APEC CEOs pivot on innovation and M&A to build resilience
A new survey finds APEC business leaders adopting a philosophy of expansive resilience.
Corporate leaders in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) are transitioning growth strategies from technology adoption toward innovation and new products to help strengthen market positions and resilience.
Why it matters:
Deloitte’s APEC CEO Survey report, Bridging the Certainty Gap, finds that mergers and acquisitions (M&A), cross-border collaboration and alliances, are gaining traction as companies seek scale and hedge against geopolitical risk. The results highlight how APEC CEOs are redefining uncertainty as a source of strength and embracing a mindset of “expansive resilience” aimed at converting volatility into a competitive business advantage.
Fundamentals remain in focus, with surveyed respondents continuing to invest in product development, reappraising the shape and composition of their blended human and machine-based workforces, and delivering on customer expectations. This includes a shift from price and value to personalisation, ethics and sustainability.
The survey captures insights from more than 1,250 senior APEC business leaders across 18 economies and more than a dozen industries, spanning multinationals, regional enterprises, and fast-growing private firms. Leaders shared views on risk, opportunity, and capital strategy along with perspectives on the economy, geopolitics and AI technologies.
By the numbers:
• Seven in 10 CEOs surveyed are optimistic about their own company’s outlook, despite less than half (45 per cent) expressing the same sentiment for the global economy.
• 42 per cent of surveyed CEOs identify technology applications as their primary growth driver today. Over the next three years, innovation and new products will take precedence.
• 60 per cent of surveyed companies today deploy AI in two or more business functions, with generative AI adoption highest in IT/cybersecurity (42 per cent) and marketing, sales, and customer service (40 per cent).
• 52 per cent of surveyed respondents plan to broaden or diversify their supply chains within the next year, with many building strategic resilience through regional hubs, alternative suppliers, and comprehensive digital oversight of supplier performance and logistics.
• Appetite for M&A and bold capital decisions is on the rise: 39 per cent plan to actively pursue deals in the next year, a trend likely to increase to 59 per cent in the next three years.
Growth: New Value Streams
Growth remains the defining pursuit of CEOs across APEC. Yet the nature — and sources — of that growth are shifting. Where leaders emphasised operational efficiency, they are now shifting toward new value streams: innovation-led expansion and cross-border opportunities.
In three years, 42 per cent of CEOs surveyed will prioritise new products and innovation, up from 29 per cent today. Geographic expansion is also gaining momentum, with executives expecting half their revenue to come from APEC economies, rising from 19 per cent today to 37 per cent in three years.
Capital: Divergent Expectations
Across APEC, six in 10 leaders anticipate easier access to capital within three years, influencing a wide range of strategies. Some consumer industry leaders expect capital availability to rise sharply over the next three years, alongside technology, media and telecoms (TMT) company leaders, potentially foreshadowing an upsurge in deal-making. Appetite is strongest in energy, resources and industrials, and the life sciences and healthcare industry, where 65 per cent and 63 per cent of respondents, respectively, plan M&A activity.
• By firm size and geography, small- and mid-size enterprises are optimistic about gradually improving capital access, whereas only 42 per cent of the largest firms (with revenues over $10 billion) share this confidence, likely due to greater macroeconomic exposure.
• Regionally, ambition is greatest in maturing markets. Latin America leads, with 71 per cent of respondents anticipating actively pursuing M&A-driven growth in the next three years, followed by Northeast Asia (64 per cent), Southeast Asia (61 per cent), and North America (54 per cent).
Operations and Supply Chain: Building Future Resilience
For APEC CEOs, supply chains are increasingly seen as strategic assets: adaptive, agile and central to competitive edge. Today’s leaders have a bifurcated view of supply chains: as a shield against disruption, and a platform for future growth.
• Technology remains the cornerstone of operational resilience. Over half of APEC leaders (53 per cent) surveyed will prioritise AI and automation this year, with TMT (70 per cent) and North America (60 per cent) leading the way. Cybersecurity (41 per cent) also remains top of mind for APEC CEOs, alongside inventory planning and workforce cross-training.
• An accelerating need for computing capacity in new data centres will help propel APEC-wide upgrades to physical infrastructure, growing from a priority for 19 per cent of APEC’s leaders today to 30 per cent in three years. The takeaway: while APEC leaders recognise that resilience carries a price, its alternative — vulnerability — could be far costlier.
Technology: AI as Strategic Transformer
With the fast pace of AI adoption, investment, and innovation, more APEC leaders are recognising its potential to revolutionise business models, economies, and society.
• The scale of AI deployment as both enabler and disruptor is striking. APEC companies are no longer experimenting: 60 per cent have implemented AI in two or more functions, accelerating their software development, forecasting, customer insights and product innovation.
• AI is increasingly built into product offerings with 24 per cent of surveyed leaders forecasting a positive impact in development and R&D in the next three years, up from 9 per cent seeing its effect today. While at an earlier stage, agentic AI is extending the scope and impact of AI-led change in core business processes. In this environment, CEOs should play the long game in short sprints: building capability at different stages, while balancing access to cutting-edge technology with independence, data sovereignty, and cross-border flows.
Bottom line:
The survey paints a picture of CEOs who are confident but not complacent, opportunistic yet cautious, and determined to translate volatility into an advantage. For these leaders, the final frontier is not just about where to grow, but also how to lead in an era where preparedness matters more than prediction.
Go deeper:
For more insights from the report, visit the Deloitte APEC CEO Survey 2025.
David Hill is Asia Pacific CEO, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu; Benjamin Finzi is Global CEO Program leader, Deloitte Services LP; and Stuart Johnston is Asia Pacific Market Activation leader, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
As published in the 27 November 2025 edition of the WSJ CFO Journal.
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