Survey: Russia, inflation, and strengthening the economy top priorities of CEOs

A new threat has emerged as a top concern of U.S. chief executives.

As the war in Ukraine continues to escalate, a   survey of CEOs and board directors found that Russia is the top policy priority they want the president and Congress to address this year. Russia concerns were closely followed by inflation and strengthening the economy in the survey, which was released by the Committee for Economic Development, the public policy center of The Conference Board.

The survey gauged more than 80 CEOs and board directors, many of whom are at companies with more than $1 billion in revenue.  More than two-thirds of the surveyed business leaders view Russia as the biggest policy priority for 2022. Roughly 67% of respondents agree with the President’s handling of the situation in Ukraine.

Closely related to the primacy of Russia on the list of concerns and the disruptions it is causing in the global and domestic economy, more than 80% of surveyed business leaders agree the Federal Reserve needs to move faster on inflation.

On the pandemic front, the vast majority of respondents — more than 90% — believe the nation is ready to treat COVID-19 as an endemic virus. The results also reveal mixed feelings from corporate America about the success of vaccination and testing mandates for companies with more than 100 employees: Thirty-eight percent said the mandates did not help nor hurt vaccination rates in the workplace, and only 7% said the vaccination mandates helped a great deal.

“Despite the multitude of compounding crises, our data show CEOs and directors are unified in several key areas—notably, the urgency of the war in Ukraine and the need for U.S. leadership, and support for faster action on behalf of the Federal Reserve to address inflation,” said Dr. Lori Esposito Murray, president of CED. “The President and Congress must take swift action to capitalize on this support to address these urgent concerns.”

Key findings from the survey include:

FOREIGN POLICY: More than two-thirds of respondents see Russia as the top priority for the President and Congress to address in 2022. 

• Business leaders view Russia, inflation, and strengthening the economy as the biggest priorities for the President and Congress to address in the coming year.
• Of the policy priorities that should not be a major focus in 2022, respondents ranked a child tax credit and the trade deficit the lowest.
  • How much of a priority should each of the following be for the President and Congress to address this year?
    • Russia: 65%
    • Inflation: 64%
    • Strengthening the economy: 61%
    • China: 52%
    • Labor shortages: 42%

INFLATION: The majority of respondents believe the Federal Reserve needs to move faster to contain inflation.

• Roughly 84% of surveyed business leaders agree the Federal Reserve needs to move faster on inflation.
• Only 5% feel the Fed needs to slow down its approach.

THE PANDEMIC: The majority of surveyed business leaders are ready to treat the COVID-19 pandemic as an endemic virus.

• Over 90% of respondents agree that the nation is ready to treat COVID-19 as an endemic virus.
• Only 2% of surveyed business leaders disagree that the country is ready to handle such a shift.

VACCINE MANDATES: Business leaders expressed varying degrees of support for the President’s handling of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

• Only 7% of survey respondents believe that federal vaccine mandates for companies of 100 or more employees helped a great deal.
• Most of the business leaders who were surveyed felt that the mandates neither helped nor hurt the vaccination rates in their workplace.