Brazilian companies see human development and process updates as top priorities for 2025, while the “G” for governance in the ESG acronym gains prominence in a scenario marked by crises in the corporate world. In the year in which Brazil hosts COP 30, it is striking that, even though they are aware of risks such as those related to climate change, organizations are far from including environmental issues at the top of their list of priorities. This is the summary of a report published by Exam about the survey “Senior leadership priorities for 2025”, from the ANK Reputation, which interviewed more than 100 members of the highest leadership of Brazilian companies.
“We have seen a greater understanding in the market, especially on the part of CEOs, that a strong reputation ensures customer loyalty, increases productivity and stimulates innovation.”
Anik Suzuki, CEO of ANK Reputation
Technological updates will increasingly be an imperative for business survival. “And leadership recognizes the urgency of having the right people in the right places to make the transformation happen,” says Anik Suzuki, founder and CEO of ANK Reputation, for whom the reduced attention to other ESG initiatives, including environmental issues, is occasional. “I don’t believe there is a dissociation between governance and ESG, on the contrary,” says Anik in the interview with Exame. “The spotlight is simply momentarily focused on another issue that requires maximum urgency and has caused a lot of headaches for companies.”
The focus on governance reflects a business environment affected by recent high-profile reputational crises. The ANK survey indicates, for example, that “misconduct and unethical behavior by leaders and employees” is the second biggest risk in the eyes of executives, behind only “cyber insecurity and data processing.”
Misconduct and omission
ANK's CEO emphasizes in the interview that the last two years have been marked by image and reputation crises in medium and large companies, which have been very noisy in the press and on social media. Many of these crises were caused by misconduct, omission, mistakes in decision-making or communication and positioning errors by C-Level leaders.
One aspect revealed by the survey, considered worrying by the report, is that most organizations admit to being only “partially prepared” for adequate risk and crisis management, which leads the CEO of ANK to issue a warning: “In crisis management, there is no middle ground. Either you are prepared to avoid and/or mitigate the losses of a crisis or you are not. And then you are taking a risk that could cost your organization dearly.”
The article cites the widespread perception among executives, recorded by the survey, that a solid corporate reputation positively impacts vital areas of business. “Repurchasing and attracting customers are the areas most impacted,” says Anik. “Leaders also highlight the role of reputational image in managing sensitive issues and crises.”
The gains of reputation
The interviewees’ responses show that a positive reputation helps attract talent, strengthen institutional and press relations, form strategic partnerships and improve stakeholder management. “We have noticed a greater understanding in the market, especially on the part of CEOs, that a strong reputation ensures customer loyalty, increases productivity and stimulates innovation,” says Anik, also contributing to retaining the best professionals and reducing costs. “In addition to being a valuable asset with an impact on results, reputation ensures greater resilience in times of difficulty and crisis, contributing to the company’s longevity,” he adds.
The study interviewed organizations of different sizes – 42% with revenues above R$1 billion and 36.8% with revenues of up to R$300 million. The survey reveals that priorities vary according to the size of the company:
- In large corporations (revenues above R$1 billion), people development leads by far (78% of mentions).
- In smaller companies (up to R$300 million), concerns about reputation and brand take center stage (53% of citations).
The panorama revealed by the survey highlights a moment of profound transformation in the Brazilian corporate world, in which communication and reputation management are evolving from tactical functions to strategic elements. The challenge for corporations, concludes the Exame report, will be to integrate these dimensions in such a way that technological transformation, talent development, corporate governance and sustainability are connected as pillars of a unified strategy.
