Radical management practices are helping Asia’s top chief executives stay ahead in an era of economic uncertainty, from flat company hierarchy to “servant leadership.”
“I have always been motivated to encourage managers to do their best to serve,” says Jahja Setiaatmadja, one of the top-ranking chief executives in Institutional Investor’s 2023 All-Asia Executive Team. Setiaatmadja became president director of PT Bank Central Asia in 2011, after serving as a director since 1999 and managing the bank through its recovery from the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis. He practices servant leadership, a style formulated by Robert K. Greenleaf in the 1970s that emphasizes serving employees rather than leading them. In more than 30 years at the bank, Setiaatmadja says he has brought positivity to the workplace by helping employees to achieve success through their own growth: “Through collaboration we gain mutual understanding to achieve common goals and the agility to respond to changes.”
Collaborating with employees is perhaps more challenging at Bank Central Asia, which has more than 50,000 staff, than it is at smaller, more agile companies. But Setiaatmadja’s desire to share power is not unlike that of Chris Lin, chairman and president of Taiwan circuit designers ASPEED Technology. Lin, who was highly ranked among chief executives in the technology semiconductor category, values independent thinking and free expression on the part of the company’s 100-strong staff.
To determine the members of Institutional Investor’s 2023 Asia (ex-Japan) Executive Team, we surveyed buy-side analysts, money managers and sell-side researchers at securities firms and financial institutions that cover the region, including those who cast and received votes in this year’s 2023 All-Asia Research Team survey. Survey results reflect the opinions from 6,474 investment professionals at 1,646 financial services firms.
We asked the participants to rate the chief executive officers, chief financial officers and investor relations professionals at the companies in their coverage universes. CEOs were rated on their credibility, leadership and communication. CFOs were rated on their ability in capital allocation, financial stewardship and communication. For the Investor Relations programs, companies were rated on the following attributes: roadshows/conferences/meetings; IR team authority and credibility; accessibility of senior execs; responsiveness; earnings calls, business and market knowledge, timeliness of disclosure; and consistency and granularity of disclosure. Companies were rated on the following ESG attributes: corporate ESG strategy; ESG engagement; and ESG disclosure. Additionally, one category was added this year: company board of directors. All votes are weighted by rating (five being excellent; one being average) and attributes within each category were aggregated to create the CEO, CFO, IR Professional, IR Program and ESG rankings.
The Overall rankings in each of the categories —CEO, CFO, IR Professional, IR Company, ESG, Company Board —are based on combined buy- and sell-side votes. Separate rosters (buy side, sell side) are also available for each award classification.
Derived from our 2023 Asia (ex-Japan) Executive Team, firms are recognized in the Mainland China and Rest of Asia rankings. Using the same method as above, companies are ranked within their respective region to create two separate rankings. The Small & Midcap results include all companies with less than $10B in market capitalization.
Honored Companies are companies who achieved at least one published position. To earn the designation of Most Honored Company, a company must achieve a weighted score of 15 or more points across the five categories in the combined, buy-side and sell-side rankings, wherein each first-place position is worth three points; second place, two; and third place, one. M/p>
To be eligible for inclusion on the 2023 All-Asia (ex-Japan) Executive Team, a company must be headquartered in Asia. We keep confidential the identities of the survey respondents to ensure their continuing cooperation. Voters must meet eligibility requirements, and winners must achieve a minimum vote count. All ballots are subject to review by our Research Operations Group.
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