PwC 29th Global CEO Survey (2026) — Leading through uncertainty in the age of AI
~30 min readPublished 19 January 2026Within ~18 months· PwC — 29th Global CEO Survey
Estimated time: ~30 min read — for the executive read / key chapters, not necessarily every appendix.
What this is
PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey PDF (2026): 4,454 CEOs across 95 countries on confidence, reinvention, and AI as a divide between leaders and laggards. Direct report file.
PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey (2026) frames AI as a divide between leaders and laggards amid uncertainty.
- 4,454 CEOs across 95 countries on confidence, reinvention, and AI value.
- AI appears as both opportunity and execution gap in leadership narratives.
- Useful peer benchmark language for board and ELT updates.
- Findings are survey-based — treat as leadership mood and priorities, not model science.
Next action: Bring one survey statistic and one local implication to your next ELT update.
Primary source
Read the full source · published 19 January 2026.
What changes in how you lead
How decision rights, process, and ownership should change.
- Translate AI initiatives into revenue, cost, risk, and trust outcomes CEOs already track.
- Expect pressure to show progress — pair ambition with governance maturity.
- Do not overstate your maturity relative to the survey’s leaders.
Deep dive
The 2026 PwC CEO Survey PDF captures how CEOs describe AI value and confidence.
Focus on value realization — where investment turns into results.
Extract one statistic for your next leadership update.