Panel Discussion: Either Pivot or Defend
Panel Discussion – Reconstructing Competitive Edge
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 heads, and financiers from Vietnam and overseas to tackle a core issue: as the benefits that once powered Vietnamese enterprises’ expansion slowly diminish, what will form the basis for the next wave of competitive strength?
The gathering occurred against a backdrop of Vietnam recording 8% GDP growth in 2025 – the highest figure in ASEAN. Yet, based on World Bank projections, to reach high-income status by 2045, the country must sustain an average growth rate of roughly 6% annually over the next two decades – a path that cannot depend solely on expanding capital and labor or on low-cost advantages as previously done.
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞
The Business Innovation Forum began with the keynote “From Data to Advantage: Building Vietnam’s Trust Infrastructure” delivered by Mr. Nguyen Huy, Head of Data Technology Department at the National Data Association (NDA). He stressed that Vietnamese firms do not lack data; the real issue is the degree of data reliability required for it to serve as a foundation for transactions, credit choices, or cross-border collaboration: “Regardless of how much data exists, it becomes an operational burden; this asset only genuinely creates a competitive edge 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 panelists – 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 gap facing Vietnamese businesses from three angles: computing power, enterprise-level deployment capability, and the speed at which policies translate into execution.
Ms. Truong Ly Hoang Phi, Head of the InnoEx Organizing Committee, opened the discussion with two illustrative tales of strategic shifts: Intel exited the memory chip business to concentrate on processors when it had virtually no alternative, while Lenovo proactively purchased IBM’s PC division in 2005 when growth opportunities remained. She said: “Strategic pivoting driven by ambition is far more compelling, because it serves a fresh vision with a newer strategy; therefore, it is no longer about survival, but about building the next advantage.” Mr. Phung Viet Thang added his view on internal corporate capabilities: “Any business, regardless of its situation or size, must always keep its antenna up to catch meaningful signals amid massive noise. The key is that we need to 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 highlighted long-term sustainability rather than merely chasing speed: “If you have not established the right business model – as we observed after the COVID pandemic – all the companies that expanded at incredible speed did not have time to consider whether their model was sustainable.” Drawing on his hands-on experience leading Saigon Co.op, Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc observed: “A frequent mistake companies make when confronting difficulties is to jump straight into execution. The real rebuilding process must start with the courage to have an honest conversation about the firm’s ‘blind spots’ before limited resources are misallocated.” From a capital markets perspective, Mr. Douglas Jackson noted: “Speed is crucial, but I want to emphasize one important point: Act with urgency on reversible decisions such as testing new processes, adjusting prices, or trying new distribution channels. If they fail, you can revert to the old way. But be extremely cautious and carefully weigh decisions that cannot be reversed.”
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 “𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚” 𝐭𝐨 “𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫”
The series of practical application dialogues at the Innovation Sector Forum began with two representative transformation showcases. Scommerce leverages 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 using sand battery energy storage technology.
In 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) examined the gap between possessing data and the ability 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 companies), and Focus Media (digitizing touchpoints between brands and customers). Mr. Xiang Song, CEO of Focus Media Vietnam, shared concrete outcomes: “After we adopted 5G wireless transmission technology, it improved our customers’ management. Advertising deployment time dropped from two days of manual posting in the past to one hour. Previously, we had a team of over 60 people; after implementing 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 importance of identifying strategic inflection points early: “The earlier a business can foresee it, the greater its ability to proactively adjust its direction at the strategic inflection point; conversely, if it delays until pressure mounts from competitors, internal issues, and financial constraints, making the pivot becomes extremely difficult.”
InnoEx Forum 2026 ended not with a call for firms to overhaul everything, but with a reminder to clearly identify what can no longer stay the same – and to begin acting before the market forces them to act.
CÔNG TY TNHH INNOEX
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