Good morning. A big part of ensuring AI investments boost the bottom line is having the right talent. 

Companies that use artificial intelligence have continued hiring for AI-related roles over the past 12 months, according to the latest report by McKinsey, “The state of AI: How organizations are rewiring to capture value.” The research examines how companies are redesigning workflows, elevating governance, and mitigating more risks.

Several new risk-related roles are becoming part of organizations’ AI deployment processes. For example, 13% of respondents say their companies have hired AI compliance specialists, and 6% report hiring AI ethics specialists.

The survey is based on 1,491 participants in 101 nations representing a range of industries and functional specialties, according to McKinsey. Forty-two percent of work for organizations with more than $500 million in annual revenues. 

Executives at large companies report they’re hiring a broad range of AI-related roles, such as AI data scientists, machine learning engineers, and data engineers. They continue to see these roles as challenging to fill, according to the report. 

Another key finding is that AI data scientists will continue to be in high demand in the year ahead. Half of respondents whose organizations use AI say their employers will need more data scientists than they have now.

CFOs are increasingly involved in steering an organization’s AI strategy. “I own AI transformation here,” Alka Tandan, CFO of tech company Gainsight, Inc., which provides a customer success platform, told me. I asked Tandan if Gainsight is seeking to hire AI data scientists. 

“We bought an AI company called Staircase and created a separate AI division,” she said. “This division has several data scientists and we plan to add more. We found that buying a company was the easiest way to add bulk to our AI team.”

Akash Palkhiwala, CFO and COO of Qualcomm, recently told me that the company’s consistent M&A strategy has been prioritizing smaller technology acquisitions over the last year and a half to bring in talent and AI technologies which get integrated into the company’s portfolio.

On LinkedIn’s list of the 25 fastest-growing jobs, artificial intelligence engineer has been the top job over the past three years. And tech companies are offering the bulk of those jobs. For example, Apple announced last month plans to hire around 20,000 workers over the next four years who will be focused mostly on R&D, silicon engineering, software development, and AI and machine learning. 

McKinsey’s survey also found that many of the executives said their companies have reskilled portions of their workforces as part of their AI deployment over the past year. And in the years ahead plan to undertake more reskilling. 

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was not worried about the stock market, as the S&P 500 faced its first market correction since 2023 last week. Bessent said “corrections are healthy,” adding the Trump administration’s policies, largely seen as driving market uncertainty, are necessary for long-term sustainability. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is not worried about the first stock-market correction since 2023, and he says it’s actually “healthy” to have a downturn now to avoid a crisis later.

The S&P 500, which tracks the broader market, fell into a correction last week by dropping 10% from the all-time-high it set earlier this year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq and Dow Jones also fell on March 13, before all three major indexes closed up on Friday.

Still, Bessent in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” said there were “no guarantees” there won’t be a recession. He said he wasn’t worried about stock-market swings and added a downturn now could be a positive in the long term. 

“I’ve been in the investment business for 35 years, and I can tell you that corrections are healthy. They’re normal,” he told NBC. “What’s not healthy is straight up, that you get these euphoric markets. That’s how you get a financial crisis. It would have been much healthier if someone had put the brakes on in ’06, ’07. We wouldn’t have had the problems in ’08.”

Bessent’s comments come as the Trump administration’s policies on tariffs and DOGE efficiencies, including mass layoffs and spending cuts, rattle investor confidence. Since the Fed is unlikely to make major changes to its stance on interest rates at this week’s FOMC meeting, a clear message from the administration could be key to reversing the falling market, according to a note by Goldman Sachs analysts.

“If the Administration were to give a clear message that they were prepared to adjust policy to support the economy or that they would prioritize more growth-friendly parts of their agenda, that could provide more immediate relief,” the analysts wrote.

It’s unclear if the Trump administration is willing to stray from its tariff policy, which has seen it impose a broad 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports that sparked reciprocal tariffs from countries like Canada. Despite the falling market, though, Trump and his officials like Bessent seem unbothered by the prospect of an extended downturn. 

In Trump’s first month in office, spending decreased but it still outweighed revenue, with the federal deficit increasing $307 billion in February, up 3.7% year-over-year. Bessent told NBC that had the U.S. remained at its large spending levels, it would have a guaranteed financial crisis. He added the Trump administration’s recent actions are necessary to prevent a future crisis.

“We are resetting, and we are putting things on a sustainable path,” he told NBC.

Despite the recent market setback, analysts at Evercore still see the S&P 500 skyrocketing to 6,800 from its current 5,690 by the end of 2025. Yet, in the worst case, slowing GDP growth of 1.5% and core inflation above 3% may bring on a period of stagflation that could see the S&P 500 collapse to 5,200—even lower than the 5,700 level it recorded when Trump was elected in November. 

“A material move below 5,700 without reprieve from Washington signals Trump is less concerned  with stocks, more concerned with Radical Change regardless of the asset market fallout,” the Evercore analysts wrote.

For now, Bessent shook off any fears of a long-term shock to markets and said he believed the Trump administration would win over Americans with its policies.

“I’m not worried about the markets. Over the long term, if we put good tax policy in place, deregulation and energy security, the markets will do great,” Bessent said. “I say that one week does not the market make.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

• Taking a page from the private equity playbook, Intel is requiring its new CEO to put some skin in the game. Lip-Bu Tan has agreed to buy $25 million worth of Intel stock with his own money. And here’s the rub: he won’t get paid if he cashes in. However, if he smashes the lights out with his performance, his pay package has a potential value—which assumes hitting every possible goal at the highest level—of more than $400 million, according to an analysis conducted by Farient Advisors. And for shareholders, that would mean Intel’s market cap grew by $208 billion to a whopping $312 billion. 

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan had his first day on the job on Monday, and the challenge the chip industry veteran faces is staggering.

The stock, priced around $26, has lost more than half its value since December 2023—although it rallied more than 10% after his appointment—and the company is at a strategic crossroads with its chip design and manufacturing businesses. Tan’s own letter to Intel employees noted it had been a “tough few years” and that the company was at “one of the most pivotal moments in its history.”

But if Tan, 65, can hammer home the strategy and execute what could be a colossal turnaround, the Malaysian-born, Singapore-raised executive could realize a significant pay package based on the terms of the deal he struck with the Intel board, dated March 10. And as for Intel’s shareholders, Tan’s achievement would mean the market cap swelled to more than $300 billion—a level the tech giant hasn’t seen in two decades. 

Farient Advisors CEO Robin Ferracone told Fortune that Tan’s remit isn’t limited to executing a turnaround; he very nearly needs to rebuild the company. “Doubling the stock price gets you to where you were a few years ago, but tripling it to the $70 range—Intel hasn’t seen that since about 2000,” said Ferracone. “So, it’s a big lift.”

Tan’s offer letter outlines a complex series of incredibly sky-high hurdles he’ll have to clear flawlessly for shareholders and the company. But he could ultimately wind up with a pay package valued above $400 million if he maxes out all his performance and his potential awards, according to Farient’s analysis of his pay plan. In addition, Tan will have to personally invest $25 million of his own money in the stock during his first 30 days on the job, and hold it for the next five years, meaning he could potentially lose money if he isn’t up to scratch.  

“It’s a high-stakes package that reflects both the board’s confidence in his ability to drive a turnaround and a strong commitment to pay-for-performance principles,” corporate strategy consultant Arjan Singh told Fortune.

Tying stock price growth to performance targets sets a high bar, said Singh, managing partner of Corporate War Games and an adjunct professor of marketing and global strategy at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business. 

“This signals that the board is aligning executive incentives directly with shareholder returns,” he said. “It also helps mitigate concerns about excessive CEO pay without results—there’s no free equity here, and failure to deliver won’t be rewarded.”

Eric Hoffmann, vice president and chief data officer at Farient Advisors, told Fortune he “can’t stress enough that (Tan’s) grants could fail to vest entirely without stock price appreciation and slightly better than median total shareholder return against the S&P 500.”

Anatomy of a turnaround comp plan

According to Farient’s analysis, Tan’s annual cash pay consists of a base salary of $1 million with a target bonus of $2 million. His annual 2026 go-forward equity grant is valued at $24 million, but he won’t get it until next year.

For the sign-on portion of his deal, Intel gave Tan a new-hire performance stock unit (PSU) grant valued at $17 million and a stock option grant valued at $25 million. But Tan will have to double the stock price to earn the target number of PSUs—plus the stock price must outperform the S&P 500. If Tan succeeds in tripling the stock price, he’ll earn three times the number of shares. In that scenario, the PSU grant would be valued at $153 million, according to Farient’s analysis. The options vest in five tranches over five years. In the tripled-stock-price scenario, the first two tranches of his stock options could be exercised for $39 million and the other three tranches could be exercised for $88 million for a total of $127 million, according to Farient.

For his annual awards, Intel gave Tan a second PSU grant valued at $14.4 million that could be worth $86 million if the stock price triples and Intel hits the shareholder return and stock-price goals for maximum share payout. He also got another grant of stock options valued at $9.6 million which could be exercised at a value of $42 million. 

Combining both the sign-on and fiscal 2025 awards, assuming maximum performance and a tripling of the stock price, Tan’s offer has a potential value of some $408 million, according to Farient. 

Hoffmann described the compensation scheme as “highly leveraged.” There’s a significant downside for Tan, because he could lose out on his grants, and he could also lose money on his investment, he said. 

But if Tan achieves the maximum possible performance, Intel shareholders “will be dancing in the streets,” Ferracone told Fortune, given that Tan’s long-term incentives are “highly aligned with shareholder interests with a recognition that Intel needs to create significant value and catch up if not leapfrog competitors in the AI space.”

The grant date value of his total pay package is $69 million, which includes his salary, target bonus, and value of the options, equity and PSUs, but does not account for realizing the maximum amounts, which could be higher if the stock price rises.

Based on the terms of the offer, that’s exactly what Intel is expecting of Tan—plus much more. The lion’s share of Tan’s potential pay is at risk and equity-based and one of the main components is the new-hire performance stock grant. 

“CEO equity awards are often tied to achieving specific operational or financial metrics, but it’s infrequent to require such steep stock price increases,” corporate governance expert and Georgetown University associate professor Jason Schloetzer told Fortune. “In my view, the plan distinguishes itself for its rather aggressive performance criteria.”

Schloetzer noted that CEO compensation plans often have three-year vesting schedules, and Intel’s five-year plan is longer than usual. He said it could reflect the Intel board’s desire “to balance the aggressive target with not motivating excessive risk taking or cutting corners that create long-term harm.”

In a statement, Intel said Tan’s pay package is competitive with the market. 

“Lip-Bu’s compensation reflects his experience and credentials as an accomplished technology leader with deep industry experience and is market competitive,” Intel said. “The vast majority of his compensation is equity-based and tied to long-term shareholder value creation.” 

Intel’s comp plan design is a clear signal to investors that the company believes in Tan’s ability to reverse the tech giant’s performance, but that he won’t get a free lunch, said Singh. Plus, Tan will be on equal footing with investors at the outset with his vow to buy stock worth $25 million—and then hold onto it for the full five-year period for all his PSUs to vest.

“Obviously, the use of equity-based vehicles, the longer-term vesting of five years, the performance parameters in the plans, and Lip-Bu’s required investment clearly communicates that Lip-Bu’s Job #1 is to create shareholder value, which is totally aligned with shareholders’ interests,” said Ferracone.

As for his personal investment, it’s not a common feature in CEO offer letters, said Courtney Yu, director of research at compensation and governance firm Equilar, and the size of the investment itself is on the higher side relative to CEOs with a similar ask. 

Private equity firm CEOs often hold large stakes in the companies they lead, but public company CEOs are typically required to build up an ownership stake over time by holding the equity they get as compensation and maintaining a minimum stake valued at five or six times their annual pay. 

“For a public company, this level of financial commitment is a strong signal of personal accountability,” noted Singh. “It ensures the CEO has real skin in the game, which could resonate well with shareholders looking for leadership that is fully committed to Intel’s long-term success.”

Regarding Tan’s $25 million stock purchase, Intel said it “reflects his belief in Intel and commitment to creating shareholder value.”

In addition to the agreement with Tan, Intel announced that it would compensate interim co-CEOs Michelle Johnston Holthaus and David Zinsner with $1.5 million in cash apiece for holding down the fort during the search process after the end of former CEO Pat Gelsinger’s tenure at the chip giant in December. 

Similarly, the board’s interim executive chair, Frank Yeary, will return to being Intel’s independent chair. For his time in the interim role, Yeary will get restricted stock units valued at $700,000, the company said. 

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com