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PwC : Three quarters of CEOs predict a return to growth in 2021

NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ —

  • A PwC survey of more than 5,000 CEOs globally reveals record levels of optimism
  • 76% of CEOs believe global economic growth will improve in 2021
  • Confidence in companies’ own revenue growth rebounds
  • The US extends its lead over China as the top growth destination in the eyes of CEOs
  • In the year of COP26, climate change is still not being approached with urgency
  • Misinformation has risen to become a top 10 threat to growth

One year after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, CEOs are voicing record levels of optimism in the global economic recovery, with 76% of global business leaders predicting that economic growth will improve in 2021.

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The figures come from PwC’s 24th Annual Global CEO Survey, which this year polled 5,050 CEOs in 100 countries and territories over January and February 2021.

The percentage of CEOs expressing confidence in growth is up from 22% in 2020 and 42% in 2019, representing the highest level of optimism since the survey started asking this question in 2012.

Optimism among CEOs over global economic growth is particularly strong in North America and Western Europe, with 86% and 76% of CEOs, respectively, from these regions predicting improved global growth in the year ahead.

“After a year of human tragedy and extensive economic hardship, it is encouraging to see that the people responsible for making investment decisions and hiring staff are feeling cautiously optimistic about the year ahead. CEOs have faith that growth will return, boosted by the rapid development of vaccines and their rollout in many parts of the world,” said Bob Moritz, Chairman of the PwC Network. 

“During the tumultuous past year, CEOs have had to rethink and reconfigure what they do and how they do it, while dealing with stretched balance sheets and supporting employees who have been forced to navigate these extraordinary circumstances.

“CEOs now face two fundamental challenges: first, how to build trust with a broad range of stakeholders, whose expectations of business are higher than ever before; and second, how to adapt their businesses and deliver sustained outcomes in a rapidly changing external environment. Organisations that get this right will be best placed to come out of the pandemic as strong, resilient and productive businesses, able to withstand future shocks.”

CEO confidence in revenue growth rebounds to the long-term average

CEOs are more optimistic about the outlook for their businesses. Some 36% of those polled said they are “very confident” about their organisation’s prospects for revenue growth over the next 12 months, up from 27% of CEOs in 2020.

While global confidence is up, there is wide variation across industries, reflecting the varying degrees to which consumer behaviour has been impacted by the pandemic. CEOs in the technology and telecommunications sectors show the highest levels of confidence at 45% and 43%, respectively. Meanwhile, CEOs in the transportation and logistics (29%) and hospitality and leisure (27%) sectors are among the least confident about their ability to grow revenues over the next 12 months.

US extends its lead over China as the top destination for growth

The survey findings show that the US has extended its lead as the number one market that CEOs are looking to for growth over the next 12 months at 35%, seven percentage points ahead of China at 28%. In 2020, the US was only one percentage point ahead of China.

New political developments and existing tensions have had an impact on the views of US CEOs. They are reducing their emphasis on China as a growth driver and increasing their focus on Canada and Mexico; compared to 2020, US CEOs’ interest in the latter two countries rose by 78%. Meanwhile, China CEOs report growing interest in large economies such as the US, Germany and Japan — prime destinations for exports.

At 17%, Germany holds on to its number three spot on the list of growth destinations, while the UK, post-Brexit, moves up to number four (11%), surpassing India (8%). Japan also rises up the ranking to become the sixth most attractive growth destination, overtaking Australia which held that position last year.

In the year of COP26, climate change is not being approached with urgency

The percentage of CEOs expressing concerns about climate change has risen from 24% in 2020 to 30% in 2021. This represents only a marginal increase in the context of COP26, which is being held this year in Glasgow, UK. The finding also comes in the context of rising anxiety about nearly all types of threats.

Climate change still only ranks ninth among CEOs’ perceived threats to growth. Furthermore, another 27% of CEOs report being “not concerned at all” or “not very concerned” about climate change. This may be because climate change is not seen as an immediate threat to growth compared to other issues such as the pandemic, over-regulation and cyber threats.

Meanwhile, 39% of the CEOs polled believe their organisation needs to do more to ‘measure’ their environmental impact. And 43% believe their organisation needs to do more to ‘report’ on it, a greater share than any other disclosure area. This is encouraging as more and better corporate information on environmental impact is key to driving the change needed to get to a net zero economy.

However, 60% of CEOs have not yet factored climate risks into their strategic risk management activities, which is concerning as climate change poses increasing physical and transitional risk for business. At a country level, CEOs in countries with high exposure to natural hazards such as India and China are some of the least prepared for climate change risk.

While 23% of CEOs plan to significantly increase investments in sustainability initiatives as a result of COVID-19, almost one third of CEOs are planning no change at all.

Bob Moritz said: “To address the biggest challenges facing our world today, we need to change the incentives that drive decision-making. This requires the financial markets taking a broader view of value, beyond solely financial return and short-term value, so capital will flow to the right places. Better and comparable non-financial corporate reporting is crucial too, so stakeholders can see how companies are creating value for society and our planet, as well as meeting their financial objectives. Companies that get this right will enhance their brand and build trust with their stakeholders.”

Worries about cyber, tax policies and misinformation on the rise

Not surprisingly, pandemics and health crises[1] top the list of threats to growth prospects, overtaking the fear of over-regulation, which has been the perennial number one concern for CEOs globally since 2014.

Rising digitisation is increasing the risks posed by cyber threats. This, coupled with the significant increase in cybersecurity incidents in 2020 including ransomware attacks, has resulted in cyber threats leaping up the list to become the number two concern, cited by 47% of CEOs compared to 33% in 2020. Cyber threats are a concern particularly for CEOs in North America and Western Europe, where they are considered a greater threat than the pandemic.

Also rising rapidly up the list of CEO concerns is the spread of misinformation (28%, up from 16% in 2020), which has had an impact on elections, reputation, and public health – further contributing to a decline in trust across society.

In 2020, tax policy uncertainty ranked outside the top ten concerns for CEOs, with only 19% of CEOs concerned. This year, it has increased rapidly in importance, leaping up to seventh place (31%), with CEOs undoubtedly watching government debts accumulate and realising that business taxes will likely need to rise.

Digital investments for the future

Asked about their spending on digital transformation, nearly half of CEOs (49%) project increases of 10% or more. Despite the rising level of concern CEOs are voicing about cyberattacks, this has not translated into definitive actions. Less than half of the CEOs planning for heightened digital investment are also planning to boost their spending on cybersecurity and data privacy by 10% or more.

At the same time, a growing number of CEOs – 36% – plan to use automation and technology to make their workforce more competitive, more than double the share of CEOs who said the same in 2016.

Bob Moritz added: “At the pandemic’s one year mark, we’re at an inflection point as vaccination begins to ramp up around the world. Although the shape of the recovery remains unknown, it is clear that we cannot simply go back to the way things were before. To achieve the kind of change that’s needed, CEOs will need to think differently and constantly evaluate their decisions and actions against broader societal impacts. In doing so, they’ll set a course that builds trust and delivers sustained outcomes for shareholders, society and our planet.”

Notes:

Download the report at ceosurvey.pwc.

PwC surveyed 5,050 CEOs in 100 countries and territories in January and February 2021. This is up from 3,501 respondents in last year’s survey. The global and regional figures in this report are based on a sub-sample of 1,779 CEOs, proportionate to country nominal GDP to ensure that CEOs’ views are representative across all major regions. Further details by region, country and industry are available on request.

Of the 1,779 CEOs whose responses were used for the global and regional figures:

  • 6% of their organisations had revenues of US$25bn or more
  • 9% of their organisations had revenues between US$10bn and US$25bn.
  • 35% of their organisations had revenues between US$1bn and US$10bn.
  • 34% of their organisations had revenues between US$100m and US$1bn.
  • 14% of their organisations had revenues of up to US$100m.
  • 60% of their organisations were privately owned.

We also conducted in-depth, face-to-face interviews with CEOs from six regions. Some of these interviews are quoted in this report, and more extensive transcripts can be found on our website at https://www.strategy-business.com/inside-the-mind-of-the-ceo.

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems.  We’re a network of firms in 155 countries with over 284,000 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.

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.

© 2021 PwC. All rights reserved.

[1] New risk category this year: was last included in the survey in 2015

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Firstsource Partners with Typeface to Launch Agentic Marketing Services

New full-stack offering turns content operations into an agentic growth engine

NEW YORK and MUMBAI, India, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Firstsource Solutions Limited (NSE: FSL) (BSE: 532809), an RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company, today announced the launch of a new offering — Agentic Marketing Services — in partnership with Typeface, the marketing orchestration engine for the world’s leading enterprises. The offering is designed to help enterprises move from marketing ambition to scale by transforming, implementing, and operating AI-native marketing systems. It transforms marketing operations into a scalable growth engine and delivers measurable top-line revenue growth beyond operational efficiency alone.

 

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Agentic AI is redefining how enterprises think about the customer lifecycle, and marketing content sits at the center of that transformation. Enterprises deploying AI-driven personalization are seeing up to 40% higher revenue compared to their peers. Content operations is both a growth lever and an efficiency play for CMOs: roughly 30% of CMO budgets go to content; approximately 55% of content work is manual — resizing, localization, brand compliance — while 90% of those manual workflows can be AI-enabled.

“At Firstsource, our approach has been about moving beyond traditional boundaries to build adaptive, intelligence-led ecosystems that deliver measurable outcomes. Content operations is now the most disrupted layer of the modern marketing stack, with Large Language Models reshaping the entire value chain — from ideation and production to governance and distribution — making it both the biggest near-term efficiency opportunity and the most exposed surface area in enterprise marketing,” said Ritesh Idnani, MD and Chief Executive Officer of Firstsource.

“CEOs and CMOs are not looking for a consultancy that hands off a roadmap or an agency that operates in silos — they want a partner who can transform, implement, and operate marketing systems end-to-end. By combining micro-segmentation, personalization, and deep industry context, we help clients build acquisition, engagement, and retention engines that are intelligent, compliant, and scalable. Typeface brings the AI technology to generate personalized, on-brand, compliant content at scale, and Firstsource brings deep experience in customer operations, especially in regulated industries like banking, financial services, healthcare, and retail. Together, we enable enterprises to plan, build, and run modern marketing — turning content operations into a compounding growth engine and delivering outcomes, not just effort.”

The partnership extends the capabilities announced with Typeface’s recent Marketing Orchestration Engine launch — bringing governed AI systems into full-stack marketing operations for regulated enterprises.

“AI only transforms marketing when it’s embedded into the workflows that drive real customer outcomes,” said Abhay Parasnis, Founder & CEO of Typeface. “Firstsource brings deep industry expertise and operational rigor in highly regulated environments. Together, we’re helping enterprises turn AI ambition into operational reality, embedding governed intelligence into the systems that power durable growth.” 

While Typeface provides the orchestration layer that unifies brand intelligence, AI agents, and enterprise systems, Firstsource brings the operational expertise and insights to enable effective decision making and implement and run these systems in complex, regulated environments. Together, they redesign how growth is driven — focusing on the moments, segments, and mechanisms that truly move the needle — enabling enterprises to shift from fragmented activity to scalable, revenue-led execution.

Industry view

“In retail, seasonality and micro-segmentation are where revenue is won or lost. Every peak moment demands thousands of personalized variants across marketing, service, and customer operations — and the retailers who get this right see real movement on acquisition, conversion, and retention, not just efficiency. What makes the Firstsource–Typeface offering different is that it is not another tool — it is an operating capability. Pairing agentic AI with embedded marketing operations is exactly what retailers need to move from broad campaigns to true lifecycle-driven engagement. For the industry, this is a meaningful step-change in how growth gets engineered.”

– Dave Kimbell, Ex-CEO Ulta Beauty; Firstsource Advisory Board Member

“Healthcare payers sit on a real paradox: a huge share of member communication is locked inside PHI and claims workflows where the rules are clear and rightly strict — but the biggest lever on affordability lives outside that envelope, in how payers engage members on wellness, prevention, plan literacy, and proactive disease management. That is a white-space opportunity the industry has barely touched. This is where marketing AI services can genuinely move the needle. With micro-segmentation and agentic content, payers can reach the right member with the right nudge at the right moment — entirely within compliant, non-PHI pathways — and shift the engagement model from acquisition and retention to lifelong wellness. That is how you make healthcare more affordable, improve member experience, and strengthen the economics of the plan at the same time. The Firstsource–Typeface offering is one of the few capabilities purpose-built to operate at that intersection of compliance, personalization, and outcomes.”

– Paul Sanford, Ex-EVP Operations, Cigna Group; Firstsource Advisory Board Member

About Firstsource

Firstsource Solutions Limited, an RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company (NSE: FSL) (BSE: 532809), is a global intelligence partner to enterprises across healthcare, banking and financial services, communications, media, technology, retail, and utilities. Its inch-wide, mile-deep practitioners work collaboratively to reimagine business process management.

With operations across the US, UK, India, Philippines, Mexico, Romania, Trinidad & Tobago, South Africa, and Australia, Firstsource combines over twenty-five years of domain expertise with an agent-first delivery model to design, build, and operate intelligent enterprise operations. Through its Intelligence That Operates promise—powered by Kairos, the operating system that makes it real—the company unifies consulting, implementation, and operations into a single full-stack engagement and underwrites outcomes, not effort, turning deep domain intelligence into a compounding operational advantage for firms in the world’s most regulated industries. (www.firstsource.com)

About Typeface

Typeface is a marketing orchestration engine for the world’s leading enterprises, coordinating brand intelligence, AI agents, and enterprise systems across cross-channel marketing operations. Built for large organizations, Typeface combines shared brand intelligence, governed agent workflows, and deep enterprise integration at scale — connecting seamlessly with platforms like Salesforce, Microsoft, and Google — to help teams scale what works without sacrificing quality or control. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies, Typeface enables organizations to operationalize AI inside real marketing workflows, turning brand standards, approvals, and performance signals into coordinated systems that improve over time. Typeface is backed by Lightspeed, GV, Salesforce Ventures, Madrona, Menlo, and M12, and has been recognized by Fast Company, Gartner, TIME, LinkedIn, and Adweek as a leader in AI for marketing. Learn more at www.typeface.ai.

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Shaping Future-Ready School Leaders: Woxsen University Leads Design Thinking Initiative for Principals

HYDERABAD, India, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The School of Arts and Design at Woxsen University, in collaboration with the Public-School Principals’ Association (PSPA), conducted a Principal Leadership Programme on April 27, bringing together 30 principals from leading schools across Hyderabad for an immersive, design-led learning experience focused on rethinking leadership in contemporary education.

Participating institutions included Delhi Public School, Sloka International School (Tukkuguda), Jain Heritage Cambridge School, AVN Vida International School, CMR School (Medchal), and Gitanjali High School, among others. Designed as a hands-on, studio-based workshop, the programme moved beyond traditional formats, enabling participants to engage in collaborative problem-solving, systems thinking, and real-world leadership challenges.

The programme was delivered by Woxsen’s Centre for Learning Design (CLD) and the David Dunne Design Thinking Lab, and was guided by the university’s ERS (Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability) framework, reflecting an integrated and purpose-driven approach to leadership development.

Through guided design thinking exercises, principals explored new approaches to decision-making, innovation in school ecosystems, and building student-centric learning environments. The interactive format encouraged peer exchange and practical application, making the experience directly relevant to institutional leadership.

Rajendra Prasad, President of the PSPA, said, “The School Principals’ Leadership Workshop at Woxsen University was well organized and delivered with great impact. The sessions were highly engaging and insightful, and the programme received overwhelming positive feedback from participants for both its content and overall experience.”

Dr. Ashok Pandey, Member of the PSPA Leadership Team, shared, “An inspiring day at the picturesque Woxsen University campus, engaging with exceptional school leaders committed to designing the schools of tomorrow.” 

Dr. Adity Saxena, Dean, School of Arts & Design, said, “This programme is aligned with Woxsen’s core pillar of Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability, reinforcing our commitment to purpose-driven education. We see our role as bridging ideas, institutions, and impact in education, and we are grateful to PSPA and Rajendra Prasad for this meaningful collaboration.”

The initiative reflects Woxsen University’s commitment to strengthening the school education ecosystem in Telangana by building leadership capacity and fostering future-ready thinking among educators. Following the workshop, the PSPA leadership team engaged in a strategic discussion with Dr. Adity Saxena to explore future collaboration opportunities.

Building on the momentum of the programme, Woxsen University and PSPA are exploring the launch of a structured Principal Leadership Certificate Programme. The proposed initiative aims to institutionalize leadership development for school heads and further strengthen the region’s education ecosystem through sustained, practice-oriented engagement.

About Woxsen University, Hyderabad

Woxsen University, located in Hyderabad, is one of the first private universities in the state of Telangana, India. Renowned for its 200-acre state-of-the-art campus and infrastructure, Woxsen University offers new-age, disruptive programs in the fields of Business, Technology, Arts & Design, Architecture, Law, and Liberal Arts & Humanities. Woxsen also houses Asia’s largest Sports Infrastructure, spread over 60 acres. With 175 Global Partner Universities and a strong industry connect, Woxsen is recognized as one of the top universities for Academic Excellence and Global Edge. Woxsen has also secured the QS Business Masters World Ranking 2025, Rank #9 All India, Top 100 B-Schools by Times B-School Ranking 2025, Rank #6, Asia Pacific, Bloomberg Best B-School, and features in India’s Best B-Schools beyond IIMs by Dalal Street Investment Journal 2025, in 4th consecutive year. Woxsen is ranked as one of the Top Professional Colleges in India by Outlook I-CARE for its undergraduate programs, securing All India Rank 12 among the Top 130 BBA Private Institutes, All India Rank 20 among the Top 160 B.Tech Private Institutes, All India Rank 3 among the Top 25 Design Private Institutes, and All India Rank 3 among the Top 30 B. Arch Private Institutes.

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HarperCollins is proud to announce the publication of The Book of Daily Brilliance: 111 Days to Transformation by Pamela Puja Kirpalani

Published by HarperCollins

Hardback | Non-Fiction/Self-Help | 140 pp | INR 399

Available wherever books are sold | Releasing on 24 April 2026

NEW DELHI, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — HarperCollins Publishers India is thrilled to announce the publication of The Book of Daily Brilliance: 111 Days to Transformation by Pamela Puja Kirpalani, a practical guide towards a spiritual and psychological transformation.

ORDER HERE

ABOUT THE BOOK

Everyone in the world has good days and bad days. But what if there was a way to unleash one’s radiant self every day? Something simple yet profound—something the reader could reach for every day to centre themselves and remember what really matters.

The Book of Daily Brilliance is designed to speak to the heart and the highest self. Meant to be read over 111 days and covering topics that resonate with all—relationships, self-worth, love, pain, abundance, manifestation, surrender and much more—this daily reader will guide the one through a gentle yet powerful spiritual and psychological journey.

There is no fixed start date. No pressure to be perfect. If a day is skipped or there is a pause for a while, that is okay. All that’s needed to do is come back when it feels right. For those who choose to commit to the 111-day journey, the experience reveals the unfolding of a deeper truth within. 

So, take a deep breath. Open the page to Day 1 and let this be an invitation to return to oneself —one day, one page, one insight at a time.

Pamela Puja Kirpalani says, “One page can really just change the way you show up for your life. I wrote The Book of Daily Brilliance to be something you return to, not just read once — a daily pause that brings clarity, perspective and healing. In a fast-paced world, I believe even a single mindful page a day can create powerful inner psychological shifts. This 111 Daily Reader is my way of helping people reconnect with themselves— and if it helps someone feel more present, more grounded, and more like themselves, then it has done exactly what I hoped it would.”

Sachin Sharma, Publisher, HarperCollins India, says, “The Book of Daily Brilliance offers a perfect pause amidst the busyness of life. Readers will appreciate how the book gently guides them through a journey of transformation—without any pressure—one step, one day at a time.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pamela Puja Kirpalani is the Founder of Inner High Living and a distinguished thought leader in the world of behavioural psychology and neuro-behaviour. Her vision materialized as she started coaching individuals, couples and parents on achieving their goals initially using Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) as a modality. She is certified by ABNlp (Australian Board of Neuro-Linguistic Programming), IEMT (Integrated Eye Movement Technique) Practitioner, member of the APSS Singapore and the NLP Association of Singapore.

ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS INDIA

At HarperCollins Publishers India, we believe in telling the best stories and ensuring they reach the widest readership. We publish around 250 new books every year across 10 imprints, adding to a diverse catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across print and digital formats. Our authors include APJ Abdul Kalam, Agatha Christie, Amish Tripathi, Amitav Ghosh (Erasmus Prize 2024), Jhumpa Lahiri, Paulo Coelho, Raghuram Rajan, Sudha Murty, Ruskin Bond and many more.

HarperCollins India has been honoured with seven Publisher of the Year awards and proudly represents global publishers such as Harvard University Press, Lonely Planet, Oneworld, Nosy Crow, Usborne and National Geographic Children.

We have also been certified as a Great Place to Work for two consecutive years, a testament to our culture, creativity and people.

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