PwC’s 17th Annual Global CEO Survey

The global economic recovery continues to be fragile, but with immediate pressures easing.

CEOs are feeling more optimistic and gradually switching from survival mode to growth mode.

As the latest PwC Annual Global CEO Survey shows, the changes they’re making within their organisations now have less to do with sheltering from economic headwinds and more to do with preparing for the future.

The number of CEOs who believe that the global economy will improve over the next 12 months has doubled to 44%, compared to the previous year. Only 7% of CEOs, compared with 28% last year, think that things will get worse in the year ahead. CEOs are also feeling better about their own companies’ prospects, with 39% now very confident of revenue growth in 2014.

But CEOs are also challenged to decipher some very mixed signals about the global economy. Last year, the advanced economies were struggling, while the emerging economies surged. This year, the advanced economies are mending, while growth in some of the emerging economies is decelerating.