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Lessons in Crisis Management:
Insight from South China
Choir at the Award Ceremony at Oslo City Hall. Photo by Oslo Business Business for Peace Award presented to Dr. Harley Seyedin by
for Peace Foundation. members of the Committee of Nobel Laureates in Peace and
Economics, Nobel Laureates Finn Kydland and Ouided Bouchamaoui,
Reprinted with permission Governing Mayor of Oslo, Raymond Johansen, and Board Chair of
By Business for Peace Foundation, Oslo, Norway Oslo Business for Peace Foundation, Per Saxegaard. Photo by Oslo
May 12, 2020 Business for Peace Foundation.
Dr. Harley Seyedin is the President of Allelon I remember an article from 2006 written by Keith
Energy Systems and President of the Bradsher, who at the time was the bureau chief for
American Chamber of Commerce in South China. the New York Times in Hong Kong. In that article,
Building a low-carbon infrastructure development he talked about the possibility of an outbreak in
business, Seyedin has always sought to promote 2006. I discussed with him the possibility of not if
a development model that is sustainable socially, an outbreak will happen, but when.
environmentally and economically. He was recognised
by the Committee of Nobel Laureates in Peace and Thanks to that discussion, we did a survey of our
Economics with the Oslo Business for Peace Award in companies on how prepared they were and we
2017 together with Elon Musk, Durreen Shahnaz and found out that they were not. We worked hard to
Murad Al-Katib. help them develop plans and we are not as affected
by this outbreak because we developed plans.
We reached him at his office in Guangzhou, China to Our preparedness and our willingness to face the
talk about the role of business leaders in aiding in the problem head-on have helped keep our employees
global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic — and safe. We have worked hard — from home.
the value of a good crisis plan.
You have been doing a lot of work in response to
How has the crisis affected your business? the global pandemic to help those in immediate
need. Can you tell us about the initiatives you’ve
Covid-19 has affected every business. We were shut been doing with the Chamber in this regard?
down from 15 January, and offices reopened by the
last week of February. In my organisation, everyone Our first priority was to raise money. Regardless
was working from home. We had been working with of the wealth level of a country, there are those
our member companies for the past fifteen years that are not caught up and have been left behind.
on a plan in case of an epidemic so that they would We have raised $38 million USD, which has been
be prepared. We were perhaps the least affected distributed to those who need it most in China,
companies in China as a result of that. Cambodia, other countries and the U.S. We also
9 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
Lessons in Crisis Management:
Insight from South China
Choir at the Award Ceremony at Oslo City Hall. Photo by Oslo Business Business for Peace Award presented to Dr. Harley Seyedin by
for Peace Foundation. members of the Committee of Nobel Laureates in Peace and
Economics, Nobel Laureates Finn Kydland and Ouided Bouchamaoui,
Reprinted with permission Governing Mayor of Oslo, Raymond Johansen, and Board Chair of
By Business for Peace Foundation, Oslo, Norway Oslo Business for Peace Foundation, Per Saxegaard. Photo by Oslo
May 12, 2020 Business for Peace Foundation.
Dr. Harley Seyedin is the President of Allelon I remember an article from 2006 written by Keith
Energy Systems and President of the Bradsher, who at the time was the bureau chief for
American Chamber of Commerce in South China. the New York Times in Hong Kong. In that article,
Building a low-carbon infrastructure development he talked about the possibility of an outbreak in
business, Seyedin has always sought to promote 2006. I discussed with him the possibility of not if
a development model that is sustainable socially, an outbreak will happen, but when.
environmentally and economically. He was recognised
by the Committee of Nobel Laureates in Peace and Thanks to that discussion, we did a survey of our
Economics with the Oslo Business for Peace Award in companies on how prepared they were and we
2017 together with Elon Musk, Durreen Shahnaz and found out that they were not. We worked hard to
Murad Al-Katib. help them develop plans and we are not as affected
by this outbreak because we developed plans.
We reached him at his office in Guangzhou, China to Our preparedness and our willingness to face the
talk about the role of business leaders in aiding in the problem head-on have helped keep our employees
global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic — and safe. We have worked hard — from home.
the value of a good crisis plan.
You have been doing a lot of work in response to
How has the crisis affected your business? the global pandemic to help those in immediate
need. Can you tell us about the initiatives you’ve
Covid-19 has affected every business. We were shut been doing with the Chamber in this regard?
down from 15 January, and offices reopened by the
last week of February. In my organisation, everyone Our first priority was to raise money. Regardless
was working from home. We had been working with of the wealth level of a country, there are those
our member companies for the past fifteen years that are not caught up and have been left behind.
on a plan in case of an epidemic so that they would We have raised $38 million USD, which has been
be prepared. We were perhaps the least affected distributed to those who need it most in China,
companies in China as a result of that. Cambodia, other countries and the U.S. We also
9 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
