Good morning! South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will be secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, 23andMe cuts 40% of its workforce, and the IMF’s Gita Gopinath sees the much-discussed disconnect between the U.S. economy and the way people feel about it.
– Econ 101. Inflation has been a hot topic since the U.S. voted to send Donald Trump back to the White House, with pundits arguing that higher prices drove voters to reject the Biden Administration.
Gita Gopinath, the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, is a true expert on the global economy. Gopinath was appointed as the IMF’s chief economist by Christine Lagarde in 2018; in 2022, she was named to her current role. A longtime economist and academic, the 52-year-old’s research focuses on international finance and and macroeconomics. She spends her time thinking about the economic health of the entire world, and not just U.S. elections—but she still shared her perspective at the Fortune Global Forum in New York yesterday.
Michael O’Shea for Fortune
The U.S. economy is strong, she said, as the Biden White House has frequently argued. “We’ve seen a global economy that has been resilient in a way that we haven’t seen before” through a “pandemic and energy crisis, inflation that shot up, and central banks everywhere raised interest rates,” Gopinath told Fortune editor Clay Chandler. Economies have avoided a “prolonged global recession” and the high unemployment that have followed past periods of high inflation, such as in the 1970s.
But Gopinath acknowledges that numbers like annual growth outlook (3.2% this year, down from an average of 3.8%) don’t mean as much to everyday people. “Inflation rates came down, which means prices are continuing to go up, but at a slower pace. So if you look over a four-year period, you have seen households who looked at the how much they’re paying for their goods…and said, ‘Well, everything is a lot more expensive,’” she said. “So it’s not surprising the way people feel versus the way I’m describing how the global economy is.”
The rest of Gopinath’s conversation covered topics like what to expect from Trump’s tariff program (“We have to wait, once the policy announcements happen, then we will analyze the consequences of that,” she said.) and the impact of the economy on AI adoption.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
– Homeland security selection. Donald Trump chose South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Noem, who was banned from certain tribal lands in her state and faced backlash for the description in her book of killing her dog, is a longtime supporter of Trump with staunch views on immigration. CNN
– Restructuring and suffering. Anne Wojcicki’s 23andMe is cutting 40% of its staff—200 jobs—and pausing the development of its therapies as the company restructures. Fiscal second quarter earnings were down $50 million from Q2 last year, and 23andMe said in its filings that “there is substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.” Financial Times
– Partner promotions. Goldman Sachs promoted a record 26 women to partner, with women making up 27% of the 95-person class this year. While the number of female partners is up, the percentage is down from 29% in 2022; 2024’s class is the largest since David Solomon started as CEO in 2018. Wall Street Journal
– Not an ace. Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejčíková called for greater professionalism in sports media after an analyst was caught on a hot mic making an insulting comment about her appearance (specifically, her forehead). “As an athlete who has dedicated herself to this sport, it was disappointing to see this type of unprofessional commentary,” the tennis star said in a statement. The analyst was removed from air on the Tennis Channel. CNN
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Kathi Vidal announced that she will step down as director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in December and return to the private sector.
Julie Whalen will step down as CFO of Expedia; she has also resigned from the board of directors.
MassMutual CFO Betsy Ward will retire from the life insurance company after 30 years. Mary Jane Fortin will succeed her.
AARP named Myechia Minter-Jordan CEO. Most recently, she served as president and CEO of CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.
Principal Financial Group appointed Deanna Strable president and CEO. She is currently the company’s president and chief operating officer.
PopSockets, a phone grip accessory developer, named Jiayu Lin chief executive officer. Most recently, she was the company’s president.
Boomi, an integration and automation platform, appointed Francesca Molinari as chief people officer and Valerie Rainey as chief operating officer. Most recently, Molinari was an independent strategic HR consultant; previously, she was chief people officer at Maergo. Rainey was most recently an operating partner at K1 Investment Management and previously served as president of iCIMS.
Level Access, a digital accessibility solutions provider, appointed Rachel Roberts as chief revenue officer. Most recently, Roberts was CRO at AppDynamics.
REI Co-op, an outdoor clothing and gear retailer, named Abigail Jacobs chief marketing officer. Most recently, Jacobs was SVP of integrated marketing and brand at Sephora.
Venture capital firm Susa Ventures named Sheila Tran head of marketing and platform. Most recently, Tran was chief communications officer at Opendoor.
Crescent Biopharma, a biotech company focused on solid tumor treatment, appointed Susan Moran and Alexandra Balcom to its board of directors. Most recently, Moran was chief medical officer at RayzeBio. Balcom is currently CFO at Nuvalent.
Biocom California, a life science industry association, appointed Kathryn Lowell and Tina Self to its board of directors. Lowell serves as group vice president of global government affairs at BioMarin. Self is SVP, biologics manufacturing capacity cluster leader and Berkeley site head at Bayer.
ON MY RADAR
Perimenopausal women are ‘enraged’—and no longer keeping quiet Washington Post
Logitech’s CEO takes diving lessons into the Metaverse Bloomberg
Kaia Gerber knows what you’re thinking Vogue
PARTING WORDS
“Real shared information and coming together and growing like this is going to be where I believe [women’s] power is because we’re formidable alone.”
— Actor Brooke Shields on building community for women
