Featured in the Media – Page 31 – Asia School of Business

Many students pursue an MBA for reasons that don’t always revolve around attaining sky-high salaries and fancy titles. For Asia School of Business (ASB) MBA grad Mathias Varming, it was about developing the business skills to have an impact on the world and tackle climate change issues head-on.

After graduating from the MBA, he’s now combining his sustainability sector experience with everything he learned at business school to head up Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) at energy company Ping Petroleum in the heart of Southeast Asia (SEA).

Finding the right MBA

Denmark-born Mathias worked in greenhouse gas management and as a partner in climate change mitigation for a risk consulting firm across Malaysia prior to joining ASB. During that time, he developed a passion for and strengthened his expertise in environmental issues.

But he wanted to learn more about sustainability strategy alongside developing a generalist skillset. That’s when he landed on an MBA as the solution. “I wanted to develop the tools to frame the sustainability problems I knew within the language of business and urge companies to consider these as core business issues,” he explains.

When he began looking for the perfect program, the fact that the ASB MBA is partnered with the MIT Sloan School of Management and connected to the Bank Negara Malaysia were both extremely tempting factors to him, he explains. “Since graduating, I’ve found that ASB’s connections have been resonant with employers, particularly those who are more government-oriented,” he adds.

Developing skills to combat climate change on the ASB MBA

Like many prospective MBA students, Mathias wanted to join an MBA program that emphasized project-oriented and problem-focused learning. Learning about the ASB MBA’s Action Learning (AL) program—an immersive initiative where students participate in five projects and work with global companies to tackle real-world problems—further spurred Mathias on to join the MBA program there.

From figuring out ways to tackle the social inequalities faced by gig economy workers in Malaysia to working with a semiconductor manufacturing plant to improve its business efficiencies, Mathias learned how to strategize and think on his feet—skills that have proved valuable in his sustainability career. “It was in these AL projects where I had the sudden realization that I can actually go into a completely new industry, with relatively short introduction periods, and make a difference,” he says.

Throughout these projects and within his MBA courses, Mathias developed hard and soft, or ‘Smart X Sharp’, skills. In terms of ‘sharp’ skills, he built his knowledge of financial modelling, which has helped him in his current role as head of ESG at Ping Petroleum, where he’s involved in quantifying the impact of ESG measures. On the ‘smart’ skills side, he says he’s enhanced his ability to understand multiple perspectives from working alongside peers from vastly different educational and cultural backgrounds to him on the ASB MBA.

Since sustainability issues cannot be considered in a silo, working in the sustainability sector entails collaborating with global companies worldwide. So, having the ability to build meaningful relationships across regions is essential. “Having that playground to interact with a bunch of different people in a safe environment was really valuable for my career,” he notes.

Building a career within the SEA sustainability space

When thinking about the countries at the forefront of tackling environmental issues, people often look to European countries like Denmark or Norway. However, many SEA countries are becoming leading figures in the urgent fight against climate change, offering exciting MBA jobs in the sector. Malaysia is one country that’s proving its commitment to climate change mitigation, having announced its ambitious carbon neutral target for 2050.

Mathias was able to leverage this ambition post-MBA. Before he became the head of ESG at Ping Petroleum—based in Kuala Lumpur—he cofounded a startup, Evenergy, with Mimi Aminah Wan Nordin, an ASB MBA peer. The company is a trading platform for businesses to buy renewable energy certificates. Now, Mathias has further positioned himself at the center of the fast-moving sustainability sector in SEA.

He’s combining his sustainability and business expertise to lead Ping Petroleum towards a Net Zero agenda. “ESG is a really interesting space right now because there’s a lot going on in areas like building systems in existing organizations—there’s a lot of space to influence businesses’ impact on the environment,” he notes.

Besides making lifelong connections on the MBA in the form of his former cofounder, Mathias has widened his scope of the sustainability sector by sharpening his knowledge of business operations and finance, enabling him to tackle environmental issues from multiple directions. He credits the MBA for enhancing his career.

“A common term in sustainability is that the Net Zero will be the next CEO’s problem, but it should be the current CEO’s problem,” Mathias notes, “the MBA has provided me with the tools to bring sustainable issues higher up the priority list so that businesses confront these issues.”

Read the full article HERE.
Originally published by BusinessBecause, a network helping MBA students make connections before, during and after their MBA.

When it comes to our mobility, the popularisation of electric vehicles (EV) symbolises the combination of advancements in technology coupled with the urgency of climate change. Globally, we are still not meeting the target greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. Countries like China intend to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2030, Singapore by 2040, and now, the prospect of an increasingly electrified motor fleet in Malaysia is drawing closer.

Ultimately, the intent of EVs is to reduce fossil-fuel consumption in transport and the emissions to our atmosphere that come with it. However, EVs as standalone units are not going to be the single solution to a lower-carbon transition. In fact, electrification of vehicles is not likely to reduce our emissions significantly unless the grid electricity that we are powering them on sees an increasingly higher proportion of renewable energy in its energy mix.

The work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by Prof John Sterman illustrates how the lens of systems dynamics helps us view climate change challenges holistically — rarely does any significant change happen as a single independent event. His work helps educate people to catalyse positive change by designing high-leverage policies for sustained improvement.

Of course, “greening” the ecosystem of transport networks constitutes only one component of the battle to reduce carbon emissions, but automobiles are an essential component. Change requires leadership in all areas and many shapes and forms. Let us break it down: Who are the leaders that can make this impact?

Governmental leadership

The 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), unveiled in September, shows the government’s intention and aspiration to enhance green mobility to achieve low-carbon nation status. This is good news for climate action and sustainability in Malaysia. Incentives for local manufacturers producing EVs are being reviewed, incentives for consumers purchasing EVs are being discussed, and the general transition to a more sustainable transport system is being promoted.

With legislative mechanisms and policies, government leadership as an enabling force is intended to catalyse collaboration and innovation among the private, public, industry and governmental sectors. The central government’s master plan also encourages alignment by state-level policies, and that inclusivity will be necessary to ensure all of society can be a part of this.

Industry leadership

Major automakers are making bold commitments and pledges in their EV targets for this decade. Ford Motor Co has a 40% target of EVs by 2030, while Volkswagen AG goes as far beyond the pack as to expect half of its US sales and 70% of its European sales to be EVs by 2030. Such competition will help drive up innovation and drive down EV prices.

These targets by automotive manufacturers must be accompanied by significant capital investment, research and development, and management attention — to come close to accomplishing the goals set out. The challenges for manufacturers include battery development and manufacturing, semiconductor chip availability and reaping economies of scale in EV production.

Technology development plays a crucial role — as EVs must improve their appeal to certain market segments, for example, by offering batteries that can last longer and charge faster. EVs are becoming less expensive, and over the lifetime of owning an EV versus a conventional ICE vehicle, there are significant savings in maintenance and operational costs.

If EVs are powered with electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind energy, then vehicle carbon emissions per kilometre will be dramatically reduced compared to ICE engines. This leads to a bigger question: What are the opportunities for us to lower our individual emissions from the transport choices we make?

Society as the leader

Choosing an EV is becoming an increasingly attractive solution for consumers. EV product appeal, complemented by incentives to purchase, subsidies to maintain and operate, and a charging-station infrastructure that is accessible, will drive sales growth for EVs. However, just replacing all ICE vehicles with EVs will not address all our transport challenges.

Beyond encouraging EVs over ICE vehicles, society must also consider citizen behaviour and the larger transport networks that complement automobiles. Rather than choosing to own an automobile, whether electric powered or not, there is an increasing demand in society for broader sustainable transport services. For non-vehicle owners who rely on ride-shares, for example, we might consider how they can encourage the further “greening” of transport.

Having ride-sharing apps that allow the choice to ride only in electric vehicles, for example, might speed the transition to EVs. Additionally, ride-sharing apps that add a “carbon price” of fuel in ride-shares could empower riders to make better and more sustainable choices.

Individual citizens need to be transformation leaders — each in their own way — raising their consciousness about climate risk and pushing individual, professional and institutional contributions towards a common agenda of carbon reduction. The only way forward is through active discussions as we all strengthen the dynamic processes that lead us to continuous improvement.

Read the full article HERE.
Originally published by The Edge Malaysia – a business and investment weekly.

Professor Charles Fine, President and Dean of Asia School of Business gives us an update on whether the supply chain disruptions taking place globally is easing and whether these disruptions will likely persist at the end of the year. “The underlying cause was the pandemic… The pandemic was global and hit every factory and supply chain at the same time. Usually, disruptions [are local].

It would be very expensive to build up enough inventory to insure against another global pandemic. Some companies are going to rethink their supply chain strategy and try to have more production capabilities closer to their market. It takes a simultaneous global disaster of some sort to cause what we are seeing now, and hopefully those are very few and far between.”

Listen to the full interview below:

Originally published by BFM.

Tonight, we focus on electric vehicles and whether they’re truly a viable option in Malaysia. First, what would it really take for EVs to become the vehicle of choice, and what stands in the way right now? Professor Loredana, Senior Associate Dean at Asia School of Business weighs in. Then, we hear from the president of the Malaysian Electric Vehicle Owners Club about the pain points and how they’re being overcome.

“No matter what we choose, if we only choose one change, it will not make an impact. If we bring change into all aspects of our behaviors, then we will be able to make a [meaningful] change.”

Listen to the full interview below.

Originally published by BFM.

“Renato Lima-de-Oliveira, an assistant professor of business and society at Asia School of Business and a fellow of the Centre for Market Education, said this year has been a positive year for oil companies after a disastrous 2020. He said it is likely that 2022 would be even better, with the full recovery of production beyond pre-pandemic levels or above 100 million barrels per day.

But in the medium to long term, he said crude oil is still a sunset business as the world renews the calls to decarbonise by 2050 or earlier in order to deal with climate change. He noted that many countries are facing an energy crisis now like Brazil, China and the UK. “The core of the problem is that investments in fossil fuels are going down because of the push to decarbonise the economy and their lower long-term growth prospects in a net-zero emissions world but renewables are not yet mature enough to fully replace them.

“This is the time to put in place policies that are aligned with this emerging energy economy and are resilient to the climate challenge we face. “In particular, the aspiration to be net zero by 2050, as expressed in the 12th Malaysia Plan, is a start but it needs to be followed up soon with a concrete roadmap to boost investments in green economy,” Renato said.

Read the full article HERE.
Originally published by The Star.

For the energy sector, a decarbonization strategy will take a “carrot and stick” approach by governments, according to Professor Renato Lima-de-Oliveira, Assistant Professor at ASB and an expert on energy and environmental politics, which some countries have already adopted.

In a recent Malaysiakini article, he said: “You have policies to promote renewables, such as net metering, feed-in tariffs, large scale solar options, tax credit subsidies and you also have policies to discourage fossil fuels.”

He notes that we shouldn’t discount the role each of us play within society either: “A key thing within the political economy of any transition has been societal pressure. If you see where these policies have been adopted most, you will see a lot of activity coming from NGOs and from green parties, pushing society in one direction.”

Read the full article HERE.
Originally published by Malaysiakini.

A study involving 1,307 Malaysian adults found those unvaccinated for Covid-19 might be convinced to get jabbed if they were compelled to pay for tests on a fortnightly basis. This was based on preliminary results of the study “Norms, Trusts and Increasing Vaccine Registration in Malaysia” by the Asean Research Centre at the Asia School of Business published on Thursday. The study found that mandated self-paid PCR Covid-19 tests every two weeks for those yet to register for the vaccine would expedite vaccine take-up rates.

The final paper for the study will be released at a later date once it has undergone rigorous peer-review at an academic journal. Led by Dr Melati Nungsari, Dr Sam Flanders and several other researchers, the study involved an online survey experiment from June 21 to July 5. According to the study, tough measures were implemented in Singapore where unvaccinated workers in malls, supermarkets and food delivery businesses are tested twice a week.

“The vignette experiment in this study indicates that the attitude towards the vaccine is not highly driven by social pressure, but significantly affected by the likelihood of being punished,” the centre stated. Dr Nungsari said they conducted two behavioural survey experiments to study respondents’ reactions towards a state-imposed carrot-and-stick approach. “The first experiment suggested that 80% of respondents who had yet to register for the vaccine did so when there is a cash incentive,” she said.

Another key finding indicated that “a second experiment showed that respondents predicted that a punishment of having to self-pay for PCR Covid-19 tests every two weeks was more effective at promoting vaccinations compared to an incentive of being enrolled in a lucky draw with one large cash prize of RM1mil.” Universiti Malaya’s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine’s Prof Dr Moy Foong Ming said the government must consider multiple measures to encourage the public to get vaccinated.

Read the full article HERE.
Originally published by The Star.

The Financial Stability Coordination Council (FSCC) has collaborated with Kuala Lumpur-based Asia School of Business (ASB) through the conduct of an online course structured for the personnel of the FSCC-member agencies. The ASB was established in 2015 as a partnership between Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the MIT Sloan School of Management.

With faculty cross-posted between Kuala Lumpur and Cambridge, Massachusetts, the ASB sets out to develop highly qualified, industry-ready talents to meet the requirements of a dynamically growing Asia. At the opening of the three-week program, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor and FSCC Chairman Dr. Benjamin E. Diokno underscored how forging partnerships is critical in an interconnected global economy.

Governor Diokno noted that “risk behaviors in financial markets are much more fluid and respond more quickly to changing incentives. … [I]t is important more than ever for the FSCC to see what market players see, and for us to influence risk behaviors in ways that develop markets and build resilience.” Several senior ASB officials graced the opening ceremony, led by its Co-Chairperson, former BNM Governor, Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz.

In her remarks, Dr. Zeti highlighted how a well-functioning bond market was critical for Malaysia’s financial stability. Narrating her various experiences at the helm of BNM for 16 years, Dr. Zeti noted that market volatility in Malaysia was moderate even during global flashpoints such as the 2013 taper tantrum. This, she attributed, to a strong domestic bond market that minimized the reliance on capital flows from offshore markets as well as on the local banking market.

Dr. Zeti shared that Malaysia “recognize[d] after the Asian Financial Crisis the importance of diversifying our financial system. We had an over-concentration of risks in the banking sector and so we needed to diversify our risks and develop the bond market.” Governor Diokno pointed out that “part of our intent [is] to better survey risk behaviors … [and] the Financial Stability Coordination Council has been actively looking at secondary market asset prices for signs [of] any potential systemic risk concern.”

The FSCC Chairman added that “of particular interest to me is that ASB itself is a partnership that brings together the best talents and the broadest experience from different parts of the world. This puts the FSCC in an envious position. We are partnering with the best to better ourselves so that we too can, one day soon, be the best at what we do.”

“[This] is about making the FSCC an engine of improving the welfare of the Filipino public. This is the standing vision of the FSCC for why managing systemic risks and the pursuit of financial stability matter,” he concluded.

Twenty officials from the BSP, Department of Finance, Securities and Exchange Commission, Insurance Commission, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Bureau of the Treasury participated in this inaugural collaboration between the FSCC and the ASB.

Read the full article HERE.

With a RM5.36 billion palm oil industry at stake, Malaysia’s palm oil exports are set to face stricter trade barriers to markets such as the EU, for their association with deforestation and biodiversity loss.

Prof. Renato Lima de Oliveira, Assistant Professor of Business and Society at the Asia School of Business (ASB) and senior fellow at The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), shared his thoughts recently on how Malaysian businesses can respond to these growing trends with The Edge, Malaysia’s leading business and investment weekly publication.

He advocates for putting sustainability at the forefront of business strategy, greater engagement with societal stakeholders, and greater engagement with the government. “It’s a clear signal that the market for clean energy is only going to grow and some Malaysian firms can benefit from that,” said Prof. Renato.

Read the full article HERE.
Originally published by The Edge Malaysia – a business and investment weekly.

As someone who is creating Asia Pacific’s business leaders of the future, what do you believe are the essential skills leaders require?

In many ways, we need leaders who are Renaissance women/men or polymaths, as opposed to specialists of an industry or a field. A polymath is a person with profound knowledge, proficiency and expertise in multiple fields and today’s leaders have to be able to combine various ideas, look at problems in novel and useful ways, and develop a broad and yet still deep set of skills, talents, and knowledge.

You’ve coined ‘smart’ and ‘sharp’ as skills of the future. What are these?

They are replacements for ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ skills, a concept coined by a US Army doctor in 1972 who observed that his pupils had different skills: dealing with machinery required ‘hard’ skills, while dealing with people and paper were ‘soft’ skills. This concept has served us well since, but I find it too binary, not to mention the semantic implications of the words themselves.

Soft implies gentle, delicate, mild, quiet, tender, weak. However, there is nothing soft in navigating competing perspectives and cultures, handling and delivering critical feedback or dealing with office politics. Instead, I prefer to call these skills ‘smart’.

Hard implies rigid, difficult, heavy, static. But how can we think of engineering or software development as static or rigid? I believe ‘sharp’ is more apt as such skills need constant updating or sharpening. I think it’s time to reflect on these classifications, because we can drastically change someone’s perspective by how we choose to talk about and frame something.

How important are smart skills in leadership today?

Smart skills are more important than ever because we live in a world of extreme diversity: generational, ethical, value-based, gender, etc. Gone are the days when giving an order was an effective act of leadership. I personally work with people from five different continents and across five different generations, therefore as leaders, we need to know how to adapt, motivate, inspire and connect.

We need to increase our investment in learning about them in action, especially as smart skills are more difficult to develop. I believe that a successful leader today has to be both smart and sharp. Take cognitive readiness, one of my top 10 smart skills. In order to be cognitive ready, one has to master system dynamics, one of my top 10 sharp skills.

Also, did you know that one of the primary reasons why digital transformation fails is not the absence of digital literacy, a sharp skill, but the need for more validation and adaptability, both smart skills. So, instead of thinking of these skills as binary, I prefer to think of them as the yin and yang; co-existing and complementing each other.

So, you can teach leaders smart skills then?

Yes, you can, via a combination of the classroom experience, plus an action component supported by deeply embedded reflection. At ASB we call this Action Learning, and we teach it both in the MBA and in the executive programs.

For example, in teaching a leader emotional maturity as a smart skill, first they need to learn what it is, and then act on it, before reflecting on what we did and how we did it. And then to repeat it, but this time with more expertise and awareness. It’s not easy, but that’s why my favourite mantra is ‘the job is easy, the people are not’.

Discover Professor Padurean’s successful skills for a digital transformation here.

Read the full article HERE.
Originally published by Business Chief APAC, a ‘Digital Community’ that connects the world’s largest brands and their most senior executives with the latest trends pivoting towards technology and digital transformation.

Category: Featured in the Media