April 2025

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is aware of the chatbot’s “annoying” new personality.

On April 25, CEO Sam Altman posted on X that GPT-4o was updated to improve “intelligence and personality.”

Related: AI Is Already Writing About 30% of Code at Microsoft and Google. Here’s What It Means for Software Engineers.

That last bit hasn’t been very popular.

After days of complaints on social media about the chatbot’s “toxic positivity,” Altman wrote on April 27 that the “last couple” of updates to GPT-4o have “made the personality too sycophant-y and annoying.”

Now, the company is rolling back the updates and making “additional fixes to model personality,” Altman said.

the last couple of GPT-4o updates have made the personality too sycophant-y and annoying (even though there are some very good parts of it), and we are working on fixes asap, some today and some this week.

at some point will share our learnings from this, it’s been interesting.

— Sam Altman (@sama) April 27, 2025

Complaints varied but had the same vibe: ChatGPT’s responses were too nice to the point of being uncomfortable.

Software engineer Craig Weiss wrote on X that the chatbot “literally will validate everything I say,” while Claire Vo, a chief product officer, wrote that it is “way too cheery [and] positive, you really have to bully it to be critical.”

ChatGPT has this weird problem of toxic positivity. Instead of telling you an idea is crap (pun intended), it almost always assumes any idea you float is incredible and “the next big thing”. Just tell me if an idea is bad and break down why or why not. https://t.co/GBrSdkN6Ac

— Samuel Sparks (@OfficialSSFresh) April 28, 2025

I’m a big fan of GPT-4.1, fast, writes well, sounds human but it has a few major cringe-bugs:
– it’s WAY too cheery + positive, you really have to bully it to be critical
– you can gaslight it into hallucinating way too easily, will pretend to have files, etc. it does not
– it…

— claire vo ? (@clairevo) April 27, 2025

ChatGPT is suddenly the biggest suckup I’ve ever met. It literally will validate everything I say.

— Craig Weiss (@craigzLiszt) April 18, 2025

Altman says the updates went through on Tuesday, so users should see a difference soon.

Related: Here’s How Much a Typical Google Employee Makes in a Year

Every day, in every board room all over the world, leadership teams discuss their customers. They look at purchase data, renewals, new customers, loyalty metrics, reviews and survey results. Entrepreneurs pore over these same metrics at small businesses everywhere. In short, every business, in every industry, of every size, is evaluating their customer behavior and what it means for their financial performance.

Unless an obvious negative customer metric exists, most executives will declare that their businesses are healthy. Their customers are happy. A rare few will dig deeper, questioning every positive indicator, looking for the leading data that gives them cues to what they need to do to stay ahead, innovate and change before the competition. In my experience, this is less than 5% of executive teams or entrepreneurs in businesses of any size. Most leaders aren’t obsessed with unpacking positive results or thinking about staying ahead of any potential market or customer shift.

If you are reading this and you believe you are in that 5%, I’d ask you to think hard about the last time you challenged every aspect of the customer experience you provide. Why is customer experience the bellwether indicator? Because most leaders think that they do a great job delivering a great experience, and most customers think that their experience is horrible at worst and baseline acceptable at best.

Related: Customer Experience Will Determine the Success of Your Company

How NPS scores and surveys are misleading

If you have this “reality gap” in your customer experience, you have even bigger gaps in your other metrics. I have seen this pattern repeat over and over. You might be one of those companies with hundreds or thousands of “five-star” survey results and a high Net Promoter Score (NPS), so you are patting yourself on the back. These are the companies whose customers dry up overnight and no one “knows why.” Every time I audit one of these companies, inevitably I find that the questions on that “five-star” survey are measuring bare basics, like “was everyone friendly and polite?” Every single business in the world should have a 5/5 on that question. That is not customer experience success. That is the bare minimum level of service.

These inflated and misleading positive surveys mean that most companies have very little understanding of what customers really think about their experiences in every interaction, every day — and that is dangerous because in our current economy, customers will leave you in a heartbeat over one mediocre experience. Even if you are a company that thinks you have built a great experience because you have a department that focuses on customer service or customer experience, you are probably behind. Why?

Customer behavior has changed dramatically in the last 12 months, and with the compression of innovation cycles, AI and technology advancements, geopolitical changes and cultural trends, customers continue to raise their standards and shift their ideas about what defines a wonderful experience. Most businesses aren’t keeping pace with all of this. Instead, they are leaning on old-fashioned ideals around customer service.

Most are still using customer service, hospitality and customer experience as interchangeable concepts. They believe these are all the same things. In reality, they are all wildly different concepts. All are needed, but each needs to be considered, designed and regularly updated to delight the modern consumer. Your hospitality program, your customer service and your customer experience must all be layered to create a positive impact on the customer.

What this confusion means is that for most companies, your customer experience is on dangerously thin ice, and you won’t be aware of it until customers are leaving you. Revenue will be down, loyalty metrics will shift overnight, survey results will still be good and new customer acquisition will slow to a crawl. You’ll be in a spiral that is hard to reverse. Your customer experience has failed you.

If this scares you, good. You have an opportunity to move into the 5% that obsess over their “great” customer experience, question all those positive metrics, and you can be one of those companies that stay in front of their competitors and are prepared to weather market shifts.

Related: I Was a Highly-Paid Executive In Customer Experience. Then I Started Working Minimum Wage Jobs, And Realized Everything I’d Gotten Wrong.

How to find out the real state of your customer experience

Now what do you do? Start by acknowledging that old-fashioned ideas about what creates a great experience are exactly that … old. Modern consumers have decided that being polite, efficient, having good manners and personalizing interactions are baseline service principles. Delivering a warm welcome, using the customer’s name and executing a fond farewell are basics. Answering their questions and delivering things they ask for quickly and accurately? That’s another basic.

If you already think about “wow moments” as an important differentiator, you are ahead of most. Wow moment programs must be carefully designed, scaled and measured. Wow moments don’t just “happen.” But for that to make any impact on the modern consumer, it must be something that you do for every customer, every time … and even then, you are still at customer experience circa 2018. The new standard is way beyond that.

Modern consumers don’t care how big or small your business might be. You can be a global 50 company or a single outlet on their local street corner, and they expect that you will know them, deliver excellent hospitality and then wow them with your ability to deliver an immersive storytelling experience that leads to a “wow.” You’ll master an expert and artisanal experience from your own employees, you’ll understand the customer’s unique story and build a multi-layered set of wow moments that reflect that knowledge, you’ll deliver a sense of place that capitalizes on your geography or history, and you’ll provide a set of brand signatures that demonstrate your unique point of view. These are the critical items that every business must have to claim that they are focused on customer experience.

Most companies don’t deliver any of the above and are instead delivering the basics, and those basics do not confer any competitive advantage. Some are delivering an occasional wow moment, but that is also very old-fashioned. As an example, if you are an automotive dealership, and you observe that your customer has a child seat installed in their backseat when they bring their car in for service, and then you leave a teddy bear in that child seat when they pick up their vehicle, you are delivering a baseline wow moment. That isn’t the personalized, multi-layered wow moment journey that consumers expect. That customer could probably go to 10 dealerships in your market for a teddy bear — it’s that common. You are not unique.

Related: You’ll Never Satisfy Your Customers — or Grow Your Business — Without Doing These 3 Things

Every company has limited resources, so it is critical to use those resources to maximum impact. Customers are looking for you to deliver exceptional baseline hospitality, excellent, efficient customer service, and then to craft a set of customer experiences that make you stand out. These experiences wrap around your product to expand your story. These experiences capture narratives that are powerful reminders of why they chose you over all others. They validate their choices and reinforce that they belong in your tribe. You deliver moments that make customers feel seen and known — where their individual story is important, understood and acknowledged.

You may feel intimidated by that mandate, but it is within reach. Utilizing modern CRM technology, creating a powerful culture of customer-centricity, empowering employees to create meaningful moments, investing in an experience model and building a company culture that values creativity, innovation and bold action can make all of this possible. Those of you with an hourly workforce, remember that hiring is essential. Hire for personality and cultural fit. Train vocational skills. Give everyone the power to delight customers. Creating experiences is fun, and it is directly correlated to employee retention metrics.

Above all, remember that your customer experience is essential to the long-term success of your business. If you sit at your customer metric dashboard and never question your success, you’ll soon find yourself at the back of the pack.

In recent weeks, the academic world has been rocked by news that billions of dollars in federal funding have been frozen or withdrawn from some of the most well-known universities in the country. These shifts have disrupted research, derailed planning and shaken the foundation of institutions long dependent on what now feels like a relic of the past: steady, unquestioned government funding.

But this moment is not just about budgets. It’s about readiness.

The education system — particularly higher education — is being tested on all fronts: from declining enrollment to waning employer trust, from outdated course catalogs to rising student skepticism, and most powerfully, from the sudden and exponential rise of artificial intelligence.

As someone who’s helped launch AI and emerging technology programs across the globe, established global innovation centers as hubs for learning and development and worked with companies on enterprise-wide reskilling, I believe this is not the time to panic. This is the time to rebuild.

We are at a historic inflection point. The old frameworks are fading. The future is already arriving — and it won’t wait for us to catch up.

Related: How AI Is Transforming Education Forever — and What It Means for the Next Generation of Thinkers

When memorization doesn’t make sense anymore

A few weeks ago, my 10-year-old son Matthew asked me why he had to memorize historical dates when ChatGPT could give him the answers instantly. He wasn’t complaining; he was confused. Why are we being taught to work around the very tools the real world expects us to use?

Then there’s my five-year-old, Zachary. He doesn’t “use” AI — he absorbs it.

He passively consumes answers from “Cha-Gi-PiPi” (that’s what he calls ChatGPT) like it’s a magical oracle. He taps the mic, asks it questions about trains or dinosaurs and trusts it completely. To him, this isn’t technology — it’s just how knowledge flows.

And that’s the point: He doesn’t question it, contextualize it or challenge it … yet. He’s growing up in a world where AI is normal, automatic and invisible. Which means we — as educators, innovators and lifelong learners — must teach the next generation not just how to use AI, but how to think with it.

Higher education is about to get out of sync — and everyone will feel it

U.S. undergraduate college enrollment has declined by more than two million students since 2010, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). In fall 2023 alone, enrollment dropped by another 0.6%, continuing a long-term downward trend.

At the same time, employers are steadily shifting toward skills-based hiring and micro-credentials. Meanwhile, learners are turning to YouTube, AI tools, bootcamps and virtual programs that meet them where they are.

This is not about convenience. It’s about alignment.

And while higher education has made major strides in response — particularly in online learning, industry credentials and AI exploration — many institutions are still operating within systems that were designed for a different era.

Related: Why We Must Reimagine Education in the Age of Technology

This isn’t just a tech shift — it’s a cognitive one

AI is not just another tool. It’s a new mental model. Students can now access real-time tutoring, instant content generation, personalized feedback and creative prompts with the swipe of a screen. For them, it’s not artificial — it’s ambient.

And yet, most education systems are stuck debating whether to ban it, regulate it or ignore it. The risk is that we’re preparing students for an analog world that no longer exists.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 estimates that 39% of core job skills will change by 2030, identifying analytical thinking, AI literacy and creativity as critical capabilities. These are not just resume boosters — they’re survival skills.

More importantly, the report makes one thing clear: We’re still educating for a workforce that no longer exists. One defined by static roles, predictable ladders and siloed knowledge. That era is over, and education must move forward accordingly.

5 imperatives for a better future of learning

As we face a convergence of AI acceleration, funding disruption and societal change, here are five urgent actions for leaders in education and innovation:

1. Integrate AI thoughtfully and systematically

Yes, schools should be teaching students how to use and challenge AI. And many already are — I’m fortunate to be collaborating with brilliant minds in academia who are actively piloting AI-powered tools, embedding them into classrooms and reframing what it means to learn.

But let’s not minimize it: This is hard work. It requires rethinking pedagogy, redesigning assessments and helping educators become co-learners. The institutions leading this change won’t just teach AI — they’ll be transformed by it.

2. Redesign learning for exploration, not memorization

In a world where information is infinite, facts are just the beginning. The true value lies in asking better questions, connecting ideas and applying insight.

We must shift away from rote memorization toward curricula that nurture curiosity, agility and original thought. And yes, that means assessments have to evolve, too.

3. Scale co-innovation and cross-sector partnerships

Higher education must move beyond internships and advisory boards toward true co-creation with industry. That means working side-by-side with companies to build relevant, modular, real-world-aligned learning tracks.

These partnerships aren’t new, but they’ve never been more necessary. The institutions that succeed will blur the line between campus and career.

4. Use AI to humanize education, not just automate it

AI can streamline grading, flag struggling students, optimize course design and deliver real-time feedback. But its real power lies in what it frees educators to do: mentor, inspire and connect.

Let’s use AI not to remove the teacher, but to elevate the teacher’s role to its most human expression.

5. Champion innovation and entrepreneurship as core, not elective

Innovation and entrepreneurship aren’t side projects. They’re the engines of resilience. The students who can invent, adapt and build in uncertain conditions will lead every field — from biotech to business.

Every school should be a lab. Every campus, a studio. Because the future won’t be handed to us — we’ll have to build it.

Related: Why We Shouldn’t Fear AI in Education (and How to Use It Effectively)

The Great Rethink begins now

That’s why I’m launching a new four-part series here on Entrepreneur.com called “The Great Rethink: How AI Is Forcing the Reinvention of Education.”

In the weeks ahead, I’ll explore:

1. Why the current model is losing relevance — and what replaces it

2. Why change won’t come from inside the system alone

3. What AI makes possible that education never could

4. How to rebuild education like a startup — agile, scalable and learner-centered

We are not here to preserve what was. We are here to reimagine what’s next.

If you’re a founder, educator, policymaker or learning and development professional, this is your moment. If you’re building, exploring, experimenting — reach out. Share your vision. Ask your big questions.

Because who but us will reinvent education?

Not with wishful thinking. Not with course catalogs. And certainly not with the kind of funding we once assumed would always be there.

The future won’t wait. And neither should we.

What if you could slow aging and improve your biological function with a single 30-second shot? That’s the promise behind Minicircle, a gene therapy startup with lofty ambitions. As Founder and CEO Mac Davis put it recently on the One Day with Jon Bier podcast: “We want to extend the length and quality of human life.”

How the treatment works

Minicircle is best known for its therapy focused on the hormone follistatin, a naturally occurring protein that can increase muscle mass, improve recovery, and reduce inflammation. One injection, delivered into body fat, takes about 30 seconds and can last up to a year.

The treatments are not yet approved for use in the United States. So, patients must travel to countries such as Mexico and Honduras, where the company currently administers its gene therapy under medical supervision.

Related: 3 Biotech Innovators Advancing Genetic Therapies

New approaches to aging

Follistatin is not only being studied for performance enhancement but also for its potential to impact aging. Some animal studies have suggested that it could extend lifespan by over 30%. While much of the research is still in its early stages, there are signs that it could increase lean muscle mass, decrease body fat, and improve overall quality of life.

“I noticed a shift in how I felt — more aware, more present,” says Davis. “It wasn’t just physical; it was a sense of clarity, of being more connected to my body and the world around me.”

Davis believes that therapies like these represent a broader change in how we approach health: moving from symptom management to improving function proactively. “Gene therapy, at its core, offers the possibility to address issues before they become problems, focusing on enhancing function rather than simply treating dysfunction,” he explains.

Big-time backers

Minicircle doesn’t operate like most biotech companies. Davis didn’t go to business school or raise money through traditional channels. For a long time, no one would fund it.

“I didn’t come from a family of businesspeople,” he explains. “I didn’t have any financial backing. We tried to do a crowdfund. We raised $400. The guy asked for it back later.”

Then Sam Altman heard about it at a hotel bar and wrote a check. Peter Thiel was next. “I went there and I was like, hey, these are the vials. This is the idea. What do you think we should do with this?” Davis says. Thiel ended up talking for most of the meeting. He invested, too.

Minicircle used that support to build a small, highly specialized team. One of its lead scientists is a former NFL athlete who later earned a PhD in Molecular Medicine and Mechanisms of Disease. “He joined our clinical trial because he thought it would give him access to a next-generation gene therapy,” Davis says. “Then he really liked it and he joined the team.”

Related: This Is the Overlooked Industry You Should Start Investing in Now

The business of building the future

Minicircle’s work sits at the intersection of science, ethics, and entrepreneurship. Davis is learning as he goes.

Since then, the stakes have only grown. So has his appreciation for what matters most.

“The cost of a bad relationship is bigger than I ever knew,” he says. “And the upside of a great one is even bigger.”

With patients already seeing results and more therapies in the pipeline, the mission stays simple: extend human potential—ethically, safely, and accessibly.

“Longevity isn’t about living forever,” Davis says. “It’s about having the freedom to live the way you want, for as long as possible.”

What’s next

Minicircle’s next therapy targets a different hormone: Klotho. It helps prevent calcification in arteries, kidneys, and the brain. “It reduces improper calcium buildup,” Davis says. “And that’s huge for heart health and longevity.”

The therapy is currently being tested abroad, since gene therapy remains tightly regulated in the U.S. But the company plans to apply for FDA clinical use later this year.

“We’re applying for approval from the FDA to clinically administer this in the U.S. by the end of the year,” he says.

Duolingo is adopting an “AI-first” approach to its business, and the language learning platform will reduce its reliance on human contract workers as it assigns AI their responsibilities.

In a memo to employees on Monday, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn detailed the company’s official “AI-first” stance.

“AI is already changing how work gets done,” Ahn wrote in an email publicly shared through Duolingo’s LinkedIn account. “When there’s a shift this big, the worst thing you can do is wait.”

As part of its AI-first strategy, Duolingo will shift workloads from contractors to AI and “gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle,” per the email. The company will also reward AI use in hiring new employees and in performance reviews of existing employees. Teams will additionally only be permitted to hire new members if the group cannot automate the work.

Related: ‘Make Chess as Accessible as Possible’: Duolingo’s Next Move Is Teaching Users How to Play Chess

Duolingo has eliminated contract workers in favor of AI before. Last year, the company cut 10% of its contractors after reportedly deciding to use AI for translations.

However, Ahn reassured staff in the email that “Duolingo will remain a company that cares deeply about its employees,” and that being AI-first wasn’t about “replacing” workers with AI but about allowing existing employees to focus on creative work and problem-solving over repetitive tasks. The company said that it would support staff with full-time staff training, mentorship, and AI tools.

^{Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images}

Ahn also explained why Duolingo was choosing to go all-in on AI now. He stated in the email that Duolingo bet big on mobile in 2012, focusing on creating a mobile-first app at a time when mobile apps were primarily companions for full-fledged websites. The move worked out well: Duolingo’s app won the 2013 iPhone App of the Year with 10 million downloads and grew organically after that. Now, Duolingo has over 500 million registered users.

“This time the platform shift is AI,” he wrote in the email.

Related: ‘Get 100X the Work Done’: Shopify CEO Tells Employees to Try AI to Get Work Done Before Asking for More Human Workers

Duolingo is focusing on AI by using it to create content and power features like Video Call, which Duolingo introduced in September. Video Call allows learners to practice speaking in their target language through a video chat with an AI character named Lily.

Duolingo isn’t the first company to recently announce an AI-first strategy. Earlier this month, Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke told all employees in a memo that “using AI effectively is now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify.” Lutke told Shopify staff that they should maximize what they could do with AI before asking for more resources or additional human employees.

He also said that Shopify would add AI use questions to its performance and peer reviews.

Duolingo had a market capitalization of over $17 billion at the time of writing.

In an industry built on big moments, Sebastien Centner bets on the small stuff.

“In our industry, there are things people just expect,” he says. “If it’s hot food, it should be hot. The food should be good. That’s the foundation. But that last five percent? That’s what makes us stand out.”

Centner is the founder of Eatertainment, a Toronto-based catering and events company that now runs more than 1,000 events a year. His journey started with confidence and a hard lesson.

Related: This ‘Chopped’ Champ Beat Cancer 6 Times, Lost Nearly 200 Pounds and Found Power in Presence

At the time, Centner wasn’t in the catering business. He was running a bar and restaurant when a loyal customer asked if he could help cater his daughter’s engagement party. It would be his first attempt at doing an event like that.

He figured he had everything covered: chefs, servers, drinks and food. It can’t be that hard, the hospitality entrepreneur thought.

“It was a disaster,” he tells Shawn Walchef, host of Restaurant Influencers. “If we delivered 50 percent of what the client expected, I’d be surprised.”

But instead of walking away, he got obsessed. “In the first year, we did 20 events,” he says. “I learned from event to event to event. I did a less and less sh*tty job each time.”

Over time, he developed a system based on preparation and precision. Every detail of an event was mapped out in advance so his team could handle curveballs and still deliver something special.

“I always say we can only deliver the five percent if we’ve already planned out the first 95,” he says. “If you’re scrambling to fix something basic the day of the event, you don’t have time to go above and beyond.”

Related: How a ‘Finance Guy’ and ‘Restaurant Guy’ Joined Forces to Invest in Over 55 Companies

The philosophy stuck. So did the pressure.

“You’re tasting wine together, you’re flying to South Africa to scout venues, you’re basically on vacation with your clients,” he says. “But if something goes wrong, we’re the help. They’re not our friends.”

Centner loves the energy of the catering world — the pace, problem-solving and creativity. But he’s clear on one thing: This is a business, and it only works if you consistently deliver.

And that’s not something he does alone. His wife, Sheila, has been with him since the very beginning, helping to drive both the business and the brand forward. “She balances me,” Centner says.

The couple’s connection wasn’t just instant in business. It was instant in life. “When I did meet her, we met, [and] she moved in within a week,” he says. “We were engaged within a month, and we were married within the year.”

Related: How a Jersey Kid Grew His Restaurant Business Into a West Coast Powerhouse

They’ve worked side by side for decades. While Centner focuses on logistics and scaling, Sheila leads the creative side — developing content, directing strategy and constantly pushing the company to evolve.

“She’s the one who’ll say, ‘If I see one more matcha green tea mini burger, I’m going to scream,'” he laughs. “And she’s right. We’ve been doing it for six months. We gotta get rid of it.”

With Sheila leading the creative direction and content strategy, Eatertainment’s in-house team now captures every event, edits video reels and sends clients curated highlight recaps. It’s a layer of polish that didn’t exist in catering just a few years ago. That personal touch has become part of their five percent.

What keeps Centner going after two decades isn’t just growth or scale. It’s the people. “My favorite part is seeing people’s faces when they walk into a room,” he says. “They smile. They pull out their phones. That’s the reaction we want.”

For Centner, that moment is everything. The lights, the food, the music — it all builds to that spark of joy. That connection. It’s the extra five percent that Eatertainment was built to deliver.

Related: Most Creators Are Doing Brand Deals Wrong — And This Sponsorship Expert Has Some Advice for Them

About Restaurant Influencers

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In an era shaped by uncertainty, rapid innovation and blurred lines between physical and digital leadership, executive presence has become one of the most critical — and yet most underestimated — skills for high-impact leadership.

It’s not just about how you look in a boardroom or sound on a Zoom call. It’s about the intangible authority you project, the trust you build and the decisions you influence. Executive presence is the signal that tells your team, your board and your investors: “This is someone worth following.”

But here’s the catch: Most executives are never taught how to build it.

In 2025, as leaders navigate hybrid organizations, global uncertainty and evolving stakeholder expectations, executive presence has shifted from a “nice-to-have” to a core leadership competency.

Related: 5 Core Strategies for Cultivating Executive Presence

What is executive presence really?

Executive presence is often mistaken for confidence or charisma. While both are ingredients, presence is much more layered. It’s the sum of how you show up, communicate, listen, decide and lead — especially under pressure.

It’s the quiet authority in a crisis. The clarity of vision in a crowded room.
The ability to hold space, earn trust and command respect — without saying much at all.

In practical terms, executive presence can be broken into three key dimensions:

1. Gravitas: How you carry yourself, especially in high-stakes moments.

2. Communication: Clarity, tone, body language and the ability to engage with purpose.

3. Appearance: Not vanity, but intentionality — how you present yourself and align with your message.

These elements matter not just in the boardroom, but in every room: investor calls, media appearances, team meetings and digital platforms. In a hybrid world, executive presence has to translate across both physical and virtual spaces.

Why it’s underrated — until it’s not

Companies spend billions on digital transformation, strategy and systems. But leadership presence — how decisions are conveyed, how vision is embodied, and how trust is projected — is rarely prioritized.

Until there’s a crisis.

Until a founder can’t inspire confidence during a funding round.

Until a CEO loses the room during a high-stakes negotiation.

Until a board realizes their executive lacks the influence to rally talent, partners or the market.

In today’s landscape, presence can be the difference between buy-in and breakdown.

How executive presence has changed in 2025

Post-pandemic, presence is no longer about simply walking into a room and owning it. Today, leaders must know how to:

• Lead confidently on camera

• Build connection through virtual platforms

• Manage asynchronous communication without losing clarity

• Influence across diverse, cross-functional teams

• Earn trust in a remote-first or hybrid workplace

It’s not about volume — it’s about value. The modern executive doesn’t have to be the loudest voice — they must be the clearest, the calmest and the most aligned with purpose.

Related: How to Create an Executive Presence That Actually Persuades and Inspires Others

The mindset behind presence

You can’t fake true executive presence. It must be built on mindset and self-awareness.

Leaders with strong presence carry an internal belief that they belong where they are, and they’re responsible for elevating those around them.

Here’s what that looks like:

• They don’t just communicate — they connect.

• They don’t just show up — they show purpose.

• They don’t just speak — they spark action.

In short, they lead from the inside out. And that starts with intentional development.

How to build executive presence — practically

No one is born with executive presence. It’s developed like any strategic muscle — through deliberate practice, feedback and alignment.

Here are six actionable steps to strengthen your presence in 2025 and beyond:

1. Develop clear, purpose-driven communication

Speak less, say more. Remove filler. Pause for impact. Practice articulating your ideas with clarity and confidence, whether in person or online.

Tip: In virtual settings, make eye contact through the camera. Don’t look at yourself — connect with your audience.

2. Master your body language

Your posture, gestures and facial expressions speak louder than words. Be still when making a key point. Use open gestures. Maintain calm energy.

Presence is physical before it’s verbal.

3. Manage emotions under pressure

Executive presence isn’t tested when things are smooth — it’s revealed in the fire. Learn to breathe, reset and regulate your energy. Others take their emotional cues from you.

4. Dress with purpose, not just style

Appearance isn’t about flash. It’s about intention and consistency. Whether you’re on stage, on Zoom or on LinkedIn — show up as a unified brand.

Ask: Does how I show up match what I stand for?

5. Create room for others

True executive presence includes how you make others feel. Elevate voices. Listen deeply. A leader who creates space for others will always own the room.

6. Get feedback and record yourself

Video yourself during presentations. Watch without sound. Watch with sound. What message are you sending?

Then ask your team: “How do I show up when stakes are high?”

Feedback sharpens presence faster than theory ever will.

A final word to executives and emerging leaders

As someone who works with boards, executives and founders every day, I can tell you: Presence isn’t just an individual skill — it’s an organizational asset.

A company is often judged by its leadership’s ability to communicate, inspire and project vision with confidence. When an executive walks into the room or logs onto the screen, their presence sets the tone.

And in 2025, tone drives trust.

Trust drives talent.

And talent builds everything else.

Related: How to Develop an Executive Presence and Earn Respect

So ask yourself:

• Do I project clarity in every setting I lead?

• Can I inspire confidence — even in moments of uncertainty?

• Does my presence align with the future I want to build?

If the answer is “not yet,” then now is the time to invest in this skill.

Because strategy may open doors, but presence is what keeps them open.

A mid-level Google employee made $331,894 in 2024, a 5% increase from the median salary of $315,531 in 2023, per a new filing submitted by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The figure aligns with compensation at other tech giants in recent years. At Meta, for example, the median pay for employees in 2023 was $379,000 a year.

The filing further showed that Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai received total annual compensation of $10,725,043 last year, about 32 times more than the median employee. Pichai received a nearly $2 million raise from the $8,802,824 he made in 2023.

^{Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images}

The bulk of Pichai’s compensation came from the “All Other Compensation” category, besides his $2,015,385 base salary and $405,630 in stock awards.

The remaining $8,304,028 included Pichai’s personal security costs, which climbed 22% from the $6,775,631 Google paid in 2023 to $8,267,123 in 2024. The category also included his retirement plan and use of company aircraft or cars.

Related: Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says ‘You’ll Be Surprised’ By How Google Search Changes in 2025

“Due to Sundar’s significant public profile, Alphabet provides him with security protection,” Alphabet’s 2025 proxy statement reads. “In 2024, Sundar’s security arrangements included residential security and consultation fees, security monitoring services, car and driver services, and personal security during all travel.”

Alphabet called Pichai’s personal security expenses “reasonable, appropriate, necessary and in the best interests of Alphabet and its stockholders.”

Other tech CEOs also have seven or eight-figure security costs. For example, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s $27.2 million total compensation in 2024 included a $14 million pre-tax security allowance. Meanwhile, Nvidia spent nearly $2.5 million in 2024 on CEO Jensen Huang’s security costs.

Related: Here’s How Much 8 CEOs Made in 2024, From JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon to Disney’s Bob Iger

“Non-gearheads” now have the chance to design their own cars.

Last month, an image appeared on Reddit of an unidentifiable small truck in a parking lot in Los Angeles. The sighting was first noted by Carscoops just after TechCrunch reported that Jeff Bezos was making an “affordable” vehicle through a “secretive EV startup” called Slate Auto.

Related: I Tried Buying a Car on Amazon. Here Are the Pros and Cons.

Internet sleuths quickly put together (and TechCrunch confirmed) that the truck in the Reddit image was the actual Slate Auto concept car.

Now, the company is ready for reservations, and personalization is key. Everything is customizable, from the exterior look to the color to the interior knobs.

“We think everyone should be able to personalize their car,” the website says. “But vehicles aren’t built to be customized by non-gearheads (we love you, gearheads). So, we changed that.”

^{Provided by Slate Auto}

In a video announcing the new “radically simple, radically affordable Slate truck” on X, CEO Chris Barman said the price starts in the “mid 20s,” though it will be closer to $20,000 (after federal EV tax credits). The single-cab electric truck is set to be delivered to customers in late 2026. The company is based in Troy, Michigan.

The people spoke. We built. Meet the radically simple, radically affordable Slate. Reserve yours at https://t.co/Y5RkOIFCRo pic.twitter.com/uvSZVpdkWv

— Slate Auto (@slateauto) April 25, 2025

“There’s a massive population of people out there when it comes to safe, reliable, affordable transportation; there just really aren’t many alternatives for them,” CEO Chris Barman told Business Insider ahead of the official unveiling.

Related: The ‘Secretive’ Electric Vehicle Affordable Truck Was Just Spotted in Los Angeles

One way the company is keeping it affordable is through its customization options. For example, the trucks are wrapped, not painted, and can be changed at a customer’s whim.

“With other cars, you pick your color when you buy it, and that’s it,” the website says. “With a Slate, you can pick your color whenever—and change it whenever. It’s the first vehicle of its kind designed to be easily wrapped.”

Wrap kits will start around $500, according to the company. (Though keeping it the simple gray—as per the Reddit reveal—will still stand out.)

What is this car?
byu/discostranger09 inwhatisthiscar

Amazon founder Bezos, Mark Walter (Los Angeles Dodgers majority owner and CEO of Guggenheim Partners), and investor Thomas Tull have helped the new car company raise at least $111 million, per TechCrunch.

NBC reports that, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Melinda Lewison, the head of Bezos’ family office, is the new Slate Auto director.

Thirty-two percent of business owners say that the biggest challenge to running a business is lack of capital or cash, according to Guidant Financial. So, expensive software subscriptions may be out of reach. Fortunately, you can save big on a lifetime license of Microsoft Office 2024 for your business. Licenses for Macs and PCs are available for $159.97 (reg. $249) — 36% off.

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