DDI Presents the Asia Talent Management Award at the CNBC Asia Business Leader Awards 2009

DDI Senior Vice President Dr. Rich Wellins presented the Asia Talent Management Award to Mr. Tan Pheng Hock, CEO of ST Engineering at CNBC’s 8^th Asia Business Leader Awards ceremony and gala dinner held in Singapore last November 26. The Asia Talent Management Award is given to the leader whose company values its workforce and is committed to developing, retaining and nurturing the next generation of leaders. 

“This year’s winners are all the more special for leading through challenging times,” said Wellins as he presented the Asia Talent Management Award at the ceremony that was broadcast live across Asia, Europe and the United States. Visit the CNBC website for more information and a slideshow of the event’s highlights or watch a video of the awards presentation.  

CNBC pioneered the Business Leader Awards worldwide, to acknowledge exceptional CEOs globally. Recipients of the awards are stellar individuals, who are visionaries behind today’s outstanding businesses. Every year since 2004, DDI has worked as CNBC’s Research Partner to identify, assess and recognize leaders who have contributed and shaped the Asian economy by conducting in-depth face-to-face interview with CEOs in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

DDI congratulates all the shortlisted CEOs and the winners of the 8th Asia Business Leader Awards 2009: 

Asia Talent Management Award 2009
Tan Pheng Hock
ST Engineering (Singapore)

The Asia Talent Management Award goes to Mr. Tan for his personal involvement in supporting and nurturing leadership within the company. Mr. Tan believes that talent investment, including grooming and developing staff in such a way as to realize their full potential, is a long-term investment. He is committed to making this investment, through good times and bad, in order to build a pipeline of leaders at all levels. Even during difficult economic times, initiatives such as leadership programs, development centers, and technical and functional training courses have remained a top priority at ST Engineering. The company seeks to consistently engage the workforce through investments in staff training and development, providing opportunities for advancement, ensuring a fair and equitable reward and compensation scheme, facilitating staff participation in the business through suggestion schemes and work improvement teams, and providing a comfortable, conducive work environment for all employees. Mr. Tan has shown his personal commitment to staff development by funding it in the face of competing needs, emphasizing its importance to other senior leaders, delivering a personal address at Senior Leadership Programs, and highlighting the importance of people in all CEO messages to the staff. Mr. Tan’s tireless championing of talent development and management is laudable, and we are pleased to present him with this year’s award.  

The Asia Business Leader of the Year is awarded to Mr. Ning of COFCO for inspiring growth for his company, while keeping in step with global trends. With over 100,000 employees, COFCO has been on the list of Fortune 500 and ranked the first in China Top 100 Food Enterprises for years. Starting as a single grain, oil, and food trader, the company has grown into China’s largest diversified product and service supplier in agribusiness and food industry. Mr. Ning has been instrumental in leading COFCO through multiple phases of growth, helping to create the complete Industry Chain Agro-Enterprise. Mr. Ning is renowned in the industry, and has been recognized five times as one of the 25 most influential leaders by Chinese Entrepreneur Magazine. Mr. Ning’s leadership has helped COFCO to diversify into a company that is involved in the whole agro-business chain, including growing, storage, processing, trading, and branding. The growth COFCO has enjoyed under his leadership has been unprecedented in the company’s 60-year history, and he has been especially instrumental in providing guidance through times of change. Under his leadership, COFCO’s workforce of thousands have been motivated to excel in a market-oriented culture, continually scoring well in customer satisfaction, as well as achieving high performance standards by individual employees. We are proud to acknowledge the excellence in business leadership displayed by Mr. Ning. 

Asia Innovator of the Year 2009
Hiroshi Nagase
Nagase & Company (Japan)

 The Asia Innovator of the Year Award recognizes Mr. Nagase for his leadership in an organization that has innovation at its very core. Nagase is a company with a rich, respected heritage, founded in 1832 as a dyestuff wholesaler in Kyoto. Over the years, the company has faced countless periods of financial and political roadblocks, but has always seized the opportunities presented during these periods of change with a progressive and optimistic management style. In the 1990s, Nagase & Co. implemented its concept of a technology and intelligence-oriented company, and has remained committed to this vision ever since. Mr. Hiroshi Nagase has led the growth in this direction, making the company more robust and able to achieve sustainable growth. Under Mr. Nagase’s leadership, the Nagase Group provides customers with trading, marketing, R&D, manufacturing, and processing in four key business areas: chemicals, plastics, electronics, and life sciences. Mr. Nagase embraces and embodies the company’s vision of raising value with technology as a foundation to the company’s business, and he leads the way in anticipating changes in market structure and the environment. Mr. Nagase’s personal concept of business as an adventure in which one can enjoy accomplishments only by taking the necessary risks has led to a spirit of innovation at the heart of his company’s operation.
 

Corporate Social Responsibility Award 2009
Shiv Nadar
HCL Technologies (India)
The Corporate Social Responsibility Award acknowledges Mr. Nadar for his ability to translate the company’s success into benefits for the community. HCL is a leading global technology and IT enterprise, and a prime example of an innovative company in a cutting edge industry.   But even in such a forward-looking, competitive field, HCL has not lost sight of its responsibility in the community, and has in fact set a standard for high levels of societal contribution. HCL has been active in initiatives ranging from School Intervention Programs to health and hygiene, from the environment to vocational guidance, and has also been heavily involved in fund raising for social causes. Mr. Nadar’s own contributions include setting up the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which is committed to the creation of a more equitable, meritocracy-based society, and to empowering individuals to bridge the socio-economic divide.  The Foundation aims to achieve these goals primarily through outstanding educational institutions, providing meritorious students from all walks of life the opportunity to receive a world class education.  The Foundation has enjoyed great success amongst the underprivileged in various parts of India, allowing many students from rural areas to compete more readily with their urban counterparts.  Mr. Nadar’s investment of large portions of his personal wealth in philanthropy has enabled countless students to excel in a world in where opportunities abound for them to better their life conditions.  Mr. Nadar’s contributions cannot be overstated, and are to be highly commended.

DDI Proud to Partner with CNBC for the 8th Asia Business Leader Awards

• Asia Business Leader of the Year
• Asia Innovator of the Year Award
• Asia Talent Management Award
• Corporate Social Responsibility Award
• Asia Viewers' Choice Award
• Lifetime Achievement Award