What does it mean to be a Corporate Network member?
Here are five typical experiences of Economist Corporate Network members. Each one illustrates a different aspect of membership. Similar stories are happening every week of every year, right across the Network, from Beijing to Singapore, Warsaw to Vilnius, Riyadh to Nairobi.
New to China
A recent member of Corporate Network, this senior vice-president of a large American IT company has just been given China as part of his portfolio. He needs to get up to speed quickly on the country, the culture and the business climate, so he attends a Corporate Network meeting focusing on China. At the meeting, he hears five local business leaders speak on different aspects of China’s operating environment and provide economic and political forecasts. In just a couple of hours he gains a true insider’s view of the realities of running a business on the ground in China, and he makes some important contacts for benchmarking performance.
A visit from the global CEO
An MD of a Russian energy company is preparing for a visit from his global CEO. For some time now, global HQ has been setting aggressive growth targets that don’t reflect the true picture in Russia. He wants to give the CEO a neutral, non-partisan analysis of the operating picture in Russia. This will help him manage HQ expectations and gain credibility within the global business. So he arranges for his Corporate Network director to present to the CEO at his company’s Moscow offices. The Corporate Network director draws on sources ranging from Economist Group research to her own discussions with other member companies. She offers opinion, data and analysis that together validate the MD’s view of local business conditions.
Briefed before breakfast
Preparing for a breakfast meeting with a new client, this member logs on to the Corporate Network website from his hotel in Tokyo. He quickly finds the data he’s looking for – statistics on the Japanese economy that will help him negotiate an important deal. While he’s downloading the data, he joins a discussion in the members’ lounge on a new set of government GDP forecasts. One of his regular contacts e-mails him a link to a useful article. With the data and graphs downloaded and plugged into his presentation he is ready to go, with the facts he needs to support his position.
Insight by telephone
This long-time member runs a pharmaceuticals company in the Czech Republic. She has read a newspaper article discussing a new economic stimulus package. She wants our opinion on whether any money would be channelled into the healthcare sector, ahead of a meeting with her regional sales team. During a 15-minute phone call with her Corporate Network director, she gets an insight into the likely distribution of the stimulus package. She trusts the director’s opinions as they are based on his experience and high-level contacts among business leaders and policymakers.
An introduction made easy
The CFO of a manufacturer based in Singapore is planning to attend a regional meeting where he knows a finance director from a retailer will also be present. He wants to discuss a range of HR issues, including hiring new staff, taking on contract workers and outsourcing part of their HR operation. So at the meeting he asks his Corporate Network director to introduce him to the finance director to learn how other companies are meeting the challenges, from labour availability to drafting contracts. As a trusted advisor to each executive, our director introduces them, explaining the context of the meeting. In this way, the hard work is removed from the networking process, and both members can concentrate on exchanging business intelligence and insights.