Celebrating Asia's finest leaders

THE third annual Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability Awards (ACES) was held at The Shangri-La, Singapore, on November 17. The ACES Awards is organised by MORS Group, which champions revolutionary leadership and sustainability in companies operating in the Asian region. The function was graced by founder of Kaden Boriss and chairman of ACES Awards, Hemant K Batra, who was also on hand to present the Awards to their proud recipients.

In attendance were representatives from 44 corporations who voluntarily submitted to a management process audit in order to be eligible to contest in one of seven categories of Awards. This voluntary self-nomination is one of the most compelling points of the ACES Awards as it is fuelled by a company's desire to see how it stacks up against others on a similar playing field.

"This year's pool of aspirants showed a marked increase in numbers, which is testament to the greater emphasis corporations are placing on leadership, sustainability, corporate social responsibility, eco-consciousness and community care. As it is the purpose of the ACES Awards to share, I hope their stories signal hope in a fast-moving world full of big challenges and inspire us to concentrate our gaze on the exciting track ahead," said Shanggari Balakrishnan, chief executive of MORS Group.

The Entrepreneur of the Year award was bestowed on Morganfield's founder and chief executive officer, the dentist turned entrepreneur, Dr Jeffrey Goh Sim Ik. Imelda Sundoro, the founder of Indonesia's Sun Motor Group was named Woman Entrepreneur of the Year for her role in the country's automotive industry. Another Indonesian, Dr Nico Purnomo Po of Pollux Properti Indonesia was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year, for his vision of inspiring better living through quality developments. Double victory of the night went to Air Asia Berhad - Aireen Omar and Randstad Singapore Pte Ltd - Michael Smith, winning in the Eminent Leaders in Asia and Industry Champion of the Year category.

There were nine Outstanding Leaders in Asia this year as compared to last year's seven. The nine were:

Winners of Top SMEs in Asia were:

The award for Most Socially Responsible Company of the Year went to India's TATA Consultancy Services while Fuji Xerox was named Green Company of the Year. Samsung APAC came back a second time and won the coveted Community Care Company of the Year while Union Bank of the Philippines was Best Company to Work for of the Year.

The three Top CSR Advocates in Asia award recipients were Aboitiz Group, Ayala Corporation, and Singtel, while Top Green Companies in Asia awards went to BMW Thailand, Energy Development Corporation, Kasikorn Bank, Maynilad Water Inc and PT Loreal of Indonesia.

Companies which won Top Community Care awards included ING Bank, Spark Minda Foundation, Sri Lanka Telecom and Tesco Lotus Thailand. The four Top Companies to Work for in Asia were Arvato Systems Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Concentrix, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia and Vedanta Resources. An additional new category this year was the Responsible SMEs in Asia. Natural Essentials from Mongolia was the category's first awardee.

"This year's Awards in Corporate Excellence and Sustainability are highlighted by organisations that have strived to integrate innovative approaches to sustainable business into their operations. The winners have been able to show us the key ingredients towards building meaningful sustainability practices that not just improve their business but enhance their relationships and truly make an impact in their communities," Dr Jayanthi Desan, lead jury of ACES Awards, commented.