Having operated under Covid-19 anti-pandemic conditions and restrictions for two years, many business leaders across the Asia-Pacific region have had to dig deep to re-evaluate their long-term business strategies with an eye to adapting to the economic world of tomorrow that will come about after the pandemic ends – hopefully some time in 2022.

Whether it involved an increased focus on sustainability or the use of technology to provide efficient services, business leaders in the region over the past year needed to be nimble and adapt to changes as they occurred.

In the banking and financial sector, for example, business leaders have had to adapt to customers not wanting to bank via the traditional branch network, thereby forcing banks to enhance not only their front-facing online applications but also their backend capabilities, such as, ensuring that e-KYC (know-your-customer) processes are being conducted in a sound manner.

And, in the energy sector, as both governments and shareholders have applied pressure on companies to be transparent with regard to their greenhouse gas reduction goals, the adoption of carbon neutral technology has become a must for companies. This, for example, has prompted many leaders in the field to increasingly adopt and promote liquefied natural gas as the ideal tool to transition away from burning carbon-intensive fossil fuels.

Other areas of technological adoption promoted and adopted by business leaders over the past year included the use of internet-of-things technology, the adoption of 5G, and big data analysis to better manage supply chains and indicate areas of improvement within their respective organizations.

As well, improved communication and transparency have become critical factors enabling successful business leaders to further develop and explain their roadmaps in 2021, and have even allowed them to enlarge the scope of their engagement to not only meet the needs of end customers but those of other stakeholders in their ecosystems, including suppliers, employees, investors and analysts.

We at Asset Benchmark Research are pleased to recognize the efforts of a special group of business leaders who have excelled in their respective fields in 2021.

To view the list of The Asset Best CEO Award winners, please click here.