CEO collections

The Accenture Research Journal

Published: September 2026

business leaders face much more than isolated challenges; they face everything at once—market volatility, geopolitical complexity and compressed technological shifts. To grow and lead in this climate, incremental change is no longer enough. Success demands a continuous, deliberate strategy of transforming every part of the organization. In this new reality, the ultimate winners will be those who realize that while technology is the catalyst, matching human ingenuity with rapidly improving machine capabilities is the key to establishing a new performance frontier.

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The Accenture
Research Journal

Research designed to help clients
reinvent their futures

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Accenture Research
Top Ten

Published: September 2026

Accenture Research’s Top Ten brings together the year’s most influential research reports on how artificial intelligence is reshaping competitive advantage. Spanning sovereign AI, cyber resilience, banking, agentic commerce, manufacturing, supply chains and talent, the collection shows intelligence moving from isolated experiments into the fabric of the enterprise. Leaders build strong foundations, redesign work and operating models and turn human and machine intelligence into measurable growth, resilience and lasting value.

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Accenture Research
Top Ten

Accenture Research’s Top Ten brings together the year’s most influential research reports on how artificial intelligence is reshaping competitive advantage ...

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The C-Suite Guide
Volume 3

Published: September 2026

The C-Suite Guide Volume 3 gathers ten research-based articles for executives confronting a fragmented and uncertain world. Across cybersecurity, AI economics, sovereign technology, quantum computing, global operating models, brand, manufacturing and leadership, it argues that reinvention must become a continuous corporate capability. Together, these essays republished from publications including Harvard Business Review offer leaders an agenda for turning disruption into growth.

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The C-Suite Guide
Volume 3

The C-Suite Guide Volume 3 gathers ten research-based articles for executives confronting a fragmented and uncertain world ...

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Foresights 2026

Contributors: JKaushal Modi, Francis Hintermann, Joshua Bellin, H. James Wilson, Steve Courtney, Matthew Lagodzinski, Luis Polanco, Surya Mukherjee, Amal Sebastian, Dr. Shubhashis Sengupta, Shruti Shalini, Laura G. Converso, Yusof Seedat, Shachi Jain, Pradeep Roy, Prashant P. Shukla, Avimanyu Basu, Svenja Falk, Giju Mathew, Shalabh Kumar Singh
Published: January 2026

Business leaders have always looked for signals that can guide their next moves, especially when growth depends on recognizing shifts before they fully take shape. What makes this moment distinct is the number of forces changing at once. Advances in AI, computing and science are unfolding alongside geopolitical and economic transitions, creating conditions where the path to growth is both more complex and more open than in years past. Foresights 2026 examines these developments with an eye on their implications for companies seeking to grow with confidence.

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Foresights 2026

Business leaders have always looked for signals that can guide their next moves, especially when growth depends on recognizing shifts before they fully take shape ...

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CEO brief, autumn issue,
2024—MNCs in China

Author: Samantha Zhu
Research lead: Serena Qiu
Research contributors: Shan He, Jenna Jiang, Rebecca Tan, Belén Rubio
Published: November 2024

This CEO brief draws on earnings call analysis and proprietary
survey data to guide multinational leaders navigating China’s
shifting landscape. Despite slowing growth, 86% of MNCs cite
China’s critical revenue role and 83% plan to scale digital
investment. While first-tier cities face demand contraction,
lower-tier markets show resilience. Generative AI is gaining
traction, with 48% of China-based MNCs balance near-term
returns with long-term bets, versus 66% globally. As local
competition intensifies, CEOs must boost resilience, rethink cost
structures and forge deeper local partnerships to sustain growth.
Strategic clarity, AI fluency and localization are essential.

Read full report

CEO brief, autumn issue,
2024—MNCs in China

This CEO brief draws on earnings call analysis and proprietary
survey data to guide multinational leaders navigating China’s...

more

Read Report

CEO brief, autumn issue, 2024—MNCs in China

Author: Samantha Zhu
Research lead: Serena Qiu
Research contributors: Shan He, Jenna Jiang, Rebecca Tan, Belén Rubio
Published: November 2024

This CEO brief draws on earnings call analysis and proprietary
survey data to guide multinational leaders navigating China’s
shifting landscape. Despite slowing growth, 86% of MNCs cite
China’s critical revenue role and 83% plan to scale digital
investment. While first-tier cities face demand contraction,
lower-tier markets show resilience. Generative AI is gaining
traction, with 48% of China-based MNCs balance near-term
returns with long-term bets, versus 66% globally. As local
competition intensifies, CEOs must boost resilience, rethink cost
structures and forge deeper local partnerships to sustain growth.
Strategic clarity, AI fluency and localization are essential.

Read full report

CEO brief, autumn issue,
2024—MNCs in China

This CEO brief draws on earnings call analysis and proprietary
survey data to guide multinational leaders navigating China’s...

more

Read Report

Accenture Research C-suite guide

Volume 2

Authors: Bhaskar Ghosh, Karthik Narain, H. James Wilson, Prashant Shukla, Muqsit Ashraf, Miguel Torreira, Tomas Castagnino, Rachel Barton, Ladan Davarzani, Adam Burden, Christian Souche, Shruti Shalini, Alpana Dubey, Paul R. Daugherty, Koenraad Schelfaut, Arnab Chakraborty, Laetitia Cailleteau, Philippe Roussiere, Professor Thierry Rayna, Oliver Wright, Emma Blackburn, Carl Dukatz, Laura Converso
Published: July 2025

The Accenture Research C-Suite Guide, Volume 2 brings
together ten research-based articles, originally published in
leading journals, to help executives navigate accelerated
disruption. Building on Volumes 1’s AI focus Volume 2 focuses
on the theme of reinvention. It broadens to a constellation of
frontier technologies—generative and agentic AI, digital brains,
humanoid robotics and quantum platforms—that are redefining
value creation. Organized around five imperatives—leading with
new value, reinventing talent, securing digital cores, closing the
responsible AI gap and driving continuous reinvention—it offers
tested insights from global surveys and case studies. Authored
by Accenture leaders and researchers, the collection sharpens
strategic edge for CEOs under mounting competitive and
societal pressures.

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Accenture Research C-suite guide Volume 2

The Accenture Research C-Suite Guide, Volume 2 brings
together ten research-based articles, originally published in
leading journals...

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Accenture Research C-suite guide

Volume 1

Research contributors: Tomas Castagnino, Patrick Connolly, Svenja Falk, Selen Karaca-Griffin, Dominic King, Philippe Roussiere, Prashant Shukla, Shalabh Kumar Singh, Praveen Tanguturi, H. James Wilson, Gargi Chakrabarty, Emily Thornton
Published: September 2024
​

We are in a remarkable period of constant change and
reinvention, where gen AI and transformative technologies are
redefining how companies operate, delivering superior
products, services and value. The Accenture Research C-suite
guide offers a collection of published articles tailored to help
C-suite executives stay ahead of the emerging innovations and
trends reshaping companies, industries and societies.

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Accenture Research C-suite guide Volume 1

We are in a remarkable period of constant change and
reinvention, where gen AI and transformative technologies are
redefining...

more

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Foresight 2026

Research contributors: Joshua B. Bellin, H. James Wilson, Steve Courtney, Matthew Lagodzinski, Luis Polanco, Surya Mukherjee, Amal Sebastian, Dr. Shubhashis Sengupta, Shruti Shalini, Laura G. Converso, Yusof Seedat, Shachi Jain, Pradeep Roy, Prashant P. Shukla, Avimanyu Basu, Svenja Falk, Giju Mathew, Shalabh Kumar Singh

Published: January 2026

Business leaders have always looked for signals that can guide their next moves, especially when growth depends on recognizing shifts before they fully take shape. What makes this moment distinct is the number of forces changing at once. Advances in AI, computing and science are unfolding alongside geopolitical and economic transitions, creating conditions where the path to growth is both more complex and more open than in years past. Foresights 2026, by Accenture Research, examines these developments with an eye on their implications for companies seeking to grow with confidence.

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Foresight 2026

Business leaders have always looked for signals that can guide their next moves, especially when growth depends on recognizing shifts before they fully take shape. What makes this moment distinct is the number...

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Foresight 2025

Research contributors: Joshua Bellin, Alex Blumberg, Patrick Connolly, Medb Corcoran, Francis Hintermann, Shachi Jain, Selen Karaca-Griffin, Rebecca Kelliher, Lohith Kumar, Omaro Maseli, Mike Moore, Surya Mukherjee, Rahul S. Raichura, Pradeep Roy, Philippe Roussiere, Shruti Shalini, Praveen Tanguturi, Rebecca Tan, Shekhar Tewari, Dikshita Venkatesh, H. James Wilson
Published: January 2025

Foresights 2025 helps companies stay ahead as rapid
technological change reshapes business, government and
society. Many leaders aim to reinvent but face hurdles in
adopting breakthroughs like synthetic data, agentic solutions
and gen AI. This inaugural collection decodes 10 emerging
trends and shows how to turn them into practical advantage.
Accenture Research experts went beyond their core work to
deliver insights that challenge assumptions and inspire action.
Built in collaboration with global leaders, Foresights 2025
gives organizations the tools to make sharper decisions,
unlock innovation and create value in the year ahead.

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Foresight 2025

Foresights 2025 helps companies stay ahead as rapid
technological change reshapes business, government and
society. Many leaders aim to reinvent...

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CEO brief, spring issue, 2025—Innovation: Reinvented in China

Author: Samantha Zhu
Research lead: Ling Deng
Research contributors: Serena Qiu, Rebecca Tan, Kevin Millan

The spring 2025 issue of the CEO brief explores China’s
emergence as a global innovation powerhouse. R&D intensity
tripled since 2000, and China now commands 26% of global
R&D expenditure, up from 4.1% in 2000. Seventy-five percent
of Chinese professionals already use gen AI tools at work.
Chinese companies are outpacing global peers in AI, biotech
and robotics—and MNCs must respond. The brief outlines
five imperatives for CEOs: adopt AI in China, decode Chinese
consumers, operate at China’s speed, tap its vast STEM talent
and commit long-term. China is no longer a fast follower—
it’s a launchpad for reinvention and an engine for global
competitiveness.

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CEO brief, spring issue, 2025—Innovation: Reinvented in China

The spring 2025 issue of the CEO brief explores China’s
emergence as a global innovation...

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CEO brief, autumn issue,
2024—MNCs in China

Author: Samantha Zhu
Research lead: Serena Qiu
Research contributors: Shan He, Jenna Jiang, Rebecca Tan, Belén Rubio
Published: November 2024

This CEO brief draws on earnings call analysis and proprietary
survey data to guide multinational leaders navigating China’s
shifting landscape. Despite slowing growth, 86% of MNCs cite
China’s critical revenue role and 83% plan to scale digital
investment. While first-tier cities face demand contraction,
lower-tier markets show resilience. Generative AI is gaining
traction, with 48% of China-based MNCs balance near-term
returns with long-term bets, versus 66% globally. As local
competition intensifies, CEOs must boost resilience, rethink cost
structures and forge deeper local partnerships to sustain growth.
Strategic clarity, AI fluency and localization are essential.

Read full report

CEO brief, autumn issue,
2024—MNCs in China

This CEO brief draws on earnings call analysis and proprietary
survey data to guide multinational leaders navigating China’s...

more

Read Report

The leadership edge in AI

Authors: Karalee Close, Susie Kelleher
Published: July 2026

AI doesn't just reshape what organizations do. It rewrites competitive advantage, compresses decision cycles and elevates the importance of human judgment and accountability. For leaders, this means something fundamental has shifted. Change is no longer a phase to manage through. Leading people through continuous change is now central to the job. In our work across the C-suite and beyond, we have seen that successful reinvention is modeled, not mandated. Three core principles—curiosity, courage and connection—consistently separate leaders who deliver on AI’s promise from those who stall. Curiosity keeps leaders open to possibility when pressure narrows thinking. Courage enables them to act before certainty arrives and connection builds the trust people need to move through change.

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The leadership edge in AI: The leadership practices that turn AI ambition into enterprise value

Nine in ten CxOs are increasing their investment in AI, yet enterprise-wide impact often remains elusive.1 The gap is not AI investment. It is leadership readiness ...

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CEO brief, autumn issue,
2024—MNCs in China

Author: Samantha Zhu
Research lead: Serena Qiu
Research contributors: Shan He, Jenna Jiang, Rebecca Tan, Belén Rubio
Published: November 2024

This CEO brief draws on earnings call analysis and proprietary
survey data to guide multinational leaders navigating China’s
shifting landscape. Despite slowing growth, 86% of MNCs cite
China’s critical revenue role and 83% plan to scale digital
investment. While first-tier cities face demand contraction,
lower-tier markets show resilience. Generative AI is gaining
traction, with 48% of China-based MNCs balance near-term
returns with long-term bets, versus 66% globally. As local
competition intensifies, CEOs must boost resilience, rethink cost
structures and forge deeper local partnerships to sustain growth.
Strategic clarity, AI fluency and localization are essential.

Read full report

CEO brief, autumn issue,
2024—MNCs in China

This CEO brief draws on earnings call analysis and proprietary
survey data to guide multinational leaders navigating China’s...

more

Read Report