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1. CEO Remuneration 2022 Report: CEOs in a Post Covid Era - What Matters Most
2. Executive Summary - CEO Remuneration 2022: CEOs in a Post COVID Era - What Matters Most

CEOs have many challenges in the current post-pandemic world, some of which are the shadows of the pandemic, runaway inflation, globalization of the value chain, advanced technological innovations, and geopolitical tensions, among others. The gradual recovery of the global economy from the pandemic met with uncertainty and a high operating cost environment for business executives. This high-cost environment created a situation where many executives were adapting their operational models and portfolios to compete in the new business world. Some executives successfully reframed the company and its future to respond to uncertainty. Others were burnt in the process, failing to keep the organization in a steady state. Thus, this raised a fundamental concern for executives around what matters most in building a model company with a clear, thriving, and resilient direction for the present and future. 

A CEOs' priority survey by Conference Board (CB) revealed that Covid-19-related disruptions, rising inflation, labour shortages, and supply chain disruptions were the top challenges that CEOs ended the year 2021 with and planned as priorities for 2022. At the beginning of 2021, inflation was a minor concern for CEOs. But at year-end 2021, inflation has soared to the top of CEOs' concern, ranking 2nd on the list behind Covid-19-related disruptions. Aside from inflation, most CEOs believe the acceleration of digital transformation and the associated need to attract and retain talents is another pain point in the post-Covid-19 era.  

In terms of alertness to uncertainty, only a few CEOs have faced the challenge of leading a company through a difficult time similar to the post-pandemic that combined recovery from a global health challenge with digital transformation, runaway inflation, and changing consumer preference. The CB survey reported that only one-third of CEOs believed they prepared their companies for the recent inflation-related crisis. Similarly, only about one-quarter of CEOs globally reported readiness for supply chain disruptions. 

Rising inflation and supply chain disruptions were, thus, the most significant matters for CEOs in the post-pandemic era. The high inflation is destroying investment values and raising business operating costs. Analysts attributed the high inflation to the excessive accommodative policies instituted during the pandemic and the supply chain disruptions to the lingering restrictions on movement in leading economies. With inflation, supply chain disruption, and digital transformation generating newer uncertainty, CEOs face the challenging task of adapting their management control to build companies that are forward-looking and resilient to macroeconomic uncertainties (see illustration 5 below). 

Illustration 5: