The KPMG report is based on a global survey of 1,325 CEOs, including 50 CEOs in Saudi Arabia, as well as interviews with business leaders.
Environmental and Corporate Governance:
Due to increasing pressure from stakeholders, CEOs are now prioritizing people to drive social return. 92% of respondents in Saudi Arabia confirmed that the pandemic has caused them to shift their focus to ESG programs. On the flip side, only 30% of CEOs in Saudi Arabia feel they will struggle to meet expected diversity and inclusion requirements, compared to 56% of their global counterparts.On the other hand, only 30% of CEOs in Saudi Arabia feel they will struggle to meet expected diversity and inclusion requirements, compared to 56% of their global counterparts.
Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance. On climate change, the report showed that 42 percent of CEOs in Saudi Arabia plan to invest more than 10 percent of their revenue to become more sustainable, and action needs to come from both business and government. Six in ten CEOs in Saudi Arabia said that their ESG programs help improve financial performance.
Six in ten CEOs in Saudi Arabia said that their ESG programs help improve financial performance.
confidence in Saudi Arabia's economic growth:
Dr. Abdullah Hamad Al Fouzan, Chairman of KPMG in Saudi Arabia, commented: ”We have observed that CEOs are placing ESG at the center of their organizations“ long-term growth strategies, and it is encouraging to see this trend and to see business leaders linking the economic success of their organizations to the success of their ESG agendas; confirming that CEOs can be drivers of positive change.”According to the KPMG report, ESG leaders are optimistic, confident and expect strong growth through acquisitions as well as other methods, with nearly 86 percent of CEOs in the Kingdom looking to make M&A deals as a means of growth in the next three years and 88 percent saying they need to accelerate their investments into digital opportunities."
According to the KPMG report, CEOs are optimistic, confident and expect strong growth through acquisitions, as well as other methods, with nearly 86 percent of CEOs in the Kingdom looking to make M&A deals as a means of growth in the next three years and 88 percent believing they need to accelerate their investments into digital opportunities. <Al Fouzan continued: "84% of CEOs are confident in Saudi Arabia's economic growth, while 90 percent expect their companies to exceed pre-pandemic levels. Although the pandemic is not over yet, CEOs are increasingly confident about economic growth in Saudi Arabia and globally." With so much potential, CEOs are hoping to be ahead of the curve so they can capitalize on various opportunities to support their businesses. Unnatural growth strategies are a popular choice to seize these opportunities, as business leaders look to expand organically and continue to assess the future of work to ensure they are able to attract the best talent.
The importance of growth and resilience:
<CEOs are emphasizing the importance of leading with purpose, focusing on digital transformation of their organizations and upskilling the workforce to become highly agile and flexible. According to the report, CEOs in Saudi Arabia are strengthening their organization's digital advantage by building a more agile work future and working as part of digital ecosystems.Although CEOs are not making any fundamental changes to their office space, they are becoming more agile, with 32% expecting most employees to work remotely at least two days a week and 28% considering hiring talent to work remotely.According to the report, CEOs in Saudi Arabia are strengthening their organization's digital advantage by building a more agile future of work and working as part of digital ecosystems.
Building Cyber Defenses
<KPMG suggests three areas that CEOs can focus on as they look to grow beyond the impact of the pandemic: Growth and Resilience, ESG, and Financial Value and the Future of Work.<”Many organizations have handled the pandemic well and have shown remarkable resilience in dealing with significant change and uncertainty," he said: "Resilience will be key to economic recovery, along with other inputs such as talent acquisition risks and building cyber defenses, as CEOs will need to surround themselves with resilient people. They will also need to identify their ESG investments, such as efforts to reduce carbon emissions, which will be essential for long-term value creation. "CEOs need a people-first mindset, investing in new technologies and human capabilities, and then need to lead by objectives to earn the trust of stakeholders and help build a prosperous and sustainable world."
