Good morning! Tapestry and Capri call off their merger, 1.25 million new users turn to Bluesky, and a CEO evolved with her $49 billion company. Have a peaceful weekend.
- Climate change. Estelle Brachlianoff is one of the most influential female CEOs in Europe. Her $49 billion company, Veolia, is ranked No. 77 on the Fortune 500 Europe (where only 6.2% of companies have female chiefs) and No. 308 on the Global 500 (where the stat is even lower, at 5.6%). But it's hard to explain to the general public what Veolia does. "We're quite unique, so therefore we don't have many comparison points," Brachlianoff says.
Brachlianoff joined Veolia almost 20 years ago, so she's had time to practice her elevator pitch—but the business has changed dramatically in two decades. Today, Veolia provides solutions for "ecological transformation," Brachlianoff says. That includes waste management, water supply, and energy, from wastewater collection and hazardous waste treatment to controlling heating and air conditioning throughout cities. In recent years, Veolia has shifted from a more traditional approach to those industries, to pitching itself as a business that can help others adapt to climate change. Recently, Veolia helped Paris clean the Seine so athletes could swim in the famously filthy river during the Olympics.
