The Boardroom
The Boardroom is CNN’s new weekly interview segment offering insights into the minds of the world’s top business leaders. Todd Benjamin in Europe, Maggie Lake in the U.S. and Andrew Stevens in Asia bring priceless time with the biggest names in business and the top leaders of the world’s most powerful and influential companies.
Recent Guests on The Boardroom include:
Paul Field - Directing Manager, The Wiggles
This is not just child's play, it's big business. "The Wiggles" are a hit among the toddler set. But that wasn't always their intended audience. The group initially tried their hands at rock -- under a different name -- in their native Australia.
Eventually, with degrees in childhood education, Anthony, Murray, Greg and Jeff swapped rock for rhyme and became icons to the young. In 17 years, they've sold 17 million DVDs, 4 million CDs, and continue to play to capacity crowds around the world.
At The Wiggles global HQ on the outskirts of Sydney, The Boardroom's Andrew Stevens asked managing director Paul Field -- an accomplished musician in his own right and brother of Anthony -- what is the secret of their success.
Ed Dolman - CEO, Christie’s Auction House
Despite concerns about a global slowdown, business for Ed Dolman is better than ever.Dolman is chief executive of Christie's, the auction house founded by James Christie in London in the 1760s.
Today its reach spans around the world, auctioning everything from watches to clocks, diamond-encrusted tiaras, and -- if you have some 120 million U.S. dollars to spare -- this massive Andy Warhol portrait of Chairman Mao. The Boardroom's Andrew Stevens sat down with Dolman in the middle of Christie's record auction in Hong Kong.
John O'Neill - CEO,
Australian Rugby Union
In a country that demands excellence on the sporting field, John O'Neill has achieved the equivalent, off it.
This former senior banker has three times won Australia's Sports Executive of the Year. He was the brains behind the brawn of Australia's world-beating Rugby Union team of the 1990s and the man who helped take the country's soccer team to the World Cup Finals in 2006, their first World Cup appearance in more than 30 years.
O'Neill has recently returned to running Australian rugby after five years away, and he's facing an uphill battle to restore the game. Finances are at a critical level, attendances are down, and the national team the Wallabies have been struggling.
The Boardroom's Andrew Stevens met him at Australian Rugby HQ in Sydney and began by asking why he's prepared to risk his own reputation all over again.
Ron Sim - CEO, OSIM
Ron Sim is an entrepreneur at heart. As a child, he sold noodles on the streets of Singapore for pocket money. In the early 1980s he set up a trading company selling household goods and appliances. Over time, that evolved into Osim, which today generates most of its 380 million dollar annual revenues from high-end massage chairs, as well as a host of other healthy-lifestyle products. The Boardroom's Andrew Stevens caught up with Ron Sim at his Singapore headquarters.
Mo Ibrahim - Founder, Celtel
Mo Ibrahim is a man who believes in Africa; and the continent has been good to him. Putting his career on the line at the age of 43 -- he quit his job at British Telecom to start his own company.
He also started mobile phone operator Celtel which is in 14 African countries. Cashing in and now rich beyond his wildest dreams, he now has his own foundation.
CNN's Todd Benjamin caught up with him in London and began by asking him about investing in Africa.
Masato Mizuno - Chairman, Mizuno
It's both time-honored tradition and cutting-edge technology blended in this small factory in Osaka, Japan. This is the home of Japan's best known sporting export, Mizuno.
Its sports equipment and clothes sell around the world -- baseball gear, its first ever product, now joined by a growing range of other sports equipment. And then there's the "fastswim" professional swimsuits, modeled on shark skin.
The company is headed by effervescent chairman Masato Mizuno. In Osaka he talked to CNN's Andrew Stevens in The Boardroom about the toughest challenges he has faced in 19 years at the top.
David Novak - CEO, YUM! Brands
If you need a quick bite on the go, David Novak is your man.
He heads up Yum! Brands the largest fast food operator in the world, with nearly 35,000 locations. Among the household names on Yum's menu are chicken giant KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.
Novak talks to CNN's Maggie Lake in The Boardroom about leadership tastes, the love of the industry and his surprise at finding himself in the corner office.
Vivienne Tam – Designer, Vivienne Tam Fashion House
From the runway to the store rack, Vivienne Tam is one designer who uses creativity and business acumen in equal measure.
Since her start in the fashion business in the early '80s and establishing her own brand in the '90s, she has risen to fame with her east-meets-west styles. Today it's her skills in business which have expanded the label to some 30 stores worldwide, from New York to Beijing.
CNN's Andrew Stevens caught up with the designer in Hong Kong to talk about what it's like to lead both the business and creative direction of a global fashion line.
Shintaro Tsuji – CEO, Sanrio
From a country which brought the world brands like Sony and Toyota, there's another name that's crept quietly to global prominence. Hello Kitty, the moon-faced cat with a bow in her hair and no mouth.
She's one of 450 characters developed by Japan's Sanrio Group, but she's by far most popular -- the embodiment of what's known in Japan as Kawaii, or the culture of cute.
Her image adorns some 50,000 objects, from cute, of course, to downright crazy. But there's nothing cute about the numbers. Hello Kitty is responsible for more than half of Sanrio's billion dollar annual turnover.
Her creator and founder of Sanrio is the effervescent 79-year-old Shintaro Tsuji. He told The Boardroom's Andrew Stevens what he thinks is the marketing secret behind a cultural icon.
Paul Walsh – CEO, Diageo
They say Guinness is good for you, and Chairman of Diageo Paul Walsh would certainly agree, with profits in the world's number one wine and spirits group maintaining their froth.
Todd Benjamin caught up with Mr. Walsh in London and asked him about his thirst for leadership. He says it's all about the serving up the correct blend of intuition, innovation and inspiration.
Neville Isdell – Chairman & CEO, The Coca-Cola Company
Interviewed by Andrew Stevens in Singapore
For Neville Isdell, Coke really is it. A native of Ireland, he first joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1966 with the local bottling company in Zambia. Isdell spent the next 35 years with the firm working in a variety of roles. In 2001, Isdell decided to retire. But after a few years, the Atlanta-based business came calling and Isdell answered. Coaxed out of retirement to help return the company to its former glory, Isdell was elected chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company on June 1, 2004. CNN's Andrew Stevens talks with Isdell about his decision to take on the CEO role and the challenges of getting Coke back on track.
Tony and Maureen Wheeler – Founders, Lonely Planet
Interviewed by Andrew Stevens in Melbourne, Australia
It started as a hobby. Tony and Maureen Wheeler wrote their first travel guide inspired by their honeymoon trip across Europe and Asia in 1972. The duo has since turned their passion for travel into a profitable publishing, television and charitable group. CNN's Andrew Stevens visited with the Wheelers at their Melbourne-based headquarters to hear about the challenges of working with your spouse, get advice to aspiring entrepreneurs and find out they haven't sold off the company to a big publishing house.
Paul Jacobs – CEO, Qualcomm
Interviewed by Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong
Paul Jacobs has followed in his father's footsteps. His dad, Irwin, founded Qualcomm in 1985. Today the San Diego-based company is a leading developer and innovator of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and other advanced wireless technologies. The younger Jacobs, a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, worked at Qualcomm during his summers and joined the company on a full-time basis in 1990. He rose through the ranks, becoming CEO in 2005. CNN's Andrew Stevens met up with Paul during a flying visit to Hong Kong and talked with him about corporate succession, staff retention and found out why he's a keen mogul skier.
Nancy McKinstry – Chairman & CEO, Wolters Kluwer
Interviewed by Todd Benjamin in London
Nancy McKinstry is counted among the most powerful business women in Europe. She took the helm of global multimedia publisher Wolters Kluwer when the business was flagging. McKinstry restructured the business and put it back on track. CNN's Todd Benjamin talks with McKinstry about the corporate turnaround, women in the boardroom and finds out who has influenced her career.
Jack Ma – CEO, Alibaba
Interviewed by Andrew Stevens in Hangzhou, China
Until 1995, Jack Ma had never touched a computer. Today he is China's best known internet entrepreneur and the force behind e-commerce company Alibaba. His company acquired Yahoo! China in 2005 in one of the most high profile M&A deals in China in recent years. CNN's Andrew Stevens talks with Ma, a former English teacher, about his move from the classroom into the boardroom, the inspiration he draws from Kung Fu novels and his ambitious growth plans for the Hangzhou-based Alibaba Group.
Anna Sui – Founder, Anna Sui Corp
Interviewed by Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong
Anna Sui says she knew she wanted to be a fashion designer since she was four years ago. She has realized this dream. What started out as a small homegrown fashion label, launched out of her New York City apartment in 1980, is now a global business turning over hundreds of millions of dollars a year. The private company sells everything from Sui's designer clothing to accessories and fragrances. Sui talks with The Boardroom, in her Hong Kong boutique, about her early days, the challenge of balancing creativity with bottom line concerns and her plans for the future.
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