PwC: 55% of CEOs believe that without transformation, companies will not remain profitable

Some 55% of Polish CEOs (global: 45%) doubt that their company's current growth path will keep it profitable over the next decade, signalling necessary transformations, according to the 27th Global CEO Survey, conducted by PwC. CEOs are more likely than a year ago to expect global economic growth, with significantly more optimists in Poland - 61% of respondents expect global GDP to grow compared to 38% overall.

The 27th global survey of chief executives shows that CEOs are making significant changes to their business models, but are even more concerned about their long-term viability. Although the 4,702 CEOs who took part in this year's survey are more optimistic about global economic growth than last year, 45% are still unsure whether their companies will survive on their current trajectory over the next 10 years (and in Poland, this percentage is even higher at 55%), according to the report.

Technology, in the opinion of CEOs, is becoming the number 1 factor that brings and supports long-term value creation. 56% of CEOs worldwide believe that the technological leap will have the most significant impact on their companies in the next three years, compared to 39% in Poland. Heads of companies in our country are aware that digital transformation and innovation are now essential to remain competitive and respond to changing market needs, but are still more strongly influenced - at least perceptually - by the impact with which government regulations and new customer preferences are combined, the survey also shows.

In addition, there is a growing role for chief executives in ensuring the responsible use of artificial intelligence by their organisations. Given the pace of innovation and the inevitable delays in the creation of new standards and regulations, much of the responsibility for managing GenAI falls, for now, on the companies themselves and not on the regulators. The heads of companies surveyed in our study overwhelmingly see generative AI as a catalyst for change that will impact efficiency, innovation and transformational change. Almost three quarters (70%) believe it will significantly change the way their company creates, delivers and captures value over the next three years. CEOs are also optimistic about the short-term effects.

While CEOs increasingly recognise the transformational benefits of generative AI, the vast majority say it will require upskilling of employees (69%). They also expressed concern about the associated increase in cyber-security risk (64%), misinformation (52%), legal liability and reputational risk (46%) and bias against certain groups of customers or employees (34%) in their companies.

PwC surveyed 4,702 CEOs globally including 31 in Poland and 111 in Central and Eastern Europe in October and November 2023. Global and regional data in this report are weighted in proportion to the nominal GDP of the country or region to ensure that CEO views are representative.

Source: PWC and ISBnews