Media365
The journey to the top of a profession is rarely linear. This sentiment was highlighted at an exclusive event championing the next generation of leaders, which was hosted by Prudential and featured a high-profile line-up of elite athletes sharing their personal stories.
Prudential NextGen Aces was held in mid-October ahead of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournament that the insurer has sponsored for more than a decade. This conversation-driven event, which is part of the company’s wider campaign to inspire and nurture young talent in Hong Kong, underscored how performance, mindset and mentorship can help shape rising stars in the worlds of business and sport.
Prudential CEO Anil Wadhwani said in his opening speech that Prudential’s support of tennis reflects its commitment to create value for its stakeholders comprising customers, shareholders and “importantly, our communities”.
“This event is an attempt to showcase some of the world-class talent and dig deep into their experiences. Hopefully it will provide inspiration to our up-and-coming talent to perform and compete on the world stage and be the best they can and put Hong Kong’s name firmly on the map,” he said, referring to the hopeful future tennis stars in the audience.
More than 200 guests gathered to hear two discussion sessions in which Aryna Sabalenka, the current WTA world No 1 player, Andre Agassi, the former No 1 men’s player in the world, and Vivian Kong, Hong Kong’s Olympic gold medallist in fencing, joined Prudential executives on stage to share how they created environments that helped them achieve success.
Over 400 guests were also treated to a lively on-court session between Sabalenka and WTA top 50 player Anna Kalinskaya. In addition, Agassi gave the audience a demonstration of his signature power moves on the court.
Agassi and Wadhwani sat down together for a fireside chat titled “Passing the Racket: Leadership, Legacy and the Next Generation”. Agassi, who won eight grand slam titles during his 21-year professional tennis career, shared how early success led him to make some poor personal choices. But then came a period of reflection that eventually saw him establish a foundation for education in the poorest neighbourhood of Las Vegas, his hometown in the US.
