Cybersecurity and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into company processes and the workforce are two of the topics that most concern CEOs today, not only according to the KPMG study, but also according to the majority of CEOs present at this Monday’s meeting. Organized by Expresso, this conference was attended by Vítor Ribeirinho, CEO of KPMG Portugal; Rui Diniz, CEO of CUF; Helena Freitas, country manager at Sanofi; Pedro Leitão, CEO of Banco Montepio; Francisco Pedro Balsemão, CEO of Impresa; Julieta Rueff, CEO of FlamAid and Diogo Amorim, CEO of Gleba. These are the main conclusions.
The study
- Within the scope of the KPMG Global CEO Outlook – which has surveyed around 1,350 executive directors (CEOs) for 11 years, of which 50 are Portuguese – the consultancy’s division in Portugal decided, six years ago, to highlight and present national results.
- According to this data, presented this Monday, only 50% of CEOs are confident about the development of the world economy, the same percentage as the previous year.
- On the other hand, “there is a significant increase” in confidence in the national economy compared to 2024: “In 2025 we had confidence levels of 74%, while last year they were only 58%”, says Vitor Ribeirinho.
- Consequently, 86% of CEOs surveyed say they are confident in the growth of the company they manage over the next three years and 94% say they are available to hire during this period.
- Furthermore, they also intend to reinforce the training and requalification of their workers, mainly in the areas of technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) that are considered priorities and even concerns, namely the integration of AI in the workforce and AI ethics.
- Still, the main current challenge for Portuguese CEOs is cybersecurity, even more so than for CEOs of international companies (32% versus 23%).
Diogo Amorim, CEO of Gleba, and Julieta Rueff, CEO of FlamAid were the guests of the second panel debate where the podcast ‘Futuro do Futuro’ was recorded
Matilde Fieschi
The debate
- One of the reasons for this concern is the increase in attacks and their sophistication. Francisco Pedro Balsemão recalled the attack on Impresa on January 2, 2022, which he says was a “very complicated attack” and unprecedented. “We are all vulnerable to this. No one is immune,” he adds.
- The health sector, says Rui Diniz, “is one of the targets priorities”, but that of banking is also beginning to be the case with the increase in digital fraud, notes Pedro Leitão.
- Both say, therefore, that it is necessary to continue investing in employee training, digital literacy and continue investing in digital security means, some of which include the use of Artificial Intelligence which, according to Julieta Rueff, should not be demonized.
- AI “can process more than a thousand alarms and place them on a map. A human would take 48 hours”, he explains, remembering, however, that this does not mean that fewer people are needed in companies. “AI should serve to empower people and not replace them”, adds Pedro Leitão.
- The biggest risks of AI are others, such as the lack of regulation or ethical issues, as mentioned in the study and as Pedro Leitão refers when suggesting the creation of “a kind of watermark” in everything that is AI.
- Globally, everyone agrees that technology and AI are allies of innovation. Even to make and sell bread, as Diogo Amorim notes, referring to the possibility of scheduling delivery to the door digitally or improving the way the dough is kneaded in the factory.
- Helena Freitas says that at Sanofi they are now trying to use AI to shorten the time of clinical trials and make medicines and vaccines available faster.
- It is only regrettable that there are obstacles to this innovation, such as the barriers created by US President Donald Trump to the entry and exit of new medicines and vaccines.
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