CEO optimism around global economic factors is at its highest in a decade, with 77 per cent of 4,446 CEOs surveyed predicting improving conditions while only 15 per cent expect the economy to worsen. This is according to PwC’s 25th Annual Global CEO Survey, which polled CEOs in 89 countries and territories between October and November 2021.
Despite undesirable market conditions such as rising inflation, disruptions in the supply chain and relentless COVID-19 whirlwinds, the report reveals that CEO optimism for 2022 is in fact a tick higher than the 76 per cent optimism level from a year ago and fully 54 points higher than 2020 when more than half of CEOs predicted a declining economy.
“While the on-going pandemic and emergence of new variants cast a shadow over the year, the high level of CEO optimism we found speaks to the strength and resilience of the global economy and the ability of CEOs to manage through uncertainty,” says PwC global chair, Bob Moritz. “There is nothing ‘normal’ about the world we are working in, but we are getting used to it,” he adds. “We are seeing differences in confidence among countries and there is no shortage of challenges to navigate, but it is encouraging that CEOs we spoke with, on the whole, feel positive about 2022,” he added.