A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS OF THE CONFERENCE BOARD IN ASIA

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1 SUMMER 2006 Inside 2 Recent Events 3 Council News BoardAsia A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS OF THE CONFERENCE BOARD IN ASIA Chief Information Officers Council Launches in Asia Pacific 4 Recent Research 6 Events The inaugural meetings of the new Asia-Pacific CIO Council were held in Singapore and Hong Kong in July. Participants at the two well-attended sessions included representatives from Bank of America (Asia), Bossini Enterprises Ltd., Chevron (Singapore), Epson Precision (Hong Kong) Ltd., Flextronics International Ltd., Golden Village Multiplex Pte Ltd., Henkel Asia Pacific Limited, Keppel Corporation Ltd., Microsoft China, Motorola Electronics Pte Ltd., MTR Corporation Limited, New York Life International LLC, Philips Electronics Hong Kong Ltd., Shangri La Hotels & Resorts and a number of other prominent organizations. Like all of the councils from The Conference Board, this new group gives senior executives from respected global and large regional companies an invaluable forum for exchanging information, discussing current trends and engaging in joint problem solving. Lynette Saldanha, who brings over 30 years of experience working in the IT industry in India, Singapore, New Zealand and Europe, is the program director for the group. In addition to positions involving technical management and running business units in multinational companies, she has also been an entrepreneur in the software development and services arena. An independent consultant based in Auckland and Mumbai, Saldanha s areas of expertise include restructuring for growth, coaching top management and designing and implementing marketentry strategies. Chief Information Officers Council Program Director Lynette Saldanha (at right) talking with participants at the Hong Kong meeting. The inaugural meetings, which were by invitation only, attracted senior information technology executives from across the region.

2 2 THE CONFERENCE BOARD BoardASIA SUMMER 2006 THE CONFERENCE BOARD RECENT EVENTS Offshoring: Setting the Stage to Make the Move In today s complex global marketplace, decisions on how and where to manage key services and strategic initiatives involve far more than cost considerations. When it comes to outsourcing and offshoring, though, many companies fail to look beyond the potential savings to consider all the risks involved or recognize the requirements for long-term success. More than mere projects to be managed, outsourcing and offshoring often touch the heart of an enterprise s production and customer relationships. Insufficient planning can have a negative impact on the initial stages of offshoring and, worse still, can establish poorly conceived practices that may prove difficult to change. Whatever the size and scope of an offshoring or outsourcing venture, companies must take into account security, risk, compliance, cost competitiveness, staffing, corporate social responsibility and a host of other factors. From left to right: Petra Buchanan Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Unisys; Meg Gottemoeller Director of Asia-Pacific Programs, The Conference Board; and Ton Heijmen Senior Advisor, Outsourcing and Offshoring, The Conference Board, at the Executive Breakfast Roundtable in Hong Kong. The Conference Board held a series of Executive Breakfast Roundtables across Asia in May that addressed many of these issues. The meetings, which were hosted in partnership with Unisys, were attended by CEOs and key decision makers. Moderator Ton Heijmen, senior advisor for outsourcing and offshoring to The Conference Board, reported on the latest developments in outsourcing, both onshore and off. There were also presentations from Mike Ettling, vice president of global sourcing and infrastructure services for Unisys Asia-Pacific, and a number of senior representatives from major companies in the region, including Philip Jackson, managing director, JP Morgan Chase, who spoke at the Hong Kong meeting; Jeral D Souza, vice president and corporate controller for the Asia-Pacific region for Cargill, who addressed the Singapore gathering; and Eberhard Schrempf, president and CEO, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., who delivered remarks at the Beijing session. Hot topics discussed included: Financial and operational risks Testing the ethics of offshoring Adapting to a rapidly changing environment Deciding on a pricing framework Safeguarding your reputation Uncovering hidden costs Malaysian CEOs Share Top Challenges In the latest in an ongoing series of Executive Roundtables, Malaysian business leaders met in Kuala Lumpur in June to define and explore the global concerns top executives currently face. Rainer Schultheis, program director for the Asia-Pacific CFO Council, presented findings from The Conference Board 2006 CEO Challenge survey, which is based on the responses of more than 500 CEOs from around the world. The meeting, which was sponsored in association with Ernst & Young, also looked at a survey specifically designed to capture the major challenges of Malaysian CEOs. The results of this poll showed that their top concerns the need for profit growth and consistent execution of strategy were similar to those of their global counterparts.

3 SUMMER 2006 BoardASIA THE CONFERENCE BOARD 3 THE CONFERENCE BOARD COUNCIL NEWS Human Resources Council China April s meeting, which was hosted by Baxter Healthcare in Suzhou, gave members a chance to discuss a broad array of topics. Guest speaker Andreas Lauffs, a partner with Baker & McKenzie, spoke on China s draft labor contract laws, which push the law back to a lifelong employment mode. Julia Wolage, vice president, head of human resources, for Japan, Asia Pacific and Australia for American Express, and Lia Belilos, human resources director for Shell China Limited, led a session on compensation and benefits, during which members reached the general conclusion that the Asia Pacific market is in confusion and employees currently have the upper hand. Members also examined retention best practices, including the finding that seasoned employees are critical for successful on-boarding (and retention) of new hires. Other topics covered during the meeting included avian flu and the cafeteria approach to compensation and benefits. Council member Elaine Lin, human resources director for China and Hong Kong for Baxter, also gave a tour of the company s facility in Suzhou. Next meeting September 6 8, Chongqing Council Program Director Maura Fallon (fourth from right) with members and guests at the Baxter facility in Suzhou. Asia Pacific Shared Services Council All of the sessions during July s meeting, which was held in Melbourne at the premises of Cadbury Schweppes, were devoted to answering one central question: What role will shared services play within Asia Pacific in the next five years? Ainslie Popplewell, general manager, shared services for South Australian Water, and Anders Ihr, managing director, Swiss Re Shared Services (India) Pvt. Ltd., moderated a panel on organizational and deployment strategies and Ricardo Manotoc, general manager, Henkel Financial Services SEA Ltd, conducted a forum on processes and technology. During their segment, Vivienne MacCarthy, shared business services manager, Cadbury Schweppes, and Arthur Skipitaris, general manager, shared services division, for Australia Post, looked at key triggers and primary enablers. MacCarthy also took council members on a tour of Cadbury Schweppes s facility. Next meeting November 7, Singapore To find out more about these councils, please contact council manager Alice Lee at alice.lee@conference-board.org or (852)

4 SUMMER 2006 BoardASIA THE CONFERENCE BOARD 4 THE CONFERENCE BOARD RECENT RESEARCH Maximizing Rotational Assignments: A Handbook for Human Resources Executives Research Report 1388 The rotational assignment an integral component of talent development plans at many leading corporations creates an opportunity for companies to provide their executives with an accelerated learning experience that can lead to demonstrable results for both the executive and the company. This handbook, which explores the dynamics at play in identifying and executing business unit, geographic and staff-line rotations, is based on research conducted by The Conference Board Working Group on Rotational Assignments, which met from October 2004 to May The group examined the ways in which companies are using rotational assignments and the role HR can play in guiding a rotational assignments program. Maximizing Rotational Assignments is a practical handbook that contains pragmatic advice, guidelines and a set of tools that HR executives can refer to when launching or implementing a rotational assignments program. A CD-ROM accompanying the hard copy of the full report contains a PowerPresentation to aid in building executive commitment and a PDF of detailed worksheets, forms, checklists and samples that can be used to plan, execute and evaluate an effective rotational assignments program. Are Businesses Doing Enough to Prepare for a Pandemic? Executive Action 204 A significant majority of companies nearly seven out of ten participating in a comprehensive global survey by The Conference Board say that they are actively engaged in planning a response to an avian flu human pandemic, although large public companies have planned more than small or mid-market firms. Key priorities for respondents are protection of the workforce, operational continuity and telecommuting capabilities. Regarding the latter, survey findings confirm a high expectation and optimism about the role information technology is assigned by business continuity and employee communications planners. Seventy percent of firms indicate they are enhancing existing IT capabilities to allow employees to work from home or a satellite facility during a pandemic. On the downside, companies without a contingency plan will face a lack of coordination with government agencies and an absence of strategies to address the high absenteeism that may result in a pandemic. To download these or any other publications, please visit The Conference Board Members Only website: Debut Asia-Pacific Webcast Focuses on Leadership Development The first Webcast from The Conference Board delivered on Asia-Pacific time was held on June 20. Drawing on conclusions from the recent report Leadership Development in Asia-Pacific: Identifying and Developing Leaders for Growth, this online meeting provided a general overview of how companies in the region are approaching the challenge of local leadership development. Case studies delivered by David Nicolson, head of learning and organizational development, Asia-Pacific, BP Australia and New Zealand, and Andre Pfaendler, director, Leadership Institute Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse, offered in-depth examinations of how these issues have affected their companies. Participants also had the opportunity to discuss a variety of leadership issues with the presenters.

5 SUMMER 2006 BoardASIA THE CONFERENCE BOARD 5 THE CONFERENCE BOARD COUNCIL NEWS Asia Pacific Strategic Marketing Council The theme of June s meeting in Hong Kong was how to make marketing a key driver of organizational success. Anna Yong, chief marketing officer, Asia-Pacific, Heidrick & Struggles, led a session on how to manage a department using limited resources. With the billions invested in marketing every year, it is easy to forget that most marketing departments are implementing strategies on a shoestring. Frederic Moraillon, program director of the council, moderated a discussion on building a brand that sells and ensuring that businesses never forget that their brand is primarily a sales tool. Next meeting November, Shanghai Asia Pacific Corporate Communication Council In addition to stimulating a wide-ranging exhange on current issues, the round-robin discussion that kicked off the May meeting in Hong Kong allowed members to update each other on recent communication technology initiatives in their companies. The meeting also featured a discussion on crisis planning for bird flus and other pandemics led by Eileen Lim from Swiss Reinsurance Company, a talk on how to increase shareholder value through brand management and internal and external communication by Malcolm Sullivan from FedEx and an examination of how to build corporate communications competency by Jane Lau of CLP Holdings, during which she revealed how her corporate communications group is structured and how she plans for the future. Next meeting November 15 17, Beijing To find out more about these councils, please contact council coordinator Caroline Sy at caroline.sy@conference-board.org or (852) Council Program Director Christine Hess (fourth from right) with members and guests at the Asia-Pacific Corporate Communication Council meeting. The Conference Board Asia-Pacific 22/F, Shun Ho Tower Ice House Street Central, Hong Kong SAR Tel Fax The Conference Board, Inc. 845 Third Avenue New York, NY United States Tel Fax conference-board.org The Conference Board Europe Chaussée de La Hulpe 130, box 11 B-1000 Brussels Belgium Tel Fax conference-board.org/ europe.htm The Conference Board of Canada 255 Smyth Road Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M7 Canada Tel Fax conferenceboard.ca BoardASIA is published by The Conference Board, Inc. Opinions published in BoardASIA do not necessarily represent those of The Conference Board s Associate Members. Reproduction in whole or in part permitted subject to written consent and due acknowledgement by The Conference Board, Inc. All rights reserved. The Conference Board and the torch logo are registered trademarks of The Conference Board, Inc.

6 winter 2006 Boardasia the conference board 7 Upcoming Events Human Resources Conference China Human Resources November 15 16, Shanghai Councils Human Resources China September 6 8, Chongqing Asia Pacific Talent, Leadership Development, and Organization Effectiveness November 1 3, Shanghai Human Resources Asia Pacific November 8 10, Hong Kong Marketing and Communications Councils Asia Pacific Corporate Communication November 15 17, Beijing Asia Pacific Strategic Marketing October 31 November 1, Shanghai Operations and Business Processes Conference Asia Pacific Outsourcing, Offshoring, and Shared Services November 8 9, Singapore Councils Asia Pacific Chief Financial Officers October 12 13, Singapore Asia Pacific Shared Services November 7, Singapore Asia Pacific Chief Information Officers November (Location to be determined) Asia Pacific Supply Chain (Inaugural meeting) December 5, Hong Kong December 7, Singapore To Find Out More... For more information on any of the upcoming events, please check the appropriate box, type or attach your business card and fax this form to Name Position Functional Area Company Tel Fax Address Country The Conference Board Programs subject to change BoardAsia Project Code: SUMMER 2006 Agenda Code: MA3