A time for Asian business leaders to shine – The Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability Awards (ACES) rewards corporate leadership in the COVID-19 era

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Nov. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — With the COVID-19 pandemic turning the world on its head, it is clear that leaders need to step up and act quickly to find new ways of doing business.

And this is exactly what the winners of the Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability Awards (ACES) 2020 did.

“The fiscal year of many companies shifted from profit to survival mode. What we saw was the agility needed in corporate leadership today, with many captains of industry implementing bold management strategies to survive,” says Shanggari B, Chief Executive Officer of MORS Group, the organizer of the ACES Awards.

She said what tore 2020 apart from other years is that the pandemic was in fact, a worthy trial by fire to many corporations, organizations and business leaders who were nominated for the ACES.

“While it was a given that the number of nominees increased year-on-year, candidates for awards were put through an even more gruelling judging process, and by quite an unexpected ‘judge’: which is COVID-19 itself,” she added.

The seventh edition of ACES was to have been held in Malaysia in 2020, after being hosted in Singapore since its inception in 2014, and then Bangkok in 2019. However due to the pandemic, the black-tie affair for 2020, had to be differed.

“This is a big disappointment to me, especially since we were all looking forward to celebrating our outstanding fleet of winners on the night,” said Shanggari.

The winners included Malaysian shipping tycoon Tan Sri Datuk G. Gnanalingam, Executive Chairman of Westports Holdings Bhd who was named Entrepreneur of the Year.

Another Malaysian, Mac Chung Lynn, Group Chief Executive Officer of Nando’s Chickenland Malaysia and Singapore received the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award, while Thai female businesswoman Sirasom Borisutsuwa, founder of the ride-hailing app, U Drink I Drive, was honoured as Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Clinching Asia’s Most Socially Responsible Company of the Year is Taiwanese multinational computer and phone hardware and electronics company, AsusTek Computer Inc.

The ACES 2020 was a stellar year for businesses and corporations, with the Philippines coming in first for the most number of nominees followed by Malaysia coming in second.

There was a total of 420 nominees and 150 finalists who came from Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka.

This year also saw nominees from four new countries, namely the Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Germany and the United States of America.

While a red-carpet soiree is not on the cards until infection numbers drop globally, there are pop-up events planned by the organizers to bring winners and nominees in individual countries (Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Bangkok) together for smaller pocket events, enabling winners to learn from and network with each other.

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About ACES Awards

The ACES Awards is the brainchild of MORS Group. MORS Group’s mission is to assist companies, corporate leaders, and eminent industrialists to share a platform to exhibit leadership & sustainability excellence, to learn from market experts across the world, to engage stakeholders and employees in valuable ways, and to embrace a culture of progressive learning. MORS Group was founded in 2012 and is managed by a board of directors from diverse backgrounds, who facilitate and play a role in promoting Asia’s sustainable growth.

The full list of the winners and their profiles are available on https://www.acesawards.com/

For more info on the ACES, go to: https://www.acesawards.com/

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