In the Minds of CEOs: Navigating Uncertainty

It was not easy being a CEO in 2022, and it looks like there’s no let-up in 2023.  In the past year, business leaders saw geopolitical tensions escalate, volatility in financial markets, escalating inflation, and food and energy shortages.

The effects of these events alongside a slowdown in the Chinese economy will have a profound effect on Asia, subduing growth in 2023.

There is one commonality in these challenges; they are mostly external and out of the control of business leaders, but simultaneously ones that the same leaders will be blamed for if things go awry. “It is the nature of crises that they don't send a ‘save the date’ notification; you never know they're coming. If you knew they were coming, you could have planned for it, and it wouldn't be a crisis,” said Anna Bligh, CEO of the Australian Banking Association.

In the face of these crises, how do CEOs steady their ships and steer their companies in the right direction? One area many are focused on is building resilience to weather these storms.

Throughout Asia, examples abound of business leaders who are reinventing their organizations – and themselves – along the way. From our conversations with Asia’s leading CEOs, two shifts are underway in how they’re building their businesses in the region: delivering sustainable and inclusive growth with technology, and creating dynamic, inclusive, and resilient cultures.

Delivering Sustainable and Inclusive Growth With Technology

Advances in technology and digital can change people’s lives and address crucial societal challenges. Take the Aadhaar in India, the world’s largest biometric program, which has helped millions of Indians get their first official proof of identity. Nandan Nilekani, cofounder and nonexecutive chairman of the multinational IT company Infosys and one of leaders of the Aadhaar rollout, believes that markets play a role in the widespread adoption of digital technology, but some things must indeed be provided as public infrastructure, as a means of creating social good. “If a billion people can use something, then that’s a benefit. A billion people can learn, get better healthcare, and change jobs using technology,” said Nilekani.

Green business has also been to the fore. Loh Chin Hua, CEO of Singapore’s Keppel Corporation, for example, kickstarted a bold organizational makeover in 2020, putting environmental sustainability at the core of Keppel Corporation’s strategy, mission statement, as well as its senior management’s performance appraisal process. The firm is also incorporating sustainability into its investment strategy through developing floating or tropical data centers or using liquid hydrogen or green ammonia to power the energy grid and data centers. “I think the market likes the idea that we are not just green but can promote a greener world through the solutions that we provide to our customers,” he said.

Creating Dynamic, Inclusive, and Resilient Cultures

The adage that culture eats strategy for breakfast rings familiar in a time of fierce competition for talent. Asian leaders are also prioritizing – and in many ways rethinking – their relationships at the workplace.

For Girish Mathrubootham, CEO and founder of software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm Freshworks, human-centered leadership has been a crucial driver of success. Mathrubootham believes that building a successful business with the right value system and ethics is an accomplishment by itself.“What works for Freshworks leaders is earning trust through a heart-led approach, which focuses on putting humans first, over business motives, and doing the right thing by them,” he said.

But it’s not just the culture of their teams that CEOs need to shape. It’s also important to cultivate a culture of respect and teamwork with stakeholders like their boards.Alison Watkins, who sits on the board of several organizations, including the biotech company CSL, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the retail conglomerate Wesfarmers, believes there is a healthier balance between the board and CEO today. “The days of the omnipotent CEO, and the board being much less proactive, are over. I think that is a big and really healthy change,” Watkins noted in a recent McKinsey interview. “The boards of today work with CEOs who don’t come across as big, powerful, egocentric individuals but just people who are part of a team and want to work together with the board to achieve an outcome that everyone agrees on.”

In a world of heightened volatility, successful CEOs are demonstrating courage and conviction while making strategic calls for their businesses. That is the essence of playing both offense and defense; creating opportunities as well as meeting the challenges of 2023.