In a conversation with Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi on the Opening Bid podcast, former Medtronic CEO Bill George said that the world’s CEOs welcome signs of progress on US trade deals, as they’re ready to put money to work.
“CEOs are relieved [following the latest US-China trade truce],” George said. “I think CEOs are eager to invest. I think the market is eager to see them invest too. I think the response to the market since the news would be a clear indication of let’s stop this tariff foolishness. And let’s get back to building the country.”
George, who has sat on the boards of Target (TGT), ExxonMobil (XOM), and Goldman Sachs (GS) and is considered a leadership expert, said he’s telling CEOs to be ready to deploy capital once more trade clarity emerges.
“It gets very hard [in these backdrops]. I would say right now, get ready to blast off, so to speak,” George added. “Like there’s a big game coming up. Get ready to launch, but you may want to hold on to your cash and your investment dollars for a while before you make those big moves.”