CEO Survey 2022: An Optimistic Outlook for the Year Ahead

For the last three years, GLG has surveyed CEOs around the world about the year that has gone by and their expectations for the one to come.

This year’s GLG CEO Survey is global, with executives from every region and across a wide range of industries. The custom panel, drawn from GLG’s network of approximately 1 million experts, was conducted in November 2021. It consists of a total of 471 CEO respondents across a range of industries, with 162 respondents from the Americas, 152 from EMEA, and 157 from APAC.

Overall, the 2022 survey found our CEOs in transition as their companies emerged from the worst of the pandemic. While many industries were hurt by COVID-19 and the related lockdowns, others thrived. Businesses that did not depend on an in-person workforce found new technology-driven ways to work; online marketplaces continued to meet the needs of homebound customers; and investments in research and development seemed to be paying off.

Despite the pandemic’s persistence, CEOs across all three regions seem optimistic, expressing confidence that their company revenue will grow in 2022. What’s more, optimism is even greater regarding the global economy. Nearly three-quarters of our respondents expect the global economy to grow in 2022, compared with half the CEOs we surveyed who answered the same way in our pre-pandemic survey of 2020.

This year’s survey found CEOs largely aligned, with mostly marginal differences in their experiences and expectations. Below are a few of the high-level findings broken out by region.

Americas

Company Revenue

• 49% of respondents said that they saw their revenue increase in 2021
• 64% expressed at least some confidence that their revenue would grow in 2022 (confident + very confident)

Return to Work

• 30% said they’ve established a hybrid model: some days in the office, some remote

Global Economy Forecast

• 65% told us they expect the global economy to increase in 2022

Supply Chain Impact

• 36% said that supply chain issues would have the most impact on the global economy

APAC

Company Revenue

• 48% of respondents said that they saw their revenue increase in 2021
• 73% expressed confidence that their revenue would grow in 2022 (confident + very confident)

Return to Work

• 45% said they’ve established a hybrid model: some days in the office, some remote

Global Economy Forecast

• 75% told us they expect the global economy to increase in 2022

Supply Chain Impact

• 42% said that supply chain issues would have the most impact on the global economy

EMEA

Company Revenue

• 40% of respondents said that they saw their revenue increase in 2021
• 68% expressed at least some confidence that their revenue would grow in 2022 (confident + very confident)

Return to Work

• 59% said they’ve established a hybrid model: some days in the office, some remote

Global Economy Forecast

• 74% told us they expect the global economy to increase in 2022

Supply Chain Impact

• 45% said that supply chain issues would have the most impact on the global economy

The GLG CEO Survey also includes reflections on COVID-19’s past and future impact, the concerns that CEOs have for the coming year, and the investments they’re planning to make to have a successful 2022. We also asked our CEO panel about their feelings regarding corporate responsibility.

The survey’s findings ultimately create a picture of how CEOs across the world view the coming year. Many challenges have risen out of the pandemic — threats to the supply chain, rising inflation, talent acquisition and retention — but CEOs are showing their resilience, investing in new technology and innovation to drive success in the year ahead.