In short According to the latest What CEOs Talked About report, three themes stood out in CEOs’ minds in Q1 2025: Tariffs, uncertainty, and AI (with agentic AI seeing the most gains). Discussions about recruiting dropped as mentions of hiring freezes spiked. Why it matters The prioritization of specific topics by CEOs may influence investment in these areas. The big picture New administration’s policies reshaped economic outlook. Going into 2025, the global GDP growth projection for the year was 3.3%, with the US forecasted to experience 2.4% growth. However, Q1 2025 brought about a new US government administration and, with