CEO INSIGHTS – Week Ending 14 August 2026

Snack Food

"We still have a long runway of more consumers consuming more every day." Dirk Van de Put, CEO, Mondelez International Inc.

Consumer Staples

"Consumers are clearly under increased pressure." Mike Hsu, CEO, Kimberly-Clark Corp.

Housing Market

"It's not a seller's market. It's not a buyer's market. It is, if anything, a neutral market…I don't believe there are opportunities for bargains." Adrian Knowles, CEO, Harcourts

"Every boom feels like it's never going to end, and every downturn feels like it's never going to end. And of course, 12 months later, they're over, and we're back to business." John McGrath, Managing Director, McGrath Estate Agents

GLP-1 & Sleep Apnoea

“The pills are another way to get more people into the funnel…However they get the GLP-1s to market is a tailwind for ResMed, so I want them to keep coming." Mick Farrell, CEO, ResMed Inc.

Technology & Enterprise Software

"There's never been a more exciting time to work in the technology industry in Australia." Mike Cannon-Brookes, CEO, Atlassian Inc.

"We moved from building software that helps people manage work to building software that does the work - with people and AI agents operating together in a single unified workspace." Roy Mann, Co-CEO, monday.com Ltd.

Car Brands

"There are over 100 brands sitting in China, and they're finding their way into this market very quickly. Not all those brands will survive in this market - I guarantee it." Graeme Whickman, CEO, Amotiv Ltd

"A German electric engine is five to 10 times more expensive than a Chinese one." Marc Wietfeld, co-founder & CEO, Arx Robotics

Advertising Market

"The advertising market is still short and volatile, and sentiment amongst consumers and advertisers is mixed." Rohan Lund, CEO, Southern Cross Media Ltd

Infrastructure

"Where activity is now is actually really robust…the infrastructure construction outlook is still very good.” Ryan Stokes, CEO, SGH Ltd

Insurance Rates

"Insurance inflation is different to CPI, and it's running at a different clip. So our estimation of insurance inflation is around 6% or maybe slightly higher relative to CPI just above 3%." Steve Johnston, CEO, Suncorp Group Ltd

Banking & Consumers

"At a macro level, household disposable incomes are under increasing pressure, and we have seen a softening in housing credit applications...geopolitical developments remain a source of risk to the global and domestic economies." Alan Docherty, CFO, Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Capital Markets

"We expect traditional markets and digital [tokenised securities] markets to run alongside one another for a considerable period, likely many, many years to come." Stuart Irving, CEO, Computershare Ltd

Job Listings

"We are looking closely for the impact of AI on hiring volumes. And to the extent we are seeing impacts on our site, it is at the edges. We see slightly reduced advertising for job roles that are more likely to be impacted by AI automation, but these are a small proportion of ads on the SEEK site." Kendra Banks, CFO, SEEK Ltd

Sports & Society

"What we call the movement class is a societal shift that brings a lot more consumers to sports, because it's not just about utility, but it's about identity." David Allemann, CEO, On Holding AG

Grid Connectivity

"Whilst the first phase of the energy transition was about building renewable generation, the second phase is about integrating it, which means ensuring that every kilowatt hour produced can actually be used." Leonhard Birnbaum, CEO, E.ON SE [Germany's largest electricity grid and energy operator]

Industrial Property

"The Australian industrial vacancy rate remains anchored at a relatively low level below 4%, and supply is becoming increasingly constrained." Grant Nichols, Fund Manager, Centuria Industrial REIT