The summer is drawing to a close, the first full summer we have been in business as a speakers bureau. That means that after a pretty lazy month, requests are hitting our mailbox again, including the first few panic calls for as early as September. Mostly we have a lead time of at least three months and we are already working on assignments for 2010, but sometimes event organizers discover only weeks ahead they are short of a celebrity guest. We are happy to help.
Time to turn also to this months top-10 of most-sought speakers. We saw in July a firm shake-up, apart from Shaun Rein who successfully maintains his leadership position, only under threat of the second on the list, rock star and internet geek Kaiser Kuo. In August we see only one newcomer, Annette Nijs of CEIBS, while others at the top-10 move in position, but remain in the list.
Annette Nijs is a recent addition to the China Speakers Bureau and a good one. China’s drive of going global is an important issue, also when we are slightly distracted by an ongoing economic downturn. Nijs has helped CEIBS to open a campus in Africa and – as a former Dutch cabinet minister – she is very well positioned to help China’s leading international business school also in improving its ties with Europe, the founder of the school.
In her upcoming book (I have seen the Dutch text, the English one is expected in January) she turns a cliche question on China around and wonders what the rest of the world can learn from China. China’s innovation policies is one field, where she might have a case in point.
Without further delay, this months top-10 (with July in brackets)
- Shaun Rein (1)
- Kaiser Kuo (8)
- Zhang Lijia (2)
- Marc van der Chijs (3)
Kaiser Kuo by Fantake via Flickr
- Jeremy Goldkorn (9)
- William Bao Bean (6)
- Tom Doctoroff (10)
- Arthur Kroeber (4)
- Annette Nijs (-)
- Rupert Hoogewerf (5)