The General Manager for Unilever West Africa, Carl Cruz, has stated that COVID-19 has changed business operations and largely, the corporate world.

According to him, the pre-COVID, during-COVID, and post-COVID eras have altered the operations of businesses.

"Things are changing rapidly through technology which is becoming a major enabler in the business environment," Mr. Cruz stated during engagement with students in Tema.

Mr. Cruz made these comments during an engagement with students at Tema on the theme: "Journey to the boardroom."

The lecture is a Unilever initiative to groom the youth into the business and corporate environment.

He noted that diversity is a critical operational mechanism for companies to sustain and urged managers to take reasonable risks and challenge the status quo.

"Operational diversity as a business mechanism places values on differences of cultural backgrounds, skills, and demographics of its stakeholders at management, employees, and supply chain levels for the sake of survival.

"Leaders must demonstrate when to descend with workers into the trenches to get things fixed and when to stand at the rooftop and issue instructions," he said.

He charged business leaders to appreciate their workers "as both new and old workers have a lot to offer toward the growth of the organization, we must blend the zeal of the new employee with the experiences of the old staff to keep the wheel of the company moving”.

He advised the youth to acknowledge their strengths and weakness and not allow their past glories to be destruction in their future.

Head of Human Resources at Unilever Ghana, Michael Otchere Duah, said 100 students across the country took part in the lectures online, while 30 were physically present at the center.

He disclosed that Unilever has developed flagship projects to prepare the youth for the place of work.

He said the company with over 400 brands around the world possesses plenty of amazing job prospects for career starters and experienced professionals.

Mr. Duah explained that the company works in collaboration with university administrators to select students to participate in their grooming process.