CEO priorities are centered on disciplined growth, AI value creation, and geopolitical risk management amid persistent global volatility.
Fewer than half of CEOs believe their organizations are agile enough to execute at the pace the market now demands.
The most effective business leaders are running two simultaneous agendas: delivering on core performance while building long-term growth engines.
The global business environment has narrowed the distance between strategic intent and operational consequence. Geopolitical conflicts, rising trade tensions, energy price pressures, and accelerating AI disruption are no longer background conditions. They now sit at the center of every executive decision.
The EY CEO Outlook Survey for 2026, which covered 1,200 chief executives across 21 countries, found that 56% of respondents now cite geopolitical tensions as their primary near-term risk. In September 2025, that figure was 28%.
The contrast is striking. In under a year, the risk profile of global business has fundamentally shifted. Executives who spent 2024 focused on talent and technology are now navigating a terrain shaped by conflict, tariffs, and supply chain fragility. The CEOs who sustain organizational performance through this pressure share a set of identifiable disciplines. For them, clarity of priority is a competitive advantage, not a management exercise.
The demands on today's chief executive have widened beyond traditional performance metrics. Bain's 2026 CEO Agenda Survey, drawing on 100 CEOs, found that fewer than half feel confident their organizations can adapt and execute at the speed current conditions require. The ambition is present. The execution capacity often is not.
| Priority Area | % of CEOs Citing as Critical | Key Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| Geopolitical risk integration | 56% | Supply chain fragility and political instability |
| AI ROI and scaling | 80%+ using AI for cost productivity | Dissatisfied with results; limited scaling |
| Workforce reskilling | Top talent constraint globally | Skills gaps in AI, data, and digital roles |
| Execution and agility | <50% confident in organizational speed | Bureaucracy, slow governance, diffuse accountability |
| M&A and portfolio strategy | 60% planning acquisitions | Technology capability acquisition is the primary driver |
| Financial resilience | 25% prioritizing capital reallocation | Cost discipline to fund long-term growth |
Sources: EY CEO Outlook Survey, May 2026; Bain CEO Agenda Survey, June 2026
The data reveals a pattern. CEOs are confident in their strategic vision. Confidence falls sharply when the focus shifts to delivery.
Geopolitical risk has moved from boardroom discussion to a core operating variable. Forty-six percent of CEOs in the EY survey said their business would face significant headwinds from sustained energy price shocks. Another 42% said they would struggle to absorb prolonged supply chain disruption.
The most prepared leaders have taken two visible actions. First, they have built geopolitical scenario planning into their standard strategy reviews. Second, they have begun localizing or regionalizing production. Nearly 75% of CEOs surveyed by EY are either in the process of localizing production within the country of sale or have already done so.
This is not a retreat from global ambition. It is a structural response to a changed risk environment.
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AI investment is rising across every region. Around 80% of CEOs surveyed by EY report increased AI investment in 2026 compared to 2025. The shift in mindset is equally important. CEOs are no longer asking whether to adopt AI. They are asking where and how to scale it for the greatest financial return.
Customer service and experience leads as the area of highest measurable AI impact, cited by 42% of CEOs. Core operations and strategic decision-making each follow at 41%. The critical dividing line is governance. Only 11% of CEOs link AI impact directly to financial reporting reviewed by senior management. That minority reports stronger revenue growth, greater organizational confidence, and sharper awareness of external risk. Discipline, not scale, is what separates AI leaders from the rest.
What This Means For Business Leaders“The CEO who treats AI as an enterprise performance lever, tied to financial outcomes and reviewed at the board level, has a structural advantage over one still running isolated pilots. In 2026, AI ROI is a leadership capability, not an IT function.”
Bain's survey identifies execution as the primary gap in the CEO agenda. Most organizations lack the frontline routines that translate strategy into daily behavior. Fewer than half of surveyed CEOs are confident they have the right people in the right roles. Decision-making remains too slow and too centralized.
The most effective leaders are addressing this through four actions:
Redesigning governance to accelerate decisions at lower levels of the organization
Establishing clear accountability for both short-term delivery and long-term development
Building frontline routines that make strategic priorities visible and repeatable
Removing low-value work from the executive agenda to protect time for strategic focus
Only 41% of Bain's surveyed CEOs say their calendar protects time for deep strategic work. The CEO who is consumed by operations cannot lead transformation.
AI transformation cannot proceed without workforce transformation. EY's survey shows that CEOs plan to redesign roles, increase hiring for AI and digital talent, and invest in large-scale reskilling programs. The primary barrier is not technology. It is organizational absorption.
Limited AI and data skills within existing workforces and the challenge of maintaining entrepreneurial culture through AI-driven change are each cited by approximately 20% of global CEOs as their top talent constraints. Organizations that sustain investment in capability development during volatile periods consistently recover faster and compete more effectively when conditions stabilize.
Deal-making is no longer about scale. It is about capability. Approximately 60% of CEOs in the EY survey plan mergers or acquisitions in the next 12 months. The primary driver is the need to accelerate access to technology and AI capabilities that would otherwise take years to build organically.
Strategic fit with long-term growth priorities and the ability to enhance technology or AI capability are the top two factors guiding acquisition and divestment decisions. CEOs are also divesting non-core assets to release capital, reduce complexity, and sharpen their strategic focus for the periods of growth ahead.
Also Read: How Successful CEOs Build Confidence in Uncertain Markets
Across industry research and business surveys, a consistent set of executive priorities has emerged. Leaders who sustain strong performance in changing market conditions often share the following disciplines:
Geopolitical Integration: Political risk embedded into supply chain design, capital allocation, and strategic planning cycles
AI Accountability: AI outcomes linked to financial reporting and reviewed at the senior management level
Execution Discipline: Governance redesigned for speed, decision rights pushed down, accountability distributed across teams
Workforce Investment: Reskilling is treated as a structural investment, not a cost to defer
Portfolio Focus: M&A used to acquire capability, divestments used to fund clarity
CEO Time Management: Calendar protected for strategic work that only the chief executive can do
A CEO's agenda can’t be defined by a shortage of ambition. It is defined by a gap between what leaders intend and what their organizations can deliver. Bain's survey makes this explicit: strategy confidence is high, execution confidence is not. Fewer than half of CEOs believe their organizations can adapt and execute at the pace the current market demands. That gap is where competitive positions are won or lost.
The executives who close it are those who treat execution as a system, not a slogan. They connect AI investment to financial performance. They push decision rights closer to the front line. They protect their own time for the work that only a chief executive can perform, and invest in people even when short-term pressure argues against it.
Ambition, in this environment, requires architecture. The leaders who build that architecture are the ones building organizations that will still be growing when the turbulence has passed.
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What are the top CEO priorities for 2026?
The top CEO priorities include AI ROI and scaling, geopolitical risk integration, workforce transformation, execution discipline, and strategic M&A. Research from EY and Bain shows that fewer than half of CEOs feel confident their organizations can execute at the speed required. These priorities reflect a shift from managing disruption to building structural resilience.
How are CEOs approaching AI in 2026?
CEOs are moving beyond AI adoption toward measurable financial returns. Around 80% of surveyed CEOs have increased AI investment in 2026 compared to the prior year, with customer experience and core operations showing the highest measurable impact. The leading executives link AI outcomes directly to financial reporting and senior management review.
Why is execution the biggest CEO challenge in 2026?
Bain's 2026 CEO Agenda Survey finds that fewer than half of chief executives are confident their organizations can adapt and execute at market speed. The core barriers include slow governance, diffuse accountability, limited AI and digital skills, and frontline routines that do not consistently reflect strategic priorities.
How are CEOs using M&A in 2026?
CEOs are using M&A primarily to acquire technology and AI capabilities, not to expand scale. Around 60% of CEOs plan acquisitions in the next 12 months, with strategic fit and the ability to enhance technology capability cited as the two leading decision factors. Divestments are also increasing as leaders simplify their portfolios.
How are CEOs handling geopolitical risk in 2026?
Most CEOs now treat geopolitical risk as a core strategic variable rather than an external macro factor. Nearly 75% are localizing or regionalizing parts of their production in response to supply chain vulnerabilities. Scenario planning and political risk integration into capital allocation decisions are now standard practice among the highest-performing organizations.