Forging Resilience: Reimagining Global Trade Flows for a New Era

Asia House, in partnership with the McKinsey Global Institute, is producing a high-level conference to discuss trends related to global flows and the intricacies of global supply chain management.   The conference will explore the impact of geopolitics, technology, trade deals and new trading patterns on the flow of goods, services, capital, people, data, and ideas.  Nusrat Ghani, UK Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade and Minister for Industry and Economic Security, will deliver the keynote address, while further insights will be provided by the Philippines’ Assistant Trade Secretary and senior business leaders from Boeing, HSBC, Pernod Ricard and Reckitt.

The conference will examine how businesses can navigate these turbulent times to forge resilience in global supply chains. Further, the event will explore the roles that regional economic blocs and groups such as ASEAN can play in supporting businesses to build that resilience and reduce supply concentration.

The agenda for the conference is as follows:

• Introductory remarks by Asia House Chief Executive Michael Lawrence OBE
• Keynote remarks by UK Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade Nusrat Ghani MP
• Presentation on interdependence in the global economy by McKinsey Global Institute Partner Jeongmin Seong
• Panel discussion and Q&A with:
  • HSBC Head of Global Trade and Receivables Finance Vivek Ramachandran
  • Pernod Ricard Head of International Trade Darya Galperina
  • Boeing Director of Supply Chain Asia Craig Abler (dialling in from Beijing)
  • Philippine Department of Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary Allan B. Gepty (dialling in from Manila)
• In conversation with Reckitt Chief Supply Officer Sami Naffakh
• Closing remarks by Asia House Chief Executive Michael Lawrence OBE

IN PERSON

If you would like to attend at Asia House please email Thomas Scott-Bell, Programme Producer thomas.scott-bell@asiahouse.co.uk

To register for online attendance please click here

SPEAKERS INCLUDE

Nusrat Ghani MP is the UK Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade, Minister of State for the Investment Security Unit, and Minister for Industry and Economic Security. She was previously Minister of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 27 October 2022 to 7 February 2023, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport from January 2018 to February 2020.

Minister Ghani continues to be responsible for the Investment Security Unit, which is responsible for identifying, addressing and mitigating national security risks to the UK arising when a person gains control of a qualifying asset or qualifying entity as set out in the National Security and Investment Act.

Jeongmin Seong is a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), McKinsey Global Institute’s business and economics research arm. He leads MGI research teams in China, working on global as well as China-focused themes. Jeongmin’s recent research has focused on technology, innovation and China’s economic transition. He has co-authored several MGI reports and discussion papers.

Prior to joining MGI, Jeongmin worked with companies around the world focusing on consumer facing industries including consumer electronics, retail, and automotive as an associate partner at McKinsey’s Greater China office. Jeongmin also led McKinsey’s emerging market growth service line.

Prior to joining McKinsey Shanghai office, Jeongmin worked as a product marketing manager at Dell China. Jeongmin is a graduate of Harvard Business School where he received his MBA degree.

Sami Naffakh is Chief Supply Officer at Reckitt, having re-joined in July 2020. Sami’s responsibilities include global oversight of Reckitt’s end to end supply chain operations, as well as the advancement of Quality and Health & Safety functions. Sami has over 25 years of international leadership experience in fast moving consumer goods companies such as Unilever, Danone and Estee Lauder – as well as Reckitt where he held several leadership positions from 2003 to 2009. Most recently, Sami was Executive Vice President at Arla Foods, the Danish farmer-owned dairy cooperative, where he headed up supply chain operations globally.

Vivek Ramachandran is the Head of Global Trade and Receivables Finance at HSBC. Vivek first joined HSBC in 2015 as Global Head of Product and Propositions for GTRF, and subsequently became Global Head of Growth & Innovation for HSBC Commercial Banking. He also previously ran the Global Transaction Banking business at Barclays, and held senior management positions at Lloyds. Since 2019 Vivek has been CEO of Serai, the HSBC-founded venture based in Hong Kong, which operates as a separate entity delivering a B2B supply chain platform.

Darya Galperina is the Head of International Trade at Pernod Ricard. She joined the company in 2010 and leads the company’s strategy on international policy matters, including trade and geopolitics, and represents Pernod Ricard at a range of international policy institutions. She chairs the international trade committee of European spirits association, spiritsEUROPE, and she is a board member of the World Spirits Alliance, an international trade association dedicated to representing the views and interests of the spirits sector at global level. Since 2019 she is also a French Foreign Trade Advisor appointed by the Prime Minister of France.

Craig Abler is the Director of Supply Chain Asia at Boeing. In this role, his primary responsibility is developing and executing company-level strategies for Asia. This includes identifying new market opportunities, maintaining supplier relationships, and supporting production. Previously, Craig served as the Director of Manufacturing Strategy & Standards in Enterprise Manufacturing & Supplier Performance responsible for integrating manufacturing strategies, standards, and priorities across the enterprise. Beginning his Boeing career in 2006 in what is now Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T), Craig has served in international and domestic roles of increasing responsibility, including 787 Engineering, Supplier Management Field Operations, BCA Fabrication and Airplane Program Quality, and BCA Fabrication Manufacturing Business Unit Leadership.

Allan B. Gepty is the Assistant Secretary for Industry Development and Trade Policy at the Department of Trade and Industry, The Philippines. His main portfolio is international trade policy and trade negotiations at the bilateral, regional, and multilateral levels. Assistant Secretary Gepty was the Philippines’ lead negotiator in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement, considered the largest free trade deal in the world. He is also the country’s Senior Economic Official at the ASEAN. He was a former Deputy Director-General of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines and Commissioner of the Philippine Tariff Commission. Assistant Secretary Gepty is a lawyer by profession with diverse experience in international trade, intellectual property, public international law, commercial law, and litigation. He is a member of the Supreme Court of the Philippines’ Sub-Committee for the Revision of the Rules of Procedure for Intellectual Property Rights Cases.

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