In a study conducted by IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) in cooperation with Oxford Economics, only 9% of C-Suite executives were dubbed as ‘Torchbearers’. This is a term for those who stood out as understanding that transparency, reciprocity and accountability are critical ingredients for earning trust among key stakeholders. Leaders that leverage data to build customer trust, create cultures of data-based decision makers and are adept at sharing data with ecosystem partners can gain a competitive edge. We speak to Catherine Lian, Managing Director of IBM Malaysia on the foundation of being a ‘torchbearer’.