Strategy & Leadership

The Asia Pacific CEO survey: Business leaders chart the road ahead

November 30, 2020

Asia

The Asia Pacific CEO survey

November 30, 2020

Asia
Charles Ross

Asia editorial director

Charles Ross is Principal of Policy and Insights in Asia-Pacific and leads the region's technology and society practice. Prior to this role, he was editorial director for The Economist Intelligence Unit overseeing all thought leadership research in Asia. Charles combines a deep understanding of how technology trends are reshaping business and society with excellent research and editorial skills, to create impactful and award-winning research programmes for clients. Charles is currently based in Australia and has led many projects analysing the implications for business of new technology trends such as blockchain, fintech, smart cities, cloud computing, sustainability and the internet of things, for Google, Stripe, SAP, Telstra, Microsoft, Prudential, Westpac and the Singapore government. He is a contributing industry expert to the UN Science Policy and Business Forum on the Environment and a frequent speaker at finance and technology events across the region. Charles holds a master of business administration, focusing on strategy and organisational change, from the University of Oxford and a certificate in public policy analysis from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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The Asia Pacific CEO survey: Business leaders chart the road ahead

The Asia Pacific CEO survey: Business leaders chart the road ahead is an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report, sponsored by Westpac. It explores how CEOs in the Asia Pacific region are guiding their businesses through the ongoing covid-19 crisis and the steps they are taking to prepare for an uncertain future.

The analysis in the report is based on a survey of 113 CEOs conducted in July and August 2020. One-quarter (25%) of the respondents are based in China, one-fifth (20%) are based in Indonesia, and the balance are divided equally between Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore. Their companies are distributed across a wide range of industries, with the largest representation from consumer goods (14%), construction and real estate (11%), and financial services (10%). Just over half of the respondents lead large businesses, with annual revenue of over US$250m; the rest lead businesses earning between US$10m and US$250m.

Additional insights were obtained from in-depth interviews with CEOs and other experts on business and economic challenges in Asia Pacific. We would like to thank the following for their time: 

  • Marika Calfas, chief executive officer, NSW Ports
  • David Harrison, chief executive officer, Charter Hall
  • Ken Kang, deputy director, Asia Pacific, International Monetary Fund
  • Tony Lombardo, chief executive officer, Asia, Lendlease
  • Pip Marlow, chief executive officer, Australia & New Zealand, Salesforce
  • Arnoud De Meyer, professor, Singapore Management University
  • Mark Ryan, chief executive officer and managing director, Tassal
  • Ian Silk, chief executive officer, Australian Super

The report was written by Denis McCauley and edited by Charles Ross.

The Asia Pacific CEO survey

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