FPLA hosts Wharton School of Business leadership program

MANILA, Philippines - First Pacific Leadership Academy (FPLA) partnered with the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business to train business leaders under a four-day Global Strategic Leadership Program. The program was led by renowned Wharton Business School professors, Witold Henisz and Ravi Aron.

Participants were executives from different industries, including agriculture, utilities, food, steel, education, telecommunications, footwear and the government.

The Global Strategic Leadership Program covered four main points: the globalization of doing business in the 21st century, corporate diplomacy, strategy and digital transformation. “The battlefield of tomorrow is not dictated by who has the biggest resources, but who has the best ideas that matter. We are in the midst of a battlefield of ideals and ideas,” shared FPLA’s general manager and executive director Roy Agustin Evalle, stressing the need to continually develop one’s understanding of business and the world. 

The Wharton professors shared how prosperity and growth is correlated to the economic development and the health of the populace. History has shown great examples of this: European and US showed great development, particularly through colonization. In contrast, most Asian and African countries showed little progress as many – like the Philippines –  were largely affected by episodes of war and colonization.

After viewing the global stage through a historical lens, the program focused on the relationships of an organization through corporate diplomacy. The Wharton professors discussed how to manage stakeholders within an organization. Henisz and Aron stressed the importance of communicating with stakeholders as their viewpoint on any given situation is essential.