30. Scaling APAC: Why China, AI, and regional leadership cannot be managed from 10,000 km away — with Cedric Delzenne

30. Scaling APAC: Why China, AI, and regional leadership cannot be managed from 10,000 km away — with Cedric Delzenne

"There is no way you can micromanage anyone in China — and certainly not from ten thousand kilometers away." Most Western companies expanding into APAC build one regional strategy and apply it across the board. One pipeline. One dashboard. One assumption about what it means to operate in Asia. The region keeps proving that assumption wrong — expensively. In this episode, Kevin Hong speaks with Cedric Delzenne, a French executive with over 20 years of international experience across Europe, the US, Brazil, and Asia, and more than 15 years based in Hong Kong. As the founding Managing Director APAC of Fifty-Five, a digital analytics and AI consultancy, Cedric built a regional presence from scratch — from Hong Kong to Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Taipei — navigating China's data sovereignty laws, the HQ–local trust gap, and the structural realities of a region most headquarters misread as a single market. Five threads: why APAC is a kaleidoscope of markets that cannot be managed as one; why Hong Kong remains a stronger regional launch base than Singapore for most foreign firms; why China's AI advantage is more cultural and structural than technical; why the real value of AI is in rewiring operating models, not adding tools; and why trust — not strategy — is the first thing a regional leader must build. In this episode: * Why treating APAC as one market is the most costly assumption a foreign HQ makes — and what market-level translation actually looks like in practice * The Hong Kong versus Singapore decision: what most Western companies get wrong about cost, banking, salary inflation, and regional mobility * How China's open-source LLM approach and cultural risk appetite are creating a structural AI edge over Europe — and why boards need physical presence, not media coverage * Why the companies that win with AI won't have the best tools — they'll have the most rewired operating models If you are building or advising in Asia, leading a cross-border technology or consulting practice, or placing senior executives into the region — this one is for you. Follow the show and leave a rating to help more leaders find it. --- 🎧 Subscribe now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your executive inspiration and learn how global leaders think ahead, move faster, and lead smarter. Subscribe to our newsletter [https://lyc-partners.us22.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a6ba34d5d9e108df4fae223c8&id=a0961ca045]to get access to exclusive insights and all the details about the Leaders in Motion Academy, our executive program. If the topics discussed resonate with your own leadership challenges or the conversations happening in your organization - assessing international leaders, aligning global and local teams, building capabilities across regions. You can reach us at LYC Partners [http://www.lyc-partners.ai/contact-us] to set up a consultation. -- Produced by Bonjour Podcast [https://www.bonjourpodcast.com/] (Melanie Hong), Leaders in Motion blends storytelling, strategy, and data-driven insight, giving today’s leaders a roadmap to anticipate tomorrow’s challenges and lead with intention. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.

29. The Integration Gap: Why Cross-Border Placements Fail on Culture, Not Skill with Jie Hong

"The problem is not that Chinese teams resist change. The problem is that leaders arrive with a fixed model of what leadership looks like — and mistake cultural difference for underperformance." Cross-border executive placements rarely fail because someone lacks the skill. They fail in the integration — how authority is read, how conflict is handled, how feedback lands, and what alignment really means across cultures. In this episode, Kevin Hong speaks with Jie, a trilingual executive coach working across English, French, and Chinese, with lived experience across China, North America, and Europe. Drawing on Hofstede's cultural dimensions, real cases of Chinese companies acquiring French teams, and the daily frictions of multinational leadership, they break down why cultural integration is a core execution risk — especially in the first 90 days. Five threads: why the "soft skills" framing keeps companies underprepared, how power distance shapes leadership perception across China, France, and Nordic markets, the role of face in real-time feedback loops, the conversation no cross-border leader ever has but should, and the practical pivots that actually close the gap. In this episode: * Why "yes" in a Beijing meeting doesn't mean what it means in Paris — and how to surface the real answer * The power distance gap between China, France, and Nordic countries — and what it means for your leadership style on arrival * Why the most important onboarding conversation is never about strategy — and what to ask instead * How "connection before correction" changes both team integration and leadership credibility in a new market If you lead into China, sit on a board that covers China, or are placing senior leaders across borders — this one is for you. Follow the show and leave a rating to help more leaders find it. --- 🎧 Subscribe now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your executive inspiration and learn how global leaders think ahead, move faster, and lead smarter. Subscribe to our newsletter [https://lyc-partners.us22.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a6ba34d5d9e108df4fae223c8&id=a0961ca045]to get access to exclusive insights and all the details about the Leaders in Motion Academy, our executive program. If the topics discussed resonate with your own leadership challenges or the conversations happening in your organization - assessing international leaders, aligning global and local teams, building capabilities across regions. You can reach us at LYC Partners [http://www.lyc-partners.ai/contact-us] to set up a consultation. -- Produced by Bonjour Podcast [https://www.bonjourpodcast.com/] (Melanie Hong), Leaders in Motion blends storytelling, strategy, and data-driven insight, giving today’s leaders a roadmap to anticipate tomorrow’s challenges and lead with intention. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.

28. Gravitas Shift: When Power Is in Europe and the Future Moves to China

"The problem is not bad leaders in China. The problem is a Western-led governance model that confuses uniformity with discipline, historical revenue with future potential, and center-driven control with strategic relevance." For years, European headquarters have blamed their China underperformance on local leadership. In this solo episode, Kevin draws on conversations with a dozen of executives who built careers in the gap between Chinese market reality and global HQ logic — and breaks down why the model keeps failing. Five acts: the daily symptoms of misalignment, the structural sources rooted in Western governance assumptions, the operational consequences, the long-term damage to brand relevance and talent position, and the hard pivots that actually change the trajectory. In this episode: * Why "ghost alignment" in quarterly reviews is a governance failure, not a people failure * The 18-month vs. 4-month innovation gap — and what it actually signals * How boards that have never visited China are making invalid resource decisions * Why the return rate of overseas Chinese talent flipped from 20% to 80% Featuring voices from: Fabien Dumont (Autoliv CTO), Sonia Benjeloun-Carpentier (Piaget Managing Director China), Guilhem Souche (Luxury Executive China), Guido Maune (Partner EAC), Jenny Lai (Bluebell, Managing Director Greater China), Pierluigi Visotti (Founder ULYSSES), Ye Han (Partner Kantar), Laurent Scarato (Industrial Executive China), Greg Au-Yeung (Managing Director China Ingenico), Anne Line Hansen (Cross Border Board Advisor), and Francesco Pesci (ex Lancel Managing Director). Download the Executive Brief: The Gravitas Shift: When Power Is in Europe and the Future Is in China | LYC Partners [https://www.lyc-partners.ai/board-brief/june-2026] If you lead into China, sit on a board that covers China, or are rethinking your China model — this one is for you. Follow the show and leave a rating to help more leaders find it. --- 🎧 Subscribe now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your executive inspiration and learn how global leaders think ahead, move faster, and lead smarter. Subscribe to our newsletter [https://lyc-partners.us22.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a6ba34d5d9e108df4fae223c8&id=a0961ca045]to get access to exclusive insights and all the details about the Leaders in Motion Academy, our executive program. If the topics discussed resonate with your own leadership challenges or the conversations happening in your organization - assessing international leaders, aligning global and local teams, building capabilities across regions. You can reach us at LYC Partners [http://www.lyc-partners.ai/contact-us] to set up a consultation. -- Produced by Bonjour Podcast [https://www.bonjourpodcast.com/] (Melanie Hong), Leaders in Motion blends storytelling, strategy, and data-driven insight, giving today’s leaders a roadmap to anticipate tomorrow’s challenges and lead with intention. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.

27. From GAP Munich to Steinway Zürich: Experiential Retail, Cross-Brand Leadership, and Bridging Global and Local with Piet Kolsch

"We needed to slow down to keep the identity of the brand." Piet Kolsch is a Swiss-based retail operator and brand transformation leader with 25 years of experience building, opening, and scaling flagship environments across Europe and beyond — from GAP and Esprit to Apple, Tally Weijl, Benetton, Patagonia, and Steinway. Piet's journey begins in Munich with GAP's record-breaking flagship opening in 2000, through scaling Esprit's largest global store, opening Apple's Zurich flagship after six months embedded in the recruiting and opening team, directing Tally Weijl's rapid expansion across 450 stores and 5 countries (€360M revenues), leading Benetton's entire European network of 1,400 points of sale across 14 markets and 3,000 people, running Patagonia's Munich flagship operations as the brand donated itself to the planet, and most recently managing seven Musik Hug/Steinway locations in Switzerland — where a single product takes a year to build and the customer relationship spans generations. In this episode: * 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 — why Piet always joins 6 months before opening, and what "the company investing in me" really means * 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 — how stores went from product density to brand experience, and what Apple and Steinway teach us about that shift * 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟲𝟬/𝟰𝟬 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹-𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 — 60% non-negotiable brand process, 40% local adaptation maximum, and why the story never changes * 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 — a German-French visual merchandising case study that reveals how culture shapes execution, not just communication * 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 — the silence vs. directness dynamic, and how to set a stage where both cultures can contribute without forcing either to change * 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 — less product, more event, more after-sale service, and why customers now want to feel the brand before they buy it * 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸 — why Piet reads CVs after interviews, and what he is actually watching for in the room For cross-border operators, retail leaders, and anyone who has had to make a global brand feel genuinely local — this episode is a masterclass in the craft of brand stewardship at scale. 🎧 Subscribe now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your executive inspiration and learn how global leaders think ahead, move faster, and lead smarter. Subscribe to our newsletter [https://www.lyc-partners.ai/]to get access to exclusive insights and all the details about our Leadership Insights. If the topics discussed resonate with your own leadership challenges or the conversations happening in your organization - assessing international leaders, aligning global and local teams, building capabilities across regions. You can reach us at LYC Partners [http://www.lyc-partners.ai/contact-us] to set up a consultation. Produced by Bonjour Podcast [https://www.bonjourpodcast.com/] (Melanie Hong), Leaders in Motion blends storytelling, strategy, and data-driven insight, giving today’s leaders a roadmap to anticipate tomorrow’s challenges and lead with intention. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.

26. From Queens to Paris: Storytelling, Branding, and Cultural Humility in a World of AI Translation with Lory Martinez

“One Spanish listen…is equal to at least 10 listens because people listen with their friends.” Lory Martinez, Colombian-American brand strategist and founder of Maraviya in Paris, has spent the last two decades building multilingual story ecosystems—then translating that operating system into brand strategy for cross-border founders. Lory's journey runs from early radio journalism and engineering in upstate New York (at the moment audio first moved online) to a global communications pivot in France, to founding Studio Ochenta—an award-winning multilingual podcast company that scaled to 25+ languages and 100+ shows—before building Maravilla to help immigrant and first-generation founders tell the truth of their identity without losing themselves in the messaging. In this episode: * 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲 — why cross-cultural teams require “I don’t know—teach me” as an operating stance * 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 — why “just giving the files” fails, and how to bridge HQ/local misalignment * 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 — why “hyper-niche” groups can outperform mass targeting * 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 — how to decide who converts first, then tailor the same product to multiple audiences * 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗥𝗟 — why translation tech can help, but human-to-human experience is what people buy * 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 — leadership lessons from remote production, and what “giving time back” changes inside teams If you lead across borders—or you’re building a brand that has to feel authentic in more than one culture—this conversation will sharpen how you think about language, audience, and the human side of strategy. 🎧 Subscribe now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your executive inspiration and learn how global leaders think ahead, move faster, and lead smarter. Subscribe to our newsletter [https://www.lyc-partners.ai/]to get access to exclusive insights and all the details about our Leadership Insights. If the topics discussed resonate with your own leadership challenges or the conversations happening in your organization - assessing international leaders, aligning global and local teams, building capabilities across regions. You can reach us at LYC Partners [http://www.lyc-partners.ai/contact-us] to set up a consultation. Produced by Bonjour Podcast [https://www.bonjourpodcast.com/] (Melanie Hong), Leaders in Motion blends storytelling, strategy, and data-driven insight, giving today’s leaders a roadmap to anticipate tomorrow’s challenges and lead with intention. To Contact Lory: * Her Substack [https://substack.com/@lorymartinez] * Her Website [https://www.lorymartinez.com/maraviya]   * Her Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorymartinez/] Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.