Reputation emerges as a strategic asset for Leaders facing uncertainty

In a context marked by geopolitical instability, societal polarization, and the multiplication of crises, corporate reputation is transforming. Long perceived as an issue of image or visibility, it is now considered by executives as a major strategic driver of economic performance, transformation, and resilience.

This is one of the key findings of the study on “Executives and their perception of risks in business” conducted by OpinionWay for Omnicom Reputation Group, among business leaders of companies with 250+ employees, in November 2025.

The study reveals a massive realization of the leader’s role in building the company’s reputation. 93% of interviewees believe that their own role in creating the company’s reputation with stakeholders has never been so crucial. In an environment where speech is scrutinized, amplified, and sometimes contested, the leader’s reputation becomes inseparable from that of the company, conditioning trust, credibility, and the ability to unite people over the long term.

Another major finding: reputation is no longer measured solely by media exposure. 85% of CEOs believe it now rests on the company’s ability to create “active coalitions” around it, including employees, clients, partners, and decision-makers, capable of supporting its positions over time. This evolution marks a shift: reputation becomes an indicator of strategic solidity and alignment between discourse, decisions, and actions.

Crises have become the norm. 82% of leaders state they had to manage at least one crisis situation likely to impact their company’s reputation in 2025. Among those who managed multiple crises, 64% did so in isolation and 36% simultaneously. This vulnerability is explained by three main factors linked to insufficient anticipation of risks and late decisions for 47% of executives, and a lack of preparation for crisis management for 45% of them.

While a majority of executives consider their organization relatively prepared for certain risks (product safety, cyber, financial instability), geopolitical, political, and reputational risks remain among the most complex to master and figure, along with the climate challenge, among the most important risks identified by decision-makers for the year 2026.

For the executives and CEOs interviewed, reputation is no longer a peripheral communication topic.

95% of business leaders consider reputation an asset to be protected, a value creator, and capable of lastingly influencing economic performance, talent attraction, investor relations, and the ability to operate in complex environments. 96% of them acknowledge that stakeholders expect them to take more of a stand on major societal issues.

To build this sustainable reputation, three priority levers emerge: 
– Transparent and responsible communication (55%)
– Product/service quality (54%) 
-Responsible management of employees (46%)

Support objectives remain, however, more classic, focusing on the protection of reputation and company visibility for 69% of them respectively, and its role as a driver of economic and cultural transformation for 50% of them.

Download the Press Release (attached)