Ayala : Hosts Creativity and Innovation Forum on Thriving in the Age of Disruption

Ayala Hosts Creativity and Innovation Forum on Thriving in the Age of Disruption

Succeeding in today's volatile and uncertain times requires harnessing the power of innovation and effective collaboration. Recognizing this, Ayala Corporation held an insightful forum with key partners to better understand emerging disruptive forces, and discuss how to thrive in this era of extreme change. Held on 21 June 2018 at the Shangri-la at The Fort, the Creativity and Innovation Forum (C&I) was traditionally an internal event that is part of Ayala's ongoing initiative to institutionalize a culture of curiosity and disruptive thinking across the group. This year, Ayala engaged its key partners and friends from outside the group, recognizing that the most impactful innovations emerge from the power of creative combustion-the intersections of diverse cultures, experiences, and capabilities.

'In parallel to the challenge of adapting our organizations against disruption, we are also called to build bridges of synergy between organizations... Collaboration between and among different groups is essential in all our efforts to harness innovation and solve the world's biggest challenges,' shared Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and CEO of Ayala Corporation.

This year's Forum welcomed back Prof. Hitendra Patel, Managing Director at IXL Center, and Professor at Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto), who spoke about this year's theme, Thriving in the Age of Disruption.

'You want to be the first to help drive what looks like a logical trend...and use that to create solutions,' shared Prof. Patel. 'Disruptions happen very fast... you need to move faster than ever before. You need to be able to look into the future and create a picture of what it looks like. In that future world, you've got to see what the business impact is with the growth gap and everything else. From there, you'll find your space to play in. And in that space, you can place teams that can run to make things happen.'

After the keynote address, Prof. Patel was joined in a panel by Rohan Sakpal, Country Managing Director (India) at IXL Center, and Prof. Joel Litman, Financial Innovation Expert at IXL Center and President and CEO at Valens Research. Vince Tobias, Head of Innovation at Ayala Corporation and Board Director at the Global Innovation Management Institute, moderated the lively discussion, where the panelists shared their thoughts on the value of innovation in building and safeguarding businesses.

Moderated by Cathy Yang, Managing Editor and Anchor at the ABS-CBN News Channel, a dynamic CEO Panel on Corporate Innovation followed to discuss how Globe Telecom, Sun Life Financial, and Pilipinas Shell-three of the country's most forward-thinking companies-anticipate disruption, adapt their organization, and contribute towards building a Philippine Innovation Ecosystem.

Ernest Cu, President and CEO of Globe Telecom, discussed how Globe's burning platform mentality helped the company anticipate disruptions in telecommunications, and successfully pivot Globe from being a pure telecommunications provider, to a digital lifestyle enabler powered by data. Riza Mantaring, CEO & Country Head at Sun Life Philippines Financial, meanwhile, highlighted the contributions of disciplined experimentation and adaptation to changing consumer behaviors as contributors to her company's success despite being one of the world's oldest companies, also in one of the world's oldest industries. Lastly, Cesar Romero, President and CEO at Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, discussed Shell's globally-recognized excellence principles and methodologies in forecasting scenarios, as well as how the company proactively and collaboratively responds to these forecasts.

Clearly, what used to be sources of strength are now vulnerabilities that can be exploited. What has brought success in the past may not be the same ones that will propel companies into the future. While disruption exists all around, innovation goes beyond increasing a company's bottomline-there is a bigger, more meaningful goal as organizations respond to disruption. As such, Ayala and its partners remain committed to building a Philippine Innovation Ecosystem to drive the country forward. As Cathy Yang concluded, 'Innovation in business is of critical importance-and having the courage to thoughtfully question the status quo is a good start in innovating. [There is] no room for complacency in this day and age of innovation. As they say, the only thing constant is change, so
embrace it. Onwards we go on our innovation journeys.'

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala - Chairman and CEO, Ayala Corporation

Prof. Hitendra Patel - Managing Director of the IXL Center, Professor at Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto)

from left to right: Rohan Sakpal - Country Managing Director (India) at IXL Center, Paolo Borromeo - President and CEO of AC Health, and Group Head of Corporate Strategy and Development at Ayala Corporation, Prof. Hitendra Patel - Managing Director at IXL Center and Professor at Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto), Ernest Cu - President and CEO of Globe Telecom, Riza Mantaring - CEO & Country Head at Sun Life Philippines Financial, Cesar Romero - President and CEO at Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Cathy Yang - Managing Editor and Anchor at the ABS-CBN News Channel, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala - Chairman and CEO, Ayala Corporation, Prof. Joel Litman - Financial Innovation Expert at IXL Center and President and CEO at Valens Research, Vince Tobias - Head of Innovation at Ayala Corporation and Board Director at the Global Innovation Management Institute.