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21st CEO Survey

Balancing privacy and transparency in a changing world Key findings from Private Companies

2 | PwC’s 21st CEO Survey: Private companies

4The biggest worries: Cyber threats and the global market

7Digital-talent shortages cause headaches…but a remedy is lacking

9Trust, transparency, and culture

X11 Conclusion

12 21st CEO Survey Methodology

13 PwC Network Contacts – Private Companies

Contents


Introduction

In many cases, their relative privacy enables them to wait and see rather than succumb to external pressure to be early adopters of the latest technology fad or business model. Rather, we see time and again that established private companies choose to be fast followers. Many such companies opt to remain private because, put simply, they value the greater autonomy and reduced burden of regulated “red tape” born from private ownership.

In other ways, though, CEOs of private companies are ahead of the curve around being transparent around their practices and policies. The majority, for example, choose to disclose their compensation practices, more so than their public peers. The point is, the choice is theirs.

Operating in a world of growing complexity and wide-ranging risks, at a time when many are contemplating a move into new global markets, private-company CEOs are freer to operate with a degree of agility, flexibility, and pragmatism that some of their counterparts at public companies might envy.

In many other respects, however, the ownership model is far less differentiated. When it comes to the external key concerns affecting these anxious optimists, cyber threats, global market uncertainty and a shortage of digital talent are still at the forefront of mind for private-company CEOs.

But, make no mistake, these CEOs are indeed optimistic about the future, despite the hurdles they see. In fact, 85% of private-company CEOs said that they are somewhat confident or very confident about their organisation’s prospects for revenue growth over the next 12 months.

This year, we interviewed 722 private-company CEOs as part of our annual CEO survey, representing some 56% of all participants. Clearly coming through are the themes we see and hear on a daily basis – private companies and their CEOs value their relative autonomy, enabling a greater choice around transparency of culture, internal policies, strategies, external reporting and other areas of their business. They enjoy operating free of much of the regulation that public ownership can often impose, and are able to do business in what they consider the right way, without second-guessing external commentators, thereby building trust with closer stakeholders.

David Wills Global Leader, Entrepreneurial & Private Business

The biggest worries:Cyber threats and the global market


Cyber threats loom large among the concerns of private-company CEOs. Many of them – 39% – cite cyber threats as the leading danger facing their organisation, followed closely by the scarcity of key skills to mitigate those risks (see exhibit 1). Like the CEOs of other types of companies participating in our survey, private-company CEOs see how digital technologies offer new opportunities, but also new threats, and they wonder if they are prepared for the changes to come.


That concern isn’t universal across all types of private companies, however. The responses of CEOs of family-run companies to certain key questions differ significantly from the responses of the CEOs of other types of private companies. For example, only 32% of CEOs of family-owned private companies cited cyber threats as a leading concern, compared with 44% for private-equity-backed and 35% for those held in partnership (see exhibit 2).

Another concern is the uncertain future of once-stable trading relationships. The rising protectionist sentiment in the United States and the UK’s impending exit from the European Union are driving many private companies, especially in North America and the UK, to seek out new markets. More than two-thirds – 67% – of the private companies that have made a significant acquisition did so largely to gain access to a new market.

Yet, despite these looming threats, private-company CEOs still report being optimistic about the future of their businesses and the overall global economy, and when asked how they thought the global economy would fare over the next 12 months 56% said they expected to see improvements.

Furthermore, when asked how confident they were about their companies’ prospects for revenue growth over the next 12 months and 3 years, 85% and 89%, respectively, said they were somewhat or very confident. That comes close to 87% and 91% reported in the overall CEO sample.


Private-company CEOs are concerned about cyber threats and the availability of key skills Q How concerned are you about the following business threats to your organisation’s growth prospects?

Exhibit 1

i Chart shows percentage of respondents who responded ‘Extremely concerned’

Source: PwC, 21st Annual Global CEO Survey. Base: Privately owned company respondents.

25%

39%

21%

37%

21%21% 21%

15%

21%

11%

Availability of key skills

Changing consumer behaviour

Cyber threats

Supply chain

disruption

Speed of techno- logical change

Volatile commodity

prices

Lack of trust in

business

19%

Rising employee

benefits and pension costs

Readiness to respond to a crisis

Potential ethical

scandals

New market entrants

Activist investors or other

campaigners

Volatile energy costs

18%

38%

What’s keeping private-company CEOs up at night – by ownership typeQ How concerned are you about the following business threats to your organisation’s growth prospects?

Exhibit 2

i Chart shows percentage of respondents who responded ‘Extremely concerned’

Readiness to respond to a crisis

14%

23%

27%

27%

17%

Volatile energy costs

16%

18%

20%

20%

15%

Rising employee

benefits and pension costs

24%

34%

16%

10%

15%

Activist investors or other

campaigners

7%

16%

19%

11%5%

Potential ethical

scandals

10%

17%

21%

16%

12%

New market entrants

13%

28%

27%

20%

17%

Changing consumer behaviour

18%

24%

23%

33%

27%

Lack of trust in

business

16%

27%

26%

25%

13%

Supply chain

disruption

12%

20%

24%

29%

21%

Volatile commodity

prices

14%

23%

24%

31%

17%

Cyber threats

46%

34%

35%

44%

32%

Availability of key skills

32%

41%

37%

46%

34%

Speed of techno- logical change

35%

36%

37%

45%

30%

Family run Private equity backed Partnership Owner managed Other private type

Digital-talent shortages cause headaches…but a remedy is lacking


Nearly three-quarters (74%) of private-company CEOs are concerned about the availability of digital talent amongst their workforce, and 50% say it is very or somewhat difficult to attract digital talent. An even larger percentage of CEOs of family-run companies – 57% – say that attracting digital talent is very or somewhat difficult, in contrast to private-equity-backed companies where only 48% report similar levels of difficulty.


At the same time, though, private companies lag publicly listed companies in developing and employing coherent strategies to attract digital talent. Only 39% of private-company CEOs – and within that only 34% of family-run companies – say their organisations have implemented continuous learning and development programmes, compared with 46% of CEOs of publicly listed companies. Only 14% of private companies and only 12% of family-run companies are relocating their operations to be closer to digital talent pools, and only 25% of all private companies are improving their compensation and benefit packages to attract digital talent (see exhibit 3).

Private-company CEOs fall behind in digital-talent push Q To what extent is your organisation using the following strategies and tactics to attract or develop digital talent?

Exhibit 3

i Chart shows percentage of respondents who responded ‘To a large extent’

Privately owned Publicly listed

Source: PwC, 21st Annual Global CEO Survey. Base: Privately owned company respondents.

Changing brand perception

through marketing and

advertising

32%34%

Modernising the working environment

44% 45%

Improving compensation

and benefit packages

25%27%

Implementing new flexible ways

of working

36% 35%

Outsourcing to external providers

27%

24%

Partnering with external providers

31%29%

Working with educational institutions

24%

27%

Changing employee dress

codes

19% 19%

Relocating your operations closer to available talent

pools

14% 15%

Implementing continuous

learning and development programmes

46%

39%

Private-company CEOs tend to rank high on feeling the need to build trust between senior leadership and an organisation’s workforce. Only 19% agree that such trust is declining at their organisations, compared with 20% of public company CEOs. Yet private companies trail publicly listed companies in actually measuring that trust, with 68% doing such measurement, compared with 74% of publicly listed companies overall. The gap is even more pronounced among family-run companies, only 59% of which measure employee-leadership trust, compared with 70% of private equity-backed companies and 69% of partnerships. In similar fashion, less than half of private companies – 49% – are creating transparency around their diversity and inclusion policies to a large extent, and only 47% of family-run companies (see exhibit 4). By comparison, 57% of publicly listed companies are doing so.


Trust, transparency, and culture


In contrast, family-run companies are above-average in creating transparency around their compensation and benefits strategies, with 56% doing so to a large extent, compared with 51% of publicly listed companies and 49% of private-equity-backed companies.

There is no single reason for these disparities. But we have observed, especially in our interactions with family-owned and family-managed companies, that many struggle to transmit their values and culture as their headcounts increase. When a private company has 30 employees, most of whom work on the shop floor, and nearly all of whom were interviewed and hired by the owners or family members, it’s relatively easy to get to know employees, communicate the organisation’s values and purpose, and assess whether an employee is a good fit with the culture. As the company adds to its headcount, however, the ties between management and employees can grow thin and frayed, and the personal approach to cultural transmission, so effective in a small organisation, is no longer possible.

How private-company CEOs are building trust and transparency Q To what extent is your organisation building trust with its workforce by creating transparency in the following areas?

Exhibit 4

i Chart shows percentage of respondents who responded ‘To a large extent’

Family run

Private equity backed

Partnership

Owner managed

Other private type

Source: PwC, 21st Annual Global CEO Survey.

Base: Privately owned company respondents.

The impacts of automation and

artificial intelligence on your workforce

18%

24%

32%

19%

21%

Your organisation’s values

66%

72%

61%

63%

81%

Employees’ contribution to the overall business

results

55%

67%

57%

59%

62%

Your people strategy

58%

51%

47%

57%

62%

Your diversity and inclusion policies

47%

49%

48%

47%

55%

Your compensation and benefits strategy

56%

49%

55%

45%

51%


Conclusion

Many private companies may wish to consider developing more formal, systematic means and mechanisms for communicating and reinforcing what the organisation stands for – and just as important, what it won’t stand for. And they need do so quickly, before the competition for talent grows even more intense.

Despite these challenges and concerns, most private companies, including family businesses, expect near-term growth amid strengthening macroeconomic fundamentals, increasing consumer spending, and, in many

jurisdictions, loosening regulation. Promising new markets beckon, increased profitability frees up new funds for capital investments, and new technologies can enable better communication and greater efficiency.

No wonder the mood in most corner offices is optimism tempered by anxiety. And with choices over transparency and privacy, expect to see private companies valuing their ownership structure for some time to come.


21st CEO Survey Methodology

PwC conducted 1,293 interviews with CEOs in 85 countries. Our sample is weighted by national GDP to ensure that CEOs’ views are fairly represented across all major countries. The interviews were also spread across a range of industries. Further details by region and industry are available by request. Eleven percent of the interviews were conducted by telephone, 77% online, and 12% by post or face-to-face. All quantitative interviews were conducted on a confidential basis.

The lower threshold for all companies included in the top 10 countries (by GDP) was 500 employees or revenues of more than US$50 million. The threshold for companies included in the next 20 countries was more than 100 employees or revenues of more than $10 million.

• 40% of companies had revenues of $1 billion or more.

• 35% of companies had revenues between $100 million and $1 billion.

• 20% of companies had revenues of up to $100 million.

• 56% of companies were privately owned.

Notes

• Not all figures add up to 100%, as a result of rounding percentages and exclusion of ‘neither/nor’ and ‘don’t know’ responses.

• The base for figures is 722 (Privately Owned) unless otherwise stated. The full base of figures for the CEO survey is 1,293.

We also conducted face-to-face, in-depth interviews with CEOs and thought leaders from five continents over the fourth quarter of 2017.

The research was undertaken by PwC Research, our global centre of excellence for primary research and evidence-based consulting services

www.pwc.co.uk/pwcresearch


PwC Network Contacts – Private CompaniesStephanie Hyde Global Clients & Industries Leader PwC UK +44 (0) 7971 675295 [email protected]

David Wills Global Leader, Entrepreneurial & Private Business PwC Australia +61 (3) 8603 3183 [email protected]

Peter EnglischGlobal and EMEA Family Business Leader PwC Germany+49 201 438 1812 [email protected]

Shawn Panson PwC US +1 (646) 471 6101 [email protected]

Paul TerringtonPwC UK+44 (0)28 9041 5717 [email protected]

Peter Bartels PwC Europe and Germany +49 (40) 6378 2170 [email protected]

Stephen WongPwC China+86 (10) 6533 2255 [email protected]

Elton HuangPwC China+86 (21) 2323 3029 [email protected]

Piotr WyszogrodzkiEMEA & PwC Poland+48 502 184 277 [email protected]

Siew Quan NgAsia-Pac & PwC Singapore+65 6236 3818 [email protected]

Saul PlenerPwC Canada+1 905 418 3471 [email protected]

Sanjiv JerajPwC Australia+61 (3) 8603 3187 [email protected]

For a full list of our territory contacts, please see our website: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/entrepreneurial-private-clients.html

ceosurvey.pwcAt PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 158 countries with more than 236,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

This publication has been prepared for general guidance on matters of interest only, and does not constitute professional advice. You should not act upon the information contained in this publication without obtaining specific professional advice. No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this publication, and, to the extent permitted by law, PwC does not accept or assume any liability, responsibility or duty of care for any consequences of you or anyone else acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this publication or for any decision based on it.

© 2018 PwC. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

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