Business Roundtable CEO Workforce Forum Puts AI Skills And Career Mobility At Center Stage

On September 15, 2026, some of America's most prominent business leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., with a challenge that is becoming increasingly important for executives: how should companies prepare their people for a workplace increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence? At the 2026 CEO Workforce Forum, hosted by Business Roundtable at the National Geographic Museum of Exploration, executives and workforce experts focused on how businesses can respond to technological change while creating opportunities for employees to learn, advance, and build durable careers.

Business Leaders Focus On The New World Of Work

The forum, titled "The New World of Work," brought together leaders from major U.S. companies and organizations. Participants included Walmart President and CEO John Furner, Cisco Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins, UPS CEO Carol Tomé, AT&T Chairman and CEO John Stankey, Rockwell Automation Chairman and CEO Blake Moret, Zoetis CEO Kristin Peck, and J.B. Hunt Transport Services President and CEO Shelley Simpson.

The gathering centered on a practical question confronting companies across industries. Artificial intelligence can automate or accelerate individual tasks, but businesses still depend on people who understand customers, operations, collaboration, judgment, and the broader context surrounding those tasks. For executives, that makes AI adoption as much a workforce strategy issue as a technology investment.

That theme appeared throughout the forum. One session examined labor market data and how occupations and tasks are changing as AI becomes more widely used. Another focused on how chief executives are creating new career pathways and preparing employees to use AI effectively. The discussions highlighted the growing connection between technology deployment, employee development, and long term organizational planning.

Labor Data Shows Why AI Skills Matter

Recent federal labor data provides important context for those conversations. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has introduced AI exposure categories alongside its 2025 to 2035 employment projections, reflecting the growing need to understand where artificial intelligence may assist with or complete occupational tasks.

However, exposure to AI does not automatically determine whether employment in a particular occupation will increase or decrease. Job demand depends on numerous factors, including economic conditions, technological adoption, productivity changes, consumer demand, and the specific responsibilities associated with an occupation.

That distinction is important for corporate leaders. AI does not create one uniform workforce outcome across every profession. Its effects can vary considerably depending on the work involved, how organizations deploy the technology, and whether employees develop complementary capabilities.

Earlier federal employment projections also illustrate this difference. Several technology intensive occupations, including data scientists, information security analysts, operations research analysts, and software developers, were projected to experience strong growth between 2024 and 2034. At the same time, technological changes were expected to contribute to declining employment in some administrative and customer service occupations.

For CEOs and senior executives, these trends create a strategic workforce planning challenge. Organizations need to identify which responsibilities are changing, determine where employees require additional capabilities, and consider how training can support productivity while preserving opportunities for professional advancement.

Career Mobility Becomes A Leadership Priority

The CEO Workforce Forum extended beyond AI implementation itself. Sessions also examined skills development, education, workforce investment, workplace culture, and economic mobility. Corporate leaders discussed how companies can create environments that help employees develop new skills and pursue opportunities for advancement as workplace requirements evolve.

The emphasis on career mobility reflects a broader leadership challenge. Companies implementing new technologies must consider not only what their systems can accomplish but also how employees will participate in the transformation. Training programs, internal career pathways, and continuing education can become important components of an organization's technology strategy.

Education was another significant part of the conversation. Discussions examined how learning may evolve as AI tools become capable of providing increasingly personalized assistance and access to information. This raises important questions for both educators and employers about which human capabilities will become more valuable as technology changes how knowledge work is performed.

Critical thinking, communication, judgment, technical literacy, and the ability to work effectively with emerging tools may become increasingly relevant across a range of professions. For business leaders, developing those capabilities can require collaboration among executives, managers, employees, educational institutions, and workforce organizations.

Technology Strategy And Talent Strategy Converge

One of the clearest themes emerging from the CEO Workforce Forum is the increasingly close relationship between technology strategy and talent strategy. Investing in artificial intelligence is only one component of organizational transformation.

Businesses also need to determine how new tools fit into existing workflows, where responsibilities may change, which skills employees require, and how workers can continue progressing as job descriptions evolve. Those questions affect productivity, recruitment, retention, organizational culture, and long term competitiveness.

The challenge is particularly important because the long term employment effects of artificial intelligence remain uncertain. The technology continues to develop quickly, and its impact will vary across industries and occupations. That uncertainty makes ongoing workforce assessment increasingly relevant for executive teams.

Rather than treating workforce preparation as a one time response to a technological shift, companies may need to approach it as a continuing management responsibility. Skills requirements can change as technology improves, business models evolve, and customer expectations develop.

What The CEO Workforce Forum Means For Business Leaders

For executives, the September 15 gathering highlighted a transition in the corporate AI conversation. The discussion is increasingly moving beyond whether organizations should experiment with artificial intelligence and toward how businesses can integrate the technology responsibly into everyday operations while preparing employees for changing responsibilities.

That shift has practical implications for leadership teams. Understanding how work is changing inside an organization can help executives identify skills gaps, evaluate training priorities, and build clearer pathways between current positions and emerging roles.

The 2026 CEO Workforce Forum ultimately underscored a central challenge facing American businesses: technological capability alone does not determine whether transformation succeeds. Companies must also consider the people responsible for implementing, managing, and working alongside those technologies.

For executives navigating this transition, the opportunity is to connect technology investment with thoughtful workforce planning. Organizations that understand both sides of that equation can be better positioned to adapt as AI continues to reshape how American businesses operate, compete, and develop their people.