AIM-SEELL Brings Industry Leaders Together to Tackle the Future of Leadership and Growth
The Asian Institute of Management – School of Executive Education and Lifelong Learning (AIM-SEELL) successfully convened the Executive Forum: Future-Forward Leadership — Executive Perspectives on Talent, Transformation, and Growth on 18 February 2026. The event brought together senior executives, industry leaders, and professionals for a strategic dialogue on the evolving demands of leadership in an age defined by rapid technological change, shifting talent dynamics, and continuous transformation.
The forum explored how organizations must rethink leadership, workforce development, and innovation to remain competitive in an increasingly complex and fast-moving global environment. Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Ivy Samson, Clinical Professor at the Asian Institute of Management, emphasized that the true value of organizations lies beyond traditional financial metrics and resides in the strength and adaptability of their people.
“But as we sit here in 2026, we know that the most valuable asset that a company manages doesn’t show up in a depreciation schedule. It is shown in the capability density of the people.”
She challenged leaders to redefine how talent is viewed and developed in an era where the pace of change continues to accelerate.
“In a world where the half-life of technical skills is now less than five years, we must reframe our definition of talent. Future-forward leaders should no longer hire for what people know. We must stop seeing our workforce as a collection of resumes and start seeing them as dynamic human capital.”
She further highlighted adaptability as a critical leadership priority.
“We should not just be hiring people for what they currently know; we should be hiring for how fast they can unlearn the obsolete and quickly learn to address the demands of the future this brings.”
Adding an industry perspective, Perdasille Carlos-Mesina, SVP and Managing Head of Filinvest Business Services Corporation, underscored the importance of intentional, values-driven leadership in navigating complexity and speed.
“One leadership capability that we need to strengthen in 2026 for us to be successful in leadership and the corporate world, for me, would be deliberate human-centered decision-making. Because leaders who really thrive and become successful today will be the ones who have the ability to make thoughtful decisions at speed, grounded in data, guided by values, and also with deep awareness of what the human impact will be.”
Providing a forward-looking view on technology and its implications for business transformation, Arnab Kr. Ray, Sr. Vice President (APAC) at TTEC, spoke about the accelerating impact of artificial intelligence and the urgent need for organizations to prepare for the next phase of digital evolution.
“The one thing that most people underestimate at this point in time is the true power of artificial intelligence. Largely, AI today is managing B2B processes—business to business. And very soon we’re starting to see B2C, which is where it will start to interact with us. We’ve seen ChatGPT and Perplexity and a few others, but there are so many more. And the moment we empower AI to get to the next phase, which is called AGI, or general intelligence, which is the next level, which is almost here—it’s called agentic AI of sorts—where you can use multiple bots to manage the process, that’s where we’ll start to see the real shift or the urgency of shift.”
Through a convergence of academic insight and executive experience, the forum reinforced a shared message: leadership in 2026 requires agility, continuous learning, human-centered thinking, and technological fluency.
As organizations confront rapid skill obsolescence, digital acceleration, and evolving workforce expectations, the ability to lead with foresight, adaptability, and responsibility will define long-term success. The Executive Forum reaffirmed AIM-SEELL’s commitment to shaping future-ready leaders and enabling organizations to navigate transformation with clarity, purpose, and strategic vision.
Learn how AIM can help strengthen your talent capabilities and support your organization’s growth. Book a consultation with us: https://go.aim.edu/seellcustomcorpconsultation
