A new survey of CEOs shows a growing number of them expect they'll have to reinvent their businesses in some way because of new evolutions in technology and changes in the planet's climate.
PwC's Global CEO Survey measures what executives think about business challenges every year.
In 2024, it found that 45% of business leaders felt they would have to "reinvent" their businesses to keep them viable within the next ten years. Just 39% of CEOs thought the same last year.
Of the more than 4,700 CEOs polled, 38% said they were optimistic about the direction of the economy, which was up from 18% the year before.
This year, 45% believe economic decline is on the way, down from a record-setting 73% last year.
Close to three-quarters of CEOs felt that AI "will significantly change the way their company creates, delivers and captures value in the next three years."
AI could be both a benefit and a liability to organizations, whose leaders say they'll have to train employees to make the most of new tools. They expect AI could also weaken cybersecurity and make misinformation more of a problem.
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Meanwhile, close to a third of CEOs said they would have to change their business operations to account for the effects of climate change within the next three years.
Some three-quarters of business leaders said they were addressing direct aspects like energy efficiency. Fewer — 45% — said they had started to account for climate risks in their financial strategy.
PwC's survey comes out as the World Economic Forum begins its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Leaders there plan to assess the impact and potential of AI developments and lay out long-term strategies for climate and energy issues.
