Caleb Balloch is a leader of the Greater China Consumer and Digital practices. He focuses on accelerating the growth for MNC and Chinese consumer brands through breakthrough omnichannel strategies, implementations, and new business builds. He is a Canadian, and worked with McKinsey in Canada prior to moving to China in 2011.

 

Recent experience includes:

 

– Transforming leading global FMCG, CPG, and food brands with RTM growth acceleration strategies, New-Retail business launches, eCommerce strategies, digital platform partnerships, and rapid NPD

– Redefining the China businesses for top global beauty groups and rapid-growing beauty startups with digital operating model transformations, digital platform partnerships, productivity improvement initiatives, and creative market entry strategies

– Accelerating growth for leading global sports apparel brands in China with breakthrough digital and operation strategies

– Elevating leading global toy brands in China with market-leading RTM strategies and multichannel distribution partnerships

– Unlocking growth for luxury, fashion, and apparel brands in China with RTM and eCommerce strategies

– Assessing and transforming leading digital platforms, consumer brands, fitness chains, restaurant chains for top global PE funds

 

Caleb left McKinsey between 2011-13 to launch and run a social e-commerce business in China. He is fluent in English, French, and Mandarin.

Mr. Dominic Barton was appointed as Canada’s Ambassador to China by the Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on September 4, 2019.

 

Prior to his nomination, Ambassador Barton was a Global Managing Partner at McKinsey & Company where he served from 2009 to 2018. Ambassador Barton also served as Chairman of Teck Resources and as Non-Executive Director at the Singtel Group in Singapore and Investor AB in Sweden. He was also a board member of the Olayan Group, a private family-owned company.

 

In 2016, Ambassador Barton assumed the responsibility of Chair for the Canadian Minister of Finance’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth. He was also the Chair of the Seoul International Business Advisory Council for six years prior to his nomination. Ambassador Barton also served as a Senior Trustee of the Brookings Institution, as a member of the Singapore Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council, and as a member of the boards of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. Mr. Barton is also one of the founders of Focusing Capital on the Long Term (FCLTGlobal).

 

In 2018, Ambassador Barton was named Chancellor of the University of Waterloo. He has also served as Co-Chair on the Max Bell School of Public Policy Advisory Board at McGill University and on the University of Toronto Psychiatry Cabinet where he engaged in volunteer support, community outreach and leadership development. In addition to these roles, Ambassador Barton served on the board of the Malala Fund, has been actively involved in the HeforShe initiative, and worked with the Mastercard Foundation to create employment in Sub-Saharan Africa.

 

Ambassador Barton has co-authored four books, including on topics related to financial management and leadership. He is an Adjunct Professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and the recipient of eight honorary doctorates, including from the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and the University of Edinburgh.

 

Ambassador Barton graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics and has a Master of Philosophy in Economics from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

Mary Boyd is the Director of The Economist Corporate Network, managing the Networks in Shanghai.

 

Mary Boyd is responsible for programme development and client servicing in Shanghai. She also provides research and conceptual support on China for Corporate Network programmes. Before joining The Economist Group Mary Boyd was in the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, serving on assignment in Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and China (in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing). Since leaving government service she has researched and published on economic development and governance issues in China, and has undertaken consultancy work for the World Bank and other international institutions, as well as multinational companies.

 

Mary has written for a number of Economist Intelligence Unit publications, including Country Report, China Hand and Business China. She co-authored the Economist Intelligence Unit report Taking on the Competition: Domestic Companies in China in 2005. Ms. Boyd has an MA (Area Studies) and an MSc (Public Policy and Management) from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and has also completed language studies at Nanjing University. Her research interests include local governance and decentralization policies, and public-sector reform.

 

Mary frequently speaks at conferences and private seminars for multinational and local firms in China.

Carl Breau is a Canadian engineer based in Shanghai and is the CEO of Saimen Group, a group of seven Canadian and Chinese registered companies active in the manufacturing and entertainment sectors. Carl holds a master’s degree in Engineering, is a UCLA Certified Board Member and has over 10 years of direct China management experience in multinational companies. He has also worked in senior management positions in SMEs and stock traded companies in North America and Europe.

 

He speaks fluent mandarin and is a frequent speaker and university lecturer on the topic of doing business in China. His expertise is China business and operations. Carl was awarded the Exceptional Achievement Medal from the Canadian Council of Engineers in 1999.

 

Saimen manufacturing has registered companies and offices in Montreal, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and also two factories in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Saimen has a strong engineering and product design team and is also doing contract manufacturing of technical products, mostly LED screens, Optical systems, Medical technology, Electric Vehicle systems and other high-tech products. Realive has registered companies and offices in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, Hangzhou, Haikou and Hong Kong. Realive is a Promoter, Certified CAPA broker and also an operation services provider for major Entertainment projects in China. Its customers include Cirque du Soleil, Blue Man Group, Moment Factory, Bell Media and many other international brands.

Joseph Cooke is the Co-founder and President of WPIC Marketing + Technologies.

 

Having lived in China for several years, his key areas of expertise include e-commerce, analytics, big data insights, website development and deployment, legal setup, licensing, ICP registration, and more.

 

Awarded British Columbia’s Top Entrepreneur by CIBC, Joseph’s sharp acumen, big-picture thinking and attention to detail have helped numerous clients enter both the China and Japan consumer markets and thrive.

 

Having earned a reputation as an innovator and problem-solver in Asia’s digital space over the past 15 years, Joseph understands the complexities of global business development, overseas strategic planning and cross-border projects. As such, he serves as a trusted advisor to international organizations including IKEA, Disney, Lululemon, Ford-Lincoln, the Government of Canada, and more.

 

About WPIC:

WPIC Marketing + Technologies drives online revenue for global brands in China and Japan through data, analytics, e-commerce solutions, essential support services, and more. With over 15 years of Western management and Chinese and Japanese operations in digital and IT sectors, WPIC has successfully deployed and grown over 400 brands in Asia and has global reach across China, Japan, Asia Pacific, North America and Europe.

Johnny Ho is a leader of the Greater China Consumer and Marketing & Sales practices. He focuses on serving consumer and retail companies on go-to-market strategies and implementations. Johnny is a Canadian, and worked in North America prior to joining McKinsey in China in 2015.

 

Recent experience includes:

– Transforming the China business of a international beauty brand, returning the business to rapid growth

– Developing the China growth strategy for a leading luxury spirits company to develop its China growth strategy, focusing on identifying growth themes including portfolio strategy, geographic expansion strategy, and channel strategy

– Developing China RtM strategy (i.e. online, offline, new retail) for a leading international toy company

– Supporting a leading international sports apparel company to define its retail concept strategy

– Supporting a global spirits company to develop its Asia growth strategy with deep-dive into key growth initiatives

– Developing the China GTM strategy for an international restaurant chain, including market potential, consumer insights, franchise model, and geographic expansion plan

 

Johnny has an MBA from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from University of Michigan, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from University of British Columbia.

Xin HUANG is a leader of the Greater China Consumer and Supply Chain practices. He focuses on E2E supply chain transformations and advanced analytics accelerations across Consumer and other industry sectors. He is a Canadian, and worked with McKinsey in North America prior to moving to China in 2018.

 

Relevant experience or recent engagements:

– Leading end-to-end supply chain transformations for 5+ global CPG companies, increasing service level to 98+% across all BUs, reducing plant schedule variability by 50%, and reducing inventory by 20%

– Leading a global planning transformation at a major consumer food and agricultural product manufacturer and delivered $100+ M saving

– Designed, implemented, and transformed 5+ global consumer health and pharmaceutical supply chains, improving service levels 5-15pp, 9pp forecast accuracy improvement, and 20%+ inventory reduction across markets and sites within 8 months

– Conducted multiple supply chain transformation in major medical devices, bio-tech companies, high-tech companies, industrial companies, chemical companies, and metal manufacturers, delivering significant improvements in service level, costs, and inventory

 

Xin holds a Ph.D. in supply chain management from MIT, where he collaborated with industry partners to develop novel algorithms to solve capacity planning, inventory planning, and network design challenges.

James McGregor is chairman of APCO Worldwide’s Greater China region and author of two highly regarded books: No Ancient Wisdom, No Followers: The Challenges of Chinese Authoritarian Capitalism, published in October 2012, and One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China, published in 2005. He also wrote the landmark 2010 report “China’s Drive for ‘Indigenous Innovation’ – A Web of Industrial Policies.” He was a veteran reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and prior to joining APCO, he was founder and CEO of a China-focused consulting and research firm for hedge funds. He also held previous roles as a senior adviser for Ogilvy Public Relations China and the China managing partner for GIV Venture Partners, a venture capital fund that focused on technology and Internet investments in China and India.

 

Mr. McGregor was a reporter in the Washington bureau of Knight-Ridder newspapers during the Reagan administration. After serving as the Taiwan bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal from 1987 to 1990 and China bureau chief from 1990 to 1994, he spent seven years building Dow Jones’ media business in China as CEO of Dow Jones’ China. During this time, he established CNBC in China and created the Chinese language website of wsj.com, Dow Jones’ Chinese-language newswires, Chinese stock-market indexes and the first weekly business-television show in China. He was also a Series A investor in Sohu.com and served on the Sohu board for several years. After successfully preventing Xinhua News Agency from obtaining a monopoly on financial information in China, he received the Barney Kilgore award, Dow Jones’ highest employee accolade.

 

Mr. McGregor is a professional speaker, regular television and radio commentator and a contributor of essays and opinion articles for a variety of publications. He has lived in China for three decades and can speak and read Chinese. He was an active member of the Board of Governors of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham) for nearly a decade and served as chairman in 1996. He for many years has been a leader of the U.S. Government Relations Committee for AmCham. He is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the Asia Society’s Global Council, a board member of the U.S.-China Education Trust and a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. He splits his time between Shanghai and Beijing.