Policy Backgrounders

National Debt & Trade Wars Top of Mind for C-Suite in 2025

January 15, 2025

Since 1999, The Conference Board has surveyed CEOs and other C-Suite executives around the globe to identify the most critical issues they face and the strategies they are developing to meet them. The latest survey, conducted in November after the US elections, asked 1,722 C-Suite executives and board members, including 508 CEOs, for their views on the issues and events they expect to impact their business significantly in 2025, how AI is helping their organizations improve performance, what challenges they face in human capital, and which plans and strategies they will use to steer their businesses. Once again, responses in the Outlook parallel a number of prominent issues on which CED focuses.

• Businesses are preparing for ongoing economic and geopolitical challenges and anticipating a potentially tough operating environment in 2025. The challenge for business leaders is how to thrive, not just survive, such a turbulent and unpredictable environment.
• The national debt and deficits remain the top priority for 51% of US CEOs.
• There is strong concern globally about protectionism and trade, with almost 42% of global executives putting the possibility of trade wars as the geopolitical issue of most concern.
• Higher energy prices are another key geopolitical concern globally.
• Over half of all US executives report that the productivity of their workforce is the biggest improvement from using AI. But there are significant challenges as well – “lack of expertise” was first at 45.6%, then data privacy and security concerns second at 29.7%.
• Climate resilience was the most important environmental priority for US executives at 31%, followed by renewable energy and waste/circular economy tied at 26%, and then investment in the energy transition at 23.9% and carbon neutrality at 22.8%. Resilience is becoming an increasingly important theme.
• In response to a question about social priorities on which their companies focus (which the results for US executives reflect longstanding CED priorities). Nearly half (49.3%) said economic opportunity is a focus, 42.5% education, and 20.9% gender equality. At the heart of CED’s mission is “sustaining capitalism,” which can only happen if people know they have real economic opportunity.