Trust is a key corporate asset that is neither automatic nor secure. Global business is still more trusted than government or media, but that advantage is increasingly fragile. Research indicates many people hold a grievance mindset, believing institutions serve narrow interests and make life harder. Trust therefore cannot be treated as a permanent advantage. Responsibility for trust is often fragmented across communications, legal, compliance, HR, government affairs, and security, creating inconsistencies between what companies say, what they do, and how stakeholders experience them. Trust is distinct from reputation because it reflects confidence in future behavior. Some companies have created Chief Trust Officer roles, often evolving from cybersecurity-focused functions, but many organizations still lack direct accountability for trust as a strategic discipline.
"Trust is now one of the most important assets a company holds. But that trust is neither automatic nor secure. While business remains more trusted globally than government or media, that advantage is increasingly conditional and fragile. Edelman research shows 61% of people globally now hold a grievance mindset, believing institutions serve narrow interests while making their lives harder. In that environment, trust is not a permanent advantage. It's an asset companies must continuously earn and actively protect."
"Most companies understand trust matters. Few manage it with clear ownership. Responsibility is spread across communications, legal, compliance, HR, government affairs, and security, each operating with different incentives and time horizons. The result is inconsistency between what companies say, what they do, and how stakeholders experience them. That gap becomes visible when decisions are tested under pressure."
"Trust is not reputation. I spend my days helping companies evolve, promote, and protect their reputations. But reputation and trust are different things. Reputation is how a crowd feels about you at a given moment. Trust looks forward. It reflects confidence in how a company will behave tomorrow. It's the reason someone takes a chance on you, buys from you, stays, and recommends you."
"A handful of companies, mostly in tech, have created Chief Trust Officer roles in recent years. Airbnb, Salesforce, Atlassian and others have appointed executives with that title. But those positions have largely grown out of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) function, which focuses on cybersecurity, data protection, and platform safety. That work matters. It is also not the same thing. What most companies still lack is someone accountable for trust as a"
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