CEOs are doomscrolling too

Gen X executives are on the same feeds as Gen Z, just for different reasons. Virgin Group CEO Josh Bayliss opens TikTok daily to read what younger people think and buy.

He is not the content

Unlike McDonald's Chris Kempczinski or Costco's Ron Vachris, Bayliss doesn't star in his company's posts. He watches as a viewer and treats that as part of the job.

The culture belongs to 20-somethings

Bayliss, 53, says the people setting the cultural agenda are three decades younger than him, and serving them is an obligation rather than a nice-to-have.

“The zeitgeist is not people in their 50s like me.”

One viral clip moves the market

More than 49.5 million Gen Zers are on TikTok, enough to reshape buying behaviour overnight. Virgin spans an airline, gyms, hotels, telecoms and space tourism, all exposed to that swing.

“You've got to have the volume turned up 24/7, honestly.”

Listening beats broadcasting

Brands now reply in comment sections instead of just posting at people. Virgin's social team answers its own commenters, signalling that someone is actually reading.

“Companies that embrace cultural fluency can build stronger communities and deepen brand loyalty.”

Cultural fluency is risk control

University of Florida instructor Evan Kropp says awareness goes past trending hashtags to hiring diverse creators and tracking real conversations. It also prevents expensive public missteps.

The job never stops teaching

Richard Branson, who left school early, pushes lifelong curiosity. Indra Nooyi is blunter: reaching the corner office is the start of the hard part, not the finish line.

“When you become a CEO, the game just begins.”

Stankey's notecard system

AT&T's John Stankey seeks out younger reverse mentors, and when jargon flies past him in a meeting he fakes it, writes it down, then looks it up with a chatbot before bed.

“I pull the card out at night right before I go to sleep, and I go on the internet.”