21 July 2007, Singapore – Global Brand Forum 2007 today announced the addition of two high-profile executives and recognized brand authorities to this year’s forum on “Creating Leader Brands.” Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia, and Richard Kimber, Regional Managing Director for Google, South Asia, Korea and Australia/New Zealand, will join the list of dynamic speakers to address key branding issues relevant to their respective industries. The event, featuring former U.S. Vice President Al Gore as Guest of Honour, will be held on 6 and 7 August at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore.
Commented S. Karthik, Chairman of the Global Brand Forum, “The addition of Tony Fernandes and Richard Kimber to our panel of Global Brand Forum 2007 speakers is testament to the increasing importance of effective branding for multinational corporations. Each of these new speakers recognizes the branding and marketing challenges that affect global businesses today, and each has discovered unique solutions to help them stay ahead of the competition. We are very pleased to share this additional insight with our participants this year.”
Tony Fernandes is a Malaysian entrepreneur and the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., who introduced the first budget no-frills airline, AirAsia, to Asians with the tagline "Now Everyone Can Fly". He attained prominence by turning AirAsia, a fledging government-linked commercial airline, into a highly successful public-listed company while revolutionized air travel in Asia. Fernandes was also instrumental in lobbying the then-Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, to propose the idea of open skies agreements with neighboring Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. As a result, these nations have granted landing rights to AirAsia and other discount carriers. Today, AirAsia Group consists of AirAsia Berhad, Thai AirAsia (hub based in Bangkok) and Indonesia AirAsia (hub based in Jakarta), with a fleet of 56 aircraft servicing over 75 routes in the ASEAN region.
Richard Kimber leads Google’s business operations in Australia, New Zealand, Korea, and the entire region south of Hong Kong including Singapore. (Google announced the opening of its Singapore office in May this year.) Prior to joining Google in July 2006, Richard spent eight years with the HSBC Group in a variety of senior roles across the world. His final role was as Chief Executive of FirstDirect Bank, renowned as the most recommended Bank in the UK (for 13 years), employing 3,500 people. From 2001 to 2004 Richard was the Global Head of e-marketing for HSBC based in New York. He led HSBC's successful three-year global strategic alliance with Yahoo! and was President of HSBC’s Internet payment subsidiary. From 2000 to 2001 he was based in Hong Kong as head of e-business Asia-Pacific. He launched HSBC’s award winning consumer Internet sites in Hong Kong and was an advisor to the government on Internet policy.
The Global Brand Forum, often labelled as “the Davos of branding,” is in its fourth year. The forum, an inspirational platform for brands, businesses and leaders, consists of intellectually stimulating speeches, panel discussions, extended Q&A sessions and knowledge-sharing opportunities. In addition to Tony Fernandes, Richard Kimber and Al Gore (45th Vice President of the United States), the 2007 Global Brand Forum will feature John Quelch (Senior Dean of Harvard Business School), Kevin Roberts (Global CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising), Nigel Parsons (Managing Director of Al Jazeera), and Martin Roll (Brand Strategist and author of ‘Asian Brand Strategy’). The moderator for the Global Brand Forum 2007 will be Riz Khan, global anchor at Al Jazeera. This year, for the first time, the Global Brand Forum will be hosting a special plenary session on branding technology and new media on the first day of the forum.
Tickets to the 2-day forum are priced at S$3,500 per person and are now available. Those interested can also contact their local agents for tickets. Special discounts are available for purchase in bulk. For more information, please visit www.globalbrandforum.org.
The Global Brand Forum a thought leadership company aiming to raise the perspective and standards of businesses through exposure to and interaction with speakers who have redefined business and changed the world. Global Brand Forum speakers are icons and catalysts for change. The Global Brand Forum aims to be the world’s most inspirational and influential platform for ideas, dialogue and action in the area of brands, businesses and leadership.
AirAsia has revolutionized air travel in Asia and in five short years has become the leading and largest low fare airline in Asia. Now in its 6th year, AirAsia to date has an astounding fleet size of 56 aircraft, an achievement the young airline is proud to carry. AirAsia together with its associates, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia have carried over 33 million passengers. The airline’s extensive network presently serves over 75 domestic and international routes to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Macau, China ( Xiamen and more to come), Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei and Philippines.
In 2006, AirAsia added 13 brand new Airbus A320 aircraft to its fleet. The aircraft proves to be a winning choice as AirAsia guests enjoy bigger seating capacity, wider aisle, greater comfort and quieter ride. Airbus A320 is reputed for being the most modern and sophisticated aircraft of its class, with high reliability and low operating costs. With 22 Airbus A320 in operation now, AirAsia will be adding 128 more to its fleet up to 2014, giving it the largest, youngest and most modern fleet in the region.
For more information, log on to www.airasia.com.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.google.com.
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