A new survey reveals that the world’s chief executives view the risk of a recession as their biggest external concern in 2020. Attracting and retaining talent ranks as their top internal concern. They also feel unsettled by trade uncertainty, political instability, and more intense competition from disruptive technologies. However, they plan to counter such forces by developing more innovative cultures and new business models.
Conducted annually since 1999 by The Conference Board, this year’s survey gauged nearly 750 CEOs and nearly 800 other C-Suite executives from mainly four regions: Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the United States. As part of the survey, participants weighed in on which external and internal issues warrant the most immediate attention in 2020.
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External Concerns in 2020
Recession fears top the list
- Global: For the 2nd year in a row, CEOs and other C-Suite executives globally rank a recession as their top external worry in the year ahead.
- US: For US CEOs, a recession rose from being their 3rd biggest concern in 2019 to their top one in 2020. The issue surpassed cybersecurity, their top concern in 2019.
- Elsewhere: A recession also tops the list of concerns of Chinese and European CEOs, and ranks as the runner-up for Latin American and Japanese CEOs.
Widespread concern over trade uncertainty
- Global: CEOs globally rank uncertainty about global trade as their 2nd biggest external worry in 2020.
- US: It ranks as the 4th biggest worry of US CEOs, tied with its affiliate issue: global political instability.
- China: Chinese CEOs rank trade uncertainty as their top worry, tied with their fear of a recession.
- Latin America and Europe: CEOs there rank it 1st and 3rd, respectively.
Chinese CEOs feeling the effects of economic sanctions
- China: Chinese CEOs rank the effects of economic sanctions as their 5th biggest external worry, tied with the issue of more demanding customers. Their concern about sanctions is the highest ranking by any country by a big margin.
- What it reveals about US-China trade tensions: The role technology plays in this conflict is deep and enduring. Tariffs are likely to be temporary and easily subject to negotiation, but technology blockades, via economic sanctions, are not.
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Competition intensifies
- Global: For CEOs globally, fiercer competition rose from being their 4th top external worry in 2019 to their 3rd in 2020.
- US: For two years in a row, US CEOs cite the issue as their 2nd top external worry.
- China: For Chinese CEOs, concerns about fiercer competition rose from being their 7th in 2019 to their 3rd in 2020.
Cybersecurity budgets increase, but strategy remains elusive
- Bigger budgets: More than 70% of responding CEOs globally plan to increase their cyber security budgets in 2020.
- But unclear strategy: Almost 40% of responding CEOs globally say their organizations lack a clear strategy to deal with the financial and reputational impact of a cyber attack or data breach.
“When it comes to creating new business models because of disruptive technologies, there is more urgency among emerging-market CEOs than those in more mature economies,” said Chuck Mitchell, Executive Director of Knowledge, Content, and Quality at The Conference Board. “This should raise a warning flag about possible complacency considering the current speed of disruption. The truth is that, today, companies no longer enjoy the luxury of a decades-long lead time to adapt to the digital revolution.”
Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what’s ahead. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States.
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