David Thomas

Speaker, Business Futurist, BRIC Expert, Entrepreneur, Facilitator & Global Networker, David Thomas is well known in the Asia Pacific region for his experience, credibility and passion for identifying, building and facilitating business and investment relationships between developed and emerging countries.

His unique experience and powerful networks have accumulated over a 30 year career in London, Hong Kong and Sydney. He managed his own financial services business in Hong Kong for 8 years (1987 - 1995) which provided unique insights and first hand experience of the changing landscape within the Asia Pacific region, particularly the opening up of China, the rise of Japan and the Asian tigers, and the emergence of India. More recently, his influence and activities have extended to Latin America and Eastern Europe driven by his interest and passion for the economic potential and growing influence of the four "BRIC countries" (Brazil, Russia, India and China).

As well as working with companies within many industry sectors (e.g. retail, professional services, manufacturing, food, education, publishing, design and technology) David continues to support financial services companies seeking to expand their global footprint, leveraging business and investment networks throughout the region, leading an annual mission to the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong, and as the Chairman of the Australasian Financial Forum in Australia.

David challenges his audiences and clients to view the world differently and to see new economic trends and influences as an opportunity for leading businesses, investors and entrepreneurs to profit from the new emerging markets of the 21st Century.

David's keynote topics include:

Future Markets. Follow the Money... and discover new opportunities, markets and customers for your product or service.
- An insight into how and where to do business offshore
- Ideas on how to attract new customers, develop new revenue streams and generate higher profits from emerging markets
- The importance of making high value connections with key influencers in new markets

Business destinations of the 21st Century
 - How the world has changed and why this matters
 - Why the BRIC countries will be the next economic super-powers
 - What this emans for every successful business today
 - How you can profit without risking everything

The secrets of doing business in Asia
 - How Asian markets - how they differ and how they are the same
 - Why companies succeeed and fail in Asia
 - Where are the opportunities for Australian companies
 - How can you maximise your chances of success

Bridging the cross- cultural divide
 - What we learn from the cultural mirror
 - How cultural differences influence business behaviour
 - The do's and don'ts of managing cross-cultural teams, behaviours and relationships
 - Strategies to put in practice immediately

 

David is able to tailor his presentation to a wide range of audiences and industries with a focus on any or all of the following topics:

• Global and Economic Trends
• Business Growth Opportunities in Asia
• The importance of the "BRIC countries" (Brazil, Russia, India and China)
• The Asian Century
• The Emerging Markets story for Business and Investment
• The New BRIC Consumer
• The New Economies of the 21st Century
• Doing Business with China and/or India
• Follow the Money and Discover New Opportunities, Markets and Customers for your Product or Service.
  

David provides his audiences with:

• an insight into how and where to do business offshore
• a motivation to generate revenue streams and higher profits from emerging markets
• the ideas and inspiration to attract new customers from new offshore markets
• the tools and know-how to manage cross-cultural challenges
  

The world is changing at a rapid rate and an increased awareness of opportunities in new emerging markets will be the key to success and growth in the years ahead.

David is constantly travelling, observing and uncovering new opportunities.  He has many stories to tell and ideas to share which are always insightful and ahead of the pack.

 

Client Ovations: David was a keynote speaker at our Danish CFO Agenda conference in Copenhagen, where we gathered 200 CFOs and finance leaders from large Danish companies for a day of inspiration and discussion. David gave the opening speech on BRIC and why this is interesting and why we all need to factor it into our plans. He also had a break out session on "Doing business in India", where a smaller group were asking questions and discussing various aspects of doing or planning to do business in India. The feedback forms indicated that the delegates were all very positive about the performance and content delivered by David. He is a great speaker and facilitator and very knowledgeable on the topic of BRIC.

Dorthe Harding Keilberg, Partner, Deloitte Consulting A/S, Denmark

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.

Manchel Penilla, 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.

Rachel Slade, 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.

Fleur Brown, 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 am 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.

Sally Barnes, 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.

Adrian Whittingham, Head of Retail, Schroders

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.

Mike Adams, 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 its 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.

Alan Broom, Professional Development Manager, Hillross Financial Services

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.

Jonathan Dutton, 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.

Peter Mace, General Manager, Australian Institute of Export

David is a great presenter and an expert in his field. He has an amazing depth of knowledge and is very easy to work with. He will put a great amount of effort into ensuring that your audience leaves with meaningful key messages that relate to their business

Marketing and Events Manager, Russell Investments