HONG KONG — In an era defined by fast-changing technology, shifting customer demand, and intense global competition, adaptability has emerged as the most vital quality for effective business leadership. This was a central topic during the panel discussion Decisions Under Pressure: How Leaders are Navigating 2026, held at the inaugural ACC CXO Forum in Hong Kong.
The forum gathered top decision-makers from telecommunications, technology, digital infrastructure, finance, and enterprise sectors worldwide to share leadership strategies and examine trends shaping the future of business. Among the speakers was Blums S. Pineda, senior vice president and enterprise business group head of PLDT, who joined industry peers to explore how organizations can stay resilient and competitive amid growing market complexity.
Pineda emphasized that adaptability has become just as critical as company size or market standing. “It’s not as simple anymore to rest on your laurels as a B2B or enterprise company and build up to a certain size because you’re not sure that what got you there is going to keep you at the top. And that holds true for B2C companies as well,” he said.
The discussion also underscored the rising difficulty of long-term strategic planning in an increasingly unpredictable business landscape. Pineda noted that leaders must remain flexible as customer expectations, technological tools, and competitive conditions continue to shift at a rapid pace. He added that learning from a wide range of leadership styles and management approaches strengthens an executive’s ability to address complex challenges.
“I’ve always had the benefit of paying attention to my leaders above and trying to pick up little things. I think leadership is a story of evolving your craft and evolving yourself and really reflecting on what you can add and what you can steal with pride from others, because if it works in that situation, and if you have that in your toolkit, then you have a much more diverse way to begin to tackle problems that you will find,” Pineda explained.
As companies navigate an ever-changing operating environment, the forum reinforced a shared view: success can no longer be guaranteed by history, scale, or market position alone. Organizations must continuously evolve and create fresh value in response to new market realities.
“It’s a harder time to be in business. It’s a harder time to be a leader. You can no longer think that you’re entitled to something. You have to earn it every day, unfortunately, and I think that’s a new normal,” Pineda said.
