Survey reveals concerns of top CEOs in UAE and Saudi Arabia

Survey reveals concerns of top CEOs in UAE and Saudi Arabia

The majority of CEOs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are upbeat about where their company and the overall economy are headed, but they are worried about the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation on their business, according to a new report.

Among the UAE and Saudi business leaders polled by global consulting firm AlixPartners, 80% said they are positive about the prospects for their company, while 85% are optimistic about the overall economy.

The respondents were among the 3,000 CEOs and executives from around the world that were polled for the AlixPartners’ Disruption Index, which seeks to uncover the latest concerns of business leaders.

The study found that executives in the region are the second-highest disrupted, after China, with around 7 in ten (68%) saying they were “highly disrupted” in the past year.

Largest disruptive forces

The majority (87%) believe that AI and automation are the largest disruptive forces impacting their business, compared to 46% globally.

A huge number of CEOs feel that technological changes are rendering their workers’ skills obsolete, while a lot of their staff are also not warming up to transformation.

CEOs in the region are worried that their company is not adapting fast enough to the pace of change (67%), although