19th Annual Global CEO Survey: Private Company View
Old-style strengths, new-style challenges
This year’s PwC Global CEO Survey looked at how the business landscape is changing; from the accelerating pace of technological advances to the profound geopolitical, environmental, and economic shifts we are all now living with. We explored how companies and their CEOs are addressing those changes and making a success of them, and how rising stakeholder expectations are redefining what ‘success’ now means.
60% of the 1,400 respondents this year were privately owned, and we have all been struck by how much similarity there is between private and public CEOs’ answers this year. There is a caveat here, in that the questions were looking at particular topics, so it’s important not to draw general conclusions from specific data; but that said, in the areas explored, all CEOs are clearly facing similar risks, challenges, and opportunities and regardless of sector or ownership structure. From internal issues like fostering innovation and attracting talent, to much wider external trends, such as climate change, geopolitical shifts, and technological advances, these are challenges demanding new approaches, and new ways of working.
Key findings
- An overwhelming majority (81%) of private company CEOs believe their company is likely to grow revenues over the next year
- This is only slightly lower than the public company average of 84%; with companies defining themselves as private partnerships even more confident, at 86%
- Only 28% of private company CEOs (27% of public ones) expect the global economy to improve in the next 12 months – down around 10 points on last year. And 66% of private company CEOs believe there are more threats to their company’s growth now than three years ago – up from 58% last year
- But 58% of private companies believe there are more new prospects for growth now than before. "The strength of the private company sector has always been its ability to make decisions quickly, and move swiftly to seize opportunities"
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