My comments re @NYTimes In Davos, a Chance to Rub Shoulders With the Elite of Business and Politics - NYTimes.com

In Davos, a Chance to Rub Shoulders With the Elite of Business and Politics - NYTimes.com:



that is if you are "invited" and can afford the six figures sum cost plus travel and accommodations etc.

real cost was eloquently reported by Andrew Ross Sorkin "A Hefty Price for Entry to Davos http://nyti.ms/13ZkXx3 "

& of course Andrew's latest piece on " Prophesies Made in Davos Don't Always Come True  http://nyti.ms/10kdrYS "

seems to be WeF is doing great stuff but for their own target audience but it is a brilliant and super efficient marketing machine, lets hope it is used to making measurable and sustainable impact ... we live in hope.

Don't forget, a lot of these top business leaders that go to WeF now are as reported out of touch and not easily emphasise with "not so well off" (must read: by Paul Piff: The Money-Empathy Gap http://nymag.com/news/features/money-brain-2012-7/ )

IMHO, I think we need a trusted network of pre-qualified business leaders of mid-market plus firms and focus on key deliverable rather than PR sound bites.. make sense !??

BR
@GarethWong

http://GW.CXOVIP.org

My Comments re "active monitor" vs "auditing", Time for a new era - Real Deals

Time for a new era - Real Deals:

Totally Jon

but of course failure of bad business, rather than good business right??

as the freed up resources could hopefully be better used by good, sustainable firms with good future.

Key challenge is abundance of bad information or lack of good information/data that arrive in the timely manner...

It always baffles me why even big firms would have months if not years saying they are doing great with turnover hundreds of millions but then suddenly would say they needed more Cash desperately that week!?? Surely Cash management is key!!!??? maybe it is time to think of something that is "beyond auditing" but "actively monitoring"... we should be able to find out the firms in dire trouble and make Jon's dream come true!!! They can't hide by playing with various domicile/accounting standards or transfer pricing etc.

BR

garethwong

my comments and slight disagreement to this New market watchdog head lacks experience - lawmakers | Reuters

New market watchdog head lacks experience - lawmakers | Reuters:

I would suggest the title of this article to be changed..

maybe John is comparatively inexperienced but who has a lot of financial regulatory credentials?? and given the failure of credit crunch and lack of solution nor recognition/real identification of faults; surely new eyes are much better!?? 

(my short blog in June2012: Must listen, particular interesting insights from John Griffith-Jones Chair of KPMG, &+ my comments, re BBC - Global Business, Called To Account program http://bit.ly/XjCVDV )

and of course Martin Wheatley used to be CEO of Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission .. other than NYC, HKG could probably be the best training ground for London!??

please take that into consideration.

Challenge we have is that NO one country can legislate and regulate the world, even if UK regulate the best market, but if it is considered as too stringent or unreasonable (from the being regulated institutions point of view) it will still be ineffective... it is not easy!! glad it is not our job!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Wheatley

BR

@GarethWong

http://GW.CXOVIP.org 

my honest feedback & thanks to this post: Plus-One This: Proof That Google Plus Will Prevail | Fast Company

Plus-One This: Proof That Google Plus Will Prevail | Fast Company: "G+"


hmm.. thanks to your post Dave, I am willing finally to try out google plus (despite I am a long term google/gmail supporter, not happy with how they strong armed me so I lost my legacy price plan but that is another story; thanks to nice lady, got 1yr courtesy plan though but would prefer back to my legacy plan!) 

I have turned G+ on now but last I checked, it does not provide much privacy control, very much like twitter (which still does not do it well, nor improved since I last blogged about it back in 2009, Protected tweet or not? http://bit.ly/11jfyBc ) 

Reason why I waited a whole year before I used Twitter was due to short term VC/startup market, and rightly so ruthless nature of google cutting Buzz and Wave reconfirm to me that given all the startup and new technologies available, I adopt same strategy: 

1) by all means signup 

2) try it as & when; no hurry, for me I would wait a year or so

3) fingers crossed the investment of time & effort will bring at least equal benefit

Well, it is great that you put your reputation on this; and lets think ahead till end of the year, What is your address? just in case.

I see that you are not active on twitter; could that be reason why you are putting all your eggs, reputation and face for a few pies on google plus?  curious :)

@GarethWong 

My comments & only 1 question need answered b4 hand. re @NYtimes "can social media sell soap"

@NYTimes "Can social media sell soap"?

Only one question need to be asked: Key is how much money is being "transacted" for products or services... Not how much money been spent on "likely eyeballs/click through" that might bring some businesses....

Is it not madness that not much media /research is being done on how much money is actually spent online or via social media? (pls point out if you know of any!) Only thing is being reported worldwide is Internet or mobile penetrations... Which sadly as mentioned by this very article in fact very difficult to find what actually matters... For any new phenomenons.. And pls don't get me started re market capitalisation as it's only sentiments and sadly is easily manipulated and bear no relation whatsoever with viability nor soundness of business model of the listed firms!

It still baffles me that as B2B and B2C customers, onus is still on us to
1) know what we want/need
2) search for solution/products
3) look through all options or take easy way out & view sponsored providers
4) despite earning millions, likes of Google still let us do due diligence & take "buyers beware" stance and sadly quite a few got short changed by unscrupulous providers..
5) some. Igt argue that the web is still wide west and understandably & rightly so that most still are cautious and do not transact online!

(on the side, despite being early adopters of Gmail from invite only days and one of few that started paying to support them, they unilaterally changed my plan to new expensive options & their decision is final, just shows how much we can trust them??!!)

Social media is ofcourse worst as T&Cs get changed without consultations (and who are each person really when they can hide behind aliases, I'm not against aliases and for protection of privacy but no kyc is done on people's. Identity!) and just think back to compuserve and even usenet/fidonet days.. No trust mean no loyalty and of course no transaction, period!  Therefore it can't even sell a piece of toilet paper.. It does other things well though but I'm still learning and keen to hear other people's views.

@GarethWong (real name)

Erm, no! & my predictions...(death of @Facebook in 5yrs) At 30 years old, the internet is inescapable - Telegraph

At 30 years old, the internet is inescapable - Telegraph:

Erm; yes internet is very pervasive .. getting there but sadly still not secure nor pervasive enough

Internet will really take off when there is one system or company/entity that we can trust with our utmost secrets/confidential and that information collected is distributed for our benefit ONLY (rather than them focusing how to sell our info for a fee or kickbacks; let's face it, who can we trust REALLY in 2013!? firms that will exit or change hands in 3/5yrs!?) 

acid test: when majority of joe blogg 8 to 80 years old would use different devices to do what they need in a trusted manner (not only on media consumptions or buyers beware environment)

Internet, in fact any technology is not be all and end all.. sadly we have less people or companies "making things" now and everyone trying to get into finance or internet and "making deals"... real on and offline business opportunities at present are sadly overlooked ...

as I bet end of last year (on reputation, rather than money though!) facebook will not exist in its present form in 5years (if that) and we will not miss it a bit as it never is a "real business" .. just like we do not miss "Fidonet" nor "usenet/newsgroups" nor even "compuserve" community after they became not popular..

IMHO, 

1) end to end trust and security and 

2) "Reverse of search" (yup: antithesis of google)  are the future, sadly limited of firms are in that space!!

BR

@GarethWong

My short comments, one with real solution please stand up! re IFRS accounting measures to take effect for all listed companies in Taiwan in 2013 - The China Post

IFRS accounting measures to take effect for all listed companies in Taiwan in 2013 - The China Post:

just when the rest of the world have doubt over IFRS?

see comments by CFO of Pearson group: http://economia.icaew.com/news/december2012/pearson-cfo-casts-doubt-on-ifrs

even EU commissioner: http://www.cityam.com/latest-news/europe-review-accounting-rules-after-investor-criticism

more intricacies of how it keep certain debt "off-book" by FT : http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2013/01/03/1320783/operating-leases-the-old-skool-of-off-balance-sheet-vehicles/?

Any one have a real solution please stand up.

@GarethWong"

My short response to @Invoker's post: Big Idea 2013: Responsible Social Media | LinkedIn

Big Idea 2013: Responsible Social Media | LinkedIn:


Agreed, but it has to be "harnessed" for good, rather than bad... less TALK but more "intelligent actions", power must comes with responsibilities.. if Arab spring's only goal was to over throw the government, it was a success, sadly some of my friends reported that the uncertainty and power vacuum now could ultimately be filled with some even more dangerous players/parties... good luck to us all..

not in my words but pls see latest examples:

1) Bad use of social network: Facebook rampage: Schoolgirl's mother facing £30k clean-up on home in Billericay could now face... http://bit.ly/RmMUMr

2) & REALLY good and RIGHT way is to use social media intelligently for finding the best use of it: The New York Times: ‘Putting charities to the test’ http://shar.es/6ND5L via @sharethis

BR
@GarethWong

My short comments re Vanity & Debt & short term incentives; on Must read post by Prof Aswath Damodaran Musings on Markets: Acquisition Archives: Winners and Losers

Hey Prof

very timely piece,

agree with your analysis, I know well quite a few of these top CEOs /Board directors... sadly there maybe other reasons ontop of the pressure of advisers and very sad fact is that at present capital market is about Vanity & Debt & short term incentives

1) Vanity of "being the deal makers" , whether successful or not.. HP& Autonomy = failed but eBay & Skype was a success as Meg managed to offload it Microsoft for a profit!?

2) Debt fueled everything era is still alive and well despite it created millions of zombie firms now worldwide.. should "efficient use of capital" still be equal to debt any longer!??

3) shorterm-ism rules the day now, given spot price changes of share price (don't forget it is market sentiments and not equal to absolute viability of companies) and short term appointments of CEOs (max 3-5years if lucky) and their short term incentives means it makes much more sense for them to make the short term deals as they can get their bonus or options in time before they parachuted or head-hunted out (unless they mess up and get sacked with a golden goodbye)....

plus of course the "market" fueled by likes of CNBC, reuters, bloomberg as volatility for them means better business!! (nothing wrong with that, loads of good friends for me in that sector, but this IS the status quo!!)

Therefore, if you are doing any analysis, I would implore you to take into account for not listed firms and also family dynasties and conglomerates (mostly private now) and we should be able to really understand the real reasons behind all these.. !?? 

hope I made sense!?

BR

@GarethWong

Q4 E/MBA Club, pre-screening before UK premier of 3D "Life of Pi" hosted by Cameron Saunders, UK MD 20th Century Fox Theatrical Division, independent report written by Derrick Khan EMBA10

Event report kindly independently written by Derrick Khan (EMBA10), ex Solution Architect with speciality in IT Services design at Dell for 7years & now looking for a role as IT business analyst or enterprise architect. (he was also our photographer for the night!)

++++

Gareth Wong’s (founder E/MBA & Gambond® ) Quarterly E/MBA Club London alumni events (www.CassAlumni.org) are notoriously hard to get an invite to, primarily because in order to attend you must be a fully graduated E/MBA alumnus of City / Cass Business School - it is that makes the club so very special.  But with exclusivity taken to new heights some of the 1537 members would have had to entered competitions (indeed some did) to win a place at the very discreet and exclusive 28th E/MBA alumni event.



Rightly so, this was a special event by any standards – a pre-screening of “Life of Pi” in fabulous 3D hosted at the private VIP cinema of 20th Century Fox HQ in Soho Square, London!  With seating limited to a cosy 30 attendees, senior business leaders, especially those in media, entertainment & finance were targeted with the modern equivalent of priority golden ticket invites in an all star cast ensemble of importance and reserved exuberance. With the likes of Mr Yuichi Alex Takayama CEO Tokio Marine Securities (EMBA00) flying in from Ireland, expectations were flying high.

Indeed it is worth mentioning at this point that our gracious host Mr Cameron Saunders, Managing Director UK Theatrical at 20th Century Fox UK (EMBA00) went above and beyond the call of duty, not only did Cameron offer superb hospitality and deliver an excellent talk on the economics of the film industry and trends (which I apologise in advance for failing to do justice here in my article) but also kindly over-ran without hesitation on the Q & A despite having a poorly child at home.



With the event kicking off at 18:45pm for light networking over refreshments and drinks, some elevator pitches were often dizzying by most people’s standards but without being grandiose.  At this point, I quickly got into role by pulling out a big notepad (the only one from half a dozen that my daughter had not scribbled over, or was pink!) and an SLR camera with which I took great delight in recording the evening.  
 

I would like to thank Mr Gareth Wong for organising this great event and in bringing this special crowd together.  On a personal note, Gareth’s conscientious inclusivity in extending the invitation to me with the opportunity to make a contribution as pseudo reporter and photographer is most gratefully appreciated, as well as Gareth’s on-going commitment to the successful E/MBA club.  

By 7pm 20 or so guests had arrived. The scene was set within the basement of the 20th Century Fox HQ.  A brightly lit and non-ostentatious area contrasted invitingly by a darkly lit and comfy looking theatrical auditorium.  There was a palatable sense of excitement and in particular, of anticipation about the coming 3D effects and animations - and for those who were slightly less informed about film, a mind-bending discovery of fantasy awaited.  Once photography ground rules had been established, the guests moved effortlessly to the black fabric covered oversized seating. Amusingly, a few (no names starting with ‘G’ will be mentioned ;-) asked which the best seats were – no worries, you should see me when I walk into a 1000 seat cinema, I get struck down with the same cognitive dissonance.

After Gareth briefly thanked the guests and event host Mr Cameron Saunders, Cameron opened with the interesting fact that his first day in role was Jan. 2009, the first day that President Obama was inaugurated.  Well, it set the scene because President Obama was elected in 2008 and it was this year that Cameron selected as a baseline to the 2012 comparison of theatrical distribution trends split by box office, revenue, marketing and print.  Cameron also spoke about the economics of the theatrical film industry (box office economics).  

Comparing a basket of films from 2008 to 2012, some had done better than expected and others not as expected. However, the aggregate variance of a basket of films observed was fairly tight but with individual films exhibiting big variance within a range of returns.  For example “Taken” released in 2008 (with a sequel appearing in 2012, “Taken 2”) stood the test of time better than some other films released by Fox in that year (Juno, Jumper, Australia, The Happening, The Day The Earth Stood Still etc.), showing that getting the formula right produces dividends married to longevity.  The key here is achieving the right artistic ingredients and theatrical nuances (for want of a better comparison), ensuring the sun and moon alignment are most favourable to that mix at film launch!

In terms of the economics, at 2008 prices, Fox’s cut of a £5 ticket would have been around £1.20 with growth to 2012 coming largely from box office ticket price inflation. But things have been changing structurally with a shift in the global pattern of film consumption driven by a number of factors including technology, piracy and new markets.  For example, in Russia a film will be pirated next day after release, so upside from home entertainment is non-existent - significant because a chunk of revenue simply vanishes in that market space.  

With other emergent markets, e.g. China and Brazil, the Hollywood model (break even in the US, upside via international) has shifted with the US no longer the dominant consumer versus the international market – huge upside potential.  Also, the new market mix has been marked by the changing nature of films to cater for a new predominance of tastes, for example Kung-Fu Panda to some extent developed to cater for the Asian market.

Technology has impacted the industry too.  Films can now be consumed via an array of technology outlets.  This adds a layer of complexity (and leakage in the aftermarket) while at the film reel end, digital distribution using hard disks to cinema versus shipping huge drums of film has resulted in simplicity. The cost of upgrading the cinema projection systems is being met by a consortium so not instant cost reduction benefit to 21st Century Fox, but once the transformation funding is complete, significant revenue savings will be realised across the board in film print and distribution.

With global box office consumption changing shape, bets are potentially getting bigger.  When Disney purchased the rights to the next “Star Wars” for $4.2 billion, it was seen as a bold move – and with global rights including theme parks, toys etc. there is a feeling that it will pay-off.  Certainly there is enough in the mix for that to be the case.  But with the focused goal of 20th Century Fox to achieve healthy theatrical profit, for them it is not a case of throwing a million dice and seeing which ones land 6.  Numbers are much tighter and statistical modelling of success is particularly difficult with a small sample set - compounded by production and promotion budgets not being strong success indicators.  The economy and the weather (amongst dozens of other factors) at release can have as significant impact.

This gets us to the crux of the problem (and challenge) outlined by Cameron.  How to better predict the box office performance of an individual film?  What financial methodologies / modelling would achieve this on small sample sets and fuzzy data?  Well, this is the gauntlet laid down by Cameron and should you accept the challenge, you could win two red carpet tickets to the Hitchcock premier on the 9th of December for the best answer (deadline 5th Dec.).  So, for your chance to rub shoulders with the likes of Sir Anthony Hopkins and Dame Helen Mirren - do not delay submitting your solutions!  Send answers to either Cameron directly or via Gareth Wong (who I’m sure will not pretend they are all his ideas, anyway he will be too busy to go).

So, what happened to Life of Pi?  Well following plenty of good questions from the audience we were rewarded with a visual and auditory odyssey of a very different kind.  The combination of which created an enjoyable and memorable evening.



The Life of Pi is a remarkable film by the Director Ang Lee.  It is based on a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.  The amazing visuals take the viewer on an epic and wonderful journey of adventure and discovery which is both somehow frustrating and rewarding in equal measure.  A ground breaking film which may leave your mind wondering for some time after, perhaps to the point where you decide to go see it again – very clever if intended that way and maybe I will.

Thanks again to Cameron for hosting the 28th E/MBA club event at the 20th Century Fox HQ in London.  On a commercial basis (which basically translates to the right film at the right price), 20th Century Fox can offer VIP private screenings for corporate hospitality at a number of exclusive venues (I’m told, much swankier than their own facilities). Should any of E/MBA have a requirement for entertainment of high net worth individuals or clients then do contact 20th Century Fox who partner with a corporate hospitality company to organise events such as this, or even secure Premiere tickets for a full red carpet treatment!