Philippe Meyer, Partner – KPMG

CEOs at a local and global level are driving growth against a landscape of significant demographic shifts, the seemingly inevitable future cyber-attack and geopolitical volatility. Luxembourg CEOs are, however, demonstrating a positivity and tenacity when approaching the transformation needed in the face of emerging technology and threats.

Philippe Meyer, Managing Partner of KPMG Luxembourg stated:

“The majority of CEOs surveyed in Luxembourg have expressed a confidence in their own transformation abilities, both at the personal and management level. Six in ten agree that they are personally prepared to lead their organization through radical transformation, while only a minority are not confident that the existing leadership team is fully equipped to do this.”

Pascal Denis, Head of Advisory – KPMG

Pascal Denis, Head of Advisory at KPMG Luxembourg expanded:

“This positivity applies to the external challenges their businesses face with a vast majority of CEOs in Luxembourg agreeing on the benefits of disruption. Almost all CEOs surveyed in Luxembourg consider disruption to be more of an opportunity than a threat with many identifying themselves as actively disrupting the industry in which they operate.”

A willingness to acknowledge the ever progressing role of technology in business does not, however, mean CEOs are willing to go against their gut. In the past 3 years many Luxembourg CEOs have admitted to having overlooked the insights provided by data analysis models or computer-driven models because they were contrary to their own experience or intuition.

In light of the recent implementation of GDPR, it seems that data protection is front of mind for the CEOs surveyed and is considered as an integral part of their role. A vast majority of CEOs agreed that protecting customer’s data formed one of their most important responsibilities as CEO in order to enable their organization to grow its customer base in the future.

With this sense of responsibility comes an optimism about the future and the implications of digital transformation.

Pascal Denis, Head of Advisory at KPMG Luxembourg went on:

“When we drill down to look at CEO views of the individual technologies involved in transformation, digital is the one creating the biggest opportunities for organizations in all sectors but it presents challenges.  The majority of CEOs surveyed in Luxembourg say that they are struggling to run in parallel the digital and non-digital aspects of their business. Technology will only work for those who take the opportunity to fundamentally rethink altogether existing operating models, technology platforms, people skills and corporate culture. That’s why at KPMG we are committed to help clients critically look at their business though a digital lens in order to thrive in this new world.”