Consumer goods industry summary

Consumer goods industry summary Recent events have clearly demonstrated the extent to which the world is interconnected. The crisis which began in the US banking system has spread through the global economy as a whole – and no region has emerged unscathed. This historic moment provides an unprecedented opportunity for companies, governments and individuals to think more deeply about the sophisticated eco-systems of which we are all a part.

The current crisis has highlighted the need for new institutions, new mechanisms, new strategies and – most critically, perhaps – a different mindset among those leading the world’s most important institutions and companies. Every CEO will have to make tough decisions about what actions are required to ensure his or her company’s short-term survival. Yet none can afford to ignore the need to build a business that is agile enough to respond to new situations as they emerge, durable enough to grow over the long term and responsive to the requirements of all its stakeholders.

Redefining success, the PricewaterhouseCoopers 12th Annual Global CEO Survey, explores how CEOs are reconsidering the fundamentals of business in response to extreme operating conditions and assuming responsibility for issues that were once considered outside the scope of industry. We interviewed 1,124 CEOs around the world between September 10 and December 2, 2008. Our findings show that they are collaborating more extensively to balance the interests of increasingly influential stakeholders. They are also seeking new kinds of information to help them anticipate changes in critical business drivers.

Here, we look specifically at what the 130 CEOs in the consumer goods industry think, and how they are dealing with a combinationof challenges such as mankind has never seen before.