How do CEOs in the Middle East assess the future of the region?

As the economies of the Middle East seek to mount a sustainable recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the fallout of the health crisis has underscored the importance of risk management and stakeholder engagement in mitigating corporate challenges and achieving long-term success. While the responses of companies in the region in late 2021 demonstrated that the pandemic served to raise awareness and demand of environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies in the Middle East, they also suggest there is further scope for adoption. In the GCC, where the majority of respondents were located, the corporate agenda tends to dovetail with government priorities. Human capital development, in the social pillar of ESG, is one area where alignment between government policy and corporate action is already generating positive momentum.