Behind The Scene: The Strategist Behind the Strategy

Top executives guide strategy formulation and execution, but is getting more difficult in a fast-changing world where agility rather than rigidity would be required. In this session, our panelists will answer questions like:

•How do the personal, educational and career backgrounds of the strategists influence them in strategy formulation?
•How does a strategist see things differently and think differently?
•How do they know if their strategies will perform better than competitors?
•What capabilities should be present in a chief strategy officer?
•Which part of strategy planning process would need changing and why?

Panelists
•Robby Go, President and CEO of UBS Securities
•Benjamin Yao, Chairman and CEO of SteelAsia
•Benjie Yap, Chairman and CEO of Unilever Philippines

Intrapreneurship: What Marketers Can Learn from Entrepreneurs about Opportunity-Seeking and Risk Mitigation

The marketing management process starts with opportunity-seeking and not marketing mix formulation. New opportunities not identified and pursued will derail the growth of a company. In this session, our panelists will answer questions like:

Panelists

Market-Driving Innovation: Exploiting Opportunities in Underserved Markets

Instead of resorting to price or promo-driven and brand-switching tactics, visionary leaders push the innovation button, creating a new path for the company’s future, potentially resetting an industry’s competitive factors, launching new categories, and attaining thought leadership then category leadership. In this session, our panelists will answer questions like:

•How to choose which specific underserved and unserved markets to tap?
•How to get insights for big idea?
•How to validate that their big idea is the right idea?
•How to sell the idea internally and to the board for budget allocation?
•What barriers can be expected to be encountered within the company and how to handle them?

Panelists

•Edwin Bautista, President and CEO of Union Bank
•Tennyson Chen, CEO of Bounty Fresh Group
•Johnlu Koa, CEO of The French Baker

The David Phenomenon: The Mindset of a Serious Challenger

Goliath, with all the strengths and advantages of a dominant soldier, lost to a shepherd named David, giving hope that in the marketplace, challengers can gain more than a niche and even win. In this session, our panelists will answer questions like:

Panelists

Distinctiveness vs. Differentiation: Competing in an Increasing Commoditized Market

Standing out in the marketplace is becoming harder and harder. The push for differentiation may be misguided as it is getting a shorter “shelf life”. An alternative is to be distinctive, with recognizable assets and ideas associated with the brand that are liked by the customers. In this session, our panelists will answer questions like:

•How do you differentiate against competitors in the industry?
•What can be the distinctiveness of a company and brand?
•What is the process of arriving at differentiation as well as distinctiveness?
•How to compete to avoid the commoditization trap?
•How does a firm, especially large established organizations, ensure continuous market relevance?

Panelists
•Backy Baquiran, President of UNILAB Inc.
•Tina Tan, President and CEO of SuySing
•Wick Veloso, President and CEO of PNB