The art of writing the perfect CEO message

The CEO statement is an important part of a company's financial reporting and often the first section that readers turn to in an annual report. It is the best opportunity for the CEO to communicate directly with shareholders and stakeholders to provide their view of the business and context for the financial reporting. The CEO's statement is also one of the most widely read sections, as it often contains new information in the form of thoughts on the financial statements. This article guides you through the most important aspects of creating a good CEO statement, with several real-life examples.

Purpose

There are several reasons why you should write a good CEO statement. Depending on the context and target audience, the purpose may vary, but the objectives could include:

• Providing a strategic overview
• Giving greater legitimacy to the company and its operations
• Building trust among stakeholders
• Inspiring and motivating employees
• Positioning the company in the market
• To manage crises and change
• To attract investors and partners
• To directly address employees, shareholders or the board

The CEO's message thus serves as guidance for both internal and external target groups and can inspire, inform and strengthen the company's position.

The introduction

The CEO's statement is a very common feature of annual reports – almost all large, listed companies include this section in their annual reports. Generally, it is around two-three pages long, with some variation. It is common to start strongly with an introduction that point out the highlights and most important events of the past year in order to capture the reader's attention. This could be relevant statistics, an interesting event or an anecdote. In the Volvo Group's annual report for 2022, Martin Lundstedt's CEO statement begins with a quote: ‘Strong performance and...’ and continues on the last page of the CEO statement with ‘...accelerated transformation’. This is an example of how you can easily combine several pages and a lot of information to convey a coherent message.

Another way to start could be to summarise the organisation's purpose and goals, as this links a statement to the bigger picture and reminds stakeholders of the company's mission. In his CEO statement for 2023, SCA's CEO Ulf Larsson links the business to the year's results early on to highlight the connection between forests and climate benefits. This is a way of relating the company's results to its overall strategy and showing how the results tie in with the company's roadmap. One lesson is to make the introduction feel genuine, with a connection to reality and a strong link to the company's operations. Avoid getting bogged down in details and focus instead on what is relevant.

The prize for one of the most unique and creative introductions goes to Creades CEO John Hedberg, who in 2023 starts with a relatively long ABBA anecdote. The anecdote recounts ABBA's history, with its ups and downs, and explains how Creades, like ABBA, has had its fair share of both good times and bad during the year. This is a good example of showing that the company is strong in both good times and bad, and that it is comfortable leading the company even when the market or the economy is against it. The fact that ABBA is used to illustrate this also makes the introduction very relatable for many readers. However, it should be noted that this introduction could easily be misinterpreted, as some readers and shareholders may be disappointed with the company's performance and find it difficult to see the connection between an investment company and a music group in the way intended.

Themes and content

A CEO statement should not contain too many different themes; it is often sufficient to have one main message and to address issues that are of interest to different stakeholder groups. It can be a good idea to create subheadings for each new theme that is addressed, in order to clarify what the text is about and to make it easier to navigate. Common themes that are usually addressed include overall results, strategic initiatives, sustainability, market trends and future prospects. The results usually highlight key figures from the financial statements, but may also mention successful projects and operational progress that have contributed during the year. Fabege CEO Stefan Dahlbo presents the 2024 results in a clear and strategically balanced manner. He acknowledges difficulties with optimism, is transparent about negative results and responds to them with measures and new targets. At the same time, he also highlights positive results and concrete improvements, despite the tough times, which helps to create confidence in the future. Stefan Dahlbo rounds off his CEO statement in a personal manner by praising the corporate culture and highlighting the importance of the employees.

Strategic initiatives may involve innovations, sustainability initiatives or digitalisation. In his CEO statement for 2023, NCC's CEO Tomas Carlsson presents a new business area, NCC Green Industry Transformation, to address climate challenges and the industrial transition. This is a way of combining vision with concrete examples that show that the company is proactively driving development.

Volvo Group CEO Martin Lundstedt discussed the company's transition to electrified vehicles and sustainable transport solutions in the 2023 annual report. He presented initiatives such as the development of electric trucks and partnerships to build a charging infrastructure. He emphasises that these investments are crucial to meeting future customer needs and contributing to sustainable social development. This is a good way to link strategy to social development, and strategic initiatives are illustrated in a clear and credible manner.

Market trends can provide a picture of how external factors affect the business. Hemnets former CEO Cecilia Beck-Friis emphasises how the company's business model demonstrated strength and resilience during challenging market conditions in 2023. High inflation and rapidly rising interest rates led to uncertainty among both sellers and buyers, which was a challenge for the Swedish housing market. Despite a 12 per cent decline in the number of property listings, Hemnets' net sales increased by 13 per cent and EBITDA by 17 per cent. Another example is Tele2's former CEO Kjell Johnsen, who reflects on the company's 30th anniversary and the significant investments made in 2023 to lay the foundation for future success. He mentions the extensive IT modernisation that was intensified during the year and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024. In addition, the expansion of the 5G network and the phase-out of older 2G/3G networks are discussed, which is expected to result in a modern, high-quality and highly efficient network.

The outlook for the future is often an important part of the CEO's statement, where the CEO and, by extension, the management share their vision and expectations for the coming years. By balancing a realistic view of challenges with a positive outlook for the future, the CEO's statement can help to create commitment and trust among both employees and external stakeholders. In B3's CEO statement for 2024, Martin Stenström describes the extensive investment in generative AI, with over 100,000 hours of skills development, and shows that the company sees this as a long-term competitive advantage, both for internal processes and for customer solutions. Martin Stenström also highlights strategic acquisitions as a step towards international expansion and increased capacity. This demonstrates a forward-looking ambition beyond the Swedish market. In Boliden's CEO statement for 2024, CEO Mikael Staffas also looks ahead with optimism and confidence in the company's ability to continue to provide the metals needed to build and improve society for future generations. The focus for 2025 is continued development of the Odda smelter and new initiatives for fossil-free underground mining, with Mikael Staffas emphasising that each business unit is given considerable trust to create its own future based on its own circumstances.

In summary, the content is both retrospective and forward-looking, which is best presented through an analysis of past results and an assessment of the future. A couple of tips are to discuss important events, their significance and the risks and opportunities associated with them. You can then share your insights based on your unique perspective on the business, and remember that the CEO's statement should not be a pure forecast but rather provide a broader perspective on the business and influencing factors, even if the focus should be on the future based on the past year.

Design and format

In addition to well-written text and good content, design and layout can help highlight the message in a CEO statement. A well-thought-out design can create engagement and trust in the CEO and highlight the company's identity. Instead of having a long continuous text, the CEO statement can be divided into clear sections with subheadings. This makes the text much easier to read and gives it a more airy feel.

In addition to the introduction and subheadings, there are also a number of visual elements that can further enhance a CEO message. A recurring theme is to highlight quotes, fact boxes and highlights as excerpts alongside the text to create an entry point to the material. This could be a powerful and emotional quote, a short list of the CEO's most important priorities, or sometimes a box with ‘The year in figures’ or ‘Most important investments’. This makes it easier for the reader to quickly grasp the key points, even when skimming through the text. Axfood does this very well in its CEO message for 2024, where it highlights a box with ‘Key events in 2024’ and includes a quote as an excerpt alongside the text. Another example worth mentioning is Investor, which in its CEO statement for 2023 has included a table entitled ‘2023 in numbers’ at the end of the section, providing an overview of the highlights from the financial statements.

Another important aspect to consider is the image. You should have a professional portrait, preferably with good eye contact and perhaps a background that signals the company's activities or values. Some good examples of this from 2024 are Fortnox, Atlas Copco and Epiroc, all of which have high-quality portraits of their CEOs. To further create a modern impression, a balance is needed between image, text, white space and structure – in short, visual harmony. A shortcut to this is bold headings, body text in an easy-to-read size and colour contrasts that help the reader understand the structure and hierarchy. All of this should, of course, also interact with the portrait. Some companies that do this well in 2024 are Balco Group and Bilia.

A trend that is becoming increasingly common is the interview format, where questions and statements are used to write answers from the CEO. This contributes to a more lively format and a section that inspires confidence. SEB and Boliden are two examples from 2023 that have embraced this. Giving the chair a voice can also contribute a board perspective – more long-term, comprehensive and often more focused on ownership issues, corporate governance and sustainability. SAAB is an example of this with its ‘Chair's comments’ for 2024. It has also become more common for CFOs to speak, enabling a more in-depth discussion of the financial targets and the company's financial position, of which Bulten is a good example. The CEO's statement is often more strategic and narrative, so a CFO statement allows the company to supplement this with a clearer financial analysis.

Tone

Finally, honesty is important and you should always strive to be objective, i.e. to mention both positive and negative results. Don't avoid discussing the challenges that exist; it's better to acknowledge problems early on and in a transparent manner. This may not always be popular with investors and shareholders, but it builds trust. Simply address the issues that keep you awake at night and demonstrate awareness of all aspects of the business, not just the successes or the financial statements. Even if you follow these fairly strict guidelines, you can still add a personal touch through storytelling or humility. One company that really has an original tone is Teqnion's CEO Johan Steene. Without giving too much away, his CEO message begins with ‘Hi Teqnians!’ and ends with ‘Run fast, be nice!’.

Furthermore, the CEO should own the content itself, which is why it is important that the text reflects the CEO's own thoughts and perspectives. It is beneficial for the CEO to be involved in the writing process, not just approve a finished draft. It should sound as if they are speaking directly to the reader, and this is best achieved on their own. The CEO's message can also be used to showcase some of the CEO's personality, as this is one of the few texts in the annual report that has a personal touch, and also one of the few occasions where the CEO speaks directly to all shareholders. In summary, make sure there is enough time to write, think, refine and polish the CEO's message so that it is both well-written and personal. It can be a good idea to seek external help to refine the message without losing the personal touch. If there is too much editing and too many cooks, the text will quickly lose its authenticity. It is precisely personal touches such as tone, honesty and presence that distinguish a strong CEO message from a weak one.

Creating the perfect CEO statement is about much more than summarising a year's results. It is a strategic communication tool that gives the CEO an opportunity to look ahead, put results into context, convey vision and inspire future success. By balancing facts with a personal touch, structuring the content into clear themes, using visual aids and ensuring digital accessibility, the CEO's statement can become a powerful part of the annual report and a section that is not only read, but really makes an impression. And in an age where trust is hard currency, a well-thought-out and authentic CEO statement is one of the most valuable elements of a company report.