Short-term thinking may deliver financial results, but a long-term horizon enables a sustainable business that creates value for all stakeholders, including employees, customers, shareholders and society, said Lei Zhang, the founder and CEO of Hillhouse.

On August 18, 2020, Zhang spoke as a panelist on how to invest for resilience to weather economic uncertainty amid the pandemic at a digital panel discussion hosted by non-profit Focusing Capital on the Long Term (FCLT) Global. The discussion was moderated by FCLTGlobal CEO Sarah Williamson and joined by other panelists including Suyi Kim, Head of Asia Pacific at CPP Investments, Chow Kiat Lim, CEO at GIC, and David Neal, CEO at IFM Investors.

Speaking on the key lessons learned from COVID-19, Zhang highlighted the importance of building a sustainable business with resilience and thinking for the long term in the post-pandemic era. “The only thing that matters is the duration,” he said, adding that long-term thinking could yield much healthier, sustainable outcomes for everyone.