PwC survey: India CEOs focus on hiring, threat of tech disruption

A majority of India’s chief executive officers (CEOs) -- 87 per cent -- are optimistic about domestic growth, with more than 68 per cent likely to increase their headcount in the next 12 months, according to PwC’s 28th Annual Global CEO Survey: India Perspective, being released at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday. However, unlike their global counterparts, who are more concerned about macroeconomic volatility, inflation, and cyber risks, Indian CEOs identified technological disruption as their top threat, the survey found.

 

“Many India CEOs are aggressively integrating or are set to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) into their company’s business products and processes over the next three years -- not by choice, but by compulsion,” the survey said.

 

 

The PwC survey also found that while over half of Indian CEOs were positive about GenAI’s impact on profitability, trust remained an issue, with only a third of both global and Indian CEOs having high trust in AI’s integration into business processes.

 

Four in 10 CEOs in India -- similar to their global counterparts -- said their companies have started to compete in at least one new sector or industry in the past five years, generating 1-20 per cent of their revenue from sectors such as consumer, industrial manufacturing, and aerospace, and defence.

 

The survey polled more than 4,700 CEOs across 109 countries, including more than 75 from India. 

One-third of Indian CEOs noted revenue increases from climate-friendly investments over the past five years.

 

India remains among the top five territories, along with the US, the UK, Germany, and Mainland China, for global CEOs’ investment plans in the next 12 months for the second year in a row.

 

“India has two fundamental advantages that can be leveraged in the global scenario. First, it’s probably the largest consumption economy. Second, it is and can continue to truly be the skill capital of the world,” Rishad Premji, executive chairman of Wipro, said in the survey.

 

India CEOs showed greater optimism compared to their global counterparts about their companies’ revenue growth prospects -- both in the short term (57 per cent versus 38 per cent) and in the long term (74 per cent versus 53 per cent).

 

Despite this positive outlook, the survey pointed out that a sizeable section of CEOs has underlying doubts about the long-term viability of their businesses. Around 42 per cent of both global and Indian CEOs believe their companies would be economically viable for only 10 years or less on their current trajectory, with more than half concerned about changes in the regulatory environment.

 

“More Indian CEOs are concerned about the economic viability of their businesses compared to the previous year. India CEOs now feel the need to recalibrate their decision-making processes and press the intelligent reinvention reset button to survive in the marketplace,” the survey said.

 

In India, the percentage of CEOs who said a certain proportion of their personal incentive was determined by sustainability metrics was slightly higher at 58 per cent compared to the global CEOs’ average of 56 per cent.

 

In India, 38 per cent of CEOs underlined that climate-friendly investments initiated by their companies in the past five years had increased revenue, while 33 per cent said such investments had increased costs. 

 

Growth strategies

 

 

India remains among the top five territories for global CEOs’ investment plans

  Nearly 9 of 10 Indian CEOs remain confident of economic growth as they plan headcount increases and continued AI rollout

  51% of Indian CEOs are positive about GenAI’s impact on profitability 

One-third of Indian CEOs noted revenue increases from climate-friendly investments over the past 5 years

  For more than 40% of Indian CEOs, product and service innovation is the most common reinvention action