Tomorrow's leaders today

19th Annual Global CEO Survey - AIESEC cut

For the past 19 years, PwC’s Annual Global CEO Survey has been talking with the world’s CEOs about how the business landscape is changing – discussing developments ranging from the accelerating pace of technological advances to the profound geopolitical, environmental, and economic shifts which we are all now living with. Every year, the survey gauges the confidence of today’s business leaders in addressing both the risks and opportunities that such changes are creating, with special emphasis this year on how stakeholder expectations are shaping corporate strategy. 

But what of the leaders of tomorrow? How do they see these global trends, and do they have the same priorities as previous generations? We decided to answer some of these questions by undertaking a parallel survey with over 200 young leaders from AIESEC, a leading international student organisation committed to developing the leadership potential of young people. PwC has partnered with AIESEC for over 43 years, exploring issues of global talent sourcing, youth and corporate responsibility. The respondents were all under the age of 30, came from over 100 countries, and were broadly balanced between male and female. In this report we look at the two groups side by side, exploring where they agree and where they differ, at the implications for companies looking to attract the best young talent, and at what today’s CEOs can learn from those who are most likely to succeed them.