Page 5 - THE SOUTH CHINA BUSINESS JOURNAL
P. 5
E ditor's Note
Dr. Harley Seyedin This month we feature an exclusive interview with Paul Polman, CEO of
Unilever. Paul will be moving on to other endeavors at the end of this year
President, AmCham South China and this gives us an opportunity to report on his massive accomplishments
Winner of the 2017 Oslo Business Under his leadership, Unilever is succeeding at an ambitious vision to fully
for Peace Award decouple its growth from its overall environmental footprint and increase its
Awarded by the Award Committee of positive social impact through the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. Paul is a
Nobel Laureates in Peace and Economics fellow winner of the Oslo Business for Peace Award by the Award Committee
Visiting Scholar, Jinan University of Nobel Laureates in Peace and Economics. Other winners include Elon
Musk and Sir Richard Branson. Mr. Polman’s contributions to sustainable
development truly qualify him as a “Busienssworthy” global corporate leader.
2018 will be remembered as the year of unpredictability. During this year we
worked hard to advocate on behalf of our members and the American business
community to both the Chinese and our own government. We did so by
conducting studies on major issues, such as what became known as the “trade
war”. We disseminated the results in an honest, truthful, and straightforward
fashion. I am proud that our last study of the year, the Impact of Chinese and
U.S. Tariffs, reached more than 100 million readers worldwide. It was covered
by highly respected media outlets including the likes of Reuters, Financial
Times (FT), the Washington Post, NY Times, Fortune, Bloomberg, Nikkei,
London Observer, Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, and even News 12 Long
Island Television and the Times of Malta. Our message and our study results
reached the ears of leader in U.S., China, Europe and every country in the world
and influenced their thoughts and decision making processes.
The reason our study received such attention was due to the fact that our
Chamber is seen as a highly competent, independent, and most important of
all, trustworthy entity not influenced by any government or outside entity.
I am also pleased to share with you that while speaking at the International
Finance Forum I met Dr. Ye Fujing, Director General at the Institute for
International Economy of National Development and Reform Committee
(NDRC), who told me that their institute reviews and analyzes our annual
White Paper and complemented the quality and accuracy of our publications.
This type of independence and trust has been made possible due to diligent
efforts by the Chamber’s Board of Governors. It is important to point out
that members of the Board of Governors of our Chamber, who are elected
by our members, are highly established and successful business executives
and upstanding members of our community. They work without pay or
compensation. Their work is commendable and we all need to thank them for
their massive and altruistic contributions to our community.
I wish you and your families Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy
Hanukkah and a Happy New Year. May 2019 bring you certainty, happiness,
success, health and the joy of your family being together.
South China Business Journal 1
Dr. Harley Seyedin This month we feature an exclusive interview with Paul Polman, CEO of
Unilever. Paul will be moving on to other endeavors at the end of this year
President, AmCham South China and this gives us an opportunity to report on his massive accomplishments
Winner of the 2017 Oslo Business Under his leadership, Unilever is succeeding at an ambitious vision to fully
for Peace Award decouple its growth from its overall environmental footprint and increase its
Awarded by the Award Committee of positive social impact through the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. Paul is a
Nobel Laureates in Peace and Economics fellow winner of the Oslo Business for Peace Award by the Award Committee
Visiting Scholar, Jinan University of Nobel Laureates in Peace and Economics. Other winners include Elon
Musk and Sir Richard Branson. Mr. Polman’s contributions to sustainable
development truly qualify him as a “Busienssworthy” global corporate leader.
2018 will be remembered as the year of unpredictability. During this year we
worked hard to advocate on behalf of our members and the American business
community to both the Chinese and our own government. We did so by
conducting studies on major issues, such as what became known as the “trade
war”. We disseminated the results in an honest, truthful, and straightforward
fashion. I am proud that our last study of the year, the Impact of Chinese and
U.S. Tariffs, reached more than 100 million readers worldwide. It was covered
by highly respected media outlets including the likes of Reuters, Financial
Times (FT), the Washington Post, NY Times, Fortune, Bloomberg, Nikkei,
London Observer, Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, and even News 12 Long
Island Television and the Times of Malta. Our message and our study results
reached the ears of leader in U.S., China, Europe and every country in the world
and influenced their thoughts and decision making processes.
The reason our study received such attention was due to the fact that our
Chamber is seen as a highly competent, independent, and most important of
all, trustworthy entity not influenced by any government or outside entity.
I am also pleased to share with you that while speaking at the International
Finance Forum I met Dr. Ye Fujing, Director General at the Institute for
International Economy of National Development and Reform Committee
(NDRC), who told me that their institute reviews and analyzes our annual
White Paper and complemented the quality and accuracy of our publications.
This type of independence and trust has been made possible due to diligent
efforts by the Chamber’s Board of Governors. It is important to point out
that members of the Board of Governors of our Chamber, who are elected
by our members, are highly established and successful business executives
and upstanding members of our community. They work without pay or
compensation. Their work is commendable and we all need to thank them for
their massive and altruistic contributions to our community.
I wish you and your families Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy
Hanukkah and a Happy New Year. May 2019 bring you certainty, happiness,
success, health and the joy of your family being together.
South China Business Journal 1
