Over the past 25 years, the responsibilities of global business leaders were fairly straightforward: expand their current operations, use capital efficiently, and deploy technology to boost productivity. However, PwC’s global chairman, in an interview with in Davos, Switzerland, prior to the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering, stated that this period has ended. Kande claimed that the CEO role has undergone more changes in the last year than any he’s observed in the past quarter-century.
“This is among the most challenging times for leaders,” Kande told ’s Diane Brady, outlining a new “tri-modal” set of duties that demand executives to manage their existing business, transform it on the fly, and create completely new future business models all at once. “I haven’t witnessed this in 25 years,” he remarked.
In spite of this pressure, Kande’s advice to the global business world is based on historical optimism. “Don’t be afraid of the future. It’s disconcerting—there’s no denying that. Things change every day, but don’t let that scare you,” he said, pointing out that all the uncertainty plaguing executives has occurred before, from tariffs about a century ago to the even earlier industrial revolution. “In the end, positive outcomes will emerge.” Kande admitted he’s naturally optimistic, but emphasized that top leaders can adapt to this business environment.
The AI Execution Gap
Naturally, a key factor behind this disconcerting shift is the fast uptake of artificial intelligence (AI), as shown in PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey, titled “Leading Through Uncertainty in the Age of AI,” which was published at the start of the Davos annual meeting. Drawing on feedback from 4,454 CEOs in 95 countries and regions, the survey exposes a clear gap between what companies aim to do and what they actually achieve. Kande noted that between 2024 and 2025, the business world made significant progress—moving from questioning if they could or should adopt AI to a stage where “no one is asking those questions anymore. Everyone is jumping on board.”
However, PwC’s survey shows that only 10% to 12% of companies say they’re seeing gains in revenue or cost savings, while an astonishing 56% claim they’re getting “no results from it.” This mirrors an MIT study from August that rattled markets by finding that were underperforming across the corporate world.
Kande blamed this discrepancy not on the technology itself, but on a lack of basic discipline. “AI advances so quickly that people seem to have forgotten the fundamentals of adopting new technology,” he explained, mentioning the need for clean data, robust business processes, and proper governance. PwC has found that the companies reaping benefits from AI are “laying the groundwork first.” Success here is about execution, not the technology itself, he argued—and that depends on strong management and leadership.
The Confidence Paradox and U.S. Dominance
The uncertain climate has also created a contradiction in business attitudes, Kande told . Although CEOs feel confident about the global economy, only 30% are sure they can grow their own companies. Kande wondered if this reluctance comes from geopolitical issues, tariffs, technological changes, or a lack of flexibility in leadership. Over the past 15 years, he noted, there has been steady growth and stable business models, making this period a true challenge for top executives. “This is one of the most demanding times for leaders right now,” he said, as it calls for the ability to change and adapt rapidly without getting stuck in daily tactical struggles.
In PwC’s 29th survey, just 30% of CEOs were confident about their company’s revenue growth over the next year—down from 38% in 2025 and 56% in 2022—setting a five-year low in CEO confidence in their own revenue prospects. Another survey question, which asked about CEO confidence in their company’s 12-month revenue growth, might be more insightful: this confidence has dropped significantly in recent years, even as many leaders keep chasing long-term chances to reinvent their businesses via AI, innovation, and cross-industry expansion.
The evolution of the CEO position is affecting the entire workforce, requiring a rethink of career trajectories. Kande warned that AI is disrupting the traditional “apprenticeship model,” where new employees learn by performing basic tasks. The traditional career ladder, which starts at the entry level and builds expertise through hands-on experience, will need to be redesigned to focus on “systems thinking” instead of task completion—since AI is taking over more of those tasks.
In the end, Kande encourages executives to look at the past 50 to 100 years—not just the last five—to make sense of today’s situation. He pointed to the infrastructure booms of the railroad age and the early internet, saying he believes the current wave of investment will lead to the next era of innovation. The CEO survey’s focus on an upcoming “decade of innovation and industry restructuring” backs this long-term perspective, noting that companies with more revenue from new sectors often have higher profit margins and more confident CEOs about future growth.
“I’m an optimist,” Kande said in closing. Instead of fearing the current changes, he urged leaders to remember that people are scared of what they don’t know—and the best way to fix that is to seek knowledge. “That’s why I spend so much time learning and traveling these days—just to understand what’s going on and think about how things can be done differently. That’s why I don’t fear AI.”
“I’ve experienced change,” Kande stated. “You have to accept it.”