What Does The C-Suite Debate The Most? New Survey Reveals The Answer
Which hot-button issues are sparking debate among enterprise leaders? The Forbes Research 2025 CxO Growth Survey, which polled more than 1,000 global C-suite executives between November and December 2024, finds that the most divisive topic is technology investment, cited by 40% of respondents.
Source: 2025 Forbes CxO Growth Survey
But when you drill down by role, each executive group lights up a different area of contention. Below, explore what each CxO perceives as the most polarizing items on the executive agenda.CEOs Point To Strategic Direction Over Tech
Chief executive officers are most likely to say that C-suite debate focuses on strategic direction, such as where to steer transformation and whether to increase their enterprise's footprint. They're also particularly sensitive to contention around how best to collaborate, cited by 33% of CEOs compared to 24% of CxOs overall.
Only 29% of CEOs — the least of any C-suite role — identify tech investment as a leading debate topic, compared to 40% of all respondents.CFOs Say Resource Allocation Dominates Discussions
Among all C-suite roles, chief financial officers are most acutely sensitive to disagreements around technology investment.CIOs See Tech Infrastructure As The C-Suite Focal Point
As chief investment officers see it, executives are most divided on cloud strategy.
CIOs are less sensitive to debates around where to grow the organization (13%), how to best collaborate (14%) and management philosophy or decision-making procedures (21%) — listing these topics less than any other CxO role.CHROs Perceive Hiring And Retention As Most Contentious
Nearly a third of chief human resources officers (32%) also cited managing a hybrid workforce as a key topic of debate.CMOs Are Tuned Into Tech Debates
AI and technology investments are the leading C-suite disagreements according to chief marketing officers — a majority of whom plan to increase marketing spends on digital transformation initiatives, data analytics tools, acquiring AI-driven insights and AI agents over the next 12 months.
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