Living and Working in the Global Village
Women Entrepreneurs around the world face major challenges but many are inspiring us to shape the future of global business. They show the value of extending a helping hand to others. They support fellow women to rise together rather than looking at them as rivals. They are instrumental in building positivity and in establishing the Golden Era of Women Entrepreneurship.
Continue reading Challenges for Women Entrepreneurs and How to Overcome Them – by Fatima Williams
Continue reading History, Monuments and Culture Clash – by Deborah Levine
Every child deserves the opportunity to have a healthy and successful life – and the first 1,000 days are the most crucial. Across the state of Tennessee, 13 innovation grants funded by Governor and Mrs. Haslam were chosen as a part of the statewide “Building Strong Brains Initiative” to promote public awareness about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). ACEs are caused by traumatic experiences and severe neglect or toxic stress, which can damage the connections being built in a child’s brain in the earliest years of life.
Continue reading The First 1,000 Days Shape a Lifetime – by Robin M. Cayce, Ed.D.
Since its debut in the 1964 World’s Fair, Disney’s “It’s a small world” theme park ride continues to be a crowd favorite celebrating international peace and unity. As Disney continues its expansion overseas with new theme parks, movies, educational programs and all-other-things Disney, the company remains a great on-going case study for how globalizing companies wrestle with the challenges of a world packed with different local preferences and tastes. In many cases, it turns out it’s not such a small world after all.
Continue reading Disney, Censorship, and Beauty & the Beast – by Kyle Hegarty
The top 500 U.S. marketers are allocating about 8.4 percent of their overall ad spend to Hispanic dedicated efforts, this is up from 5.5 percent in 2010, according to a new report from AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing. Over the past five years, the top 500 advertisers boosted their spending in Hispanic targeted media by 63 percent or $2.7 billion from $4.3 billion in 2010 to $7.1 billion. The top 500 advertisers boosted their average spending from $9 million in Hispanic targeted media in 2010 to $14 million now.
Long before The New York Times had its first woman Executive Editor, Ruth Holmberg was the Editor of The Chattanooga Times. Holmberg is a member of the family that founded both newspapers and she has shared her compelling life story as friends and admirers gathered to hear her speak. Holmberg is a former director of The Associated Press and of The New York Times Company, a former president of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and of the Southern Newspaper Publisher Association and a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Education Network (PEN).
The petite, soft-voiced woman is also a member of one of the nation’s most prominent publishing families.
Editor’s note: Publishing icon and Chattanooga civic leader Ruth Holmberg passed away at age 96. In her honor, here is the ADR interview with Ms. Holmberg several years ago.
Continue reading The Art and Civics of Publisher Ruth Holmberg: Making History — by Deborah Levine
Engineers from regional corporations, agencies, universities, schools, and professional associations, came together to kick off Engineers Week 2017 at The Chattanoogan conference center. Planning for the future was the theme of the Kick-Off Lunch featuring Dr. Burkhard Huhnke, Senior Vice President of e-mobility at Volkswagen America, Inc. Chattanooga is home to Volkswagen’s USA manufacturing plant and it was fitting that Dr. Huhnke shared Volkswagen’s transformation into the era of digitalization. Dr. Huhnke initiated and implemented Europe’s largest test laboratory for automative battery packages and components, worked on Volkswagen’s e-traction projects, e-Golf and e-Up, and currently oversees the product line of Volkswagen’s electrical cars in North American.
Continue reading Volkswagen, E week, and Engineering the Future – by Deborah Levine
Mary Moore’s personal story of entrepreneurship is an inspiration to all aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders who hope to make a difference for themselves and their communities. Her journey to success is admirable for its creativity and innovativeness. Her path has not been easy or simple. Yet, the difficulties and disappointments along the way have taught her how to navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship. And now, she is teaching us.
In their attempt to break into the Chinese market, Victoria’s Secret seems to have been caught with their cultural pants down. Their most recent fashion show in Paris last December was intended to win over Chinese shoppers as the company is in the process of opening their first stores on the mainland. But critics saw things differently. The Global Times called Victoria’s Secret “the latest international brand to rub Chinese consumers the wrong way with ill-conceived Chinese-inspired elements in its designs.”
Continue reading Racist Underpants? Victoria’s Secret’s Slap Dragon Problem – by Kyle Hegarty
Cross Cultural Expertise is the marketing leadership tool of a future that’s coming for us like a high speed train. While that train may go through tunnels and across challenging terrain with a new administration, technology is shrinking our world and that train is gathering speed. Our workforce, our suppliers, and, above all, our marketing professionals need the skill set of cross-cultural communication, cultural competence, conflict management, and problem solving. They are the fuel to compete in the future and without them, the train may miss its target destination and risk derailment.
Continue reading Cross-Cultural Skills, Leadership, and Marketing in the Future — by Deborah Levine