Consumer Brands Panel
A new Asia growth strategy: How to conceptualize and market to the diverging consumer markets of Asia
The growth stories of today's consumer world are in emerging Asian countries, Vietnam and Indonesia for example, and in new markets and geographies within China and India. In reaction, global consumer product companies, in the hopes of riding these waves of growth, are adjusting their strategies for each opportunity. In such a context, what is today's Asia growth strategy? How does a firm balance the attraction of the recognized Asian giants with that of those younger economies? How does a firm manage within China and India? How to assess opportunities and allocate resources?
- What is the current growth story in Asia, from a consumer-focused point of view?
- What are some marketing challenges and accompanying strategies for global consumer product companies in these markets?
- How does one capitalize on this growth? And do so without sacrificing brand equity?
- How is social media playing into the marketing strategies?
Panelists
Irfan Mustafa, Managing Director - Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan & Turkey, Yum! Restaurants International and Chief Leadership Development Officer, Yum! Brands
Presently Managing Director for the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey region for Yum! Restaurants International, parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, A&W and Long John Silvers. Also the Chief Leadership Development Officer of Yum! reporting to the Chairman & CEO, of Yum! Brands. The region comprises 14 countries with a network of 1300 restaurants and US$ 1.5 Billion turnover. Previous assignments include 6 years with PepsiCo and 14 years with UniLever in Marketing and General Management in Pakistan, West Asia, Egypt and U.S.A. Key positions held: VP, Strategic Planning, PepsiCo, New York; VP & CEO PepsiCo, West Asia, Lahore, Pakistan; and General Manager, Home and Personal Care Businesses and Member of the Managing Committee UniLever, Pakistan.
He holds two post graduate degrees in Business Administration - one from IMD (Lausanne, Switzerland) and second from IBA Karachi, Pakistan.
Ted Kuh, Managing Director & Head of Global Retail Group, Citigroup
Ted Kuh is a Managing Director and Head of the Global Retail Industry Group. Before returning to the U.S. in 2009, Ted was located in Hong Kong and was head of the Asia Pacific Consumer, Retail and Healthcare Franchise. Prior to that, Ted was based in London since August 1999, where he was Co-Head of the European Consumer franchise focusing on financing and M&A transactions in the retail and beverage industries. His experience in the retail sector covers companies in the following sectors: food and drug retail, DIY, electricals, department stores, specialty apparel, restaurants and luxury retailing.
Prior to joining Salomon Brothers in 1994, he was a Vice President for four years at Sutro & Co., a regional investment banking firm. Ted was an Associate at Merrill Lynch Capital Markets in New York from 1987 - 1990. Ted has been a Managing Director since 1999.
Ted received his MBA in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his B.S. in Accounting from the University of California, Berkeley.
Renee Hartmann, CFA, Co-founder, Eno
Renee has more than 15 years of strategy, operations and consulting experience in China and the United States, focusing on cross border business including China Market Entry consulting for companies such as Under Armour, Horizon Hobby and Symphony IRI and US listings for Chinese companies such as NetEase and AsiaInfo.
Renee is the founder of HotPot Consulting, a consulting company providing market entry strategy services to foreign companies seeking to target the rapidly growing China consumer market. HotPot also provides financial advisory services related to China consumer M&A, due diligence and research.
Prior to founding HotPot Consulting, Renee co-founded and sold China consumer insights, strategy and design firm, Enovate, which counsels multinational and Chinese companies on selling to the emerging Chinese consumer. Renee is also a co-founder of Shanghai-based start-up lifestyle apparel brand, Eno. Eno owns and operates more than 25 retail stores in China, and designs and manufactures branded apparel targeted at China's youth sector. Eno was named one of the Top Ten Most Innovative companies in China in 2010 by Fast Company Magazine.
Renee holds an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Nick Feimer, Vice President, Global Marketplace Insights Levi Strauss & Co.
Nick Feimer is currently Vice President of Global Marketplace Insights at Levi Strauss & Co. In that role, Nick and his organization are responsible for global marketplace data acquisition, as well as all consumer research related advertising, promotion, product development, and merchandising. Prior to joining Levi Strauss & Co., Nick served as Vice President of Marketing Services at The Clorox Company, where his responsibilities included Marketing Communications and Marketing Intelligence. Before Clorox, Nick held positions of increasing responsibility at both Kraft Foods and the Quaker Oats Company, including Director of Sales Information and Technology at Kraft, and Director of Marketing Information at both Kraft and Quaker. During his time in the corporate world, Nick has been recognized with several achievement awards, including a Special Achievement award at Quaker Oats, a Superior Achievement Award at Kraft, and a Clorox Diamond Leadership Award.
Prior to joining the corporate world, Nick spent time in academics, teaching and conducting research in Applied Psychology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Nick holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California at Riverside (graduated with High Honors and Phi Beta Kappa), and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley.
Nick has also served on numerous professional advisory boards and industry committees, including Information Resources, Inc.'s Client Advisory Board, the Category Management Committee of the Joint Industry Initiative for ECR, Marketing Sciences Institute's Board of Trustees, the Association of National Advertisers Committee on ROI, and M-Factor.
Moderator
Naeem Zafar, CEO, BitzerMobile.com & Faculty Member UC Berkeley - Haas School of Business
Naeem is a faculty member at the University of California Berkeley Haas School of business. He has taught entrepreneurship and New Venture Finance since 2005. He is also the president and CEO of Bitzer Mobile, a company that provides a platform for enterprise data mobility.
Naeem started his own business at the age of 26 and subsequently went on to start, or work at, six startups. His first job out of Brown University with a degree in electrical engineering was to design chips and electronic systems. Twenty years, two kids, one IPO and three CEO stints later, he founded Concordia Ventures and Startup-Advisor, a company focused on educating and advising entrepreneurs on all aspects of starting and running a business (www.Startup-Advisor.com).
Naeem works frequently with the US State Department in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship across the world and in April was invited to the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington, DC to participate in a dialogue about starting an entrepreneurial ecosystem for Muslim majority countries worldwide. He has travelled to 74 countries to understand cultures and how business is done and considers himself a global citizen.
Naeem has authored five books on entrepreneurship on topics ranging from conducting market research to seeking the right funding to successful ways to start a business. Information can be found on www.NaeemZafar.com. His eBooks including "7-Steps to a Successful Startup" are also available on Amazon.com and on the iTunes App store and Kindle.