What do CEOs want from their PR people?

Welcome to the PRmoment Podcast.

This week we’re chatting to Will Sturgeon, head of content and thought leadership at PwC UK about its CEO Report.

PwC’s 25th Annual CEO Report reveals a growing trend towards more purposeful business practices, including a greater focus on trust, transparency and personal accountability from CEOs on issues such as climate change and inequality.

These are all issues where the contribution of the PR and communications team should be critical, so we invited Will on the show to talk us through the key issues from this report from a PR and comms perspective.

The UK data of PwC’s 25 Annual CEO Report is based on a survey of 177 UK CEOs conducted 6 October - 12 November 2021.

Before we start just a reminder, if you haven’t got your ticket already, do check out PRmoment’s next webinar on PR Analytics. We’ve got the top experts on to talk you through the key issues of the intersection of PR and data. Tickets are only £45 + vat, it’s a great format where you’ll get useful information and insight in a non-patronising tone!

Thanks to a couple of new PRmoment Patrons. First up Nigel Sarbutts from the PR Cavalry who’s joined as a Daney Parker Tier Patron and thanks also to Darryl Sparrey from Hard Numbers who is signed up as an Edward Bernays Tier Patron.

Thanks to our PRmoment Podcast sponsors, The PRCA.

Here’s a summary of what Will and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed on the show:

3 mins What are the top CEO concerns at the moment, according to the report?

4 mins “CEOs are very concerned about any issues that are going to limit their ability to hire. ”

4.30 mins “There’s a greater commitment to purpose and conversations about ESG because they (CEOs) recognise that’s important when they go to the market and compete for talent.”

8 mins CEOs are pretty confident about future economic growth, both in the UK and globally.

11.30 mins What do CEOs want from their PR and comms teams?

12 mins “Comms professionals need to be more demanding of the brands they work for.”

13.30 mins Why talking about something publicly is a key part of accountability for businesses.

15 mins CEOs are very aware of the need for authenticity—there was an anti-greenwashing theme throughout the interviews in the report.

16.30 mins How successful have CEOs been in building trust with their stakeholders in the last few years?

20 mins How has the role of the CEO changed?

24 mins “Purpose used to be an area of differentiation…it’s now moving to an area of expectation.”

25 mins Are the trends around CEOs prioritising purpose and ESG global?

26.30 mins Are we likely to see a different type of CEO in the future?