Why CEOs Can’t Delegate Their Reputation

There are some things in business that a CEO simply cannot delegate. Reputation is one of them. Because if you delegate responsibility for your reputation, what happens to trust?

 We have long known the important role CEOs play in employer brand strength and talent attraction. But those of you who might be unconvinced, let me show you some of the data out there:

Return on Reputation, the latest of Hill & Knowlton’s Corporate Reputation Watch studies, conducted with Ipsos published in March 2026, asked 282 financial analysts in North America, Europe and Asia about reputation and its impact on their opinions and ratings of companies.

The survey showed that when asked what specific tangible and intangible factors are very important in making recommendations to invest in a company, “financial performance” was 87%, and following closely behind were “quality of the leadership team” at 86% and “making good on promises” at 85%, which were the top criteria globally. The analysts also placed considerable importance on reputation, with 88% in North America, 91% in Continental Europe, 93% in the UK and 94% in Asia Pacific agreeing with the statement – “a company which fails to look after the reputational aspects of performance will ultimately suffer financially too”.

If this data wasn’t enough to sway you, research from APCO Worldwide published in March 2026 shows that a CEO’s public presence plays a crucial role in purchasing decisions and consumer loyalty. In fact, 79% of Americans say CEO reputation influences their purchasing decisions, while 54% report greater brand loyalty to companies whose leaders are visible and clearly articulate the company’s vision, strategy, and direction. Interestingly, multicultural consumers in the States, particularly Hispanic and Black Americans, report a stronger influence of CEO reputation on purchasing decisions, making CEO visibility a vital strategy for engaging diverse audiences.

The research also found that CEO reputation influences employment decisions, particularly among younger generations, reinforcing the important role CEOs play in employer brand strength and talent attraction.

But data only tells part of the story. We have seen too many examples of CEOs who fail to walk the talk and, in doing so, lose the trust of both the public and their own stakeholders. If you can’t trust the leader of the company that you work for or the brand that you have been loyal to, then what’s left?

Many business leaders don’t understand this principle and try to palm it off to the communications team to implement, to make the statements for them, but that’s when they become unstuck. As they are not leading by example and their statements are not authentic, they are paying lip service to whatever PR statement that their teams issue. It becomes spin, and in a world full of misinformation and fake news, we want to be able to trust the bosses that we work hard for or the brands that we spend our hard-earned cash on.

This disconnect can also be the point at which CEOs take their eye off the ball, where the organisation’s values and ethos become diluted and open to misinterpretation internally, because no one really knows what the CEO is thinking or what they are driving. The end result is that the organisation can find it is inadvertently being called out for greenwashing, misleading the public and its own stakeholders.

So, when a CEO owns their reputation and takes real responsibility, that is when the CEO is really leading. These organisations are better placed to build adaptability and employee loyalty, and to weather challenges, because people know what their business leader stands for and everyone is rowing in the same direction.

Reputations take time to build, but the time it takes gives you a great return. You have invested in your brand identity. You stand for something, and people know that…you become a trusted voice for media commentary, community action and leadership; you also become a role model. You can’t rent out role models.

When you are trusted, people know what you stand for. Your employees understand the direction of the business, your customers know what they can expect from you, and your stakeholders have confidence in your leadership. Reputation becomes part of the value of the organisation itself.

APCO’s research reinforces this point, describing CEO communication as a marker of “credibility and competence” and highlighting its importance in maintaining trust during times of uncertainty.

So, while you can delegate communications, marketing and even public relations, you can never delegate trust.