Establishing the Expert Commentator: The CEO Horizon Framework

A long time ago, there was a Wall Street brokerage firm called E.F. Hutton that ran commercials on TV. The ads were all similar: There would be a crowd of people in a public place (like an airplane or cocktail party), having their own conversations, and then one person would start to talk about what their broker at E.F. Hutton said. Comically, everyone in the scene would stop and lean in to hear. The tagline was, “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.” (If you’re curious or nostalgic, you can check out one of those very vintage commercials here.)

While these ads are a blast from the past, the core idea is still relevant today: People are eager to tap into someone who knows what direction things are headed, especially as AI reshapes business models and global volatility disrupts supply chains, labor markets, and capital flows.

The Expert Commentator

In prior articles, I introduced the CEO Horizon™ framework and the strategic value for a CEO to be a Visionary or Transformational Strategist oriented toward the future. But there is also significant value in being an Expert Commentator focused on the present, as depicted in the graphic below:

Most CEOs start their tenure in the lower left quadrant, as Operational Leader: They discuss their own company’s current strengths and performance. Moving into Expert Commentator means “zooming out” to interpret the broader environment, not just the business they run. This could manifest in countless ways, but a few topical ones from recent media commentary include:

• Restaurant and entertainment CEOs on trends in consumer discretionary spending

• Technology CEOs on the market dynamics of AI and chip production

• Consumer goods CEOs on the impact of U.S. tariffs and holiday purchasing behavior

• Financial services CEOs on interest rate impacts and investment trends

Media and analysts gravitate toward CEOs who can translate fast-moving signals into tangible, actionable insights. Done well, this positioning generates more earned media[1], strengthens investor confidence, and reassures employees and customers that the CEO is attuned to real-time dynamics.

Proprietary Data = Instant Relevance

If you or your CEO want to become an Expert Commentator, the single most important factor is credibility. Credibility doesn’t come from having an opinion; it comes from having access to insight others don’t, and interpreting it in a way that helps stakeholders make sense of what’s happening now.

If your business has data that sheds light on market or customer behavior, you have a potential goldmine. The more your data[2] can help investors, analysts, or customers, the more powerful your commentary becomes.

Here are a few strong examples:

• ADP publishes its National Employment Report, leveraging anonymized payroll data from more than 25 million workers to provide an early read on private-sector job growth, giving ADP leaders a credible platform to comment on labor-market dynamics.

• Adobe uses aggregated analytics from over one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites to produce its widely cited Holiday Shopping Report, positioning the company as a real-time authority on digital commerce and consumer demand shifts.

• LinkedIn publishes recurring Workforce Reports and analyses through its Economic Graph, translating platform-wide hiring, skills, and mobility patterns into commentary on macro trends shaping the labor market.

• Zillow built a unique data asset through its Zestimate model and real-estate marketplace, allowing it to publish ongoing analyses of housing demand, pricing trends, and regional shifts, fueling expert commentary on the state of the U.S. housing market.

When You Don’t Have Proprietary Data: Build Insight Through Surveys

Surveys “manufacture” proprietary insight when operational data doesn’t exist, giving CEOs a legitimate platform to comment on trends beyond their own walls. Examples include:

• Edelman publishes its annual Trust Barometer, a global survey of institutional trust across business, government, media, and NGOs, becoming a fixture at Davos and a platform for Edelman leaders to comment on the role of business in rebuilding trust.

• Microsoft releases the Work Trend Index, a global survey on how workers and leaders are adapting to hybrid work and AI-enabled productivity underpinning public commentary from Microsoft leaders.

• PwC publishes its annual Global CEO Survey, gathering insights from thousands of CEOs worldwide on economic outlook, risk, and growth, informing the Global Chair’s interviews and Davos forums.

Both proprietary data and external survey strategies require a significant resource investment. But the results will give your CEO topical and engaging content to talk about, as well as empower spokespeople across all levels of your company. It can even give your sales force and marketing team unique content to share directly with customers as part of their lead generation and relationship building efforts.

Industry Group Leadership

Beyond insight reports, another effective strategy for establishing Industry Commentator positioning is for a CEO to assume a leadership role in a trade, policy, or mission-driven institution.

For example: Chuck Robbins of Cisco chairs the Business Roundtable, a leading policy group representing major U.S. employers; Lisa Su of AMD serves as Chair of the Semiconductor Industry Association, regularly appearing in media to comment on supply-chain resilience and chip policy; and Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup and Chair of the Financial Services Forum, often uses that role to weigh in on financial-system stability and regulatory trends.

Even smaller or community-based organizations can elevate a CEO’s relevance. For example, a CEO who chairs or actively serves on a hunger, education, or workforce nonprofit gains a legitimate platform to discuss the human and economic issues affecting their community — and the role their company plays in addressing them.

Aligning Strategy with Industry Commentary

There is an old saying, “All press is good press.” While visibility often brings benefits, Industry Commentator positioning should be deployed intentionally.

If you want to establish an Industry Commentator position, start with these questions:

1. Who is the most important audience? Your commentary should serve many stakeholders, but clarity on your top priority will guide platform selection and ensure your message connects with the people who matter most (customers, investors, analysts, government officials, etc.).

2. What unique insight can the company offer? Do you have proprietary data? If not, what could you generate through a survey or partnership? Do you hold a leadership role that gives you cross-company visibility?

3. Can the insights become “newsworthy”? Recurring commentary is valuable, but you gain far more traction by creating specific inflection points such as monthly or seasonal reports, annual surveys, or insights tied to your earnings cycle.

   
   

Looking to Uplevel Your Company Position?

The CEO Horizon™ framework can help leaders become stronger, clearer commentators on the dynamics shaping their industries. If you are looking for a partner in your communication efforts, contact us.

Look out for one more post in this series, where I’ll discuss how to align the CEO Horizon framework across the entire C-Suite bench.

[1]Earned media encompasses all positive visibility that isn’t paid for – such as press coverage, public speaking venues, investor commentary, and social media conversations. This contrasts with paid media, such as advertising, and owned media, which includes things like websites, company-owned blogs and social media accounts, and company-hosted events.

[2] Any use of customer data requires careful review by the company’s privacy team, and the insights should always be reported in aggregate to protect confidentiality.

The CEO Horizon™ framework is a proprietary model developed by Juran Strategies LLC.