The 4 key takeaways from business leaders in 2025

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From technological advances and geopolitical changes to workplace culture shifts and market pressures, 2025 has been a year of change, uncertainty, and disruption.

I’m Gwen Moran, and for nearly three years as Modern CEO’s editor, I’ve had a front-row seat as Mansueto Ventures CEO and Chief Content Officer Stephanie Mehta talks to business leaders and experts to help CEOs navigate the modern world. Every year, I recap some of the key insights from a year of interviews with the array of leaders featured in the newsletter. Here are four themes that we saw repeatedly in 2025.

Uncertainty and change were everywhere

Leaders faced nearly constant change—and more than a few curveballs—this year. When E.l.f. Beauty CEO Tarang Amin was named inaugural Modern CEO of the Year near the end of 2024, little did he know that tariffs, blowback over an influencer scandal, and attacks on the diversity efforts that E.l.f. champions were awaiting him in the coming months. When we asked CEOs to share their thoughts on leading during times of great uncertainty, we got responses representing industries from architecture to pharmaceuticals.

Some of the changes we saw this year will have lasting ripple effects. Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman talked about closing one of the world’s largest and most well-known philanthropies over the next two decades. What had become an annual check-in with former SAIC CEO Toni Townes-Whitley was canceled after she and the company parted ways, leaving TIAA’s Thasunda Brown Duckett as the only Black woman currently leading a Fortune 500 company.

AI still dominates the conversation

One of the most pressing mandates many CEOs face is figuring out how to realize the potential of artificial intelligence (AI). And they were forthcoming about their opportunities and challenges this year. Weber Shandwick CEO Jim O’Leary discussed how his firm’s multifaceted AI use is giving him back what most leaders value most: time. O’Leary estimates that AI saves him one to two hours per day.

This spring, Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach said the quiet part out loud when he discussed how his company made head count cuts to invest in AI. Then, during the summer, seven leading C-level execs gave us a peek at how they are using AI to do their own jobs.

Regardless of their path, leaders don’t succeed in a bubble

This year’s reporting showed us that there are many paths to the CEO’s office, from intern to chief financial officer—and even a comeback story as former Beautycounter CEO Gregg Renfrew took the reins at her new beauty company, Counter.

Despite their different backgrounds, they have one thing in common: They need great people around them to succeed. Leaders shared insights about performance management, the importance of strategic partnerships, the challenges of keeping CEOs safe, and what happens next in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Additionally, one of our top-performing pieces was about how boards need to focus more on their No. 1 job: succession planning.

Creativity and community fuel growth

Modern CEO dropped dispatches from Cannes Lions in June. It was clear that this “Festival of Creativity” has grown into an important event for CEOs. As Shelley Zalis, founder and CEO of the Female Quotient, a community of women in business, put it: “Any CEO who wants to grow, innovate, and stay culturally relevant will benefit from being here.” The importance of creativity is a message AKQA Global CEO Baiju Shah discusses with the next-generation business leaders he teaches at Northwestern University. He believes that a fusion of technology and creativity is essential for businesses, especially in the age of AI.

Another recurring theme in this year’s coverage was “community.” Cult brand co-CEO AJ Kumaran, who heads chicken chain Raising Cane’s, attributes his company’s success to a rigorous focus on its community. And your community includes your team, too: WorkJam CEO Steven Kramer explained how enlisting the wisdom of frontline workers can help you find market insights and solutions.

What lessons did you take away from Modern CEO in 2025?

Were there issues of Modern CEO that helped you or gave you something to think about this year? We’d love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts in an email message to stephaniemehta@mansueto.com.

Read more: other Modern CEO highlights

• Conscious capitalism isn’t dead
• Why your company’s next CEO might be a multi-hyphenate
• Modern CEO readers share their thoughts on top leaders

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