Friend,

Welcome to 2026 :) Even for January, it feels eerily quiet, perhaps because Australians are travelling at home and abroad in numbers approaching the pre-pandemic record. It's quiet in Sydney's CBD, oddly easy to park at popular regional beaches, and business media and LinkedIn seem disturbingly muted.

What's interesting are the trends in news and content we CAN see already.

Three trends strike me as important - maybe even harbingers for 2026 - as I cast a cynical eye over media with a view of what directors, CEOs, and their teams should watch this year.

TREND #1. The "profersonalisation" of business channels

Business media, whether earned (news reporting, features), owned channels, or shared (like LinkedIn) is decidedly more personal. We've seen wedding photos, DOAC founder Steven Barlett's "she said yes" LinkedIn post (> 42k likes at time of writing this), and CEOs using holiday pics to front-run this year's strategy messages.

Yikes, it's starting to feel like my Facebook forays circa 2004.

We're not putting the profersonal genie back in the bottle... what started as a trickle is now a viable long term source of running water. Or FOMO.

So what? Start thinking about the overlapping set between your life, or your CEO's, your strategy and your audiences' content needs. That's where we'll be heading this year.

TREND #2. The death of the narcissist profile piece

Hero-worshipping, and heroes themselves, are out of favour as a flavour of leadership analysis. It's just not the time. Whether this is an Australian-only reaction to Trumpian lionising of even unworthy leaders, or just sensible in light of the resurgence of Rear Window, it's a thing.

A great case study is today's announcement of AMP CEO Alexis George's retirement. It's all about Blair Vernon, her successor. While this is a consistent theme in George's career, it's also another clear example of the wising up of corporate affairs teams, CEOs, and business media. 

So what? There are no perfect CEOs, chairpeople, or editors. Lionising leaders now feels like wearing the crown jewels to a charity day. Very last decade, a bit tacky, and dialling up your #cancel risk. Instead, make stories about what your leaders are doing for those they serve. It's simple but it's literally not about you, especially if you're the CEO.

TREND #3. Media biting harder: smaller jaws, fewer feeding frenzies BUT sharper teeth 

Yes, there are typos in the standfirst of the AFR Magazine. Yes, the SMH makes mistakes daily. No, the ABC doesn't fact check the way they used to and, yes, you really can say almost anything -phobic or -ism in a News Limited publication.

There may be almost no sub-editors, stuff-all verification and little natural justice but do not mistake that for lassitude or slackness on the part of our media. We see outstanding examples of digging deeper, biting harder, and writing the whole story versus the apparent ("served") news across media outlets, platforms, and types of journalist. On the whole we and our clients are dealing with skilled, careful, smart media professionals who are understandably sceptical about company news, PR-driven content, pure good news, and anything or anyone a little too shiny. 

So what? Tell the truth. Dig deeper to deliver a better and more complete angle to our friends in the media. And serve your best news with some grit or it may be seen as too good to be true.

Wishing you the best of the calendar and Lunar New Year. May the Year of the Horse carry you well and to a good place.

Best,

Carden

On our radar

Policy and regulatory developments that may shape your risk or return

Rio–Glencore mega-merger

Rio Tinto is in talks to acquire Glencore in a transaction that could create the world’s largest mining company, with a combined valuation exceeding US$200 billion and overtaking BHP. Under UK takeover rules, Rio must make a formal offer by 5 February or walk away, with its shares falling about 5.5%.

Longo announces ASIC departure after five years

After five years as the chair of Australia's corporate regulator, Joe Longo has announced his incoming resignation in May. Having more than doubled the number of formal investigations and issuing ASIC's single highest penalty ever, his tenure is marked by strict financial regulation. It is yet to be seen if the next chair will follow suit.

AI is redefining cybersecurity in 2026

Cyber threats are accelerating in 2026, driven by AI-enabled attacks that are either lightning-fast or persist undetected for long periods. In 2026 a priority should be strong security fundamentals, limit how far breaches can spread, and protect non-human identities such as APIs and machine credentials. AI-powered defence tools that deliver real-time context, automate triage and support future crypto agility will be critical to staying ahead of increasingly sophisticated threats.

Super shake-up 2026

Super rules are changing in 2026. Contribution caps are expected to rise, “Payday Super” will require employers to pay SG with wages from July, and the new Division 296 tax will apply only to super balances above $3 million.

New Year journo updates

Joanne Tran, AFR

Joanne has started as the AFR's Investment Banking Reporter. She'll be covering investment banking, capital markets, and the people, trends, and transactions moving them.

Kishor Napier-Raman

Kishor recently took on a new role as Senior Business Writer at SMH and The Age, in which he covers each masthead's reporting on international business movements and financial analysis.

This week's market movers

Big plays, bold bets, and (occasional) unconfirmed speculation

ACCC turns to AI - ACCC to deploy AI to scan government tenders for bid-rigging, using algorithmic pattern detection to identify collusion in major infrastructure, defence and Olympic projects.

Alexis George steps down from AMP CEO role

George's nearly five-year term in charge of AMP following the Hayne Royal Commission will be coming to an end in March. Praised for her simplification and streamlining of the business, George's tenure at AMP saw a return of over AUS$1.5 billion to shareholders.

AMP’s pension loophole - AMP has angered superannuation rivals by defaulting more than 140,000 members into a lifetime income super product that reduces Age Pension means-testing, boosting retiree benefits.

Best,

Carden | she/her (here’s why that matters @work)