Avnet Strengthens Programme for Next Generation Leaders in Asia Pacific

SINGAPORE - Dec. 14, 2015 - PRLog -- Avnet (http://avnet.com/), Inc (http://avnet.com/). (NYSE: AVT (http://ir.avnet.com/)), a leading global technology distributor, today announced that it has enhanced its leadership programme with the launch of a new initiative that focuses on developing young leaders in the Asia Pacific region.

The Young Leaders Programme (YLP), designed by subject matter experts within Avnet’s regional organisation, aims to build the leadership competencies of employees at the early stages of their careers. Avnet now offers a full suite of learning and development programmes that caters to young managers (YLP), leaders of managers (Accelerated Growth in Leadership Effectiveness – AGILE / Learning Excellence Acceleration Program – LEAP), and enterprise leaders (Avnet Talent Leading Avnet Strategy – ATLAS).

Avnet recently concluded a three-day front-line leadership programme for its young leaders across Asia Pacific. Participants came from various departments, including sales, product management, finance and accounting. This programme, which forms part of Avnet’s multi-layer leadership development framework, aims to provide the participants with a deeper understanding of the company’s operational, commercial and strategic aspects, as well as business trends and dynamics needed to drive sustainable business strength and financial success. Also taught are techniques that drive productivity and profitability and that leverage organisational strengths for competitive advantage. Participants gain a deep understanding of how they can contribute in their respective roles.

“The ever-changing business and technology landscape gives rise to the need to continuously invest in the training and development of our people. There is fierce competition for talent today. In order for Avnet to attract, engage, develop and retain the right talent that will form part of our industry-leading workforce, we continue to innovate programmes that cater to every stage of our people’s careers, especially our existing and future leaders,” said Khia Tat (KT) Lim, vice president of human resources, Avnet Technology Solutions,  Asia Pacific.

Lim added, “Our Asia Pacific organisation has a large pool of generation X and millennials. They are vibrant, resourceful, collaborative and passionate learners. Understanding that the future of Avnet lies in our young professionals, we thought it was imperative to create a programme that addresses their needs and wants, hence, the launch of our Young Leaders Programme.”

Egerton Niranjan, commercial manager, Avnet Technology Solutions, Australia and New Zealand, one of the YLP participants, commented, “My experience in YLP was amazing. It was good to listen and interact with Avnet’s senior leaders and subject matter experts, learn from their wealth of knowledge and practical insights on Avnet’s business and the larger IT/ channel ecosystem. The one-on-one feedback in the Learning Agility assessment was immensely useful, as it helped me to quickly identify the areas where I needed to change or improve. Another highlight for me was the opportunity to meet and work alongside colleagues from all over the region in different divisions. Clearly, Avnet has invested a significant amount of resources into this initiative, and it really shows how committed they are to helping us grow professionally and as leaders.”

Apart from the YLP, Avnet offers other leadership training programmes to its identified high-potential leaders in which they are able to learn and practice situational and transformational leadership. In addition, there are exchange programmes on global and regional levels for senior executives and high-potential leaders that help them look at the different businesses across the world.

William Chu, president, Avnet Technology Solutions, Asia Pacific, said, “I would like to congratulate the participants of our pilot Young Leadership Programme in Asia Pacific. I hope that the YLP has been enriching for all who attended and that our team members are now able to use this new knowledge to enhance their careers and drive success for our business. I applaud our regional HR organisation, and our very own Avnet subject matter experts, for investing their time and imparting their deep knowledge and expertise to our young managers. People are a key pillar of Avnet’s business, and building upon our culture of learning and development will help us continue to transform the way we support our employees and business partners.”

The 14 YLP participants are now the pioneers of Avnet Technology Solutions, Asia Pacific, YLP alumni. They keep the conversation and knowledge sharing going through Avnet’s social media network, Yammer. Moreover, the YLP has spun off an incubation program where the research project teams continue to develop and experiment on selected business ideas under the mentorship of a senior executive to bring the ideas to possible commercialisation.