More than 100 chief executives from 15 countries around the globe gathered from 6-8 November in Singapore for the launch of Networks Converge, a networking event hosted by YPO, the premier global leadership community for chief executives. The overarching theme for this inaugural event was "Always with the Future in Mind." For three days, leaders from the digital and marketing, hotel, food & beverage as well as real estate & construction industries gathered for networking, cross industry collaboration, and learning discussions on the digital future, the shared economy, sustainability, business innovation and other major business trends.

Speaking at a fireside chat on Wednesday, 6 November on the opening day of Networks Converge, YPO Chairman Elizabeth Zucker noted, "One of the main reasons why members join our organization is to be part of a community of peers who connect at a deeper level. YPO networks provide such an extraordinary opportunity for members who share similar passions to learn, connect and collaborate. Im thrilled to have been part of our first Networks Converge event, and Singapore was the perfect international location for it."

In his opening keynote speech at YPOs Networks Converge on Thursday, 7 November, Singapores Minister for National Development Mr. Lawrence Wong shared Singapores urban planning experiences and strategies with global business leaders saying, "We plan on making our city smarter and are harnessing technology across a whole lot of different areas." He then cited examples of how Singapore is using drones for building inspections, testing autonomous vehicles and shuttles, and building 5G standalone networks. Mr. Wong added that while technology is a big push when building better cities, the imperative is to have a city that is people-centred, and planning strategies should focus on creating attractive places wher people can live, work and play. Mr. Wong also commented, "We are pushing for Singapore to be one of the greenest and most sustainable cities in the world," and elaborated on plans to continue to enhance Singapores greenery, ramp up deployment of renewable power as well as scale up on green buildings.

YPOs Networks Converge featured many additional speakers who shared their groundbreaking approaches to tackling challenges and opportunities in business and beyond including:

Bruce Cheung, Chairman of Pardoo Beef Corporation, who spoke as part of a dedicated food & beverage roundtable, gave a talk Leading Transformational Change: Clean, Healthy and Traceable Food, noting, "The goal is to create a long-term safe and sustainable food production process that will benefit many generations to come. It comes down to planning in detail. Planning of wher you build the product, getting the criterias right, building the team, building the downstream and then the market. This may sound strange. A lot of people look at what the market requires first. You need to be sure of having a point of difference in the marketplace….I believe in the long run, the world wants primary, natural food… at the production end everyone wants to control the cost of production, those two dont go hand in hand, they actually diverge but that opens up opportunities for those that want to produce natural food for the Asia market."

Althea Lim, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Gushcloud International, who spoke as part of the Global Digital Summit World Tour (Asia Edition) at Networks Converge, said, "A recent survey conducted in the United States and published on Inc.com states that 1 of 3 in America between the ages of 6-17 want to be a YouTuber or Influencer. We are entering a new world wher Influencers or Digital Talents (as we call them) will become the next celebrities of our time. The East and the West look at activating these Influencers differently for different commerce purposes. China has been and still is leading in this space, and seems ahead of the rest of the world in the use of Influencers for commerce purposes, specifically in the Ecommerce and Social Commerce departments. I believe that it is time for the rest of the world to catch on and understand how to purposefully extrapolate the use of influencers in the performance and sales space."

Kishore Mahbubani, Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore (NUS), who gave a keynote speech focused on Whether ASEAN can hold Asia together, shared, "ASEAN has become the centre of a lot of diplomatic activity because it is not seen as a threat by any major power. Over time, it has emerged as one of the most peaceful and prosperous corners of the world. People are now recognizing that something unique is going on in ASEAN. By 2030, it will become the 4th largest economy in the world (in combined GNP) and yet few in the West have heard of it! Even if the U.S. and Chinese geopolitical competition keeps rising over the next 10 years, I am confident the ASEAN region will continue to do well."

Dr. Sandhya Sriram, CEO and Co-founder of Shiok Meats, Asias first cell-based seafood company, which grows seafood using stem cells, also spoke as part of the food & beverage roundtable. She commented, "Singapore is working towards a sustainable food ecosystem…with a target of 30% of its food to be produced in house. Consumers need to think about what they are putting in their mouths, wher it is from and the future generations."

about YPO

YPO is a global leadership community of more than 28,000 chief executives in more than 130 countries, driven by the belief that the world needs better leaders. YPO members inspire and challenge each other based in open sharing and trust among a diverse community. Members companies are diversified among industries and types of businesses, employ more than 22 million people globally and generate USD9 trillion in annual revenues.