of economic and national security strategy. Access to critical minerals, manufacturing capacity, and trusted supply networks is increasingly viewed as essential to long-term competitiveness, reducing dependence on geopolitical rivals, and supporting strategic industries.
- Policy uncertainty has become a significant economic headwind in its own right. While businesses can adapt to changing regulations and trade policies, persistent uncertainty around tariffs and trade agreements can delay investment, disrupt long-term planning, and reduce business confidence.
- Economic policy and geopolitical strategy are becoming increasingly intertwined. Trade, energy security, critical minerals, defense production, and industrial policy are no longer separate policy domains; they are converging into a broader competition for economic resilience, technological leadership, and strategic influence.
- The European Union is becoming a more significant economic and security actor, driven by geopolitical pressures, the war in Ukraine, and the need to strengthen its strategic autonomy. As Europe increases defense spending, diversifies energy supplies, and deepens investment in regional security, the transatlantic relationship will remain critical to advancing shared economic and geopolitical interests.
Political Outlook
- Economic conditions and affordability concerns are likely to be the most important drivers of voter behavior, outweighing many of the policy debates that dominate discussion in Washington. Issues such as housing, health care, and gasoline prices remain central to how many voters evaluate political leaders and the direction of the country.
- Traditional political assumptions are becoming less reliable as demographic shifts, partisan realignment, and changing voting patterns reshape the electorate. Evolving support among key voter groups and the continued disruption of conventional political norms have made the electoral environment increasingly difficult to predict.
- Political polarization is making voter turnout and partisan enthusiasm increasingly important determinants of electoral outcomes. As fewer congressional districts remain competitive and voters become more closely aligned with party identity, elections are increasingly shaped by mobilization rather than policy position.
The CEO Center held its Spring Policy Summit in Washington on June 10. From AI and the economy to geopolitics, defense, immigration, and the future of education and work, the day convened CEOs and university Presidents with policymakers and thought leaders to discuss the forces reshaping business and society. The topics were wide-ranging, but a common theme emerged: solving complex challenges requires practical ideas, constructive dialogue, and leaders willing to work across differences. This document provides a summary of our discussions, held as always under the Chatham House Rule.
In addition, the Summit offered an opportunity to discuss an exciting new chapter in our evolution. For more than 80 years, the Committee for Economic Development (CED) has convened business, academic, and policy leaders to deliver timely insights and reasoned solutions to our nation’s most critical economic and geopolitical challenges.
Now, we move that work forward under a new name: The CEO Center.
This change reflects both the challenges leaders face today and the growing role this community plays in helping address them. As The CEO Center, we will continue to convene CEOs, board directors, university presidents, and other thought leaders while expanding opportunities for engagement through new programs, research initiatives, and broader policy coverage launching later this year.
Together, these efforts will create new opportunities for dialogue, collaboration, and impact on the issues most affecting business and society, from fiscal responsibility, workforce readiness, and geopolitics, to innovation, education, economic growth, and much more.
While the name will change to further integrate and align to The Conference Board, our core mission remains the same and will continue to highlight our important history and mission: advancing reasoned solutions in the nation’s interest. The values that have defined CED for decades will continue to guide this work across three strategic pillars:
- CEO Convenings - Connecting CEOs through exclusive conversations that spark insight, relationships, and leadership impact.
- Knowledge Partnerships - Transforming member expertise into influential ideas that shape business thinking and public dialogue.
- Policy Impact - Advancing business-led solutions that inform policy and make a measurable difference at the highest levels of government.
As part of this transition, CED Trustees will now be referred to as Members of The CEO Center, aligning with naming conventions across The Conference Board.
In a moment when polarization often dominates the headlines, the Summit served as a valuable reminder that bipartisan pathways forward are still possible—and that business leaders have an important role to play in helping drive them. Sincere thanks to everyone who joined us and helped make the Summit such a success. A special thanks to our sponsors: AlixPartners, Ellig Group, Growth Protocol, Peter G. Peterson Foundation, and RW2 Enterprises.
Policy Summit: Insight Summary
Trusted Insights for What’s Ahead
Economic and Fiscal Outlook
- Despite demographic headwinds, including lower immigration, lower fertility, and an aging population, the US economy continues to grow at a reasonable pace. Business investment, particularly in data centers and related infrastructure, remains an important driver of future economic growth.
- Social Security and Medicare remain among the most difficult fiscal challenges facing policymakers. Trust fund pressures are expected to require action within the next decade, and any long-term solution will likely involve a combination of entitlement reforms and broader fiscal adjustments.
- Interest rates are increasingly viewed as the most important indicator of fiscal health, reflecting the interconnected risks of debt accumulation, inflation, reserve-currency status, and government borrowing costs. Given current debt levels, even modest increases in interest rates could have significant consequences for the federal budget.
Education and the Workforce
- Demographic change, workforce shortages, and immigration are increasingly interconnected challenges that will shape economic growth. An aging population, declining birth rates, labor force constraints, child care affordability, and immigration policy all point to the need for coordinated solutions to support workforce growth and long-term competitiveness.
- Stronger collaboration between employers, educational institutions, and policymakers will be essential to preparing workers for technological change. Work-based learning, internships, employer partnerships, reskilling programs, and local workforce development efforts will be increasingly important to aligning talent pipelines with business needs.
- The primary workforce challenge posed by AI is not widespread job displacement, but the need to continuously reskill workers as job requirements evolve. AI is accelerating the shift from credential-based hiring toward skills-based hiring, increasing the value of adaptability, critical thinking, and experiential learning across industries.
Technology and Business
- Payments are evolving toward more automated, embedded, and AI-enabled experiences, with transactions increasingly occurring in the background rather than as distinct consumer or business decisions. As AI agents become more capable of initiating purchases and managing financial activity, questions around trust, transparency, and user control will become increasingly important.
- The future of payments will be shaped not only by technological innovation but also by the complexity of the underlying financial ecosystem. While AI, real-time payments, and digital assets may improve speed and efficiency, widespread adoption will depend on regulatory frameworks, industry coordination, and the ability to manage fraud and systemic risks.
- AI is shifting from a technology initiative to a business transformation imperative, requiring organizations to rethink operating models, decision-making, and how value is created. As AI adoption accelerates, the greatest opportunities may come not from incremental productivity gains but from redesigning processes and workflows.
- Successful AI adoption will depend as much on governance, data quality, and organizational change as on the technology itself. As companies scale AI, leaders are increasingly focused on balancing innovation with accountability, auditability, privacy, and human oversight, while ensuring AI strategies are integrated with broader business objectives.
Geoeconomics and Geopolitics
- Supply chain resilience has evolved from an operational concern into a core component of economic and national security strategy. Access to critical minerals, manufacturing capacity, and trusted supply networks is increasingly viewed as essential to long-term competitiveness, reducing dependence on geopolitical rivals, and supporting strategic industries.
- Policy uncertainty has become a significant economic headwind in its own right. While businesses can adapt to changing regulations and trade policies, persistent uncertainty around tariffs and trade agreements can delay investment, disrupt long-term planning, and reduce business confidence.
- Economic policy and geopolitical strategy are becoming increasingly intertwined. Trade, energy security, critical minerals, defense production, and industrial policy are no longer separate policy domains; they are converging into a broader competition for economic resilience, technological leadership, and strategic influence.
- The European Union is becoming a more significant economic and security actor, driven by geopolitical pressures, the war in Ukraine, and the need to strengthen its strategic autonomy. As Europe increases defense spending, diversifies energy supplies, and deepens investment in regional security, the transatlantic relationship will remain critical to advancing shared economic and geopolitical interests.
Political Outlook
- Economic conditions and affordability concerns are likely to be the most important drivers of voter behavior, outweighing many of the policy debates that dominate discussion in Washington. Issues such as housing, health care, and gasoline prices remain central to how many voters evaluate political leaders and the direction of the country.
- Traditional political assumptions are becoming less reliable as demographic shifts, partisan realignment, and changing voting patterns reshape the electorate. Evolving support among key voter groups and the continued disruption of conventional political norms have made the electoral environment increasingly difficult to predict.
- Political polarization is making voter turnout and partisan enthusiasm increasingly important determinants of electoral outcomes. As fewer congressional districts remain competitive and voters become more closely aligned with party identity, elections are increasingly shaped by mobilization rather than policy position.
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