Czech CEOs are encouraged by macroeconomic indicators, with forecasts expecting economic growth above 2% of GDP, inflation tamed to within sight of the Czech National Bank’s inflation target, unemployment expected to remain the lowest in the European Union, whereas real wage growth above 4.5% this year should be repeated. The government is also preparing key infrastructure projects and the Czech National Bank might continue to cut interest rates.
On the other hand, we do not live in isolation and the favourable waves of 2025 could be disrupted by Donald Trump’s presidency, the ongoing war in Ukraine, future developments in energy prices and the difficult economic situation in Germany. And as we know well, our economy is connected to the German economy, not only through the automotive industry, but by an umbilical cord, literally. Therefore, we may have a perfect year ahead of us, but there may also be many surprises that we are not yet able to see today.
As far as the eyes of the CEOs of Czech companies can see, they see mostly positives. More than a third of them believe in the growth of the Czech economy this year, two-thirds are convinced of their sales growth, and 7 out of 10 have no doubts about the long-term viability of their company. And I have no doubt that the CEOs will retain their optimism for most of this year.
I wish you a pleasant read.
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The highlight of this year’s Survey is certainly the more optimistic mood of Czech CEOs. In contrast to the often-sceptical outlook, they are positive in their expectations of economic growth. As a result, two-thirds of CEOs expect their company’s revenues to grow this year, and 9 out of 10 bosses have no doubt about it in the three-year horizon. As expected, they are concerned about recession in foreign markets and staffing issues such as a shortage of skilled workers and uncontrolled growth in labour costs. And how to meet the company’s growth? Invest in technology and efficient business management, specialise in production or services, take advantage of export opportunities and address succession issues early.
Miroslav Bratrych
Lead Partner of Transaction Advisory Services, PwC Czech
Republic
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Over-regulation and questionable or unpredictable legislation top the threat ranking, with three out of four CEOs concerned about these. These are interlinked areas, with a huge amount of European legislation being thrown at us, making Europe uncompetitive. This is not just in relation to the US, where we can expect a wave of deregulation and the removal of barriers to business after Trump’s inauguration. The Czech Parliament, bogged down by obstruction, is not keeping up with EU legislation and is passing key laws right on deadline. Examples include the abolition of the super gross wage five years ago or this year’s sweeping amendment to the VAT law, which the president signed on 18 December. To implement changes over Christmas, that’s not really much time for the businesses.
Martin Diviš
Lead Partner, Tax and Legal services, PwC Czech Republic
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In addition to CEOs’ optimistic expectations with respect to the economy, their enthusiasm for hiring new employees this year stands out in the Survey. Nearly half of them plan to do so, while only one in seven wants to lay off. Thus, the Czech Republic is certainly not facing any dramatic increase in unemployment this year; on the contrary, 9 out of 10 CEOs consider the unavailability of qualified labour to be the biggest business threat. On the other hand, the pressure on employees will grow in the area of technology development. A quarter of CEOs expect the number of workers in selected roles to fall this year due to the use of artificial intelligence. And these layoffs will preferentially affect less-skilled positions.
Andrea Linhartová
Palánová
HR Management Specialist, PwC Czech Republic
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According to this year’s CEO Survey, almost three out of four CEOs of Czech companies consider artificial intelligence to be the most important technology, while the importance of other technologies is declining. The majority of CEOs believe that the use of AI will help them and especially their employees save time, while betting more conservatively on revenue growth and profitability. A quarter of CEOs are also planning to use AI this year to replace their company’s employees who, with the power of AI, will no longer be relevant. This year, it’s worth keeping an eye on the phased-in parts of the AI Act, which brings the first comprehensive regulation not just for developers and providers, but for users as well. According to the Survey, only a third of Czech companies comply with the AI Act in data with respect to their AI; only one in four manage their data in compliance therewith.
Petr Ložek
Lead Partner of Technology Advisory Services, PwC Czech
Republic
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Increasingly, companies are developing ESG strategies, measuring their carbon footprint and more than a half of them are now considering ESG factors when selecting suppliers. The faster pace of decarbonisation is hampered by lower returns on ESG investments and the complexity of European regulations, which we need to simplify to avoid losing competitiveness with the US. In the context of Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and his expected move away from ESG issues, Europe must not over-regulate. There are basically three categories of approach to ESG: ESG requires regulation, ESG is wanted by the market, and ESG is what we want. We are slowly moving from the first category to the second; however, our ambition should be for the CEOs themselves to see ESG as a business opportunity.
Jan Brázda Partner and Sustainability Leader, PwC Czech Republic
The Forbes magazine remains the media partner of the PwC CEO Survey 2025. In its February issue, you can read the most interesting findings from this year’s Survey among 190 male and female CEOs of Czech companies. In the opening interview, Jiří Moser, PwC Managing Partner, presents his business view for 2025, reflects on 35 years of PwC in the Czech Republic and shares his views on multi-generational collaboration in the workplace. He is joined in the interview by PwC analyst and representative of the youngest generation Dominik Kohut.
CEO Survey is a unique collection of data and analyses showing how the world is perceived by the top representatives of major market leaders. This means those whose opinions and decisions highly affect the national as well as global economy, or more precisely the entire development of the society and its ability to solve problems. The survey, as well as the follow-up study, deals with the traditional economic issues comprising a consistent time series on the one hand, and with hot topics on the other. The global PwC network has just published the outcomes of the 28th CEO Survey; the Czech CEO Survey version was elaborated for the 16th time. Data collection was carried out in November and December 2024 and a total of 190 CEOs of local companies participated in the Survey. Participation in the global CEO Survey involved a total of 4,701 CEOs worldwide.
