IN a business environment defined by rapid technological advancement, shifting customer expectations, and heightened competition, adaptability has emerged as a essential quality for effective leadership.
This core message was central to the panel discussion, “Decisions Under Pressure: How Leaders are Navigating 2026,” featured at the inaugural ACC CXO Forum in Hong Kong.
The gathering convened decision-makers across global telecommunications, technology, digital infrastructure, finance, and enterprise sectors to address the trends transforming modern business.
Among the featured speakers was PLDT Senior Vice President and Enterprise Business Group Head Blums S. Pineda, who joined industry peers to examine strategies for sustaining organizational resilience and competitiveness amid complex market conditions.
Pineda emphasized that adaptability is now just as vital to corporate survival as scale or established market dominance.
“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,” Pineda noted, adding that this reality applies equally to B2C enterprises.
The panel underscored the escalating difficulty of long-term strategic planning in an unpredictable global economy.
Reflecting on his career across global organizations, Pineda highlighted the importance of continuous self-evolution and learning from diverse leadership styles.
“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,” he explained.
Ultimately, discussions at the forum reinforced a shared consensus among executives: historic success and market position no longer guarantee future stability.
To thrive, organizations must constantly innovate and generate value in alignment with shifting realities. Concluding his remarks, Pineda highlighted the demands facing modern executives: “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.”
