16th Annual Global CEO Survey

South Africa focus

South Africa’s CEOs confident about global economic growth and their companies’ prospects for revenue growth, while adapting to the vast array of challenges and uncertainties they face.

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At a glance

CEOs are confident about global economic growth and their companies’ prospects for revenue growth, while also acknowledging the many challenges and uncertainties they face.

Download SA report in PDF [2.59 Mb]

Key findings

Many CEOs focussed on cutting costs, restructuring and stakeholder engagement

In this year’s survey we asked 56 CEOs based in South Africa how they are changing their organisations to become more agile and adaptable and, ultimately, better able to succeed in the face of adversity. Many CEOs remain focussed on cutting costs and restructuring, but they are also increasing their engagement with stakeholders within and outside their organisations, especially customers and employees.

CEOs are responding to the fast-changing environment

What South Africa’s CEOs told us:

89% plan to change to their short-term customer growth, retention or loyalty strategies.
84% have initiated a cost reduction initiative in the past 12 months 75% expect staff numbers to either increase or stay the same in the year ahead.
88% are extremely concerned about the availability of key skills.
100% plan to increase their investment in creating a skilled workforce in the next three years.

CEOs see greatest opportunities for growth outside South Africa.

As with last year, many local CEOs believe the greatest opportunities for growth lie outside South Africa. This is perhaps as much a reflection of constraints within the domestic economy as it is of the great opportunities that lie in fast growing emerging markets. CEOs globally are taking their businesses to where the growth is and given the vast opportunities in the rest of Africa, it is inevitable that ours should do the same.