Most Disruptive Industry Trends 2025: Global Women Leaders Speak

2025 was a year when industries were taken out of their comfort zones and were thrust towards a new era of re-invention. Businesses across diverse sectors from law and software engineering to hospitality, retail and travel have all experienced a momentum shift that resulted in a common pattern. Companies started to move away from traditional business operations towards smarter and more human-centric operation models.

AI became the most significant disruptor of the year by transforming workflows, decision-making and customer experience expectations, while sustainability was a topic that used to be a small-scale initiative but eventually turned to a baseline business requirement. Consumer behavior also experienced a significant shift as consumers started to demand personalization and authenticity.

When companies are planning their strategies for 2026, they are getting a unified message from the leadership i.e., innovation itself is insufficient. The actual change will be the shift in thinking accepting technology usage in a responsible way, putting the community and environment first and creating experiences that customers feel are tailored and not even close to being generic. The next winners in the corporate world will be those that have the courage to change, do it in a deliberate way, and have a clear intention.

Read on to know what leaders like Geetha Kandiah, Jennifer Klar, Karen Vincent, Minu Alexander and Dondra Ritzenthaler have to say.