Business in Singapore

We have had such a business couple of days in Singapore, so I am using this evening before our flight to Beijing to catch up on the blog.

So here's what happened this week from a company visit standpoint:

Monday, March 24th
--- Met with Vince Ng at Samtec and he spoke to us about how Samtec is a private, debt-free company that is service-oriented.  They can get their products to customers within two business days and have a free sample program.  We were able to see the small production facility here in Singapore, and had a fabulous lunch!
--- Met with a variety of people at Luxottica, including Mattia (Director of SEAA HR), Paolo (Head of Business for SEAA), Claus (Managing Director of SEAA), Céline (Head of SEAA Marketing), and Roberto (Head of Sunglass Hut Asia).  We learned about the company's history, its brands, and opportunities and challenges of doing business in Asia.  We also learned about marketing to a variety of Asian consumers and the cost of retail space in Asia.

Tuesday, March 25th
--- Met with Peter Ter Kulve (EVP of SEAA) who spoke to us about Unilever's history and how corporate social responsibility is a part of the company's heritage.  Unilever runs the Dove True Beauty campaign, works with children in India to get them to the age of 5 with its cleanliness program and the Life Buoy soap, and helps poor women in India become fiscally independent with Project Shakti. 
--- Went to P&G and met with Will Esterle, a UC grad, about business segment performance, the life of an ex-pat in Asia, and the advantages and disadvantages of doing business in Asia.  We were also able to see their new concept for office spaces to raise productivity.