The majority of the world’s CEOs are very confident for their future revenue growth according to a survey released today by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). CEOs expect this business expansion will be fuelled by improved market penetration, geographic expansion, and mergers and acquisitions.

The PwC Global CEO Survey is based on surveys completed by 1,100 CEOs across 50 countries. Fifty-nine per cent of Canadian respondents and 52% of global respondents are very confident for revenue growth prospects in the next 12 months. However, 88% of Canadian CEOs cite the lack of skilled labour followed by downturns in major economies (68%) and overregulation (61%) as key threats that may hinder their business growth prospects. Globally 73% of CEOs claim over-regulation as their main threat, followed by lack of skilled labour (72%) and low-cost competition (66%).

When dealing with employee recruitment and retention the survey found that 70% of Canadian CEOs felt that active engagement in social issues is a key success factor versus 65% of their global counterparts. However, given their interest in social issues and the volume of recent political and media attention, a surprising 76% of Canadian CEOs said that they were either not at all concerned or not very concerned with the threat of global warming and climate change and its impact on the growth prospects for their companies. Fifty-nine per cent globally shared that sentiment.

“There seems to be a disconnect between Canadian CEOs and public sentiment when it comes to climate change,” said Christine Schuh, Canadian Climate Change Leader at PwC, in a news release. “The issue is becoming more and more important across the country and around the globe, but CEOs don’t seem to share this concern — at least in the short term. This will likely change as the public pressures governments to take action to mitigate global warming. Companies should realize that global warming will change more than the climate, it will change the way they do business.”

The biggest growth opportunity cited by all CEOs is better penetration of existing markets for existing products (23%) with access to new markets via geographic expansion a close second (21%). Canadian CEOs cite M&A as the major opportunity to grow their business (21%). However, only 18% of Canadian CEOs have actually completed a deal. The main obstacles that they experienced or anticipate encountering in their M&As include unexpected costs, conflicting workforce expectations and stakeholder opposition. Eighty-one per cent of Canadian CEOs named North America as the location for planned or completed M&As. Nineteen per cent cited Western Europe, followed by 7% in Asia.

The survey went on to find that nearly three quarters of CEOs from around the world, including 81% of Canadian CEOs, agree that continued globalization is beneficial for both developed and emerging markets.

For more information on the survey please visit www.pwc.com/ceosurvey.