How does a Western firm maintain its competitiveness and select the appropriate business strategy option? James Waite, a veteran of running manufacturing operations in China, presents lessons learned from the shop floor.
Despite the continued popularity of China as a manufacturing base for Western firms, the operating environment is evolving in its complexity due to wage inflation, competition from other East Asian countries, re-shoring to North America, the slowdown in the Chinese economy, and the increasing sophistication of Chinese firms themselves.
How does a Western firm maintain its competitiveness and select the appropriate business strategy option? James Waite, a veteran of running manufacturing operations in China, presents lessons learned from the shop floor.
Where
Gleacher Center
Midway Club Boardroom, Fifth Floor
450 N. Cityfront Plaza
Chicago, Illinois
Driving Directions:
www.gleachercenter.com
Cost
No Charge
Registration
Register Online
NOTE ON PARKING
300 East Illinois Street (AMC Theater-River East Self Park Garage)
$6.00 after 3:00 pm on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday for a 12-hour period
Garage: Self Park Facility
Payment: Automated; at pay-stations by cash or credit card or upon exit pay by credit card only.
To receive discounted rate: There is a card validator at the first floor security desk of the Gleacher Center. You will only need to insert your parking card in the validator and the new price will be automatically applied. When you leave the lot you will be charged for the lower $6.00 fee.
Detailed Directions:
Garage is located next to PJ Clarks and below the AMC Theater.
a) When traveling east on Illinois cross over Columbus and enter the Garage on the left (north) side of the street
b) If driving west on Grand (north of Theater), you can enter the garage ½ block before Columbus on the left (south) side of the street.
Deadline: 6/20/2013
Program
6:00 PM-6:30 PM: networking
6:30 PM-8:00 PM: presentation
8:00 PM-9:00 PM: drinks at The Midway Club, Fifth Floor
Speaker Profiles
James L. Waite (Speaker)
Managing Director, OPS-Asia
www.ops-asia.com
An accomplished executive with 25 plus years of experience in consulting, general management, manufacturing, and engineering. Mr. Waite is a progressive leader with extensive experience in starting and growing businesses in Asia, developing strong cross functional international teams, improving complex processes, and enabling supply chain excellence to create competitive advantages.
For the past 13 years, Mr. Waite has lived and worked in China with these market-leading USA companies:
• Weber-Stephens Products Co (Weber® grills): Established and managed a Supply Chain operation
• Sloan Valve Company (building products): Pioneered a greenfield WFOE startup, and grew it to profitability
• Watts Industries (industrial products for oil and gas): Grew a startup JV to profitability.
Mr. Waite has a MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management and BS in Civil Engineering from Tri-State University. Mr. Waite has been active in the American Chamber of Commerce and was the chairman of the Suzhou branch of the Shanghai American Chamber of Commerce.
Questions
Karl L. Buschmann, '85
Co-Chairman
847 310 0412
Other Information
NEW OFFERING: LITERATURE TABLE
Networking is a key benefit of attending. To that end, a table will be made available for literature and handouts. Bring your business cards, brochures, handbills, literature, resumes, and publicity for placement on the table.
NEED FOR CO-CHAIRS
The Leadership Team welcomes inquiries from Booth alumni who would like to get more involved in running the International Roundtable. Responsibilities include:
--Regular attendance
--Programming: identifying interesting topics and securing speakers
--Administration: writing publicity, publicizing events through the University and roundtable email distribution list channels, and coordinating with the Alumni Office
--Working with the Leadership Team of Karl Buschmann, Linda Chow, Sophia Kholodenko, and Ernie Norrman
CHICAGOLAND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EVENTS
The Illinois International Business Calendar is one of the comprehensive lists of events in the Chicago area. For a free PDF copy, send an inquiry to info@itagc.org. The calendar can also be viewed at www.itagc.org. for Speakers? Contact the Leadership Team
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Questions/Concerns/Suggestions
Karl L. Buschmann
kbuschma@ChicagoBooth.edu
847 310 0412
Linda Chow
lchow@chicagobooth.edu
630 673 3256
Sophia Kholodenko
skholode@uchicago.edu
773 702 0783
Ernie Norrman
enorrman@chicagobooth.edu
847 322 7227
To subscribe – or unsubscribe – to the International Roundtable Publicity Distribution List:
http://gsblistmail.uchicago.edu/mailman/listinfo/internationalroundtable
Career Management:
In transition? Looking for a job? Come to the networking session for information exchange.
Upcoming Sessions
Mark your calendar for upcoming International Roundtable sessions on the third Thursday of the month in 2013.