It’s tough at the top – but which business leader has the most at stake in 2025?
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From post and planes to TV, phones and retail chains – and even a central bank – here are the chiefs facing the most testing of times. A year is a long time in business: enough time for things to turn sour financially, or to engineer a comeback. Here are our picks of the figures across all sectors who face a testing year with something big to prove in 2025.
![[Head and shoulders shot of Nikhil Rathi]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/453e2f58f0c85776cecb8e41d5caafbcdee75e02/0_0_2362_1417/master/2362.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Daniel Křetínský, AKA the “Czech sphinx”, has almost secured his prize. In the week before Christmas, the government approved the debt-funded takeover of Royal Mail’s parent, International Distribution Services. Shareholders still have to vote, but that hurdle should be a formality.
![[Head and shoulders shot of Murray Auchincloss]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5c23eafce3db1647eba93f16c66c79bcdfc6dad2/0_0_5500_4103/master/5500.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
His EP Group’s strategy for the postal service is something of a mystery because the six-month lead-up to the deal mostly concentrated on wooing government and unions, with a mass of undertakings covering everything from financial leverage to the location of the headquarters and tax residency.
![[A crowd of workers in winter clothes wave colourful banners]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/340a9892789d87a5b4b6207429fa7b77ce8ca2cb/0_231_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
This year should tell us whether Křetínský is serious about stepping up investment. He is committed to honouring the universal service obligation – the requirement to deliver letters nationwide six days a week at one price – but the only hint of innovation has come via a promise to open 20,000 parcel lockers.
![[Jason Tarry standing smiling in a supermarket aisle]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/99ed48844aebd5780e796c6a69780cb25e199b1d/0_0_5472_3283/master/5472.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The Communication Workers Union cautiously welcomed the takeover but industrial relations are rarely straightforward at Royal Mail. Křetínský will need to convince the shop floor he has a plan for growth. Nils Pratley. This time last year, ITV was basking in the success of Mr Bates vs the Post Office, which focused public anger on the plight of wrongfully prosecuted branch owner-operators. For ITV, it meant critical acclaim and demonstrated the power of free-to-air commercial TV in the streaming age.
