The world as we know it has ended, and the new paradigms that we need to make sense of the forces that shape today’s events are constantly evolving. As businesses scramble to adapt to the disruptions in the last two years, the stakes continue to go higher than ever, bringing in an urgent demand to reset and transform.

The Lopez Learning Synergy Summit (LLSS) 2022, held virtually on Nov. 24 with the theme “The Great Reset: Shaping the Way to A New Future,” aimed to discover how organizations rethink their business and people strategies as a response to various disruptions and how to turn such into opportunities.
Sponsored by First Balfour, the summit gathered a recordbreaking 1,314 registrants with online viewership peaking at 933.
The Lopez Group HR Council has been holding the LLSS every year to provide an opportunity for learning, networking and sharing of best practices. Compared to the previous LLSS events whose focus was on human resources and people development, the council has widened the scope of this year’s event to include a more holistic conversation covering the business landscape and, more importantly, the Lopez Group’s mission to forge collaborative pathways towards a decarbonized and regenerative future.
Rebuilding bigger and better
Opening the summit was Mercedes “Cedie” Lopez Vargas (MLV), chairperson of the Lopez Group HR Council, who provided the theme’s context and explained how the most disruptive event in recent history has enabled the Lopez Group to fast-track digital transformation and prioritize its most important resource— its people.
“We look forward to rebuilding bigger and better. We look forward to strengthening the workforce with integrated learnings and innovations brought on during this pandemic period,” MLV said.
Following her welcome message was the keynote of First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPH), First Gen Corporation and First Philippine Industrial Park president Giles Puno who reflected on his 25-year career with the Lopez Group and how he has witnessed its highlights and fair share of lowlights.
“Fast forward to today, the business landscape continues to transform,” he noted.
In the middle of the uncertainties of COVID-19, he recalled how a group of senior leaders convened to “recraft and crystallize the FPH Group’s mission, purpose and chosen path to respond to some of the biggest challenges we face today”—truly a pivotal moment in FPH’s history.
He highlighted that throughout his career, the FPH Group has always been rooted in an inspiring mission and purpose, one that aims to genuinely care for its employees and help improve the lives of its stakeholders.
Reflect, reimagine, reset
The summit was organized into three segments called “Reflect,” “Reimagine” and “Reset” representing conversations about the business landscape, future of work and sustainability, respectively. Speakers from across major industries and sectors shared their insights on the new sets of maps and tools they use to thread through the now incomprehensible and complex business landscape, enabling them to emerge stronger from a multitude of disruptions.
In his closing message, FPH Group chairman Federico R. Lopez (FRL) said: “For the Lopez Group of companies, the landscape that we all work with is shifting massively. Try as we might to solve many of the sustainable development goals, it will be futile if we don’t build for the resilience we need and if we don’t collaborate locally and as a global community to decisively solve climate change.”
FRL also highlighted the need for a comprehensive, coherent and well-studied national decarbonization and adaptation plan to build a resilient Philippines.
Read our full report on LLSS 2022 in the February 2023 issue.
(Story/Photos by:Dolly Pasia-Ramos)