Transformative Insights from Frost & Sullivan's 19th GIL Summit in Shanghai

Insights from the 19th GIL Summit in Shanghai

The 19th Global Growth, Innovation & Leadership (GIL) Summit was successfully held at the Jing'an Shangri-La in Shanghai on August 27-28, 2025. This significant event was co-hosted with LeadLeo and featured over 200 industry leaders, more than 100 informative sessions, and an impressive turnout of over 4,000 attendees. The summit centered around the theme “Intelligence Initiates a New Journey Jointly Shaping Global Growth Engines.”

Since its inception nearly three decades ago, the GIL Summit has established itself as a premier gathering for executives, policymakers, and innovators to share insights, explore disruptive trends, and collaborate on future industry advancements. This marks the 19th consecutive year the summit has taken place in China, underscoring its importance in the global dialogue on growth and innovation.

Key Highlights and Themes

The summit featured several prominent speakers, including David Frigstad, Global Chairman of Frost & Sullivan, who stressed the significance of the Transformational Growth Journey. He elaborated on a seven-stage framework aimed at helping CEOs benchmark their strategies against global best practices and identify opportunities for resilience and innovation through collaboration.

Aroop Zutshi, Global President and Managing Partner, outlined the “Top 5 Strategic Imperatives” essential for thriving in the current landscape. The five strategies—Transformation, Ecosystem, Growth Generator, Growth Opportunities, and Frost Radar—highlighted the critical nature of adaptive systems and artificial intelligence in fostering enterprise breakthroughs.

During the summit, Dr. Neil Wang, Global Partner and Chairman for Greater China, brought attention to China's continued economic growth and its contributions to the global marketplace. He also introduced the fourth edition of Frost & Sullivan's white paper that discusses the anticipated industrial development trends in China over the next 50 years, reinforcing the organization’s commitment to showcasing the region's innovation and leadership.