Kirk Burkley and I are in Beijing for client and new contact visits. We arrived on Saturday evening and made our way through the horrible traffic from the airport. The taxi ride was almost 90 minutes, tedious after a 14-hour plane flight. Only later did we learn that the express train (15 minutes) from the airport, stops just a few blocks from our hotel! Oh well, next time we’ll know.
We had dinner Saturday with my son’s friend (and mine) Mike Marquis, of Perella Weinberg Partners. Mike is a high school chum of Alex’s, from Allderdice, now resident in Beijing. It was great to catch up. See photo attached with Mike and Kirk.
Sunday, we did a presentation with our client’s U.S. recovery team, exploring bankruptcy and secured credit issues to see how they can improve their process. It was a very warm and meaningful reception, followed by a private lunch with our main contacts, Jennie and Lizy (photo attached). Unfortunately, the group manager had to excuse himself, since another driver had crashed into his car that morning and he had to deal with it. And yes, you read it correctly, the presentation was Sunday. Monday begins a three-day holiday, so businesses are closed. However, most worked Saturday and Sunday to make up for it. Try that, U.S. employers!
Sunday afternoon, a walk (and Subway ride) to Tienanmen Square. It was too late to get into the Forbidden City, so that will wait for the next trip for Kirk, I had been there on my previous Beijing trip. More to come…
Bob
