Building Professional Communities That Excel: Productivity

On Monday 22 August AustCham Beijing, BenCham and EventBank hosted the ‘Building Professional Communities that Excel’ event at the AustCham Events Space. A full room came to listen to two presentations on productivity, leadership and the different tools that organizations can used to save time, money and frustration. First Managing director of Canada China Business Council Travis Joern, gave some valuable insights on what leadership means and how you can effectively run a successful, motivated organization. Next, the audience heard from Roger Yin, Sales Director at Growing IO. He talked about some useful time management strategies including doing your 3 hardest tasks at the beginning of the day, using the pomelo technique as well as tracking your time on various apps. He also briefly discussed the “wake up early movement” which he co-founded and which has attracted over 250,000 participants. The evening finished up with a panel discussion on managing a successful organization and building communities in the Chinese landscape. Panelists included James Flanagan, Curator at TedX, Cassie Ren, Head of Hey! At Heyrobics and Heyrunning and Tash Jamieson from the Australian Embassy. Chairing the panel was Olivia Ji, COO at EventBank.

Date: 22nd of August
Time: 18:00- 20:00
Cost: 50RMB (Members) 70RMB (Non-Members)
Venue: AustCham Event Space
Address: AustCham Beijing
Room 1005, Tower A U-Town Office Building 1Sanfengbeili Chaoyangmen Area, Chaoyang Beijing 100020 Beijing, China

Discover how organizations that succeed are getting it done! Community organizations, special interest groups, and non-profits play such a valuable role in creating a professional and dynamic community in Beijing. For these organizations, success is defined how efficiently they can utilize their resources to engage their members.

EventBank, AustCham, and BenCham bring together three presentations on productivity, leadership, and the different tools that organizations can use to save time, money, and frustration. A panel of organization leaders will discuss and share their experiences and challenges managing and growing their organization in the Chinese landscape.

Understand actionable methods to increase the productivity of your organization today.

Do you want to discover how this works for you in your organization?
Do you want to build your leadership capabilities?
Do you want to communicate easily and more efficiently?

Gain knowledge on which tools are driving the productivity of organizations in a time where everyone is connected all the time. We are looking forward to providing you inspiring ways to improve the way your organization operates.

RSVP: events@austcham.org

Travis Joern
Managing Director of Canada China Business Council

As the Managing Director, Travis is responsible for CCBC’s operations in China. He leads the teams in Beijing and Shanghai to execute strategies and initiatives to achieve the overall mandate of the organization as set by the Executive Director and the National Board of Directors. Through this role, Travis helps to coordinate and organize high-level events and visits for both Chinese and Canadian government officials of key federal, provincial and sectoral trade missions. He advises companies through China briefings, policies and regulations, market entry strategies, and regularly participates in speaking engagements with Chinese industry associations and other business groups across China.

Since 2001, Travis’ keen interest in Canada-China relations has led him on many trips to China as an academic researching Chinese medicine and martial arts history. He lived in Tianjin and Beijing, working in areas related to culture as a teacher, project manager, art consultant and curator. Travis has published articles on Chinese history and society, and remains a board member of the Arts Contraste Association, where he helps Canadian artists to visit China and hold exhibitions. Travis first began his work with CCBC in Toronto in 2010 as marketing manager for the Canada Centre. He helped establish CCBC’s Quebec Chapter in 2011 before relocating to China to manage the Shanghai office in 2013. Fluent in Chinese, French, and English, and holding a Masters degree in East Asian Studies from McGill University, Travis is well positioned to help Canadian businesses further develop their relationships in China

Graham Norris
Senior Director of Communications at AmCham China

Graham joined AmCham China in 2013 and is responsible for all internal and external communications for the chamber, including the website, email newsletters and Business Now magazine.

Before joining AmCham China, Graham worked in public relations for both Ogilvy and Ruder Finn in Beijing, serving clients such as Microsoft, Caterpillar and adidas, and providing media and communications training.

Graham also has nearly a decade of journalistic experience, having worked as a desk chief for Dow Jones Newswires in Singapore and Tokyo, and as a newspaper editor and freelancer writer in Taiwan.

Originally from the U.K., Graham has a B.A. in Economics, Politics and American Studies from Leeds University, and an M.B.A. from Heriot-Watt University. He speaks Mandarin and holds leadership positions in both Toastmasters and the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China.

James Flanagan
Curator at TedX

James Flanagan, TEDxBeijing founder, and Curator of the Beijing hub of the World Economic Forum Global Shaper community
James Flanagan works at the intersection of technology and media, has lead and helped the development of media platforms in China and internationally, and is active in the development of the US-China innovation system.
Mr. Flanagan has helped developed large and small media platforms and events series. He has lead the TEDxBeijing team in creating conferences and online video programming. He has hosted people like the Prince of Monaco, world famous artists like Botero, and well known Chinese media figures. The TED and TEDx platform is world famous for bringing the best and brightest minds to talk about new discoveries, to creativity and art, to improving the lives of people around the world.
During his time in Beijing, he has worked closely with Yang Lan, one of the most well-known media figures in China, by developing forums and events for her company, Sun Media Group, and leading its international development, working with the AOL platform.
More recently, Mr. Flanagan has also led the development of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Beijing Hub for a few years. The Global Shapers is a global network of rising leaders in all fields working to develop regional and global conversations like engaging with the One Belt One Road Initiative.
In the startup space, James has helped to build both for-profit and non-profit organizations focused on developing activities for startups, connecting investors and startups, creating incubator exchange programs, and others exploring the interactions between the US and Chinese innovation systems.
Currently, Mr. Flanagan is developing content focused on US-China interaction to be broadcast in the US.
James grew up in Singapore, and has lived in Asia for more than 15 years, spending his most recent time in Beijing and Hong Kong. He was born to French-American parents, and is a graduate of McGill University.

Tash Jamieson
Australian Embassy

After graduating from a BA in International Studies from RMIT in 2011, Tash moved to Beijing to complete a Masters in International Relations at Tsinghua University. Whilst completing her thesis on refugee policy and geopolitics, Tash received a scholarship from the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network and UNHRC to undertake studies in Thailand on refugees and statelessness, and interned at the UNDP in Beijing.

She is an enthusiastic advocate of women’s leadership and empowerment through education, and has been on the organising committee of the Beijing Mentor Walks since 2014.

In her spare time, Tash performs with her band The Groove Collective as part of Beijing’s thriving music scene.

Cassie Ren 任雪静
Head of HEY in Beijing

I’ve previously worked at a PR company, organizing running events for several big sport brands in China. I became the Head of HEY (Heyrobics & HeyRunning) community in Beijing as of February of this year, after four years of working for this organization.

HEYROBICS & HEYRUNNING are among China’s largest international sports communities involving thousands of participants on a yearly basis. You’ll find us everywhere – from parks to schools, on streets, in companies and even with 30,000 cheering Chinese at Tiananmen Square!

From the moment I first tried Heyrobics, I knew I was addicted! Going from being a participant, to helping the HEY founder, Linus Holmsater, to spread this “World’s Happiest Sport” in China, to now managing our big community of volunteers, staff and interns, I’m always looking for ways to grow this community to be sweatier, happier and even bigger!