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Press Release

Cost of inaction is higher than cost of acting: Alan Jope, Global Chief Executive Officer, Unilever

Sep 20, 2022

NEW DELHI, 20 September 2022:  The world has quite successfully survived, then revived and now thrived by finding opportunities in the recent disruptions. With it came a sense of urgency to ideate, improvise and innovate, to nurture new economic models & partnerships to 'reimagine the world'. This transformation was driven by technology led innovations transcending space & time, leading to cross fertilization of knowledge & ideas at a never-before pace.

Global leaders believe that business case for resilient net zero economies is crystal clear and that leadership with a purpose is what will drive future business growth. Leadership vision will also focus on sustainability and gender diversity as the precept to 'reimagine the future'

Highlighting this inevitable transformation, Mr Alan Jope, Global Chief Executive Officer, Unilever today highlighted that the estimated disruptions caused by rising temperatures will cost companies US$1.3 trillion by 2026, and result in the loss of 80mn jobs. "Now the cost of inaction is far higher than cost of acting. Hence, to achieve superior financial performances, there is a need to build sustainable business," he added.

Mr Sanjiv Mehta, CEO & Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) mentioned that for businesses to be effective in the chaotic world, leaders need to build swift and resilient organizations that are future ready.

Mr Subhrakant Panda, Managing Director, Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Limited stated that with increasing levels of exponential change in the future, the leadership will need to keep pace with changes in technology. "Leader needs to be agile, adaptive and bold in thought and action," added Mr Panda.

Mr Anish Shah, Managing Director and CEO, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd highlighted that to deal with VUCA world challenges, we would need leadership that is adaptive, resilient and willing to understand and learn the changes in technology.

Mr Arun Chawla, Director General, FICCI, shared his views on the sustainable inclusive growth that requires right mindset, technology and strategies to overcome the global and local disruption, leading towards a sustainable and inclusive world.

FICCI LEADS 2022 is a global thought leadership initiative conceptualized in the backdrop of disruptive business environment globally, which was attended by over 250 participants from over 56 countries. This year's theme has been 'Leadership for the Future' where global leaders are trying to evolve shared vision in 10 themes to make the world resilient, sustainable, and future ready.   

The key takeaways from the session:

  1. For a sustainable and inclusive growth, business leaders require right mindsets, technologies, and strategies to overcome the global disruptions.
  2. To achieve superior financial performances, there is a need to build sustainable business aware of the impacts of climate change on operations, value chains, and society in general.
  3. Leaders need to keep pace with the changing technology and be agile, adaptive, and bold in thought and action.

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