AI is the biggest challenge for CEOs this year. 48% call the adoption and impact of AI extremely critical, up from 37% a year earlier. That is the finding of The CEO Response, Egon Zehnder's annual study of 843 CEOs worldwide, published on 21 October. Geopolitical instability (44%) and economic uncertainty (40%) follow.
Money for AI, less for people
Half of CEOs put AI investment in the top three of their organisational changes. Upskilling and talent development gets 29%. That is a gap. Buying software is quick. An organisation that works differently because of it needs managers who redesign processes, bring teams along and take resistance seriously.
A full agenda
82% of CEOs say the current uncertainty takes more endurance than they expected. 62% expect geopolitical disruption to grow over the next year. AI lands on an agenda that was already full, and the CEO can't carry it alone.
The shortage sits one layer down
Making AI work takes managers and directors who have pushed through a change before. Managing a budget or following a project is something else. Every sector wants that profile, and it rarely shows up on a CV as a job title.
What you can do
- Ask a candidate for a leadership role about a change that was actually delivered. What was the plan, who resisted, what works differently now?
- Put upskilling in the same budget as the AI investment. Buy only software and you have bought a licence.
- Start with the people you have. An employee who knows the work and wants to use AI is productive sooner than a new specialist.
Source: Egon Zehnder, The CEO Response, 21 October 2026.
Pearson & Partners locates and qualifies leaders who have delivered a change.