Singapore – Asia-Pacific chief executives are more confident in their organisations’ ability to navigate disruption than their global counterparts, despite anticipating greater geopolitical instability over the next 12 months, according to research by leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder.
The research surveyed 843 chief executives worldwide, including 70 from Asia-Pacific (APAC), and found that artificial intelligence (AI) remains the leading challenge for business leaders. In the region, 94% of CEOs rated AI a critical or existentially critical challenge, compared with 91% globally.
Geopolitical instability was considered critical by 89% of CEOs in both APAC and worldwide. Economic uncertainty was rated similarly by 89% globally and 85% in APAC.
Despite these concerns, 78% of APAC CEOs rated their organisations’ readiness to adapt to change at seven or above on a 10-point scale, where 10 indicates being well prepared. This was up from 31% in 2024 and 62% in 2025. Globally, the proportion fell from 64% in 2025 to 58% in 2026.
The region’s leaders also expect greater geopolitical turbulence ahead. Some 73% anticipate an increase in geopolitical disruption over the next 12 months, compared with 62% of CEOs globally.
“CEOs can invest in AI much faster than they can change how an organisation works,” said Francesco Buquicchio, Global CEO of Egon Zehnder.
“That gap matters. Leaders need to be clear about where the technology will make a difference, who has the skills to put it to use and what they must keep investing in for the long term,” Buquicchio continued.
“The organisations creating the Chief AI roles in Singapore are the data-driven ones, the companies already furthest along,” said Ang Wan May, Singapore Managing Partner of Egon Zehnder.
“Where boards once asked for a technology leader to deliver a platform, they now want someone who will lead the AI strategy and deployment across the business. We would expect these roles to evolve as AI becomes embedded, much as the digital transformation roles of a decade ago were eventually absorbed into the business,” Ang continued.
Innovation and AI remain key priorities
When asked about major organisational changes, 54% of APAC CEOs identified innovation as a priority, compared with 48% globally. Investment in AI was cited by 43% of regional leaders, below the global figure of 50%.
Globally, AI investment ranked ahead of innovation, while APAC leaders placed innovation first and AI investment second. The findings suggest regional CEOs are more likely to frame AI as part of a broader innovation strategy.
New strategic alliances and partnerships ranked third among the major changes being pursued by APAC leaders, cited by 37%, compared with 30% globally.
Business relationships also featured prominently in regional leaders’ strategies. Informal CEO networks were identified as important alliances by 72% of APAC respondents, against 47% globally. Public-private partnerships were cited by 41% in the region, compared with 32% worldwide.
More than half of APAC CEOs, or 56%, said business alliances had become more important over the past year, compared with 45% of their global peers.
“Expecting more disruption and feeling ready for it are not contradictory here. Leaders in this region have spent the past three years working through supply chain shocks, conflict and a shifting trade map, and have continued to grow through it. The mental preparedness for disruptions and increased responsiveness of leaders and organisations to it is what the data is likely to be picking up. Preparedness in APAC has risen in each of the last three years,” Ang said.
Leadership capabilities seen as essential
The research also found that APAC CEOs place greater emphasis on developing both personal leadership qualities and professional expertise.
Some 96% of regional respondents said success would depend on strengthening both inner capabilities, such as self-awareness, resilience, curiosity, learning agility and emotional range, and outer capabilities, including business acumen, enterprise judgement and functional expertise. Globally, the figure was 85%.
In APAC, 62% said these two sets of capabilities needed to be fully integrated, compared with 47% globally. Only 3% of regional CEOs prioritised outer capabilities alone, against 9% worldwide.
“The hard part isn’t recognising that the world is changing. It’s making decisions when the trade-offs are real and the answers aren’t obvious,” said German Herrera, Chair of Egon Zehnder.
“CEOs have to protect what matters today while preparing their organisations for what comes next, without pretending they can predict it. That takes judgment, curiosity and people around them who are willing to challenge their thinking,” Herrera continued.
