“Innovation and entrepreneurship have always been the key ingredients for the success of emerging business,” added Jeff Resnick, Global Managing Director, Opinion Research Corporation, which conducted the study on behalf of NYSE Euronext. “The optimism expressed by these CEOs continues this tradition. The confidence of these business leaders is a key ingredient to the economic recovery we are beginning to see.”
In addition outside the U.S., four in 10 CEOs say they expect a significant improvement in the growth of their business through 2011 – almost twice that of U.S. CEOs.
"While economic conditions continue to be challenging, we have significantly reduced the cost of doing business thereby providing the resources necessary to drive innovation, expand access to markets and focus on sales. We believe this will lead to profitable growth in the foreseeable future," stated John K. Morgan, Chairman, President and CEO of Zep Inc.
Spending Again
After cutting back in all but a handful of budgetary areas in 2009, CEOs this year anticipate budget increases in nearly all categories for the year ahead, another indication that they are planning for growth. Spending in areas such as technology and environmental and regulatory compliance are expected to increase 10 percent or more (see interactive chart*).
Customers, Investors, Employees
When asked about the success of prospecting and retaining customers and investors in the current economic environment, only 25% of CEOs said it is easier to attract customers, while 36% believed it would be easier to attract investors compared to last year. However, reflecting some of the difficulties in Europe, CEOs there versus those in other markets believed attracting customers and investors in their region would be difficult.
Further proof of business growth is the underlying finding that CEOs globally say it is easier to retain employees. Three in four (76%) U.S. CEOs and three in five (60%) European CEOs find it easier to attract and retain employees this year than in prior years.
This year’s NYSE Euronext CEO Report is based on interviews conducted during March 2010 with 325 CEOs of companies listed on NYSE Euronext exchanges covering a wide range of industries and geographies. With 44% of respondents based outside the United States, this year’s survey is designed to capture insights from CEOs around the world on how the past economic challenges may have impacted current and future business plans.
Other key findings of the report are provided below.
Employment Recovery
Nearly half of the CEOs surveyed expect to be adding to their workforce through 2011, with those based outside of the U.S. and Europe being the most likely to hire more people. More than six out of 10 CEOs in Asia and Latin America said they plan to expand their workforce, while only four in 10 European and U.S. CEOs plan an expansion.
Global Economic Recovery
The CEOs who rated the global economic conditions as poor dropped by 47 percent from last year, while those who viewed conditions as “good or excellent” increased by 3 percent. The ratings remained unchanged since March. CEOs, however, were downbeat about the strength of the economic recovery in their own countries. Half of the CEOs rated the state of their own economic recoveries as weak or worse. Their pessimism, however, has abated since March, when nearly six in 10 CEOs viewed their recoveries as weak.
Succession Planning, Corporate Reputation and Investor Confidence
The study finds that approximately two-thirds of U.S. companies have formal succession plans for the CEO role, compared to 14% of European companies. While three of four CEOs feel they do enough to protect their companies’ reputations, those surveyed believe the most important characteristics that would have a positive impact on their company’s reputation are honesty, integrity, ethics, transparency and leadership by example.
