Date: Monday, 27 April 2009

The world remains mired in an economic slowdown, yet foreign investor interest in the China market remains at an all-time high. Doing business in China is fraught with risk but also offers unparalleled opportunity.

Seasoned China business journalist and author Laurie Underwood will share her practical observations about how successful CEOs and entrepreneurs have overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to find the road to success in the China market. She will use real-life case studies from her books CHINA CEO and CHINA ENTREPRENEUR to show how expatriate businessmen and women have overcome a host of problems including: working with the Chinese government, communicating with the overseas headquarters, protecting IPR, maintaining ethical integrity and learning to negotiate, China-style.

About the Speaker(s)

Laurie Underwood has worked as a business journalist, editor and writer in Greater China since 1989. She worked in Taipei from 1989 to 2001, reporting on business, politics and social issues for AsiaWeek, ICRT and the Economist Intelligence Unit before relocating to Shanghai following a wave of business interest in China’s fastest-developing commercial center. After she received a Masters in Business Administration from the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai in 2003, she served as Communications Director for the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai for three years. In 2006, she co-authored CHINA CEO: Voices of Experience from 20 International Business Leaders. In 2009, she co-authored CHINA ENTREPRENEUR: Voices of Experience from 40 Business Pioneers. She is now Director of External Communications and Development for CEIBS in Shanghai. She spends her free time trying to understand the homework – and text messages – of her 11- and 13-year-old.