CEOs Are Confident About Growth And Say Tech Will Get Them There

Forbes

24-03-2025

Nine in 10 C-suite leaders say they're confident in their company's growth over the next three years, and technology is how they plan to get there. A new study from Forbes Research found that 52% of executives said speeding up digital transformation was one of their top priorities this year. Compared to 2024, this number increased on the annual survey by 30%, writes Janett Haas, SVP of Research & Insights at Forbes.
The vast majority are making some major tech investments, with 93% listing either AI or cybersecurity as one of their top investments for the next year, with more than half boosting these budgets by more than 16%, the survey found. Many companies are getting into the groove of AI technology, advancing from smaller pilot programs to using the technology to do more enterprisewide. The report found that 72% of CxOs are now using AI for predictive analytics and market insights—an increase of 13% over a year ago. Nearly seven in 10 agree that AI agents are transforming the way they can automate, and these agents are already in use by nearly a third of CIOs for customer support and process automation. More than half of CMOs are increasing their spending on AI agents to bring them to the marketing department.
Training employees to use this technology is important, too. Nearly half—48%—said upskilling their existing workforce was a top priority, making it the second-ranked overall priority.
While there's a lot of confidence in technology and long-term growth, the study found quite a bit of trepidation in the short term. In this survey, which was performed before President Donald Trump's economic policies and tariff actions began to roil economic indicators, only 33% of executives had a high degree of confidence in their company's growth in the next year—down from the 45% that felt this way at the beginning of 2024.
Aside from technology, mission and values can be at the heart of what makes a company succeed. Seth Goldman has brewed his values into beverages for years. In 1998, he was cofounder of the former brand Honest Tea, which was acquired by Coca-Cola in 2011 and discontinued in 2022. Months later, Goldman debuted another purpose-centered CPG tea beverage, Just Ice Tea. I talked to him about the business value of mission. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at a news conference following the Open Market Committee meeting last week.
The stock market didn't get much better last week as President Trump's talk of tariffs continued. He plans a 'Liberation Day' announcement outlining which nations will pay which tariff rates on April 2. Bloomberg reports there are indications that this round of tariffs may not be as widespread as initially believed, with some nations or blocs potentially excluded. Markets edged up slightly last week, closing Friday with the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 each less than a percentage point up. Markets continued to slowly rise Monday morning, reacting to the weekend report.
Citing the uncertainty in the economic picture, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee decided last week to leave interest rates unchanged—at 4.25% to 4.5%. The Fed did, however, revise some percentages: Its quarterly economic projections. They revised their GDP estimate to 1.7%, down from December's figure of 2.1%, and projected core inflation would end the year at 2.8%, up from the previous forecast of 2.5%. 'Clearly...a good part of it is coming from tariffs,' said Fed Chair Jerome Powell after the announcement.
For his part, Trump believes tariffs are a reason that the Fed should cut interest rates, posting on Truth Social before the interest rate decision, 'The Fed would be MUCH better off CUTTING RATES as U.S. Tariffs start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy. Do the right thing.'
Meanwhile, top economists are keeping a close eye on whether Trump's policies will push the country into a recession. Last week, the UCLA Anderson School of Management published its first-ever official 'Recession Watch' as part of an annual economic forecast they've done for 73 years. The report said that if Trump's policies are fully enacted, they 'promise a recession,' but it's 'entirely avoidable' if his policies—including high tariffs and rapid dismantling of the federal government workforce—would be pared back or more gradual. The report warns the administration: 'be careful what you wish for because, if all your wishes come true, you could very well be the author of a deep recession.' Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics, said on a Wednesday CNN interview that it 'feels like we're being pushed into recession' by Trump, calling the risks 'uncomfortably high.'
The Boston Celtics 2024 Championship banner is raised at TD Garden.
One of the NBA's most valuable teams was acquired last week in the biggest U.S. sports franchise deal ever. A group led by investor Bill Chisholm and the private equity firm Sixth Street are buying the Boston Celtics for $6.1 billion. The team was previously owned by a group led by father and son Irving and Wyc Grousbeck, and will transition to new ownership over two stages. Wyc Grousbeck will remain the team's governor through the 2027-28 NBA season. The Grousbecks announced they were putting the team up for sale last summer—weeks after the Celtics took home the 2024 NBA Championship trophy—after acknowledging that the team was losing money. The Grousbecks bought the Celtics in 2002 for $360 million. Forbes' Kerry A. Dolan profiles billionaire Chisholm's fortune. The lead of the group buying the Celtics is the majority owner of private equity firm STG Partners, and has been a 'rabid fan' since attending his first game on his seventh birthday. He told ESPN, 'I bleed green.'
The Celtics' record sale has perked up interest elsewhere, as the business side of the NBA is now talking about expansion. Forbes senior contributor Bryan Toporek writes that in September, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters there 'was not a lot of discussion' about expansion at the league's board of governors meetings, though sources were reporting that groups were coming together to make expansion bids. At that point, it was reported things were largely on hold because of the Celtics' situation. Toporek writes that in September, a pair of new NBA teams were estimated to bring the league more than $10 billion combined—more than $300 million per team—though those numbers may now be bigger given the Celtics' sale price. Top contenders for expansion teams are Seattle and Las Vegas, Toporek wrote.
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A new survey from SAP shows that executives are embracing AI, but is that embrace too tight? Nearly three-quarters place more confidence in AI for advice than their family and friends. And 44% would override a decision they've already made if AI suggested otherwise.
'Most executive decisions are based on a combination of the data, how they feel and discussions they've had with people they trust,' Jared Coyle, chief AI officer for SAP North America, said in a press release. 'What this data tells us is that AI is part of that trusted inner circle.'
The study indicates that 55% of these executives work at firms where AI-driven insights have replaced or often bypass traditional decision-making processes. More than two-thirds of executives said their entire organization would gain value if additional executives were using AI, and 85% said they have personally benefitted from time saved by using AI.
Just Ice Tea cofounder and CEO Seth Goldman.
Mission and values are important in the business world, and they're central to everything Seth Goldman has done during the last three decades. In 1998, Goldman left investing to start the beverage company Honest Tea with a former business school professor Barry Nalebuff. In 2011, Coca-Cola bought the less sweet, organic and Fair Trade Certified beverage company. Coca-Cola then discontinued the tea line in 2022 (it still produces Honest Kids organic juices), so Goldman started a new value-centered CPG tea brand, Just Ice Tea, later that year. In 2024, Just Ice Tea surpassed $20 million in sales.
I talked to Goldman about creating a successful business based on both customer needs and personal values and how leaders can ensure their mission is at the core of their company. This interview has been edited for length, clarity and continuity. A longer version is available here.
Tell me about some of the values that you brought to Honest Tea. You were looking for a less sweet beverage, but beyond that, every business venture you've done has been steeped in mission and value.
Goldman: The beverage is the medium for the message. Starting with a less sweet drink is, on its own, an intrinsically better option for people. Especially going back to 1998 when we started, when soft drinks were the largest source of added calories in the American diet, being able to bring a product with dramatically less calories in it was a great starting point.
We had some organic ingredients in the beginning. [In] 1999, we brought the first organic drink. We converted everything over to organic around 2007. That's all about helping to reduce the amount of persistent chemicals that end up in our ecosystem and our bodies—organic means no chemical pesticides, chemicals, synthetic chemical fertilizers or herbicides. Then, on top of that, fair trade.
Because we're sourcing ingredients like tea and sugar, we have the opportunity to choose suppliers that are protecting the rights of the workers, both in terms of the wages they're paid but also to uplift those communities by investing back into them. Over the years, we've invested in everything from education to healthcare to infrastructure to help these communities become more economically self-sufficient.
The nice thing about those three approaches is it's great if the consumer embraces it and supports it, but they don't have to. They may just be thirsty and want a great tasting tea. The impact still happens as long as the consumer says, I want the tea, but I'm not going to invest in these things, or I want to invest in these things but I don't want the tea at all. It's all part of the same package.
These enterprises are also about employee empowerment. As part of the business model always is employee stock ownership, stock options, which means that all of our employees have the upside of the success in the business. That's one step towards making employees feel like an owner. The other step is you have to give them empowerment. In order to be empowered, you have to have the information—so transparency in how the business is run and understanding the financial condition of the company. Also, autonomy, the ability to take action. It's not just to feel like an owner. You have to be able to control your destiny. If everyone's just telling you what to do, you don't own it.
And then accountability, meaning if you succeed, then there's great benefits, whether it's a bonus or promotion. And if you don't succeed, there's no bonus, or there may be termination. But whatever it is, there's transparency around it. I don't ever want somebody to be fired and not understand why, and I certainly don't want somebody to get a bonus and not understand why.
How important to you are mission and ethics when it comes to business?
For me, that's the motivation for all this. I enjoy what I'm doing and I like the work, but for me, there's not a motivation just to make money. It's really thinking about: How do we deploy the markets to make a difference in the world and to make people's lives better, whether it's making them healthier, or making the planet better. I believe in doing it through market-based mechanisms. I'm not asking for any subsidies or charity. I'm just taking the challenge of finding ways to create value for consumers, and for these enterprises and for shareholders by trying to infuse values into the way we operate these businesses. And, I should say, also create value for our employees as well.
When you were first getting started with Honest Tea, you started out just with the less sugar, healthier beverage and added more certifications and organic ingredients as you went along. How do you build that kind of ethical portfolio?
We used to have the [first] Honest Tea business plan online. We put in a statement around aspirations for social responsibility. At that time, we had no idea what we were going to be building, but we did put this statement in that we were always going to try to do things right by the environment and the stakeholders—whether they're the employees or the people in the supply chain. That statement really reads through even today, and certainly captured what Honest Tea was about, and it still captures what we're about at Just Ice Tea.
Starting with intention is really important, because it's very hard to retrofit. Seeing people create businesses and say: How do I make this socially responsible? The right time to ask that is not 10 years in. It's in the beginning. We make it clear whenever we're raising capital what we're doing. You don't want to have somebody invest thinking we're going to be out there selling volume at the lowest price, and then they say: You're buying Fair Trade, which costs more. It's a different strategy.
We have to be transparent with our shareholders and our employees about what we stand for. By the way, that's served us well. It's not like we're trying to hide anything. [We're transparent] when we meet with buyers as well. I had a great meeting with a national restaurant chain, and the first thing I showed in my presentation was a sourcing video from Mozambique, where we've been investing in that community. The woman I was meeting with was almost in tears, like: This is beautiful. We want to be part of this.
What advice would you give to a business leader on how to bring their mission and personal values to their business?
The first thing is you've got to do some of your own personal reflection about what are the values that really drive you? What are the values and causes that are going to motivate you, even in a challenging moment, for business? Or if you say there's no financial payoff, if you were launching a nonprofit, what would be the causes that you would want your nonprofit to address?
Obviously that's important for a founder, but it's also important for an employee, too. I can't tell you how many people I've interviewed over the years who'll say: I'm really excited about these causes you have. I care so much about them. And then I'd say: Did you work in any capacity to address them? It doesn't have to be in your for-profit work. In some cases, they say: I worked in a food bank and was trying to make healthier options available, or I work in a community garden.
The work that people do, how they earn their living, is usually where most of their time is spent. And so it's wonderful when what you care about aligns with how you're spending most of your time.
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Hurricane Milton severely damaged the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' home park at Tropicana Field. Where are they going to play this season?
A. Port Charlotte, Florida, where they have spring training
B. ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida
C. The New York Yankees' spring training facility in Tampa
D. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' home, Raymond James Stadium
See if you got it right here.