Asia & ANZ - DEC2023

ASIA & ANZ

December 2023 | businesschief.asia

EXECUTIVE. INTERVIEWS.

CEOs New Zealand Bridging the gap in sustainable finance Executive Education Leaders must keep learning or get left behind

Micah Shepard Schaeffler Asia Andrea Guerzoni EY Global Subathirai Sivakumaran United Nations ESCAP

Why pre-owned luxury watches are a smart investment

EXCLUSIVE

Grey Group Global COO Nirvik Singh on how AI will enhance, never replace, creativity in marketing

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The Business Chief Team EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SCOTT BIRCH

EDITORS TOM CHAPMAN KATE BIRCH CHEIF DESIGN OFFICER

MATT JOHNSON

HEAD OF DESIGN

ANDY WOOLLACOTT LEAD DESIGNER

EMMA WALLER

SENIOR DESIGNERS

SAM HUBBARD REBEKAH BIRLESON

FEATURE DESIGNERS

EMMA WALLER JULIA WAINWRIGHT VICTORIA CASEY ADVERT DESIGNERS

DANILO CARDOSO CALLUM HOOD ADRIAN SERBAN

VIDEO PRODUCTION MANAGER

KIERAN WAITE DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS

ERNEST DE NEVE THOMAS EASTERFORD DREW HARDMAN SALLY MOUSTAFA

PRODUCTION DIRECTORS

GEORGIA ALLEN DANIELA KIANICKOVÁ PRODUCTION MANAGERS

JANE ARNETA MARIA GONZALEZ YEVHENIIA SUBBOTINA KENDRA LAU PROJECT DIRECTORS

RYAN HALL TOM VENTURO STUART IRVING

MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR

JAMES WHITE JASON WESTGATE

MANAGING DIRECTOR

LEWIS VAUGHAN CEO

GLEN WHITE

FOREWORD

A NEW HOPE The future is there for the making

As 2023 draws to a close, we inevitably hope for a brighter new year.

The pace of change in recent years has been dizzying. So while it is hard to imagine what 2024 may hold, how can we even begin to look further into the future?

A century ago, journalists were doing just that – speculating about the world we may inhabit.

Those predictions, in hindsight, were not all bad.

One anticipated a day when “watch-size radio telephones will keep everybody in communication with the ends of the earth", while another hailed the four-hour working day. They also thought we would live to the ripe old age of 300.

It is essential that we, as a race, continue this fascination with the future. From climate change to machines taking over the world, fears abound – but nothing is written.

The future is there for the making.

SCOTT BIRCH BUSINESS CHIEF MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY

Chief Content Officer, BizClik scott.birch@bizclikmedia.com

© 2023 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

businesschief.asia

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CONTENTS UPFRONT

10 BIG PICTURE HSBC tilts ever more toward Asia

10

4

12 LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT

Tadashi Yanai The Japanese retail executive who bet big on no-frills fashion

22 THE BUSINESS CHIEF INTERVIEW Micah Shepard Delivering on diversity

30 PEOPLE MOVES

L’Oreal, J.P. Morgan, Keppel, Nexon among the companies making new C-suite appointments in Asia

12

7

22

32 MONTH IN REVIEW

here’s our pick of stories from November

34 TOP 10

best-performing CEOs in New Zealand 6 December 2023

34

DECEMBER 2023

48

58

74

FEATURES 48 COVER INTERVIEW Beyond Grey - Adding colour to campaigns

58 ETIX EVERYWHERE Edge data centres in Europe – and now Asia

74 LEADERSHIP

84

Executive education learns to change with the times

84 DPV HEALTH

Driving and delivering digital transformation at DPV Health

100

100 ESG

Asia Pacific needs to wake up to sustainable finance businesschief.asia

7

In Association with:

THE TOP 100

LEADERS OUT NOW

Championing leaders from global organisations, celebrate those who elevate the industry day in, day out.

Read now

CONTENTS DECEMBER 2023

108

116

122

FEATURES 108 TECHNOLOGY

Why the M&A route to Gen AI could be the best solution

116 PEOPLE & PLANET How 1% For The Planet makes 100% business sense

122 PEOPLE & PLANET The value of hiring people who think differently

130

130 LIFESTYLE

Why now is the time to invest in pre-owned luxury watches businesschief.asia

9

BIG PICTURE

HSBC tilts ever more toward Asia Hong Kong

British bank HSBC continues to sharpen its focus on Asian expansion. While the Londonheadquartered bank has so far held off pressure by top shareholder Ping to separate out the Asian business, which generates a whopping 78% of the group profit, its tilt towards Asia continues apace.

In a deal slated to close in the first half of 2024, HSBC will acquire Citi’s China consumer wealth portfolio, made up of US$3.6 billion in client assets and deposits, plus associated wealth customers across 11 mainland cities. It’s an investment that will “allow us to further build out our core wealth business” in China, says Hong Kong-based Nuno Matos, CEO of the bank’s wealth and personal banking division.

HSBC was born in British Hong Kong in 1865 and has been supporting customers in Asia for over 150 years. As the clear leader in Hong Kong and the leading international lender in China across wealth and asset management, banking and insurance, HSBC was voted Asia’s Best Bank 2023

by Euromoney.

10 December 2023

HSBC stands tall in Hong Kong's Central district businesschief.asia

11

LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT

Tadashi Yanai

The Japanese retail executive who bet big on no-frills fashion

As Japan’s richest person, Uniqlo and Fast Retailing CEO Tadashi Yanai has built his fortune on an in-demand formula of functional fashion and a digital-first strategy

A

ge 74, Tadashi Yanai is more ambitious than ever.

As founder and president of Fast Retailing, the Japanese billionaire wants his company to become the world’s largest retailer.

Tadashi built and runs the Tokyo-listed US$73.05 billion retail clothing empire, most famously known for its signature brand Uniqlo, along with six other brands Theory, Helmut Lang, J Brand and GU. 12 December 2023

WRITTEN BY: KATE BIRCH “For us at Fast Retailing, 2023 is the year for proactively implementing strategies to become the world's best global brand,” Tadashi said in a statement in May. Having already passed Gap in fashion retail rankings, the goal now is to take on competitors Zara and H&M. This means tripling revenue to ¥10 trillion (US$67 billion) over the next decade – an ambition entirely feasible given Uniqlo’s continued global growth, and the emergence of the Asian era.

LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT

LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT

For us at Fast Retailing, 2023 is the year for proactively implementing strategies to become the world's best global brand Having set itself apart from its fastfashion competitors, with an in-demand formula of high-quality basics and no-frills affordability, Uniqlo has grown over four decades to become one of the world’s largest fashion brands.

And as consumers put ever greater emphasis on value over luxury, slow fashion over fast, the brand is expected to rise further, and quickly.

Now operating 2,200 stores across 22 countries, including 930 outlets in China (more than in Japan) and 70 in the US and Europe, Fast Retailing plans to open 80 new stores each year in Greater China, 20 in North America, and 10 in Europe.

This comes on the back of the company’s delivery of record annual results with net profits of US$1.98 billion in the 12 months through August, an 8.4% rise on the previous all-time high, a year earlier – with annual profits for the year ahead forecast at 18% growth.

At a press conference in Tokyo last month, Tadashi said the company 14 December 2023

is on track to meet its goal of achieving 3 trillion yen (US$20bn) in fiscal 2024, 5 trillion yen (US$33bn) in revenue in the year ending in August 2028, and 10 trillion yen in the long term.

“If we can extend that pace of growth and at least triple sales over the next decade, we will be able to achieve our 10 trillion-yen target,” Tadashi said. “We will continue to set high goals and ideals as we have always done, and then to think of how to achieve those targets and set about implementing the appropriate action.”

The company’s ambitious push for global growth may well explain its most recent leadership reshuffle, which saw 74-year-old Tadashi take the CEO role at Uniqlo and former International CEO and head of North America, Daisuke Tsukagoshi, become COO. While such a reshuffle hints at future succession planning, Tadashi – who is Japan’s richest person with an estimated US$34.3 billion – shows no signs of slowing down as he takes on dual roles, Uniqlo CEO and President of Fast Retailing.

Shanghai West Nanjing Road Store

FAST RETAILING BY NUMBERS

US$17 BILLION Revenue for the fiscal year ending August 2022

“I believe that the founder of a company never truly retires, and my passion for business remains as strong as ever,” he said in a statement in March 2020.

Tadashi’s work ethic is not unusual in Japanese society, where the employment rate among Japanese seniors is the second highest in the world – though his continued commitment to the business despite age and wealth is no doubt cultivated by his own upbringing.

US$67 BILLION Annual revenue goal by 2030

57,600 Number of employees

2,200

Number of Uniqlo stores in 22 countries

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I wanted to create stores where people could shop for clothes much like they shopped for books or records Where it all started Growing up in a sleepy industrial town in southwestern Japan close to Hiroshima, Tadashi lived above his parents’ small menswear clothing store, where he would help his tailor father run the store.

After moving away to study political science, Tadashi returned in 1972 to take on the family store.

Over the next decade, he took frequent overseas buying trips to the US and Europe – and inspired by brands such as Espirit, Benetton, Gap and Next, Tadashi spotted a gap in the Japanese retail market for a casualwear concept.

“I wanted to create stores where people could shop for clothes much like they shopped for books or records,” he said in a recent interview.

Setting up his first Uniqlo store (then called Unique Clothing Warehouse) in 1984, within seven short years, Tadashi had expanded to 29 stores, changed the store name to Uniqlo and the company name to 16 December 2023

LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT

(Top): Harajuku store Japan (Above): The first Uniqlo store 1984

U NI FO RM UNI Q LO

When it comes to everyday style, Tadashi, like Jobs and Zuckerberg, has a go-to formula.

While former Apple leader Steve Jobs famously wore the same black turtleneck, blue jeans and New Balance sneakers every day, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is rarely seen in anything but a dark grey tee and dark-wash jeans, Tadashi dons just two outfits in regular rotation. A true brand ambassador, He wears either a US$15 navy-blue Merino-wool jumper (pictured) or a +J blue suit from Uniqlo’s collaboration with designer Jil Sander.

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LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT

UK flagship store 311 Oxford Street

Fast Retailing, and forged business plans to expand by 30 more stores each year.

“That’s when I went from being a merchant to becoming an entrepreneur,” he says.

FA S T F A C T S • Tadashi declared English as the company language at Fast Retailing • Tadashi is an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire

18 December 2023

The next decade saw Fast Retailing go public, with a listing on the Hiroshima Stock Exchange, open its first Uniqlo outlet in Toyko, and expand to more than 500 Uniqlo stores and 1,500 employees.

But it is onlyin the last 20 years that the company has truly reached global retail heights – with a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, strategic acquisitions of high-end fashion brands Theory and Helmut Lang, the international rollout of Uniqlo, and a digital-first strategy.

Since 2016, when Tadashi declared Uniqlo a “digital consumer retail company”, Fast Retailing has prioritised investment

Asakusa large format store japan

UNIQLO TOKYO global flagship store

in e-commerce over physical retail and in tech innovation. Uniqlo apparel vending machines arrived in 2017 and the following year, the company, unveiled an AI-powered assistant – providing customers with product recommendations and voiceenabled customer service.

As well as sales tripling roughly every 10 years, Uniqlo has vastly expanded its global network, to 2,200 stores in 22 countries, and thanks largely to Tadashi’s digital ambitions –emerged from the pandemic relatively unscathed, with e-commerce sales in Japan surging 48% for the quarter ending November 30, 2020.

Profits with purpose Beyond sales, Tadashi has continued to stay true to the values he instilled from day one, providing hands-on leadership, empowering employees, and doing good in the world, for the planet and people.

This powerful mix of profit and purpose has landed him numerous accolades, with inclusion in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world (2013) and Forbes’ 100 greatest entrepreneurial minds (2017).

A vocal advocate of the slow fashion movement, with his durable, timeless designs, Tadashi has been singing from the sustainable song sheet for four decades. Fast Retailing businesschief.asia

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LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT

L I F E B E Y OND BU SINE SS Among Tadashi’s many passions, art and golf, technology and family feature heavily. He plays golf often, even acquiring the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links in California, and owns a vast collection of contemporary art, including by Jean-Michel Basquiat. He has also invested in various technology companies and startups. He is married and has two grown-up sons, both successful businessmen.

20 December 2023

China- Beijing Sanlitun store

launched its all-product recycling initiative in 2006, established its environmental policy the following year, and has since developed technology to reduce the amount of water used in the jeans finishing process by up to 99%.

Passionate about giving back to society, Tadashi ensures a portion of profits from the business is used to help support people living in difficult circumstances, and Uniqlo works with the UNHC for Refugees, donating millions of pieces of clothing to refugees globally.

On a personal level too, Tadashi and his family donate millions to various causes and via the Yanai Tadashi Foundation, support aspiring students in acquiring advanced knowledge on a global platform.

Keen to create a truly global team and ensure equity, Tadashi announced in January plans to hike salaries of his staff and managers in Japan by upward of 40% to match the levels of its overseas operations.

“I have said that we intend to send at least one-third of our employees overseas and bring one-third or half of the staff from overseas in order to create a genuine global headquarters,” Tadashi said during an earnings presentation in April.

His commitment to equity and fairness hasn’t always been well-received, however.

Last year, he was criticised for continuing to operate in Russia even as international pressure to isolate the country for its invasion of Ukraine saw waves of companies pull out.

Though strongly against the war, Tadashi believes clothing is a necessity of life, an email published by Nikkei asserts.

“The people of Russia have the same right to live as we do,” he said. businesschief.asia

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THE BUSINESS CHIEF INTERVIEW

MICAH SHEPAR DELIVERING ON DIVERSITY

As CEO of Schaeffler Southeast Asia-Pacific, Micah Shepard champions diversity and human capital for better, more sustainable, business outcomes WRITTEN BY: KATE BIRCH

RD

THE BUSINESS CHIEF INTERVIEW

iversity is often a word that, in the business context, carries a hollow promise.

Many organisations are keen to promote their diversity yet only seem to pay lip-service.

That charge cannot be levelled at Schaeffler – the leading German mobility company with an annual revenue of nearly US$17 billion. The Schaeffler culture recognises and values diversity, and has it embedded in the company code – not because it looks good to the outside world but because it knows that different perspectives lead to better solutions and new ideas.

Micah Shepard is Regional CEO of Schaeffler Southeast Asia-Pacific and he celebrates the diversity in his 2,000-strong team across more than 10 countries in Southeast Asia.

“I 100% believe that having diverse teams makes the company stronger,” says Shepard.

“In the two management teams I manage, there are more than 12 nationalities.

Most have lived in at least one other country, they come from many different education and religious backgrounds.”

Shepard describes a typical leadership meeting, where open discussion is encouraged to promote diversity of thought.

The leadership team went through a self-assessment process to better understand each other's personality traits – thereby improving communication and interaction.

For example, people who are 'blue' colour focus more on data and analytics, a ‘red’ person wants to drive activity, ‘green’ wants to find harmony, and ‘yellow’ wants to keep people active.

“We need all colour personality types to form a winning team, and you can see this from our results,” says Shepard. “I have an excellent management team, and we believe in the philosophy 'don't be afraid to fail, and never give up’.”

Since Shepard took the reins six years ago, those results have been impressive – especially when set against the backdrop of the pandemic. Sales have increased 2X,

IN THE TWO MANAGEMENT TEAMS I LEAD, THERE ARE MORE THAN 12 NATIONALITIES. MOST HAVE LIVED IN AT LEAST ONE OTHER COUNTRY… 24 December 2023

SHEPARD ON LEADERSHIP Leaders must walk their talk – a leader must be consistent.

People want to trust a leader that they believe has integrity. Leadership is not just about telling people what to do.

A good leader must lead by example and practice what they preach; this demonstrates integrity and builds trust and respect.

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THE BUSINESS CHIEF INTERVIEW

I BELIEVE THERE IS NO ONE WAY TO BECOME A CEO making the business profitable. The company has been recognised as a Certified Great Place To Work in six locations. Plus, two new factories have been built and, Schaeffler recently acquired Indian B2B e-commerce platform Koovers.

In that time, the automotive industry has also undergone a transformation.

Schaeffler increasingly finds itself producing powertrains for electric vehicles, exploring hydrogen technology, leveraging Industry 4.0, and developing the digital marketplace.

Sustainability is clearly central to the business, including a pledge to reach net zero by 2040. Many projects are underway to procure clean energy, develop green products and to use green materials.

26 December 2023

“We also supply products in our industrial space for wind applications and hydrogen stacks,” says Shepard. “Once a year, we have a Green Makes A Difference day where we stop all operations and discuss ideas to improve our environment.”

Of course, there are challenges, and any CEO worth their salt has to overcome those to succeed. Shepard describes his own path to the top job as non-linear, working his way up through the ranks – a route that he believes makes him better equipped to understand and deal with these challenges.

“I believe there is no one way to become a CEO, as it depends on experience, your network, and sometimes being in the right place at the right time,” he says.

US$17 BILLION

Annual revenue of industryleading German mobility company Schaeffler Group

20%

Micah’s global leadership has resulted in 20% CAGR growth

12

Nationalities among the 2,000-strong workforce Micah leads across Asia

84,000

Global employees, making Schaeffler Group one of the world’s largest family-owned companies

“I always dreamed of becoming a CEO, and I took a non-traditional route, working through many functions before entering sales. I often took the less sexy projects, which were tough to complete.

This has helped me to understand the total business and how to lead different areas of expertise.”

Talking of diversity and being in the right place at the right time, the African-American working for the Germany company in Asia says these are two of the main reasons why he loves his job.

“I enjoy learning about cultures, understanding history, the different foods, politics, and connecting with people,” says Shepard. “I have been so blessed to

be able to travel for work in more than 40 countries. While I'm the only AfricanAmerican executive in senior leadership, I have always been treated with respect based on my years of delivering results and, again, my ability to connect with others.

“So, diversity is who I am, and I will always lead teams with diverse backgrounds, as this is what our customers and stakeholders represent. That said, although I can be like a chameleon and adapt, I'm still very grounded in my own principles and know who I am.”

Shepard says Southeast Asia is one of the best places to be right now from a business perspective. Due to global trade conflicts, many businesses have relocated operations to businesschief.asia

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THE BUSINESS CHIEF INTERVIEW

SOUTHEAST ASIA IS ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO BE RIGHT NOW FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE SEA countries as a part of their diversification strategy. Foreign Direct investment (FDI) is rising, especially in countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

“The GDP growth for many of these markets is over 5%, there is a young, educated workforce, and our regional aim is to have double-digit growth,” says Shepard.

The best-laid plans of many CEOs and indeed companies went out of the window when the pandemic hit and they failed with their digital transformations. Not so Schaeffler and Shepard – who have been keen to take advantage of the opportunities.

There is the acquisition of the Koovers B2B e-commerce aftermarket business which will see manufacturing control retail business using AI to predict ordering patterns and customer needs. There is also a Metaverse repair solution guide in the works for mechanics.

“From a product perspective, our new EV products have much more electronics and sophisticated software to power the future of mobility, including autonomous driving capabilities,” adds Shepard.

“In my Vietnam plant, we call it the plant of the future with the use of cobots, 28 December 2023

in the digital room we can see the uptime of the production and critical areas.

“With all of these changes, a traditional mechanical business like Schaeffler is employing more digital experts and electronics engineers than we have done in the past.”

Ultimately, it’s all about people, and Shepard is passionate about his duty as CEO to extract the very best from his team. As he states, good leaders find in people what people do not know they possess.

Micah Shepard

“Leaders recognise the talent in their team and then push to unlock the talent,” says Shepard. “When I work, I work to achieve my goals, but I also work to unlock my team's skills. I know everyone I work with has huge potential – for me, my success is also about the success of others, growing and nurturing their talent; that is the foundation of our growth at Schaeffler.

“This focus on talent, teams, and personal transformation is why I insist on creating institutions, cultures, and pathways where human capital can thrive.”

E XE CUTI VE BIO

TITLE: PRESIDENT AND REGIONAL CEO COMPANY: SCHAEFFLER ASIA LOCATION: THAILAND As Southeast Asia CEO for 10 years, Micah leads three divisions, four production locations and highly diverse teams of 2,000 employees. For the last four years, he has also held the dual role of President Automotive Aftermarket APAC and since 2020, has led doubledigit growth. Micah began his career at Cummins, where he spent eight years in managerial roles in the US and China. During his 13-year career with Schaeffler, Micah has worked across multiple Asian locations.

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PEOPLE MOVES L’Oreal, J.P. Morgan, Keppel, Nexon among the companies making new C-suite appointments in Asia

I AM EXCITED TO LEAD THE COMPANY INTO ITS NEXT GENERATION

Vincent Boinay

Harshika Patel

JOB FROM: PRESIDENT, TRAVEL RETAIL, L'OREAL JOB TO: PRESIDENT NORTH ASIA AND CEO, L’OREAL CHINA

JOB FROM: HEAD OF STRATEGY ASIA, J.P. MORGAN JOB TO: CEO, PRIVATE BANK ASIA, J.P. MORGAN

As GM Travel Retail Worldwide since 2016, Boinay has transformed the business, strengthening the group’s global leadership in the sector and making it a major contributor to L’Oreal’s growth.

Joining L’Oreal in 1992 as a marketing trainee, Boinay has held various leadership roles, including GM of L’Oreal Luxe in Japan. He starts in January 2024.

Harshika joins a team overseeing more than US$2.2 trillion in client assets globally. With 25 years of experience at J.P. Morgan, holding senior roles in London, Hong Kong and Singapore, Harshika moves from the firm’s corporate and investment banking business in Asia where she served as head of strategy. She retains her role as CEO, Hong Kong.

Lee Jung-hun JOB FROM: CEO, NEXON KOREA JOB TO: PRESIDENT AND CEO, NEXON

Since joining video game giant Nexon 20 years ago, Lee has risen rapidly through the ranks. Helming Nexon Korea from 2014, he led the successful launch of FIFA Online 3, and more recently as CEO, took the Korean business to new heights with a CAGR of 19% from 2018-2022, and successfully launched new games. He takes the global reins of the Tokyo-listed firm in March 2024.

Kevin Chng JOB FROM: DEPUTY CFO, KEPPEL CORP JOB TO: CFO, KEPPEL CORP

Already involved as in Keppel’s transformation into a global asset manager and operator, Chng will move into the top finance job from January 2024.

Joining the Temasek-backed group in 2016 as GM of risk, Chng is described by CEO Loh Chin Hua as having “demonstrated leadership, as well as a deep expertise in finance and management”. businesschief.asia

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MONTH IN REVIE

From return-to-work mandates to companies making strides in sustainability, here’s our pick of stories from November that you may have missed

IKEA betting big on Indian market This year marks 80 years since IKEA was born and five years since setting up shop in India – and now the Swedish furniture giant is betting even bigger on the Indian market with plans to double its business each year, triple headcount to 10,000, and significantly increase local sourcing from 30% to 50%. Plans are afoot to step-up local manufacturing too.

UOB: making sustainability strides in Southeast Asia Committed to net-zero by 2050, Singapore’s third-largest bank has a sustainability strategy grounded in the need for a “just transition in Southeast Asia”, according to CEO Wee Ee Cheong, with net-zero targets based on six sectors that are among the most important for decarbonisation. To achieve targets, the US$33.36 billion bank has established a sustainability advisory panel of experts ensuring relevance and regionality.

32 December 2023

EW

The best Asia-based companies to work for – if you're a woman Increasingly, companies are stepping up to devise solutions to tackle the challenges women face in the workplace and support them both within and outside of the organisation.

From providing opportunities for advancement, to delivering on pay equity, flexible working and menopause support, here are the 10 best companies for women in APAC.

Samsung on-track with US$5 billion sustainability plan

With the largest carbon footprint of any major company in tech, pressure is on Samsung to reach net-zero emissions – and fast. And despite ongoing challenges, from complex supply chains to limited renewable energy supplies, the world’s largest mobile phone-maker has made good gains since lifting its investment in green initiatives to more than US$50 billion by 2030.

Australia’s workplace culture hits all-time low Australian employee sentiment around workplace culture has hit an all-time low, according to Gartner, which points to some organisations as “falling short by putting blanket strategies in place, particularly when it comes to return-to-office mandates”.

This comes as most Australian employers (89%) implement return-to-office policies, a situation that is driving disengagement among employees, and even resignation.

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Credit: getty images

BEST-PERF

NEW Z

TOP 1O

FORMING CEOs IN

ZEALAND Unusual among the biggest companies in APAC, New Zealand has three women leading the top ten largest listed companies WRITTEN BY: KATE BIRCH

W

hat is instantly apparent about the CEOs leading New Zealand’s ten largest companies is the number of women within its ranks.

While still only three, female representation among the leading listed firms in NZ is higher than many other countries across Asia-Pacific (and the world), including neighbour Australia – which, since the abrupt departure of Fortescue Metals CEO Fiona Hicks in August, has just two women leading its ten largest companies.

As for Asia, you would be hard pressed to find one woman among the ten largest listed companies.

While Singapore (OCBC’s Helen Wong) and China (Ping An’s Jessica Tan) each have one – India, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan are all without.

With three women at the helm of New Zealand’s top five largest companies, including its largest, Xero, the country continues to be positively progressive. businesschief.asia

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TOP 1O

RICHARD UMBERS Ryman Healthcare Market value: US$2.88 billion

A seasoned retail leader and CEO with extensive experience in leading large global businesses, Richard Umbers was appointed Group CEO of Ryman in 2021 – and has since taken New Zealand’s largest listed retirement business to new heights with assets of $12.51 billion (March 2023), up 14.1% on 2022.

Richard has led Ryman to increased underlying profits while repositioning the business for future growth with a refocused future pipeline to achieve positive free cashflow

by FY25.

Among his previous retail experiences, Richard served as divisional director of buying at supermarket retailer Kaufland in Germany, and CEO at retailer Myer in Australia. He has also held senior roles at Woolworths in Australia and at Australia Post and Aldi in Europe.

MILES HURRELL Fonterra Co-operative Group Market value: US$3.07 billion

As CEO since August 2018, Miles Hurrell has led the turnaround of the Co-operative, which is hugely important to the country’s export earnings, bringing in about US$18 billion a year.

The Co-op is owned by its 10,000 farmer suppliers and supports 20,000 employees.

As well as selling its iconic Tip Top ice-cream company for US$380 million, Miles has led the Co-op through strategic reviews into a new growth phase focused on New Zealand’s pasture-based milk, dairy innovation and science and sustainability.

A 20-year veteran of Fonterra, Miles has held increasingly senior leadership roles, including two and a half years as COO, where he led farmer services and engagement and operation of New Zealand’s 790 Farm Source retail stores. businesschief.asia

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MIKE FUGE Contact Energy Market value: US$7.14 billion

With a career in the energy sector spanning 35 years, Mike took the helm of Contact Energy in February 2020 and has since navigated various major challenges, from two rounds of Covid to many industrial landscape changes.

One of New Zealand’s four major power firms, Contact is spending billions building new geothermal, wind and solar power plants as it looks to lift generation to 100% renewable.

As a Global Women champion for change, Mike prioritises DEI recently setting the bar high with new parental leave policies and boosting the employee share scheme.

Mike has also served as CEO of Pacific Hydro in Australia and held senior roles at Genesis Energy and Royal Dutch Shell Group.

38 December 2023

TOP 1O

JASON BOYES Infratil Market value: US$5.29 billion

credit Infratil

Following a 15-year legal career in corporate finance and M&A in London and New Zealand, Jason joined leading alternative asset manager Morrison & Co (parent of Infratil) in 2011.

He has since led the IPO of Z Energy and been involved in numerous Infratil investments – including the acquisition of Vodafone NZ and subsequent capital raise, the establishment of Longroad Energy, and Galileo Green Energy, and the management of Infratil’s strategic review of its stake in Tilt Renewables.

His many successes landed him the top job at Infratil in 2021, where he leads and oversees the development and implementation of strategy for the world’s first listed infrastructure funds – and the management of its investments.

TOP 1O

VINCE HAWKSWORTH Mercury NZ Market value: US$5.45 billion

Joining Mercury NZ in March 2020, Vince Hawksworth has since led the electricity retailer and generator to greater and more sustainable heights – overseeing the US$3 billion takeover of Australasian wind farm developer Tilt Renewable in 2021 and more recently the acquisition of Trustpower’s retail business, doubling Mercury’s total customer connections and accelerating its entry into the telecoms market.

With deep experience in the energy sector both in New Zealand and Australia, Vince has previously held chief executive roles at Hydro Tasmania and at Trustpower, where he led the demerger of Tilt Renewables from Trustpower.

He also led the generation and retail divisions at Genesis Energy.

TOP 1O

JOLIE HODSON Spark New Zealand Market value: US$5.81 billion

As CEO of the country’s largest telecoms and digital services company since 2019, Jolie has successfully navigated Covid and achieved positive financials – leading the way among NZX-listed gender-diverse boards.

Jolie’s rise to the top follows various leadership roles at Spark over six years, including CFO, where she was pivotal in transforming Spark from telco to digital service provider – landing the Deloitte CFO of the Year award for her efforts. She recently also bagged Deloitte’s CEO of the Year award.

A strong advocate for DEI, Julie is a member of Global Women, a founder of On Being Bold, and is passionate about mentoring women in business. Last year, she became the Convenor of the Climate Leaders Coalition, uniting NZ businesses to raise the bar on climate action. businesschief.asia

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CARRIE HURIHANGANUI Auckland Airport Market value: US$7.52 billion

No stranger to aviation, Carrie has more than two decades of operational and strategic experience under her belt and has spent most of her career at Air New Zealand, where she started as cabin crew and worked her way up to the senior leadership team.

As well as leading customer experience transformation and maximising business growth, Carrie served as COO overseeing a global workforce of 9,000 across 16 countries.

Joining Auckland Airport in February 2022, Carrie has steered the airport to post-pandemic success, with revenue more than doubling in the 12 months ending June, and is pushing ahead with the airport’s most significant upgrade in its history.

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TOP 1O

NEAL BARCLAY Meridian Energy Market value: US$8.79 billion

Following a decade as finance chief, Neal Barclay took the helm of Meridian Energy, New Zealand’s biggest energy generator and largest 100% renewable energy company, in 2018 – and has since been driving decarbonisation forward with renewable developments.

Under Neal’s leadership, Meridian has become the first New Zealand company to progress a grid-scale battery construction, secured partners to advance the Southern Green Hydrogen project, doubled its pipeline of potential renewable energy projects, unveiled a customer-focused wellbeing programme, was named among the country’s most sustainable businesses by Kantar, and grown sales volumes by 2.6% in FY23.

Prior to Meridian, Neal held various finance roles during a 13-year career with Telecom New Zealand.

TOP 1O

LEWIS GRADON Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Market value: US$8.81 billion

Lewis Gradon has spent his entire career at Fisher & Paykel – a staggering 40 years, seven years of which he has led the Aucklandheadquartered healthcare giant as CEO. Under his watch, the dual-listed group, which manufactures products for use in respiratory care, has delivered strong growth in global markets, invested continually in innovation, opened two new facilities including its

F&P manufacturing chamber

44 December 2023

third factory in Mexico, and become the first NZ listed company to break the US$20 billion market cap to just under US$20.5 billion.

In 2020, Lewis was crowned CEO of the Year by Deloitte for his wide knowledge of the company and insightful Covid-19 business decisions, with the company managing to maintain supply of life-saving products during the crisis, despite the challenges.

During his 40-year tenure with F&P, Lewis has held various engineering roles overseeing the development of the company’s range of products, and the development of manufacturing, IP and supply chain functions, and spent 15 years as SVP Products and Technology.

Lewis has big ambitions for the group, with a 30-year plan to double global revenue every five years.

Lewis Gradon - CEO of the Year Finalist - Deloitte Top 200 2020 businesschief.asia

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Credit: getty images

How Should Leaders Choose Their Guide?

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy

46 December 2023

TOP 1O

SUKHINDER SINGH CASSIDY Xero Market value: US$11.78 billion

Taking the helm of New Zealand’s most valuable company is no mean feat, but Sukhinder Singh Cassidy has certainly delivered since joining Xero late last year – with the tech company’s share price up a staggering 50% in the past six months alone.

Founded in Wellington in 2006, the US$18 billion tech company provides SMEs with accounting software delivered in the cloud and has 3.7 million global subscribers, with the majority based in New Zealand and Australia.

Arriving at Xero in November 2022, as one of just six women leading ASX 100 companies, Cassidy carries weighty credentials with more than 25 years of global leadership experience as a CEO, digital leader and board member.

She has experience building and scaling global companies including at ticketing business StubHub, where she served as President, and at Google – where, as President of APAC and Latin America for six years, she launched the tech giant’s business in China.

The Silicon Valley-based executive also worked as a manager at Amazon when it was an online bookstore and she has sat on numerous boards including Urban Outfitters, Ericsson, Trip Advisor, J.Crew and fintech Upstart.

Executive experience aside, Sukhinder is also an entrepreneur and investor, having co-founded three Silicon Valley startups, and penned a book on leadership. businesschief.asia

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COVER INTERVIEW

BEYOND GREY

ADDING COLOUR TO CAMPAIGNS

NIRVIK SINGH, Global COO and President International of Grey Group, on bringing colour to global brands, cultivating culture and utilising AI to enhance rather than replace human creativity WRITTEN BY: KATE BIRCH 48 December 2023

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rom Coca-Cola to Volvo, Pringles to Pantene, Pfizer to Carlsberg, some of the world’s most iconic brands rely on global advertising and marketing agency Grey Group to get their message across in an eye-catching and memorable fashion. When a story needs bringing to life, Grey is there to add the necessary narrative and all-important colour.

Founded in New York in 1917, Grey Group now has 40 studios across 29 countries, and serves 20% of the Fortune 500. Regularly named Agency of the Year and the recipient of countless Effie awards (the Oscars of the creative industry) – including more than 60 just this year – it’s easy to appreciate the scale of the role facing Nirvik Singh as Global COO and President International, with a remit that extends from Latin America to Europe, the Middle East and Africa to Asia Pacific.

So just how does he manage?

“The infinite diversity one finds across the region, from Tokyo to Sydney to Mumbai and Dubai and down to Johannesburg, is a constant source of inspiration” says Nirvik, talking exclusively to Business Chief.

“The potent combination of exceptional talent, deep cultural insights and how the team collaborates has proven incredibly fruitful. We are undoubtedly in a competitive industry, and my role is to mentor our leadership, provide support, harness all the resources available, and ensure optimal chemistry with our clients. I can't do it alone 50 December 2023

– fortunately, I am surrounded by motivated and resilient people who know how to deliver.”

Nirvik began his career with Lipton India, a Unilever company. He then joined Trikaya Advertising (which later became Grey India) as head of the Kolkata office at age 26.

Under his leadership, the agency grew quickly, and also produced ground-breaking campaigns that saw it win Agency of the Year four years in a row.

Then as head of Grey Group India, Nirvik led its transformation to a total communications company, extending its footprint across the country. Over the next 20 years, Nirvik continued to rise rapidly through the international ranks.

“In 1997, at the age of 33, I was appointed CEO of Grey India. My remit was then expanded to CEO Grey South Asia, and in 2009, I was made Chairman & CEO Grey Asia Pacific,” recalls Nirvik. “This role was a game-changer for me, and it opened my eyes and gave me a vision of what could be achieved in the region for the growth of our clients' businesses and our agency.

FOR CREATIVE AGEN THE PEOPLE AND T AND AMBITION MAK

NCIES, THEIR TALENT KE THE DIFFERENCE

COVER INTERVIEW

OUR FOCUS WILL BE ON USING AI TOOLS TO ENHANCE HUMANLED CREATIVITY, NOT TO REPLACE IT “It was my first time leading teams based across numerous countries and on a spectrum of very different cultures. In that period, we also made many acquisitions that helped our strategy of becoming a total communications company.

“In 2016, the Middle East and Africa also came under my purview. To manage this successfully was a challenge but one that I relished. You gain incredible insights that you can only get by spending time with clients and working closely with your teams from across the region, and it makes you open to understanding why things are done in a certain way.

“You appreciate that every country has its own personality, customs and cultural nuances. We continued to deliver against our North Star of ‘Famously Effective’.

Grey became known as a leading creative powerhouse thanks to iconic awardwinning campaigns such as The Barber Girls of India, Your Plastic Diet, #PrideHair, Living Seawall, #Friendshit, and Project AgroBanking, to name a few.”

Nirvik took the role of Global COO Grey Group and Chairman & CEO 52 December 2023

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The number of years that Grey Group has been ‘Famously Effective’ – adding colour to some of the world’s most influential brands

29

The number of countries in which Grey Group operates with 40 studios spanning six continents, including 12 across Asia-Pacific – from India to Singapore, Australia to Japan, Korea to China

23

The number of Cannes Lions secured by Grey Group at this year’s International Festival of Creativity in France

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WE NEED TO BECOME A MORE COMPASSIONATE AND CARING WORLD Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa (AMEA) in 2019, before his scope was extended further in 2021 to his current position.

As Global COO, his role is to ensure efficiency in business operations and to develop strategies to keep innovating and improving management practices.

The President International aspect means taking a deeper dive and working closely to support the leadership teams in the individual countries.

“Over the years, our business has changed the most – from broadcast to narrowcast to personalisation, social media platforms, e-commerce, a completely fragmented media landscape and now AI,” says Nirvik.

“My role is to keep up with these everevolving changes – understand our clients' needs, and see what we can offer creatively as the best solutions. Different geographies are at different points in this journey, so you cannot have a one-size-fits-all strategy – that requires a deep understanding of each region and country.

“The other important aspect of my role is to endeavour to be the employer of choice. That comes with creating a culture where diversity, equality and meritocracy are celebrated.”

Proof of this is evident with Grey Group recently included in Newsweek’s inaugural rankings for the Top 100 Global Most Loved 54 December 2023

Workplaces list – lauded for its diverse culture including impressive gender balance, with women comprising more than 50% of global staff and nearly 40% of leadership roles.

This includes CEO Laura Maness, who became the first female Global CEO of Grey Group in July 2022 and was recently named Creative Leader of the Year at the prestigious Creativepool Awards.

Innovating to stay Famously Effective As Global COO, Nirvik has enhanced the agile creative process at Grey by introducing innovative solutions including the `borderless integrated marketing’ model and an internal, collaborative tech platform. This has fostered a culture of innovation and delivered more creative, diverse campaigns for clients.

These also chimed with the company slogan – Famously Effective.

The borderless integrated marketing model concept was launched just before the COVID19 pandemic, and really proved its value during that turbulent time.

Nirvik says most organisations work in silos – either by department or by geography – and the idea was to offer Grey’s greatest talents to clients irrespective of departments or geographies.

The model was a hit with both clients and Grey’s own people, who were exposed to working on projects across the globe.

NIRVIK ON THE ‘NEW’ AGENCY LIFE “It kills the preconceived notion that creativity requires 24-7 proximity with both location and culture,” says Nirvik. “We believe the collision of differences ignites the spark that fuels breakthrough ideas. It widens your horizon. Working with people across geographies allows us to see fresh cultural perspectives and adds a much broader palette of expertise from a multitude of our studios.”

Perhaps more transformative, and timely, was the launch of GO.GREY.com – the single database for all Grey creatives.

The agency was already working to become more collaborative and the onset of the pandemic only accelerated that shift out of necessity.

“For creative agencies, the people and their talent and ambition make the difference,” says Nirvik.

“Go.Grey has changed the way we communicate, share, collaborate and work with each other. Now, across our network, we have access to every person, deck,

“The essence of creative agencies hasn't changed at all, and they are still unrivalled as the most effective method of generating the breakthrough brand ideas that the world ends up sharing and talking about, the Famously Effective ideas that deliver growth by moving people, businesses, and the world forward.

“That said, for better or worse, we've grown used to working from a distance and for all the appealing benefits of borderless teamwork, there's also a certain magic that only happens when highly ambitious, creative people gather in the same room regularly – people get to know each other enough to dare to express even the most irrational and sometimes the most unusual, crazy ideas – which are more challenging to recreate with sporadic online interactions.

“However, flexibility does need to stay in the mix, too. Trust and empowerment are a must in the ‘new agency life’.”

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campaign, intellectual property and published work from around the globe – at our fingertips.

“It has made us agile and efficient and helped us to adapt to working in a borderless way. It is now a big part of Grey culture and has proved to be a highly effective platform during challenging times. Add emerging technologies to the mix, and the process can be turbocharged and save an immense amount of unnecessary work and time that can be applied to add value to clients instead.”

AI will enhance human creativity, not replace it It does not take long these days for talk to turn to emerging technologies, and one in particular – artificial intelligence. Rewind just over a year ago and most commentators believed that blue-collar jobs would be the ones most under threat from AI. But then in November 2022, ChatGPT happened, the generative AI genie was let out of the lamp, and suddenly those in the creative industries were seemingly first in the firing line.

Nirvik has been in the industry longer than most, and he remains upbeat on the potential for AI to enhance rather than replace human creativity.

“We rely on insightful, visionary and imaginative people who instinctively know how to reach an audience. Technology merely assists in bringing our visions to life,” he says.

“Innovative technologies find their feet fastest in creative cultures that already embrace innovation, and AI can bridge the gap in a world where time and creativity are often at odds. However, the human element is essential in leveraging and getting the most 56 December 2023

WORKING WITH PEO GEOGRAPHIES ALLO FRESH CULTURAL P out of AI. The quality of data matters, and what output is delivered depends on decisions that humans will make.

“There are still tough questions surrounding AI-produced work, particularly with deepfakes, copyright and origin issues. It's our job to build trust for brands, and we can't underestimate how much AI will change the way people perceive the content they view. That's why our focus will be on using AI tools to enhance human-led creativity, not to replace it.”

Grey Group’s 100-year history When you are an agency with more than 100 years of heritage, you could be perceived as being part of the establishment, or the ‘old school’. In fast-moving times, and with the media landscape shifting, is that history a benefit or a hindrance to Grey Group?

Nirvik believes it is down to “trusting our muscle memory and collective experience”.

He says being curious and having wide-eyed ambition to never stop learning about the world helps the agency to lean into innovation.

“Something I said a few years ago still holds for me – tech, digital, and AI are all innovations everyone has access to – but what's important to remember is how to make the best use of it,” says Nirvik.

COVER INTERVIEW

OPLE ACROSS OWS US TO SEE PERSPECTIVES…

“Innovation can also mean looking at and then doing things differently.”

Nirvik has also moved with the times, metaphorically and literally – shifting his base from Singapore to Dubai once the pandemic restrictions were lifted. This move makes sense when you consider his expanded remit, placing him in a strategic location with great connectivity to Asia, Africa and Europe.

However, there is more to being based in Dubai than convenience.

“Dubai is a hub for technology and innovation and has quickly become a worldclass start-up centre, too,” he says. “Investment has been pouring into the UAE for a few years already. It is a multicultural city, so you get to interact with clients from diverse cultures.

“You also have access to amazing talent and

staff from all corners of the world, and these aspects have always appealed to me.”

Brands have never been as highly valued or immersed and engaged in popular culture and entertainment as they are today. At the same time, creative agencies are under pressure to do more with less, to modernise through AI, and to be more diverse.

However, this challenge is not what keeps Nirvik awake at night. Speaking as conflict rages in Europe and the Middle East, he points to polarisation as his biggest concern.

“The real difficulty is in finding out if what you are seeing or reading is true and what this does to kids growing up today,” he says.

“We need to become a more compassionate and caring world.”

That is something we can all campaign for. businesschief.asia

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LOGO

EDGE DATA CENT EUROPE – AND N WRITTEN BY: KATE BIRCH

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December 2023

PRODUCED BY: LEWIS VAUGHAN

ETIX EVERYWHERE

TRES IN NOW ASIA businesschief.asia

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ETIX EVERYWHERE

Group CEO Louis Blanchot shares how edge data centre pioneer and leader Etix Everywhere is taking its successful formula from France to Southeast Asia

A

rtificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, and augmented reality are just three of the technological advancements that are gaining headlines globally.

While consumers get excited about how these may change their lives, and business leaders wonder how to leverage the opportunities they offer, there is one essential element necessary for success – edge data centres.

While edge data centres may not enjoy the hype of generative AI, they are a vital piece of the infrastructure required to make these technologies tick, due to low latency, increased security, greater bandwidth, and more sustainable operation.

Etix Everywhere is a leader and pioneer in edge data centres in Europe – and is now expanding that successful formula into Asia.

Formed in 2012, Etix Everywhere now operates 15 data centres, and has grown quickly in the last three years. The number of data centres has tripled in that time, while turnover has grown eight-fold.

Etix Everywhere is committed to providing colocation solutions that are both sovereign and environmentally friendly, all within 200km of its partners’ headquarters. This USP has really helped to drive the business.

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ETIX EVERYWHERE

LOUIS BLANCHOT TITLE: GROUP CEO COMPANY: ETIX EVERYWHERE Armed with a civil engineering degree from a top-tier French institution, Louis Blanchot has helmed Etix Everywhere since inception, and played a pivotal role in laying the firm’s foundation. With a track record of successful partnerships over a decade and eight years spent overseeing European operations, Blanchot embodies the essence of leadership.

He spearheaded a strategic turnaround during Etix’s acquisition three years ago. In addition to being a shareholder of the Company, Blanchot shoulders responsibility for the company’s vision, strategy, and overall direction.

“We only focus on the edge market, which for us means bringing the service to the customer and not the customer to the service,” says Etix Everywhere Group CEO Louis Blanchot.

“Our core mission is really to develop a platform of data centres to really bring the infrastructure close to the data end user.”

So, what makes Etix Everywhere different from other edge data centre operators?

Blanchot points to the main USP and reason why customers move to Etix is its scalable edge network with its strong IT marketplace. On top of the colocation factor, Etix is able to deliver interconnection to a long list of IT Partners that can bring added services to its customers to support them in their digital transformation.

“Edge data centres provide customers with access to a lot of solutions to develop their hybrid cloud infrastructure, but also what we see is that there are more and

Etix Everywhere Group CEO Louis Blanchot

“ What we like in the Southeast Asia market is that we can use the same recipe that we used in Europe – developed and duplicated quickly” LOUIS BLANCHOT GROUP CEO, ETIX EVERYWHERE

more services that require low latency – for example, autonomous vehicle, IoT, streaming, gaming, all these new trends,” says Blanchot.

“There is a growing demand for low latency and also the question of traffic congestion that you can have on connectivity. So, when all the telco companies want to bring a service to their customer, if they had to send data from Lille to Paris to come back to Lille, or basically to send the data to be computed, like in all 64

December 2023

those tier one locations, it creates virtual traffic congestion. When the data can be computed straight away, locally, it will save a lot of bandwidth.”

Over the past two years, Etix Everywhere has refocused its efforts on its core expertise – offering a multi-site, sovereign, and decarbonised colocation solution.

The acquisition of CIV has doubled the company’s capacity in the Hauts-de-France and in 2024, Etix will inaugurate Lille #4 – a new data centre just 500 metres from Etix

ETIX EVERYWHERE

Lille #2, thereby creating a 2.5 MW IT campus with the best connectivity in the region.

Blanchot also points to the recent acquisition of Zcolo France, which has broadened the firm’s horizons – enabling the offer of colocation solutions in three new regions and, as a result, strengthening territorial coverage.

“This acquisition represents a key milestone in cementing our undisputed leadership in the French regional market and accelerates our development in Europe –

with colocation capacity now reaching 17.3MW,” he says.

But the company’s ambitious expansion strategy does not stop here, with a “vision to establish a leading edge data centre platform in Europe and Southeast-Asia, and guarantee our clients highly scalable and connected facilities close to the data end user.”

Data sovereignty is also a key consideration and a hot topic of conversation when it comes to security, and Etix is committed to providing customers with colocation solutions within 200km of its partners’ headquarters.

With data invariably crossing borders with hyperscalers, protecting data sovereignty is a challenge, and that’s why more businesses are taking greater control of their data and keeping it within domestic borders, or even closer to home via edge data centres. businesschief.asia

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ETIX EVERYWHERE

Sovereignty is a cornerstone principle for Etix. Domiciled in France with a majority of its capital held by French stakeholders, Etix operates under the jurisdiction of French law for the provision of all its services.

It’s a commitment to sovereignty that not only underscores the company’s dedication to maintaining the highest standards of ethical conduct and legal compliance, but also ensures accountability and compliance within the French regulatory landscape.

“In this way, Etix demonstrates an allegiance to home turf while contributing to the growing French business ecosystem,” says Blanchot.

Along with a commitment to sovereignty, what makes Etix particularly appealing is its offering of a modular solution, a feature it has provided since its inception in 2012. Back in 2012, it was innovative, but now many operators are trying to use modular architecture.

“It’s funny. It’s what we created,” declares Blanchot. “It was our innovative design when we created Etix, and the design that we have sold to all our customers ever since – because the benefits are obvious.

“Firstly, you only invest in what you need, and you align your CAPEX with your sales ramp-up.

“The other main benefit is that we know that the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) is really related to IT usage. So, when you achieve around 50% usage and exceed that, the PUE is better. That’s why having a modular data centre improves the IT load and helps you achieve a good PUE.” PUE is essential for data centres as they try to become more sustainable, and that is a core focus for Etix Everywhere.

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“ Having the support from a big partner like Schneider Electric is huge.

That’s why we only work with such a world-class supplier” LOUIS BLANCHOT GROUP CEO, ETIX EVERYWHERE

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ETIX EVERYWHERE

“ Power Usage Effectiveness is essential for data centres as they try to become more sustainable, and that is a core focus for Etix Everywhere” LOUIS BLANCHOT GROUP CEO, ETIX EVERYWHERE

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data centres, the Nantes-headquartered company also strives to use no water for cooling (WUE <0.01 L/kWh), employ low-carbon electricity, recycle residual heat, repurpose existing buildings, and add solar panels.

It’s a bold ambition, and one that was cemented when Etix joined the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact in 2021 with the goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

So how will it achieve those goals?

“We have three ways, the first being to work on the energy efficiency of the data centre and improve the PUE,” says Blanchot.

“Renewing the technical equipment can really improve performance.

“Then you need to work on how you ‘feed’ your data centre with green energy, and how

to recycle the energy that you are producing.

Ultimately, the idea is to switch from being an energy consumer to an energy producer, to create a virtuous circle.”

Evidence of how Etix is looking to expand its footprint in a sustainable manner comes with its first edge data centre in Thailand’s capital Bangkok.

Etix has chosen to focus its development on the capitals of emerging countries with what it considers exponential growth potential. These include Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Manila.

The Bangkok site is strategically located in an industrial zone that offers a stable and reliable power source, and also has good road access and telecommunications infrastructure.

DECADE OF DATA CENTRES “When we started in 2012, we were talking about kilowatts or megawatts,” says Group CEO Louis Blanchot. “Now it’s not rare to speak in gigawatts. So, the size of the project is totally different now.

“This new hyperscale market demands finding a huge plot of land with a lot of possibility to scale and also – a lot of power.

“It’s totally different to our edge DC market, really a medium-sized data centre close to the city with a big and deep IT ecosystem and customer portfolio.”

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Escaping Datacenter Obsolescence: Embrace the Future!

IT infrastructure, cooling, power backup and management cannot do without a large amount of energy. Fortunately, with today’s technology you can make your datacenter more sustainable - and more cost-efficient!

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How to achieve cost-efficient data centers A more digital world At Schneider Electric, we believe a more electric and digital world is key to addressing the climate and energy crises.

Together with our customers, we will build the New Electric World everywhere: in our homes, buildings, industries, infrastructure, grids… and of course also data centers!

Smart & Green But what does this mean for our customers?

We focus on the huge potential of two major pillars: Digitalization and Electrification. Or in other words: Smart & Green. Ultimately, we build the technology around digitalization and electrification that guides our customers towards efficiency and sustainability.

Our collaboration with Etix Everywhere, leader and pioneer in edge data centers, is a prime example of how we work. They are committed to providing colocation solutions that are both sovereign and environmentally friendly, and as a world-class supplier we are in the best position to support them with smart and innovative solutions.

Strategy, product and software Because to meet the needs of the new digital world, we must transform how we deploy and manage IT. Schneider Electric is leading digital transformation

through innovation – with data centers that are sustainable, efficient, adaptive, and resilient in the cloud and at the edge.

Schneider Electric not only has the products to enable the best sustainability in data centers, but also has all the software to digitize the entire lifecycle and the knowledge to act as a strategic partner for part or all of the sustainability process. The result? data centers that are faster, more accurate, more cost-efficient, and more sustainable.

Change the world For us, sustainability is not a buzzword, it is ingrained in our DNA. We have fully integrated sustainability into our strategy over the past 10-15 years, with concrete and ambitious short-term and long-term targets. Only recently we were included on the Fortune 2023 “Change the World” list – a ranking of the top companies in the world making positive social or environmental impact through activities integral to their core business strategy and operations.

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ETIX EVERYWHERE

“ We only focus on the edge market, which for us means bringing the service to the customer and not the customer to the service” LOUIS BLANCHOT GROUP CEO, ETIX EVERYWHERE

The modular infrastructure provides flexibility when it comes to scalability, meaning Etix can meet the future growth needs of operations at the same site.

“What we like in the Southeast Asia market is that we can use the same recipe that we used in Europe – developed and duplicated quickly,” says Blanchot.

“That’s why we started with Bangkok. The government is really supporting the digital economy, the country is stable, there is a high number of ‘eyeballs’, not to mention a high number of telcos.”

Instrumental in this expansion into Asia is trusted partner Schneider Electric – the energy consultancy regularly voted the world’s most sustainable company.

Blanchot points to several factors that Etix Everywhere had to tackle, from culture to climate, and how Schneider Electric’s expertise helped them to navigate these challenges.

“Having the support from a big partner like Schneider Electric is huge,” says Blanchot. “That’s why we only work with such a world-class supplier. They have been brilliant for us, and have been able 72

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to deliver the same level of quality in a new country.

“Working with Schneider, they helped provide a turnkey solution, so we can just push the button and know exactly the price, the timing, and the level of quality.

“It’s just a copy and paste of how we worked with Schneider Electric in Europe, and being able to rely on them has been a big comfort and given me the confidence that we can deliver for our customers.”

Looking ahead to the opportunities on the near horizon, from artificial

intelligence to autonomous driving, those are going to require eye-watering amounts of data, which has to be good news for data centre operators?

Blanchot agrees, but reckons it is a little bit of a ‘chicken-and-egg’ situation – the technology cannot really take off until the capacity is there to enable it.

“We discuss this a lot with our customers, and urge them to think about the world tomorrow,” he says. “I can tell you that all the main telcos understood it well and see these trends coming.

“When we started Etix in 2012 and began investing in edge, I think it was a little early, but now the market is ready. There are more and more investors trying to develop huge platforms to invest in edge, because this is the future.”

If this is indeed the future, you can bet that Etix Everywhere will be there, leading from the front when it comes to edge data centres.

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INSEAD Asia Campus in Singapore

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LEADERSHIP | DEVELOPMENT

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION LEARNS TO

CHANGE WITH THE TIMES Top executives have to be constant learners to keep pace with a rapidly changing business environment, so schools like INSEAD and Duke Corporate Education are changing too WRITTEN BY: KATE BIRCH

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LEADERSHIP | DEVELOPMENT

I

magine if you started writing a book about business strategy five years ago how much you would need to redraft for today’s commercial climate. Once you’ve finished those amendments, chances are you would have to create a whole new chapter to accommodate the latest trends.

No wonder, then, that executive education is also evolving at the speed of business, as it attempts to keep pace with a world in flux, while also delivering bespoke learning journeys.

With this constant need to reassess and reinvent the corporate curriculum, executive education is booming. In 2023, that market is valued at US$46 billion globally, but set to rise to US$134 billion in the next decade, according to Future Market Insights.

Other reports and predictions concur, with most anticipating double-digit CAGR growth for executive education for the foreseeable future.

That is great news for leading business schools like Duke Corporate Education (CE) and INSEAD. The former was named the global leader in custom executive education according to the 2023 Financial Times Executive Education Rankings, while the latter came second. Both have schools in Singapore and deliver global programmes.

76 December 2023

So the billion-dollar question is, how do they stay relevant in fast-changing business times?

“Corporate education has undergone significant transformation driven by technological advancements and shifting workforce needs over the past decade,” Vishal Patel, President of Global Markets at Duke Corporate Education tells Business Chief.

“Post-pandemic, we’re adjusting to a hybrid and digital-first world where competition is fierce and new modes of

By focusing on personal developments, organisat can adapt quickly, make informed decisions, and opportunities amidst vo Vishal Patel

President of Global Markets at Duke Corporate Education

lised tions e d seize olatility

US$46 BILLION

The value of the booming executive education market, which is expected to rise to US$134 billion in the next decade

No m I beli of the as the

Sam

Dean

INSEAD’S ASIAN PERSPECTIVE “INSEAD’s founding DNA, our mission, is to be the business school for the world,” says Hasija.

“But being the business school for the world does not mean that you forgo the local, contextual and nuanced understanding of where you are and where you do business. In fact, this is why we’ve set up campuses in different parts 78 December 2023

of the world; starting in Fontainebleau and then opening up in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and most recently our new facility in San Francisco.

“Of course in today’s world, you can create a global presence digitally; but we wanted to have a physical footprint because we wanted to build that critical

contextual understanding – we wanted to be present, on the ground and interacting with those doing business in these local regions. From Singapore we go out and deliver programmes in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Japan and beyond, thereby creating a richer ecosystem of exchange of ideas and understanding of the world.”

LEADERSHIP | DEVELOPMENT

matter where they do business, ieve it is very important for executives e future to be fully exposed to Asia ey develop their global mindset

meer Hasija

n of Executive Education at INSEAD

disruptive learning methods are on the rise. In my view, corporate education needs to evolve to be more agile, tech-driven, personalised, and holistic. The pandemic has certainly acted as a catalyst, accelerating the adoption of these changes.”

That view is echoed by Sameer Hasija, Dean of Executive Education at INSEAD. He says executive education is no longer a one-off intervention, but a continuous and life-long process to ensure that skills are maintained, refined, enhanced and renewed in line with evolving challenges.

“As business schools, we have to respond to this longer-term association by providing deeper and longer offerings: programmes and certifications that map to their learning journey as it evolves. And that requires a new level of commitment and partnerships with learners,” says Hasija.

The Asia perspective It is not just the nature of business that is changing, but the geography of business.

More than ever, global leaders need to

have a global mindset, and there has been a seismic shift towards Asia. Right now, three of the world’s five biggest economies are in Asia, according to the International Monetary Fund – with China, Japan, and India being joined by the US and Germany.

“The facts speak for themselves: the West is no longer the unique centre of economic growth and business activity in the world,” says Hasija. “This is no longer debatable; it’s simply a fact.

“The world is poised to flatten out as parts of Asia start catching up and assuming a dynamic role in fueling global and societal progress. For that reason there’s a real imperative to understand the unique opportunities and challenges that exist in this part of the world; the dynamics at play here that will foster sustainable growth and development.

“No matter where they do business, I believe it is very important for executives of the future to be fully exposed to Asia as they develop their global mindset.” businesschief.asia

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LEADERSHIP | DEVELOPMENT

Of course, Asian executives can also lead by example, showing the rest of the world how to cope with key concerns around disruption and displacement. Disruption in the form of digital transformation, the pandemic, and social justice concerns have led to destablisation and displacement, both within and across regions, believes Patel.

“Asian territories have a unique opportunity to take the lead in addressing the challenges of displacement and disruption,” he says. “Unlike the US, where there is sometimes resistance towards progressive measures such as ESG reporting, Asian businesses, particularly those with a strong sense of community and a longterm generational outlook, can embrace the need for change and are looking to harness bespoke executive education programmes to drive meaningful transformation.”

Patel adds that increasingly leaders are thinking longer term – seeking to understand how automation and strategic planning can be leveraged to create a lasting legacy beyond short-term gains.

“In countries like India, Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam, where many large conglomerates are family-owned, the inherent foresight and multi-generational perspective provide a competitive advantage,” he says.

“By taking the lead in these conversations and implementing forward-thinking strategies, Asian businesses can position themselves as pioneers in navigating the complexities of displacement and drive sustainable growth in the face of disruption.”

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The need for bespoke business learning Not all executives are alike, and so having a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to education is finally becoming a thing of the past.

The appetite for executive education remains strong, and is clearly growing, but companies are demanding more tailored solutions that address their specific needs.

“At INSEAD, we stay close to change by maintaining an active connection to the market and to reality,” says Hasija. “We do this with organisations by co-designing training with them, working cheek by jowl to pinpoint needs, figure out solutions and determine the design of the programmes we offer.

“For individuals, again we leverage our work with corporations to understand emerging market needs and we translate those needs into impactful learning experiences.”

Duke Corporate Education

BALANCING STRATEGY AND EXECUTION Previously, executive education largely focused either on execution or strategy, according to Duke's Vishal Patel.

“Execution encompasses both technical and tactical aspects. The technical side involves considering one's tech stack, IP, and R&D, which are fundamental to the success of a business. On the tactical side, the emphasis is on aligning individuals to achieve specific goals. Traditional executive education still sees the execution lens without differentiating the tactical and technical.”

Relying solely on an executioncentric approach or strategy alone has its limitations, says Patel. “In today’s rapidly changing landscape, there is a greater emphasis on transformation – [and this] requires a broader lens encompassing strategy, change management, organisational design and an understanding of the wider ecosystem in which businesses operate.

"Strategy provides the necessary framework and constraints for business to operate effectively, while organisational design ensures investments and capital allocation align with market demand.

Meanwhile, ecosystems, which are fundamentally built on relationships, must be addressed in a manner that is both sensible and conducive to deriving commercial value.”

Patel argues that the conversation between strategy and execution needs to be further refined – considering its technical, tactical, transformational, and ecosystem dimensions.

“We must approach it with greater precision and specificity in the design of executive leadership programmes.

By embracing these dimensions, we can unlock the true potential of corporate education and empower leaders to thrive in an ever-evolving business landscape.”

LEADERSHIP | DEVELOPMENT

Every business in the world needs to realise that to stay relevant, sustainability has to be front and centre Sameer Hasija

Dean of Executive Education at INSEAD

Patel adds that expecting any single leader to possess expertise across every domain impacting leadership is unrealistic.

Therefore, bespoke programmes mould more complete leaders, but it is important for them to constantly evolve to stay relevant.

“Turbulent times demand agile and adaptive leadership,” says Patel. “By focusing on personalised developments, organisations can adapt quickly, make informed decisions, and seize opportunities amidst volatility.

“Such tailored programmes equip leaders with the necessary skills and perspectives to navigate complexities, make well-informed choices, and foster trust within their organisations. This customised approach enhances agility, resilience, and innovation, ultimately positioning the organisation ahead of competitors and ensuring long-term success in an ever-changing business environment.”

Nowhere is that change more evident than in technology. The 2023 World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report forecasted the leading drivers of business transformation over the next five years will be digital 82 December 2023

access and technology adoption. As well as incorporating the latest thinking into their courses, schools like INSEAD and Duke CE can also utilise technologies like Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Extended Reality to deliver experiential learning.

“The trend of ‘learn by doing’ will shape our industry and at Duke CE, we are actively exploring how to incorporate simulations and gamification to provide our learners with opportunities to practice decision-making or problem-solving,” says Patel. “The potential of these technologies to revolutionise corporate learning, employee training, and leadership education is truly exciting.”

However, Patel is less enthusiastic about Artificial Intelligence and the role it may play. He admits that AI enhances efficiency, but questions whether it also improves

Leadership learning at INSEAD, Singapor

effectiveness and promotes creativity – a concept that relies on context, which AI struggles to grasp.

As well as the relentless march of technology, the other hot topic being embedded into executive education is sustainability. INSEAD already offers two dedicated programmes on sustainability, and it is also integrated into almost all of their programmes – for good reason.

“Every business in the world needs to realise that to stay relevant, sustainability has to be front and centre,” says Hasija.

“Sustainability is not a box to be ticked, it is fundamental to the future.

“As providers of executive education we also have a duty to have these conversations and not to kick the problem down the road for future generations.”

Duke CE also has an ESG Leadership Academy and ESG Board programme to equip leaders with the key knowledge, skills and mindsets required to survive and thrive.

Patel says sustainability has risen up the corporate agenda despite having previously been seen as a ‘softer’ discipline.

“It’s clear that broader adoption of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards will be a primary focus for businesses of the future,” he says.

“We expect to see ESG permeate everything from corporate workforce strategy to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and continue to play a key role in reshaping the business landscape.”

With that landscape constantly shifting, it is the executive education. businesschief.asia

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DRIVING AND DELIVERING DIGITA TRANSFORMATION AT DPV HEALTH WRITTEN BY: SCOTT BIRCH

PRODUCED BY: NAZEEF RABIU-IDREES

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AL N

DPV HEALTH

DPV HEALTH

DPV Health in Victoria, Australia, undertook a digital transformation set against the backdrop of COVID-19, delivered by awardwinning CIO Noel Toal

E

veryone faced unprecedented challenges during the COVID19 pandemic, but imagine those hurdles being amplified working in the healthcare industry in one of the most locked-down places on the planet. Then imagine implementing a company-wide digital transformation while simultaneously saving lives.

Noel Toal describes that situation as “change on steroids”, and few could argue with that.

Toal is the CIO of DPV Health, a community health service across 20 sites in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. DPV Health offers everything from GP medical services through the whole range of allied health services, mental health services, dental and disability services.

Under Toal’s leadership, DPV Health is using technology to improve the client experience and to improve the ability of its clinicians to deliver excellent care.

Toal’s first senior role was as a regional head of ICT for a large international software development company with clients including the National Australia Bank, JP Morgan, and Swiss Reinsurance.

From there, Toal had something of an epiphany and thought that maybe an ICT leader like himself should have a greater understanding about the world of business, so he studied for an MBA.

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DPV HEALTH

“ I’ve spent the last four years having a lot of fun in a challenging environment” NOEL TOAL

CIO, DPV HEALTH

“I wanted to understand the language of the business, and I also wanted to understand the difference between managing and leading,” explains Toal.

“Once I had that MBA under my belt then I wanted to understand the practical 88

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application, so I went into business, purchasing a cardboard box manufacturing firm. In three years – thanks to my MBA knowledge, board experience and ICT expertise, I was able to turn it around and sell it to a listed company.”

During that period, Toal says he learned a lot about rapidly scaling a business, using ICT to support a new business model, and processes – all of which served him well as he decided to make a move into non profits and healthcare, and eventually to DPV Health.

“I’ve spent the last four years having a lot of fun in a challenging environment, during the pandemic, but a really interesting time to help deliver excellent healthcare services,” says Toal. “So it’s been pretty exciting.”

TOP 50 CIOs IN AUSTRALIA Noel Toal has been named in the Top 50 CIOs in Australia for the last two years.

“When I came into the organisation, we had lots of problems, and we outsourced ICT,” he recalls, talking about his early days at DPV Health in late 2019.

“With a new strategy, we built our own internal ICT team and we built that team in the middle of a pandemic. And we also built the data team. To see how hard those teams worked to deliver everything we had to respond to during the pandemic, I think it’s amazing.

“When I won the first time, and then again the second time, I said I’m the person who stands up to get the award, but really it’s recognition of the effort of everyone in the ICT function, because I don’t deliver all those pieces individually. That is a collective effort.”

“I think it vindicates the desire to have an internal team because it delivered better service and drove transformation. It’s nice on a personal level to see these teams that I’ve built get recognition for their hard work.”

businesschief.asia

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DPV HEALTH

“ A lot of the early part was getting our hands on equipment.

We needed to make people more mobile” NOEL TOAL

CIO, DPV HEALTH

Toal is not your average CIO. As well as handling the ICT side of DPV Health, he also uses that expertise and experience to manage three teams responsible for client access. These teams handle call centre, interpreting and reception/administration, and Toal puts systems in place to make sure they run as efficiently as possible, while also leveraging technology.

And it’s that approach that really helped DPV health not only survive the pandemic but actually improve the healthcare services it was able to offer its clients, in the most difficult and distressing of times.

“I think we were all shell shocked initially,” admits Toal, “but the organisation grew its revenue by 65%. We had enormous growth, we are very busy, and we’ve retained most of that because a lot of it was organic – not just related to the pandemic-specific services we were providing.” businesschief.asia

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DPV DPV HEALTH HEALTH

Noel Toal TITLE: CIO COMPANY: DPV HEALTH LOCATION: VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA Noel Toal is the CIO for DPV Health. With over twenty years ICT leadership experience he was judged by CIO Magazine as one of the top fifty Australian CIOs in their CIO50 list for 2022 and 2023.

He is a business leader with an ICT speciality, with previous experience as a board director/chair and a successful business owner who sold a business to an ASX listed company. He utilises this experience to deliver pragmatic value and positive impact through digital transformation and thrives on ICT collaboration with the business.

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DPV HEALTH

Toal joined in August 2019 and as the new CIO his strategy was to roll out a controlled digital transformation – but most of that plan went quickly out of the window with COVID19. Some of the elements of the plan, such as new equipment and Azure Virtual Desktop, were accelerated to accommodate staff working from home, and DPV Health had to switch to providing telehealth services within two weeks.

With Victoria being the most lockeddown state in Australia, and one of the most restricted in the world, it was even harder for people to access vital health services – which placed extra pressure on Toal and his teams.

“We were trying to drive the transformation while supporting all of these extra, urgent demands that were popping up as part of the pandemic response,” recalls Toal.

“We were having to help setup and shift the services, acquire printers, laptops, iPads. A lot of the early part was getting our hands on equipment. We needed to make people more mobile. Luckily we had a good relationship with Microboss and that helped us to get all the equipment that we needed.”

“We also had important partners to help us with the CRM development. Delta Insights were really important for the delivery of that system and then linked to that, we needed a cloud-based phone system, and that’s where RingCentral and NativUC came into the picture.”

We all know that the pandemic accelerated digital transformation and that became in some ways a silver lining to a very dark cloud.

Toal admits it was an enabler and helped DPV Health get things done quickly “because we had to”.

And while the pandemic was a period of intense change, there is still more to come. Toal has completed the delivery of

RINGCENTRAL AND NATIVUC “Before RingCentral, we didn’t have a contact centre; we had a phone system with an IVR [Interactive Voice Resonse] that directed you somewhere.

We’ve got a massive client base where 10% of our clients have Arabic as a first language. They’re our biggest group. But then we’ve got lots of different language groups. One of the things we wondered was, in the future can we have some language translation capabilities?

We haven’t quite got there yet, but we’re on the path. This makes it a much more personal experience.

Phone system projects always get very complex. NativUC knew the technology and took time to listen and understood our requirements, to find the best product that was meant for us, and for our long term vision. In the end, we chose RingCentral because long term it represented the best return on investment.

After we decided on RingCentral, NativUC was invaluable throughout the process in getting our numbers ported, working with the RingCentral team, and sorting out the financials and support arrangements.”

businesschief.asia

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DPV HEALTH

“ I think one of the risks is that an organisation feels pressured to deliver AI” NOEL TOAL

CIO, DPV HEALTH

the digital transformation and is now working through defining what the new ICT strategy will be, having fixed what he calls “technical debt”.

The new strategy is all about being more engaged with people and leveraging the new systems that have been put in place, such as the new CRM, clinical grade network, cloud systems, omnichannel phone system, hardware, and making sure the company maximises the value of the significant investment from the last four years.

You can almost hear Toal’s MBA switching into action as he explains how he is approaching this new strategy now that he has the platform to build on.

“Someone from another community health organisation said to me the other day, ‘we’re three to four years behind you’. That’s because we have just done four years of work on digital transformation. You have to do the work, to be ready for the next stage.”

So what is that next stage? Toal immediately, like many tech leaders, turns with caution to artificial intelligence.

“I think one of the risks is that an organisation feels pressured to deliver AI,” says Toal. businesschief.asia

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Noel Toal, CIO of DPV Health, on driving digital healthcare in Australia WATCH NOW

DPV HEALTH

“Then they’re going to turn it on, think it’s intelligent, and use it to search through data and pull together answers for their questions – that’s an obvious, real benefit for an organisation. But they’re not necessarily going to be prepared for the fact that, historically, they’ve had really bad practices managing their systems and files.”

“If you unleash AI and haven’t segmented and haven’t got good internal controls with role-based access, and haven’t locked down those documents, and they’re not encrypted, you’re going to get all sorts of privacy issues.”

Toal’s advice is don’t rush into delivering AI without thinking about what the problem is you are trying to solve. He also suggests not using the word AI when working out the problem because it will “just scare people”.

Instead, he says just talk about the problem and what you want to do better, and then work out how AI can provide a solution for each element.

DPV Health have built a proof of concept predictive AI model to address the fact that around 25% of clients would fail to attend appointments.

“That’s an instant hit to productivity, and we have massive wait lists because we’re publicly funded within a rapidly growing community, to get people in who really need help,” explains Toal. “So if the clinician sits there not servicing someone, that’s impacting us and the clients”.

“The model predicts at the time when clients are making the appointment their likelihood of attending. We’ve tested about 91% accurate on that, so that’s been really good, and with a number of other data driven changes those no-shows are now around 14% – or 8% if you exclude mental health appointments – down from 25%.” businesschief.asia

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DPV HEALTH

“ We have just done four years of work on digital transformation.

You have to do the work, to be ready for the next stage” NOEL TOAL

CIO, DPV HEALTH

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DPV Health also utilises AI on some cyber security tooling, and Toal says it’s a great way to make small teams more efficient – “AI is a really powerful way to do some of that leg work for you and just let your people focus”.

Cyber security is also the one thing that Toal says, when asked, what keeps him awake at night.

“It’s got to be cyber security, right?

That has always been the case but it’s been moving towards what I would call drive-by cyber attacks because people can just go on to the dark web and they can download quite sophisticated tooling and run it – but now that tooling is AI enabled.”

“Around 59% of breaches in healthcare come from compromised credentials.

They’re coming from phishing. You need

good internal controls to deal with hackers who use legitimate user credentials. The other element is mistakes. If you look at some of the big breaches that have happened, they are simple mistakes.”

“So how do you deal with mistakes? I think you’ve got to have really good controls so that when someone does make the inevitable mistake, you pick it up, and you deal with it.”

Toal can rest easy, safe in the knowledge that his extensive skills and experience have not only delivered DPV Health’s digital transformation, but also along the way improved the health services and care for thousands of people.

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Asia Pacific needs to wake up to SUSTAINABLE FINANCE There is a significant gap in sustainable finance in APAC which needs urgent attention to meet climate goals, says United Nations’ ESCAP finance chief for development Subathirai Sivakumaran WRITTEN BY: KATE BIRCH

ESG | GREEN FINANCE

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f you think sustainable finance is winning the war on climate change in the Asia-Pacific region, it’s time to think again.

That’s according to a new report from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), which has examined the trends, challenges and opportunities around bankrolling for key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sustainable Finance: Bridging the Gap in Asia and the Pacific pulls no punches when it comes to assessing the progress, or lack of it, when it comes to tackling the main causes of climate change in this pivotal region.

“It has been said that the battle for climate change will be won or lost in Asia and the Pacific,” says Subathirai Sivakumaran, Chief of Financing for Development Section, UN ESCAP. “This also means that global achievement of the SDGs by 2030, whether it is Goal 13 on climate change, or other SDGs on energy, food and poverty will depend on achievement of the SDGs in Asia and the Pacific, home to 60% of the world’s population.

“The issue of ensuring that enough sustainable finance for SDGs and climate action is mobilised in Asia and the Pacific has massive implications for the world.”

From a business opportunity perspective, sustainable or green finance is also going to play a key role in capital markets. PwC says that green finance will be a US$22 trillion market globally by 2030. businesschief.asia

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ESG | GREEN FINANCE

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC IS HOME TO SIGNIFICANTLY LARGE POOLS OF PRIVATE CAPITAL CAPABLE OF BRIDGING THE GAP IN SUSTAINABLE FINANCE Subathirai Sivakumaran

United Nations’ ESCAP Finance Chief for Development

Asia Pacific holds the key to SDG success or failure At the ‘half-time’ stage between 2015 and 2030, the region is not on track to achieve any of the 17 UN SDGs. While there has been progress on all measurable goals, one significant goal has actually seen the region slip into reverse – unlucky for some, or rather all, that is goal 13 on climate action.

Policymakers, regulators and private finance need to plug the gap and accelerate action.

There are many challenges that each of these stakeholders face, but the interesting thing that the report points out is how interconnected these stakeholders are, and how interconnected their challenges are.

“Whether it is consistent and coherent regulation between say the finance and energy sector, or whether it is policy coherence between finance ministries and the environmental ministries, the importance of integrated, cohesive action that systematically incentivises the supply and demand for capital to flow into 102

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SDG and climate action areas cannot be overstated,” says Sivakumaran.

The scale of this coordination required at the country level constitutes a profound challenge to ensuring a timely net zero transition.

Importantly, consistency and coherence in regulation and policy has a profound impact on the cost of capital, and a country’s ability to mobilise public and private capital.

US$22 trillion Value of the green finance market globally by 2030

US$3 trillion

The amount that emerging markets and developing economies (excluding China) will need to spend per year by 2030 to finance the SDGs and climate action

Sivakumaran points out two additional challenges highlighted in the report.

“Asian banks and private finance entities are slow in making net zero commitments by 2050 with credible transition pathways that also set out interim goals (such as in 2030, 2040 etc.),” she says. “If such commitments were in place, private finance could encourage the real economy to transition much faster.

“The other challenge is also in building bankable green projects that align with the needs and standards of multiple investors, particularly in the countries that need it the most. Again, if investors had clear net zero commitments, the parameters of their financing may be able to fit the project pipeline available in such countries much better.” businesschief.asia

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ESG | GREEN FINANCE

Trillions needed to plug gap So, how large is this sustainable finance gap?

Some world leaders may want to look away now…

Estimates vary and continue to rise the more action is delayed. The latest Report of the Independent Expert Group to the G20 states that emerging markets and developing economies (excluding China) will need to spend US$3 trillion per year by 2030.

Globally, the Sharm-el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, agreed at COP27 in 2022 highlighted that the world will need between US$4 trillion and US$6 trillion per year to transition to a low-carbon economy.

“The estimates consistently refer to trillions required per year to be deployed to financing the SDGs and climate action,” says Sivakumaran.

“While it is easy to throw one’s hands up at such a large number and conclude that this is not possible, our report also notes that there is indeed sufficient capital to meet these gaps. The question therefore is not how large is the gap but rather how fast can we meet the gap in time, given that the physics of the carbon budget is unforgiving, and we are already at 1.1 degrees Celsius of global temperature rise.”

Part of the problem when it comes to SDGs is the sheer scale of the journey required, which can make achieving those goals seem like an impossible dream. However, as Sivakumaran points out, there are positives to cling to – and the fact that sufficient capital is available is surely central to meeting those goals, no matter how far away they may seem.

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“The opportunities are right there in front of us,” says Sivakumaran. “The question is one of how fast can economies transform to meet the needs of our future, and how fast can financing transform to meet the new economy’s needs.

“This requires political will, of course, but also coordination and coherence by ministries and regulators, in executing the transition in a rapid and orderly manner.”

ESG | GREEN FINANCE

PRIVATE FINANCE ENTITIES – INCLUDING BANKS, INVESTORS, AND BUSINESSES – WILL NOW HAVE TO STEP UP TO THE CHALLENGE AND DRASTICALLY INCREASE THE SCALE OF THEIR OPERATIONS Subathirai Sivakumaran

United Nations’ ESCAP Finance Chief for Development

This gets to the crux of the matter – whose responsibility is this? Who should be funding sustainable finance? Should it be governments or the private sector?

Delivering this transition will involve engaging governments, central banks, commercial banks, institutional investors, and other financial actors. It is therefore everyone’s responsibility. Governments and international financial institutions

can play a crucial role in providing initial funding for sustainable finance projects by serving as a catalyst for attracting private capital.

“Asia and the Pacific is home to significantly large pools of private capital capable of bridging the gap in sustainable finance,” says Sivakumaran. “Private finance entities – including banks, investors, and businesses – will now have to step up businesschief.asia

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ESG | GREEN FINANCE

INVE ‘DAR LESS THE

Jose

Co-C

T H E C E O P E R SP E C TIV E Jose Maria Ortiz, is co-CEO and Head of Impact Investing at Palladium Group – a global impact firm that works with corporations, governments, investors, communities and civil society in 90 countries, and has corporate offices in Brisbane, Canberra, Jakarta, Sydney, and Pune.

“CEOs should be delighted with the opportunity to tap into these resources to finance growth and transformation of their companies,” says Ortiz. “Now, CEOs can prepare interventions to decarbonise their value chain, launch new products 106

December 2023

and services that appeal to the green finance market, launch new facilities, and tap into cheaper capital.

“Only CEOs that work in highly polluting industries and do not have the imagination or the capacity to launch green initiatives should be worried about the advantage that more innovative competitors will have by using that cheaper green capital.”

And there is plenty of that green capital around – growing more than 100 times in the last decade.

When it comes to the biggest challenges facing green finance, Ortiz says

the very word ‘green’ can create confusion, and could actually erode investor confidence.

He says investors are already talking about ‘dark green’ to differentiate from “less green products that have the label but not the substance”.

“The beauty of green finance is that it transcends sector and geography,” says Ortiz. “The options are so vast in theme, geography and risk return that it caters to both impact and mainstream investors.

“With a US$30+ trillion market for green finance, the possibilities are endless.”

ESG | GREEN FINANCE

ESTORS ARE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT K GREEN’ TO DIFFERENTIATE FROM S GREEN PRODUCTS THAT HAVE LABEL BUT NOT THE SUBSTANCE

e Maria Ortiz

CEO and Head of Impact Investing, The Palladium Group

to the challenge and drastically increase the scale of their operations.”

It is one thing having the capital available, quite another to spend it wisely. The planet simply does not have a second chance if the money available is wasted first-time around.

Given the rising energy demand and its contribution to emissions in Asia, a high priority should be placed on financing the just energy transition, says Sivakumaran.

This includes solving the difficult question of how to finance the phase-out of coal (or other fossil fuels) in an orderly and equitable manner. Urgent funding is also required for renewable energy and energyefficiency projects.

Large-scale financing is essential for deploying new green technologies, such as green hydrogen, in hard-to-abate sectors, where commitments are many but financing is still lagging.

If the finance exists, what is stopping deployment, and therefore holding back progress on achieving the SDGs? “There are insufficient policies and regulations that incentivise financing towards these goals,” says Sivakumaran.

“There is also an absence of bankable projects in national pipelines. Green projects, particularly those centered on adaptation, often involve high upfront costs and longer-term returns. During this interim period, financiers face a spectrum of risks related to various factors, including countrylevel risks, industry-related challenges, and macroeconomic conditions.

“The lack of robust policy and regulatory frameworks, especially in emerging fields like renewable energy and green technologies, adds to the challenges. Governments play a pivotal role in creating environments conducive to building invest-ready pipelines.”

The UN ESCAP report highlights ten principles for action – or a guide for countries to adopt. Each country will have a unique pathway towards financing SDGs and climate action, based on a unique combination of those ten principles.

Ultimately, the report says every country in the Asia-Pacific region is at a different stage in their journey, but this report can be used as a roadmap for policymakers, regulators and private finance to bridge the sustainable finance gap. businesschief.asia

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TECHNOLOGY | AI

WHY THE M&A ROUTE TO

GEN AI COULD BE

THE BEST SOLUTION Andrea Guerzoni, EY Global VC for Strategy and Transactions on navigating the Gen AI opportunity and why the M&A route could provide the best solution

WRITTEN BY: KATE BIRCH businesschief.asia

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TECHNOLOGY | AI

APAC could potentially benefit more given the region’s willingness to invest in AI, the technology-driven economies, and its vibrant AI start-up ecosystem

Y

ou don’t need a survey to tell you Gen AI is top of the business agenda. It has been a year since ChatGPT burst onto the scene (creators OpenAI launched it on 30 November 2022) and it quickly transitioned from gimmick to a genie in the bottle for business.

Suddenly, CEOs and CTOs were digging out their cheque books, clamouring to take advantage of the new technology and not get left behind – even if they were not entirely sure what to do with it. A year on, that situation remains, according to the latest EY CEO Outlook Pulse survey.

The quarterly survey of 1,200 global CEOs reflects the difficulties and the urgency that CEOs find themselves acting under when it comes to Gen AI. While more than two-thirds (70%) see the need to act quickly on GenAI to avoid missing out, 68% say they are being held back due to uncertainty around the pace of change.

Andrea Guerzoni, EY Global Vice Chair – Strategy and Transactions, says CEOs are making bold investments in the technology to future-proof their organisations, 110 December 2023

Andrea Guerzoni, EY Global Vice Chair for Strategy and Transactions

but the “relentless hype” around artificial intelligence has clouded their view of the landscape.

“While CEOs agree their organisations need to act now on GenAI to avoid giving competitors a strategic advantage, they are also acutely aware of the uncertainty around GenAI,” Guerzoni tells Business Chief.

“That makes it challenging to develop and implement an effective AI strategy and move organisations up the AI maturity curve.

ANDREA ON FUTURE BUSINESS SUCCESS

“In APAC, only 7% of CEOs think that their organisations are leading in this space.

Although CEOs are at different stages of integrating AI into their business operations and strategies, the overall trend towards greater adoption and leveraging of AI capabilities is clear as virtually all CEOs (98%) are planning significant investments in Generative AI.” For many CEOs, investing in generative AI means investing in the future of

“Our work with clients sees us developing capital strategies to unlock the opportunities the digital age brings. An important part of this is removing some of the barriers that may hinder the ability to benefit from these opportunities. Many of these are born of a fixed mindset. Much of what future success looks like will be seen by the agile thinkers – those who respond to the changing nature of customer needs, embrace investment philosophies that balance continuity with change, and build operating models that double as technology enablers”

98%

Nearly all CEOs globally are planning significant investments in Gen AI

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67%

CEOs reporting that it has become harder to identify credible partners or acquisition targets, due to a sharp increase in companies claiming to be experienced in AI

23%

APAC CEOs planning M&A over the next 12 months, compared to 56% in July 2023

TECHNOLOGY | AI

While CEOs agree their organisations need to act now on GenAI… they are also acutely aware of the uncertainty around GenAI Andrea Guerzoni

EY Global Vice Chair for Strategy and Transactions

their organisation. The decision to invest (or not) is primarily a strategic one, says Guerzoni, and can depend on industry context, AI maturity, available resources and the specific problems the company is trying to solve.

For many, there is a strong case for the strategic use and investment in Gen AI, although the opportunities to create efficiencies and improve talent and skill developments are currently clearer than driving top-line growth.

“It is also crucial for CEOs to consider associated risks, ethical implications and the need for a robust risk management framework,” he says. “Formulating a balanced and well-thought-out AI strategy that aligns with the company’s overall business objectives and risk appetite is key.”

The survey highlights some regional differences that set CEOs from the APAC region apart from their global counterparts.

One of the most striking is the approach towards funding for these investments in AI. While almost a quarter (23%) of global CEOs prefer raising new capital for their AI investments, only 15% of Asia-Pacific CEOs share this approach. Instead, 42% of AsiaPacific CEOs indicated they will reallocate

capital from other investment budgets and another 32% prefer to draw from their existing technology budgets.

Guerzoni says the differing approaches to funding reflects different capital market dynamics globally and where venture capital is more readily available.

Not only is the sheer rate of advancement a challenge for CEOs when it comes to devising their strategy – which impacts their ability to remain up-to-date with their knowledge and capabilities – but it is also hard to choose partners to work with.

“Of the CEOs surveyed, 67% reported that it has become harder to identify credible partners or acquisition targets, due to a sharp increase in companies claiming to be experienced in AI,” says Guerzoni. “This challenge can complicate the process of finding reliable assistance and collaboration in the AI landscape.”

The ability to find reliable, knowledgeable partners is essential, and Guerzoni argues that the APAC region could benefit more than most from the Gen AI opportunity.

“APAC could potentially benefit more given the region’s willingness to embrace and invest in AI, the technology-driven economies, and its vibrant AI start-up / venture ecosystem,” businesschief.asia

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The region continues to show strong growth prospects and high digital adoption where countries like China, Japan, and Singapore are at the forefront of digital innovation Andrea Guerzoni

EY Global Vice Chair for Strategy and Transactions

he says. “This is despite risks associated with the ‘fragmentation of AI’ between China and western countries, with China developing its own independent ecosystems.”

The region is on the rise – a fact backed up by the EY survey that shows the top five destinations companies are considering locating are China, Australia, India, Japan, and Singapore. Guerzoni is not surprised.

“In the last decade, the large and increasingly affluent population has grown, which translates to a huge consumer market,” he says. “APAC also has a young and skilled workforce which still has a relatively low-cost base for highly educated and dynamic talent.

“The region continues to show strong growth prospects and high digital adoption where countries like China, Japan, and Singapore are at the forefront of digital innovation, offering a vibrant ecosystem for businesses. It also still plays a critical role in global supply chains, 114 December 2023

so the region’s attractiveness and importance cannot be understated.”

With its vast and diverse population, the APAC region also offers large data sets that can be used to train and refine Gen AI models. This diversity can help in developing more robust and region-aware AI systems.

It’s not all positive news for APAC, however. Stagnant global growth, economic and geopolitical risks and the higher cost of capital are weighing on APAC deal sentiment.

Overall, the appetite to pursue transactions remains robust, with 84% of APAC CEOs looking to M&A, divestments or joint ventures to gain the capabilities required to fast-track their growth ambitions.

“While the US has led a relative rebound in M&A this year, the tailwind for APAC is yet to arrive, as is reflected in our survey: 23% of APAC CEOs plan M&A over the next 12 months (compared to 56% in July 2023), substantially lower than the 56% of American CEOs,” states Guerzoni.

“CEOs need to assess their risk levels when it comes to technology and digital disruption – already 35% believe that it will have a huge impact on the organisation’s performance. Digital transformation can enhance operational efficiency, improve customer experience, enable new business models and drive competitive advantage.

“However, M&A should not be disregarded as a means of driving business growth. Strategic investments can provide a route to acquire unique capabilities – acquiring a tech-savvy organisation can provide an instant boost to a company’s digital transformation efforts.”

With almost all CEOs in APAC planning to invest in Gen AI, the M&A route could yet provide the best solution, but with the technology evolving on a seemingly daily basis, it would be a bold CEO who backs such a move.

However, with such game-changing gains at stake, fortune could indeed favour the brave. businesschief.asia

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HOW 1% FOR

THE PLANET

MAKES 100% BUSINESS SENSE

Progress, not perfection is the goal for changemaker Kate Williams, CEO of 1% For The Planet – the global movement making inroads across Asia-Pacific WRITTEN BY: KATE BIRCH

R

ecent research from Bain & Company and EcoVadis covering 80,000 private companies and 20,000 listed companies came to one powerful conclusion – a more sustainable business is a more profitable business.

And when it comes to companies doing the right thing, few have better sustainability credentials than outdoor

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apparel brand Patagonia. Founder Yvon Chouinard famously gave the billion-dollar company away in 2022 – putting it into a Trust and non-profit dedicated to defending nature.

That is not Chouinard’s only legacy.

The story goes that keen rockclimber Chouinard was out fly fishing in 2002 with Blue Ribbon Flies CEO Craig Mathews when they hit upon an idea of how businesses

PEOPLE & PLANET | PLEDGES

1% For The Planet membership is a way to make real impact and reject business as usual businesschief.asia

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Conscious businesses want to make change and support climate action – and we offer a simple and streamlined solution to do that Kate Williams

CEO, 1% For The Planet

large and small could all make a difference and take responsibility for their impact.

That’s how 1% For The Planet was born.

Kate Williams – who became CEO of 1% For The Planet in 2015 after working in the environmental nonprofit and outdoor adventure space for more than two decades – explains how it all began.

“The idea for 1% For The Planet sparked from a discussion on the environmental impact of business – and how business owners have a responsibility to give back to the planet,” she tells Business Chief.

“It started small, with most members being outdoor brands already focused on environmental advocacy. But the network grew rapidly as the logo and mission gained recognition. Today we have over 5,500 business members in more than 60 countries, spanning almost every industry you can think of. From legal services to baby products, 1% For The Planet members no longer fit in any one category.”

Williams says she realised she wanted to pursue an environmental career when she was 118 December 2023

18 and on a challenging group backpacking trip in the mountains of Wyoming.

Finding herself in a leadership position and dealing with injuries, bad weather and tasked with keeping up morale, Williams had something of an epiphany – that compassionate leadership was at the core of how she shows up for people and the planet.

Joining 1% For The Planet is the culmination of those early ambitions.

While Williams’ personal beliefs make her involvement a no-brainer, what about the businesses that are signing up to literally give away 1% of their total sales? What kind of companies are they?

“Though they cover a wide variety of industries (no more than 10% of our network is in any single industry), 1% For The Planet

Credit: DUFT-WATTERSON

1% For The Planet CEO Kate Williams with co-founders Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia) and Craig Mathews (Blue Ribbon Flies)

members all have one thing in common: a commitment to do better for people and the planet,” says Williams.

“Lots of brands say they give back, or give the impression of environmental action through ‘green’ packaging and vague statements. 1% For The Planet membership is a way for both businesses and consumers to cut through the noise – to make real impact and reject business as usual.”

Of those 5,500 business members, the most recognised is of course Patagonia.

Other noteworthy larger businesses include home and kitchen brand OXO, Avocado Green Mattress and life science company Cell Signaling Technology. To date, all member companies have contributed around US$450 million to good causes.

PEOPLE & PLANET | PLEDGES

AS I A & ANZ CO MPANI ES CO MMI TTED TO 1% FO R THE PLANE T Sun Village India Sun Village is a dairy brand from Rajasthan committed to ‘Khatirdari’ – a warm welcome and honest hospitality. Founded in 2001 as a brand of Lotus Dairy, its heritage stretches back three generations when the founders of Lotus aimed to generate employment at a grassroots level. Today, milk is sourced from local farmers in more than 1,650+ villages.

Motion Energy Australia Motion Energy is a Certified B Corp that promotes clean energy mobility solutions.

The company provides unique dual certification aligned with nine of the global SDGs. Motion Energy provides valuable carbon finance for EV activities, supporting decarbonisation for stakeholders and future generations.

Winkler Partners Taiwan Winkler Partners was the first law firm in Asia to become a Certified B Corp in 2017 and now lists 1% For The Planet as one of its partners. The full-service law firm based in Taiwan strives to be a sustainable enterprise, mindful of the commitment to providing clients with competitive, ethical, and effective legal services.

Mering Global Hong Kong Mering Global is a manufacturing agency that has been helping purpose-driven brands since 2014. The bespoke agency can provide sourcing and sampling, manufacturing and logistics. businesschief.asia

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1% For The Planet community volunteers with the Surfrider Foundation

RIS E O F E T HI CA L , E NV IR ONME N TAL CERTI FI CATI ONS As consumers vote for increased sustainability and climate-friendly products with their spending habits, a growing number of companies are leveraging ethical and environmental certifications to quickly and quantitatively show consumers, vendors, partners and suppliers a commitment to these practices. So what do these mean?

Fair Trade Certified seal on a product "signifies that it was made according to rigorous, fair trade standards that promote sustainable livelihoods, safe working conditions, protection of the environment and strong, transparent supply chains."

Rainforest Alliance Certified hotels promote environmental, social and economic sustainability in agriculture and forestry for conference locations or employee travel 120 December 2023

FSC recycled certification Ensures responsible forest management and promotes the use of recycled materials in the production of paper and other forest-based products Climate Neutral Certified Globally-recognised standard for carbon accountability with all certified brands measuring, reducing, and compensating for their emissions LEED certification World's most widely used green building rating system, providing a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings B Corp The only certification that measures a company’s entire social and environmental performance

Credit: DUFT-WATTERSON

PEOPLE & PLANET | PLEDGES

“Most of the network is made up of small businesses, which goes to show how much 1% adds up – and the importance of collective action,” says Kate.

Every 1% For The Planet member donates 1% of all sales, not profits, directly to one or more vetted environmental partners.

Then, those companies show proof of donation and 1% For The Planet certifies their giving, providing them access to use the logo to share their commitment.

This model allows for meaningful partnerships to be built between businesses and environmental partners.

Although the organisation was founded in the US, 57% of the 1% For The Planet network is from outside the US, with Europe being particularly well represented.

Making inroads in Asia-Pacific The Asia and ANZ region is well represented, with more than 300 companies pledging their support in Australia alone.

“We are working on expanding our reach every day, and are hoping to significantly increase brand awareness in all regions within the next decade,” Kate tells Business Chief.

“The 1% For The Planet logo holds credibility and recognition around the world, so a large selling point is increased success in the global market.”

Kate highlights two examples of how 1% For The Planet members are making a difference in Asia & ANZ. READ THE FULL STORY businesschief.asia

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Organisations across Asia are realising the benefits neurodivergent employees bring – but how best to attract, retain and empower neurodiverse talent for business success?

WRITTEN BY: KATE BIRCH 122 December 2023

THE VALUE OF HIRING PEOPLE WHO THINK

PEOPLE & PLANET | DIVERSITY

W

hen it comes to thinking differently, acceptance in corporate circles has long been lagging. Only in recent years has the business world begun to embrace and accommodate the unique talents and needs of neurodiverse individuals – and in Asia, this is just getting started.

For example, while the US signed into law its Disabilities Act (inclusive of divergent thinkers) in 1990, igniting the neurodiversity movement in the same decade, India only recognised Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in its Disabilities (PwD) Act in 2016.

Broadly defined as a diversity of thinking styles and abilities, neurodiversity or neurodivergence refers to differences in the human brain and covers a range of cognitive

variations such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and Tourette Syndrome.

While there are no reliable statistics on how many people have a neurodiverse condition, largely due to its invisible nature and limited understanding, estimates suggest 15-20% of the global population are neurodivergent. And according to data from Deloitte US, 85% of those on the autism spectrum are unemployed, compared to 4.2% of the overall population.

The numbers make for depressing reading, but even more so when you look at specific countries in Asia. In the Philippines, less than one in five of working-age people with disabilities are part of the workforce, while in Malaysia, that figure is drops to just 1.4%.

Neurodiverse professionals deliver benefits on many levels – fuelling innovation, facilitating problem-solving and enhancing productivity Monika Mahto

Research Leader, Deloitte Center for Integrated Research, India

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But the tide is changing. Increased awareness and understanding coupled with an expanded corporate focus on DEI and continuing talent shortages is turning employer attention towards what has historically been untapped talent.

Embracing neurodiverse talent While there is no data on neurodiverse hiring specifically, growth in the recruitment of persons with disabilities (PwD) in India rose to 4% in Q2 FY23 from 1% in FY22, according to Quess General Staffing – and more organisations are getting on board.

Monika Mahto is a research leader at the Deloitte Center for Integrated Research.

She works on Deloitte’s global research campaigns on advanced technologies and future of work and leads the InclusionWellbeing initiative for Deloitte’s 700 employees across Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

“We are seeing positive developments in support of neurodiversity, including employers’ willingness to support neurodiverse individuals,” Monika tells Business Chief.

Citing Deloitte research, Monika points to multiple forces of change within the corporate world – from the war on talent and widening skills gap, to the pressure to integrate a diverse workforce, not to mention the need to create and sustain business value in new ways.

“Neurodiverse professionals can help organisations find solutions to some of these challenges by fuelling innovation, facilitating problem-solving, and enhancing productivity – delivering benefits at many levels,” she says – adding that

AI TO DRIVE NEURODIVERSE INCLUSION According to Deloitte research, AI offers an untapped opportunity to drive diversity and improve accessibility in the workplace for all.

AI can remove language barriers and improve accessibility in meetings and discussions by using text summarisation to help professionals who may find it difficult to comprehend large bodies of text in one sitting. “Meeting notes can be transcribed for those with diagnoses such as dysgraphia or dyslexia, to improve the work experience and effectiveness,” says Deloitte research leader Monika.

She further suggests mitigating human and algorithmic biases in screening potential candidates with AI. “During screening, traditional processes that involve identifying an ideal candidate through stereotypical criteria, such as facial or speech expressions, may make it difficult for neurodivergent applicants to showcase their capabilities.

AI screening programmes may help control some of the human subjectivity, as long as AI biases are controlled in the programme.”

Deloitte research finds some companies use evaluative AI screeners with neurosciencebased games embedded to better understand candidates’ hard-to-assess competencies, such as risk-taking, perseverance, and emotional intelligence, along with traditional traits such as logical reasoning and quantitative and verbal abilities. businesschief.asia

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some companies intentionally form ‘pods’ comprising neurotypical and neurodivergent professionals to bring the best out of the combination in service of business goals.

Neurodiversity as competitive advantage Certainly, in viewing the world differently, neurodiverse talent can offer different perspectives, which can help solve complex challenges and advance innovation.

As CEO of Empauwer, the world’s first AI-powered inclusive onboarding and engagement platform designed to help employers hire, engage, and harness neurodiverse talent, Singapore-based Farida Charania is seeing first-hand the shift taking place.

“There has been a stigma around neurodiversity in Asia, as is the case in many parts of the world. However, the landscape is slowly shifting… and more organisations are realising the unique potential and skills that neurodiverse individuals bring to the table.”

While every neurodiverse individual is unique, there are common characteristics that make them great hires, says Farida.

As well as fostering innovation and bringing a wide range of perspectives to the table, those with neurodivergent conditions offer unique problem-solving abilities, creativity, and attention to detail, she says.

Rajesekharan Pazhaniappan, co-founder of v-shesh Learning Services concurs.

“There are many neurodivergent individuals who are highly creative and have natural out-of-the-box thinking and complex problem-solving skills – the same aptitude that corporates want for their roles in IT, analytics, data science and AI.” 126 December 2023

At the same time, he points out that many have deep interest in related fields, so not only are they an untapped talent pool but an exceptional one, “the combination of aptitude and interest creates an intense work focus”.

Globally, EY and JPMorgan were among organisations quick to spot the talent pool. In comparing the work generated by neurodiverse and neurotypical professionals, EY found that while quality, efficiency and productivity were similar, neurodiverse employees excelled at innovation. And after implementing its ‘autism at work’ initiative, JPMorgan found neurodiverse teams made fewer errors and were 90% to 140% more productive.

Realising the competitive advantage, these and other organisations including Wells Fargo, Deloitte, Accenture, Petronas and IHG Hotels are rolling out hiring and retention programmes across the region.

By harnessing the pow differently, neurodive innovation and creati while also developing are more inclusive an Farehana Hanapiah

SVP, Group HR Management, Petronas,

As a top three employer in Malaysia, with more than 47,000 employees, Petronas is working with EY Malaysia to facilitate organisational readiness in creating job opportunities for the neurodiverse population, as well as provide upskilling and support to select organisations.

“Hiring neurodiverse talent brings an innovative opportunity for Petronas and other organisations to address business needs and contribute to nation building,” says SVP of Group HR Management, Farehana Hanapiah.

“By harnessing the power of people who think differently, neurodiversity can help to bring innovation and creativity to the workplace while also developing better leaders that are more inclusive and empathetic.”

wer of people who think ersity can help to bring ivity to the workplace g better leaders that nd empathetic

, Malaysia businesschief.asia

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Personalisation key Many other companies regionally are implementing programmes that target neuro-diverse hires with customised roles for their abilities, appropriate hiring techniques and adapted workplaces – necessary steps to attract and retain talent long-term, say experts.

“To accommodate neurodiverse talent, managers and HR departments need to foster an inclusive culture, provide necessary accommodations, create flexible work environments, and offer training to all staff on neurodiversity,” Farida says.

Deloitte leader Monika believes training is especially critical given that neurodiversity often manifests as an invisible set of differences, meaning managers and peers may not always be aware of unique requirements.

“Understanding neurodiversity is the first and crucial step toward embracing it.

Just as no two neurotypical individuals are alike, no two neurodivergent individuals are the same. And even within one condition, individuals may exhibit different traits on a spectrum, making it important to avoid

20%

Estimates suggest 15-20% of the global population are neurodivergent

90%

A report by JPMorgan Chase found that professionals in its Autism at Work initiative were 90% to 140% more productive than neurotypical employees

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generalising the challenges faced and the support needed.”

Take working styles. While some people are comfortable working from home shielded from the pressure of unstructured social interactions, others may prefer the routine of office presence and the clear delineation of work and non-work hours, says Monika. It is therefore important to give workers “some flexibility” to choose how they structure their day.

“Business accommodations need to be made not just in letters but also in spirit and should remain flexible with feedback received from neurodivergent workers and their allies.”

Wells Fargo has recognised the need to take a personalised approach. With offices in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad, the company launched its Neurodiversity Strategy in India in 2021 with the aim to build a sustainable ecosystem for neurodivergent talent.

The financial services giant worked locally with community partner EnAble India to roll out a Train, Intern, Hire model – employing a customised approach that involves understanding the available talent pool and undertaking an intensive job role analysis to identify roles best suited for potential candidates. Selected candidates then undergo training for 14 weeks, inclusive of soft and hard skills.

Among unique features, the programme offers continuous engagement with family members, the allocation of buddies, intensive sensitisation sessions for leaders and teams, and encouragement of employees to advocate for themselves, sharing their needs and aspirations.

PEOPLE & PLANET | DIVERSITY

To accommodate neurodiverse talent, leaders need to foster an inclusive culture, provide necessary accommodations, create flexible work environments, and offer training to all staff Farida Charania

CEO, Empauwer, Singapore

The buddy system is an approach Monika recommends. “Beyond formal policies, finding support from a trusted ally or buddy is important, someone who can speak up in support of neurodiverse individuals and who can educate others – as often it is others who need to be sensitised.”

Addressing hiring and placement Hiring and placement of neurodiverse talent can be a challenge. According to Rajesekharan Pazhaniappan, the neurotypical way of thinking requires employees to adhere to certain norms and employers are conditioned to misread any deviation as a hiring risk.

READ THE FULL STORY businesschief.asia

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PRE-OWNED LUXURY WATCHES WHY NOW IS THE TIME TO INVEST High-end timepieces are an attractive alternative investment in Asia, but soaring prices in recent years have seen collectors turn to the pre-owned market WRITTEN BY: KATE BIRCH

I

t is almost 250 years since Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith popularised the theory of market supply and demand.

The world has changed beyond recognition in that time, yet his principle still holds true. However, jolts and disruptions like COVID-19 create quirks, while also proving Smith’s theory.

During the pandemic, nearly new, used cars were changing hands for as much as, or even more than, the list price of

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The new Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer is expected to be in high demand on the pre-owned market

LIFESTYLE | WATCHES

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The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime sold at auction of US$34 million in 2019

brand-new vehicles – fuelled by a lack of supply and long waiting lists caused by supply chain disruptions.

Even more stark was the impact on high-end watches, with the most in-demand timepieces commanding prices up to three times the recommended retail price as collectors and enthusiasts clamoured to get their wrists around new models but unable to visit boutiques.

Already in limited supply, the secondhand market for haute horlogerie has

PPETIT E I N ASIA FOR RY ROBUST AND EVEN R E- PANDEMIC LEVELS Alexandre Bigler,

Head of Watches, Christie’s Asia Pacific

calmed down since that heady pandemic period but many watches are still trading above asking price, and Asian buyers are leading the charge.

That’s according to renowned auction house Christie’s that has offices in Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo.

Christie’s says the buying appetite in Asia for H1 2023 is “very robust and even outperforms pre-pandemic levels”. This is evidenced in their global watch auctions which have seen Asian registrants increase by 42% and the value of their purchases soar by 182%.

“Watches hit best-ever first half results in 2023, with the most valuable timepiece ever sold online at auction globally – the Patek Philippe ‘Sky Moon Tourbillon’ Ref.6002G – setting a world record at US$5,815,300,” says Alexandre Bigler, Head of Watches at Christie’s Asia Pacific.

That sale was at Christie’s Hong Kong, which set 11 auction records and total sales of US$56,925,684 in H1 2023. businesschief.asia

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ASIAN WATCH BUYERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN CHRISTIE’S GLOBAL WATCHES AUCTIONS IN H1 2023 ARE GETTING YOUNGER Alexandre Bigler,

Head of Watches, Christie’s Asia Pacific

It’s not just watch enthusiasts and collectors who have taken note of the pre-owned timepiece market – savvy investors have spotted the market’s performance and are also getting involved.

As BCG’s recent report ‘Luxury Preowned Watches, Your Time Has Come’ states, from August 2018 to January 2023 average prices in the second-hand market for top models from Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet rose at an annual rate of 20%. This compares with an annual rate of 8% for the S&P 500 index.

“Needless to say, rare references by Patek Philippe and Rolex are in high demand,” says Bigler.

“At the same time, independent watchmakers have risen in demand and Richard Mille is one brand that has made

US$85 billion Swiss firm LuxeConsult says that by 2033, pre-owned sales will surpass sales of new watches, peaking at US$85 billion

it into the top three sold per year for the past five years list.

“Watches which have not been handled recently on the market attract attention from around the globe, if they are in the right condition – meaning not over repaired and with an interesting provenance.”

Watches have a recognised history of performing well compared to stocks, and have also shown greater resilience than many financial and consumer product categories.

No wonder, then, that pre-owned sales reached US$22 billion in 2021, accounting for almost 30% of total sales in the luxury watch market.

A big part in that shift is pure demand outstripping supply, and the increasing demand for instant gratification. This is something that Rustin Yasavolian, CEO of Masina Diamonds has experienced first hand.

“Luxury watches have exploded in value since 2020,” he tells Business Chief. “It is almost impossible to get a luxury sports watch like Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe without an extensive purchase history.

“If you’re looking to get a sports model, these authorised dealers say they will put you

Rolex is celebrating the 60th LIFESTYLE | WATCHES anniversary of the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona with updated versions

R O L E X C E R TIF IE D P R E - OW NED Worried about buying an authentic timepiece in the second-hand market?

Most reputable online marketplaces will offer guarantees of authenticity, or you could go straight

to the source. Rolex is one manufacturer that offers a Certified Pre-Owned programme which vouches for the authenticity of second-hand watches

when sold by an Official Retailer. Not only that, but the watches are checked to ensure perfect functioning, and there is a two-year international guarantee. businesschief.asia

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L U X U RY WAT C H E S H AV E E X P L O D E D I N VA L U E S I Rustin Yasavolian

CEO, Masina Diamonds The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

on a ‘list’ and keep you updated when the watch model comes in hand. The problem with this is that there are a lot of people looking for the same watch and the most highly sought-after watches are prioritised to previous clients before new ones. We’ve had customers tell us they’ve been waiting three years for a Rolex Submariner.”

Yasavolian says this is where the secondary market really comes into its own, as people simply don’t want to wait years for a watch they may never get.

He cites the example of a stainless steel Rolex Daytona 116500 that Rolex sells at a retail price of US$15,100 but currently goes for more than US$30,000 on the secondary market.

In February 2022, the secondary watch market prices peaked with the stainless steel Rolex Daytona trading at more than US$50,000, he says.

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with grand complications and vintage perpetual calendar references from Patek Philippe especially sought after.

In 2022, pre-owned sales reached US$27 billion, and Swiss firm LuxeConsult says that by 2033, pre-owned sales will surpass sales of new watches, peaking at US$85 billion.

Part of the attraction for investors rather than enthusiasts is that luxury watches are seen as a stable asset built on reputable brands, and with demand from high net worth individuals who are less affected by financial downturns.

In the decade from 2013 to 2022, watches outperformed other popular collectible investments – such as jewellery, handbags, wine, art – growing at an average annual rate of 7%.

So should these in-demand watches be seen as a credible alternative investment for the speculator as well as the specialist?

Although the market has cooled, there are still sound investments to be made, and while

E I NC E 2 0 2 0

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not everyone will have the ‘gut instinct’ when it comes to a timepiece, there are some simple guidelines that can steer potential buyers, and collectors, in the right direction.

“At Christie’s, we advise our clients to buy what they like or desire and to buy the best object on the market available for their budget,” says Bigler. “On the latter point. Christie’s specialists are there to help and give their advice on a global market perspective.”

Interestingly, BCG’s report also highlights Gen Z and younger millennial buyers who say they intend to spend more on luxury watches.

In BCG’s survey, 54% of those buyers said that they had increased their spending on luxury watches during the previous 24 months, citing increased ease of buying and selling and more investment opportunities as their top reasons. Half said they expect to spend more on luxury watches in the next 24 months despite economic uncertainties.

That is certainly happening in Asia, with Christie’s seeing an increase in millennial collectors and those in their 20s seeking rare vintage watches – an encouraging sign of the watch market continuing to evolve in the region.

“Asian watch buyers who participated in Christie’s global Watches auctions in 1H 2023, are getting younger,” says Bigler.

“Among all Asian watch buyers in this segment, more than a third are Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996), versus only 27% in the same period in 2019. When it 138

December 2023

comes to new watch buyers, more than half are Millennials.”

With such high demand, you could think that these prized watches should be selling for higher prices directly from the manufacturers. Certainly a few years ago, the secondary market was largely shunned by some of the more luxurious brands, but that has changed.

In 2018, Swiss luxury goods company Richemont purchased Watchfinder

LIFESTYLE | WATCHES

Rolex watches, like the GMT Master II, are always in high demand and a strong investment choice

– a second-hand watch seller with a strong online presence. Audemars Piguet has launched a pre-owned watch business, and Rolex finally embraced the reseller market in 2022.

With the secondhand market continuing to grow, appetite in Asia soaring, and investors diversifying their portfolios, not to mention the personal pleasure a watch can bring, it looks like this is time for preloved watches to shine.

AS I A S ETTI NG LUXURY WATCH WO RLD RECO RDS Watches hit best-ever first half results in 2023, with the most valuable timepiece ever sold online at auction globally. This was the Patek Philippe ‘Sky Moon Tourbillon’, which set a world record at US$5,815,300,” according to Alexandre Bigler, Head of Watches at Christie’s Asia Pacific. That sale was at Christie’s Hong Kong, which set 11 auction records and total sales of US$56,925,684 in H1 2023.

rd r Bi ffe rly O 95 t Ea ke £2 c Ti 95 £4

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