Good morning! There's a new Fortune 500 chief, the firm behind Wall Street's Fearless Girl statue cuts DEI, and Best Buy's Corie Barry is a voice to pay attention to on Trump's tariffs. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
- What to know. In late 2023, I interviewed Best Buy CEO Corie Barry at that year's Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit. I came away from that conversation struck by just how much insight Barry's position atop the $42 billion-in-revenue electronics retailer gives her into the global economy.
At the time, she described what was then a "contradictory" macroeconomic environment. Consumers were in a "good place" spending at record levels, but the way they spent was changing. Electronics have traditionally been categorized as discretionary spending—although Barry has argued they should be considered a necessity—giving her early insight into where, when, and why consumers are pulling back.
