US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs an executive order on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
Richard Edelman, Edelman
“I think Trump is giving America a really good opportunity to revive its animal spirit. There will be less regulation, there will be more energy supply, there will be a greater sense of how markets work and (less) regulation. I think Trump is a shot in the arm for business but I think that Businesses have to navigate their way through how to balance other stakeholders, employees, and others on issues like DEI, sustainability (and so on).”
Stephen van Rijswijk, ING
On Trump's inauguration: “I think it's also a wake-up call for Europe. And I think Europe also needs to really focus on the economy and growth.”
“We need to become more competitive. We need more labor productivity. We need to invest more in artificial intelligence, and we need to invest in the Capital Markets Union, for example, to improve the flow of capital in Europe. So I think he added, “A lot of the things (Trump) says apply to some extent to Europe as well, and Europe's focus should be on the competitiveness of this region, and that will help the whole society here as well.”
Sander van't Noordeinde, Randstad
In response to a question about whether the “merit-based system” promoted by Trump was its mission Initiatives to roll back DEIIt was a welcome change, and Van't Noordeinde replied: “No, not at all.”
“Some companies are pulling some parts of their DEI programs… Most companies I talk to are moving on and staying the course. Why? Because it's good for business. The US workplace is a very high-trust environment. (Our research shows that “85% of people in the United States trust their employer, and employers don’t want to jeopardize that trust.”
Mario Greco, Zurich Insurance
“We have to admit that the Paris Agreement did not achieve any of the plans, ambitions and goals that were expected. It is also true that we are looking for other means to achieve the temperature reduction that we desperately need. I mean that technology needs help, so no, I do not think that this “It's the big event.”
Vas Narasimhan, Novartis
“We have a challenge now because, on the one hand, we have a leader at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who has ostensibly made some anti-science statements, and yet we have to act,” said Narasimhan, Trump’s health secretary, who selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Constructively with this administration to get policy changes that are important for our industry and yet still defend vaccines and defend science.
He added: “Our conversations with management have actually been very positive. Obviously there are areas of disagreement, but I think overall this will be a better environment for us compared to the past four years.”
CNBC reached out to the RFK Jr campaign group for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Kirill Dmitriev, Russian Direct Investment Fund
“The bold actions taken by President Trump today prove that decisive leadership can change the course of history — unlocking economic growth and turning global challenges into opportunities for dialogue and resolution through problem-solving,” he said.
