New CEOs inherit a challenging first year

Better execution, more capacity utilisation top the agenda

- URVI MALVANIA & MAHESH NAYAK

A CLUTCH OF chief executives who took charge in 2025 is stepping into the corner office at a time when strategic choices are unusually constrained. Demand has recovered but not evenly, the competition is keen and investors are far less tolerant of long gestation bets. What makes these leadership transitions difficult is the absence of easy levers.

For these CEOs, the start is unlikely to be defined by sweeping vision statements. Instead, it will be shaped by immediate trade-offs: reviving volumes without leaning on pricing, monetising capacity built over the last cycle, and restoring confidence where leverage or governance concerns have weakened trust.