By Romy Oltuski
Economic headwinds and political storms haven’t dampened business executives’ bright outlooks: A sweeping 90% of C-suite leaders recently polled by Forbes Research are confident in their company’s growth over the next three years.
Their optimistic projections, along with the short-term challenges that could derail that trajectory, are captured in our fifth annual CxO Growth Survey, which reflects the viewpoints of 1,000 global executives representing companies with at least $1 billion in revenue. This story, published in March 2025, marks our first release of its findings.
Read on for an inside look at CxOs’ investment strategies, their collaboration dynamics and the challenges they face in the race toward technological excellence.
KEY FINDING 01
The C-Suite Shifts Focus: Tech Overtakes Sustainability In The Short Term
Executive leaders now view technology as the primary enabler of business growth, citing accelerating digital transformation as their top strategic priority, up from the number-three spot just last year. Chief financial officers are backing this shift, with tech set to receive the biggest jump in capital spending.
Trailing technology in second and third place on the CxO agenda are:
- Upskilling, which 90% of CEOs say will be essential as automation reshapes job roles
- Customer experience, where AI-driven personalization presents new opportunities
In contrast, sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives—last year’s top concerns—have slipped to seventh and eighth place for this year. “This reflects increased pressure to balance long-term commitments with short-term profitability in this period of uncertainty,” says Ross Gagnon, executive director of research at Forbes.
While this survey was conducted prior to Donald Trump’s presidency, the findings also align with U.S. companies’ growing retreat from corporate social responsibility. Dozens have walked back DEI commitments amid political and regulatory change, while others have cooled on climate pledges, delaying key decarbonization deadlines.
However, executives’ longer-term goals tell a different story. When asked how their priorities will evolve over the next two years, CxOs put DEI back on their top-three list. They also consider investing in the circular economy—a system that minimizes waste by extending the lifespan of materials through reuse and resource efficiency—as essential to their company’s long-term growth. While these focus areas may be taking a temporary backseat, executives affirm their continued importance in shaping future strategy.
The C-Suite’s Top Priorities
This Year
Speeding up digital transformation 52%*
Upskilling existing workforce 48%
Improving customer experience 47%
Last Year
Strengthening sustainability efforts 47%
Diversity and inclusion/social issues 45%
Speeding up digital transformation 40%
*Indicates the percentage of respondents who gave this answer
KEY FINDING 02
Where Are Tech Budgets Going?
According to surveytakers, that’s the most hotly debated question in the C-suite.
Artificial intelligence and cybersecurity solutions top the list of tech investments, with 93% of organizations increasing spending in these areas over the next two years. And expect bold moves, not modest hikes: More than half plan to up their AI and cybersecurity budgets by more than 16%.
Top Tech Investments
This strategy reflects the ongoing race between innovation and protection, as cybersecurity solutions strive to combat the rise of AI-driven threats while also harnessing AI’s capabilities for defense.
“We’re living in a very interesting space where we’re building tech to protect against tech, and the speed is just accelerating,” Allegra Driscoll, chief technology officer of payments solution provider Bread Financial, said at the Forbes CIO Summit in November.
Fifty-five percent of survey participants struggle to handle the blitz of cyber threats and attacks they say has escalated over the past year. Stirred to action, 83% have implemented zero-trust security models, and 88% have continuous security improvement programs in place that include regular assessments, vulnerability remediation and ongoing employee training.
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Ripple Bhular, executive vice president and head of U.S. Capital Markets and Diversified at IT services company Kyndryl, sees these actions as not just a defense posture but also a growth strategy.
“Organizations need to start seeing cybersecurity as a competitive differentiator for them,” she said, speaking on the same CIO Summit panel. “If a consumer is impacted or has an inclination that a certain business is not protecting their data, they’re gonna take their business elsewhere.”
KEY FINDING 03
The C-Suite De-Silos
Our survey portrays an increasingly unified and collaborative C-suite.
Chief information officers (82%) and chief marketing officers (78%), for example, increasingly see themselves as bridge-builders within their organizations, reaching across departments to advocate for organization-wide innovation.
This type of multidisciplinary approach facilitates CxOs’ intertwined priorities:
- The marketing function’s top focus over the next two years is customer data privacy and protections, requiring close coordination with IT.
- CIOs place upskilling high on their agendas, creating opportunities for deeper collaboration with HR.
- Chief human resources officers see data as key to recruiting and retaining high-potential talent, paving the way for CIOs and CHROs to join forces.
CEOs aren’t just endorsing this cross-functional approach; they’re modeling it. Eighty-eight percent are prioritizing stronger engagement with their leadership teams and say encouraging greater collaboration among their direct reports is one of their top strategic goals.
Today, CxOs collaborate most with:
Chief Operating Officer 82%
Chief Financial Officer 58%
Chief Executive Officer 52%
Tech executives, meanwhile, topped the list of C-suite leaders CxOs want to collaborate with more in the future—highlighting their conviction that tech-driven growth is the key to advancing their functions and the organization as a whole.
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