Irish companies are targeting adjacencies where they hold clear competitive advantages: life sciences, power and utilities, engineering and construction, financial services, hospitality, and health services. These choices align with Ireland’s established ecosystem strengths, from regulated sectors to talent clusters, and indicate that Irish CEOs are focusing expansion where capabilities can scale rather than pursuing wide‑ranging disruption.
Disciplined M&A reflects moderated confidence and a need for operational readiness
Despite entering new sectors at pace, Irish CEOs remain cautious about large deals. Forty‑four per cent expect to make no major acquisitions worth more than 10% of company assets over the next three years, mirroring global sentiment. Only 4% anticipate three or more large deals, compared with 8% globally.
This discipline aligns with a broader pattern: revenue confidence has moderated. Just 26% of Irish CEOs are very or extremely confident about near‑term revenue growth, down from 43% in last year’s survey. Leaders want to reconfigure their businesses but they want to do it with stable foundations beneath them, especially as economic and geopolitical uncertainty remain front of mind.
AI is the red thread shaping Ireland’s reinvention agenda
The defining difference between Ireland and the global picture lies in the maturity of AI adoption. Irish CEOs are more concerned than global peers about whether they are transforming fast enough to keep up with technology and AI. Yet despite this urgency, many organisations have not yet unlocked meaningful financial returns.
Only 17% of Irish CEOs report increased revenue from AI in the past year, compared to 29% globally. Just 23% report cost reductions (versus 25% globally). And fewer Irish organisations report having the enablers needed for scaled AI adoption such as integrated data architectures, interoperable systems, Responsible AI processes, or the talent required to operationalise AI at pace.
Without these foundations, cross‑sector moves risk becoming incremental rather than transformative. The companies pulling ahead, globally and in Ireland, are those that treat AI not as an experiment but as the backbone of reinvention: modernising core systems, embedding Responsible AI, and targeting enterprise‑scale use cases in revenue generation and operational efficiency.
Turning cross‑sector ambition into lasting advantage
Industry boundaries continue to shift, and Irish CEOs see clear opportunities beyond their traditional markets. But the value of cross‑sector expansion will ultimately depend on whether organisations can build the AI‑enabled operating models required to scale.
Reinvention, anchored in the right AI capabilities, is now the essential condition for turning new partnerships, market entries, and capability investments into sustained competitive advantage.
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