The principle of personal development and the great importance attached to it can be traced back to the era of the ancient Greek philosophers and their Chinese pendants (Confucius and the likes). Since then, personal development has become a full-fledged scientific discipline and found its way into the business world in the beginning of the 20th century when Abraham Maslow introduced his theory of the hierarchy of needs, also known as Maslow's Triangle.

As Peter Drucker, one of the most important management thinkers of the 20th century put it:

It’s up to you to carve out your place, to know when to change course, and to keep yourself engaged and productive during a work life that may span some 50 years.
- P. Drucker in "Managing Oneself"

Today's Young Professionals seem to have instilled the idea that everything is possible when the right mix of ambition, talent, experience, etc. is in place, but this does not imply they always know where to start or which choice to make when they are faced with important life-changing decisions.

And this is where we come in...

Our first speaker, Raf Verheyen, will try to teach you how to handle the above in your current life in China by sharing some of his own personal experiences and recent work on personal development.

Since most of your careers will probably not end in China, you might ask yourself how your China experience might come in handy when relocating to your home base - or any other base, for that matter. Annemarieke Beekman, our second speaker, will elaborate on differences between working in China and Europe, more specific the Netherlands and how she thinks your experience in China might be of value to you and your future employers.

Mark Goyens, our third speaker and current president of Bekaert Asia, has a long track record of experience abroad and in Belgium and is as such perfectly placed to tell you more about the advantages and disadvantages of work experience abroad and what it might do for you in your career.

Speakers

Raf Verheyen – ProgressU

Raf has extensive work experience in management roles in the international business environment. He was also praised as the Best Sales Performer in his previous career in a well-known multinational company and featured several times in the corporate newsletter because of his excellent performance and competence.
 
He brings high value to coaching and personal development through bridging his professional experience with coaching practices and dedicates himself to help corporate clients find solutions on how to maximize the capability of their people and take them to the next level.
Raf successfully conducted several speeches about personal development related topics and is currently writing his first book on this topic.
 
Annemarieke Beekman - Randstad

Annemarieke Beekman started working for Randstad in 2000 as a consultant for temporary employees in an Amsterdam branch and worked her way through different departments before she became operations manager of the new Randstad start-up in China in 2006. Initially moving to China to coordinate the transition of the joint venture Talent Shanghai into Randstad, she very soon became responsible for the start-up & standardization of Randstad Search & Selection in China.

Currently Annemarieke is responsible for the mid level recruitment team (selection) of 33 members in Shanghai and Suzhou, as well as the product description & work process implementations for Search & Selection throughout China.

Mark Goyens – Bekaert

A lawyer by education, Mark Goyens had over 30 years of international experience, holding positions in Belgium, the Netherlands, the U.S.A., Switzerland and the United Kingdom, before he moved to Shanghai in the end of 2008 to become the president of Bekaert Asia, the largest Belgian investor in China during recent years. The main part of his past career consisted out of important positions in the Human Resources departments of various companies, such as Exxon Esso, Cytec Industries, SICPA Group and Reckit Benckiser. He has been doing business with different parts of China since the mid 90's and consequently knows his way around the Chinese business world very well.

Event Rundown

6.30-7.00 pm        Registration
7.00-7.20 pm        Presentation Mr. Raf Verheyen
7.20-7.40 pm        Presentation Ms. Annemarieke Beekman
7.40-8.00 pm        Presentation Mr. Mark Goyens
8.00-9.30 pm        Cocktail Reception

RSVP Date: Before May 19, 2009 17:00

To apply for registration we kindly ask you to fill in and return our Young Professional Questionnaire.

Questionnaires and questions can be directed to ypshanghai@bencham.org.

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