Networking event
Why you need to learn Mandarin!
(or Competing with China in 21st Century)
Thursday 2 October 2008
5.15 for 5.30pm (Drinks from 7.00pm)
Budd Office, 8 Percy Street, London
Budd networking events are great places for industry professionals to learn, share and above all, network with peers and friends. This is your invitation to the next event.
About the event
I went to China in 1990, when the Pudong in Shanghai was just farmland. In 2010, Shanghai will be showing off at the World Expo, and like Beijing, the city of Shanghai is being transformed. The picture shows Pudong today.
The Beijing games demonstrated to the World that China is come of age but we knew that didn’t we? If so, why are so many businesses not taking seriously the threats and opportunities that China presents? The Chinese having a saying:
which basically means if the old does not go out then the new cannot come in. There is nothing to smooth-over the difficult transition of moving a fifth of the world’s population from a communist to market society quite like having big aspirational goals on the horizon. This type of socio-economic evolution is painful at best and creating a sense of ‘future
hope and present progress for the greater good’ is an imperative chasm-crossing feat. What China has now are massive externally focused goals:
- How to make the change bigger than just a city centric goal like Shanghai or Beijing
- What can be achieved in the tangible window from 2010 to 2020
- Have highest possible military and technological achievement
If we are to benefit in the evolution of China then what do we need to know and do?
Our Speakers
At this event we’ll get insights from experts who have studied, lived and worked in China. They have a clear understanding of the cultural differences, aspirations of the people and potential limitations on the exponential growth of the economy. They will help us to start the debate but we all have opinions on China!
Temtsel Hao is a journalist working for BBC World Service. He obtained his Ph.D. in International Relations from the LSE, and previously attended college and worked in Beijing before coming to London. Apart from writing reports, columns and blogging on China and international affairs, Temtsel also writes on ethnic minority issues in China and media freedom.
Lan Zhang studied at the London Business School (MBA) and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She is currently working with WHO on issues & policies in relation to social determinants of health.
Fatim Toure is from Mali but spent most of her childhood and teenage years in Beijing. Throughout the years as a management consultant, she regularly went back to China and witnessed the development and changes of Beijing through the unusual perspective of an African citizen. In 2006, she worked in Beijing on a consulting assignment for almost a year and experienced first-hand the differences and challenges faced by businesses.
At the end of the evening we hope you’ll understand a bit more about China itself and specifically what her growth will mean for business, including the customer service aspects, in the rest of the world over the next 10 years.
Maybe we don’t need to learn Mandarin but don’t you think our children should?
Attending the event
These are informal, lively gatherings where new people are always welcome. If you have interested colleagues please let us know and invite them. As usual we will follow the session with an opportunity to network over drinks in a local bar.
Please RSVP to David Naylor. Start time will be 5:30 p.m. sharp with drinks from 7:00 p.m. at the Marquis of Granby on the junction of Percy Street and Charlotte Street.
See you there.
