Part One:
I had the opportunity to participate in Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Leadership Forum for Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) in Bangkok, Thailand. Jaime Valles, the APJ leader (and also a Kellogg EMBA alum), organized the summit for more than 1,000 leaders from 16 countries. The focus of the meeting was on the importance of learning to lead yourself so you are fully prepared to lead the APJ team of 15,000 across the region.
The APJ leaders were highly engaged for all three days of the meeting. It really was an honor to be a speaker and participate in the meetings and breakout sessions.
It was clear that Jaime has the team focused on the importance of self-development as well as the importance of having a sense of urgency and speed, as stated by Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassey:
Part Two:
Wherever I am traveling in the world, I love connecting with alumni from Kellogg and other Northwestern schools. The trip to Bangkok was another great example.
Subhasakdi Krishnamra (Bee), the NU Club president in Bangkok, and members of his team including Anothai, Tum, and Wiwan, organized a wonderful dinner and a great chance to catch up with fellow alums that I have not seen for several years. We plan to arrange a zoom call with the entire Kellogg and NU alum team in Thailand in the next few weeks (Thanks Bee!!)
Part Three:
A wonderful advantage to the trip was that Julie was able to come with me. We had the opportunity to visit several sites in Bangkok. In addition, we were very fortunate that one of my former Kellogg students, M Thiraya (Kellogg 2014), took us on an amazing trip to various locations, including the Ayutthaya Historical Park. (Thanks M!!!)
Julie and I had a great time and even ran into some local royalty – who just happen to have an uncanny resemblance to the two of us…! 🤣🤣
Here’s wishing everyone a great week!
