Once and for all, are millennials really different from 1) older generations like Baby Boomers, and 2) previous generations of younger people?

I have to say the answers seem pretty obvious to me, yet for some reason folks feel the need to endlessly opine on this. I guess it’s kind of a timeless debate probably going back to when we all lived in caves.

Make no mistake though, billions of dollars, never mind the future of the biggest companies on the planet and more are at stake. How is that? Attracting and retaining a younger demographic is of course critical to the sustainability and success of all our institutions. Think of all the attention placed on and strategies crafted to addressing the wants and needs of young people, whether they’re customers, employees or of course voters.

So the stakes are high.

I delved into this a bit a few months ago, but recently had the opportunity to get top business leaders to give us their take at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit: Generational Opportunities.

Naturally, the biggest change agent when it comes to cleaving the young from the old or from previous generations is technology.

Technology affects behavior which affects society and commerce. Former star basketball player and current ESPN host and commentator Jay Williams spoke about how it isn’t just professional or college athletes who are looking to monetize themselves, but even younger people. “I think you are going to see a lot of kids in high school start thinking about themselves as brands as well, he said. “It's going to push the envelope.” None of this would be even conceivable without mobile phones and Instagram for instance.

Paradoxically perhaps, young people seem to demand authenticity (a favorite term) from that virtual world. Listen to a practitioner, Mark D’Arcy, chief creative officer of Facebook, “...younger consumers are looking for purpose in the brands they connect with, that they invest in,” he says. “They want to know the story. They want, increasingly sustainability and environmentalism. These are not trends. These are core principles of branding in the brands that are really connecting. And that story behind the brand is an integral part of that.”

And that sentiment is finding its way into all manner of businesses. Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq, spoke about the influence of the young, “...our clients are changing. So their expectations of the markets are changing,” she said. “They're much more focused on ESG [environmental, social, and governance.] It's not just how well the company does financially, but how well they do in serving their communities around them. Are they doing the right thing while they are driving to the right financial results? That is changing investing in many ways, and that is all being driven by millennials and — and Gen Zers. And I think that's going to have a lasting impact on the markets and on the companies and how we operate.”