CEO Confidence Index 2025: How Leaders Navigate Volatility

Summary

CEOWORLD magazine’s survey of 126,000 CEOs across 197 countries finds that volatility is now treated as the baseline for business. Leaders are embedding resilience into strategy rather than waiting for stability to return. Key threats include inflation, tariffs, cyber insecurity and fragmented tech regulation, yet many CEOs are accelerating transformation, favouring localisation and regionalisation of supply chains, pursuing alliances alongside M&A, and investing heavily in technology (AI, cloud, e‑commerce and cybersecurity) to maintain competitive advantage.

Key Points

The survey spans 126,000 CEOs in 197 countries and seven industries.
71% identify inflation as a major operational risk; 82% cite tariffs; 69% flag cybersecurity; 70% worry about fragmented tech regulation.
52% plan to increase portfolio transformation in the next 12 months; 39% will keep the current pace—change is becoming continuous.
74% view localisation as a permanent strategic shift; nearly two‑thirds support regionalisation to shorten and harden supply chains.
48% intend to pursue acquisitions, but 73% expect to enter alliances or joint ventures—preferring risk‑sharing models.
41% say innovation is the primary driver of M&A; technology investment is central to resilience and faster decision‑making.

Why should I read this?

Quick and blunt: if you care about strategy, this is your playbook. CEOs aren’t waiting for calm — they’re reshaping supply chains, deal tactics and tech bets now. This summary saves you time by pulling the practical takeaways from a huge dataset so you can act faster.

Context and relevance

The findings matter to executives, investors and policymakers. They explain the shift from optimised global supply chains to resilient regional models, the rise of alliances over outright buyouts, and why regulatory harmonisation is critical to sustain digital transformation. Expect these themes to shape corporate strategy and public policy conversations — particularly given CEO expectations that uncertainty will persist through 2029 and beyond.

Source

Source: https://ceoworld.biz/2025/09/20/ceo-confidence-index-2025-how-leaders-navigate-volatility/