Chairman’s letter

A year of reinvention

As we reflect on the past year, one theme stands out: reinvention.

This was a year when business and society evolved with extraordinary speed and complexity. A year when profound change — driven by technological, environmental and geopolitical forces — gathered pace, redefining the context in which businesses operate. A year when leaders were compelled to rethink how they create, deliver, and protect value.

We are living through a turning point as the world moves deeper into the Intelligence Age. As progress in data and emerging technologies such as AI puts unprecedented intelligence at humanity’s fingertips, we’re seeing a fundamental shift in how value is created, where it flows, and who participates. Entire industries are being reshaped and new ecosystems are emerging, creating once-in-a-generation opportunities for growth, innovation, and progress.

According to PwC research, AI and related technologies are set to unleash a wave of innovation and productivity that could raise global GDP by 15% within a decade. At the same time, climate change is reconfiguring the global economy, creating pressures to adapt to the accelerating physical impacts, and opportunities for companies to deliver sustainable value.

These changes are transforming how companies operate, how markets evolve, and how society functions. Boundaries that once defined industries are converging, creating vast new business ecosystems. Workforces are being reshaped, requiring new skills, new tools, and new ways of working. And business models are being reimagined to reshape how we power, move, govern, fund, build, and care for our communities.

In this environment, reinvention is not just a response to disruption — it’s the strategy for growth. It means asking different questions. Challenging assumptions. Acting before the opportunities become obvious to others.

Knowing where to reinvent starts with connecting data points across industries and ecosystems. Through our work with 82% of the Fortune Global 500 and every major industry, we have a vantage point few can match. Drawing on cross-sector insights from our global network, we can connect how market shifts redirect capital, how technology and data rewire operating models, or how sustainability pressures reshape supply chains and demand. This holistic view helps our clients see value in motion sooner and move faster to capture it.

That perspective matters only if it translates into outcomes. This year, 364,000 PwC people in 136 countries collaborated across borders and disciplines to solve challenges for our clients as only a global network can. In the face of continuing economic headwinds, our revenue reached US$56.9 billion, a reflection of the value our clients see in working with us.

Reinvention at scale

At PwC, we understand the need to reinvent our business too. This year, we invested in our people, expanded our technological offerings, and continued to build leading-edge capabilities to help our clients thrive. For example, PwC firms completed 12 acquisitions and strategic investments to expand our offerings in key areas, particularly AI and technology, consulting, business strategy, and tax. We accelerated our nearly US$1.5 billion investment to scale next-generation AI capabilities across our network. Our efforts included building out our global AI factory, establishing AI hubs and Centres of Excellence around the world and launching agent OS, our AI enterprise command centre which seamlessly connects and scales AI agents into business-ready workflows for our clients.

To signal our next chapter, we launched our refreshed brand. It reflects who we are and the bold, tech-focused, client-centric mindset that guides us forward. Our brand now represents a more connected, agile PwC built to help our clients create momentum in a constantly changing world.

Reinventing trust without compromise

Trust remains the foundation of success for PwC and our clients. It’s central to our purpose and integral to our culture. We help our clients build trust in what matters with their stakeholders from customers to regulators to employees. But in today’s environment — where complexity is a constant, scrutiny is intensifying, and expectations are shifting — how trust is earned, protected, and demonstrated is being reinvented.

To help our clients earn trust in this challenging environment, we raised the bar on quality and integrity by investing in our Next Gen Audit platform, our risk and governance practices, and our accountability systems. We launched Assurance for AI, the first solution of its kind to empower businesses with trust and confidence in their AI systems.

Our commitment to trust extends well beyond individual engagements. It’s embedded in our values and how we operate as a global network. It shapes how we lead more broadly through transparency, responsible use of technology, inclusive growth, and a focus on long-term outcomes. In a time when trust is harder than ever to earn, we believe it is a powerful differentiator and an enduring way we create and protect value. Our network leadership team is fully committed to upholding a strong culture of quality, ethics and integrity on which trust in PwC relies. When challenges do arise, we act transparently, taking responsible and decisive action to respond.

The reinvention continues

The coming year will bring more change and complexity. AI adoption will accelerate. Regulatory expectations will increase. Climate volatility will intensify.

At PwC, we’re ready to tackle these challenges and turn them into opportunities for our clients. We’re optimistic about the future — not because it will be easy, but because we have the people, purpose, and values to help shape what comes next.

To our clients, thank you for trusting us to support your growth. To our people, thank you for your commitment and resilience. And to everyone reading this, we invite you to explore this year’s Global Annual Review — not just to look back at what we’ve achieved, but to see where we’re headed next.

Let’s keep reinventing together.

Mohamed Kande
Global Chairman