"We felt we had a better horse," said UBS chairman Colm Kelleher of the decision to replace current CEO Ralph Hamers in the wake of the Credit Suisse acquisition. Ralph Hamers will not literally be replaced by a horse – that would be illegal under Swiss law – though he probably does have a long face after hearing the news.

The lowdown

• 🇨🇭 Former UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti returns as CEO to guide the Credit Suisse integration.

• ⏯️ Elon Musk and other tech leaders call for a pause on AI technology until impacts are known.

• 🪤 Disney lays off Marvel Entertainment Chair Ike Perlmutter after he supported activist investor.

Flex your finance muscle

Shadow work

Ivan Illich first coined the term 'shadow work' in 1981, to describe all unpaid labor such as caring for children or mowing the lawn. 

The definition has been expanded to include the tasks that companies are increasingly delegating to their customers via technology. Many organizations are transitioning to a self-service software model, where employees are responsible for managing their own travel, human resources, expenses, and procurement. The author Craig Lambert calls this an example of “shadow work” in the workplace, which “just gets grafted on to people’s duties without their consent or sometimes even their awareness”.

Read more about this concept and how AI might come to our rescue in this article by the FT: We are all secretaries now ($).

Featured stories

Airbus withdraws bid for Atos stake

Airbus has withdrawn its bid to purchase a stake in Atos' business unit Evidian following pressure from hedge fund manager Chris Hohn. Atos' shares fell 17% to €10.71 on the news.

Hohn demanded the plan be dropped, calling it a "bailout" of Atos, and called on Airbus to focus on meeting delivery targets for new aircraft.

Atos owns sensitive quantum computing assets and cyber defenses that are considered strategic by the French government. The French government has been closely monitoring developments at Atos and will aim to protect the strategic assets within the company. It would likely prefer a French bidder.

The setback could encourage other suitors to make offers to pressure the board to reconsider their options. If all else fails, the French Government could take a leaf out of the Swiss Government's book and force a takeover.

The content we're consuming today

• Acquired: Sessions: David Senra (Founders Podcast).

• FT: Who’s afraid of commercial real estate? ($).

• Deloitte: CFO Signals 1Q 2023.

Off-balance sheet items

• If you have a spare two and a half hours, then have a look at this in-depth interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. He speaks about a variety of topics, including Elon Musk’s concerns with the tech and the meaning of life.

The bottom line