For its part, Nestor Garcia CEO and President of KPMG Argentina, said: “This scenario of uncertainty expressed by world business leaders about how the economy will evolve, today finds Argentina in a profound change in its economic scheme oriented towards an open and competitive system.”
“This represents a great challenge, but at the same time an opportunity due to the potential that the country has in key sectors of great global demand such as those linked to agribusiness, energy and the knowledge economy, among others. “Companies that do not transform and adapt quickly will have trouble growing in the new digital economy that is driving change,” he added.
The survey carried out by KPMG was based on consultations with 1,325 business leaders of the main international markets. They all run companies that have annual revenues of more than $500 million. And of that total, a third has income greater than $10 billion.
This tenth edition of the “CEO Outlook 2024” also reveals that regarding future hiring plans, 92% said that they plan to increase the number of employees in the next 3 years. This is the highest proportion since 2020.
“This bullish hiring drive comes even as leaders face the demands of running a large organization, with 72% of them saying they feel more pressure than last year to achieve long-term prosperity for their employees.” companies,” details the report.
AI as an engine to improve productivity
Behind economic uncertainty (53%), the race to adopt artificial intelligence (50%) It is the issue that most worries CEOs today.
At this point, 64% of leaders reaffirmed their commitment to increase investment in innovation and technology (including AI) as an engine of growth. Furthermore, this segment identified AI as your top investment priority in 2024.
In any case, most consider that this investment will generate fruits in the medium term, based on responses from 63% who said they expect to see that performance in the next 3 to 5 years.
The main benefits of AI implementation recognized this year by CEOs are el increased efficiency and productivity, better qualification of the workforce to prepare for the future, and increased organizational innovation.
Despite this, they remain aware of the risks presented by the rapid implementation of new technologies. More than half (61%) said ethical challenges are among the most difficult to address when implementing AI in their companies, while a lack of regulation (50%), and technical skills and capabilities ( 48%) were other areas of concern.
Finally, 76% of CEOs said they believe AI will not fundamentally affect the number of jobs in their organization, while only 38% believe their employees have the right skills to fully realize the benefits of AI. 58% agree that the integration of generative AI caused them to rethink the skills required for junior positions.
People at the center of corporate growth strategy
Since 2015, CEOs have had to deal with changes in work patterns as employees seek more balance, flexibility and alignment between your personal beliefs and the purpose of the organization.
This change caused successful leaders to place employees at the center of their growth strategies, strengthening the relationship with employees to retain and attract diverse talent and support growth and productivity.
This year’s survey shows a growing conviction that The return to the office is planned in the near future. In fact, 83% expect a full return to the office in the next 3 yearsa percentage significantly higher than the 64% recorded in 2023.
While attention continues to focus on the workplace debate, CEOs recognize that there are other talent-related issues that could impact their future growth.
Nearly a third (31%) say they are concerned about changes in the labor market, specifically the number of employees who will retire soon and the lack of qualified workers available to replace them.
In answer to talent shortage As noted, 80% of CEOs agree that organizations should invest in skills development and lifelong learning within local communities to ensure access to future talent.
Sustainability as a source of value creation
In the last decade, CEOs renewed their commitment to social responsibility and sustainability as a source of value creation. In 2015, they ranked environmental risk as the one they were least concerned about. But this year almost a quarter (24%) recognize that the main consequence of not meeting ESG expectations would be give an advantage to competitorsoutweighing the threat to their own position (21%) and challenges around recruitment (16%).
Furthermore, despite the growing politicization of the ESG agenda in some countries, leaders are especially sensitive to the impact that these issues can have on the trust and reputation of your organization.
76% of CEOs say they would be willing to part with a profitable part of the business if it would damage their reputation, while 68% of CEOs say they would take a position on a controversial political or social issue even if the board expressed concerns to the board. regard.
However, more than half (66%) of leaders admit that they are not prepared to face the evaluation and expectations of stakeholders regarding ESG issuessuggesting that they plan to take steps to reduce these risks.
In response to growing external and stakeholder pressures, CEOs also appear to be changing how they communicate their ESG efforts. In this year’s global survey, 69% revealed that while they have maintained the same climate-related strategies over the past 12 months, they have adapted the language and terminology they use internally and externally to meet new stakeholder expectations. .
For example, political and social forces have led some companies to change the language that they use, and some organizations prefer to use general terms such as “sustainability”, rather than the broader term “ESG”.
In this year’s survey, 69% of CEOs revealed that while they have maintained the same climate-related strategies over the past 12 months, they have adapted the language and terminology they use to meet the changing needs of stakeholders.
The next generation of CEOs
Finally, the 2024 survey revealed a generational change among CEOs. Younger leaders (78% of those ages 40-49) admitted to feeling more pressure to ensure the long-term success of their company than older leaders (68% of those ages 60-69) .
However, the younger ones also showed higher levels of confidence when addressing some of your organization’s critical problems.
Although they are less confident that their organization can address all of their ESG priorities simultaneously compared to their older peers, they are more confident in their ability to address stakeholder control over ESG policies.
43% of CEOs between 40 and 49 years old are confident compared to 33% of CEOs between 50 and 59 years old and 30% of those between 60 and 69 years old.
Source: Ambito
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