David Thomas

David Thomas Book as a speaker/entertainer for your next event

Key Points for David Thomas

Keynote speaker, thought leader and entrepreneur, David Thomas is the Founder and CEO of Think Global Consulting, a consulting firm which facilitates business and investment between developed and emerging markets, particularly in China.
He equips business leaders with the knowledge and tools to navigate the cross-cultural challenges involved in doing business in Asia Pacific and helps them develop their own strategy for success in the region.
David has been speaking with authority, experience and passion on global hotspots, offshore business opportunities and economic trends for over 30 years. He educates his audience on the importance of the "BRIC countries" and other emerging markets and highlights opportunities for export, investment and overseas business development.
David's speaking style is businesslike and informative yet never boring. His topic encourages the audience to think of their business in a new way, re-packaging their expertise, products and/or services for new markets and discovering offshore opportunities that they didn't know were available to them.
He has published a number of books, blogs and opinion articles on China, including; My China Insights: How Business Gets Done; Three Cups of Tea – a practical guide to building long term sustainable relationships in China and Eight Critical Steps for your China Market Entry Strategy..

Topics for David Thomas

Diversification in the Asian Century
We live in the Asian Century and western organisations face unique challenges, threats and opportunities. With the flow of people, capital and resources from China, India and South East Asia into every corner of our society, now is the time for dynamic, progressive and ambitious organisations to embrace the benefits of diversification, which include:
- Boosting creativity, diversity and innovation - fresh perspectives lead to fresh ideas which leads to new revenue streams.
- Doing business with Asia - presenting a multicultural 'face' to marketing, sales and client relationships.
- Increasing productivity and profitability - organisations with cultures that promote diversity, inclusion and collaboration get better results.
- In this interactive, challenging and illustrative presentation, you will learn:
  - Boosting creativity, diversity and innovation - fresh perspectives lead to fresh ideas which leads to new revenue streams.
  - Doing business with Asia - presenting a multicultural 'face' to marketing, sales and client relationships.
  - Increasing productivity and profitability - organisations with cultures that promote diversity, inclusion and collaboration get better results.
  - Our place in the Asian Century - past, present and future - opportunities, challenges, and risks.
  - How multi-national organisations have achieved success in Asia via diversification - case studies, anecdotes and stories.
  - The challenges of implementing diversification in the workplace - on the organisation, team and leadership levels.
Innovation and Consumption
There has never been a better time for foreign entrepreneurs and business leaders to consider entering the China market despite negative noise, media and commentary to keep you away.

China's economy today is driven by domestic consumption (now 80% of GDP growth). This is the time for foreign businesses to tap into the fast growing local demand for world class products, goods and services.

China invests more money in innovation (USD60 billion) than any other country in the world and is determined to become a global leader in areas like high value manufacturing, healthcare, environmental protection, technology and education. Foreign entrepreneurs must now participate in this innovation story.

China has the money and the market to transform the lives of foreign entrepreneurs and business leaders who are willing to invest the time, money and effort.

Examples of Keynote topics on Innovation:
- Innovation in the Asian Century - How China is transforming an industry near you.
- From Shanzhai to Shanghai - How China leapt from imitation to innovation.
- Bringing China to You - How to do business with China without leaving home.
Leadership
Whilst IQ, and more recently EQ, were once regarded as the highest and most sought after qualities of leaders in western organisations, future leaders will be selected and judged by their levels of "CQ" i.e. "Cultural Intelligence", including their ability and aptitude for managing teams from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, overseeing cross-cultural communications, and handling cross-border negotiations and transactions. Very few of these skills are taught in western educational institutions and much of this has to be learnt from experience, trial and error, and listening to those who have done it all before.

David Thomas has spent the last 30 years living, working and managing relationships in the Asia Pacific region, including leading numerous missions, delegations and study tours to China designed to support western leaders on the ground and to highlight and address some of the cross-cultural challenges for their business and their teams, which always makes the difference between success and failure.

Examples of keynote topics on Leadership:
- Three Cups of Tea - A 3 step process to building trusted relationships in Asia.
- From IQ to EQ to CQ - Why all leaders need to develop 'Cultural Intelligence' (CQ).
- The Cultural Mirror - Practical steps tp cro-cultural communications, negotiation and transactions.
Future Trends
We live in the Asian Century, with China as the growth engine, and the next 50 years will see many industries disrupted by Chinese consumerism, innovations and aspiration. Many services industries, including healthcare, retail, luxury, travel, education and food are already affected by the rise of China's middle class, together with their massive investment in technology, R&D, e-commerce and AI.

All business leaders and managers need to be aware of the likely impact on their industries and organisations from these disruptive forces and the opportunities it creates for them to develop a new cultural mindset and a Shina engagement strategy.

David Thomas is an experienced and dynamic speaker who will bring this topic to life at your next conference or evwnt and a thought leader who lives and breathes the China growth story at ground level.

Examples of keynote topics on Future Trends:
- China in the Asian Century - What this means for you, your industry and your business?
- Bringing China to You - The Inbound Opportunity.
- The 8 Critical Steps to developing your China strategy.
Globalisation
David Thomas is well known within the Asia Pacific region for his passion and experience for investing and doing business in emerging markets, notably the four "BRIC countries" (Brazil, Russia, India and China) plus the growing influence of China as the engine of global economic growth and the rise of the Asian middle class. Having lived in Asia for the last 30 years, he literally lives and breathes emerging markets. His broad and diverse experience includes:
- designing, organizing and leading research and study tours for professional asset managers to each of the four BRIC countries.
- for five years on the Advisory Board of the Emerging Markets Masters Fund, he has direct hands-on experience of investing in emerging markets (including overseeing asset allocation, fund selection, currency and stock analysis etc.)
- regularly travelling around Asia working with entrepreneurs and investors to review and select new opportunities in emerging businesses.
  
  Examples of keynote topics on Globalisation:
- Building with the new BRICS - Why the BRIC countries are the long term future.
- BRIC - Unlock the unique business and investment opportunities in each BRIC country.
- Think Global, Act Local - Invest in global emerging markets.

Testimonials for David Thomas

The presentation was absolutely amazing. His ability to provide us with a very entertaining mix of history, economics, social development and future trends was exceptional...
CEO
Jellis Craig

David was the highlight of our recent real estate event for business owners. He provided loads of practical tips on how to embrace the opportunities in China...
Head of Growth and Client Engagement
Real Estate Results

I just wanted to pass on my sincere thanks for your excellent presentation to our senior bankers and customers on China and India. The feedback from the session has been overwhelming.
Former Head of International Products
Westpac Banking Corp

David delivered a great speech at the Business of Real Estate conference this year on developing positive business relationships with Chinese, by understanding culture - insightful & interesting.
CEO
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand

David spoke at our Directors Conference in Hong Kong in June this year. The presentation was absolutely amazing. His ability to provide us with a very entertaining mix of history, economics, social development and future trends was exceptional. He also provided a great mix of content very relevant to our industry as well as general content that was both fascinating and educational for any business person.
CEO
Jellis Craig

David was the highlight of our recent real estate event for business owners. He provided loads of practical tips on how to embrace the opportunities in China. His talk was highly relevant , entertaining (lots of brilliant English humour) and everyone walked away with ideas they can use immediately in their business to make the most of the Chinese market.
Head of Growth & Client Engagement
Real Estate Results

Having recently travelled the breadth of the country to listen to leading edge speakers in regards to real estate, I found your presentation extremely refreshing and addressed in very straightforward and easy to understand and implement, format. Your presentation was very pertinent and inspiring with regards to many areas of our business and how we present ourselves to the Chinese market.
Owner
Mark Hay Realty

David recently presented at a client function on China's 12th Five Year Plan. His presentation was engaging and delivered in a relaxed manner and was well received by our clients. His insights into the China economy and future plans were enlightening even to our China delegates.
Regional Sector Head Consumer & Retail
DHL GLobal Forwarding

David Thomas recently spoke at one of our conferences and we had some great feedback from our participants. His presentation was described as cutting edge, insightful, highly researched and thought-provoking. So if you are looking for a speaker with ideas about the best way to take a business or any idea global, then David is someone that you definitely need to get to know and work with.
Founder & CEO
Business Blueprint

We had David presenting at our National Conference this year and he really knows his stuff. Feedback from his session was excellent and there’s little doubt that he’s the master of this topic. We look forward to hearing more from David.
Founder & Director
Flying Solo

I just wanted to pass on my sincere thanks for your excellent presentation to our senior bankers and customers on China and India. The feedback from the session has been overwhelmingly positive. The energy and clear insight that you brought to the Masterclass was a real strength. I look forward to continuing to work together on future events.
Former Head of International Products
Westpac Banking Corp

When building a bespoke forum and study tour experience out of Hong Kong for our Practice Principals, it was clear we needed to engage a China expert. Someone with a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the region and who would be able to translate these into learnings relevant to the Australian advice professional and business owner. All roads led us to David and from the outset his knowledge and willingness to open doors for us proved invaluable. We also had David address our group as a keynote speaker which rated as one of the standout sessions of the program. We were thrilled with David's contribution to the success of the Magnitude Principals Forum and hope to work with him again in the future.
National Manager
Licensee and Offer Development at BT Group Licensees

Thank you again for your well researched and informative presentation at the ATEC Meeting Place conference last week. Your presentation on the BRIC economies and with a twist on the tourism opportunities was well received by our members, and I had much positive comment at the event and over email in the last few days on the quality of your presentation.
Deputy CEO
Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC)

“ am truly grateful for the professional way you conducted yourself, your direction and input into the China Australia Business Congress 2009 throughout the two days. Your depth of knowledge in the China / Australia theatre added enormous value to the delegation as you were able to quickly summarise each session with confidence, clarity and relevance. It is my sincere hope I may call on you again for your guidance and participation to enable us produce another quality event which we can build on from the success of our inaugural China Australia Business Congress in Sydney in May 2009. Your position as Chair for this event enabled the Congress to run smoothly, professionally and seamlessly and I look forward to working with you again very soon.
Conference Director
Association & Communication Events

The University of Technology Sydney recently had the privilege of David Thomas presenting to its students studying Business and Culture in Asia Pacific (BCAP). To hear from an industry specialist is a significant benefit for students. With conviction I highly recommend David as a speaker. His knowledge and practical understanding of the dynamics of these two significant markets is outstanding. David's presentation was topical, insightful, thought provoking and certainly created much discussion. His style is relaxed yet focussed delivered with great enthusiasm and humour. Thank you David for a great evening - it was a pleasure to listen to you.
Marketing Operations Lead
IBM Australia Ltd

David's unique insight into our changing world is a message worth tuning into. An engaging speaker, his well-informed presentation on emerging markets will enlighten and galvanise! I recommend David to those who are looking at global expansion, particularly business development in China as well as in other countries in the region.
MLC

I just wanted to pass on my sincere thanks for your excellent presentation to our senior bankers and customers on China and India. The feedback from the session has been overwhelmingly positive. The energy and clear insight that you brought to the Masterclass was a real strength. I look forward to continuing to work together on future events.
Head of International Products
Westpac Banking Corp.

Joining the Think Global China tour was the best business decision I’ve made this year. I went on the tour with an objective of quickly immersing myself into Chinese business culture so I could understand the growing focus on this marketplace amongst my Australian clients. The insights from the trip have profoundly changed the way I look at China, and other BRIC economies. The bonus for me from this experience was emerging with a range of immediate business and partnership opportunities in a market I had only intended to explore this year. David Thomas and his Think Global operation are unique in their expertise and the quality of their offering. They provide a service that I strongly recommend to any executive needing to quickly wrap their mind around and / or penetrate the BRIC marketplace.
Director
The Launch Group

I met David Thomas when he was the Guest Speaker at a MBA class on Business & Culture in Asia Pacific. I was inspired by his talk and signed up immediately for his eNewsletter. Now that I myself are living and working in India, I more than ever look forward to receiving David’s newsletters. His commentary on this exciting, emerging market is always spot on and his insights into the possibilities of doing business with and in India are extremely relevant & valuable.
Vice President
Franchise India

David encourages fellow professionals to seek further education and experiences in environments that are not readily available or accessible. The speakers and material that have been presented by Think Global are first class & I encourage other professionals to take the journey.
Head of Retail
Schroders

David is a deep thinking, well organised person who has a depth and breadth of knowledge in the business services and particularly the financial services sector that would be a wonderful asset for any organisation seeking to expand their business.
Owner
Barnes Dowell James

We contacted David Thomas at Think Global Consulting to help us resolve contractual difficulties we were facing with our Chinese technology partners. We secured David's services in order to provide some expertise and direct coaching to our teams and personally to our CFO and myself. These sessions revolved around some cultural learnings and an adaptation of what we saw as legal issues into 'relationship challenges' with our Chinese partners. We took on board David's advice and, accordingly, adapted our direction and strategy in all of our dealings with China. Within what was an astoundingly short period of time, the strength was restored to the relationship and, today, that relationship has developed into a partnership which represents one of the key cornerstones of Blueprint's business. Without a doubt, David's expertise was the key element in this success. We would not hesitate to recommend David to organisations with objectives which include expansion into Asia.
Group CEO
Blueprint Management Group

Our organisation, a major financial services firm, recently engaged David Thomas to present at our national professional development days across the country. The brief was simple, though the task was complex. We wanted our advisers to gain an international perspective, particularly on the BRIC countries and their potential impact on the Australian economy. This was to have a particular focus on China and it’s impact on our long term recovery. David produced an extremely interesting presentation, which thoroughly engaged his audience. His technical understanding coupled with on the ground experience provided insights that soon had our advisers asking questions and taking note of what he had to say. The feedback across the country has been very positive and we are looking at how we can use David again in the future.
Professional Development Manager

David Thomas has been a constant support to CIPS over the last two years. His expertise on China & BRIC countries is much appreciated. His recent speech at our Strategic Procurement Forum in Perth [May 09] was relevant, informative, engaging and well received by a demanding audience of senior procurement professionals – many from the resources sector.
Managing Director
CIPS Australia

The Australian Institute of Export ran a very successful event for the NSW Export community in Sydney on March 25th, 2009. Our MC for the event, where the theme was a focus on the BRIC countries and their trade potential, was David Thomas. David has a particularly strong interest in this group of countries, and his knowledge and enthusiasm for the opportunities came through loud and clear. David’s presentation was sharp, focused, and built on key facts and figures; and gave all who attended a wonderful insight into those four countries. As MC, David also had the role of “interviewing” two established and well known exporters about their experiences with the BRIC countries. Again David’s knowledge and insightful questioning allowed all present to really benefit from the experiences of these export panelists. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working with David for that event, and plan to collaborate on a number of future opportunities. Accordingly we acknowledge David’s skills as a first class facilitator, and commentator, in his areas of expertise, and would recommend him to others seeking that expertise.
General Manager
Australian Institute of Export