Geopolitics is the biggest concern for CEOs around the world

A third of Dutch CEOs (32%) consider geopolitics and domestic political uncertainty to be one of the biggest business risks. Globally, geopolitics is the biggest concern for CEOs.

This is evidenced by the annual “Global CEO Outlook” report issued by KPMG, a study conducted by Forbes magazine and based on an opinion poll among CEOs of major companies around the world. This year, for the first time, the research also includes input from Dutch managers of large companies.

CEOs in the Netherlands appear to be most concerned with new technological developments and geopolitical uncertainty. Strikingly, despite this uncertainty, 84% in the Netherlands and 77% of respondents worldwide expect their organizations to continue to grow over the next three years.

Sustainability

Topics related to ESG (environmental, social and governance) are also high on the governance agenda in the Netherlands. The survey showed that the CEOs surveyed are willing to make firm decisions to stimulate the shift to more sustainable business operations.

However, in achieving their intended sustainability goals, they face many obstacles. For example, 36% of CEOs in the Netherlands say they face a lack of usable technology solutions. Meanwhile, 40% expect investments in sustainable business operations to be profitable within three years. Globally, only 27% of CEOs expect to recover their investments during that period.

Artificial intelligence and diversity

Artificial intelligence is also a hot topic in boardrooms. Of those surveyed in the Netherlands, 84% are fully invested in generative AI, and 40% expect to recoup these investments within the next three years. International revenue forecasts are somewhat more pessimistic in this area.

More than half (56%) of Dutch CEOs believe that progress is being made too slowly in the area of ​​diversity and inclusion in business. 88% are convinced that a diverse composition at the top contributes to the growth of the organization.

A large majority (76%) also believes that CEOs are responsible for promoting social mobility within society. On this subject, the percentage of Dutch CEOs is on par with the global average of 79%.

research

Forbes conducted the ninth edition of the KPMG CEO Outlook Report with 1,325 CEOs in August and September 2023. All companies included in the annual study have annual sales of more than $500 million; The third has annual sales of more than ten billion dollars.

The survey included CEOs from Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and others. The CEOs, who work across eleven different sectors, were asked about issues such as the rise of artificial intelligence, diversity, social equality and inclusion and the looming global recession.