According to PwC's 27th Annual Global CEO Survey for Greece, there is a climate of optimism among Greek CEOs regarding the direction of the Greek economy and the growth prospects of their companies.
According to the key findings, 76% of Greek CEOs believe that the Greek economy will improve over the next 12 months, expressing higher levels of optimism than their global counterparts. 54% of them appear extremely or very confident about their revenue growth prospects.
More than 79% of CEOs surveyed identified technology, customer preferences, competitor actions, and government initiatives as the biggest catalysts for change. Over 20% of total sales came from new products and services for 33% of Greek CEOs. 89% of Greek CEOs said their companies have already made progress or completed initiatives to improve energy efficiency, while 1 in 3 have accepted lower rates of return on climate-friendly investments. 63% of respondents predict that GenAI will significantly change the way their company operates in the next 3 years, although to date, only a few have adapted their strategy to the new environment. Also, 41% predict their profitability will improve by more than 5% due to GenAI, and 64% expect cybersecurity risk to increase in the next year due to GenAI. 27% of Greek CEOs consider climate change and geopolitical conflicts the biggest threats they will face in the next 12 months, and they are very exposed to these threats.
As the PwC Greece survey states, "The country's distinction by The Economist as the best performing economy in 2023—for the second year in a row—captures an impressive post-pandemic growth record. In addition, 2023 was marked by a decisive improvement in Greece's macroeconomic outlook, including high levels of profitability for businesses and the important milestone of achieving investment grade status. The positive sentiment is also reflected in the survey results, as more than half of Greek CEOs report high confidence in their company's growth potential—significantly higher than the previous year. At the same time, the survey records the climate for the Greek economy as much more optimistic than in other countries. Significantly, Greek CEO's anticipate higher growth in the number of employees across all sectors than their international counterparts, while being more conservative on price increases, reflecting an overall effort to control inflationary pressures."
At the same time, CEOs are placing innovation in new product development and technological change at the top of their agenda while fully understanding the need to upgrade the skills of their workforce.
Despite the optimistic approach, globally, concerns about exposure to macroeconomic volatility and inflation are a source of concern. In Greece, CEOs are concerned about their response to climate change management, while the majority of CEOs surveyed have already secured consensus on initiatives related to sustainable transition and are making climate-friendly investments, even when these show lower financial returns.
The role of generative AI is catalytic, with survey participants believing it will transform the way their companies operate more broadly and expressing concern about cybersecurity threats and the spread of misinformation.
