If you’re a CEO or cabinet-level executive at a Central Ohio company or nonprofit, Columbus CEO wants your opinion on the region’s economy and workforce, as well as its leadership.
Our 15th annual CEO of the Year survey aims to gain a picture of the Columbus region’s economic climate from the perspective of top executives. It also will be used to determine the peer-voted 2025 CEO of the Year awards, presented in four for-profit and nonprofit categories. Take the survey through Oct. 9.
The Survey of Economic Conditions, conducted in partnership with economist Bill LaFayette of Regionomics, seeks input from business leaders on their expectations for the next 12 months; remote work; why Central Ohio is a good place to do business; current challenges, including those related to the region’s projected growth; and—new this year—adoption of artificial intelligence and the impact of tariffs. The survey, which also is conducted in partnership with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, is open to all C-suite and cabinet-level executives in the Columbus metropolitan area. For the second year, general, district and store managers are invited to complete the economic outlook portion of the survey.
In 2024, 66 percent of respondents projected higher revenues this year, and 71 percent expected improvement in the local economy.
Beyond helping us compile an economic outlook, survey respondents also vote for the 2025 CEO of the Year awards, which honor executives whose leadership and organizational performance stand out among their peers. Nearly three dozen nominees appear on the ballot, and write-in options also are available. The slate includes past finalists and top vote-getters, as well as select choices from local executives and our staff. Four winners and a group of finalists will be named based on peer votes. Past winners are not eligible.
Our 2024 CEO of the Year winners and finalists were:
Kirt Walker of Nationwide and Billy Vickers of MAI Companies (Large For-Profit category)
Keith Stevens of UpRys (Small For-Profit category)
Oyauma Garrison of Maryhaven Inc. (Large Nonprofit category)
Paula Haines of Freedom a la Cart (Small Nonprofit category)
The online survey, adapted from the SMU Cox CEO Sentiment Survey, only takes about 10 minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous. Regionomics will aggregate and analyze the responses, a summary of which will be published in Columbus CEO in January along with profiles of the 2025 CEO of the Year honorees.
We hope you’ll help us recognize some of our area’s top-performing leaders and provide your input on the local business climate by participating in our CEO of the Year initiative. Take the survey online through Oct. 9.
Stay in the Know on CEO of the Year
If you’d like to join our CEO of the Year email list to be notified when the annual survey goes live, sign up below.
This article originally appeared on Columbus CEO: Vote for the 2025 CEO of the Year Honorees and Take the Business Climate Survey
Reporting by Julanne Hohbach, Columbus CEO / Columbus CEO
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
