The corporate leaders have to embrace new business landscape driven by technology-oriented developments to speed up their journey amid the ongoing pandemic, analysts said at the CXO Summit 2021 today.

Ensuring corporate governance is essential to make business sustainable, they said at the event organised by Valor of Bangladesh, a knowledge sharing social platform, at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden in the city.

New scenario requires new leadership as businesses can change the world, said Ali Reza Iftekhar, managing director of Eastern Bank Ltd (EBL), while delivering his opening speech at the summit.

Considering the new phenomenon, EBL has set up different digital platforms to provide better services to clients that has helped it strengthen bonding with clients, he said.

Raihan Shamsi, chairman of DevoTech, said the world is now very different from the pre-pandemic situation.

"We have learned very costly lessons from the pandemic. There is no scope to go back to the previous atmosphere. Adopting new technology has become a strong requirement in keeping pace with the time as lots of people now work from home," he said.

Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of Mutual Trust Bank, said the economy is now going from strength to strength beyond a doubt.

But, there is a room to improve the corporate governance more along with strengthening the educational system in the country, he said.

Corporate leaders should also feel empathy with their colleagues as it helps run an organisation in an efficient manner, Rahman said.

Shwapna Bhowmick, Bangladesh country manager for Marks & Spencer, said corporate leaders must take responsibility of office and staff to sustain the business.

They have to try to think differently as well as being aware of ins and outs, she said.

"The leaders try to add value what she/he does every day," she said.

Yasir Azman, chief executive officer of Grameenphone Ltd, said holding leadership is not a position rather it is an action.

"You should have dream and learn more and more. These would help you do more. Giving reward and feedback to colleagues are important to motivate for their works," he said.       

Any corporate house would not be successful without practising of right culture, he said.

Syed Moinuddin Ahmed, additional managing director of Green Delta Insurance, stressed on practising to tell the truth as it would help a person become a trustworthy leader.

Following discipline is an important tool to shine out the characteristics of a leader, he said.

Malik Talha Ismail Bari, a director of United Group, said the corporate leaders should follow a vibrant relationship with the vendors for expansion of their businesses.

Asadul Haque Sufyani, chief operating officer of Bengal Cement, said the need for teamwork ranging from manufacturing to distribution level helped businesses sustain, which subsequently gave a satisfactory outcome.

Ihtesham Shahjahan, managing director of Quality Feeds, said the pandemic had given a lesson that every company should reserve some funds to manage their bad times.

They have also try to reduce the operational cost, he said.

He also underscored the networking between companies and customers as it could help realize the demand for products.

Najmus Ahmed, executive director of Valor of Bangladesh, and Anis A Khan, chairman of the organisation, also delivered opening speeches at the event. 

The summit presented by EBL and powered by Btrac Technologies consisted of six sessions where more than three dozen senior executives of various companies addressed.