It has been more than three years since most CCBC members’ last trips to China, and now that quarantine-free bilateral travel is possible again, it is possible that some business travellers have lost their China travel “muscle memory.” On Thursday, April 13, 2023, CCBC Executive Director Sarah Kutulakos hosted members in Vancouver for an interactive session on the different aspects of the return to travel. Topics included stories from trailblazers (members who have already been there and back), travel health for China and other Asia-Pacific countries, and the return of students, tourists, and inbound business travelers and the infrastructure that needed to support them.

 

The esteemed lineup of speakers included Bernard Chan, Associate Director of Student Recruitment and Admissions at Simon Fraser University; Joseph Cooke, Co-Founder and President of WPIC Marketing + Technologies; Dr. Samuel Gutman, President and Founder of Rockdoc Consulting Inc.; Travis Joern, Director of Asia Market Communications at Forestry Innovation Investment; and Joyce Lee, Partner and Chair of Asia Practice at McCarthy Tétrault. Tickets were $25 + tax for CCBC members; $50 + tax for non-members.

 

About the Speakers:

 

Bernard Chan
Associate Director, Student Recruitment | Student Recruitment & Admissions
Simon Fraser University

 

Bernard Chan is the Associate Director of Student Recruitment at Simon Fraser University, one of Canada’s top public research universities with campuses in Burnaby, Surrey, and Vancouver. Bernard leads a team of recruitment professionals dedicated to supporting and inspiring students in Canada and around the world, as they prepare for their journeys in higher education.

 

Born in Hong Kong and raised in Singapore, Bernard is a passionate advocate for higher education internationalisation that is ethical, sustainable, and student-centred. He himself moved to Canada in 2014 as an international student, and subsequently earned a Masters of Education at The University of British Columbia. Throughout his career, Bernard has supported and spearheaded campus diversification and internationalisation initiatives at public universities in Canada, Japan, and Hong Kong. In his current role at SFU, he is focused on re-centering the university’s student domestic and international recruitment operations to meet the challenges of a post-COVID environment, and supporting strategic enrollment measures that prioritises student success and their overall wellbeing.

 

 

Joseph Cooke
Co-Founder and President
WPIC Marketing + Technologies

 

Joseph Cooke is the Co-Founder and President of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, a leading e-commerce and technology consultancy that drives growth for global brands in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

 

As President and co-founder, Joseph is a driving force behind WPIC’s global business development, strategic planning, and deployment of cross-border projects that enable organizations from around the world to achieve their goals in Asia. Joseph has been the recipient of a number of awards, including: C.I.B.C.’s Top Entrepreneur Award; finalist for E.Y.’s 2021 Entrepreneur of The Year Award; gold-medal winner of CCBC’s 2022 Canada China Business Excellence Award; and the 2021 BIV 40 Under 40 award.

 

 

Dr. Samuel Gutman
President & Founder
Rockdoc Consulting Inc.

 

Dr. Gutman is the President and Founder of Rockdoc Consulting Inc., an ER physician with over 30 years of experience and additional certifications in Sports Medicine and Family Medicine. He is a member of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. His experience includes building out a network of personalized private healthcare clinics and caring for some of the most well-known celebrities and entertainers around the globe, as well as top business and thought leaders.

 

Dr. Gutman is the most experienced Medical Director for Mass Gatherings in Canada. He has designed and operated medical and emergency programs for numerous large-scale mass gatherings. He provides medical direction for oil and gas projects and remote medical camps, as well as a large maximum security urban corrections facility.

 

In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, Dr. Gutman led Rockdoc to create its Virtual Travel Medicine Clinics to provide travelers cost effective and convenient access to Travel Medicine experts for consultations, medications, and vaccinations that meet the requirements for entry and safe travel to China and regional destinations.

 

 

Travis Joern
Director, Asia Market Communications
Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd.

 

Travis Joern is the Director of Asian Market Communications for BC Forestry Innovation Investment (FII), supporting the market analysis and operations reporting for the Canadian forest products industries in China, India and Vietnam. FII works with Canada Wood in those markets to provide technical exchanges on advanced applications for wood in construction and manufacturing industries.

 

Travis has been engaged with Chinese markets since 2001. Prior to his current role at FII, Travis served as the Managing Partner at Traverse Global Consulting, as the Managing Director for the Canada China Business Council, worked in the cultural sector in Beijing, and published academic articles on Chinese history at McGill University. Over his career, Travis has coordinated high-level programs for both Chinese and Canadian government officials of key federal, provincial and sectoral trade missions. He has worked with hundreds of companies on trade policies, regulations and market development strategies. Travis served as the Vice Chair of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, a board member for the charity Educating Girls of Rural China (EGRC), as a special advisor to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Pearl River Delta and a member the Canadian Creative Industries Advisory Group in Shanghai.

 

 

Sarah Kutulakos
Executive Director & COO
Canada China Business Council

 

Sarah joined the CCBC in 2007 and has since revitalized CCBC’s role as Canada’s premier bilateral trade and investment organization. Sarah has re-centered the Council’s activities around providing business services, catalyzing business growth and activity, and advocating for stronger Sino-Canadian bilateral trade and investment. This has resulted in extensive public outreach activities, internal infrastructure improvements, the launch of new programs such as the Business Incubation Centre, and thriving member relations.

 

Prior to joining CCBC, Sarah worked for 11 years in marketing, product development, and management with a major multinational corporation, where she had multiple assignments involving China. Sarah managed worldwide product businesses that marketed to China and used China-based sources of supply. She was also involved in several projects requiring cooperation with the Chinese government. Sarah has led both established and start-up businesses within the context of a global corporation and has broad emerging market business experience, and has been involved in the Greater China region since the late 1980s when she lived and worked in Taiwan. There, she was the first non-Chinese employee of a local high-tech start-up firm, where she gained a deep understanding of Chinese business practices.

 

A fluent Mandarin speaker, Sarah’s interest in China began at the University of Wisconsin, where she studied Chinese, marketing, and international business. She holds an MBA in finance and operations from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She frequently speaks on China issues, including marketing, trade, investment, and Canada-China relations.

 

 

Joyce Lee
Partner and Chair of Asia Practice
McCarthy Tétrault LLP

 

Joyce brings a unique perspective to her practice, skillfully uniting Canadian companies seeking Chinese investors with Chinese companies looking to expand into North America. She also regularly advises corporate executives in the financial sector about taking advantage of opportunities and navigating risk.

 

Born and raised in Hong Kong and with over 20 years experience working in the North American marketplace, Joyce has both the cultural and business skills necessary to view potential deals from each party’s perspective. Her communication skills – she speaks English, Mandarin and Cantonese fluently – smoothly guide Asian companies into Canada, including joint ventures in mining and other natural resources sectors; and, the technology, life science and real estates industries.

 

Joyce earned her BA (Hons) (Jurisprudence) in 1989 and her MA in 1996 from Oxford University, England. Admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales in 1992 and Hong Kong in 1993, she was called to the British Columbia bar in 1995 and practised in London, England and Hong Kong before joining us in our Vancouver office in 1994. Joyce’s professional affiliations include serving as the Legislative Liaison of the Canadian Bar Association, Securities Law section; the Law Society of England and Wales; the Law Society of Hong Kong; the Law Society of British Columbia; the Canadian Bar Association; the Canada-China Business Council and the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association.

 

As Chair of the firm’s Asia Group and a regular speaker at conferences and seminars focused on business from China and the Asia Pacific region, Joyce has earned an international reputation as an authority in her field.