Cover What skills do leaders need today? Industry experts from the Gen.T Tribe, including Space Faculty’s Lynette Tan, Foxmont Capital’s Franco Varona, NPM Photography’s Nicoline Patricia Malina and Gobi Partners’ Chibo Tang, weigh in (Illustration: Nikki Duldulao)
What skills do leaders need today? Industry experts from the Gen.T Tribe, including Space Faculty’s Lynette Tan, Foxmont Capital’s Franco Varona, NPM Photography’s Nicoline Patricia Malina and Gobi Partners’ Chibo Tang, weigh in (Illustration: Nikki Duldulao)
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A group of industry experts worked closely with our editorial team to identify Asia’s most promising leaders for the Tatler Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow 2026 list. Then, we asked them: what does leadership actually demand right now—and what have they quietly stopped doing? This is what they had to say
Every year since 2016, Gen.T, Tatler’s platform for emerging leaders, has recognised individuals who are shaping the future of Asia through innovation, impact and business. We call them the Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow, and they hail from a diversity of industries—from healthcare and technology to media, social impact and the arts.
To identify the most promising talents across the 20 categories and ten geographical locations we cover, we assemble an external panel of advisors to work alongside our editorial team. Known as the Gen.T Tribe, these are seasoned industry leaders and thought experts with insider knowledge of the rising stars in their sectors. They nominate, review and select the candidates for the list.
Ahead of the Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow 2026 reveal on July 3, we asked several Tribe members what leadership demands today and how their own practice of it has changed. Their answers say as much about what they look for in tomorrow’s leaders as about the evolving nature of leadership itself.
Read more: Are you ready to become a Gen.T Leader of Tomorrow?
Above The Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow 2025 from the Philippines (Photo: Tatler Philippines)
The Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow 2025 from the Philippines (Photo: Tatler Philippines)
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What it takes now
The Tribe don’t agree on everything. Their sectors differ. Their geographies differ. But ask them what a leader most needs today, and a few convictions surface with striking consistency: the ability to move without perfect information; a commitment to people over infrastructure; and the discipline to stay anchored even as everything around you shifts.
Aliza Knox, non-executive director at global customer experience organisation Probe CX, puts it plainly. While she acknowledges that managing AI-driven disruption has become a frontline leadership responsibility, she holds that resilience and empathy remain foundational. “Resilience and leading with empathy remain perhaps the most critical skills,” she says.
What’s changed for her is the process of deciding. “Early on, I looked for 95 to 100 per cent data support to make decisions. I’m now more comfortable with less data, more team input and a bit of gut feel based on experience.” It’s a shift she attributes partly to a consulting background that once demanded evidence before movement—and partly to the hard-earned understanding that waiting for certainty is its own kind of risk.
Dean Ho, director of the Institute for Digital Medicine at the National University of Singapore, reframes the question of leadership entirely. “Leadership is responsibility, not rank or status. The job is to serve your people and ensure the chair is stronger for the next holder.”
His evolution has been financial as much as philosophical: he used to hold reserves as a buffer against uncertainty. Now, he invests them in people. “Strong people and morale prevent rainy days or help us get through them far better than cash reserves alone.”
Cindy Chow, Partner of NextGen Partners and Executive Director and CEO of Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund
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Lynette Tan, CEO of Space Faculty, works at the intersection of technology and frontier sectors—a place where clarity is rarely on offer. Her shift has been about making peace with that. “I’ve changed how I approach ambiguity,” she says. “Instead of avoiding what’s not clear, I now recognise that in frontier technologies, uncertainty is where leadership matters most—and where the greatest opportunities are created.”
Vince Yamat, managing director and CEO of venture builder 917Ventures, names adaptability as the defining skill of the moment. “Technology, markets and customer expectations are changing faster than ever. Leaders who continuously learn, unlearn and reinvent themselves will outperform those who rely on past success.”
The practical implication, for him, has been a reorientation away from deliberation and toward experimentation. “I would rather run a small experiment, gather real market feedback and adjust quickly than spend months debating a decision in a conference room.”
Read more: How Space Faculty’s Lynette Tan is shaping the future of youth innovation in Singapore
Leadership is responsibility, not rank or status. The job is to serve your people and ensure the chair is stronger for the next holder
Minette Navarrete, co-founder and managing partner of Kickstart Ventures, a Globe Telecom subsidiary and one of the Philippines’ largest corporate venture capital firms, holds a complementary view, but adds a necessary counterweight. Adaptability without an anchor, she argues, produces chaos rather than agility. “Long-term survival and success require fidelity to your mission and values paired with adaptability, especially the ability to unlearn as fast as you learn.”
In her own leadership, this has translated into a more demanding form of mentorship. “I used to think developing talent meant being a relentlessly optimistic cheerleader. I’ve learned that genuine development requires that I be both my team’s greatest advocate as well as its toughest critic—sometimes in the same conversation.”
Wilson Chan, director of entrepreneurship at Cyberport, a digital tech hub and AI accelerator in Hong Kong, frames the core challenge as one of relevance. “Leaders who remain curious and stay close to innovation are better positioned to navigate uncertainty and create new opportunities.”
He has also adjusted where he invests his attention: early in his career, he trusted that strong work would find its audience. Now, he recognises that visibility—for himself and his team—is part of the work. “Sharing ideas, building networks and establishing credibility within the ecosystem are essential for attracting talent, forming partnerships and creating opportunities.”
Dr Chong Pei Pei, Director, Centre for Active Living at Taylor’s University Malaysia
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Jing Shi, head of investment at corporate venture capital company MTR Lab, leads with a phrase that cuts cleanly across sectors: the “learn-it-all” mentality over the “know-it-all” attitude. As a VC, he has expanded his process accordingly, testing theories earlier and with a wider circle. “No longer relying strictly on my own technology thesis or market mapping, I am also increasingly testing my theories early with founders, operators and niche experts. Technology just moves too fast for any single investor to know everything.”
Andrew Tseng, chairman of Grape King Bio, identifies visionary innovation as the leadership imperative. His own evolution has been one of decisiveness: earlier in his career, he found himself spending considerable energy managing upward through colleagues resistant to change. “I had to dedicate a lot more time to gradual, step-by-step communication to guide them through the change.” Today, that friction has eased; his decisions are faster, and the team around him is better equipped to move with them.
Long-term survival and success require fidelity to your mission and values paired with adaptability
The full Tribe
The Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow 2026 would not exist without the broader Tribe—the full panel of industry experts who gave their time, access and judgement to help us identify the most promising leaders across the region. Here is the complete group.
Architecture & Design
Anthony Nazareno
Principal Architect and Designer, Nazareno Architecture + Design
Education
Tommie Lo
Founder, Preface
J Satrijo Tanudjojo
Senior Advisor, President University; former CEO, Global Tanoto Foundation
Fashion & Beauty
Kevin Lu
CEO, World Known Precision Industry
Nicoline Patricia Malina
Founder, NPM Photography
Francis Ngai, founder and CEO of Social Ventures HK
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Finance & Venture Capital
Audry Ho
Strategy and Transactions General Manager, EY Taiwan
Antonny Liem
Founding Partner, GDP Venture
Carlo Chen-Delantar
Co-founding Partner, Gobi Partners
Minette Navarrete
Co-founder and Managing Partner, Kickstart Ventures
Jing Shi
Head of Investment, MTR Lab
Chibo Tang
Managing Partner, Gobi Partners
Franco Varona
Managing Partner, Foxmont Capital
Vince Yamat
Managing Director and CEO, 917 Ventures
Healthcare & Sciences
Dr Chong Pei Pei
Director, Centre for Active Living, Taylor's University Malaysia
Dean Ho
Director, Institute for Digital Medicine, National University of Singapore
Alfredo Mahar Lagmay
Geologist and Executive Director, Project Noah
Andrew Tseng
Chairman, Grape King Bio
Media & Marketing
Elvira Jakub
CEO, Dentsu
Roland Ros, founder of Kumu
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Social Entrepreneurship
Cherrie Atilano
Founder and CEO, Agrea
Francis Ngai
Founder and CEO, Social Ventures HK
Koh Seng Choon
Founder and Executive Director, Project Dignity
Technology
Wilson Chan
Acting Head of Entrepreneurship, Cyberport
Cindy Chow
Partner, NextGen Partners and Executive Director and CEO, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund
Aliza Knox
Non-executive director, Probe CX
Roland Ros
Founder, Kumu
Lynette Tan
CEO, Space Faculty
The Arts
Shelly Wu
Co-manager, Tina Keng Gallery and founder, TKG+
Wellness
Candice Chan
Co-founder, Lifehub
The 2026 edition of the Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow will be revealed on July 3.
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Chong Seow Wei is a regional senior editor covering business, innovation, impact and people. Based in Singapore, she oversees content for Gen.T, Tatler’s platform for promising entrepreneurs and new-generation leaders, and its Power & Purpose vertical.
