Back from East Asia

Hi Gang,

The last several months have been very busy:

My second leadership book, “Becoming the Best” was published and I am giving a lot of leadership talks to companies, associations, and colleges all over the world. I enjoy the interaction with many different groups and the opportunity to contribute to the One Acre Fund (www.oneacrefund.org)
I am teaching in many Kellogg programs (full time, part time, EMBA and exec programs)…I love teaching because it always reminds me that I really don’t understand something well until I can explain it clearly to a group of bright students or executives.
Madison Dearborn Partners (the private equity firm where I am an Executive partner) has been very active doing healthcare deals…never a dull moment!!

My “partner in crime”, Khalid Ali (Kellogg 2014) has been fantastic posting my articles, podcasts and pictures to my web site, so I thought I was in pretty good shape and could relax a little.

However, Khalid’s view is somewhat different: “Professor Kraemer, when are you going to write another blog post????” (Yes, it is clear that Mr. Ali keeps me on a short leash 😉 )

Okay, so here we go!!!

I just returned from a great trip to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. I was able to bring my youngest daughter, Diane, with me which really made it a fantastic trip!

I was fortunate to attend the Kellogg-HKUST 17 EMBA graduation in Hong Kong. The 47 graduates were from 22 countries…a very talented group of executives. (see article here: HKUST Kellogg Article)

I also had the opportunity to meet with Kellogg alums in Shanghai and Beijing. It is truly amazing to see the growth in Shanghai and Beijing, and the many areas in which the Kellogg alums are contributing to the global economy. While we continuously read that the growth in China has significantly slowed, it is important to put things in perspective. Even if the annual growth rate in China slows to 6-7%, the growth rate is two to three times faster than the growth in the U.S. or Europe. It is clear that the size of the China economy will surpass the size of the U.S. economy in the next several years.

The best part of the trip was spending time with Diane! We had the opportunity to visit the Forbidden City and the Great Wall……truly remarkable.

Well, that’s it until next week!!!