Rita Garwood,
Editor-in-Chief,
Monitor

#NextGen contains a key word in its nomenclature: next. Why is this one word important? It describes the intersection and pivot point for new ideas emerging from reflections of the past.

This is an exciting time. The pace of innovation and change is ever increasing in every aspect of our companies. An ever-changing economy, a re-imagination of the workplace, advances in technology (Hello, ChatGPT!), and with that, an opportunity to empower rising talent across our companies to help steer our future. Our industry and its leaders are evolving to embrace this future! Dialogues are more diverse with voices across multiple layers of representation. Our companies are leveraging knowledge from industry veterans and infusing it with #NextGen leaders to make more inclusive, informed decisions that address the opportunities that are developing even as we pen this guest editor’s letter. Who better to navigate this transition than the next generation?

This edition includes the Top 40 Under 40 of our industry today. Reviewing their nominations was fascinating as we have entrepreneurs starting their own companies, process improvement experts, change management leaders, sales champions and more. What this group represents is part of the next phase of our industry, emphasizing the human connections that stir energy and progress. Everyone selected for this list is someone who did something different, got uncomfortable or made the impossible possible. The expectations are high. The future is now. Let’s see how it changes in the hands of our #NextGen.

As always, our May/June issue is overflowing with information, data and stories related to the three major themes of this issue: NextGen leaders, vendor finance and technology.

In addition to our annual list of the top 40 NextGen leaders 40 and under, we also share the results of a survey completed by present and past Monitor NextGen leaders and the results are clear — finding balance is important.

The vendor top 40 set a record for the highest year-over-year percentage recorded in the history of the ranking. The team of leaders we assembled for this year’s vendor finance roundtable agree that the vendor finance market is flush with opportunities and challenges. Justin Tabone and Nareen Gurnani from TIAA suggest that digital innovation is necessary to keep up.

In our business, which thrives on relationships, many argue that technology could be detrimental, but Peter Haug and Van Wrenn argue that it can be used to augment the customer experience. Scott Nelson agrees and suggests that technology also can be used to enhance empathy. And while the technology of fleets may be changing dramatically, Patrick Gaskins and Frank Bussone argue that the principles for financing these assets remain the same.

In Doing the Work, we explore communicating across generations, in The Tomorrow Zone, Deb Reuben talks with Todd Buzard about lifelong learning, in Tipping the Scales Scott Chait gives us the full disclosure on New York’s disclosure law and in Crunching the Numbers, Bill Bosco launches a new column called CFO Chats.

Stay tuned for our annual Monitor 100 issue and have a wonderful summer!