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Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Politico

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The Truth About Donald Trump’s Sanity

The Truth About Donald Trump’s Sanity

President Donald Trump has labeled numerous Americans—from Republican lawmakers to patriotic policy experts—as “stupid” and even...

20.05.2026 7

Time

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

The U.S. has 1,200 AI bills and no good test for any of them

Yale's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Stephen Henriques and NYU's Gary Marcus offer a method for separating necessary AI regulation from legislative noise.

15.05.2026 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Your trusted advocate or your rebellious Frankenstein: how you deploy agentic AI determines which one you get

Yale's Chief Executive Leadership Institute analyzed agentic AI across 13 industries: the most dangerous decision isn't whether to deploy AI — it's...

07.05.2026 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Anthropic’s most powerful AI model just exposed a crisis in corporate governance. Here’s the framework every CEO needs.

Yale's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and colleagues argue that Claude Mythos will break enterprise deployment in ways that cannot be undone—without key fixes.

02.05.2026 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Why your data infrastructure — not your AI model — will determine whether Agentic AI scales

Most enterprises are burning AI budgets on tools they're not ready to use. The constraint isn't compute — it's the messy, siloed data underneath.

30.04.2026 5

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

AI won’t kill your job — it will kill the path to your first one

The AI disruption story is being told wrong. Firms aren't firing — they're freezing hiring.

29.04.2026 5

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

This Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: Tim Cook is leaving at a peak and John Ternus is exactly the right CEO for the AI era

The market's muted reaction to Apple's leadership handoff is shortsighted. Cook's deliberate, Steve Jobs–approved succession puts Apple ahead of AI...

20.04.2026 9

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

The futility of Trump’s grandiose personal branding of public assets, from ballrooms and bills to ships and planes

From Trump RX to Trump-class warships, this relentless personal branding is unprecedented — and a case study in the fragility hiding beneath the...

13.04.2026 8

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

The Beginning of the End for Russia

07.04.2026 550

Time

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

America’s CEOs have become reluctant guardians of democracy

As "No Kings" protests draw millions and institutional trust collapses, America's business leaders may be democracy's last credible line.

06.04.2026 7

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

We’re no longer in a bull or bear market. We’re in a Trump market — and here’s how to navigate it

As U.S.-Iran tensions whipsaw stocks by 10%–15% in a single session, getting inside Trump's mind is now the only macro indicator that matters.

26.03.2026 6

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Trump’s Iran War looks improvised. It isn’t. Here’s the playbook he’s been running for decades

Pundits keep calling Trump's waging of the Iran war contradictory and improvised. Our book shows it's the same playbook he's used his entire career.

17.03.2026 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Time on his side: Michael Dell the real business icon as Icahn the activist recedes from view

In retrospect, the titanic battle between Dell and Icahn likely marked a turning point in activist investing.

05.03.2026 8

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Exclusive analysis: we looked at the 400 western firms still in Russia. Their paltry size strips Putin’s bluff bare naked

Russia's "paper bear" economy fools Trump.

27.02.2026 20

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

We heard CEOs rip into Trump’s tariffs behind the scenes and the Supreme Court just vindicated them

But sadly, the economic uncertainty isn't over.

21.02.2026 40

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

The skies for American Airlines are clearer than you think

Robert Isom is steering American Airlines through a very particular kind of turbulence.

16.02.2026 30

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Disney’s new D’Amaro-land:  a dream team succession saga comes to life

Bob Iger was a returning general to Disney in 2022, but he built a roster of top lieutenants helping with his succession plan.

05.02.2026 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

How Trump helped Harvard: 5 ‘Crimson’ leadership lessons on standing up to bullies 

The people and companies of Minnesota exhibit them, too.

01.02.2026 7

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Slipping on ICE: innocent retailers are the latest collateral damage from Trump’s perpetual noise machine

ICE is slipping on a puddle of its own making. Let's not put the rest of our crucial nationwide retailers on shaky footing.

21.01.2026 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

How Trump Outfoxed Himself

21.01.2026 40

Time

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Is Powell’s Fed head independence dead? Trump outfoxes himself this time

The only surprising quality regarding President Trump unleashing federal investigators to prepare potential prosecution criminal charges against the...

13.01.2026 30

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Is Powell’s Fed head independence dead? It’s just one more diversionary Trump trick

You know what we're not talking about amid the latest Fed dustup? Trump's awful polling numbers, even among his own supporters.

13.01.2026 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

A cautionary Hollywood tale: the Ellisons’ lose-lose Paramount positioning

Hollywood history is a trail littered with cautionary tales, and Netflix's Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos have framed a lose-lose coin toss for the...

12.01.2026 6

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

The 7 most overlooked CEOs in 2025—and the 4 to watch in 2026

The Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute highlights the top performers of 2025 and the top leaders to watch in 2026.

07.01.2026 30

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Oil is a Bad Excuse for Trump’s Strike on Venezuela

06.01.2026 40

Time

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

5 takeaways on Venezuela in the aftermath of Maduro: a memo to CEOs

There is little dispute about the character of Nicolas Maduro, but there is little incentive for U.S. corporate leaders to gloat and be used as foils.

04.01.2026 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Why over 80% of America’s top CEOs think Trump would be wrong not to pick Chris Waller for Fed chair

The dark-horse candidate may lack the White House network of other top contenders but he is perhaps the only one who can give Trump the rate cuts he...

27.12.2025 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

The secrets of what Arnault knows: How Bernard Arnault built the impossible, and his timeless, transferable lessons of leadership 

Arnault didn't merely preserve a single great house after a founder’s passing. He's assembled, disciplined, and sustained an entire federation of...

23.12.2025 20

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Why Trump Should Call Putin’s Bluff Now

17.12.2025 40

Time

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

The Trump administration gets it right on limiting the power of proxy advisory firms such as ISS and Glass Lewis 

For decades, far before it became popular, we've been vocally questioning the credibility of proxy advisory firms. Jamie Dimon and Elon Musk more...

16.11.2025 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Trump’s breaking-the-china strategy isn’t working: Despite the global collateral damage, only modest progress has been made with China

Trump’s China visit revealed the weakness behind his tariff tactics, with major consequences for American businesses and consumers.

04.11.2025 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Behind closed doors, our top CEOs say Trump is bad for business and it’s time to Make America into America Again

At our Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute forum, over 100 business leaders said what they really think. They're worried Trump is eroding...

21.09.2025 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Bob Iger got it right suspending Jimmy Kimmel: It’s what Walt would have done

He refused to apologize. Guaranteed First Amendment legal rights are different from a private enterprise exercising editorial judgment.

19.09.2025 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Musk holds hostage history’s biggest meme stock delusion

Musk's magic wand is drained, and there's a fine line between visionary winners and delusional losers.

06.09.2025 20

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

How Harvard Can Out-Negotiate Trump

05.09.2025 10

Time

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Is Putin playing Trump or is Trump playing us?

Is Putin buying time to batter Ukraine? Or is Trump dangling vague assurances? It's all bark and no bite — all hat and no cattle.

31.08.2025 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Why every CEO—and every American—should be fed up with Trump’s Fed attack

CEOs must recognize that they can inadvertently become complicit in the erosion of core American values as they watch, worried from the sidelines.

27.08.2025 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

The emperor strikes back—but Trump’s revenge and deflection aren’t public protection

Over 2,000 years ago, Roman emperors would arrange massive public salutes to themselves, surrounded by armed, uniformed soldiers and cheering crowds.

26.08.2025 20

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Trump’s Summit Need Not Be an Echo of Appeasement

17.08.2025 10

Time

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Is MAGA going Marxist and Maoist? Trump’s assault on free-market capitalism

Many business leaders are horrified at the prospect of New York City turning socialist under Zohran Mamdani, but Trump's assaults on free-market...

13.08.2025 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Trump’s ‘Queen of Hearts’ moment with the BLS echoes Putin’s purges and Orwell’s omens

The Queen of Hearts would say “off with their heads!” every time she was disappointed. Trump says data he doesn’t like is “faked.”

05.08.2025 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

How Trump's Decision to Fire BLS Chief Echoes Putin’s Strategies

03.08.2025 10

Time

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Trump’s trade tantrum leaves American economy needing more

Erratic financial markets, a slowdown in consumer spending, strained relations with allies. What's next?

01.08.2025 10

Salon

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Volodomyr Zelensky Must Stand Up to Corruption

We have watched with increasing dismay and as the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acted against political opponents,...

24.07.2025 10

Time

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Damage Elon Musk faces from his Trump feud is just getting started

Musk’s companies are dependent on the government—and ultimately Trump—in one way or another.

18.07.2025 7

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

The attacks on Tim Cook are half-baked—despite Apple stumbling over AI 

Under Tim Cook's leadership, Apple’s market value has soared from $350 billion in 2011 to more than $3 trillion today.

16.07.2025 8

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Why Mark Zuckerberg’s AI talent spending spree is no guarantee that Meta will catch up to rivals

The Meta CEO is counting on his spending spree to fuel AI innovation as his tech giant falls behind its peers.

11.07.2025 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

How Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s success discredits ‘stick to your knitting’ leadership advice

The Nvidia CEO repeatedly tossed out his business plans to embrace disruptive new advances on the frontiers of technology.

08.07.2025 10

Fortune

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

Leaders Must Learn How to Deal with Trump

08.07.2025 10

Time

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld

What Will Really Happen if New York City Goes Socialist

27.06.2025 20

Time

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld