Kearney: From Resilience to Outperformance – The CEO Playbook

In an environment where the global economy is being reshaped by geopolitical tensions, technological disruption, cost pressures, supply chain volatility and increasingly constrained labor markets, resilience is no longer simply about endurance. For leading companies, it is becoming a matter of speed, focus and the ability to make better decisions under pressure.

The keynote presentation was delivered by Marko Derča, Managing Partner and CEE Digital Transformation Lead at Kearney, who presented a CEO-level perspective on From Resilience to Outperformance – The CEO Playbook. Special attention was given to the Croatian and regional context, where companies are simultaneously facing rising labor costs, labor shortages and productivity growth that is not keeping pace with business needs.

A key message of the evening was that the most successful organizations do not build resilience only by protecting existing margins. They build it by creating new sources of growth, freeing up capital for investment, developing critical capabilities and increasing agility in decision-making. Kearney highlighted four areas that most strongly shape companies’ ability to withstand disruption and emerge stronger: unlocking customer value, developing talent and capabilities, building lean operations, and strengthening procurement and supply chain resilience.

The discussion that followed brought together CEOs and Management Board members of AmCham Patron companies in an open exchange on where competitive advantage is truly being created today - in technology, productivity, organizational capabilities, data quality, speed of execution, or the ability to recognize market shifts early enough to act.

The evening confirmed the value of creating spaces where business leaders can step away from day-to-day operations and discuss the decisions that will shape the next phase of growth. At a time when resilience can no longer be seen merely as a response to crisis, AmCham Croatia will continue to convene leading business voices around topics that connect competitiveness, investment and the ability of companies to act faster, smarter and with a longer-term perspective.