Investing in human capital is essential to succeed in the modern knowledge economy. But the returns people and companies get from these investments may depend on the quality of their informal networks ­ that is, on the quality of their social capital. As business becomes more global and traditional authority more diffuse, firms are paying increasing attention to how their employees develop and nurture the informal networks that help them move information and coordinate complex tasks across organizational boundaries. Yet, informal networks can also become a liability that prevents firms from achieving outstanding performance. Understanding how informal networks can help or hinder individual and organizational performance is essential to create the social capital that can help firms unlock the full value of their investments in human capital.

The prestigious Asian Human Capital Award, launched at last year's Summit, honours organisations in Asia for their world-class, innovative and impactful people practices. Accenture Services Limited India will receive the inaugural Award at this year's Summit for its competency-based talent management practices. Mr Prithvi Shergill will share how his human resource team addressed the local talent sourcing and business challenges by formulating a strategy to manage the recruitment, deployment and development for 40,000 employees in Accenture, India. Be inspired and learn how Accenture India aligns its business and people strategies to achieve one of the highest employee engagement scores worldwide and create substantial value for the organisation.

In today's dynamic business environment, people strategies and capabilities continue to be vital for business success. Unilever is the world's second largest consumer care organisation, employing more than 170,000 people in over 100 countries and one of the most admired multinationals in Asia. Mr Manwani will share the challenges and strategies of managing senior executives in Asia, and how he capitalises on diversity to drive business growth.

Organisations go through enormous change especially during challenging times such as the current downturn. The key to business success lies in building a winning team capable of meeting challenges and capitalising on opportunities. Participating business leaders will provide insights on how they marshal their employees, lead successful changes and build on the opportunities arising from these changes to boost business performance.

The role of HR has changed rapidly over the past decades. HR today is expected to build leadership capability at all levels and help organisations improve performance and build continuous growth. HR has become a strategic partner to corporate leaders, whether in the public or private sectors. Gain insights as government, business and thought-leaders discuss the competencies required of a successful HR team and the strategic roles HR plays in building a competitive advantage.

As the economic transformation of Asia continues and competition for critical talent intensifies, businesses in the region must review the actions they take to attract and retain talent. This session will examine innovative talent strategies and how they have helped businesses gain a competitive edge.

Organisations are facing unique sets of people challenges in different operating environments as they continue to grow their businesses globally. HR experts will share how the challenges of globalisation can be best managed and how to develop effective talent strategies.

CEOs around the globe are challenging their HR leadership to develop winning strategies for recruiting, managing and retaining top talent to drive performance and boost investor confidence. Creating a pipeline of globally competent management talent in Asia is critical for the region's continued growth. The panel of business leaders will share their organisations' strategies for talent development and how it has become the focal point of their businesses in Asia.

Over the past decade, Professor Gratton's highly-regarded research with leading multinationals has revealed how organisations can effectively develop and support their teams to drive innovation in products, services and processes. Organisations with such abilities possess a powerful competitive advantage and deliver more consistent results. Professor Gratton and Clement Woon, will share how companies can build and sustain innovative and value-creating teams.

Professor Ulrich, a highly-regarded global thought leader on human capital strategies, shares insights gained from intensive discussions with global and regional business and thought-leaders on leadership and business challenges that are unique to Asia, and key to its future growth.

Making great people decisions is the foundation for building lasting greatness in any organisation. It is also the most significant controllable factor for company value. Making great people decisions are equally important in both good and bad times. While most companies manage their hiring during bad times, great organisations have always seen recessions as opportunities to upgrade their talent. Mr Fernandez-Araoz will share insights based on two decades of research and practices, and answer fundamental questions such as: why great people decisions matter so much, why they are so hard and how organisations can master them.

The prestigious Asian Human Capital Award, launched at last year's Summit, recognises an organisation in Asia for its world-class, innovative and impactful people practices. The leader of the inaugural award-winning company will share how it aligns its business and people strategies in Asia. Learn about its critical challenges and processes in developing and implementing innovative people practices which create substantial and lasting organisational value.

Ernst and Young Associates will present new and valuable insights on the shortage of leadership talent in Asia and what companies are doing to increase both the quality and supply. The findings are based on its latest research involving over 800 organisations in Singapore, India and China.

Over the past decade, Asia has seen an influx of multinational organisations (MNCs) whose growth has resulted in a diverse workforce spread over many countries. To be successful in Asia, these MNCs must have robust, international human capital strategies that cut across cultural and geographical boundaries. Business leaders from MNCs share how to be effective in a multicultural environment, as well as how to lead and manage global teams working across cultures and borders.

In spite of the challenging economic times, unprecedented opportunities for growth are still present in Asia and for Asia. The success of a global organisation depends largely on the quality of its leadership talent. This session will focus on the challenges and strategies adopted by top organisations to develop leaders who can take on global responsibilities and drive their businesses globally.

The motivating factors to join a company go beyond the remuneration package. Candidates value the career prospects, the corporate values and responsibilities of an organisation. Building a strong employer brand is the cornerstone of any effective long-term recruitment and retention strategy. Three leading practitioners reveal how they attract talent by leveraging on strong employer branding.

Successful organisations use the diversity in their workforce to their advantage; to inspire innovation and create a cross-pollination of ideas to boost business performance. In this session, panellists will discuss how diversity in their workforce has become a source of strength and how they have built strong capabilities to manage diversity for organisational benefit.

Developing the next generation of leaders with the capabilities to realise an organisation's vision is a major challenge facing CEOs in both multinationals and small and medium enterprises. This session will provide insights into leading practices and strategies that can be used to develop the strong leaders of tomorrow.

Leading organisations invest in talent development. To create high performance teams that can move a business forward, organisations put in place systems to recruit, develop, promote and retain talent. In this session, four Asia business leaders and practitioners in the public and private sectors share how talent development is key to their organisations' success.

With Generation X, Generation Y, Baby Boomers and mature employees working together in the same company, organisations must find ways to get the best out a multigenerational workforce with differing working styles and motivation drivers. The panellists will share how they successfully align their organisations' human capital practices to capitalise on a multigenerational workforce.

The basis for business success remains unchanged in the current economic climate; people strategies continue to be critical and a source of competitive advantage for businesses. Academic, public and private sector leaders will share their views on the people and leadership challenges confronting organisations and countries, and the strategies they are embracing to manage and harness the strengths of their people in anticipation of an economic recovery.