ACES Summit Bali 2025: Reflections, Insights & Calls to Action
Read the conference report of ACES Summit 2025 in Bali, spotlighting responsible leadership and organisational transformation for a sustainable future
Abstract
The ACES Summit 2025, convened in Bali on 27-28 November, brought together global leaders from across the ASEAN region, India, China and Japan to advance a shared agenda of uniting leadership, transforming organisations, and shaping a sustainable future. The Summit was anchored in a thematic analysis by the ACES Institute, conceptualised through the 3Rs of Organisational Excellence: Resilience, Readiness, and Responsibility.
High-level dialogues and spotlight sessions explored how organisations can strengthen resilience and competitiveness amid disruption by embedding sustainability, digital innovation, and responsible business practices at their core. Case examples from leading regional and international organisations illustrated scalable solutions that balance planetary stewardship, people-centric growth, and performance excellence. Discussions underscored that while environmental initiatives are becoming more visible, measurable ESG targets and robust governance systems remain uneven across the region, highlighting an urgent need for data-driven accountability and stronger institutional frameworks.
A central theme of the Summit was human-centred and responsible leadership. Leaders emphasised that culture is operationalised through systems, behaviours, and decisions that promote psychological safety, inclusion, fairness, and continuous development. Organisational excellence was reframed around resilience, readiness, and responsibility, with leaders recognized by the standards they model and the trust they build. Insights from regional research further revealed strengths in social practices, particularly diversity, equity, and inclusion, alongside gaps in governance, including anti-corruption and stakeholder accountability mechanisms.
Overall, the ACES Summit 2025 affirmed that responsible leadership, grounded in purpose, people, and measurable impact, is essential to translating ambition into action and enabling sustainable growth across ASEAN and beyond.
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Key Findings
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