Labour Movement’s Future Leaders Summit gains traction with senior management

6 June 2014, SINGAPORE – The Future Leaders Summit (FLS) organised by National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Membership today kicked off the 3-stage Future Leaders Programme, aimed at nurturing future leaders at the workplace, especially for professionals, managers and executives (PMEs). NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say delivered a speech on the first day of the Summit addressing issues pertaining to PMEs.

To find out more about the learning desires and interests of PMEs, NTUC Membership carried out an online survey in December 2012 where 1,538 PMEs aged between 20 and 35 years old responded. Based on the PMEs’ responses, climbing the corporate ladder was at the top of their wish list. Of the 1,538 PMEs, getting career advancement tips received the highest number of votes, followed by advice on honing entrepreneurial skills, and preparation for switching careers.

The Future Leaders Programme was born out of these survey findings to support our PMEs on their quest for success at work and in life.

The three key leaders’ tracks at Future Leaders Summit 2014 feature 25 remarkable trail-blazers:

1. Career Development: Parminder Singh, Managing Director (MD) of Twitter Southeast Asia, India and Middle East and North Africa; Suhaimi Rafdi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cathay Organisation Holdings; Tan Tong Hai, CEO of StarHub; Jessica Tan, MD of Microsoft Singapore, Phyllis Cheung, MD of McDonald’s Singapore, among others.
    
2. Financial Freedom & Entrepreneurship: Charles Wong, CEO of CHARLES & KEITH; Mohamed Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty; Edward Chia, Co-Founder and MD of Timbre Group, among others.
    
3. Quality of Life: Anthony Chen, Cannes-winning director of ILO ILO; Jane Lee, Leader of Singapore Women’s Everest Team; Thaddeus Lawrence, adventure philanthropist; Rob Lilwall, TV adventurer and motivational speaker, among others.    

Apart from inspiring real-life stories of the speakers’ journey to success, participants also had a chance to take part in exclusive networking lunches with speakers at the Summit. Prominent leaders such as Parminder Singh, Jessica Tan, Anthony Chen, Charles Wong, Benny Se Teo, among others, hosted lunches with small groups of just 10 delegates each to inspire them on their own leadership journey.

“Future Leaders Summit 2014 is a sold-out success with over 1,100 seats. 15% of them are senior management and C-Suite delegates. This is a strong affirmation of the relevance of the Future Leaders Programme to support our PMEs in their quest for success at the workplace and in life. We are also encouraged by the strong support from a large number of corporations and unions who have purchased bulk tickets to support their PME employees’ and members’ learning needs,” said Mr Vivek Kumar, Secretary of NTUC Membership Council.

As part of its 3-stage Future Leaders Programme, NTUC will also be organising the Future Leaders Series – smaller-scale fireside chats with C-suite leaders, as well as small-group Future Leaders Mentorship sessions. The next mentorship session will be hosted by Mr Ken Ng, CEO of NTUC Income, followed by Mr Sandeep Suvarna, Head of Consumer Marketing for LinkedIn Asia Pacific andJapan. These mentorship sessions are offered free to NTUC members, with priority for those who have attended the FLS.

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