19th Asia Business Conference at Ross a Tremendous Success

themsj.com, By: Giselle Dineros, 3/16/09 

The Asia Business Conference at the Ross School of Business remains the longest-running student-organized conference about Asia in the United States. For the last 18 years, the conference has brought together leaders of Asia and multinational companies together in Ann Arbor to discuss, debate, and dialogue about shifting trends in the region. The Asia Business Conference strives to provide a forum for highly concentrated and honest exchange with business executives and political leaders from throughout Asia and the United States. This year, twenty-three renowned industry experts converged in Ann Arbor to interact with students and discuss the current trends in their industries and geographic regions - especially as it pertained to current economic, financial, social and political trends. 

This year, the 19th Annual Asia Business Conference (ABC) was held at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business on February 6 and 7, 2009. The conference theme, "Asia: Globalization and Transformation" was intended to call attention to the financial, social and political impact of an increasingly interdependent global economy on Asia, as well as the region's increasingly significant role in the international arena. As the home of the world's fastest growing economies, Asia's financial and economic condition will continue to play an important role in global stability and security. 

The conference kicked off on Friday evening with a keynote address delivered by Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN.)* In his role as ASEAN Secretary-General, Dr. Pitsuwan is responsible for ten nations in Southeast Asia and roughly one-tenth of the world's population. In his keynote address, he discussed how the credit turmoil in the United States has intensified into a global financial crisis which has resulted in protracted slowdown and severe financial deleveraging around the world. Dr. Pitsuwan also discussed the lessons from the financial crisis that originated in his native, Thailand, which crippled Asian economies and caused tremendous suffering over a decade ago. During the course of his speech, the Secretary-General praised the University of Michigan as a "birthplace of international engagement." He reminded Ross students and faculty that it was on the steps of the Michigan Union in 1960 that, then Senator John F. Kennedy launched the idea of the Peace Corps by challenging University of Michigan students to serve their country and engage the world in the cause of peace by living and working in developing nations. Dr. Pitsuwan also announced his recent discovery that name of his organization, ASEAN, was conceived here at the University of Michigan by Professor Russell l Fifield who proposed Southeast Asia as a regional concept, and even suggested that Southeast Asian nations join together for the sake of economic prosperity and political stability, and call themselves ASEAN: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Dr. Pitsuwan ended his address by calling upon the students at Ross, the greater University of Michigan, and the future leaders of this world to "continue to engage this world. The world is waiting for your engagement and leadership. We are in it together. Only together can we make it out of this crisis." 

Over 600 students, faculty and members of the community registered to participate in the ten geographic (China, India, Korea, Japan, ASEAN) and industry-specific (Technology, Healthcare, Energy, Finance and Corporate Social Responsibility) panels offered on Saturday. A few of the topics covered included: the Renewable Energy Market in Asia, the Future of the Automotive industry in Japan and the United States, Corporate Citizenship in an Uncertain Economy, Opportunities and Challenges for the Medical Device Industry in Asia, and the Impact of the Financial Crisis on the Development of Asia. 

This year's conference was a great success, and would not have been possible without the tremendous dedication and organizational skills of the 31-strong team of Ross students involved with the event. The ABC executive committee included MBA1s, MBA2s, Evening MBAs, and BBAs. In addition, we are indebted to our faculty advisor, Professor Linda Lim, for her guidance, support and encouragement throughout the entire planning and execution process. The 19th Annual ABC executive committee also wishes to thank all of its organizers, volunteers, panel moderators and generous corporate and university sponsors for making this year's conference a success. We look forward to seeing you at next year's hallmark 20th Anniversary conference. 

For those who missed the keynote speech, the online video can be accessed at www.rossabc.org (under the "Keynote" tab).