The biggest governance stories of 2025

The biggest governance stories of 2025. A complete round-up of some of the hottest corporate leadership stories of the year. 

It’s been another busy 12 months. It may well be only now that corporate leaders have a chance to look back and realise how much has changed. 

Here are some of the main milestones of 2025, a year that screams of increased unpredictability, scrutiny and uncertainty as new ways of working take shape.

Social media has enabled us to keep close tabs on public figures for years, but the actual dangers of that for corporate leaders really came to the fore in 2025:

• The CEO and Chief People Officer of US tech company Astronomer went viral in mid-2025 after being caught on a kiss-cam at a Coldplay concert despite both being in committed relationships. Bryon’s reputation, in particular, suffered irreparable harm in a matter of days, and he swiftly resigned. It could also have been a PR nightmare for Astronomer itself, but clever, proactive marketing largely succeeded in distancing itself from the scandal while milking the increased global recognition. 
• At the 2025 US Open in tennis, Piotr Szczerek, CEO of the Polish paving company Drogbruk, was caught on camera snatching a signed cap that tennis star Kamil Majchrzak was handing to a young fan next to him. Although the fan complained, Szczerek could be seen ignoring his pleas and pocketing the cap himself. Again, the clip went viral and brought Szczerek unprecedented attention. 
• Elon Musk is no stranger to fame, but his actions were particularly fascinating in 2025. In addition to companies like Tesla, Musk became firmly associated with Donald Trump’s administration. Any public backlash against one part of the chain affected it all. As a result, long-time Tesla customers and supporters in many parts of the world, particularly Europe, suddenly became hostile to the company.

We’re never short of corporate blunders to report on by the end of a year. 2025 is no exception. 

While the list could go on for multiple articles, here are three big stories that commanded a lot of international attention this year, and where corporate governance (or lack thereof) takes centre stage. 

• The UK Post Office: A vast number of cases of suspected fraud by UK post office workers are now known to have been due to nothing more than faulty accounting software. However, that did not stop the Post Office from launching an extensive prosecution campaign against these workers over many years. Volume one of a final report, released in 2025, found that over 1,000 people were wrongfully convicted in total. 10,000 people are now seeking financial compensation, and 13 cases of suicide have been directly linked to the scandal. It’s a true governance horror. Critics often come back to the same question: as evidence of faulty software continued to mount, why didn’t the board ask the right questions?
• Tesla: Elon Musk’s showpiece company has had it rough in 2025. Musk’s brief tenure in Donald Trump’s new administration, combined with increased competition and public backlash from long-time Tesla customers, brought substantial challenges to its well-known electric vehicle business. That said, Tesla’s governance leaders have decided to go all in behind Musk and support his plans to pivot towards AI and robotics in the years ahead.
• The BBC: In late 2025, a leaked memo about a Panorama documentary sparked a full-on diplomatic standoff between the UK’s public broadcaster and US President Donald Trump. The documentary covered the events of 6th January 2021, but Trump slammed its editing. The entire ordeal sparked a broader debate about bias in the BBC, as well as its vulnerability to power plays from both the left and right, at a time when both scrutinise public broadcasters. At the board level, there have been multiple resignations and reshuffles.

Donald Trump has been one of 2025’s biggest governance news stories by himself. His second term as US President started unpredictably, and nothing has changed much since. 

As part of his bold shake-ups of US domestic and foreign policy, some of his main impacts have been:

• Tariffs. They added new costs to many business models that have worked, with little change, for many years. It has forced directors and executives to scrutinise their strategies and make tough calls around production lines, hirings, and shareholder expectations. 
• Intervention. This one came as a bigger surprise to many, but Trump’s economic model has seen him openly intervene in the governance of major US organisations. It has ranged from tiny yet notable, such as his announcement that Coca-Cola would change its recipe based on his personal taste, to bigger interventions, such as buying significant stakes in companies like Intel to ensure their strategies aligned with US economic policy.

AI has continued to grow in importance in 2025. The future vision of AI being the most common day-to-day tool for ordinary employees to the boardroom is well on its way to becoming reality. 

Some of the biggest stories this year include the rise of Agentic AI – systems which don’t just talk to you, but run elements of your business on your behalf. Other stories have focused on the increased risk associated with AI, and the onset of new regulations like the EU’s AI Act, forcing companies to adapt their management and reporting capabilities fast.

ESG has been on quite a journey, especially now that it’s firmly caught in a political tug-of-war in the US, sending fear of embracing it all around the world. 

Here’s where we’re at on ESG at the end of 2025:

• The US Government is, indeed, leading the charge against ESG, targeting any organisations, both domestic and foreign, that embrace it as an open part of their strategies. 
• Because of this, the “hushing” concept has gained popularity worldwide. In other words, whether organisations embrace ESG principles or not, they won’t broadcast them in any public communications, for fear of being criticised. 
• That said, ESG assets continue to command tens of trillions of dollars worldwide. 
• Despite some teething issues and delayed starts, other jurisdictions like the EU continue to move forward with ESG reporting regulations, meaning the need for educated and qualified personnel at the board level remains crucial.