Human capital — how best to develop, engage, manage, and retain talent — is the leading challenge faced by business leaders, according to The Conference Board’s CEO Challenge 2013 released today. The study surveyed more than 700 senior executives in London, New York, and Shanghai between September and November 2012.

Operational excellence was the second most-pressing challenge, followed by innovation and customer relationships. Significantly, leaders in Asia, Europe, and the United States all included these same four among their top-five challenges. Both the challenges named and the high level of regional convergence mark a shift from previous editions of the annual survey.