More than six in ten CEOs see disruptive forces as opportunities for their business, according to a global survey by KPMG.

The report also shows that there has a been a big increase in concern about reputational and brand risk during the past year.

Almost 1,300 business leaders from some of the world’s largest companies took part in the 2017 Global CEO Outlook survey.

“Disruption has become a fact of life for chief executive officers and their businesses as they respond to heightened uncertainty,” said Neil Patterson, chairman of KPMG in Bermuda.

“But importantly, most see disruption as an opportunity to transform their business model, develop new products and services, and reshape their business so it is more successful than ever before. In the face of new challenges and uncertainties, CEOs are feeling urgency to ‘disrupt and grow’.”

The survey showed than 65 per cent of CEOs saw disruptive forces as an opportunity.

Mr Patterson said: “What is also interesting about this survey is the shift in CEOs focus towards reputational risk and public trust, which have moved up to number three on the CEO agenda.

“The impact of political change and uncertainty coupled with the transparency and speed of the digital world is making CEOs think carefully about how they are perceived by their employees, customers and other stakeholders”.

The survey revealed that 65 per cent of chief executives are broadly confident about the prospects for the global economy, although that was down from 80 per cent last year.

Three in four CEOs said their business was aiming to be the disrupter in its sector.

Within their own businesses, more than eight in ten CEOs were confident in their company’s growth prospects for the next three years.

However, as the world has become a more complicated place economically, politically and technologically, three out of four company leaders are ramping up their scenario planning and 69 per cent said they were hiring specialist resources into their senior ranks to better understand geopolitical risk.

Reputational and brand risk has climbed to the third most important risk after having not featured in the top 10 last year.

CEOs also see reputation and brand risk as having the second-biggest potential impact on growth over the next three years.

The report said that “in light of operating within an increasingly transparent business environment, three-quarters of CEOs said their organisation was placing greater importance on trust, values and culture in order to sustain its long-term future”.

While more than seven in ten correlate being a more empathetic organisation with higher earnings, realising that building trust is consistent with their business objectives.

Advances in technology are also prominent on the radar of CEOs, although cybersecurity, which was ranked the top risk in 2016, has fallen to position five.

The report said this decline was, in part, a reflection of CEO views on the progress their business had made in cyber-risk management. Four in ten felt adequately prepared for a cyber event, which was a 25 per cent increase on last year.

The survey noted that “contrary to popular view, on average, most CEOs actually expect cognitive technologies to increase headcount across 10 key types of roles in the immediate future.

“While 32 per cent expect this growth to be slight, there is still a clear expectation that more specialist employees will be needed, at least in the short term.”

And 70 per cent of CEOs said they are now more open to new influences and collaborations than at any other point in their career.

The report can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/y7zh7hxt