By Kathrin Bussmann
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The podcast currently has 240 episodes available.
John Yunker is a well-known pioneer in the field of web and software globalization, and, by now, one of the perennial contributors to this podcast. I've featured him on three previous episodes: #059, #182 and, most recently, #221. He is the Co-Founder & President of Byte Level Research, an agency that specializes in researching, promoting, and advising on best practices in website globalization.
Based in Ashland, Oregon, John has been helping companies improve their global content, websites, and software since 2000. He has worked with many of the world’s biggest multinational corporations, providing them with web-globalization training, specialized reports, and benchmark services. His Web Globalization Report Cards have become required reading for global brand leaders everywhere; these annual reports provide an up-to-date evaluation of how major global companies are performing relative to each other and to current industry best practices.
Besides his client work, John writes the popular blog "Global by Design", and has authored several books, including "Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies", the first book devoted to the emerging field of web globalization, and more recently, "Think Outside the Country: A Guide to Going Global and Succeeding in the Translation Economy".
Here, John returns to the show to talk about his "2022 Web Globalization Report Card", which he published earlier this year.
Tune in to the conversation, and learn about how the top global websites make sure that international visitors have the best experience possible.
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Andy Klump is a renewable energy executive with nearly two decades of experience living and working in Asia. He is the founder, owner, and CEO of Clean Energy Associates (CEA), a solar energy and storage advisory firm that specializes in technical due diligence and engineering services. Established in 2008, CEAnow employs over 175 professionals around the world, and has completed solar energy and storage projects in more than 65 countries so far.
Originally from the U.S., Andy has a background in Economics and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He relocated from Atlanta to Shanghai in 2002 and has been based in Asia ever since. Prior to founding his own company, he served as the Vice President of Business Development for Trina Solar, where he headed the company’s international expansion plans covering supply chain, international business development, capital raising, and corporate development. Over a two-year period, he and his Trina Solarmanagement team successfully raised nearly $500 million in capital during the company’s IPO and follow-on offerings on the New York Stock Exchange.
In addition to his role as the head of CEA, Andy is a current board member of a couple of renewable energy startups, ion Ventures and Solar Inventions, and he has served as a board member of the U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). He is also a co-founder and board member of the health-care focused non-profit organizations iDefine.org and KIDSIQProject.org.
In this interview, Andy shares his personal career journey of relocating to China from the U.S., adapting to the local business culture, and eventually launching and scaling his own global company. He explains what the core purpose behind CEA is, and how he manages his growing international team. And he talks about some global and regional trends he's seeing in solar energy, and his perspective on the solar supply chain going forward.
Tune in for Andy's valuable insights!
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Kathleen MacLean is the Head of Growth at ev.energy, a London-based Cleantech startup that empowers electric vehicle owners to charge their EV in a simpler, cheaper, and greener way. Launched in 2018, ev.energy’s innovative app keeps track of when energy is least expensive and carbon-intensive, and balances user demand on the energy grid at peak times. As a Certified B Corporation, ev.energy is part of a global community of over 5,000 companies (and counting) that are reinventing business by pursuing purpose as well as profit.
In early 2022, ev.energy extended its Series A funding to $12.8 Million, enabling it to pursue rapid growth in North America and around the world. In addition to its U.K. headquarters, ev.energy has now has an office Palo Alto, California, and employs a world-class team of over 60 people across Europe, North America and the Caribbean.
Originally from Scotland, Kathleen has been based in London since 2012. She has over a decade of experience in marketing and brand management, and has worked both on the agency and on the client side for a variety of industries. She joined ev.energy at the beginning of 2021, and is now on a mission to help drive the decarbonization of transport. Besides her role at ev.energy, she is also a passionate TEDx'er and has volunteered as the Co-Licensee & Curator for TEDx Covent Garden Women in London.
In this interview, Kathleen talks about the challenges and benefits of having a globally dispersed team, how she approaches international marketing strategy on a startup budget, and how she has adapted the ev.energy app’s value proposition for each of the company’s three core markets so far: the U.K., Germany, and California.
Tune in for Kathleen’s great insights!
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María González-Calvo de Miguel is the Global Lead for Marketing and Communications at Sonnedix, a multi-national Independent Power Producer (IPP) that develops, finances, builds, owns, and operates solar power plants around the globe. Founded in 2009, the company's purpose is to harness the power of the sun to build a bright future. Today, Sonnedix has 400 photovoltaic power plants in operation, construction or under development around the world, with a total production capacity of more than six GW of power. The company has over 400 employees across a dozen global offices, including in the U.K., Italy, France, Spain, Poland, the U.S., Chile, and Japan.
Based in Madrid, María has over a decade of experience in branding, marketing, communications, PR, and media relations. She began her career in her native Spain in 2008, and then took the opportunity to live and work in the Philippines, in the Netherlands, and in the U.K. She joined Sonnedix in early 2020, when she took on her current role, and is now leading the company's international brand development – from market research and conceptualization, to the implementation of Sonnedix's communications plan and marketing campaigns.
In this interview, María describes how Sonnedix is building a successful global brand through community engagement and innovative content strategies. She talks about the importance storytelling and adapting communications for different kinds of audiences around the world. And she explains why Sonnedix has started investing in the creation of educational content for the next generation of solar energy stakeholders.
Tune in for María’s fascinating insights!
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This episode is a special cross-post. As the producer & host of The Worldly Marketer Podcast, Kathrin Bussmann is usually the one asking the questions. But in early 2022, she was invited to be a guest on The International Business Podcast, and found herself on other side of the interview process.
In conversation with Audrey Wagner, one of the podcast’s co-hosts, Kathrin talks about her definition of ‘branding’, the importance of having a global brand strategy in today's digital economy, how localization contributes to global business success, and why she chose to focus her consulting practice on the Cleantech sector.
With kind permission from Audrey and her colleagues, Leonardo Marra and Stefano Santelmo, Kathrin is re-sharing the interview here, for the benefit of her Worldly Marketer Podcast listeners. She also encourages everyone to check out The International Business Podcast for many more interesting episodes on a wide variety of global business topics.
Happy listening!
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This week, instead of bringing you a podcast interview, I’d like to share something a bit more personal. I’d like tell you about my father, Prof. Dr. Max G. Krell. In so many ways, he’s the reason I’m the person I am today.
My father was a nuclear physicist. He was born in 1935 in Lower Silesia, a region that was part of Germany before the Second World War and is now part of Poland. He studied Physics at the university of Erlangen, in Bavaria, which is where he met my mother. As newlyweds, they moved to Karlsruhe, another German university town, so that my father could pursue his doctorate. They then relocated to Geneva, where my father worked at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) for several years.
Eventually, my father accepted a tenure-track position in the department of Physics at the Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec. Leaving behind all their family and friends, my parents immigrated to Canada. My mother was almost eight months pregnant at the time, and I was born about a month after they had settled into their small apartment near the university campus.
My father had a three-decades long career as a science professor in Sherbrooke. He finally retired in 1999, and happily devoted himself to his 100-acre hobby farm. He had bought the property, a ten-minute drive from the university, when I was two years old. It was a perfectly square, partially forested piece of land, with an old “saltbox” style farmhouse, a barn, and a couple of ponds. This was the backdrop of my childhood. To my father, that farm was his very own piece of Paradise, something he could have never afforded if he had stayed in Germany.
He often told me about his own childhood, vividly remembering the years around World War II. At the end of the war, he and his family had had to flee their village and head west to safety, with basically just the clothes on their backs and whatever they could carry on foot. The years right after the war, his formative years, were especially difficult. His family had to start all over in a new town, mourning loved ones lost in the war, rebuilding their lives from scratch, and food was in short supply. I suppose that’s why my father was obsessed with the idea of having his own land and being as food self-sufficient as possible. My mother, whose family had also had to flee westward at the end of the war, was on the same page.
Thinking back now, I realize what a wonderfully idyllic childhood I had, growing up in the beautiful countryside of the Eastern Townships – though I often dreamed of city life, especially as a teenager. We had a huge vegetable garden, fruit trees, berry shrubs, beehives, a small herd of sheep, rabbits, ducks, geese, and more. I was immersed in the natural world, seeing things grow around me, planting things, harvesting things, witnessing the cycle of life, and knowing exactly where most of my food came from.
For my father, the proximity to nature combined with his training as a scientist, also led to environmental activism. In my teens, I remember several citizen-led, pro-environmental initiatives that my father helped launch and organize, which were driven by the prospect of local authorities making potentially disastrous decisions.
All through my youth, I witnessed my father fight stubbornly, unflinchingly for what he believed was right, even when it meant opposing the powers-that-be. He taught me some very important lessons about stepping up when it matters and fighting for the greater good. He shaped the core values that I carry with me as an adult: a belief in science, in justice, in personal integrity, and in social responsibility.
On April 16th, 2002, exactly three years into his retirement, my father died unexpectedly of a massive stroke.
He never got to meet his only grandchild, who was born the year after his death. But I know he would have been so incredibly proud. He also never got to see me launch my own business. But I know he would have been extremely supportive and interested, especially with regards to my new focus on Cleantech. No doubt whatsoever, he would have had a lot to say about the inherent risks of nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels.
I wish he was still with us.
This Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday, marks the 20th anniversary of my father’s passing. On the one hand, I can’t believe it’s already been 20 years. On the other hand, so much has happened in those years – many things that would absolutely amaze and thrill him, and other things that would completely outrage and dismay him. I’m pretty sure that if he were still alive, at the age of 87, he’d be as involved as ever in his local community of environmental activists.
My father was a man of strong principles, deep moral convictions, and a level of personal integrity that seems all too rare these days. He believed in fairness, honesty, and accountability. And he wasn’t afraid to say unpopular things if he felt that truth and justice were at stake.
I’m incredibly proud to be his daughter. In so many ways, his legacy is what drives me now.
So this Easter long weekend, I will celebrate my father’s life, and I will remember all the things that made him a such wonderful dad and a truly great human being.
Whether you’re celebrating Easter, Passover, Ramadan, or Songkran, I hope that you’re able to spend it with family or friends, sharing memories of loved ones who have passed, and cherishing your time together.
Kathrin
Simon Kemp is a global authority on how people use the Internet. As Founder & CEO at Kepios, a strategy consultancy, he helps organizations all over the world to make sense of what people are really doing online, to identify changes in digital behaviour, and to understand how these trends will impact their success.
Originally from Scotland, Simon has been based in Singapore since 2007. In parallel to his work at Kepios, he is also the Chief Analyst at DataReportal, an online reference library of up-to-date reports that explore people's digital behaviours globally, regionally, and by country. These free reports, which he produces in collaboration with Hootsuite and We Are Social, provide current information on everything from Internet penetration rates to online activities such as mobile usage, social-media habits, e-commerce adoption, and much more.
Simon has been featured on eight previous episodes of this podcast, most recently about a year ago, on episode #213. You could say that he has become a perennial guest of the show, and he's always a pleasure to catch up with. In this interview, he returns to the show to talk about his Digital 2022 Global Overview Report and Local Country Reports, and he shares his analysis of some of the more remarkable data points.
As always, the numbers tell an interesting story of what people around the world are actually doing online. And once again, Simon's findings will likely present a challenge to many marketers' assumptions. Tune in and prepare to be surprised!
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Michelle Carvill is a strategic marketer and entrepreneur, as well as a successful speaker, podcaster, and author. Her latest book, published in 2021, is called Sustainable Marketing – How to Drive Profits with Purpose.
In parallel to the book, which she co-authored with Gemma Butler and Geraint Evans, she has developed training programs for the Chartered Institute of Marketing to ensure that sustainability is firmly on the marketing education agenda. Michelle has also developed a certified "Carbon Literacy Training for Marketers", and she is creating conversations around sustainable marketing through the podcast she co-hosts called Can Marketing Save the Planet?
Based in the U.K., Michelle began her career in marketing over three decades ago. Today, she has numerous awards and recognitions to her name, and is leading her very own digital agency, Carvill Creative, which she founded in 2002. As an agency owner, Michelle’s focus is on helping organizations to develop a strong digital presence through robust and highly human digital and social-media marketing strategies. She also leads a social enterprise called The Preventative Healthcare Service, and she's a Co-Founder & Partner at The Online Digital Academy.
Through her body of work and her Sustainable Marketer Manifesto, which is a sort of Hippocratic oath for responsible marketing, Michelle is at the vanguard of the movement to make marketing a force for good. She believes that the need to focus on sustainability has never been more urgent for businesses and marketers. In her view, there’s no one better placed to affect change, align with and influence customers, and drive hope for a better, more sustainable future, than an ‘educated and aware’ responsible marketer.
In this interview, Michelle talks about how consumers’ expectations around sustainability have evolved over the past 30 years, how brands around the world are rising to the challenge, and why marketing professionals have a crucial role to play in creating a more sustainable economy. She also shares some key takeaways from her book, Sustainable Marketing.
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Chris Coulter is the CEO at GlobeScan, an international insights and advisory consultancy that works at the intersection of brand purpose, sustainability, and trust. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, GlobeScan’s purpose is to co-create a sustainable and equitable future. It partners with leading businesses, NGOs, and governmental organizations to deliver insights that guide decision-making, and to build strategies that contribute to a sustainable and equitable world.
More than three decades into its mission, GlobeScan now has a global network of experts, as well as offices around the world, including in Cape Town, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Paris, San Francisco, and São Paulo. GlobeScan is a participant of the UN Global Compact, and it is also a Certified B Corp.
Based at GlobeScan’s headquarters in Toronto, Chris has over 15 years of experience in providing evidence-based counsel to leadership organizations at the nexus of reputation, brand, and sustainability. He is a specialist in international relations, and has lived and worked in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Besides his role as CEO at GlobeScan, Chris is the Director of the GlobeScan Foundation, a Board Member at CBSR (Canadian Business for Social Responsibility), a Council Member at SustainAbility (a think tank), and a Board Member at Good World Solutions. Along with David Grayson and Mark Lee, he is also the co-author of The Sustainable Business Handbook: A guide to becoming more innovative, resilient and successful, published in February 2022.
In this interview, Chris talks about how GlobeScan is working with partners around the world to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable global economy, and what trends he’s seeing among big multinationals when it comes to setting and reaching ESG targets. He also shares his insights into why it’s so important for global-minded companies to take a long-term view of growth, and why markets outside their comfort zone may in fact hold the biggest future opportunities. Last but not least, he shares some of the top takeaways from his new book. Tune in!
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This episode was sponsored by The Globalization and Localization Association (GALA).
Bettina Grab has over 15 years of experience in global B2B tech marketing. She is the President at Alder & Co., a leading marketing agency that works exclusively with cleantech and climate-tech companies. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Alder & Co.'s mission is to advance the adoption of climate technologies until they become universal.
Originally from Germany, Bettina has a background in communication sciences, international relations, and journalism. She began her marketing career in 2004, and worked at some large German IT & media enterprises, before relocating to London, U.K., in 2011. There, she had a chance to hone her expertise in global marketing and global brand management at a couple of international outsourcing and offshoring companies.
Then, just before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bettina relocated to the U.S., and settled down in the San Francisco Bay area. There, she founded her own marketing consultancy, which focused on serving Cleantech and climate tech companies. She also launched a blog and eco-activism platform called bluegreen.blog. Finally, in 2021, she joined forces with fellow west-coast agency owner Melanie Adamson, when she had the opportunity to take on the role of President & Partner at Alder & Co.
In her role at Alder & Co., Bettina now drives business development for the agency and advises clients on growth marketing strategies. She is also a guest lecturer for cleantech marketing at the Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco, and serves as Cleantech Open's National Marketing Chair. Along with Melanie Adamson, Bettina is also the co-founder of ToFu, a substack newsletter and membership community for cleantech and climate tech marketing professionals.
In this interview, Bettina talks about why she’s so passionate about her work, how good marketing empowers climate tech companies to make a bigger impact, why B2B marketing strategy may need to differ significantly for the U.S. versus the U.K. or Germany, what current trends she has noticed in the nascent field of cleantech marketing, and how North American scale-ups should approach their expansion into Europe. Tune in!
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This episode was sponsored by the Globalization and Localization Association (GALA).
The podcast currently has 240 episodes available.