EY’s CEO Outlook Puts Talent At The Center Of Growth

As CEOs head into 2026 with renewed confidence, growth expectations are shifting inward. According to EY-Parthenon’s latest CEO Outlook Survey, leaders believe momentum will come less from external conditions and more from how effectively they transform their organizations. Leadership execution, talent readiness, and AI-driven productivity will determine which companies turn uncertainty into advantage. Evan Berta, an associate at Hunt Scanlon Ventures, examines what this means for human capital and executive search leaders.

EY-Parthenon’s 2026 CEO Outlook Survey of 1,200 global CEOs reveals a striking divergence. While confidence in the global economy has softened, nearly nine in 10 U.S. CEOs remain optimistic about their own companies’ prospects. The implication is clear: leaders believe growth, this year at least, will be self-generated rather than market-driven.

That confidence rests on transformation. 97% of CEOs report they are either undergoing or planning an enterprise-wide transformation in 2026. AI, productivity, portfolio reshaping, and operating-model redesign sit at the center of those efforts, signaling that transformation is no longer episodic, it is continuous.

“For human capital leaders, this fundamentally raises the bar,” says Evan Berta, an associate at Hunt Scanlon Ventures. “Transformation rarely fails because strategy is unclear. It fails because leadership depth and skills readiness cannot keep pace with the ambition.”

AI Raises the Leadership Standard

EY’s findings show that AI has moved beyond experimentation. Most CEOs report AI initiatives are meeting or exceeding expectations, particularly in productivity and decision-making. The strongest results are coming from organizations that have embedded AI deeply across workflows rather than treating it as a standalone tool.

“Transformation rarely fails because strategy is unclear. It fails because leadership depth and skills readiness cannot keep pace with the ambition.”

Mitch Berlin, EY Americas Vice Chair, EY-Parthenon, expands on this view in his recent Letter to CEOs, Chief Strategy Officers and Director, underscoring a clear inflection point.

While early AI adoption was largely focused on efficiency gains, the mandate now is to use AI as a growth accelerator and a sharper strategic decision tool. That shift is fundamentally raising expectations for leadership as roles evolve, organizational layers compress, and execution risk increases.

“AI creates leverage,” Mr. Berta notes. “But it also exposes gaps in leadership capability, adaptability, and execution.”

M&A Accelerates Talent Risk and Opportunity

M&A remains a central growth lever. U.S. deal value rebounded sharply in 2025, and more than half of CEOs expect to pursue acquisitions in 2026. Increasingly, these transactions are about importing capability, technology, leadership, and operating models – faster than organic change allows.

At the same time, compressed timelines amplify talent risk. Leadership misalignment and weak integration can erode value quickly.

“Deals don’t fail on logic alone,” says Mr. Berta. “They fail when leadership readiness is underestimated.”

Leadership Depth Becomes a Competitive Asset

One quieter theme running through EY’s data is confidence in talent. Despite cost pressures and economic uncertainty, CEOs remain relatively assured about their ability to attract, retain, and develop critical capabilities.

That confidence reflects years of investment in hybrid work models, clearer employee value propositions, and skills development.

But it also creates differentiation. Organizations with deep leadership benches and credible succession pathways are better positioned to absorb change, redeploy talent, and sustain performance through prolonged transformation cycles. Those without that depth will find even strong strategies difficult to execute.

“Talent decisions are no longer downstream of strategy – they are the mechanism through which strategy succeeds or stalls.”

“In 2026, leadership depth is no longer a defensive hedge; it is an offensive advantage,” says Berta. “The ability to rotate leaders, build capability quickly, and maintain momentum under pressure will separate winners from laggards.”

Talent is Now the Execution Engine

Geopolitical fragmentation and regulatory complexity add another layer of pressure. CEOs are adjusting where they invest, operate, and deploy talent, making workforce strategy inseparable from geographic and political decisions.

Taken together, EY’s CEO Outlook and Mr. Berlin’s framing point to a clear conclusion: growth in 2026 will be earned through disciplined execution. Talent decisions are no longer downstream of strategy – they are the mechanism through which strategy succeeds or stalls.

“CEOs believe they can create their own momentum,” Mr. Berta concludes. “The organizations that prove them right will be the ones that invest early in leadership depth, skills readiness, and execution capability, long before uncertainty fades.”