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The latest EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook suggests that CEOs are responding by becoming more selective about where they invest, how they improve productivity and which capabilities they need to build for the future. Tamás Vékási, country managing partner of EY Hungary, discusses what the findings reveal about business leaders’ confidence, priorities and plans.
Uncertainty is hardly new for business leaders. What has changed is the number of forces moving simultaneously and how quickly their impact can be felt. Economic growth is slowing, geopolitical risks remain significant, and technological development continues to reshape industries and business models. For CEOs, this creates a difficult environment in which to make decisions about investment and growth.
The natural reaction to uncertainty might be to wait. Postpone a major investment, preserve capital, and make the bigger strategic decisions when the outlook becomes clearer. But there is another risk that deserves equal attention: while a company waits for greater certainty, markets, technology and competitors continue to move.
That tension runs through the latest EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook, based on a survey of 1,200 CEOs from large companies across 21 countries. CEOs are navigating a more complex backdrop, but the research suggests many increasingly see inaction as the greater risk. Rather than stepping back from investment altogether, they are looking for ways to retain flexibility in how and when they deploy capital.
This points to an important change in the growth agenda. Uncertainty should influence how companies grow, but it should not automatically determine whether they grow.
This dilemma can also be seen in growth strategies. Innovation in products, services, and business models is a leading priority, alongside operational efficiency and improving the customer experience. At the same time, more than two-thirds of the CEOs surveyed say they are focusing more on strengthening the core business than on disruption and transformation.
There is a valuable lesson here for Hungarian companies. Transformation does not necessarily require abandoning what already works. In a volatile environment, the more important management question may be which parts of the existing business have the potential to remain competitive and deserve further investment, and where resources could create greater value elsewhere.
Artificial intelligence has an important role in this equation, but its relevance extends beyond technology. Research indicates that AI-enabled tools are driving productivity improvements, especially when paired with redesigned business processes. Crucially, productivity only creates lasting value if the capacity it releases is put to productive use.
This makes AI a strategic management issue. The benefit of completing a task faster is limited if the time, expertise, or capital released disappears into organizational complexity. Greater value can emerge when that capacity is deliberately redirected towards innovation, customer relationships, new capabilities or other areas that support growth.
The same applies to people. The research points to the importance of adapting skills and ways of working as AI develops. Technology investment therefore needs to be considered alongside workforce and operating-model decisions.
CEOs are also looking beyond the traditional choice of whether to build a capability internally or acquire it. The growth toolkit increasingly includes strategic alliances, joint ventures, minority investments and divestments alongside conventional M&A. The appropriate choice depends on the balance leaders need between speed, control, cost and flexibility.
Taken together, these developments point to a broader change in the CEO agenda. In an uncertain economy, successful growth increasingly depends on allocating scarce capital and management attention where they can create the greatest long-term value.
For businesses in Hungary, this calls for an integrated perspective. Strategy, technology, people and transactions cannot be treated as entirely separate conversations. EY can support management teams across these interconnected decisions, helping them assess growth opportunities, transform operations and technology, develop capabilities, and make portfolio and transaction choices with greater confidence.
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of October 30, 2026.
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