Good morning.
Fortune Editorial Director Kristin Stoller here. I just published a piece on how Corning, a 173-year-old glass-making company, became a darling of Silicon Valley. Under the leadership of CEO Wendell Weeks, they’re ushering in the AI revolution with next-generation fiber optic cables, powering data centers for tech giants like Microsoft.
With a market cap of $41 billion and $13 billion in 2023 revenue, Corning’s stock price has increased 50% since January. And optical fiber now accounts for 30% of the company’s revenue. You can read my full feature on Weeks’ big AI bet here.
As with every feature, some things were left on the cutting room floor. One of my favorites: Weeks doesn’t leave glass at his 9-to-5. He takes great pride in his personal glass art collection featuring the works of Stanislav Libenský and Lino Tagliapietra, and serves on the board of the town’s big tourist draw, the Corning Museum of Glass, in addition to being an Amazon board member.
Weeks also counts some of the biggest names in business as his close friends and confidants, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy, Samsung Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, and Ford’s Jim Farley.
This story provided me with the rare opportunity to speak with Amazon founder Bezos, who met and befriended the Corning CEO when he joined Amazon’s board in 2016. Bezos described how remarkably humble Weeks is (which fact checks, as Weeks was quick to point out to me that Bezos is a “much better CEO” than him).
“He is very team-oriented,” Bezos told me. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard Wendell say, ‘You guys should do this or that.’ He says, ‘We should do this or that.’ It’s very deep inside him. He’s an MVP from a team player orientation.”
Apple’s famed former head of design Jony Ive–who vacations with Weeks and his family–said one of the Corning CEO’s best traits is listening deeply to his friends and customers and remembering the questions or problems they are trying to solve.
“What absolutely blows me away is that four years could pass and he will then bring out a case and bring out a sample of a completely innovative material that they designed and developed based on that very careful listening to me,” Ive told me. “Just the modesty and the humility of quietly doing the work–you know how rare that is.”
More news below.
Kristin Stoller
kristin.stoller@fortune.com
