Vistage Survey Highlights Presidential Pick- Business Leaders Favor Giuliani Among Front-runners
San Diego (Oct. 3, 2007) – Chief executives of small to mid-sized businesses, who are members of Vistage International, believe former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, is the best contender to be the next president of the United States, according to responses in the recent Vistage CEO Confidence Index. Earning 21.6 percent of the 2,052 CEO “votes” tallied, Giuliani is the most popular choice among front-runners in the national survey.
The Vistage CEO Confidence Index is a quarterly measure of economic conditions among small to mid-sized businesses, and it includes other topical questions. In this case, the survey included the question: “Who do you favor for the U.S. presidential candidate?” Among the six choices given, the results are as follows:
Rudy Giuliani 22% Hillary Clinton 9% John McCain 5%
Mitt Romney 11% Barack Obama 7% John Edwards 2%
A total of 37 percent of respondents were undecided. The Vistage survey also left the option for a write-in vote and among the 7 percent remaining, responses included Fred Thompson, Ron Paul, Bill Richardson, Al Gore and a handful of others.
“Vistage is a non-political, non-advocacy organization, but occasionally we ask these types of voter preference questions,” says Rafael Pastor, Vistage chairman of the board and CEO. “And because the small to mid-sized business sector creates 75 percent of all new jobs and generates 50 percent of all national revenue, it’s especially interesting to see the inclination of these chief executives at this stage of the campaign cycle.”
about the Vistage Confidence Index
The Q3 2007 Vistage CEO Confidence Index is a compilation of responses from 2,103 CEOs of small- to mid-sized companies, surveyed August 16-24, 2007, with a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index is the only comprehensive report of their opinions and projections.
about Vistage International
Vistage International and its affiliates have 14,000 members in 16 countries. Vistage members generate nearly $300 billion in annual revenue and have more than 2.1 million employees around the world. Vistage is dedicated to increasing the effectiveness and enhancing the lives of chief executives. Member companies are better run and grow their revenues, on average, at twice the percentage growth rate after joining Vistage.
Vistage International includes operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, China, Mexico, Argentina and the Netherlands. Vistage affiliates include TEC, The Executive Committee and The Executive Connection in the following areas: Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa.
media contact:
Lois Bennett
Vistage International