How can businesses build back better? Key quotes from leaders

"The question is: how do we achieve resilience in a new global environment, including a pandemic-prone global environment, as well as growth - how do we avoid a sharp trade-off between resilience and growth?"

Those were the words of Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister, Singapore, speaking on global trade and supply chains in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Shanmugaratnam's comments came during the Forum's latest Great Reset virtual meeting, centered around the theme, "A New Deal for Business."

Some major indices have lost 30%-40% of their initial value in recent months, while nearly all major environmental, social and governance (ESG) indices outperformed their markets. Given that backdrop, the call focused on: How might these trends influence business strategy in light of the pandemic, and what key aspects of the stakeholder approach will business leaders adopt to address short-term pressures and long-term considerations?

The Great Reset is an initiative that grew out of the Forum's ongoing COVID Action Platform. Launched in June, the Great Reset is a commitment to jointly and urgently rebuild the foundations of our economic and social system to create a fairer, more sustainable and resilient post-COVID future.

Other speakers on today's call included Brian T. Moynihan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Bank of America; Angel Gurría, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Stacey Cunningham, President and Chief Executive Officer at New York Stock Exchange (NYSE); and Li Xin, Managing Director, Caixin Global at Caixin Media.

Here's a roundup of a some of the key quotes from the session: