26/10/2026
Looking beyond today’s talent market to what leaders and organisations will need tomorrow.
Michelle Gray and Sarah Armstrong were proud to represent Onten Strategic Recruitment at the AESC Global Summit on Leadership in Hong Kong, held 2–3 September.
The Summit brought together executive search leaders, business leaders and corporate clients from across the globe to explore some of the issues shaping leadership and talent — from China and global strategy, to CEO leadership, the evolving CHRO, the energy transition, AI and the future of work.
A few conversations particularly resonated with us.
⚡ Renewables & the Energy Transition
Dr Richard Colwill of InterContinental Energy explored the speed and scale of the energy transition, alongside the talent and capability gaps that will need to be addressed.
This is particularly relevant to Onten, with many of our cornerstone clients operating across Renewables, Energy and Agri-Business. The technology and investment may be moving quickly, but having the right leadership and capability to deliver it is equally critical.
🧠 Brain Capital & Leadership in the AI World
Phillip John Campbell of enigmaFIT provided a fascinating perspective on one asset that remains uniquely human — our brain — and the importance of understanding cognitive capability as the workplace continues to evolve.
🤖 AI, Leadership & the Future of Talent
The closing discussions challenged the idea that AI is simply a technology conversation. The implications for leadership, capability, decision-making and the future workforce are much broader.
Across the Summit, one theme continued to surface:
The future of work is changing. The need for great leadership isn’t.
For Onten, this reinforces why understanding our clients’ businesses, their future capability requirements and the leadership they need to achieve their ambitions is at the heart of what we do.
We were delighted to hear from such an impressive group of speakers, including Joe Ngai, Lincoln Pan, Catherine Kwong, Sarena Lin, Alex Richardson, Helena Shen, Sherry Ding, Joon Nak Choi, Richard Lord, Ajay Mallapurkar and Caleb Balloch.
A special thank you to Sarah Mortimer, APAC Director at AESC, for bringing together such a thoughtful and relevant programme, and to James Edmund Datri, President & CEO of AESC, and K. Sudarshan, Regional Chair Asia, Global Board Member and APAC Council Chair, for their leadership and contribution to the Summit.
We’re proud to be part of the AESC network, connecting with a global community committed to the highest standards in executive search and leadership advisory.
And we’re looking forward to bringing those insights back to our clients and candidates across Australia.
Onten Strategic Recruitment — connecting organisations with the leadership and talent they need for what comes next.
