Transformative leadership needs to enrich a better future: Speakers

Speakers at a programme have underscored the need for strengthening transformative leadership in order to enrich the future progress and development of the country.

The speakers came up with the observation while addressing a programme organized by Bangladesh Brand Forum under its flagship initiative, Leadership Summit, for the 6th time on Saturday.

Powered by United Group and in association with Team Group, The Daily Star and the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Dhaka (MCCI), the gala night was held at a hotel in Dhaka.

This year’s theme of the summit was “Transformative Humane Leadership during extraordinary times.”

The day-long summit gathered leaders and experts from various industries from home and abroad who shared their experiences and knowledge through panel discussions and keynote presentations.

Having the vision at the core, the speakers branched out, discussing the challenges and complexities of leadership, sustainable business growth, corporate governance and organization culture with the aspiring audiences.

Opening the summit, Founder and Managing Director of Bangladesh Brand Forum, Shariful Islam, said, “As a nation, we have performed extremely well to reach middle-income status while celebrating our 50 years of independence. We have also set an ambitious target to become a developed nation by 2041.”

The 6th Leadership Summit consisted of four-panel discussions, four keynote sessions and an insight session and the discussions began with the insight session on the day.

Taking part in the discussion, Prof Dr. Syed Ferhat Anwar, of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) of Dhaka University showcased the role of leadership in a sustainable and growth-driven future of the country.

Vivienne Read, Director, Leadership Trainer Complexability Pty Ltd, Australia, conducted the first keynote session on Uncertainty and Complexity: Leadership Opportunities.

The key message of her keynote session was that leadership should be simple but not simplistic. She introduced the complexity framework, Cynefin, used to understand leadership.

Three other keynote sessions were conducted by Tausif Ishtiaque, Partner, Boston Consulting Group, Malaysia, on Creating Business Leaders of the Future, R Gopalakrishnan, CEO, The Mindworks, Former Director, Tata Sons Ltd, Author, and Corporate Advisor, on the Soft Aspects Of Business Transformation' and Prof Roger Levermore, Dean & Associate Professor, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.

The extensive and illustrated sessions were a self-learning experience for the leaders and the future generation in the rows.

All the keynote speakers were gifted with artworks of prolific Visual Artist Nazia Andaleeb Preema, who is also the president of Women in Leadership (WIL).

The four-panel discussions featured pertinent topics like the Future of Bangladesh, the Leader's Role in Creating Organization Culture, Driving Creativity & Originality within Future Employees, and Why Corporate Governance is Key for Sustained Business Growth.

Russell T Ahmed, in the initial panel discussion, stated that Bangladesh is doing better in terms of semiconductors compared to India.

Bangladesh has vast IT potential. However, the drawback is the connectivity with the international market. With the world investing more in IT, it is high time for Bangladesh to do the same on a bigger scale, he said.

In the second panel discussion, speaker Kazi Inam Ahmed emphasised on perseverance for leadership.

He said it is a factor that needs to be promoted in organizations because perseverance drove many first-generation leaders to their success.

Moutushi Kabir, senior director, People, Culture and Communications, BRAC, Beth Macdonald, chief people officer, Biocellion SPC, Leadership Trainer, Manila, Phillippines, Director, Future Considerations, Anis A. Khan, director, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI), Chairman, Valor of Bangladesh Md. Saiful Islam, President Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Dhaka, (MCCI), Miran Ali, vice president, BGMEA, Managing Director Misami Garments Ltd, Russell T. Ahmed, president, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), Yasir Azman, chief executive officer, Grameenphone Ltd, Nazia Andaleeb Preema, visual artist, president, Women in Leadership (WIL), Director, Bangladesh Brand Forum Founder, Bangladesh Creative Forum (BCF), Founder, Preema's Atelier, Deepal Abeywickrema, managing director, Nestlé Bangladesh Ltd, Shehzad Munim, managing director, British American Tobacco Bangladesh, Barrister Nihad Kabir, Chairperson, BUILD & Former President, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Dhaka (MCCI), among other respected speakers, spoke in the event.