Region's Top Leaders Named at the 11th CNBC Asia Business Leaders Awards

Business leaders from Korea, India, Singapore and Thailand win at the 11th ABLA

Bangkok, 16 November 2012 – CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, pioneered the Asia Business Leaders Awards (ABLA) to acknowledge exceptional CEOs across the region. Recipients of the awards are business visionaries behind many of today's outstanding corporate success stories. They epitomize the core values of a successful leader - strength, innovation, ingenuity, knowledge and foresight – values that are much needed in order to achieve success in today's global economy.

During the ceremony tonight that was hosted by award winning anchors, Martin Soong, Christine Tan and Bernard Lo, at the Kempinski Hotel in Bangkok, CNBC announced the winners of the 11th Asia Business Leaders Awards.

Asia Business Leader Award – Mr. N Chandrasekaran of Tata Consultancy for his ability to retain loyal customers, inspire and motivate staff, and make his vision for the company a reality.

Asia Innovator Award – Mr. M S Unnikrishnan of Thermax Ltd's for his inventive thinking in business and his leadership in an organization that has innovation at its core.

Corporate Social Responsibility Award – Mr. Choo Chiau Beng of Keppel Corp in recognition of his devotion to societal and environmental issues.

Lifetime Achievement Award – Mr. Dhanin Chearavanont of Charoen Pokphand (CP) for his vision, leadership and business foresight in creating a group that has impacted and helped grow the economy not only in Thailand, but across the globe.

Talent Management Award – Dr. Lee Suk-Chae of KT Corp for his personal involvement in supporting and nurturing the next generation of leaders.

Thailand Business Leader of the Year – Mr. Aswin Techajareonvikul of Berli Jucker Co PCL in recognition of his visionary leadership in both his home country and in the global marketplace.

"The 11th annual CNBC Asia Business Leaders Awards celebrates and recognizes leaders who have helped shape the Asian economy and those who will continue to impact the Asia story in the years ahead," said Satpal Brainch, President and Managing Director, CNBC International. "Congratulations to all of the winners and finalists for their outstanding achievements."

The 11th ABLA will be broadcast globally in Asia, Europe and the U.S on November 22, 2012 @ 8pm (SIN/HK).

For more information on the 11^th ABLA winners please see appendix below or visit our website at abla.cnbc.com



11th Asia Business Leaders Awards is hosted by:

CNBC in Asia Pacific
CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to 390 million households worldwide. In Asia Pacific, CNBC is distributed to over 70 million households and is uniquely positioned to speak to viewers from across the region. Headquartered in Singapore, the network provides seven hours of live Asia-produced programming every weekday, which is complemented with coverage of live market action from Europe and the US. CNBC Asia Pacific's channels, which include CNBC Asia, CNBC-TV18 (India), CNBC Awaaz (India), CNBC Pakistan, Nikkei-CNBC (Japan) and SBS-CNBC (South Korea) are available in more than 21 countries across the Asia Pacific region. CNBC also has a strategic alliance with Shanghai Media Group, and a collaboration with China Central Television (CCTV). In China CNBC reaches 400 million homes via CCTV's Business Channel programme, Global Connection Show. The channels are distributed via satellite, cable and terrestrial broadcast networks, as well as through digital platforms.

CNBC Asia Business Leaders Awards (CNBC ABLA)
CNBC's Asia Business Leaders Awards acknowledge exceptional CEOs regionally. Recipients of the awards are stellar individuals who are visionaries behind today's outstanding businesses. They epitomize core values of a successful leader - strength, innovation, ingenuity, knowledge and foresight – values that are imperative to carving out powerful businesses in the global economy. ABLA contributes to the development of the business community in Asia as it salutes exceptional regional business leaders for their accomplishments and gives the Asian business community the opportunity to learn valuable lessons from them. The CNBC ABLA not only recognizes these outstanding individuals, but is a platform in which they are able to engage with the business community at large.


Previous CNBC Asia Business Leader Award winners include:

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman & CEO, Nissan Motor Co Ltd (2011)
AM Naik, Chairman & Managing Director, Larsen & Toubro Ltd (2010)
Frank Ning, CEO, COFCO Corporation (2009)
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, CEO, Dowa Holdings (2008)
Harish Manwani, CEO, Unilever, Asia/Africa (2007)
Anand G. Mahindra, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (2006)
Chen Feng, President, Hainan Airlines Company Limited (China) (2005)
Gerardo Ablaza Jr, CEO, Globe Telecom Inc (Philippines) (2004)
S. Ramadorai, CEO, Tata Consultancy Services (India) (2002)
KV Kamath, CEO, MD, ICICI Ltd (India) (2001)


Appendix:

Asia Business Leader of the Year
The Asia Business Leader of the Year is awarded to Mr. N Chandrasekaran of Tata Consultancy Services for his ability to retain loyal customers, inspire and motivate staff, and make his vision for the company a reality. Mr. Chandrasekaran is committed to a balanced scorecard, viewing it as a powerful tool for aligning and cascading goals across levels, roles, streams and organizational hierarchies to the CEO's goals. He seeks to ensure the right balance of focus within four parameters: financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth. He conducts regular performance development plans, goal setting and review, and training and appraisal with his staff. Mr. Chandrasekaran puts enormous effort into not only corporate-level communication, but also maintains a personal connection with his employees. He maintains a regular "think time" and "experiment time" aimed at execution and accountability within the organization.

Asia Innovator of the Year
The Asia Innovator of the Year recognizes Mr. M S Unnikrishnan of Thermax Ltd's for his inventive thinking in business and his leadership in an organization that has innovation at its core. Thermax has created an idea portal that is aimed at ensuring an ecosystem for innovation by allowing and encouraging employees to participate in the development of ideas. Mr. Unnikrishnan's firm belief is that the future depends on innovation, and he has always been actively involved in various levels of innovative initiatives. Even before becoming a CEO, he took his first innovation team for a 2-day offsite visit during which he shared his vision for the organization and challenged his staff to think innovatively. As a CEO, Mr. Unnikrishnan has continued this sort of active, hands-on encouragement of innovation in the company. Today, he spends one full day each quarter at Thermax's Innovation Center, where he handpicks people and projects for innovation. Mr. Unnikrishnan and Thermax also diligently observe "Innovation Day" each year on May 11.

Corporate Social Responsibility Award
This year's Corporate Social Responsibility Award goes to Mr. Choo Chiau Beng, from Keppel Corp in recognition of his devotion to societal and environmental issues. Mr. Choo has led Keppel's engagement and investment approach in three areas: fulfilling the economic potential of local communities through education and skills development; engaging the industry to build knowledge and provide a catalyst for the exchange of ideas; and caring for the community through volunteerism and strategic social investment. Mr. Choo chairs the group's sustainability steering committee, which oversees its strategic direction corporate service activities. This role includes high-level guidance on products and processes that minimize environmental impact. Mr. Choo is also involved in guiding emerging leaders to be more involved in volunteer work.

Lifetime Achievement Award
The Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Mr. Dhanin Chearavanont of Charoen Pokphand (CP) for his vision, leadership and business foresight in creating a group that has impacted and helped grow the economy not only in Thailand, but across the globe. His mission of creating a company that aims to meet surging global demands for affordable, quality food holds special significance in Asia where sustaining and nourishing the ever-increasing population remains a key concern. From a humble seeds import business set up by immigrants from China, CP Group has grown and flourished to be one of Thailand's biggest companies with 250,000 employees and an annual turnover of USD 33 billion. Mr. Dhanin Chearavanont is recognized internationally for his work in building the group's business in Thailand and global markets, with a special focus on China, where he is considered one of "China's best-known international friends". As the first foreign investor in China, CP has in the course of over thirty years expanded its business footprint across the country in feed production, food processing, retailing, telecommunications and financial services, as well as pharmaceutical and motorcycle manufacturing.

Thailand Business Leader of the Year
The 2012 Thailand Business Leader is Mr. Aswin Techajareonvikul of Berli Jucker Co PCL (BJC) n recognition of his visionary leadership in both his home country and in the global marketplace. Mr. Techajareonvikul has successfully defined a strategic direction for his company, creating a clear view for the future. Under Mr. Techajareonvikul's leadership in 2011, BJC expanded its book distribution through acquisition of Asia Books, as well as growing its existing operations in Southeast Asia. Over the next four to six years, he plans to continue this growth both domestically and internationally, particularly in the ASEAN region. Mr. Techajareonvikul is committed to driving BJC to be an integrated supply chain solutions provider in the region, bringing quality products and services to its customers. Key elements of his strategy fall into three main categories: development and sourcing of new products and services to cater to changing customer demand; development of new marketing routes; and development of new market and customer behaviors.

Talent Management Award
The 2012 Talent Management Award is presented to Dr. Lee Suk-Chae, of KT Corp, for his personal involvement in supporting and nurturing the next generation of leaders. Dr. Lee's ability to identify key leadership and select talent to align with his business strategy is reflected in the clear plan he implements for training his staff for a variety of roles. Dr. Lee has made a conscious effort to eschew practices that reward people based more on connections than performance, choosing to implement more objective evaluations that allow for qualified individuals to enjoy both greater responsibility and freedom within the corporate environment. Dr. Lee's commitment to high levels of workforce engagement and retention has helped the KT Corp develop a more focused, equitable system of both rewarding and challenging its in-house talent.