The C-suites and boardrooms of corporate America should be on high alert entering 2025.
They are facing geopolitical turmoil, the uncertainty of a second Trump administration, an increasingly polarized country and a public that’s lost its faith in big business. Existential questions loom over the role of the country’s biggest companies during such a tumultuous moment — and who is best to lead them through it.
These intersecting questions will drive the business world’s biggest stories next year. Here’s what I’ll be watching:
CEOs vs. Trump. CEOs were willing to act as a moral counterweight during the first Trump presidency, speaking out against actions that went against their purported values, such as the travel ban from Muslim-majority countries and the January 6 riots.
Expect things to look very different during Trump 2.0. Most CEOs stayed silent during the campaign season, while some courted Trump behind the scenes and rushed to publicly congratulate him after his victory. Now the likes of Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. are taking things a step further by donating to Trump’s inaugural fund.
But I suspect the back-slapping and ego-stroking won’t last four years. The questions will be: Where does Big Business draw its red lines, and how will it respond when Trump inevitably crosses them.
The Great DEI Rollback. Corporate America has continued to walk back its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, pushed by rightwing activist Robby Starbuck, whose latest and biggest victory is Walmart Inc. And with the incoming Trump administration set to target and punish companies it considers “woke,” expect to see more companies publicly throw their DEI promises on the bonfire.
There is some evidence that employers are still investing in DEI — just quietly and without using the now-taboo acronym. But the failure to publicly stand up for the importance of diversity will have real consequences. We already have seen a slowdown in progress for women in business, for example. It’s now expected to take five years longer than previously estimated for women to reach parity in the C-suite, while fewer boardroom roles are being filled by women and Black directors. There’s likely to be more backsliding for underrepresented groups in the year ahead.
A Crisis of Trust. After the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in early December, C-suites around the country were caught off guard by the anger directed at the company rather than the killer.
At its core, the vitriol is a symptom of the ongoing erosion of trust in big business. Will the breakdown continue in 2025? Or will companies and executives work to restore it, rather than just doubling-down on their own security?
The C-Suite in the Age of Urgency. This was a tough year to be a CEO, with an unprecedented number forced out of the job, according to Bloomberg News. It all comes down to a word much-beloved word by Wall Street: urgency. Shareholders are increasingly impatient, and boards are giving their CEOs less time to get things done — or if needed, to turn the business around. And new CEOs are expected to hit the ground running, making the once-standard 90-day listening tour a thing of the past.
Despite the turnover, a consensus has yet to develop on the best model for CEO succession for this era. This year we saw big companies go with insiders (CVS Health Corp.), outsiders (Starbucks Corp., Boeing Co.) and boomerang executives (Nike Inc.). The job of a CEO won’t get any easier or less complex in 2025, so boards will continue to grapple with how much time to give leaders to execute their strategies — and who is best to replace them when they pull the plug.
Disney, Starbucks and ???. These two companies were a bellwether for some of the most zeitgeisty corporate narratives in 2024: CEO succession and compensation, labor organizing, corporate governance, return to office and the DEI and “woke” backlash. Their next chapters will unfold in 2025: Can Walt Disney Co. find a capable replacement for longtime CEO Bob Iger in one of the business world’s most closely watched succession dramas? Will new Starbucks chief Brian Niccol turn around the coffee giant and prove he’s worth his enormous pay package?
And even as these sagas play out, some other company (or companies) will likely emerge as the big, juicy corporate story for the coming year. If I had to bet, I’d put my money on Intel Corp. and its shaky future, Boeing and its continuing crisis, and any number of healthcare businesses that are facing increased public and political scrutiny. But I’d be interested to hear what you think — any guesses?
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