The Evolving CEO: From Corporate Leader to Cultural Guide.

Edelman’s 2025 Trust Barometer shows CEOs must lead society as well as business.

A Redefinition of Leadership

For much of the modern era, CEOs were measured by financial outputs. If shareholder value grew, leadership was deemed successful.

That definition has cracked. The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer shows that in a climate of institutional fragility and polarized debate, CEOs are expected to lead far beyond balance sheets. 80% of the global public now believes CEOs have an obligation to engage with societal issues, a figure that has remained consistently high since 2017. Business leaders are increasingly viewed as corporate executives and cultural figures capable of stabilizing fractured societies.

A Conditional License to Act

Edelman’s data introduces a key nuance: the public wants CEOs to act, but with boundaries. 79% of respondents say CEOs are justified in stepping into social debates if their company has caused the issue or has the operational power to help fix it.

The message is pragmatic. The license directs CEOs away from broad political commentary and toward areas where their business credibility is strongest. Responsibility is defined not by the volume of commentary but by the alignment between corporate action and societal impact.

The CEO as a Trusted Voice

Trust has migrated toward CEOs in ways that matter. Edelman finds that in 18 of 28 markets surveyed, CEOs are the most credible source of information about their companies. In the UAE, 74% of the population trusts CEOs, a 14-point lead over corporate spokespeople.

Globally, employees are the most credible messengers (trusted by 75%), but 65% of the public trusts CEOs in general and 72% of employees trust “their CEO.”

Their influence strengthens when paired with employee testimony and grounded in expertise, showing that cultural leadership functions as a collective act rather than a solo performance.

CEOs Outpacing Governments

One of the starkest findings is comparative responsibility. Edelman reports that people now expect CEOs to take greater responsibility than government leaders on global challenges: climate change (64%), diversity (66%), and technology innovation (64%). This inversion reflects deep disillusionment with political systems, but it also underscores the perceived capability of business.

Corporations have global reach, resources, and speed. When governments stall, the public looks to CEOs to fill the gap, not because it is ideal, but because it feels necessary. This represents a fundamental realignment of where leadership authority resides.

Bottom Line

The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer signals a cultural reset in expectations of corporate leadership. CEOs are no longer judged solely by quarterly earnings. They are assessed by their ability to step into social vacuums with authenticity and targeted action.

The mandate is conditional, act where the company has credibility, stay silent where it does not, but it is inescapable. Those who embrace this expanded role can become stabilizing figures in a volatile era.

Those who cling to the old shareholder-only model risk irrelevance in a world that now measures leadership by societal contribution as much as financial performance.

Source: Edelman — 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer Global Report