C-suite barometer: outlook 2021

In the midst of a global pandemic, a majority of business leaders still expected growth in 2021. What else do they see on the horizon?

In early 2020, we decided to initiate a new C-suite barometer. We wanted to assess the views of C-suite leaders around the world on their activities and outlook for the coming year, understand how they manage and prioritise short- and long-term initiatives.

It was our intention for the survey to form a baseline of data against which we could track how these views evolve in subsequent surveys in coming years.

Unintentionally, however, we ended up capturing a snapshot of something else: how international business leaders were responding to the most severe pandemic in over a century.

Our 2020 C-suite barometer is a comprehensive report of business executives’ views and outlook for 2021, based on insights from over 500 C-suite leaders around the world.

Surprising optimism

Overall, the research shows a surprising level of optimism amongst the C-suite. Despite the tough environment, the majority (58%) expected to end 2020 with revenue higher than in 2019. When considering 2021, executives were even more positive: over 70% expected higher revenues than in 2020.

This is not to disregard the suffering: the impact of the Covid-19 crisis is evident in the 35% who said their revenue would be lower than it was in 2019. We also found a more negative outlook from the 40 additional respondents in the Q4 pulse survey, with more executives concerned that their revenue will fall in 2021 than previously.

Read our new report do discover more:

Which sectors and regions are the most optimistic about the future? And which are the least?
Which trends are expected to have the biggest impact on businesses in the next three to five years? And how confident are executives that their business can respond?
What are the different types of transformation that organisations will likely face in the near future?
Which activities are businesses focusing their time, money and resources on? Are these actions seen to have a short- or long-term impact?
How do opinions differ by region, sector and size of business?

Full report and spotlight articles below.