Panel Discussion: Pivot or Defense?
Panel Discussion – Rebuilding Advantage
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM, August 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — InnoEx Forum 2026, held under the broad theme “The Inflection Point – Where Global Shifts Fuel Business Reinvention,” gathered specialists, corporate leaders, and investors from Vietnam and elsewhere to examine a fundamental issue: as the benefits that once propelled the expansion of Vietnamese firms gradually diminish, what will serve as the base for the next wave of competitive edge?
The gathering occurred against the setting of Vietnam achieving 8% GDP growth in 2025 – the highest rate across ASEAN. Yet, based on World Bank forecasts, to reach high-income status by 2045, the nation must sustain an average yearly growth rate of roughly 6% over the coming two decades – a path that cannot depend merely on increasing capital and labor or on cost advantages as it previously did.
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞
The Business Innovation Forum began with the keynote “From Data to Advantage: Building Vietnam’s Trust Infrastructure” presented by Mr. Nguyen Huy, Head of Data Technology Department, National Data Association (NDA). He highlighted that Vietnamese firms do not lack data; the difficulty lies in the degree of data trustworthiness required for it to form the foundation for transactions, credit evaluations, or cross-border collaboration: “Regardless of how much data exists, it will become an operational burden; this asset only genuinely generates competitive advantage when it can be properly verified, smoothly connected, and highly reusable in value.”
𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞?
During the “Pivot or Defense?” session, three speakers – Mr. Phung Viet Thang (Country Manager, Intel Vietnam), Mr. Nguyen Van Giap (Country General Manager, Lenovo Vietnam), and Mr. Albert Antoine (Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder, Taipy) – analyzed the competitive shortfall of Vietnamese enterprises from three angles: computing power, company-level deployment abilities, and the speed at which policies can be turned into actions.
Ms. Truong Ly Hoang Phi, Head of the InnoEx Organizing Committee, kicked off the discussion with two illustrative tales of strategic changes: Intel exited the memory chip business to concentrate on processors when it had virtually no other option, while Lenovo proactively purchased IBM’s PC division in 2005 when growth opportunities still existed. She remarked: “Strategic pivoting driven by ambition is far more intriguing, because it serves a new vision with a newer strategy; therefore, it is no longer about survival, but about creating the next advantage.” Mr. Phung Viet Thang added his viewpoint on corporate internal capabilities: “Every business, regardless of its circumstances or size, must always keep its antenna up to capture meaningful signals amid a huge amount of noise. What matters is that we must understand who we are and what we have before we change.”
𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞: 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 “𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞-𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡”
The “Rebuilding Advantage” session featured Mr. Roy Tavenor (Founding Chairman, Red Design Group & Causeway Global, with nearly 50 years of experience in retail and brand strategy), Mr. Douglas Jackson (Founder & Managing Director, Indissoluble Partners), and Mr. Jorge Martin Martinez (Founder & Managing Director, Bull Management Consulting), moderated by Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc – former CEO of Saigon Co.op.
Mr. Roy Tavenor stressed the importance of durability rather than merely chasing speed: “If you have not built the right business model – like what we observed after the COVID pandemic – all the companies that grew at an astonishing speed did not have time to think about whether their model was sustainable.” Drawing on his hands-on experience leading Saigon Co.op, Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc noted: “A frequent mistake businesses make when encountering difficulties is to immediately jump into execution. The true rebuilding process must start with the courage to hold an honest conversation about the company’s ‘blind spots’ before limited resources are poured into the wrong places.” From a capital market perspective, Mr. Douglas Jackson shared: “Speed is a key factor, but I want to highlight one important point: Act with urgency on reversible decisions such as testing new processes, adjusting prices, or trying new distribution channels. If they do not work, you can return to the old way. But be extremely cautious and carefully consider decisions that cannot be reversed.”
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 “𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚” 𝐭𝐨 “𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫”
The series of dialogues on practical applications at the Innovation Sector Forum commenced with two representative transformation showcases. Scommerce applies AI algorithms to tackle the challenge of allocating human resources in logistics operations. Meanwhile, Alterno introduced a breakthrough “Made in Vietnam” solution for green energy infrastructure through sand battery energy storage technology.
During the “Data in Motion – From Data-Rich to Decision-Fast” session, Mr. Leos Gregor (Chief Risk Officer of Home Credit Vietnam), Dr. Ta Anh Phuong (Co-founder & CEO, Seinetime), and Mr. Webb Huang (CSO, Horizon AI) explored the gap between possessing data and the capacity to convert data into action.
Additionally, the “Intelligent Operations” session brought together representatives from SMC Phu My (perspectives on manufacturing, quality, and supply chain), Kyanon Digital (experience in implementing AI and data for businesses), and Focus Media (digitizing touchpoints between brands and customers). Mr. Xiang Song, CEO of Focus Media Vietnam, shared concrete outcomes: “After we used 5G wireless transmission technology, it helped our customers’ management. Advertising deployment time was reduced from two days of manual posting in the past to one hour. Previously, we had a team of more than 60 people; after applying 5G technology, we only needed a small number of technical staff.”
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦’𝐬 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞
Closing the program, Ms. Truong Ly Hoang Phi underscored the need to spot strategic inflection points early: “The further in advance a business can anticipate, the greater its ability to proactively adjust its direction right at the strategic inflection point; conversely, if it delays until pressure closes in from competitors, internal challenges, and financial burdens, making the pivot will become extremely difficult.”
InnoEx Forum 2026 ended not with a call for businesses to overhaul everything, but with a reminder to clearly identify what can no longer remain unchanged – and begin taking action before the market forces them to act.
CÔNG TY TNHH INNOEX
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