The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) convenes the Asian Forum on Enterprise for Society (AFES) 2025 today, November 11, at the Makati Shangri-La, continuing tomorrow, November 12.
The forum comes at a time of accelerating disruption, from climate instability and fractured geopolitics to the rapid advance of artificial intelligence, and seeks to explore how enterprises can navigate these challenges with resilience and purpose.
Two keynote speakers will frame the proceedings. Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, is widely recognized for his leadership in advancing the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman of Ayala Corporation, has been a leading advocate for sustainability-driven corporate transformation in Asia. Together, they represent the convergence of international diplomacy and private enterprise in addressing the urgent demands of the present.
With the theme “Navigating Disruption: Enterprise Priorities for a Resilient Future,” AFES 2025 will tackle pressing issues at the intersection of business and society.
Discussions will cover climate solutions rooted in nature, the ethical integration of artificial intelligence, the imperatives of diversity and inclusion, and the role of education in preparing the next generation for resilience. The forum will also explore the potential of micro-entrepreneurship and inclusive finance to empower communities, while closing sessions will examine ways to reinforce global supply chains and sustain collaborative commitments that balance profitability with social responsibility.
For AIM, which has trained leaders in Asia for more than 50 years, hosting AFES reflects a mission that stretches beyond management education. The institute asserts that enterprises, particularly in a region defined by both volatility and vitality, can be engines not only of economic growth but also of social progress.
Launched in 2002, AFES has become the region’s leading platform for dialogue between business and society, convened through AIM’s Ramon V. Del Rosario, Sr. Center for Corporate Responsibility. Its purpose has always been to explore how corporate, political, and civic power might be aligned with the imperatives of a sustainable future.
