With a vision to instigate active leadership in the corporate sector, Bangladesh Brand Forum brought together prominent thought leaders across the world to its flagship Leadership Summit in Dhaka on March 22, 2014

1. Bangladesh Brand Forum
Leadership Summit

2. Major General Richard M. Burr
Deputy Commanding General,
US Army Asia Pacific
Building a Coalition:
Inspiring Teamwork
Amongst Diverse Partners

4. Major General Richard M. Burr
Maj. Gen. Richard M. Burr took the stage to talk about
the importance of partnerships in an improved
organizational model that can survive and thrive in
the present day globalized structure of the world. His
work experience in the US Army Asia Pacific has
exposed him to the need to move beyond one’s own
sense of identity and exclusivity, and find the
optimum satisfaction in teamwork and performance
through inclusivity and partnerships. He believes that
new business models will concentrate on
contributions and partnerships between different
cultures, countries, and organizations, and will work
for a common interest.To realize that, he believes
leadership has to be about more than just oneself; as
he says,“Leadership is not about you; it’s about the
team, the mission, the objective.”

5. Sir Fazle Hasan Abed
Founder & Chairperson,
BRAC
In Conversation
with Sir Fazle Hasan Abed

7. Sir Fazle Hasan Abed
The second session of the day was dedicated to a
conversation with Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder &
Chairperson of BRAC, whose decades of experience in
social and developmental work has cemented BRAC as
one of the most successful NGOs with a global
presence to stand as a symbol of Bangladesh’s
resilience and social conquers.When talking about
BRAC’s journey, Sir Abed placed emphasis on a vision
that explores all possible approaches with foresight
and work in every level of organizational
infrastructures and hierarchies. He talked about the
decentralization of the authority to lead within BRAC,
the importance of social businesses, and the need to
empower people not just with charity but also with
models that empowers self-sustainability. As his
session ended, his final note placed special
importance on ethics and sincerity in work.

8. Vivek Sood
CEO,
Grameenphone Ltd.
Communication to Connectivity

10. Vivek Sood
Vivek Sood, the CEO of Grameenphone with 22
years of experience in serving in executive
positions across industries and borders, spoke
in the third session “Communication to
Connectivity.” He discussed how
Grameenphone is now aiming to bolster
communication, mobility, and connectivity,
which in turn can mobilize ideas, initiatives, and
leadership in Bangladesh. He talked about the
relevance of technological advancement in
staying connected with one’s team on a real
time basis, and how it can boost team-work and
productivity. He also mentioned the rapid
growth of internet usage and how it can be a
key factor to speed up Bangladesh’s economic
development.

11. Ata Safdar
MD Reckitt Benckiser,
Thailand, Philippines, Indo-China
Developing Corporate Leadership
in Bangladesh

12. Tweets

13. Ata Safdar
Ata Safdar, Managing Director of Reckitt Benckiser for
Thailand, Philippines, Indo-China, took the center stage
to talk about the importance of leadership training and
development in Bangladesh. He believes corporate
Bangladesh needs to keep up with the pace of the
world quickly and start learning. He brought examples
of the how the modernizing world is upholding
leadership values now and posed suggestions on how
we can come forward and develop our homegrown
leadership values. He emphasized the need to overhaul
the current education system of Bangladesh,
encouraged the idea of private-public partnerships,
and asked the audience to respect and learn from the
leadership values found in the most essential
workforce of Bangladesh – the farmers.

14. Beth Macdonald
Global Executive Coach & Learning Facilitator,
Human Capital Development, Philippines
Leadership Mindset
and its Impact on
Business Decisions

16. Beth Macdonald
Beth Macdonald put a very interesting talk on stage,
where she brought a fascinating approach to the
leadership talk.While we usually hold leadership as a
value, she took a more scientific spin and talked about
ways to identify leadership traits in individuals and
predict their performances as leaders. She brought
practical work dynamics in the form of crunched
numbers in statistics, to show that there might be ways to
predict and analyze an individual’s ability to lead
successfully. Even if the idea seems far-fetched, there
sure is excitement in just the prospect of it. Her views
and opinions that have culminated from years of
experience as a consultant, and personal interest in
science and technology, opened up an interesting
perspective and conversation topic in the summit.

17. Panel Discussion
Leading Against Odds -
What’s Next
Zafar Sobhan
Khalid Quadir Hassan Zaman Ata Safdar Rubana Haq

19. “Leading Against Odds - What’s Next” was a panel discussion amongst some of
the leading entrepreneurs and policymakers of Bangladesh.The discussion shed
light on a lot of affairs in the general economic and developmental scene of the
country. Rubana Huq, Managing Director of Mohammadi Group; Ata Safdar, MD of
Reckitt Beckinser; Khalid Quadir, CEO of Brummers & Brummers Bangladesh;
and Hassan Zaman, Chief Economist of Bangladesh Bank; got together with Zafar
Sobhan, the Editor of Dhaka Tribune to discuss their experiences in managing
and leading large teams and the challenges they have faced and endured.
Multiple facets of leadership were exposed, some harsh, some delicate, and
some enlightening.They believe that going forward, endurance, commitment to
lead, and faith in the real issues will bring light at the end of the tunnel for our
next generation of leaders.
Discussion Summary

20. Priya Parker
Founder,
Thrive Labs
Visioning Lab:
An Experiential Laboratory to
Explore Purpose and Vision forYou
andYour Company

22. Priya Parker
Priya Parker closed the summit by engaging the
audience in a mission to look into their work-life and
career paths and zero-in on their real purposes and
aims in life. Her years of experience working closely
with diverse groups of people showed as she
interacted with the participants to ask the right
questions with the most difficult, yet important and
deep answers.With a very strong work and
academic background to cement her presence on
the stage, she awakened the room by asking
successful entrepreneurs and executives questions
such as,“Do you wish you were doing another job
instead?” She encouraged many in the room to
introspect and work for a goal that connects with
one’s purpose in life to their work.

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