Reflections on 2025 and the Road Ahead in 2026

As we turn the page on 2025 - which was another defining year here at The Bridge International and CXO2 - we’re proud to look back on the results of helping our clients to bridge the gap between strategy and execution.  

I wanted to take the opportunity to share my personal reflection on the forces reshaping business across Australia and New Zealand - and how these dynamics create both urgency and opportunity as we step into 2026 and begin to ramp up business planning for FY27.

In 2025 organisations continued to navigate a complex mix of economic pressures, regulatory requirements, evolving customer expectations, growth challenges, and rapid advancements in technology - with AI at the forefront. At the same time, boards and leadership teams increasingly grappled with workforce skills shortages, stagnant productivity, and the widening gap between strategic ambition and organisational capacity and capability.

Despite the headwinds, the year delivered some even stronger tailwinds. We saw a renewed determination to double down on purpose, a sharpened focus on growth strategies, and innovation grounded in execution rather than hype. Leadership teams invested heavily in building stronger collaboration, elevating talent, and directing capital with greater intent towards both organic and inorganic growth opportunities.

Across the organisations we work closely with in banking, insurance and retail, plus mutuals, cooperatives, associations, government, and not for-profits, it was clear that many chose to lean into accelerated simplification agendas, reassessing longer term strategies and near-term business planning. They prioritised deeper customer and community intimacy, while recognising that clarity, focus, and connection are now strategic differentiators.

Four key themes that defined 2025

Economic and Regulatory Headwinds

Higher-for-longer interest rates, persistent inflation, capital constraints, economic uncertainty, and ongoing affordability pressures, combined with tightening regulatory expectations made 2025 one of the most demanding operating environments in recent years.

Boards and executives were required to reassess investment priorities, refine pricing strategies and competitiveness, sharpen customer value propositions, simplify products and processes, and strengthen support for vulnerable customers. These combined pressures tested organisational adaptability at a time when customer expectations continue to rise and competition is intensifying across sectors, many of which remain in soft market conditions.

Change Leadership and Capability Uplift 

I spoke with hundreds of board members and executives, and while prioritising culture and leadership was widely seen as a key differentiator and enabler for success, they also expressed concerns around leadership readiness, succession planning, and skills shortages.

The Bridge International 2025 Heartbeat Survey across Australia and New Zealand, revealed only 23% of leaders were “very confident” in their talent succession pipelines. Many senior leaders acknowledged the need to accelerate capability development, re energise cultures, and reshape operating models to support more sustainable and effective ways of working.

Source: Heartbeat of General Insurance 2025 Report

Rapid Evolution of Technology Is AI Finally the Tech Transformation Business Case that can Deliver?

Your team members are already using AI tools at work - almost all of them. In an industry webinar we hosted in December with more than 350 participants, 89% reported they regularly use tools such as ChatGPT or Copilot in their daily workflows. Yet 70% said they had received no formal training or structured guidance.

Over the past year, we’ve seen a clear shift from individual AI experimentation and isolated pilots to the early stages of scaled enterprise adoption. Programs are now moving beyond new ways of working and into operating model model redesign, process simplification, and targeted capability uplift to ensure teams can deliver at scale.

At the same time, many organisations confronted the reality that legacy systems, fragmented data, and unclear strategic direction are becoming material barriers to progress.

This has created a real dilemma for boards and executives - how much more to invest after two decades of mixed results and unrealised business cases in large scale technology transformations? We continue to see more technology remediation than successfully executed programs.

Encouragingly, organisations that invested early in AI and automation capabilities are beginning to realise tangible operational and commercial benefits. The early movers are demonstrating that disciplined execution, not experimentation alone, is what ultimately unlocks enterprise-level value.

Evolving Customer Expectations  

Consumers across Australia and New Zealand continued to demand more transparency, faster resolution, and seamless digital experiences - particularly during moments that really matter. Businesses are increasingly prioritising their development of a clearer service blueprint - with the pragmatic adoption of automation, AI, and digital platforms to reduce effort and cost.

The organisations and leaders we work with that are pursuing frictionless and personalised omnichannel experiences saw measurable performance improvements across NPS, eNPS, and productivity. Those who have yet to successfully evolve their operations felt the commercial impact of the widening gap in customer trust and brand loyalty.

In an environment defined by affordability pressures and intensifying competition, organisations with genuine customer intimacy and disciplined customer obsessed cultures are the ones outperforming on organic growth. While lowering prices can help manage short term affordability concerns and mitigate reputational risk, it is value for money in the eyes of customers, not simply price, that ultimately builds brand strength and long-term market share.

The organisations that are pulling ahead are those pairing growth initiatives with rigorous removal of non-value adding processes, operational leakage, and internal friction. This combination protects margins, sustains price competitiveness, and strengthens the overall value equation at a time when consumers are more discerning and more empowered than ever.

We are fortunate to work across the mutual and cooperative sector spanning banking, insurance, health, travel, and life, and continue to see a compelling pattern. Member obsessed organisations are consistently growing above system levels, earning some of the highest trust scores in Australia and New Zealand, and doing so without being the cheapest in their markets. Their advantage comes from clarity of purpose, deep community connection, and a differentiated value proposition that resonates even in a cost-of living constrained environment.

Market wide, we’re also seeing a shift where customers are trading down in some categories, however trading up - towards brands they trust - in others. Loyalty is becoming more volatile, but also more valuable. Organisations that invest in understanding customer needs at a granular level supported by data, frontline insight, and disciplined execution are the ones converting trust into sustainable growth.

Looking ahead: Opportunities and Strategic Priorities for 2026

As we step into the new year, the operating environment remains dynamic presenting challenges, but also opportunities, for leadership teams to really make a difference and push their business forward.

Working closely with executives across industries has provided us with unique insights. We see common trends and solutions that I believe will fundamentally shape the year ahead.

Partnerships & Ecosystem Thinking Will Accelerate

As economic and competitive pressures mount and transformation investment requirements intensify, organisations will increasingly explore mergers, partnerships, and ecosystem-based business models.

The winners will be those who create genuine partnerships that are executed with the benefit of experience, discipline and clarity of purpose, creating exceptional value for both the partners and their customers.

Talent, Capability & Culture Become the Battleground

Continuing the trend of the last few years, the organisations that prosper will be those that build adaptive, high-performance cultures, invest heavily in leadership capability, digital skills, collaboration, and customer centred centred design.

Trust and Quality of Service in an Era of Rising Expectations

Organisations that lean into providing highly valued products and services, as well as transparent customer experiences that delight, will continue to perform strongly.

However, a clear understanding of current state processes, before thoughtfully designing the desired future state, is critical and often overlooked. Demonstrating how your business lives by its values will help you earn customer trust, which we believe will become the core currency for growth.

AI Ambitions Become AI Realities

Organisations must make meaningful progress in both AI adoption, and a stronger use of data to measure customer outcomes, in order to compete.

The challenge is not just the technology - it’s operating model alignment and ensuring the workforce is equipped, confident, competent, and empowered to thrive alongside new digital tools and ways or working.

These trends are all indicative of a transition from isolated, large-scale change initiatives towards a sustained and continuous transformation methodology.

A more agile approach that enables accelerated value delivery, enhances customer service, increases workforce productivity, and strengthens operational resilience.

In Summary & Looking Forward

The year ahead brings both challenge and opportunity. Organisations that anchor themselves in leadership clarity, deep customer intimacy, and a modern high- performance culture will be the ones best positioned to thrive.

The choices you make now - particularly around capability, transformation, and strategic focus - will compound well beyond 2026.

Across the market, we’re seeing a clear divide emerging. Those who invest with discipline in talent, data foundations, and execution excellence are accelerating. Those who delay are finding the gap harder to close. Customers are becoming more selective, regulatory expectations are rising, and technology is reshaping operating models at a pace that rewards clarity and punishes hesitation.

The Bridge International and CXO2 continue to partner with clients to support them with strategy, operational transformation, customer experience, and cultural uplift - always with a focus on execution, sustained performance improvement, and growth.

It remains a privilege to work alongside purposeful leaders who are leaning into change, building resilience, and creating their own tailwinds in what is undeniably a complex yet opportunity rich environment.

If you’d like to know more about The Bridge International and CXO2, please visit our website to download our credentials which provides an overview of our team, the services we provide, and case studies from our clients.

Wishing you a very successful 2026.

Stuart Blake

Managing Director & Co Founder

Stuart has over 30 years’ experience in Financial Services. As the Co-Founder and Managing Director of the The Bridge International, he leads the Strategy and Corporate Development practice working with Boards, CEOs and executive teams across numerous industries as a trusted advisor and transformational leader.

He Chairs CXO2 and is a director for The Bridge to Good. Prior to The Bridge he was a Chief Executive at Wesfarmers and IAG, At Wesfarmers, Stuart was Chief Executive of Coles Insurance - the fastest international insurance start-up from 200,000 to 400,000 customers at the time. At IAG Australia’s largest insurer, he was accountable for brands including NRMA and RACV.

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