Blending purpose and profit

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: What is most critical in building enduring, resilient businesses?

Rene Buehlmann CEO, Asia Pacific abrdn

In our experience, companies with stronger governance structures, which embrace diversity and sustainability, and which have a long-term mindset and perspective, are often more resilient and tend to perform better in the long run. It's vitally important that companies recruit people with diverse skills and empower them to think as owners, and nurture a culture of long-term resilience and adaptability. On top of this, there needs to be a strong and consistent message on sustainability across the organisation, and so leadership and tone from top are important in driving this.

Dileep Nair Independent Director Thakral Corporation Limited

Purpose-driven companies last. By articulating the reason for doing business, such companies define their brand and create their culture. This has to be led by top management, with enthusiasm and authenticity. Staff must feel they are an integral part of a team with a mission. Resilience demands that the organisation must structurally have redundancy, modularity and adaptability as well as contingent migration strategies for capital allocation.

Focusing simply on sustainable governance may be an overreach. It must make financial good sense and not just that ''it's the right thing to do''. It must drive the business forward, not suffocate it. Ultimately, for a business to thrive it's still sweat, perseverance, nimbleness and the acceptance of change, rather than stability, as the default. With apologies to Andy Grove, ''only the paranoid with a purpose survive''!

Ong Pang Thye Managing Partner KPMG in Singapore

The future is a big experiment and those built for change will survive natural selection. Living through uncertainties demands not just agility, but also a strong purpose and culture. There will always be moments of existential crisis for any organisation; what differentiates one from the other is their people's belief that they aren't just executing business activity, but shifting status quo meaningfully while influencing community. Hence a strong vision rallies an organisation and outlasts context or evolution - regardless of expectations around climate change, social impact or how companies are governed. Ultimately, enduring and resilient companies define corporate governance differently - neither as rules nor awards, but as the good work to be done in forging a legacy, while not being held back by history or past successes.

Yeo Kong Nee Managing Director ENGIE Services Singapore

Businesses need to operate in a resilient and efficient manner to ensure there will be a future for the planet. We need to reinvent and adapt to face today's adversities and deliver a sustainable future for generations to come. Enterprises must fulfil their responsibility to the community and work towards achieving carbon-neutral goals. Every operation within a business can be broken down into environmentally-sensitive, sustainable, and energy-efficient models - to reduce the damage to our planet and ensure a viable future. This is what we do day-to-day, to help our clients journey towards carbon neutrality in a sustainable way.

Leon Perera Chief Executive Officer Spire Research and Consulting

If we study companies that are very long-lived, the reason they endure for decades or centuries usually lies in their commitment to long-term competitive advantage, which tends to be baked into the company culture and is usually reflected in incentives that align owners, leaders and employees behind this goal. Many companies achieve this alignment by having a family remain in control through the generations. However, the same effect can be achieved through a strong culture of pride in a company's products, brand and achievements - one that transcends the mere pursuit of short-term profit, important though that is for continuity. Having core non-negotiables in any corporate culture is critical for longevity. One of these must surely be internal checks and balances around compliance and corporate governance. Errors on this front can be existential threats, as Barings Bank (founded in 1762) discovered when it collapsed 1995 as a result of corporate malfeasance occurring in its Singapore office.

Ben King Country Director Google Singapore

A strong, central mission undergirding the business strategy is critical, with service of the end customer at its core. Not only can a shared purpose increase organisational focus, it can also work to orientate and encourage new ideas to solve the big problems that businesses are tackling.

Beyond this, ensuring a culture of corporate humility and a willingness to pivot based on market or competitive dynamics, while staying true to the core mission, can help businesses respond in a rapidly moving business environment. Still, none of this is possible without people - fostering a psychologically safe culture will encourage the innovation, open collaboration and agility necessary to bring this all to life. To truly stay ahead of the curve, employees need to feel safe to take risks, experiment, learn from mistakes, and course-correct quickly. This enables organisations to reframe challenges into opportunities and reimagine the future of the company in real time.

Luc Hovhannessian Managing Director, Asia Pacific Finastra

The pandemic demonstrated that the most resilient organisations are those that started their journeys towards digitalisation long ago. Companies that had been slow to digitalise were left playing catch up, as competitors leveraged the benefits of digital transformation - such as agility, innovation and operational efficiency - to protect their market share and even attract new customers, all within challenging circumstances. The difference between organisations that have digitalised effectively and those that haven't is culture, and this needs to be driven from the top down. Some boards may be reconsidering planned or ongoing digital transformation projects in the face of economic uncertainty and squeezed margins, but these investments have never been more necessary to secure their future.

Simon Baldwin Global Head of Circularity, SecondMuse and Director, The Incubation Network

To last the long haul, businesses need to recognise that climate change, inequality and the need to embrace technology, is something they will have to eventually tackle - even without governance pressures. Take for instance Asia's plastic crisis: informal workers form the backbone of how waste is collected, yet their role in the recycling value chain is rarely factored into business processes. The unseen complexities around issues like these aren't isolated but exist in a web, which if left unpacked, will compound into larger corporate challenges down the road. A circular economy approach is not just ideal but critical to finding solutions here.

Gerald Hane GM, Corporate Strategy Hitachi Asia Ltd

Sustainable governance is key to tackling the disruptive, long-term consequences of climate change and socioeconomic inequality that threaten business continuity and societies at large. Given the pertinence of these issues - exacerbated during Covid-19 - Singapore is on the right track of instilling sustainability elements into corporate governance. Businesses today need to have the foresight of expanding their outlook beyond just long-term shareholder value for continuity. There needs to be a reinvigorated focus on sustainable strategies that can even foster both technological and social innovations, powering for the greater good and contributing to improved business resilience in the long term.

Sudhir Agarwal Chief Executive Officer Everise

Resilient businesses today adapt and innovate, mine, and derive insights from data, which helps to improve processes and create new services, or to overcome issues with agility. From experience, and for long-term competitive advantage, enduring, resilient businesses put people at the heart of the organisation. The diversity that comes with a people-first culture helps cultivate the creativity necessary to navigate an uncertain and ever-changing world.

Andy Sim Vice-President and MD, Singapore Dell Technologies

Our world today is grappling with climate-change pessimism and a global pandemic. However, this same world has witnessed new frontiers in digital transformation like never before. Today, building a sustainable and purpose-driven business requires intentionality, innovation and optimism.

Intentionality means that corporate ambitions are designed with impact and accountability in mind. Innovation is achieved with the help of emerging technologies like 5G and AI, which leaders must prioritise to accelerate sustainable solutions. Meanwhile, businesses must remain optimistic and compassionate, with initiatives in place to keep employees and stakeholders engaged.

By combining technology and data with human spirit, businesses can create positive forces in the world and make real progress to transform lives.

Anand Venkatraman VP & General Manager, APAC Partnerships Freshworks

While the rush to digitisation is shifting focus areas for most businesses, it is important that they continue to focus on employee and customer experience. The resilience of any company is dependent on how delighted their employees are, which in turn helps them deliver a great customer experience. Businesses that are not customercentric will find it hard to survive in the new world as companies leverage technology to make employees and customers feel valued. Employees who know they are cared for, stay motivated for the long term, and only a happy workforce can build the trust and lasting customer relationships that ensure thriving business.

Maren Schweizer Chief Executive Officer Schweizer World Group

Purpose-driven leadership is vital. While purpose may sound like an overused word these days, it's the DNA of family businesses. A long-term mindset, a sense of purpose, and the importance of creating and sustaining a legacy are already central to how family businesses define success. Furthermore, social concerns have historically been very important to our family businesses as a reflection of our values - since 1849.

Nevertheless, I see the need for self-evaluation of the ESG agenda due to the evolution in digital technologies combined with the pressing need to adopt more robust environmental, social, and governance practices. It's essential to understand the value that digital technologies bring to our business operations by introducing advanced solutions for collecting and analysing data for anticipating risks, gauging the success of the business strategy, and measuring the impact of ESG initiatives.

Mark Billington Managing Director International ICAEW

Resilience is a skill not easily learned or acquired, but it is vital to the survival and overall success of a business. Covid-19 has brought its importance into even sharper focus than ever before, as the pandemic tests how businesses operate. Regardless of the size and scale of an organisation, leadership is critical to tide businesses through uncertain times, as quick decisions will be needed. Leaders need to put plans in place to ensure their organisations can adapt and endure during crises, no matter what form the crisis might take. In the coming years, climate change will be a key challenge to businesses' resilience, so companies must consider how they can be more sustainable. Businesses' sustainability efforts and how they respond to climate issues could affect their reputation and ability to attract talent, customers and financial capital, which are essential for business continuity.

Aarti Ramaswami Deputy Dean ESSEC Business School Asia Pacific

Organisational resilience boils down to two things - empathy and innovation. Done right, this can translate into sustained competitive advantage. Attaining a balance between the two involves listening to the evolving needs of stakeholders and the wider ecosystem; investing in hiring and training an agile and heterogenous talent pool; successfully integrating innovation into processes, products and services to maintain value, while ensuring the psychological well-being of employees. With that, as long as the organisation never loses sight of its core purpose, whatever it may be, an enduring and resilient business would then be created.

Dennis Tan Chief Executive Officer Prudential Singapore

The longevity of a business centres on having a common purpose that unites people to progress towards the same goal through times of change. At Prudential, our purpose is to help people get the most out of life. From an environmental, social and governance (ESG) perspective, we are committed to making health and financial security accessible, stewarding the human impacts of climate change, and building social capital. As part of a highly connected world, our futures are interlinked with both people and planet, so we must collectively work towards creating a sustainable future built on robust ESG practices.

Haresh Khoobchandani Vice-President, Asia Pacific Autodesk

Today, a resilient business is synonymous with a sustainable one. It is therefore crucial to have a corporate strategy that is strongly rooted in sustainability. While this may seem challenging, technology provides organisations with an opportunity to deliver better outcomes for business and the world.

Technology has the power to improve productivity and efficiency, spur innovation, all while saving money and improving collaboration. Digital tools can help optimise resources and enable organisations to better capture and leverage data to make more informed decisions and drive innovation. This will help organisations see around the bend, and is the opportunity we have to drive growth, whilst designing a better world and developing a more resilient future, for both business and the environment.

Elisa Mallis MD and VP, Asia-Pacific, APAC Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)

People are the most critical factor in building enduring, resilient businesses. I believe that one of the grey rhinos - highly probable, high-impact yet neglected threats - that we face in the coming months relates to employee mental health and burnout. Balancing care and growth in a way that ensures people can burn bright will be essential. We must nurture a next generation of agile and purpose-driven leaders not only for the private sector, but also for the public and non-profit sectors. We will need leaders at all levels who have the heart and the grit to take on and overcome the environmental and societal challenges we are facing here in the APAC region and globally.

Richard Kwok President The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES)

Resilient businesses share many common traits. It is difficult to pinpoint a single critical factor. Typically, organisations that plan in anticipation of disruption are better positioned to adapt to both gradual transformation and sudden crises such as the pandemic - and bounce back and prevail. Enduring businesses are those that understand that it is not about maximising short-term returns but building sustainable long-term performance. Organisations should not be complacent with stability but always be ready to deal with unpredictable situations by investing in people, promoting research and development, continuous innovations and collaboration. It is also not about operating as an island but contributing and operating as part of an ecosystem.

Chia Ngiang Hong President Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (REDAS)

Relentless focus on good corporate governance demonstrates a company's direction and business integrity and helps businesses build trust with investors and the community as well as to ensure sustainability. Financial resilience with a social mission is critical to keep business going, maintaining operations while protecting employees and growing value. Financially resilient businesses with clearly articulated vision and risk management strategy and good business practices that can help drive the long-term financial returns and at the same time ensure social responsibility are in a better position to endure challenging times.

Ashwini Gillen Regional VP of Sales, Asia Twilio

Brands endure when they are loved by their customers. Businesses need to take the time to listen, and meet their customers where they are most comfortable interacting with their brand. In today's digital world, this spans a multitude of channels; from digital-first for the younger generation, to voice and video for those who desire a more immersive experience. This is Twilio's mission - helping our customers put their customers at the heart of all they do and supporting their efforts to adapt to these customers' needs. Brands who can do so consistently and successfully will make themselves indispensable.

That said, people are the driving force behind every business. Companies must invest in a strong, engaged workforce that will act honestly, and balance profit with purpose. They must include diverse voices to introduce new perspectives, while also providing growth and upskilling opportunities. As the workforce is strengthened, so is the business.

Sujith Abraham SVP and General Manager, Asean Salesforce

Over the past year-and-a-half, our world has changed. In this new world, there are several urgent challenges that we all have to face together - including a pandemic, a climate crisis, a workforce crisis, and growing inequality.

''Trust'' has since emerged as a crucial factor in combating these crises. Truly enduring and resilient organisations see trust as their highest value. Instead of focusing on short-term profitability, trusted enterprises are mindful of long-term goals such as customer satisfaction, employee health and safety, environmental sustainability, and broader community development goals. They are accountable to not just shareholders, but our community at large. Trusted enterprises hold the key to rallying the public and inspiring action to improve the state of our world.

Tony Soh Deputy CEO National Volunteer And Philanthropy Centre (NVPC)

Living through the crisis of a generation has had a massive impact on businesses and raised the urgency of many organisations to reassess their priorities to stay afloat. Yet, pursuing profits alone will not be sufficient to help us emerge stronger from the crisis. Embedding purpose at the core of their business will help future-proof organisations to meet the evolving needs and expectations of their stakeholders. Only when both the environment and societies are thriving will companies be able to grow and build enduring, resilient businesses.

Change cannot happen by companies doing it alone. Therefore, multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Alliance for Action on Corporate Purpose are an important part of forming a movement to co-create and implement a national framework and blueprint on corporate purpose which can help guide organisations in shaping their purpose.

Mark Weaser Vice-President, APAC OutSystems

While the pressure of a fast-paced business environment has made looking ahead important for building resilience, it is equally imperative for organisations today to look back in retrospect and reevaluate the tools they are equipped with.

In fact, many organisations are beginning to see cracks in outdated IT frameworks and limitations in existing developmental tools to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This is a sure sign of technical debt, which can seriously hinder innovation and resilience if left unaddressed. Taking a step back can help organisations to put the brakes on speed alone and carefully select the right tool fit for the long term, such as modern development platforms that build applications both fast and for the future.

Soong Chuan Sheng VP, Corporate Development Klook

The pandemic has thrown many curveballs; where others may have struggled, we have remained resilient. This is a testament to our core beliefs and survival mindset that we have painstakingly built and integrated over the years. We quickly restructured the organisation, empowering our employees and granting greater autonomy as each market's condition was different. It was important to identify and harness these qualities which helped us adapt quickly to the pandemic circumstance: for example, taking ownership, being flexible and adaptable, pushing the boundaries and learning to be comfortable with change. Resilience is not only about surviving but bouncing back stronger than before.

Patrick Lee Cluster CEO, Singapore and Asean Markets Standard Chartered Bank

Navigating geopolitical complexities, climate change, social inequality and the Covid-19 pandemic have accelerated the urgency for companies to consider how they can drive sustainable progress.

Companies can build on their strong foundations and successes to step up their game, and embrace new business models and new ways of working. However, it is equally important to ensure that globalisation and innovation are sustainable and benefit everyone - leaving no one behind.

Hence, embedding core values into the strategy will give employees a clear sense of purpose - because what they do today can and will impact future generations.

Companies should take a greater stand on addressing climate change by accelerating net zero, ensuring greater financial inclusion by empowering women and small businesses, and working closely with partners and government agencies to promote fairer trade through digitalisation.

Boo Hui Yun Head of Asia Munich Re Specialty Group

The world is undergoing rapid unpredictable and unprecedented change. This new normal means companies need to develop the ability to anticipate and respond quickly to change and disruptions to thrive in the future.

To navigate the increasing demands and expanding risk landscape of both internal and external risks, and to develop an understanding of the inter-connectivity and impact of these risks on the company's strategies and viability, companies will have to inculcate a dynamic risk management mindset.

A corporate culture which drives a dynamic risk management mindset, trust, adaptability, diversity and continuous learning, is key to building strong corporate resilience.

Today's businesses must also demonstrate good corporate governance and a sense of social responsibility. With an increasing focus on ESG, redefining the corporate purpose to ensure alignment of its vision and ability to serve the greater good is imperative for a long-term sustainable future.

Ari Sarker Co-President, Asia Pacific Mastercard

Recent unprecedented challenges have underscored how interconnected our world is - and how it's incumbent on all of us to work together to rebuild an economy and society that works for everyone. Acknowledging these truths and acting accordingly is most critical for building enduring, resilient businesses. At Mastercard, we see how our commitment to environmental and social responsibility - and how operating ethically, sustainably and with decency - is directly connected to our continuing success as a company. Blending purpose and profit is at the heart of our culture and strategy. It's what we mean by doing well by doing good - and it just makes good business sense.

Sandie Overtveld Vice-President Walkme Asia Pacific

The pandemic has fundamentally shaken and challenged how organisations engender trust, support and become resilient. We have seen that resilient organisations are the ones with a key focus on people, customers and the community. Technology has differentiated the winning organisations - those with stringent corporate governance and data handling practices - from the rest. Robust data privacy and handling controls today are critical in engendering trust as well as support for these organisations, especially in the crucible of a crisis. Building resilient organisations requires good corporate governance, putting people first and working towards higher standards of trust.

Joshua Yim Chief Executive Officer ACHIEVE Group

Now, more than ever, businesses need to recognise they have commitments to the community they work with. Their customers expect them to provide more than just quality goods and services, their employees want to be incentivised beyond a pay package. Both their customers and employees want to be associated with something that promotes the good for all now and in the future. To deliver on this, companies need to look beyond profitability in defining their purpose. This will then drive the skills, values and culture they need to achieve their goals. Above all, their defined purpose will determine the people it attracts and retains to enable it to integrate a corporate governance that fosters the sustainability it seeks to promote.

Assaf Tarnopolsky SVP and GM, APAC Genesys

Organisational resilience is built on a foundation of DE&I and empathy - principles that contribute to sustainable governance. At its centre are ''people'' who build businesses and propel successful enterprises into the future. Strategy, solid work ethic and innovation are equally vital. At Genesys, our product suite is designed and engineered to deliver empathy - not just once, but twice! First, our cloud-first solutions enable our clients' teams to work from anywhere, acknowledging the new challenges of working in a pandemic and empowering flexibility. Second, our AI/ML led products enable our client's customers to feel remembered throughout their customer journey. The essence is to deliver ''empathy'' across people, products and services.

Charles Ferguson General Manager, Asia Pacific Globalization Partners

The conversation around corporate governance has historically been focused on a world of centralised, hierarchical and usually large corporations. This approach worked best when these large corporations were the primary engines of economic growth, but makes much less sense in the age of the flatter, innovation-driven economy we are operating in today. The impact of climate change and the existential threat it poses has reached a tipping point. To address this at scale, there must be an accepted framework of governance, and there must be ability to revisit, refine, and redeploy to remain relevant.

With this evolution, we must spotlight policies aimed at promoting a longer-term and more socially and environmentally responsible view of corporate governance. Since independence in 1965, Singapore has been successful in executing a framework and structure within which businesses can establish, operate and thrive. If we can continue to refine and tweak our model, developing a new direction for corporate governance, we stand to be the primary beneficiaries of the digital transformation required to future-proof our economy.

David Jacob Chief Executive Officer Marsh Asia

As the regional and global risk landscape becomes increasingly complex, a resilient business must implement robust mechanisms to anticipate future risks, model and forecast their impact and build the agility needed to respond and recover from crises with minimal impact on the business.

Embarking on this journey to build an enduring, resilient business involves four critical steps and behaviours: anticipating important risk issues; connecting risk management to business strategy; avoiding gaps in the perception of preparedness; and measuring relevant data. This framework can help businesses transform risk management, seize growth opportunities during times of stress and gain competitive advantage.

Cassandra Goh Shiou Ling Executive Director Silverlake Group

At Silverlake Axis, building business resiliency stands for solid fundamentals, governance, innovation, and people that ensure success. As people are the most important assets of any company, we have invested heavily in our team to drive growth opportunities through a culture of high-performance.

Combined with our values and commitments that are built upon governance and transparency, we establish business resilience amid rapid digital transformation through our continued reflection and improvement to maintain long-term value for our stakeholders. Innovation around the needs of our staff and customers remains at the core of our business activities to achieve sustainable and continued growth.

Salim Dhanani Chief Executive Officer BigPay

It is crucial for organisations to focus on sustainability and ESG principles to build enduring and resilient businesses. It empowers companies to weather changes and challenges - whether economical or otherwise - as we have seen with the pandemic. As business leaders, we must strive for financial and business model sustainability while being mindful of our impact on the environment and society at large.

At BigPay, we are working to implement these sustainability and ESG principles as we pursue our ambitions of providing equal financial access to all. The current focus on the environment and climate highlights the need for companies like ours to do our part, beyond operational sustainability.

Simon Green President, Japan & Asia Pacific Palo Alto Networks

Regardless of a company's purpose, culture, or corporate strategy, the key to a resilient business is in its people. Putting our employees at the heart of our business has been a constant focus of our organisation well before the disruption of the pandemic. Paying attention to small details such as birthdays, work anniversaries; intimate small group engagements, make up the building blocks of our resilient culture. Prioritising time to speak and listen to one another is the basis for trust and bond amongst teams.

Given how businesses have dramatically embraced technology especially in recent times, a model that truly balances work and life in this hybrid work arrangement is imperative in order to foster well-being. Companies that can provide a level of trust and flexibility for employees to choose how they want to work will create a platform for optimum performance. Personal and professional well-being will lead to optimum performance that results in exceptional outcomes for all the constituents of an enduring and resilient company.

Lim Ee Ling Head, APAC Business Development 500 Global

Corporate surveys and studies show a positive relationship between ESG and financial performance. Core ESG principles - such as diversity and inclusion, gender equity and environmental sustainability - can help uncover opportunities to build financially successful businesses while building readiness and resilience for emerging changes.

Timing is also critical. It is easier to integrate ESG in the nascent stages of a company. For early-stage firms, ESG reporting is an ongoing opportunity to track progress in meeting sustainability milestones, build competitive advantage, and ultimately, set meaningful goals that can attract future customers, investors, and talent.

Josephine Ong MD, Asia Pacific South Dassault Systèmes

Business resilience has taken on a new definition since the pandemic. Success in today's economic conditions is determined by an enterprise's ability to adapt their business model and operations to changes and evolve their people and processes to capitalise on new opportunities for growth.

People are a business's greatest strength and critical to building enduring, resilient businesses. Focusing on employee well-being, both mental and physical, and embracing new digital means of collaboration as the workforce moves towards remote working and virtual workplaces, will enable businesses to be successful despite external challenges. It is also important to keep a customer-centric focus. Above all, businesses that embrace sustainability are stronger organisations.

Kotaro Tamura Adjunct Professor (Executive Education) Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

Covid-19, the age of information, generational change, value shifts and regulations, put pressure on businesses' perceived sustainability performance. Stakeholders today have a lot more power and means to engage in boycotts, environmental activism, social media campaigns against company practices, activist investing and more.

In order to navigate this landscape, businesses need to focus on connecting with future consumers and next-generation talents in order to constantly communicate how much their company understands and respects sustainability. This significance on sustainability will then have to be reflected in every process of its supply and value chain. Through my programme at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, I'll be sharing more of such insights and how we can actively educate stakeholders, including existing employees, about sustainability.

Sanjeev Kumar Senior Country Manager for Singapore and Head of SE & South Asia Natixis

I believe this comes down to a strong foundation, adaptability, the ability to respond to rapid change and to transform at an appropriate pace, while maintaining a strong sense of purpose, corporate culture and identity. Natixis has been steadfast in its focus on ensuring its operations are as agile as possible, while maintaining the necessary risk and control functions. But it has also been focused on ensuring that wherever and however employees are working, they remain connected to the culture that has been developed over the years. Indeed it is not easy, but establishing this strong core allows companies to be resilient, and navigate through the good and the bad.

Remco den Heijer Vice-President, Asean SAS

The world is moving at a much faster pace and there is an urgent need to ensure our growth is firmly based on environmental, social and governance values. The proper use of data is key - the ability to transform data into insights helps us solve current global challenges and to ensure sustainable business operations. The businesses that continue to thrive will be those that not only use data but are committed to using it for good. From providing free analytics modelling environments for Covid-19 research to collaborating with partners to improve local production of fish and shrimp in Singapore, SAS is committed to improving lives through using data analytics for better decisions.

David Leong Managing Director PeopleWorldwide Consulting Pte Ltd

Sustainability and resilience concerns are paramount in today's dire pandemic conditions - from environment protection to sustainable profits with social orientation. Businesses have to develop sustainable development goals and pivot their businesses in that direction. Businesses have to construct long-term blueprints to achieve a better and more sustainable future despite Covid and other pressing issues like climate change, socioeconomic inequality, labour shortage and geopolitical tensions.

Building enduring and resilient businesses requires real tenacity as business costs are elevated as a result. To survive, businesses need to extend tentacular reach to bigger markets with green and sustainable themes. Adopting technological innovation and connectivity with optimised logistics is one sure way to access markets to grow businesses.

Michael Cash Business Group President Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific

It's going to seem pretty basic but attracting, developing, and retaining the absolute best people is the most critical aspect in building enduring, resilient businesses. Easier said than done, it starts with having a great reputation and identity as a company with ethics and that will ''build careers'' for its team-mates. Then, having a solid process in place for engaging and developing talent (including taking risks on high potentials with quicker career advancement). And then, it is fighting like heck to retain employees every day - this is a unique concept, we tend to think of employees as ''ours'' and stop recruiting them once they join the company. The best companies continue to treat employees as if they are ''recruiting'' them every day. It is easy to get caught up in sales growth and profit objectives every day, but if you make people the first priority, you'll build an enduring, resilient business.

Morgan Terigi CEO and Co-founder Incomlend

Robust environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measures enable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to mitigate unforeseen risks in today's volatile landscape, resulting in more consistent performance and stable financial returns. SMEs can also foster greater trust and goodwill when they positively impact our society and environment. It puts them in a stronger position for recovery and growth during challenging business downturns.

As investors' interest grows, we see ESG financing programmes emerging in the region, making it easier for sustainable, responsible businesses to access working capital and lay a sturdy financial foundation. Although some SMEs see that being ESG-compliant comes at a cost, they need to realise that it is much easier to access financing. ESG and profitability are not conflicting goals in today's landscape, and having a solid ESG framework is vital in building operational and economic resiliency.

Annie Yap Executive Chairman & Founder The AYP Group

The most critical point of building resilient, enduring businesses would be to have strong contingency plans. It also helps to be forward-facing. Many factors that end up affecting a business the most are unforeseen ones, such as the Covid-19 pandemic that has shut down many businesses around the world. Businesses need to build a solid foundation based on research of the things that could go wrong and how these might affect their industry, and use that to build sturdy contingency plans.

Lance Little MD, Asia Pacific Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

Covid-19 has simply intensified the pace of change that is the mainstay of today's operating environment. But what has stood the test of time and determined corporate endurance is the willingness to equate the good of society as being good for business. We have borne witness to this as a company since our founding 125 years ago.

Roche has consistently pushed the boundaries of science to develop diagnostic tests and medicines that can address society's needs now, and in the future - a future in which more patients around the world can access and benefit from our innovations; a future in which our commitment to reduce the environmental impact of our business operations has been producing year-on-year reductions; and where, our entire outlook as a business, led by diverse employees and perspectives, is helping us to create sustainable value and growth.

Andrew Yeong VP and Head - Asia Pacific Tata Communications

The volatility experienced by the world in recent years has highlighted the urgency for businesses to address risks stemming from societal and environmental challenges. By implementing a robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework and policies, businesses can strengthen their position to address unforeseen risks while building greater agility and resilience.

As organisations continue to accelerate their digitalisation efforts, they must embed ESG values, especially sustainability, at the core of their digital transformation strategy. Recounting on our own experience at Tata Communications, with evolving work practices, travel patterns and consumption habits, firms now have the opportunity to shrink their carbon footprint and create a positive impact on our communities. By combining digital technology with sustainability, organisations can achieve greater business value while staying aligned to the changing values of the new world.

Guna Chellappan General Manager, Singapore Red Hat

As digital transformation reshapes industries and businesses operate in a world of increasing complexity characterised by higher data volumes, faster business cycles, and smaller environmental impact, businesses are looking for ways to innovate and remain resilient. To ensure continued progress and sustain growth, businesses should adopt an open-source culture, an innovation-led culture that is built on transparency and takes on a more collaborative stance. Beyond empowering people to initiate and iterate change rapidly from the ground up, it is important to look outside to other great communities for inspiration and potential collaboration. As transparency becomes a strength, businesses and the wider community can create the freedom and responsibility necessary for rapid change and a sustainable future.

David R Hardoon Managing Director Aboitiz Data Innovation

If anything, Covid-19 has shown organisations that creating a culture that merges profit with purpose is crucial to inspiring teams and serving as a guiding light in times of crisis. An arm of Aboitiz, a company with over 100 years of history, Aboitiz Data Innovation (ADI) builds on the group's purpose of advancing businesses and communities through data innovation. Not only has ADI succeeded in helping businesses be more resilient to change through tech, but also helped contribute to ESG goals, such as using AI to support financial inclusion by providing banks with alternative scoring models to the unbanked, and improve efficiencies of manufacturing processes while lowering emissions with data science-powered solutions.

Andrew Martin Head Databricks, South Asia

The lifeblood of today's digital economy is undoubtedly data and AI. Many organisations have leveraged data to become more resilient amidst the uncertain economic climate and are stepping up investments in core data competencies across business intelligence, data engineering, data science, and machine learning.

What's needed next is to lay the proper groundwork for establishing a truly data-driven culture - where the use of data is embraced across all facets of the business. This requires democratic access to governed, trusted data for every team and an open, modern data architecture that will enable teams to collaborate and solve business challenges with data from across the organisation.

Chua Hock Leng VP, Asean & Greater China Pure Storage

The world is at a critical crossroads from the pandemic, from growing socioeconomic inequality to an urgent global climate crisis. Organisations have a responsibility to play a part in helping respond to these challenges which will in turn help them become more enduring and resilient businesses. Consumers are developing strong beliefs and values around issues such as environmental, social and governance (ESG); health and safety; and diversity and inclusion, and they are basing their buying decisions around them.

Pure Storage has begun our journey to becoming more transparent on ESG with the completion of our first materiality assessment by a third-party. Many of these priorities are already embedded into our core values and business strategy which encompass energy and climate change; diversity, inclusion, and belonging; talent recruitment, retention, and development; ethical business practices; and data security and privacy.

We have seen many benefits from these practices, from an engaged and highly motivated employee base, to a loyal core of channel partners and most importantly a delighted customer base that has given Pure Storage one of the highest net promoter scores in the industry.

James Ang Head of Asia Dropbox

Resilience is often built in during a crisis, and the pandemic has offered many organisations the opportunity to reset existing business models into one that is future-ready. To do this, organisations must be willing to invest in collaboration tools, updating legacy infrastructure and employee training.

Distributed teams are now a new way of working and enables businesses to continue working effectively regardless of location. With various possibilities surrounding the future of work, it is important for businesses to adopt the right collaboration partners that will allow them to connect with teams and tools from anywhere. Integration of these tools also enable better communication and best practices that contribute to a more resilient team.

Lastly, keeping company culture intact while leading with empathy during these crucial transition periods are essential in making distributed work a success.

David Chan Managing Director AdNovum Singapore

Building enduring, resilient businesses requires an openness towards change and commitment from the top. There should be flexibility to constantly adapt and build up on the sustainability programme across different business units and locations.

Adnovum's recent new brand rollout reflects our company's DNA and ambitions for the future. The changes in strategic vision accompanied by the impactful changes during this pandemic period, resulted in a growing need to refresh our brand identity. As such, our new positioning is a promise for the future, firmly anchored in our corporate DNA. Sustainability governance structures have to also complement the existing business model, in order to unite the business value and collaboration with its stakeholders.

Lars Voedisch Managing Director PRecious Communications

Building a resilient business boils down to cultivating trust, which can only be achieved through consistency and authenticity. If there's one thing we've learned around navigating changes during Covid-19, change management must be supplemented by effective communication - to ensure that teams stay connected, united, and inclusive.

Strategic communication can help instil a sense of team purpose and oneness, eliminate organisational silos and reinforce trust in (and within) the organisation. By fostering open and transparent communication, organisations can have a firmer grasp around how they can constantly improve employee and client experiences, which will give them an edge above competitors in the long run.

Pranav Rastogi Managing Director Redhill

People are the most critical components in building enduring, resilient businesses. Companies can have fancy vision and mission statements and make impressive CSR commitments - but if their people don't believe in the purpose and aren't aligned with company goals, these companies won't go anywhere.

Once you invest in and empower great people and align them with your vision, you can build processes and workstreams to set yourself up for long-term growth and success. Then, with a great team aligned towards the same goals, you can weather any storm, achieve any purpose, and ultimately build a successful business.

Ravi Rajendran Vice-President, Asia Pacific Cohesity

Enduring and resilient businesses set themselves up for success by strategically managing their assets and resources, complying with regulations and laws while putting their internal and external stakeholders first. In today's digital world, data ties all these priorities together. Data is a company's most valuable and vulnerable digital asset, and its mismanagement undermines stakeholder trust and revenue. Therefore, businesses must focus on making their data resilient to ensure short-term continuity and long-term viability. As ransomware attacks and disasters are an ever-present threat, tomorrow's business winners and losers will be decided by those who can gain better insights from data while protecting it. Organisations must not only prioritise ransomware protection, but data recovery, relying on operations such as data backup, disaster recovery, data consolidation and classification, and data governance.

Kevin Chow Country Director and Chief Executive Thales in Singapore

Enduring and resilient companies have a strong mission and purpose. These anchors motivate employees and drive commitment to customers and to excellence. For Thales, our purpose lies in building a future we can all trust. This means having sustainable technology solutions that will make the world safer, more environmentally responsible and more inclusive. To accomplish our mission, we draw on science and technology building blocks like trusted artificial intelligence and biometrics today, and cyber-secured quantum technologies tomorrow, to design and develop solutions that support a greener world. From reducing CO2 emissions through optimising aircraft operations, to developing frugal AI algorithms that require only small amounts of energy, our ambition is to achieve ''net zero'' emissions by 2040 and ensure that our company, and society at large stay resilient for the long run.

Victor Tan Chief Executive Officer TOP International Holding

A successful business is built on foundations of three principles: leadership, strategic planning and risk management. An enduring and resilient business must maintain a good reputation with high ethical standards.

The minerals and resources sector is a tough industry to be in. Not only does it have to contend with a volatile market, it also has to deal with geopolitical situations and environmental concerns. At TOP, we view sustainability as a core tenet of our work, leveraging on the 3Ps - Planet, People and Performance to remain competitive. Hence we execute our business in a way that minimises impact to the environment; creating a workplace where our people can flourish, with a good core team that is constantly upskilling, and contributing to the local communities that we operate in.

Manish Bhai Chief Executive Officer Uno Asia Pte Ltd

Most importantly, you need to be solving for a pain point or a demand gap that exists with an end customer or business enterprise. And, then differentiate it substantially using a mix of strategy, technology, people and culture. Finally, the economics need to fall in place for resilience and long term success - a fact often overlooked. For eg, at UNO, as the first fintech to outright receive a digital banking licence (in the Philippines), we are addressing the issue that 70% of adults lack access to financial services. By building a credit-led neobank, and leveraging the latest technology that includes personalisation, data, and analytics, we intend to elevate the lives of millions following our mission of providing one single interface for all your financial needs delivered with speed and ease.

Byron Fuller Managing Director WeMaintain

Digital enhancement of human field services such as building maintenance creates unexpected benefits to the environmental and social dimensions of ESG.

Technologies such as IoT sensors, edge computing, and machine learning already push us towards sustainable living. At WeMaintain, such data-powered solutions power both our operations as well as radically improved management of elevators and escalators, measurably reducing energy usage while extending equipment longevity by years. Additionally, WeMaintain uses its economic savings from digitisation to improve, radically, technician compensation and workload. This is the critical first step to revalorising the mechanical trades that make our wonderful built environment possible day-to-day.

Ricky Kapur Head of APAC Zoom

In the hybrid work era, it is essential for organisations to adopt the right technology platforms that can empower their employees to work, collaborate and communicate from wherever they are. As workers become increasingly dispersed, frictionless communication is key to maintaining a thriving company culture that fosters talent retention and cultivates a resilient, tight-knit community.

The need for a communications platform that removes the barriers to productive and dynamic collaboration is unequivocal. To create sustainable value and inspire continuous innovation, companies need to implement platforms that use video to transform the way they connect with customers, run their operations and reshape their industries. This could be as simple as offering an asynchronous environment for workers to share information, ask questions and coordinate efforts, ultimately driving inclusion and building a future-ready workforce.

This is Part 2 of the responses.

Part 1, published on Oct 11, can be found at https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/views-from-the-top