The majority of the world’s CEOs are very confident of future revenue growth, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 10th annual Global CEO Survey. CEOs expect expansion will come from improved market penetration, geographic expansion, and mergers and acquisitions.

The survey covers 50 countries. Fifty-nine per cent of canadian respondents and 52 per cent of global respondents are very confident for revenue growth prospects in the next 12 months. But canadian CEOs believe threats to growth include the lack of skilled labour (88 per cent), downturns in major economies (68 per cent) and overregulation (61 per cent).

Over in the CIO offices, 19 per cent interviewed for the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report plan to add full-time information technology (IT) staff in the second quarter, while two per cent anticipate personnel reductions. The poll includes responses from more than 270 canadian CIOs.

Other findings:
> CIOs cited business growth as the top factor driving IT hiring
> network administration and Windows administration skills are in greatest demand
> technology executives at the largest firms (1,000 plus employees) will be most active, with a net 45 per cent increase in hiring activity forecast
> the finance industry led all business sectors with 42 per cent of CIOs expecting to add personnel and none projecting staff reductions

More information is at www.pwc.com/ceosurvey and www.rht.com.