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BIG OPPORTUNITY NOT THREAT

Gulf CEOs optimistic over technological disruption

LONDON, October 15, 2017

Majority of the company chief executives the Gulf region are more optimistic about technological disruption than their global counterparts with over 80 per cent seeing it as more of an opportunity than a threat, said a study conducted by leading audit, tax and advisory services company KPMG.

Instead of being disrupted by competitors, 82 per cent of CEOs in the Gulf thought their own organizations were actively disrupting the sector in which they operated, stated the KPMG in its 2017 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) CEO Outlook Survey report.

About 92 per cent believed that they were effective at sensing market signals, while 68 per cent said their company was keeping up with new technologies, it added.

Jamal Fakhro, the managing partner at KPMG in Bahrain, said: "The 2017 survey provides valuable insight on the market trends and challenges faced by CEOs in the Gulf region. With the increasing demand to deliver results, innovation and technology have become strategic priorities for organizations to stimulate business growth in the digital era we live in."

According to him, nearly all Gulf CEOs were confident that their organizations would grow over the next three years.

"Seven in ten CEOs were expecting increases of two to just under 5 per cent growth, with a further 5 per cent anticipating more growth.

Interestingly, although most CEOs said that they will be treating cyber security as a priority in the coming three years, they were not overly concerned about the threat, the survey found.

Most believed that such a risk prompted innovation in products and services, and all said they were prepared for a cyber event, it added.

Gulf CEOs also outlined some of the challenges to managing customer relationships in their respective industries, and these were largely centered around keeping up with a fast-changing market.

The top challenge, reported by 30 per cent of CEOs was the inability to target millennials who want to interact with brands in different ways.

But nine out of ten CEOs believed they were able to confidently communicate how their company created value for their customers. Seven in ten however, thought the depth of their customer insight is hampered by lack of quality customer data.

The 2017 GCC CEO Outlook Survey is based on over 100 face-to-face interviews of chief executives from across the Gulf states, covering a broad range of key industries.

The sample reflected the Gulf region’s economy as a whole, as the majority of chief executives worked for public companies. GCC executives were also polled in the Global CEO Survey from among over 1,200 global CEOs.

"Although the surveyed CEOs are anticipating disruption due to changing market conditions, such as the introduction of Value-added Tax (VAT), they are currently taking the necessary steps to respond successfully and create operational efficiencies," remarked Fakhro.

"This growing confidence in their ability to adjust to a new reality is indeed, an excellent sign of maturity for the GCC region," he added.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Gulf | KPMG | CEO | technological disruption |

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