Nestlé Ghana Managing Director Salomé Azevedo told executives at the Ghana Employers Association (GEA) leadership conference in Accra that modern leadership demands trust, inclusion and accountability beyond financial strategy.
Azevedo argued that strong financial results no longer define effective leadership. Employees, investors, regulators and the public now judge organisations by the culture they build and the responsibility they show at senior levels.
She spoke at the fifth annual GEA conference, held under the theme “Leading from the Top: Executive Responsibility Beyond Strategy.” Leadership, she said, is becoming more human, meaning more authentic and inclusive rather than weaker.
“Trust is being tested, expectations are rising,” Azevedo said, adding that leaders’ decisions now reach far beyond the boardroom.
She described trust as one of the most valuable assets an organisation can hold and one of the easiest to lose. Recent corporate failures, she noted, often stem not from flawed strategy but from governance systems that fail to catch risks early.
Azevedo also warned that too much distance between senior managers and their teams filters information, buries ideas and weakens trust. She urged executives to build workplaces where employees feel free to contribute and challenge assumptions.
On inclusion, she challenged leaders to drop assumptions based on age, gender or background, arguing that organisations make better decisions when underrepresented groups gain real access to opportunity. She framed inclusion as a competitive advantage rather than a social obligation.
Turning to technology, Azevedo said digital tools and artificial intelligence should strengthen human judgement, not replace it, and should connect generations within organisations instead of dividing them.
GEA President Nana Dr. Emmanuel Adu-Sarkodee Afriyie said the conference reflects rising demand for leadership development across corporate Ghana. Attendance has grown from 46 people at the first event in 2019 to 375 this year.
He linked the gathering to the Female Future Programme Ghana (FFPGH), a partnership between the GEA and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise that trains women for senior management and board roles. Since its launch, 439 women have completed the programme, with many advancing into executive and board positions.
Adu-Sarkodee Afriyie said stakeholders now assess leaders on integrity, transparency and ethical conduct, not business results alone. This year’s conference graduated a fresh cohort of women from the FFPGH.
