2026 Break the ceiling touch the sky® Most Inspirational Women in Leadership and 2026 Global Male Champions for Gender Equality to lead as speakers and mentors at the 2026 World Edition
BTC 101 Global Index data shows companies with more gender-balanced Boards and executive leadership teams delivering stronger revenue and profit-growth trends
SINGAPORE, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — House of Rose Professional® (HORP) – The Global Leadership Company™ today announced that several leaders selected for the 2026 Break the ceiling touch the sky® Asia’s Most Inspirational Women in Leadership listing, together with 2026 Global Male Champions for Gender Equality, will lead as speakers and mentors at the 2026 World Edition of Break the ceiling touch the sky®, to be held October 12, 2026 at Frasers House, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Singapore.
HORP’s Asia’s Most Inspirational Women in Leadership research evaluates 3,500 women leaders across 500 companies in Asia, identifying women whose leadership, business impact and example can inspire other leaders to succeed. There is no nomination or entry fee for consideration or recognition.
Several of the inspirational women selected through the 2026 research will be recognized in person at the Oct. 12 World Edition and will contribute as speakers and mentors alongside some of the region’s leading CEOs, C-suite executives, Board Directors and male allies.
The 43rd international edition of Break the ceiling touch the sky® will bring together approximately 250 senior executives and entrepreneurs from across industries to exchange best practices on leadership, business growth, AI, talent, inclusion and the advancement of women. The summit provides leaders with the opportunity to learn directly from successful CEOs, C-suite executives, Board Directors, male allies and women leaders—and translate the practices of companies making the greatest progress into action within their own organizations. DFI Retail Group and CEOSource® are Platinum sponsors for this edition of the summit.
House of Rose Professional® is inviting women leaders, male allies and organizations committed to gender-balanced, high-performance leadership to join these leaders at the Oct. 12 World Edition in Singapore.
Among the 2026 Inspirational Women and Global Male Champions leading as speakers on Oct. 12 are:
Billie Tan, President, International Sales and Solutions, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, UPS; Bita Seow, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore International Chamber of Commerce; Joanne Soo, member of the Singapore all-women team that successfully summited Mount Everest and Managing Director, Ace Adventure Expeditions Pte. Ltd.; Jerrica Chooi, Country Holding Officer, Singapore, ABB; Joy Jinghui Xu, Group Chief People and Culture Officer, DFI Retail Group; Judit Pach, former Ambassador of Hungary to Singapore and Brunei Darussalam and Advisor, MET Group; Ingrid Lorentz Sidiadinoto, Senior Managing Director, Singapore and Malaysia, UPS; Yanyan Ji, General Manager of Philip Morris Taiwan and Preeti Arora Razdan, CEO, Southeast Asia, Diageo.
Male allies and business leaders participating include Scott Price, Group Chief Executive, DFI Retail Group; Bijoy Sagar, EVP and Chief Information Technology and Digital Transformation Officer, Bayer; Nikesh (Nik) Mehta, British High Commissioner to Singapore; KV Rao, Chairman and Director, Tata International Singapore Pte. Ltd.; Steven Okun, Founder and CEO, APAC Advisors (Singapore); Alex von Behr, President, VBAssociates, former Global Chief Customer Officer and head of the CEOSmith® Executive coaching vertical at House of Rose Professional, Unilever Plc.; Vijayanand Sinha, former Regional CEO & SVP – ASEAN, Reckitt; Philip Forrest, former Asia Head, ANZ Bank, and Independent Director, James Cook University, Readymix Holdings International and Grand Banks Yachts Limited; and Brian Peters, former Mr. Universe.
GENDER-BALANCED LEADERSHIP LINKED TO STRONGER BUSINESS-PERFORMANCE TRENDS
House of Rose Professional® also announced that companies with more gender-balanced Boards and executive leadership teams have consistently delivered stronger revenue and profit-growth trends over the past few years, according to its proprietary Break the ceiling touch the sky® 101 Best Global Companies for Women in Leadership – BTC 101 Global Index research for the period 2020–2026.
The BTC 101 Global Index provides baseline research for House of Rose Professional®’s MISSION 2029 FOR A BETTER WORLD—its global initiative to advance better inclusion, better leadership, better business and a better world.
In 2020, a company at the threshold of the BTC 101 Global Index had 22.2% women at C-suite and Board levels. By 2026, that threshold had increased to 35.71%—an increase of more than 60% in women’s representation at the entry point to the world’s 101 highest-ranked global companies for women in leadership.
House of Rose Professional® has reviewed more than 60,000 C-suite and Board executives across the Fortune Global 500 over the seven-year period from 2020 to 2026.
The 2026 BTC 101 Global Index analysis points to a clear association between gender-balanced leadership and stronger business-performance trends:
- 73% of Index companies reported year-over-year revenue growth, compared with 60% of non-Index companies.
- 52% of Index companies reported year-over-year profit growth, compared with 47% of non-Index companies.
- Among the bottom 100 non-Index companies, only 48% reported year-over-year revenue growth and 44% reported profit growth.
The progress is broad-based. Leaders in the 2026 BTC 101 Global Index span 38 industries, including banking, pharmaceuticals, retail, energy, petroleum refining, telecommunications, insurance, healthcare, motor vehicles, food services, household and personal products, package and freight delivery, and aerospace and defence.
The findings reinforce the growing body of evidence that organizations which draw leadership talent more broadly are also building stronger, more competitive businesses. House of Rose Professional® believes organizations seeking to win in a rapidly changing world should continue investing in gender-balanced, high-performance leadership as an important driver of business success.
At the same time, the 2026 data delivers an important warning: for the first time in seven years, progress on gender balance at the top of the world’s 500 largest companies has stalled.
Anthony A. Rose, Chairman and CEO, House of Rose Professional®, and best-selling author of “Break the ceiling touch the sky®: success secrets of the world’s most inspirational women” (the book which inspired the summit) said:
“The data tells us two things very clearly. First, the world’s largest companies have made significant progress. The threshold for entering our BTC 101 Global Index has risen from 22.2% women at C-suite and Board level in 2020 to 35.71% in 2026. Second, the companies leading this progress are also delivering stronger business-performance trends.
At a time when support for advancing women is facing new headwinds, now is not the time to stop. It is the time to learn from what is working and accelerate for business and organizational impact.
We are delighted to welcome our inspirational women leaders and male allies to the Oct. 12 summit and encourage organizations and leaders committed to business growth and high-performance, gender-balanced leadership to join us.”
Scott Price, Group Chief Executive, DFI Retail Group, said:
“A majority of our customers are female. We are a leading Asian retailer delivering quality, value and exceptional service through leading brands, a compelling retail experience and a commitment to sustainability. We are focused on helping our customers make the most of every dollar they spend with us. Unleashing a diverse and inclusive workforce is critical to this mission. We benefit from sharing our leadership best practices and also learning from the best practices of other great companies participating at Break the ceiling touch the sky®.”
Nishi Vasudeva, former Chairman & Managing Director, HPCL; Independent Director, L&T Finance, Tata Power Renewable Energy and CRISIL; and Senior Advisor, House of Rose Professional®, said:
“The advantages of gender-balanced leadership have been extensively documented, with a clear takeaway: gender-balanced companies deliver better on business, growth and social impact. The world’s largest and most respected companies are becoming increasingly gender-balanced at the top. Break the ceiling touch the sky® provides an important opportunity for successful leaders to share best practices and invest not just in women, but in stronger, more sustainable businesses.”
Rose added.
“Progress has happened because leaders acted. The next chapter will be determined by whether we continue to invest in talent based on potential, performance and opportunity. October 12 is about bringing together the leaders who believe better leadership builds better businesses—and ultimately a better world.”
JOIN THE 2026 WORLD EDITION – OCTOBER 12, SINGAPORE
The 2026 World Edition of Break the ceiling touch the sky® takes place on October 12, 2026 at Frasers House, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Singapore.
DFI Retail Group and CEOSource® lead as Platinum Sponsors. The summit is endorsed by leading Industry Partners including Singapore International Chamber of Commerce, AMCHAM, BRITCHAM, EUROCHAM, FRENCHAM, SWISSCHAM, NZ CHAMBER, CANCHAM, CEEC and EU-ASEAN BUSINESS COUNCIL.
House of Rose Professional® encourages the 2026 Inspirational Women, Global Male Champions, their colleagues and organizations, and leaders from across the world to register and participate in the World Edition.
Speakers, agenda and registration:
https://houseofroseprofessional.com/world-edition-2026/
About House of Rose Professional®
House of Rose Professional® – The Global Leadership Company™ builds the world’s best leaders to build the world’s best businesses and a better world through its integrated portfolio across Talent, Training and Transformation.
Its portfolio includes Break the ceiling touch the sky®, its global success and leadership platform for women and all allies; CEOSource®, its premium retained executive search business focused on CEO, Board and C-suite appointments; BeliEVE®, its specialist executive search brand focused on exceptional women leaders; and CEOSmith®, its executive coaching and leadership transformation practice.
House of Rose Professional® has empowered more than 70,000 leaders across over 750 organizations worldwide since 2014, working with leading organizations across the Americas, Asia, the Middle East & Africa, Europe and ANZ.
MEDIA/ BUSINESS CONTACT
Anthony A. Rose
Chairman & CEO
House of Rose Professional®
[email protected]
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