OWP liVe Report

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Renewal, not return: leadership in the time of COVID-19

N E W S F E AT U R E

JIM HAGEMANN SNABE Chairman of Siemens AG & A.P. Moller- Maersk & Vice-Chairman of Allianz SE

Rather than return to how thingswere before, companiesmust leap ahead into a better future, says JimHagemannSnabe. TheCOVID-19 crisis has posed unprecedented challenges for business leaders and reframed the discussion around globalization, climate change and digitalization. But “concerned optimist” JimHagemann Snabe –Chairman at Siemens AG, Chairman at A. P. Moller-Maersk and ViceChairman at Allianz SE– said that if leaders confront outdated assumptions, organizations can dare to chart a new course that will lead to a better future for all. Snabe draws onhis long experience as amanager, including 25 years in the IT industry, to explore the implications for leaders at this critical crossroads. “In aworld that was already undergoing rapid change, the crisis is forcing executives to reflect onwhat kind of society wewant to create,” saidSnabe. “What role should business play in the future?”

Today, there is a significant inflection point, much like themoment of change that occurred as Snabe finished his business studies in 1989. “TheBerlinWall fell that year and you could argue that globalizationhad dramatically accelerated,” he said. “Theworldwide webwas invented, creating the digital revolution. This enabled the connecting of people and things inwayswe couldn’t have imagined earlier.” The inflection point that theworld is at currently is themoment to stop and reflect on responsible leadership, andmove forward in away that is beneficial for all people. The leader’s trifecta “Digitalization, geopolitics and climate are the three points on every leader today’s agenda,” explainedSnabe. “COVID-19 comes on top of that and it has changed the dialogue.”

DIGITALIZATION, GEOPOLITICS&CLIMATE on every leader’s agenda today

there is a newparadigmat play. Snabe argued that COVID-19 should be a catalyst under these three dimensions. “Leadersmust realize that the traditional leadershipmodel won’t work anymore,” saidSnabe. “The increased speed of changemeanswe can’tmake detailed plans aswe did before.”

Speaking directly to theCOVID-19 pandemic and its effect onworld

economies, he continued: “Retracting fromglobalizationwould be a bigmistake because globalization is the onlyway to create equal opportunities for everyone on this planet. The better solution is to become more resilient.”

Withmany countries phasing out confinement and reopening for business,