Philly-area CEOs challenged by economic uncertainty. Here’s how they’re managing it

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

The average Wawa customer isn’t spending as much as they used to at the register, CEO Chris Gheysens told a crowd of business professionals at West Chester University on Friday.

“Consumers are worried, they have inflation fatigue, for sure,” Gheysens said. “What we see in our stores in this region is people are shrinking what they get. I might have gotten three items, but now I’m getting two.”

It’s been like that for the past year, and he doesn’t expect the situation to change for the better in the coming months.

Instead, the convenience store chain is leaning into offering more than just snacks — a warm, positive experience.

“What people need, not just functionally but even emotionally,” he said. “You want to feel a sense of calm, a sense of comfort, that my dollar is going to get me somewhere.”

That sentiment is blending into how CEOs reassure not just customers, but their own workforces during the rollercoaster that has been President Donald Trump’s and his administration’s initial efforts to implement their agenda.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia CEO Madeline Bell said that it feels like she’s “chief reassurance officer,” like she was during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My goal was to reassure everyone that I was there for them, consistent and supporting in any way I could,” Bell said. “It feels very much like that again.”

The difference now is the turbulence is not coming from a global health emergency, but from threats to Medicaid and National Institutes of Health research funding.

“It feels very much like the pandemic for our team,” she said. “Lots of uncertainty, lots of concern about them and their careers and our patients.”

Trump’s trade provocations sent Wall Street stocks tumbling in recent weeks as tariffs were enacted on goods from China, and toggled on and off against Mexico, Canada and the European Union.

Long-term view

For Valley Forge-based Vanguard, the strategy during stock market fluctuations is to take a long-term view and anticipate how the economy may rebound in the next decade, CEO Salim Ramji said.

“The best investment advice is don’t overreact and just stay the course so that’s really what we’re telling our clients,” Ramji said.

That’s what companies in Chester County who can sit back and ride out the economic storm are doing, said Mike Grigalonis, president of the Chester County Economic Development Council, which co-hosted the CEO roundtable event.

“I think there’s also a sense of, let’s not overreact, let’s wait and see,” Grigalonis said. “Let the dust settle a little bit and then set our strategies forward.”

Laura Manion, CEO of the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry, said not every business has a choice about whether to make changes now or later.

“We talked to a lot of businesses over the last couple of weeks that are preparing to make long-term changes to their business model given the recent announcements with tariffs and funding cuts,” Manion said.