David Thomas

We live in the Asian Century and western organisations face unique challenges, threats and opportunities. With the flow of people, capital and resources from China, India and South East Asia into every corner of our society, now is the time for dynamic, progressive and ambitious organisations to embrace the benefits of diversification, which include:

- Boosting creativity, diversity and innovation – fresh perspectives lead to fresh ideas which leads to new revenue streams
- Doing business with Asia – presenting a multicultural ‘face’ to marketing, sales and client relationships
- Increasing productivity and profitability – organisations with cultures that promote diversity, inclusion and collaboration get better results

In this interactive, challenging and illustrative presentation, you will learn:

- Our place in the Asian Century – past, present and future – opportunities, challenges, risks
- How multi-national organisations have achieved success in Asia via diversification – case studies, anecdotes and stories
- The challenges of implementing diversification in the workplace – on the organisation, team and leadership levels

We live in the Asian Century - an exciting but also daunting opportunity for all businesses, industries and Governments as we come to grips with the impact of the rapidly growing economies in the region - China, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and many others.

Success for you and your business in the Asian Century depends on your ability to adapt to new ways of doing business, new cultures, new languages, customs and traditions:

- Understanding how cultural differences influence business outcomes
- Managing high performing teams across cultures, borders and customers
- Learning about different Asian markets - How they differ and how they are the same
- Communicating across cultures - managing the message in complex environments
- Building relationships with Asian business partners, investors, clients and suppliers

David's unique value lies in his ability to identify and uncover business trends, opportunities and challenges in the BRIC countries, and his "hands on" experience from having worked on the ground in places like China for over 25 years. He brings his personal insights, anecdotes, stories and observations to every presentation, and works across industry sectors, economies and markets to show business leaders, investors and forward-thinking organisations how to profit from a fast changing world.?

David regularly speaks at conferences, workshops, seminars and even board meetings to a wide range of audiences and industry sector and is able to tailor his presentation accordingly.

We live in the Asian Century, with China as the growth engine, and the next 50 years will see many industries disrupted by Chinese consumerism, innovation and aspiration. Many services industries, including healthcare, retail, luxury, travel, education and food are already affected by the rise of China’s middle class, together with their massive investment in technology, R&D, e-commerce and AI. All business leaders and managers need to be aware of the likely impact on their industries and organisations from these disruptive forces and the opportunities it creates for them to develop a new cultural mindset and a China engagement strategy.

David Thomas is an experienced and dynamic speaker who will bring this topic to life at your next conference or event and a thought leader who lives and breathes the China growth story at ground level.

David Thomas is well known within the Asia Pacific region for his passion and experience for investing and doing business in emerging markets, notably the four “BRIC countries” (Brazil, Russia, India and China) plus the growing influence of China as the engine of global economic growth and the rise of the Asian middle class. Having lived in Asia for the last 30 years, he literally lives and breathes emerging markets. His broad and diverse experience includes:

- Designing, organising and leading research and study tours for professional asset managers to each of the four BRIC countries
- For five years on the Advisory Board of the Emerging Markets Masters Fund, he has direct hands-on experience of investing in emerging markets (includes overseeing asset allocation, fund selection, currency and stock analysis etc.)
- Regularly travelling around Asia working with entrepreneurs and investors to review and select new opportunities in emerging businesses

Once known for its fake handbags, copy watches and pirate software, China is now leading the world in science, technology and innovation. Chinese brands like Huawei, Alibaba, Lenovo, Haier and Tencent are disrupting traditional industries (notably retail, e-commerce and IT) by leveraging their access to over 400m middle class consumers, spending billions in R&D and launching new products and services on a scale previously unheard of. China’s ‘Made in China 2025’ plan is intended to completely transform their manufacturing industry with a focus on clean energy, healthcare and communications, and China’s ambition is to lead the world in new industries such as renewable energy, driverless and battery operated vehicles and advanced medical products.

David Thomas speaks to business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors around the world about how their industry is being impacted by what’s happening in China, how they can take advantage, who they need to speak to and what they can do about it. He draws on over 30 years of on the ground experience, connections and knowledge and draws on case studies, anecdotes and examples to bring his presentations to life.

Whilst IQ, and more recently EQ, were once regarded as the highest and most sought after qualities of leaders in western organisations, future leaders will be selected and judged by their levels of “CQ” i.e “Cultural Intelligence”, including their ability and aptitude for managing teams from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, overseeing cross-cultural communications, and handling cross-border negotiations and transactions. Very few of these skills are taught in western educational institutions and much of this has to be learnt from experience, trial and error, and listening to those who have done it all before.

David Thomas has spent the last 30 years living, working and managing relationships in the Asia Pacific region, including leading numerous missions, delegations and study tours to China designed to support western leaders on the ground and to highlight and address some of the cross-cultural challenges for their business and their teams, which always makes the difference between success and failure.

- Property Profile Group Asia Day – Developing an Asian mindset
- William Grants & Sons, UK – Bringing China to You
- Real Estate Results Network – Three Cups of Tea
- First National Annual Conference – Doing business with Asians
- Louis Vuitton – How to sell luxury products to high net worth Asians

The world has changed and this matters to everyone. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have an abundance of land, people and capital and a rapidly growing number of wealthy aspirational consumers. The MINT countries (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) are hot on their heels. Entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders around the world are considering the impact of five irreversible trends which are setting a new direction for all businesses and economies in the future. These are:

- Urbanisation
- Consumption
- Innovation
- Aspiration
- Globalisation

How can your business and industry profit from these emerging trends? How can you surf where the big waves are?!

The amazing transformation of China's economy, and the focus on new industries, innovation and outbound investment, is creating opportunities, challenges and risks for all SMEs, entrepreneurs and business leaders throughout the world. What does this mean for you and your business? How are you affected? What are the opportunities and threats as you consider China's key priorities for the future:

Going Out - investing in key strengths - food and agriculture, healthcare, property, infrastructure, education, tourism, technology and financial services

Going West - moving economic activity from the eastern coastline to the inner west regions and cities, like Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Changsha, Xian

Going Green - investing in the new sources of renewable energy, reducing pollution and carbon intensity, cleaning up their air, water and environment.

China's economy has doubled in the last 7 years. It will double again in the next decade and double again the decade after. In 20 years, its economy will be four times the size it is today, and its already the second largest economy in the world! The impacts of China's rapid growth are felt throughout the world. How are you positioning yourself, your business and your industry for this dynamic and rapidly changing new market?