My mother-in-law spent much of her youth in Venezuela where her father went to run a business after leaving Italy post WWII. She learned to hunt in the rich forests, she swam in pristine rivers – it is like hearing of Eden. It is difficult to marry this magical vision to the tragedy that has befallen Venezuela today.
Several years ago, my colleague and friend Susan Kitchens travelled to Venezuela to tell the tale of Chavez and his Cuba connection. She saw a Venezuela of squalor and danger run by a megalomaniac who was squandering his country’s resources.
Today, my mother-in-law knows she cannot travel to a place she calls home. In Speakers Corner, clinical psychologist, Felicitas Kort, writes about the fear that pervades Venezuela’s psyche and its standstill. It reminds me of the fiction story, Trailhead, in the January 23 issue of the New Yorker. The last sentence of the story: “Finally, all that the Trailheaders knew was terror, ad the existance of a choice-they could fight or run from the horror.” Felicitas for the time being has moved out of Venezuela as has her family, but she remains attached to her home. Will change ever come? I would love to one day take my daughter to see where her Nonna grew up. Hopefully that day will come.
I have not yet been to India, but am greatly looking forward to perhaps a wedding invitation from one of my friends there that will finally get me on the plane. Til then I marvel at the country’s growth and soak up the culture reading and listening to my friends’ stories.
I invited Rahul Sahgal, CEO of outsourcing firm, Annik Technology Services to comment on his views of the opportunities for India in the outsourcing space. His optimism for a turnaround in 2010 is heartening coming on the heels of the past year’s malaise. I am especially interested in his expectations for M&A activity as I have been hearing from the Street that there is cash/funding available for deals. So investors: watch India and the outsourcing space. Another outsourcing investment idea: Teletech. I am very impressed by the management of the company and the dedication of its founder, Kenneth Tuchman, whom I previously profiled for Forbes. He made an early bet on the Philippines and on technology and I believe is ahead of the competition; the company’s stock has rebounded nicely and is up near $20. I expect it to go higher.
I am also intrigued by another view into India provided by my friend and former Forbes colleague, Megha Bahree, in her travels. See Megha’s blog at: http://desigeek.com/blog/megha/. Her reports of traditional tribal culture in remote India clashes with tales of booming India. I believe the two Indias will have to be reconciled before the country can successfully move forward.
I digress from this month’s forecasting theme because I am devastated by the large-scale destruction in Haiti. I would like to share a different vision of Haiti and to send my best to all those I met over the years. I learned to love Haiti from one of my first best friends in high school. She showed me a vibrant and proud culture of music and mysticism. I grew up seeing the strengths of the Haitian community in New York – indeed, Haitians rank among the more successful immigrant groups in the U.S. Later on, when I was studying for my graduate degree at NYU, my friend helped me to navigate New York’s Haitian community for my International Reporting class.
New York City’s Haitian community is clustered in three main neighborhoods: in Manhattan on 103rd and Amsterdam, in Queens’ Jamaica and Cambria Heights and in Brooklyn’s East Flatbush and Crown Heights areas. In my travels, I met Jack who co-owned, Les Delices, a restuarant in Cambria Heights, and Vioela Caze who worked at Haitian music store, Antilles Mizik Ltd. Vioela was here to study but wanted to return to Haiti where she loved the club scene in Port-au-Prince. She introduced me to traditional Haitian troubadour music and kompa, the music of the new generation. I spent several evenings with the regular attendees of the Haitian American Student Association at NYU, most of whom were studying medicine, and all of whom were mixing Haitian culture into their American lives.
I also met strong advocates for Haiti including Gina Cheron-Merlin, at the time director of National Coalition for Haitian Rights; Kim Ives, who edited and wrote for Haiti Progresfor over twenty years; Gary Pierre-Pierre, founder of the Haitian Times; Farah Tanis who launched Dwa Fanm, a service provider for Haitian victims of domestic and sexual abuse in New York City; and Steeve Coupeau who founded Haiti Advocacy to give a voice to the Haitian community in New York and he told me to show, “We are not just boat people.”
I hope they are all well, and I reach out to them to help get Haiti through a seemingly neverending crisis which escalated in 2008 when hurricanes and tropical storms killed hundreds of people, wiped out Haiti’s food crops and caused nearly a billion dollars in damage. Last year, rising food prices further hurt families. And now the unspeakable losses.
Our first in a series of crystal ball guest writers in Speakers’ Corner is Nancy McKinstry, CEO of $4.8 billion (2008 revenue) professional publisher, Wolters Kluwer. I first met Nancy four years ago to write her profile for the Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women in the World list, and have met her annually to update the feature. (most recently, she ranked #43 on the list) I continue to be impressed by her forward-thinking and fearless leadership of a company facing tough times. Back in 2006, Nancy was finishing up a three year restructuring – including layoffs and divestitures – she started when she took the helm of the Netherlands based company. She started making acquisitions, expanding in China, and shifting the company into software as opposed to its traditional large tomes. She is committed to protecting Wolters Kluwer content and expertise by making sure the company changes with the times. I am inspired by her vision and I think publishers should listen and learn from her example. Of course pay for content says Nancy, but make it user friendly and user responsive. Great ideas from a great leader who is determined to keep her company independent (it’s become a running joke over the years, why don’t you merge with a bigger company I always ask; no way says Nancy). Revenue growth may still be a struggle, but the company’s stock price is up 17% over the past year.
I always leave a meeting with Nancy feeling jazzed and believing there are readers who value quality and not idiocy (oh say like MTV’s Jersey Shore). Read her thoughts on what is in store for content in 2010 in Speakers’ Corner.
Another great attribute of Nancy’s: making sure she is home in time to have dinner with her two children and to walk the family dog.
I am excited by the connections made in the fledgling days of this website. A colleague at the consultancy I used to work for, Kaiser Associates, forwarded my email to another colleague who now has his own firm, Peer Insight; he was moved by my first guest writer, author Ellen Sabin, and her books that teach children about the world around them. Community activist, Hayley Teague, whom I met when I lived in London, and who shared her insights about volunteering at a local level, has been invited to speak about her experience at a parish in the north of England. One small connection at a time is how ideas grow.
This month, I will be highlighting global leaders and their ideas for 2010. Will this be a year of recovery or another roller-coaster? I keep hearing a great deal of uncertainty in the voices of those with whom I speak, but also some notes of experimentation, adventurism that may be the start of some great new concepts.
